Fajita Marinade

I've held onto this recipe for over 8 years! It dates back to our newlywed days and when I use to hand write recipes and keep it in a tangible binder. :-) We lived in a small apartment complex in downtown Huntington Beach. Our next door neighbor was a friendly, vivacious lady and she shared this "TOP SECRET RECIPE" (don't you love that phrase ?? hahaha) from her ex-husband's popular local Mexican restaurant.

And we finally used it this summer for the first time! The internet took over recipes long ago, and my poor little black binder in the kitchen has not been opened very many times since.

I needed to write this recipe down on the blog since my paper with recipe on it has gotten really raggety and prob time to discard. This is the only pic I have of using that marinade. Altho we tried steak the first time with the marinade, it didn't really do much for the steak. So the next time, (and always now) I use chicken, which I think is awesome. And I started marinading veggies, too, in a separate container or ziplock. We've used it as skewers, and also for fajitas. And even leftover fajitas into quesadillas - which were quite amazing.

Marinade awesome for Chicken and Veggies.

3/4 cup orange juice

3/4 cup pineapple juice

1/8 cup Kikkoman Teriyaki Sauce

1/8 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon Lawry's salt

1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/4 teaspoon garlic (I use 2 fresh garlic cloves minced)

MARINADE OVERNIGHT. (Separate veggies from meat.)

Suggested Veggies:

Sweet or Red Onion

Bell peppers (any color)

Blue Cheese Chicken Wing Dip

I made this for our housewarming party this weekend and it was the BOMB! Big hit at the party.
Our realtor Mel is a fabulous cook and also does cooking classes on the side gave me a cookbook with some appetizer recipes, and this recipe was on the first page. After reading it, I thought it sounded so tasty, and I knew Jeremy would love it.

I bought a rotisserie chicken from Costco and shredded the meat the day before, so 1/2 before the party started I dumped all the ingredients into a saucepan and cooked til bubbly. You can serve it with celery sticks (my favorite), carrot sticks, chips, or baguette slices.

Ingredients : 

• 1 large rotisserie chicken, all meat shredded
• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 1/2 to 3/4 bottle (depends on the heat you can handle!!) of Frank's "Red Hot Wings Buffalo Sauce"
• 12-16 ounces (Lighthouse brand) blue cheese dressing

Combine all ingredients in medium saucepan; heat over low heat until hot and bubbly. Stir constantly. Spoon into serving dish.

PW's Asian Hot "drumsticks"

Howdy. This was a fun and different dinner I made last night. I made a mental note while watching one of the Pioneer Woman's shows on the foodnetwork when she did Superbowl party food, including Asian Hot Wings. So the other day while at grocery I saw these beautiful big Chicken drumsticks on sale, and thought I'd love to make a dinner vs. appetizer with a similar recipe. Especially after I bought PW's newest cookbook, that has the Asian Hot Wings as well as Peach-whisky BBQ drumsticks. I used the "sauce" recipe from the wings, and the chicken cooking method from the drumsticks; served it with white rice and steamed zucchini --- and voila, a tasty meal, indeed. The drumsticks were cooked low and slow (300 degrees for 1.5 hours) and the result was a completely tender juicy meat. I will use this same method in future for drumsticks with just bbq sauce. The sauce was delicious, and I didn't have the guts to make it as spicy as hers. I used 1 tsp vs. 1 tbsp. of red pepper flakes. And I used 1/2 of jalepeno vs 3-4 whole hotter peppers. My sauce still had kick, but suitable for me and Pearce (our 2 yr. old).

I used half of the sauce and brushed it on the drumsticks before baking. By the end it had kind of melted all to the bottom of the pan. I saved the remaining sauce to spoon on top for serving.

Here is my adapted version of PW's Asian Hot Wings

10 plump chicken drumsticks
2-3 Tablespoons butter
3/4 cup plum jelly (this was really hard to find. I called 3 grocery stores before finding it.)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger
2 tablespoons chopped red onions
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2-1 jalapeno, minced

1.  Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Heat butter in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Place chicken in pan skin side down. Brown both sides, then move to large baking dish.
2.  Add the plum jelly to a bowl. Then stir in the soy sauce and rice wine vinegar. Add the brown sugar, ginger, red onions, garlic, red pepper flakes and hot peppers. Stir to combine, and then pour it into a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook the sauce until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. Then turn off the heat.
3.  Brush/spoon the sauce over the top of each drumstick, reserving some sauce for serving.
4.  Cover and put dish in oven. Cook for 1 1/2 hours, then remove from oven.
5.  Serve chicken in dishes, and then spoon extra sauce over the top. Served with white rice and steamed zucchini.

