Italian Herb and Garlic Chicken

I had another meal on the dinner menu that night, but forgot about the ahead of time prep it required and had got caught up with other things that evening. I pulled a Lipton box out of the pantry (always a nifty thing to have in there!) and decided to try it out. I thought it was okay, not good but not bad....however my husband really liked the flavor and gave it a thumbs up. I'll make it again if he remembers it.... :-)

Recipe:
3-4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
1 Packet Lipton Savory Herb & Garlic Dry Soup Mix
()
1/3 Cup Water
1 Tbs Olive Oil or Vegetable Oil
1 Can of Diced Tomatoes
1 Cup Mozzarella Cheese

1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Put chicken in 9x13 or 8x8 pan (which is what I did, since I only used 3 breasts). Pour can of tomatoes over chicken.

3.Mix water, oil, and soup mix. Pour over chicken and tomatoes.



4. Bake for 25 minutes. Put cheese on chicken and bake another 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked and cheese is melted.

Chicken and Rice Casserole

I am not a big fan of Casseroles, but this looked interesting. very easy to make, and I served it with the previous post of Wheat Bread. :) ... *Kid Approved* again! Wow, Carter really enjoyed this. I did not think he was going to take to it like he did. He was shoveling large portions into his mouth and even had seconds! Wow...this is noted for sure.

Recipe:
1 Tbs Butter 1 Medium Onion, peeled and diced
3 Cups diced, cooked chicken
2 (14.5 oz) Cans of green beans, drained and rinsed
1 (8 oz) can of water chestnuts, drained and chopped (or left whole if you like the large crunch)
1 (4 oz) jar of pimentos (I actually did not have any, so this was exempt)
1 (10.34oz) can of cream of celery
1 cup Mayonnaise (did not have this either! so, added a whole can of cream of chicken - it worked)
1 box of wild rice, cooked
1.5 Cups of Cheese
Pinch of Salt

1. Preheat oven to 350F

2. heat butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and add the onions. Saute until translucent - about 5 or so mins. Remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl.

3. Cook your wild rice, according to package.

4. Cook the chicken! I actually cooked 3 small breasts whole, then shredded and added to bowl. I like shredding better than having cubes awkwardly placed in my dish.

5. Add all remaining ingredients top a bowl and mix together until thoroughly combined.

6. Pour into a greased 3 quart casserole dish and bake for 20-25 mins, or until bubbly. Let stand for a few mins, than serve! Yes, it is that easy. :)

Toasted Tortilla Chicken Enchilada (kid approved!)

I have been trying to figure out stuff that Carter would like to eat. Some friends sent me a great line of ideas and when I was browsing different recipes the other day I saw this and thought Carter might like it! It seemed super easy and worth a shot. I perhaps added a little more cheese than needed, and scraped a lot off when I gave it to Carter. They are called Oven cooked tortilla chicken enchiladas. Super simple! Don came home late that night from school and took it upon himself to eat all the remaining leftovers. So apparently they were good enough for a full grown man too (though, I think Don would eat just about anything... must be that lack of a Y chromosome...)

Recipe:
2 Burrito sized Tortillas
2 Chicken breasts
Sour Cream
Cheese
1 Can Green Enchilada Sauce
Olives

1. Turn the oven on to 400F. After it is heated place 2 tortillas on a cookie sheet and place in the oven for about 10 mins, or until golden brown and crunchy.

2. Cook your 2 whole chicken breasts in a skillet until almost all white, then add your can of enchilada sauce. Slice into the thickest breast to see if it is cooked thoroughly, turn the heat down to a simmer and take your chicken and shred it - Placing the shredded pieces back into the skillet. Turn the temp back to medium and stir around all the chicken and sauce. After it is all well coated, take the skillet off the heat.

3. Spread sour cream over your now crispy tortillas (spread generously- then add the chicken evenly over the top. Sprinkle olives evenly, then add cheese.

4. Pop those yummy looking tortillas back in the oven for about 5 mins (until cheese is melted well) and TADA, you have a kid friendly meal! I used a pizza roller and sliced up the tortillas and Carter and I sat down to eat. When Don got home he smothered his in Salsa. Add whatever you would like. ENJOY!

