Creamy Herb Chicken

 Made this for my family and it was super quick and super yum.  Especially leftovers the next day! We had this with a side of fresh steamed artichoke (Costco had some huge ones which we were thrilled about!)

I got this recipe from cafedelites.com if you want the original recipe it is HERE. 

Hope you enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

For The Chicken:

- 4 chicken breasts cut in half lengthwise 

 - sprinkle each side with onion powder, garlic powder, and herb combination of your choice. I used Herbs de Provence from Pampered Chef which includes a combination of thyme, basil, fennel seed, savory, rosemary, tarragon, marjoram, and lavender. You certainly don't need all of these. Basil and rosemary or marjoram or parsley would be good enough

 - salt and pepper, to season

For The Sauce:

 - 4 cloves garlic, minced (or 1 tablespoon minced garlic)

 -  1-2 tsp of herb combination again

 - 1 cup milk with 1/2 cup cream or you can use half and half  *I did more to put on pototoes

 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

 - 2 tsp of Better Than Boullion, chicken paste 

 - 1-2 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with enough water to make it smooth

INSTRUCTIONS

 - Coat chicken breasts with onion and garlic powders and herbs. Season generously with salt and pepper.

 - Heat 1 tablespoon of oil a large pan or skillet over medium-high heat and cook chicken breasts until opaque and no longer pink inside (about 5 minutes each side, depending on thickness). Transfer to a plate; set aside.

 - To the same pan or skillet, heat another 2 teaspoons of olive oil and sauté garlic, with the herb combination until fragrant. 

 - Stir in milk (or cream); season with salt and pepper, to taste.

 - Bring to a boil; making sure to scrape up any chicken bits on the pan for flavor.

 - add the cornstarch mixture to the centre of the pan, quickly stirring, until sauce has thickened slightly.

 - Reduce heat and simmer gently for a further minute to allow the sauce to thicken more.

 - Return chicken to the skillet. Sprinkle with extra herbs if desired. Serve immediately.

Pancit

 So there is a family that used to make this and sell it in their food truck in town and it was soooo good! It has been awhile since I've had it as they don't have their food truck anymore but I was craving it the other day. So I tried to figure out first how to spell it....then looked to see what would be the easiest. Which none of them seemed really hard but this one I came across had a lot of good ratings and caught my eye. So I made it and my husband was RAVING about it and said I could make this any time! The rest of my family quite liked it as well. It's soooo easy to do that you can whip this for a quick meal and you can make as much or as little of it as you want. 

I got the recipe from ahealthmaker.com you can see the original recipe HERE. 

Hope you enjoy! 

Ingredients

1 pkg vermicelli rice noodles. They need to be made of rice (usually in the Asian section)

2 tsp stir fry oil or extra virgin olive oil

about 10 oz Raw or Cooked chicken breast ( I used rotisserie chicken from the store and added quite a bit of it)

3 or 4 cups coleslaw mix

1 cup sliced carrots optional as this is in the coleslaw mix

snap peas - as many as you would like

1 med celery sliced

1 tsp minced garlic

3 cups chicken broth

2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 Tbsp soy sauce or more to liking

2 Tbsp dry onion soup mix

2 tsp sesame oil

green onions

Directions

-In a wok or large frying pan heat oil and cook the chicken if using raw until no longer pink. Skip this step if using cooked. 

-In the still hot pan, add carrots and celery and sauté until they get a bit soft but still firm. 

-Add the minced garlic and sauté again for 30 secs. 

-Add the cabbage mix and stir everything together - heating through-you don't want to cook the cabbage too much it needs to still have some crunch. You can take everything out of the pan at this point for the next step - but I don't I leave it all in. 

-Mix in a small bowl the Worcestershire sauce, soya sauce, dry soup mix and sesame oil together and add over vegetables then add the chicken broth and the rice noodles on top. Once the broth starts to heat through it will soak up the noodles. Use some tongs and start mixing it around so the noodles get in the broth. It will not take long for them to soften up from the broth. 

-After everything seems to be incorporated together I usually add green onion and mix through again. 

I like mine with Siracha and my husband likes chili paste on his. Both very good additions. 

Instant Pot Burrito Bowl

This recipe is so easy and so yummy. You can top it with any of your favorite Mexican toppings. 