chicken chow mein

I got Jeremy the book "Jamie's Food Revolution" for his birthday. We both read through the whole book within a couple days of getting it, and we both wanted to make this dish first! We got some lovely baby bok choy at a local Farmer's market and we gave it a go! It is fairly simple to make and pretty quick. A couple days later I improvised the same recipe but was missing about 3-4 of the ingredients, but still tasted good. So what I learned from this, is that Jamie teaches you how to use a wok and basic components and you can start making up your own stuff with what you have in your fridge and pantry.
I highly recommend the book.

chicken chow mein (my slightly modified version):
[2 servings]

• a thumb-sized piece of fresh root ginger
• 2 cloves of garlic
• a squirt of Sriracha sauce
• 1 large skinless chicken breast, thinly sliced
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 green onions, sliced
• a small bunch of cilantro
• 1 bok choy (he says spinach is a fine substitute if you don't have bok choy)
• a bundle of medium egg noodles
• vegetable oil (if I had peanut oil, I would have used that)
• 1 heaped teaspoon corn starch
• a small can of water chestnuts
• 2–3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 small lime




To prepare your stir-fry
• Boil a pot of water (for the noodles and bok choy)
• Peel and finely slice the ginger and garlic
• Slice the chicken into finger-sized strips and lightly season with salt and pepper
• Cut the ends off your green onions and finely slice
• Pick the cilantro leaves and put to one side, and finely chop the cilantro stalks
• Halve the bok choi lengthways

To cook your stir-fry
• Preheat a wok or large frying pan on a high heat and once it’s very, very hot add a good lug of peanut (or vegetable) oil and swirl it around
• Stir in the chicken strips and cook for a couple of minutes, until the chicken browns slightly
• Add the ginger, garlic, chilli, cilantro stalks, and half the green onions
• Stir-fry for 30 seconds, keeping everything moving round the wok quickly
• Add your noodles and bok choy to the boiling water and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, no longer
• Meanwhile, add the corn starch, water chestnuts and their water to the wok and give it another good shake to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom
• Remove from the heat and stir in 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
• Halve the lime, squeeze the juice of one half into the pan and mix well
• Drain the noodles and bok choi in a colander over a bowl, reserving a little of the cooking water
• Stir in the noodles and bok choi, with a little of the cooking water to loosen if necessary, and mix well
• Have a taste and season with more soy sauce if needed

To serve your stir-fry
• Use tongs to divide everything between two bowls or plates, or to lift on to one large serving platter
• Spoon any juices over the top and sprinkle with the rest of the green onions and the cilantro leaves
• Serve with lime wedges

Thai Peanut Noodles

Like I said yesterday, I love the Our Best Bites cookbook. This recipe is from their cookbook, as well. This was Jeremy's birthday dinner request. I've had it flagged ever since I bought the book. This was delicious, and I quote Jeremy "heaven in my mouth". Pretty simple and quick to make. Chicken is listed only as side note as optional. However, I think it's a must! Especially when you are feeding a hungry man. :-)

This recipe has been added to our regular dinner rotation.

Thai Peanut Noodles:

1 chicken breast, very thinly sliced
1/2 c. chicken broth
3 Tbsp. creamy peanut butter
1-2 tsp. Sriracha chili sauce (1 is mild with a bite, 1.5 is medium, 2 is hot)
1 1/2 Tbsp. honey
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 1/2 Tbsp. fresh minced ginger
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
8 oz. Udon or linguine noodles
Chopped green onions
Chopped cilantro
2 limes, cut into quarters
Chopped peanuts

1. Cook noodles in salted water.
2. Stir-fry very thinly-sliced chicken in some olive oil with a couple cloves of garlic, some fresh ginger, some green onions, soy sauce, and a small squirt or two of Sriracha chili sauce.
3. In the meantime, combine chicken broth, peanut butter, chili sauce, honey, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk until smooth and remove from heat.
4. Toss cooked noodles with sauce and divide among 4 bowls. Sprinkle with green onions, cilantro, chopped peanuts, and garnish each serving with 2 lime quarters.
5. Before eating, squeeze lime juice over noodles and stir to combine.