Chicken Marsala

Carter actually liked this chicken recipe! Sorry, not going to write much- trying to catch my recipes up. Don and I liked it as well - nice and tender and the garlic made for a good flavor with the coating. :)



4Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts halves
1/4 Cup Flour
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
2 Tbs Olive oil
2 Gloves Garlic, finely chopped
1/4 Cup chopped parsley (or 1 Tbs parsley flakes)
1 cup of sliced mushrooms (I left this out, neither of us care for mushrooms)
1/2 cup Chicken Broth (or marsala wine, but I used the broth)


Mix flour, salt and pepper together. Then coat chicken with flour mixture. (I used a large zip lock bag, and just shook the chicken inside one by one)

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium (5/6) heat. Cook garlic and parsley in oil for about 5 mins, stirring frequently.

Add chicken to the skillet. Cook fully (white all the way through) Turning once, until brown. Add the mushrooms (if you want) and chicken broth now. Cook about 8-10 mins, turning chicken once.

Serve with pasta and/or veggies. I served mine with a creamy cheesy potato soup and snap peas. ENJOY!

Asian Orange Chicken

I am sorry everyone (everyone, being my 2 or 3 devout followers)!! I am still making food, but have been very busy and accidentally forgot to document a few of my creations...and then I was hit hard with a stomach virus last Monday and took the whole week to recover. I mean seriously, that virus wiped me out! The smell of food was revolting, so that was the last thing I wanted to use my ounces of energy toward. Carter got a little sick too, so this past week has just been a yucky one. I had some yummy sounding meals planned for that week too, oh well. I will just have to get my food groove on this week!

One meal I did make that I never posted on here...and that Don enjoyed thoroughly was an Asian Orange Chicken dish. Yum! I served over white rice with snow peas, carrots and chow mein noodles.

Recipe

Sauce:

1 1/2 cups water

2 tablespoons orange juice

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/3 cup rice vinegar

2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon grated orange zest

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

2 tablespoons chopped green onion

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

(for another bag)

3 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons water

Chicken:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut

into 1 inch cube pieces

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

3 tablespoons olive oil

	Okay now pour 1 1/2 cups water, orange juice, lemon juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce into a saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Stir in the orange zest, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, chopped onion, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat, and cool 10 to 15 minutes. Now place the chicken into a resealable plastic bag. When your saucepan has cooled, pour 1 cup of sauce into bag. Reserve the remaining sauce. Seal the bag, and refrigerate at least 2 hours. ( I only did about 30mins...the longer the better though!)
	In another resealable plastic bag, mix the flour, salt, and pepper. Add the marinated chicken pieces, seal the bag, and shake to coat. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat (4/5). Place the chicken in the skillet and brown on both sides. Scoop them out into a large bowl (don't worry, they are going back into the pan soon). Wipe out the skillet and add all the sauce. Bring this to a boil over a medium/high heat (6/8) Mix together the cornstarch and 2 Tbs of water - stir into the sauce. Reduce the heat to medium low and add the chicken pieces. Simmer and cook till chicken is tender and white in the middle. You are done my friend! Good job~ Now go sit down and enjoy your hard work. Yummy Bunny!

Creamy Cajun Chicken

My mother came to Arizona from Tennessee to visit us for the week. Unfortunately Carter got sick that weekend and was an extreme grumpaholic all week that she was here. Sorry mom! We did manage to go to the park a few times, but that was the extent of our exciting adventures. My mother and I did bake/cook a little though! After eating "Cafe Rio" on Monday (delicious restaurant in the western USA... mmmmmm) I tried out this recipe on Tuesday. It is called "Cream Cajun Chicken." I found it on delish.com and thought it looked interesting and wanted to give it a try. It smelled great, but was too hot for me. Hot, as in spicy. It was hot for my mother too, but she liked it - and as for Don he loved it and thought it was not hot at all! So, I guess it just depends on your level of tolerance. I think it would taste just as good without the cajun....but, I guess it would not be a creamy *cajun* chicken recipe then....
(oh, and p.s. I did forgot an important step/ingredient in this recipe!! That's what happens when you cook and take care of a sick kid at the same time) So this probably would taste 10x better with the... CREAM in it.... :-P haha ... I seriously thought something was off! Now I know...