I got the recipe from damndelicious.net which you can find HERE. 

This might be something I go to often. 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 (1.25-ounce) package taco seasoning
• 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
• 1 (15-ounce) can corn kernels, drained
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup salsa, homemade or store-bought
• 1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles (if you don't have this just add more salsa)
• 1 cup long-grain rice

Topping Ideas

• shredded Mexican blend cheese
• chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• diced avocado
• sour cream
• diced fresh tomatoes
• diced green onion
• taco chips
• We love adding guacamole salsa we got from the States...if you can find it, it's yummy!

DIRECTIONS:

1. Add chicken, 1/2 cup broth and sprinkle taco seasoning on top.  
2. Add corn, black beans, salsa and green chiles. Without stirring, add rice on top, and then the remaining chicken broth making sure the rice is all in the broth. 
3. Select manual setting; and set time for 10 minutes. When finished cooking, do a quick-release. 
4. Serve with toppings.

• 
  

Instant Pot Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

This soup is so delicious and great for a wintery day inside..or any day really. Pair it with some country biscuits and it makes a perfect meal. I used the wild rice blend from Costco and 2 cans of chicken from Costco as well. The recipe was adapted from a recipe found HERE, from A Saucy Kitchen. Photo is from there as well. 

Ingredients

2 Tbsp olive oil

2-3 large celery stalks, sliced

3 large carrots, sliced

1 small onion, diced

2 cloves garlic or 1 heaped tsp of minced garlic. 

1 tsp dried parsley

1 1/2 tsp dried rosemary

1 tsp thyme

5 cups chicken stalk

1 cup uncooked wild rice blend

1 pound skinless chicken breast (or 2 cans of chicken)

3 tbsp corn starch + 1/2 cup water (mixed together in a small cup)

1 tsp of salt

Instructions

1. Chop vegetables set aside. Press saute on the instant pot and add olive oil. Heat up and add vegetables minus the garlic and saute for about 3 mins. until softened. 

2. Add the minced garlic, rosemary, parsley, and thyme and stir and cook for 1 min. 

3. Stir in the chicken stalk and wild rice. 

4. Add the chicken and corn starch mixture. 

5. Secure the lid on the instant pot and make sure the dial on top is set to sealing. Cook on high pressure for 8 mins. 

6. After the time is up the Instant Pot with automatically switch to keep warm. Let it keep warm for 10 mins depressurizing on its own before releasing the steam valve.  

7. After removing the lid carefully, if using the chicken breasts remove them and shred then add back to the soup. 

8. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper if needed and serve. 

Easy Orange BBQ Chicken

This recipe was so good and my whole family loved it, even my picky eater. I've done this recipe a couple of different ways. First I did it according to the recipe which you can find the original one HERE from Crafty Morning. 

Second I barbequed the chicken and put the sauce on that way. Both are very tasty so I guess it just depends on your preference. We put the chicken on some rice and mixed California veggies. 

Super easy and so very good!

Ingredients

Sauce Ingredients: 

1 Cup BBQ sauce - Sweet Baby Ray's is the best!

1 Cup Sweet orange marmalade - like Smucker's

2 Tbsp soy sauce

Crispy chicken Ingredients: 

3-4 chicken breasts or you can use the smaller fillets you just need a few more depending on how many you are feeding. 

1 Cup Flour

2 Eggs

Oil

Instructions

1. In a saucepan, add the BBQ sauce, marmalade, and soy sauce. Turn the heat on low and let it simmer for 20 minutes, stirring a few times. 

2. Meanwhile, cut up your chicken breasts into cubes In one bowl beat 2 eggs, in another bowl combined dry ingredients. 

3. Add a thin layer of oil to a frying pan and turn your stove on medium/high heat. 

4. Dip pieces of chicken in the egg and then cover in flour. When the oil is ready, add chicken pieces to it carefully a few at a time. Let cook for about 3-5 mins on each side until it's nice and brown and cooked on the inside. 