Louisiana Chicken Pasta with creamy cajun sauce

Chicken:
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons flour

Cajun Sauce:
1 tablespoon butter
1 small yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 small red bell pepper, chopped
3/4 small red onion, chopped
3 whole garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 1/4 pints whipping cream
1 cup low-salt chicken broth
4 tablespoons fresh basil, thinly sliced
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 package bow-tie pasta
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
salt and peper

Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add yellow and red bell peppers, mushrooms, and onion to same skillet and saute until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes.

Add minced garlic and crushed red pepper to skillet and saute 2 or 3 minutes.

Add whipping cream and chicken stock. Simmer until sauce re-heats and thickens slightly, about 5 minutes.

Add basil and 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese to sauce, stirring to incorporate. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low, simmer. Sauce will reduce and thicken.

Cook chicken:
Wash and drain chicken breasts. Pound until very thin, as thin or thinner then 1/4-inch thick (the thinner the chicken breasts the better).

Mix breadcrumbs, flour, and Parmesan cheese together. Place milk in dish for dipping.

Dip chicken in breadcrumb mixture and then in milk and then back in breadcrumbs.

Place in fry pan that the oil has been heated and fry at medium high temperature until golden, crisp, and cooked through. Add more oil as needed. Remove and drain chicken. Keep warm.

Meanwhile, cook bow-tie pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain and return to pot. Add sauce and toss to coat.

Place pasta with sauce on plate, and top with chicken breast. Serve, passing additional Parmesan separately.

(recipe found here. Servings: 6)

chicken tortilla soup with lots of veggies

Chicken Tortilla Soup (Similar to Cafe Rio)
This recipe is a cross between one in my Huntington Beach ward cookbook and "Our Best Bites"

2 cooked and cubed chicken breasts
3 T. olive oil
1 large sweet onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
3 stalks celery diced
2 or 3 handfuls of diced carrots
4-6 garlic cloves minced or pressed
48 ounce giant box of chicken broth
1 15-oz. can chopped or diced tomatoes
2 jalapeno peppers, finely chopped (and seeded)
2-3 limes freshly juiced
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
dash of cumin
dash of red chili powder
dash of cayenne
2 flour tortillas, cut in small strips

TOPPINGS:
2-3 flour tortillas, plus oil for pan frying
Avocado
Grated Monterrey cheese
chopped cilantro
a few more slices of lime for individual squeezing :-)

While the chicken breast were boiling, that's when I chopped all the veggies.

In a large stockpot, heat some olive oil over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion, bell pepper, celery, and carrot and saute 4 minutes. Add garlic and jalapeno and cook a few minutes more until pepper is softened and garlic is fragrant. Add chicken broth,  tomatoes, and seasonings and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and allow to simmer for one hour.

While soup is simmering, juice the limes and set aside. Start preparing the toppings: grate the cheese, chop the cilantro, cut up avocado and fry tortillas.  Right before serving, add lime juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Ladle soup into the bowls and add desired toppings.

Chicken Enchiladas with Roasted Tomatillo Chile Salsa

Image Courtesy of FoodNetwork.com

I've held onto this recipe for a couple years now, waiting until the day I would have enough time to make something so labor intensive. When I first saw Tyler Florence on TV making this, I could smell the roasted tomatillo sauce and enchiladas through the TV. I'm a sucker for enchiladas, and a bigger sucker for "green sauce". This was just as good as I imagined and smelled it to be a couple years back. Well worth all the effort!! And it knocked Jeremy's socks off, too!! =)

So here is the modified recipe that I did:

Roasted Tomatillo Chile Salsa:
1 pound tomatillos, husked
1 white onion, peeled and quartered
4 to 5 garlic cloves
2 jalapenos
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves
1/2 lime, juiced

Enchiladas:
Extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 medium sweet onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken stock, store bought
Chopped cilantro leaves
3 Chicken breast, cooked and shredded (or you could use 1 deli roasted chicken, meat shredded)
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
14-16  medium flour tortillas
1/2 - 1 pound Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
2 cups sour cream
Chopped tomatoes and cilantro leaves, for garnish

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

For the salsa:
On a baking tray, roast tomatillos, onion, garlic and jalapenos for 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the roasted vegetables and any juices on the bottom of the tray to a food processor. Add the cumin, salt, cilantro, and lime juice and pulse mixture until well combined but still chunky.