Recipe:

• half a bag of rotini noodles
  
• 1 Tbs) canola oil
• 4 slices of Turkey bacon, chopped
• 1 large sweet onion, halved and thinly sliced
• about 1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken breast, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 medium green bell pepper, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 tsp Cajun seasoning
  
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 1 Tbs all-purpose flour
• 1 can (28-ounce) crushed tomatoes
• 1/3 cup reduced-fat sour cream

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta until just tender, 8 to 10 minutes or according to package directions. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a skilled about medium heat. Add bacon and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Add chicken, bell pepper, garlic, Cajun seasoning, and pepper. Cook stirring, until the onion and bell pepper are beginning to soften, about 4 minutes.
3. Add flour and stir to coat. Add tomatoes and their juice; bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring often, until the sauce is bubbling and thickened and the chicken is cooked through, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in sour cream. -----NOTE: I forgot about the sour cream!! Guess I left out the "creamy" part of my creamy cajun chicken) WHOOPS! - please include the cream people!
   
4. Stir the pasta into the sauce
5. Serve up! I sprinkled Parmesan cheese over mine :)
   
6. ENJOY~
   

Hoisin and Cranberry Chicken (**Good**)

Sounds kinda iffy, eh? Well don't hear... taste! :) It was fantastic! I improvised from the original recipe and made it my own. The chicken was very juicy and tender and the sauce ingredients complimented one another very well. My mother came into town this week and loved it! So did Don...and Carter thought it was "interesting". He was more into the ranch dressing and chips on top of the salad than anything else...

Recipe:
Turn oven on to 450F

• 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts. Trim all the fat off.
• Place in a gallon "Ziplock" bag:
• 1 Tbs Chinese Five-spice powder
• 1 tsp Salt
• and 3 Tbs white flour

Shake around the mixture in the bag then add your chicken. Bounce around the room and sing while you shake the bag, coating the chicken. The dancing and signing is very important. Do not skip that step...
Now spray a glass cooking dish and evenly space chicken out and cook for about 15-20 mins uncovered. Cut into your fattest chicken and make sure the meat is white.
(while chicken cooks)
In a Medium saucepan add:
1 can of Cranberries
1 and 1/4 Cup of Chicken Broth
3 Tbs of Hoisin Sauce
1 Tea of Brown Sugar
~1/4 cup of Lemon Juice

Mix well and bring to a boil slowly. (Careful, it foams up! - blow on the mixture if the froth gets too high) Then lower the temperature. Slowly mix in about 1 Tbs of flour to thicken the sauce up a bit. You could even add a tiny bit (1/4 tsp or so) of Corn Starch to help with the thickening. Mine was pretty runny...so no worries.

When the chicken is done take it out of the oven and pour generously the sauce over the top. Flip the chicken with a fork and cover both sides. Mmmmmm. Pour the rest of the sauce in a small bowl for dipping if desired.
Now transfer your delicious chicken to a plate and serve with whatever catches your fancy.
Enjoy~

(I served mine with a small salad and wild rice)

Thai Chicken Pizza

So I was in a Pizza mood but didn't want to order out or buy one.....even though I LOVE DiGiornos "Stuffed Crust" pizzas! (*drool*) I really have a problem with cheese and bread. Yikes! Anyway...wanting to venture out into the unknown I decided upon an interesting piece; a Thai flavored pizza! First reactions anyone? Well let me sum it up as an:

"Acquired YUM"
At first when I bit into it I was like...uh, hmmm (seriously, that's what I said). And then dished out some onto a plate, wrapped it and brought it to Don who was still studying on campus.

Me:"Here ya go Honey! *kiss*"
Don: "Mmmmm Pizza!"
Me: "Uhmmm, yeah. Though, honey, it tastes a little different. I experimented in the Thai genre, so be open minded with the flavors...oh, and the crust is homemade too and I probably should have cooked it longer."
Don: "Okay, well I am sure it is good. Thanks Ash. OHHHH is that a chocolate bar!!??"
(A.D.D.? ...ha, nope. I always include a treat...and who would'nt react to a c.bar? seriously...)

And there ya have it folks. A glimpse into my life. Now, onto the recipe. Perhaps the above did not sound like a 5 star rating for this dish but it was actually very good. It was different, and at first I did not care for it -probably because I am not use to ginger and peanut butter on my pizza- but it mixed well and brought a new yummy spin on a normally boring pizza. So I do recommend it to try! We did eat all the leftovers....so, that does say something!
RECIPES:

Pizza Crust-
(oven on at 400F)

• 2.5-3 Cups of Flour
• 1 package of Active Dry Yeast (I always use 1 Tbs of dry yeast from the jar)
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 C warm water (120-130F)
• 2 Tbs of Olive Oil

In a large bowl combine 1 and 1/4 Cup Flour with all the above ingredients. Mix well with an electric mixer or wooden spoon. (I normally use an over-sized mixing fork). Now add in as much of the remaining flour as possible (don't make it too dry though!)
Knead dough into a smooth and elastic ball and place in a greased bowl, covered, for about 10-15 mins. After the dough has risen punch down and roll out on a flat cooking sheet to a round circle. (remember to use your parchment paper from a previous entry!! Saves cleaning and dough sticking).
Stick that good looking homemade pizza crust in the oven for about 10-15 mins. Just until the crust starts to golden.