5. Set the chicken pieces on a paper towel and let drain. Put in a serving bowl. 

6. Take the sauce off the stove and carefully stir sauce over chicken and mix until all the chicken is well coated. 

7. Serve with rice and steamed veggies. 

Chicken Mexican Haystacks

This is one of my favorite recipes, it's just so good! I've made this in a slow cooker and also my instant pot. In the Instant Pot, I've cooked the chicken breasts from frozen with a couple of cups of chicken broth for about 40 mins and then shredded the chicken, I remove some of the broth and add the rest of the ingredients and put the setting on saute for a while to warm everything up adding some broth if needed. It makes it pretty saucy, but that makes it good when you serve it over rice. 

You can go HERE for the original recipe. The recipe and photo come from togetherasfamily.com. 

Ingredients

• 3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can (115 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained (I used spicy Rotel)
• 1 -1/2 cups frozen corn or 1 can

Cream Tex-Mex Sauce

• 1 3/4 cups chicken broth
• 1 can chopped green chilies
• 4 oz cream cheese
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 small sweet onion, roughly chopped
• 1 packet ranch seasoning mix
• 1 packet taco seasoning

Mexican Haystacks

• Corn chips
• white or brown rice
• taco toppings of your choice (shredded cheese, lettuce, tomato, avocado, onion, olives, jalapenos, etc)

Instructions

Put chicken breasts into the slow cooker. Add the beans, tomatoes, and corn. 

In a blender combine all ingredients for the creamy sauce and blend until smooth and combined. 

Pour into the slow cooker and mix everything together. Cover with the lid and cook on low for 5-6 hours or until chicken is tender and can easily shred. 

Shred chicken and add back into the slow cooker Serve with rice, corn chips, and toppings fo your choice. You can also keep this on the warm setting until ready to serve. 

Favorite Chicken Potpie

So I'm sure there are not too many that does not like the wonderful comfort food of potpie. Even my very picky eater son loved this. It's great because the recipe has enough for 2 one for your family and one for your freezer for later and because I'm not the most accurate in measuring I did have some filling left over that we just ate and it was so yummy. This recipe comes from Taste of Home and you can find the original recipe HERE. 

Hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients

2 cups diced peeled potatoes

1-3/4 cups sliced carrots

1 cup butter, cubed

2/3 cup chopped onion

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp dried thyme

3/4 tsp pepper

3 cups chicken broth

1-1/2 cups milk

4 cups cubed cooked chicken

1 cup frozen peas

1 cup frozen corn

2 packages refrigerated pie pastry. (enough for 2 pies top and bottom)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place potatoes and carrots in a large saucepan; add water to cover. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cook, covered, 8-10 mins or until crisp-tender; drain. 

2. In a large skillet, heat butter over med-high heat. Add onion; cook and stir until tender. Stir in flour and seasonings until blended. Gradually stir in broth and milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly; cook and stir 2 mins or until thickened. Stir in chicken, peas, corn and potatoe mixture; remove from heat. 

3. Unroll a pastry sheet into each of two 9-in (I had enough for a 10-in) pie plates; trim even with rims. Add potpie mixture. Top with remaining pastry. Trim, seal and flute edges. Cut slits on top of each pie. 

4. Bake 35-40 mins or until crust is lightly browned. let stand 15 mins before cutting. 

Freeze option: Cover and freeze unbaked pies. To use, remove from freezer 30 mins before baking (do not thaw). Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place pies on baking sheets; cover edges loosely with foil. Bake 30 mins. Reduce oven setting to 350 degrees; bake 70-80 mins longer or until crust is golden brown and a thermometer inserted in centre reads 165. 

Firecracker Chicken

This chicken is so good my picky son even LOVED it. He keeps asking me to make it. There is a lot of sugar but we can indulge once in awhile right? ;) 

It's nice and spicy too! 

Recipe from damndelicious you can see original recipe HERE. I double the sauce.

Ingredients

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks (I used Costco ones)

Salt and ground black pepper

1/2 cup cornstarch

2 large eggs, beaten

1/4 cup vegetable oil

For the sauce:

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar

2/3 cup buffalo sauce, or more to liking (I used Frank's Red Hot)

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, or more to liking

Instructions

- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Coat a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick spray. 

- To make the sauce, whisk together sugar, buffalo sauce, vinegar, salt and red pepper flakes.  Set aside. 

- In a large bowl, season chicken with salt and pepper to liking. Stir in cornstarch and gently toss to completely coat chicken.

- Heat oil in a large saucepan.  