Enchiladas:
Meanwhile heat a 2 count of olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and caramelized - this should take 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cumin then cook for a further minute. Sprinkle on the flour and stir to ensure the flour doesn't burn then gradually add the chicken stock to make a veloute. Continue stirring over a low simmer until the flour cooks and the liquid thickens. Turn off the heat, add half of the roasted tomatillo chile salsa, some additional fresh chopped cilantro and fold in the shredded chicken meat. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Change the temperature of the oven to 350 degrees F and begin assembling the dish. Take a large baking dish and smear the bottom with some of the reserved tomatillo salsa. Now take the flour tortillas and briefly flash them over the stove-top flame (or put them briefly under the broiler if using an electric stove). Using a shallow bowl, coat each tortilla lightly with the reserved salsa mix. Put a scoop of the shredded chicken-enchilada mix on top of the tortilla followed by a sprinkle of the shredded cheese. Fold the tortilla over the filling and roll like a cigar to enclose it. Using a spatula place the tortillas in the baking dish and continue to do the same with all the tortillas. Finally pour over some more of the salsa and top with the remaining shredded cheese. Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes until bubbly and cracked on top. Garnish, cilantro and tomato.

Serve hot with the remaining tomatillo salsa and sour cream.

Pioneer Woman's Chicken Parmigiana

This is FANTASTIC!! (I'm channeling my best Tyler Florence impression.)

I recently started reading The Pioneer Woman's blog, and I thoroughly enjoy it. I saved about 15 recipes from her site that I want to try. But this one caught my eye the most. Either that, or I already had 2 large chicken breasts in the fridge. The smells of the kitchen are fantastic, and tasting the sauce as I was going was even better. And even fantastic for my lunch leftovers today.

(Adapted from Pioneer Woman)

Ingredients:
4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, Trimmed And Pounded Flat (1/4 - 1/2")
1/3 cups All-purpose Flour
Salt And Pepper, to taste
1/3 cups Olive Oil
1 Tablespoons Butter
1 whole Medium Onion, Chopped
3 cloves Garlic, Minced
1/3 cup of chicken stock
1 large can (28 Oz.) Crushed Tomatoes
1 Tablespoons Sugar
Handful  Chopped Fresh Parsley
1/2 - 3/4 cup Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/2 pound Thin Linguine

Directions:

• Mix flour, salt, and pepper together on a large plate.
• Dredge flattened chicken breasts in flour mixture. Set aside.
• At this time, you can start a pot of water for your pasta. Cook linguine until al dente.
• Heat olive oil and butter together in a large skillet over medium heat. When butter is melted and oil/butter mixture is hot, fry chicken breasts until nice and golden brown on each side, about 2 to 3 minutes per side.
• Remove chicken breasts from the skillet and keep warm.
• Without cleaning skillet, add onions and garlic and gently stir for 2 minutes. Pour in splash of chicken stock and scrape the bottom of the pan, getting all the flavorful bits off the bottom. Allow stock to cook down until reduced by half, about 2 minutes.
• Pour in crushed tomatoes and stir to combine. Add sugar and more salt and pepper to taste. Allow to cook for 30 minutes. Toward the end of cooking time, add chopped parsley and give sauce a final stir.
• Carefully lay chicken breasts on top of the sauce and completely cover them in grated Parmesan. Place lid on skillet and reduce heat to low. Allow to simmer until cheese is melted and chicken is thoroughly heated. Add more cheese to taste.
• Place cooked noodles on a plate and cover with sauce. Place chicken breast on top and sprinkle with more parsley. Serve immediately.

Teriyaki Sesame chicken pasta

We went to a fun ward pizza party at the Bishop's house last night. They have an outdoor pizza oven and everyone got to make their own mini personalized pizza. Bishop's wife made homemade pizza sauce and dough that was fantastic.

So Jeremy signed me up to bring a salad. I usually always sign up for dessert (vs. salad), so I was a bit nervous but up for the challenge. I looked through my file folder of recipes I've collected over years but haven't gotten around to making yet. I found this one torn out from a Taste of Home Magazine from August 2007. Yum Yum Yum!! I made it Thursday night first to make sure it was good, and it sure was!! I was snacking on it all day Friday. This isn't a very good picture, but feel I always have to have a picture when posting a recipe.