Thai Chicken Sauce:
I took about 2 chicken breasts (boneless/skinless of course), cooked thoroughly and then shredded.

• 1/4 cup(s) smooth natural peanut butter
• 3 tablespoon(s) water
• 2 teaspoon(s) soy sauce
• 2 teaspoon(s) rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoon(s) minced fresh ginger
• 1 clove(s) garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon(s) canola oil
• 1 green pepper
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced (I excluded these - forgot to buy- whoops!)
  
• shredded cheese

Take all the above ingredients (except for the green pepper) and mix them together in a bowl. Spread the mixture over the pizza crust, leaving just a little in the bowl to mix your shredded chicken around in--not much is needed for the chicken, so don't worry -- lather that crust up well! Toss the chicken into the rest of the sauce and mix around. Place the chicken evenly over the pizza then take the bell pepper and slice up and sprinkle over the chicken. Now put cheese over the top and stick back in the over for about 11-13mins. Mmmmm Enjoy~

BBQ Chicken topped with Turkey Bacon and Swiss Cheese

The other night I made a tantalizing dish that will please all men, even though chicken is used instead of steak( *gasp*). BBQ is the secret! What is it about men and BBQ? Not sure...but it almost always get's a 100% approval just because of the word Barbecue! :-P

So I made this to get the taste-buds of my man going:

I normally would have made this in a crock-pot so the chicken would soak and get extra tender, but time was of the essence this evening. I took about a 1.5lb of chicken breast and trimmed the fat and placed in the skillet. Then I loaded the skillet with Honey BBQ sauce. Just generously pour, turning the chicken around in it (coating both sides). Turn to about a 4 (low/medium) and let the chicken slowly cook. Cover the skillet if you have a top large enough. Flip the chicken every so often to make sure the BBQ is being applied and the chicken is cooking thoroughly. After cooking, check the fattest chicken piece by cutting through with a knife to make sure it is nice and white (pink=raw). Now turn the heat down to a warm/simmer and place a half strip or two of Bacon/Turkey Bacon (I only use Turkey Bacon) over each piece of chicken. Now take a slice of Swiss Cheese and lay on top, over the (T)Bacon. The heat will cause the cheese to melt nicely.

Whew, nice work y'all! You're done. Now dish up and serve with veggies, bread, fruit..whatever you like! I served with a mixed veggie combo, with some leftover homemade bread and a salad. YUM!

Sesame Chicken and Hot Lava Cake --Valentines Day!

February 14th....the most dreaded or anticipated love day of the year. Of course, I had someone to spend it with again, 5th year in a row might I add :) So what can you do on V-day with a husband in school, a 1 year old that you can't take to a busy late night restaurant and when the piggy bank looks anorexic? Make your own fabulous night of course!
I had text Don earlier that day and asked him to be home by 7:30pm because I made reservations at P.F. Chang's.-- (he was probably thinking I was crazy!!)-- So when he got home a few mins shy of 7:30 I had almost everything done :D He was surprised..and greatly relieved... because the thought of taking Carter to a restaurant during this busy night and at bed time is not a fun idea. So we fed and played with Carter (I had already given him his bath), we read scriptures, sang some songs and off to sleep he went. Don and I changed into some fancy fancy stuff, I took pictures and placed dinner on the table, lit the candles - turned Pandora (.com) on and we feasted to a lovely at home Valentines dinner.

Don and I

Let's EAT!

I made Sesame Chicken over white rice, with Chow Mein and Snow Peas.

Sesame Chicken, Fruit, Sparkle Drink and Candles...mmmm!