- Working a small batch at a time, dip the chicken into the beaten egg then add carefully to oil and cook just until outside is golden brown on each side. Chicken will be still raw inside. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.

- Put chicken in the prepared baking dish. Top with sauce mixture. Place into oven and bake until the sauce has thickened and chicken is done. About 45 mins, turning over every 15 mins to evenly coat. 

Serve immediately with rice. 

Chicken and Bacon Pasta

Was looking for a pasta dish I could put chicken and spinach in and came across this one...It had me at "bacon". I mean look at that  picture...yum! This was so good! I'll be making this one often!. Original recipe found HERE.

Ingredients

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast (2 frozen Costco size defrosted)

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp Italian herb seasoning (thyme, oregano, basil)

2 cups cherry tomatoes cut in half (or you can use roma tomatoes cut up)  

2 cups fresh spinach

2 tbsp of minced garlic (5 cloves minced)

1 tbsp crushed red pepper (or less if you don't like things too hot)

6 bacon strips, cooked, drained and broken into pieces. 

1/2 -1 cup half and half

3/4-1 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

10 oz penne pasta (I used Catelli gluten free)

grated parmesan and red pepper flakes for serving. 

Directions

1. Cook bacon however you like, drain and set aside. 

2. Cut up chicken breasts into strips (not too thin). In a large skillet, on high heat, heat 2 tbsps of olive oil until hot. Add chicken and cook on one side for about a min. Sprinkle uncooked side with paprika and Italian seasoning. Flip the chicken over and sprinkle more seasoning on the other side. Cook again for about a min. Keep flipping if needed and cook until no longer pink. Remove from pan and keep warm. 

3. To the same pan, add chopped tomatoes, spinach, garlic, crushed red pepper, 1/2 of the chicken and half the bacon pieces. Mix everything. Cover and cook for a bit until the spinach cooks down. 

4. Add half and half to desired consistency. Depending on how juicy your tomatoes are you may not need all the half and half. Bring to a boil. Once boiling add the shredded Parmesan cheese-immediately reduce to simmer and stir while simmering until the cheese melts and makes the sauce creamy, only about 1 min. Then, immediately remove from heat. 

5. In the meantime, cook pasta as directed on packaging. Drain. 

6. Add pasta to the skillet with the sauce and stir to combined.  Add remaining half of bacon. To serve, top with Parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes and chicken strips. 

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

This was yummy comfort food. A lower fat and calorie version but definitely did not lack in taste. So great for left overs the next day too!

This recipe comes from skinnytaste.com

Makes 6, 1-1/2 cup servings

Ingredients

1/4 cup flour (2 tbsp cornstarch to make gluten-free)

2 cups water

4 cups fat free milk (or 1%)

1 large celery stalk, chopped

1/2 medium chopped onion

8 oz sliced baby portabella mushrooms

2 chicken bouillons

fresh ground pepper

pinch of thyme

10 oz frozen classic mixed veggies (peas, carrots, green beans, corn)

2 potatoes, peeled and cubed small

16 oz cooked chicken breast, diced small

salt

Directions

Create a slurry: combined 1/2 cup of the cold water with flour in a medium bowl and whisk until well blended. Set aside. 

Pour remaining water and milk into a large pot and slowly bring to a boil. Add celery, onion, mushrooms, chicken bouillon, thyme, fresh pepper, frozen veggies and return to a boil. Partially cover and simmer on low until vegetables are soft, about 20 mins. Remove lid, add potatoes and cook until soft, about 5 mins. Add chicken, and slowly whisk in slurry, stirring well as you add. Cook another 2-3 mins, until soup thickens, adjust salt and pepper to taste and serve. 

Sheet Pan Fajitas

These are so good! You can eat them in little flour or corn tortillas or even put them on rice. So easy and so yummy! Recipe adapted from Laughing Spatula. 

Ingredients

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts - cut into thin slices. 

1 red pepper - sliced 

1 green pepper - sliced

1 yellow pepper - sliced

1/2 large onion - sliced

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tsp cumin

2 tsp chili powder

pinch of chili flakes (or as much as you want)

1 package of Fajita mix

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

In a small bowl combine oil, chili powder, cumin, chili flakes, and 1/2 pack of Fajita mix

In a large bowl toss chicken and sliced veggies with the oil mixture together until well coated. 