Teriyaki Sesame Chicken Salad
1 package (16 oz.) bow tie pasta
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup white wine vinegar (I didn't have this so i used half red wine vinegar/half rice wine vinegar)
2/3 cup teriyaki sauce (I used Soy Vay Veri Veri Teriyaki which I would recommend using)
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 cans (11 oz each) mandarin oranges, drained
2 cans (8 oz. each) sliced water chestnuts, drained
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 package (9 oz) fresh spinach, torn
1 package (6 oz.) dried cranberries
6 green onions, chopped
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley
1/4 cup sesame seeds, (toasted in oven at 400 degrees for 3 minutes)

Cook Pasta according to package directions; drain and place in a very large bowl and add cubed chicken. In a small bowl, combine the oil, vinegar, teriyaki sauce, sugar and pepper. Pour over pasta and chicken and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Just before serving, add the remaining ingredients; gently toss to coat.
(Yield: 22 servings at 1 cup each)

Thai chicken peanut noodles

I saved this recipe from the Sister's Cafe a long time ago. I've been on a cooking roll lately! And I love it! This is one of Jeremy's and my new favorites... seriously DELICIOUS!!! especially if you like Thai or peanut sauces. I changed just a few tiny little things in the recipe, so I wrote what I did below.



1 lb regular thin spaghetti noodles ( I only used 3/4 of noodles, because I didn't want to dilute the sauce too much.)
2 garlic clove, peeled
1 (1 inch) piece of fresh ginger, peeled
½ Cup smooth peanut butter
2 Tablespoons sesame oil
¼ Cup soy sauce
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
1 scant teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
½ Cup hot water
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3/4 Cup finely chopped white onion
½ Cup finely chopped red or orange bell pepper
2½ - 3 Cups cooked, shredded chicken breast
¼ Cup finely chopped cilantro leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
¼- ½ Cup dry roasted peanuts, chopped

First I boiled 2-3 chicken breast for 10 minutes. And then boiled the noodles according to package. And while the chicken was boiling and noodles a-brewin', I made the sauce.

The sauce was incredibly EASY to make in the food processor.
Place garlic and ginger in food processor until well chopped. Then add peanut butter, sesame oil, soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar and red pepper flakes. Pulse until well combined and slowly add hot water. Set aside.


{picture of sauce before pouring in hot water.}

Place olive oil in hot skillet over medium heat. Saute onion and bell pepper for 5 minutes or until softened. Stir in chicken breast, cilantro and salt. Stir until heated through.


Add sauce.


Then Add the chicken and sauce mixture to pot of drained noodles. Toss to coat and garnish with peanuts and more cilantro if desired.

foiled wrapped dinner

The last time we were at Jeremy's parents home, I raided Leslie's (my mother-in-law) cookbooks and recipe box for recipes. She is an amazing cook, and Jeremy raves about her meals growing up all the time. I tried to type as many recipes as possible until my fingers got tired.

I found this particular recipe in her recipe box, so this one Jeremy said his mom made more than once. It was fun doing something different with chicken. It kinda reminded me as a kid when my mom made us foil dinners for a camp-out that were super yummy. Don't remember what was in them exactly.

Anyways... here is a quick picture of the chicken foil packages before I wrapped them and put them on cookie sheet in oven.

• 4 bone, skinned chicken breast
• Dijon mustard
• Flour
• 4 green onions, sliced
• 4 T. butter
• 4 mushrooms
• 4 T. soy sauce

Brush chicken on both sides with mustard. Roll in flour. Place on square of foil. Divide onions and mushrooms between breasts. Add 1 T. butter, 1 T. soy sauce to each package. Wrap and seal in foil. Bake 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve over rice.

Chicken Dorito Casserole

This was one of me and my siblings favorite meals as kids that our mom would make. What kid wouldn't love Doritos in their dinner? I was chatting with my college brother earlier this week and he said he was making this, so I've been craving it ever since. A major bonus, a large bag of Doritos were on sale at Target for $2.50.  This is a yummy home-style meal especially great for kiddos.

Here is a picture before I put in oven. I serve individually with sour cream on top. And also sprinkle some leftover chips on top for some crunch.



2 cans cream of chicken
1 can cream of mushroom
1 can Ro-Tel
1/2 cup - 3/4 cup water
1 big bag Nacho Cheese Doritos
2 chicken breast, cooked and shredded or cubed
Sour cream (for topping)

combine all can ingredients, and add some water to make it a little soupy (no too soupy). Layer half of chips, then half of chicken, then half of soup mix. Repeat layers, then top with shredded cheese. Serve with sour cream.