My hurried make-shift sign :D

Sesame Chicken Recipe:
You'll need one of these packets from your local grocery. Look in the Asian isle. I found Ingles or Albertsons carries them. I have ordered them from the company before too.
The directions are on the back of the seasoning packet...but this is how I do it:
Take about a pound of chicken and trim then cut into chunks.
Place chunks in a large sealed plastic bag with a 1/4 Cup of Soy Sauce and 1/4 Cup of Corn Starch, plus 2 Tbs of water. Mix around and marinate for 5-10 mins.
Get a large skillet out and pre-heat with Canola oil. Pour out the chicken and mixture and stir till chicken is brown and cooked thoroughly.
After the chicken is cooked pour in a little more oil, then the packet of seasoning along with 1/2 Cup of white sugar, and 1/4 cup of water. Mix all around and turn heat down to about a 3-4. The combination of seasoning and corn starch with will make the mixture nice and thick.
After the mixture is thick you can dish out over a bowl/plate of rice and add either Chow Mein Noodles, more Sesame Seeds or Cashews. :) ENJOY!
The fruit I used were Strawberries, Bananas and Watermelon. YUM!
--------------------------
Now for DESSERT!
(read all before making..warning tip)
I made a quick easy version of the Hot Lava Chocolate Cake.
I bought a cool GIANT cup cake pan at WalMart.
I used a box of Devils food Cake and mixed as directed. Then I filled both sides of my pan to 3/4 full. Popped in the oven and let cool afterward before transferring out of pan. (Make sure you grease your pan with Crisco or Pam Spray and then lightly flour, for the cakes can come right out!..I use Pam Spray Canola).
Take cakes out of pan and onto a cutting board or something similar.
Take a sharp long knife and cut a circle out of the top and carve out the cake "inners".
Save top and scraps. Now fill the cake with Hershey's Chocolate Syrup. Though, I am pretty sure next time I will use a higher quality chocolate - like a fondue type - Then stuff the scraps into your mouth, or give them to your child (which he then spits out all onto the floor and steps on it and makes a huge mess...wait, did I just say that out loud?) and take the top and plug your chocolate syrup stuffed cake. CAREFUL! I made the mistake of making my cake too full and when I plugged it up it split the sides and pretty much bled to death. Not pretty.

So I decided to do something different with my other piece. I sliced the top straight off, instead of carving it out. This way after I fill the cake with chocolate there will be no added pressure with the top going back on. it will just lay on top of the sliced edges. GENIUS I tell you! :-P
So try and not make my first mistake. Okay, now you filled it in and you placed the top on. Good job. Now wrap in plastic and place in the freezer till whenever you are going to use it.


I made this treat in the morning and froze it for the day. When we sat down for dinner I took it out of the freezer and placed it on the kitchen counter. When we were ready to eat I popped it into the microwave for 1 min 30 secs till nice and warm. I then sprinkled it with powder sugar and drizzled more chocolate over the top. Wish I had some ice cream! You can serve with whip cream and strawberries if you'd like. YUM!... it looks impressive and is very easy to do. Enjoy!

"Hawaiian Haystacks"

I have never had this meal before until I met Don. Super simple, and super delish'. They are called various things, like Coconut Tree Tops or Chicken Sundae - but I think more popularly known as "Hawaiian Haystacks".

Recipe:
(amount for 2 -3 people)
2 Cans Cream of Chicken
1 Cup Chicken Broth
2+ Cups of cut/cubed Chicken
Rice
Cheese
Chow Mein Noodles
Coconut
Pineapple
and any various other toppings (ex. tomatoes, nuts, celery, olives...etc.)

I took about a pound of chicken and trimmed the fat, and cut it into 1x1" cubes. Put that on a skillet and cook till done and tender. Cook about 1 cup of rice (remember, when cooking on the stove - there is a rice ratio to follow. 2:1. 2 Cups water for 1 cup rice). You can use a rice cooker, but I seem to always use the stove for some reason. (but I do have a cooker). So, just in case you don't know how to cook rice..use the 2:1 ratio, bring it to a boil..stir... place on warm (1-2 setting), cover and stir occasionally...but mostly just leave alone. :) Good, got the whole rice thing covered. Chicken is cooking, rice is cooking. Okay, now place the cream of chicken and broth in a sauce pan and warm. After chicken is done combine it with the cream and broth. Mmmm smells good already, uh? After rice is cooked through (rice is tender, not crunchy or dry) - get your plates out and plop a nice helping of rice on them. Then dish out the sauce/chicken combo. Now sprinkle cheese, celery, chow mein noodles, pineapple, coconut and any other topping your want over it. EAT. Pretty easy stuff. The way we normally have the table set up is all these different toppings are in separate bowls and you just spoon out what you would like. Normally fun building your little "islands" :)