Place some parchment paper on the bottom of a cookie sheet. 

Spread out the chicken veggie mix

Sprinkle the remaining package of Fajita mix on top. 

Back for 30 mins until chicken is cooked and the veggies are soft with crispy edges. 

Serve with warm tortillas (really good if you cook them in a pan until they brown vs the microwave), sour cream, avocado or guacamole and all your favorite fixins or serve over rice with some cilantro and fixins on top. 

Asian Lettuce Wraps-Gluten Free

The first time I had lettuce wraps was in Hawaii and I fell in love..yup..me and the lettuce wraps in Hawaii. Well since then I've had them at a couple of other places and they are just so good. I was looking for a gluten free recipe for a work get together and came across this one and I'm in love all over again! My family loved this one so much..my husband especially, because this one is on the spicier side and he basically wanted me to shovel it into his mouth.  Ya, it's that good! Recipe adapted from Gluten Free Zen. 

Ingredients

1 lb ground turkey or chicken

1 Green bell pepper, finely chopped 

4 Garlic cloves, minced. 

2 Tbsp freshly grated ginger (I used the paste)

1 Jalapeno, seeds removed and diced

4 Green onions, thinly sliced

1 8oz can water chestnuts, drained and chopped

8 Tbsp sweet chili sauce (I had the spicy sweet chili sauce so only put in 4 Tbsp)

3 Tbsp Sesame oil

7 Tbsp Soy Sauce ( I used gluten-free kikkoman) 

3 Tbsp Sriracha Sauce (cuz it goes good with about everything!)

4 Tbsp Fresh Cilantro, chopped (optional-I didn't use it)

Olive oil

Iceberg Lettuce (or any type of lettuce you like)

Directions

I used my mini chopper for all the chopping, except the green onion. 

Place the ground meat in a bowl and add the bell pepper, garlic, ginger, jalapeno, and green onions. Mix to combine. 

Drizzle the olive oil in a large skillet and heat on medium-high. Add the chicken mixture and cook until meat is done. It will turn a pale colour, don't cook it until it is browned, the garlic with burn and the meat will be tough. Once the meat is done, add the chili sauce, sesame oil, soy sauce, Sriracha, water chestnuts, and cilantro. Stir to combine and simmer for 5 mins. 

Place filling on individual crisp lettuce and enjoy! 

Crispy Ranch Chicken

Found this recipe on SparkRecipes which the family loved. Chicken was very juicy and the coating has a great flavour and crispiness comes from Rice Krispies! You can make them as fine or as coarse as you like. So Good!

Ingredients

4 or 5 (depending on size) skinless chicken breasts

1/2 of a 1 oz package ranch dressing mix

2 cups crispy rice cereal

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

2 egg whites (beaten)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix the rice cereal, ranch mix and parmesan cheese together in a large Ziploc bag. Use a rolling pin, crush the cereal as much as desired. Dip the chicken in egg whites, (sometimes I skip the egg if it's moist enough from defrosting) then put in the bag and shake well to coat evenly. Arrange chicken on greased baking sheet. Bake for about 20 mins then turn over and cook another 15 or until nice and golden. 

Sweet & Sour Chicken Wings

I've made these many times and tend to eat too many of them because they are so good! This sticky sweet recipe was found by my sister-in-law Karen, who is an amazing cook. We have used drumsticks  in this recipe but prefer chicken wings. I added the chili flakes to the recipe because..well..we like our food spicy :) 

Ingredients

Enough wings to cover a 9x13 pan or about 10-12 drumsticks.
3 Tbsp Soya Sauce
3 Tbsp water
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
crushed chili flakes to taste (optional)

Dip the wings in beaten egg then toss in flour with salt and pepper added. (using a Ziploc bag is handy for this). Fry until golden brown on both sides then place in a 9x13 pan. Mix the sauce ingredients in a med sauce pan and bring to a boil, pour over chicken. Doubling the sauce ingredients will give you extra sauce to pour over rice as well if you wish.

Cook in 350 degrees oven for 1 1/2 hours turning the wings every 1/2 hour. Sprinkle the chili flakes to the chicken once you take them out of the oven if desired. 

Easy Garlic Chicken

This recipe is super easy and the chicken is juicy and yummy. Recipe is from Food.com.