Apricot chicken hash

This morning I was watching the "Today" show while rocking/feeding baby. They happened to be cooking a "low calorie and less than 30 minute meal". their words not mine. because after I was done, it definitely took more than 30 minutes (but still less than an hour, so that's good)... anyways I thought it looked interesting and different than anything i've ever made. i've never even thought of cooking with chicken thighs. and it turned out pretty good. i give it a 7.5 out of 10.  It's called Apricot Chicken and Hash. And here is the link to the Today show recipe.


it's too bad whenever i'm taking pictures of meals/food i make its usually at dinner time when there is now natural light left. bummer. so my food pictures always turn out kinda dark and yellowy... but i still wanted to include a picture anyways, because i don't like making anything that doesn't have a picture.

INGREDIENTS
• 8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (1 3/4 pounds)
• 1 tablespoon lower-sodium soy sauce ( i used enough soy sauce to coat all the chicken-i didnt measure)
• 1 pound red potatoes, unpeeled
• 1 large red pepper
• 3 tablespoons apricot jam
• 1 tablespoom fresh lemon juice
• 11/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 4 green onions, thinly sliced, plus additional for garnish

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 425°F. In large bowl, combine chicken and soy sauce; let stand. Cut potatoes and red pepper into 1/2-inch pieces. In small bowl, mix jam and lemon juice until blended.
2. In large microwave-safe bowl, combine potatoes and ¼ cup water. Cover with vented plastic wrap and microwave on high 5 minutes or until potatoes are just tender. Drain.
3. Meanwhile, spread chicken on foil-lined 18-inch by 12-inch jelly-roll pan; brush with jam mixture. Roast 15 to 17 minutes or until meat is no longer pink inside.
4. While chicken roasts, in 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil on medium 1 minute.
5. Add pepper and cook 3 minutes, stirring. Stir in potatoes, green onions, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook 5 to 7 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring.
Skim and discard fat from pan juices; serve chicken and hash with juices. Garnish with green onions.

Each serving: About 435 calories, 43 g protein, 44 g carbohydrate, 9 g total fat (2 g saturated), 5 g fiber, 164 mg cholesterol, 435 mg sodium.

Stuffing Chicken

This is Jeremy's most favorite meal that his mom made growing up, and it has also become one of my faves too! And it's a great meal for when you have company over or need to bring a meal to someone. We usually serve it with Cashew-Rice Pilaf, which I've already posted the recipe to here.

4 boneless chicken breasts halves
4-6 slices of swiss cheese
1 can cream of chicken-mushroom soup
1/4 cup chicken stock
1 cup (or more!) of Stove Top stuffing mix
3-4 Tablespoons melted butter

1) Place chicken in 13x9" pan.
2) Top each breast with a slice of Swiss cheese.
3) Mix together the soup and chicken stock. Pour over chicken.
4) Then Sprinkle Stove Top stuffing Mix and drizzle with melted butter.
5) Bake, uncovered, for 50 minutes in a 350 degrees oven.

Served with Cashew-Rice Pilaf. And in a perfect world, I would have served with a veggie like grilled or steamed asparagus or something like that.

I'm guessing the reason I haven't posted this recipe yet, is because it's hard to get a pretty picture, because its very monochromatic. I debated whether to put up a picture, because it's not the best, but i hate recipes without pictures. so i'm putting it up anyways. :)

BBQ Chicken Pizza

We watched the Utah Utes dominate Alabama tonight in the Sugar Bowl. I love pizza whenever there is a good football game. Back in the day when me and Jeremy were dating, I made this BBQ Chicken Pizza for big and exciting games. I think the last time I made it was when his Seahawks were playing in the SuperBowl. Wheeew that was a long time ago! ;)

Here is a pic of me and my honey back in the day of that last game making the same pizza. And recipe is also below. I promise, it's reALLy yummy!!

INGREDIENTS

2-3 boneless chicken breast halves, cooked and cubed
1 cup hickory flavored barbeque sauce
1 tablespoon honey
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
1 (12 inch)  pizza crust
1 cup smoked Gouda cheese, shredded
1 cup thinly sliced red onion

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a saucepan over medium high heat, combine chicken, barbeque sauce, honey and brown sugar. Bring to a boil.
2. Spread chicken mixture evenly over pizza crust, and top with cheese and onions. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle cilantro on top and serve.