Ingredients

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

4 garlic cloves, minced

4 Tbsp brown sugar

1 Tbsp olive oil

additional herbs and spices, as desired

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking dish or cookie sheet with aluminum foil and lightly coat with cooking spray or brush with oil.

2. In small pan saute garlic with the oil until tender.

3. Remove from heat and stir in brown sugar. Add additional herbs and spices as desired.

4. Place chicken breasts in a prepared baking dish andcover with the garlic and brown sugar mixture. 

5. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

6. Bake uncovered for 15-30 mins, or until juices run clear. Cooking time with depend on the size and thic

Fabulous Chicken Pot Pie

Nothin` like comfort foods. This one is yummy and easy. Grab a rotisserie chicken to make it even faster.
Recipe comes from allrecipes.com




Ingredients

1/4 cup butter
1 small onion, chopped
3 celery ribs, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
2/3 cup frozen peas
3 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley (1 tbsp dried)
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken broth
2/3 cup half-and-half cream
salt and ground black pepper to taste
3 cups cooked chicken, cut into bite-size pieces
1 cans refrigerated flaky-style biscuits (such as Pillsbury)
1 egg yolk beaten
1 Tbsp water

Directions

1. Preheat over to 350F
2. Melt butter in a skillet over med-low heat and cook the onion, celery, and carrots until the celery and carrots are tender, about 15 mins, stirring occasionally. Stir in peas, parsley, thyme and flour, and cook, stirring constantly, until the flour coats the vegetables and begins to fry, about 5 mins. Whisk in chicken broth and half-and half, and cook until the sauce is thick and bubbling. Season to taste with salt and black pepper, and mix in the chicken meat.
3. Transfer the chicken , vegetables, and sauce into a 2 quart deep baking dish. Arrange biscuits on top of the filling. in a small bowl, beat egg yolk with water; brush egg yolk on the biscuits.
4. Bake in the preheated over until the biscuits are golden brown and the pie filling is bubbling, about 20 mins let rest 10 mins before serving.

New Classy Chicken

I've been wanting more recipes with curry and this is a yummy one.  I got the idea from a friend at work..thanks Shelly! I did do some modifying and combined her recipe with another one I found. so thanks also to Megan at Playing With My Food!




Ingredients

• 1 1/4 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cups broccoli florets
• 1/2-1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs 
• 2 teaspoons butter, melted
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (can use gluten free all-purpose)
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup skim or 2% milk
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt (I use greek yogurt)
• 1/2 cup light mayonnaise
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked jasmine or basmati rice

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350F.  Place chicken on a plate and season with salt and pepper.  In a large pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Saute the chicken in the pan for 5 - 7 minutes, or until browned and no longer pink inside. 
2. Lightly grease a shallow 9x9 baking dish or any dish large enough to hold the chicken in a single layer. Transfer the chicken to the baking dish.
3. Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook broccoli for 1 minute. Drain right away and spoon the broccoli over the chicken.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, curry powder, broth, milk, yogurt, and mayonnaise. Pour the sauce over the chicken mixture. 
5. Sprinkle the chicken mixture with the cheddar cheese. 
6. In a small bowl, toss the bread crumbs with the melted butter, and sprinkle over the chicken mixture. 
7. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling and the top is golden brown (letting sit for minutes or so after it comes out of the oven).  Cook rice according to package directions and keep warm until the casserole is ready. 
Serve on top of the rice.  Enjoy!


Shelly's original Recipe for Classy Chicken
4-6 chicken breasts
1 can mushroom soup
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp realemon juice
1 pkg frozen broccoli
2 cups grated cheese

Brown chicken breasts. Layer in 9x13 inch baking pan. layer broccoli over top. Pour sauce consisting of soup, mayo, curry powder, lemon juice over top. Cook 350F for 30-35 mins adding the cheese to melt the last 10 mins. Serve with rice  (I doubled the sauce and used 1 can of mushroom and 1 can of cream of chicken. I did 6 chicken breasts-was good to have the extra sauce) I recommend cutting up the chicken a bit also with this one for faster cooking.