Here's what it looks like cooked:

Tomato Basil Chicken

I've been trying alot of my sister-in-law, Natalie's, recipes lately. And we made this last night, and it knocked our socks off!! I have to blog and share it. I put off trying this recipe for a while, because Jeremy hates tomatoes. He ended up LOVING this, and says this is fighting for first place as his all time favorite meal. WOWZA! You gotta love it when your husband, or any food guest for that matter, RAVES about the meal you prepared. I served it with Leslie's (my mother-in-law) Cashew Rice Pilaf - also one of Jeremy's favorite.

This picture doesn't do it justice. :)

Tomato-Basil Chicken
1 T. Butter
1/2 c. finely chopped onion
1 can (14 oz.) Italian seasoned tomatoes (if not already cut up, coarsely chopped)
1/2 c. julienned FRESH basil leaves
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1/2 c. heavy whipping cream

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Heat butter in skillet. Add onion and cook over medium heat until translucent, 5 min. Increase heat to high; add tomatoes and cook until liquid is almost evaporated, 5-10 min. Add cream and bring to boil; boil until slightly thickened, approx 3 min. Stir in basil, salt and pepper. Arrange chicken in shallow baking dish; pour sauce on top. Bake for 20-25 min.
(Serves 4)

the next time I made this dinner, i had fresh mozzerella, so i added slices of it on top of the chicken breast before i poured the sauce on. super good!

Cashew-Rice Pilaf
1/4 c. butter
1/3 c. finely chopped onion
1 c. uncooked regular long grain rice
2 c. chicken broth
1/2 - 1 tsp salt
1/2 c. cashews, coarsely chopped
1/4 c. chopped FRESH parsley

In large saucepan, melt butter. Saute onion until soft. Add rice; stir until coated. Stir in broth and salt. Cover; simmer 24-30 minutes until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. Stir in cashews and parsley.
(Serves 4)

Tex Mex Chicken Taco Soup - it's got cream cheese in it yall!!

I'm on a roll yall. I made dinner two nights in a row!! I printed this recipe about 2 years ago, and finally got around to making it. And we loved it! It's creamy and very tastey.

1/2 cup diced onions
1/2 cup diced green bell peppers
1 tablespoon minced garlic
Vegetable oil
1 pound chicken breasts, boiled and shredded
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 (8-ounce) jar salsa
1 (14-ounce) can kernel corn
1 (14-ounce) can hominy
1 (16-ounce) can ranch style beans
2 (4-ounce) cans tomato paste
2 (14-ounce) cans chicken broth
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese

Saute onions, green bell peppers, and garlic in a small amount of vegetable oil. Add chicken, taco seasoning mix, salsa, vegetables, beans, tomato paste, and chicken broth. Adjust liquid to your liking. Bring to a slow simmer and simmer for 20 minutes. Place cream cheese in a separate bowl. Using a measuring cup, take some of the hot liquid from the soup and pour over cream cheese to melt and then add back to the soup. Simmer on low for another 10 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips and grated Monterey jack cheese.
Also, great on the second day over rice.

Chicken Milano

My favorite dish at Macaroni Grill is their pasta milano. yummy. I found a comparable recipe online and gave it a whirl. It turned out excellent! The sauce was amazing. If you love pasta and creamy sauces, you will love this recipe!!

INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1 cup chicken broth, divided
1 cup heavy cream
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
8 ounces dry fettuccini pasta

DIRECTIONS
1. In a large saucepan over low heat, melt butter; add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and 3/4 cup of the chicken broth; increase to medium heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes or until the tomatoes are tender. Add the cream and bring to a boil; stirring. Simmer over medium heat until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
2. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides. In a large skillet over medium heat, warm oil and saute chicken. Press on chicken occasionally with a slotted spatula. Cook for about 4 minutes per side or until the meat feels springy and is no longer pink inside. Transfer to a board; cover and keep warm. Discard the fat from the skillet.
In the same skillet, over medium heat, bring 1/4 cup chicken broth to a boil; stirring the pan juices. Reduce slightly and add to the cream sauce; stir in basil and adjust seasonings to taste.
3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add fettuccine and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain, transfer to a bowl and toss with 3 to 4 tablespoons of the sauce.
4. Cut each chicken breast into 2 to 3 diagonal slices. Reheat the sauce gently if needed. Transfer the pasta to serving plates; top with chicken and coat with the cream sauce; serve.