Chicken Enchiladas

So this picture isn't really how they look but everyone uses enchilada sauce and this recipe doesn't. You would be lucky to even find enchilada sauce in my town.  When we head across the border we stock up on enchilada sauce but I use it for my smothered burritos..which is super easy and I will post that recipe as well. But for this one I use salsa and it is so easy and so yummy! I got the recipe out of a family cookbook and I'm not sure where she got the recipe from or if she created it. It's one of my family's favorites though. 

Ingredients

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

1 1/2 cups finely chopped, precooked chicken

1 1/2 cups salsa 

1/2 pkg brick cream cheese

2 Tbsp margarine

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp onion salt

 8 small flour tortillas

(I usually double everything and use 6 large flour tortillas)

Directions

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Melt margarine with onion salt in large skillet. Stir in chicken and 1/4 cup of the salsa. Add cream cheese and cumin. Stir until melted. Remove from heat. Add 1 cup of the cheese. Spoon equal amounts of the mixture onto the tortillas. Roll and place in non-greased baking dish with the seam side down (I usually put some salsa on the bottom) Top with remaining salsa and cheese. Bake for 20 mins. Serve with sour cream or our favorite is jalapeno sauce on top! Yum!

Kung Pao Chicken

We are big fans of Panda Express but don't have it in Canada and Kung Pao Chicken is my husband's favorite....so he has been going through some withdrawals.  We have come across sorta the same things here and there but nothing really as good or satisfying until..... YAY! I found the recipe they use at Panda Express.  It didn't list all the ingredients they use I noticed so I just looked at the picture and took a guess and tried to remember and whalah! So yummy! and really...not that hard to do. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do. 

Ingredients

1 pound or 2 good sized boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced very small, rinsed and drained. 

1 Tbsp cooking wine (I used white wine vinegar)

3 Tbsp soy sauce 

1/3 cup water (I didn't use this)

12 whole dry chili peppers (smaller than 3 inches; if longer, cut in half) -I couldn't find any in town so didn't use. But will use them next time I go in the city and fine them. 

1/4 cup diced green onion -don't go into the green part too much and cut about 1/2 inch think.

1 tsp minced ginger (I just squeezed some from a tube add as much or little as you like to taste)

1 tsp minced garlic (We like garlic so I added more than this)

1 small zucchini (about 1-1/2 cups, chopped 

1 red pepper, chopped

1 tsp crushed red chili pepper flakes. (since we didn't use the actual chili peppers I added more- only do this if you like it hot) 

1/2 Tbsp Cornstarch mixed with 1/2 Tbsp water (I didn't use this either)
1 tsp sesame oil
2 oz dry roasted peanuts (not knowing or wanted to know how much 2 oz is I chucked in 2 handfuls in)

Marinade
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 egg (haha..I laughed when I saw this)
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 Tbsp vegetable oil

1. Combine marinade ingredients. Add chicken; refrigerate at least 1 hour.
2. Combine wine, soy sauce and water (I didn`t use the water), set aside
3. Heat wok (or frying pan) on high heat about 10 sec or until getting hot. Add 2 Tbsp oil and heat well. Remove chicken from marinade (which for me it pretty much all came out except a little bit) and add to wok. Stir-fry until just done (if you cut the chicken small enough it should only take about a min for this). Remove and drain if needed.
4. If using the chili peppers add them now. Stir-fry until they darken. if wok becomes too dry, add 1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil.  Add green onion, ginger, garlic, pepper and zucchini. Stir fry for about a min, add crushed red chili flakes and stir for 5 secs.
5. Return chicken to wok; stir soy sauce/wine mixture and add; stir until sauce is mixed into the chicken and veggies well. (if you used water with the sauce wait until it boils then add cornstarch mix to thicken) Add sesame oil and peanuts. Stir and fold until ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Serve with rice or Chinese noodles..whatever you prefer. So very good! (my husband adds chili paste to his rice)

Hawaiian Haystacks

This is so easy and great because people can put on what they want and it can be as healthy as you want it to be using brown rice or quinoa and low fat soup and cream cheese. You can change this up to whatever your liking. I use Jasmine rice cooked in chicken broth and use the Creamy Italian Chicken posted in this blog.  So very good!

Toppings you can try:

cheese (whatever you like)

chow mein noodles

cut up celery

chopped peppers (any kind sweet or hot or both)

frozen peas thawed

shredded coconut

pineapple

green onion

tomatoes

slivered almonds. 

mushrooms