Mozzerella Chicken Skillet

Since I quit eating boxed and processed foods, this recipe has become my replacement for those deliciously handy but oh so bad for you Hamburger Helper meals. One pan, One pound goodness on a tired night? yea, I dug it. Now I have this recipe though and as many times as I've made it, I've never blogged about it. Which is unbelievable as I blog about everything!

Definately a go to meal to add to your weekday repertoire.



Mozzarella Chicken and Rice Skillet
slightly adapted from Kraftfoods.com

Ingredients:
1 tbs olive oil
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 soup can of milk
2 1/2 cups frozen broccoli florets
1 1/2 cups Minute Rice uncooked
1 cup shredded Mozzerella
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Place chicken breasts in pan, cover and cook about 8 minutes per side. Remove lid and cook an additional 1-2 minutes per side to get a nice crisp brown outside. (check to make sure chicken is cooked through especially if using large breasts).

Remove from skillet. Add soup to skillet and then fill the soup can with milk and add that to skillet. Whisk until blended. Stir in Rice and broccoli and add chicken back on top. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for 5-7 minutes until rice is tender. Season with Salt and Pepper. Add mozzerella and cover. Turn heat off and let set for 5 minutes until cheese is melted.

Serve hot

MSL Chicken Parmigiana

Coincidentally, it was about this time, last year, when I posted a Chicken Parmiagiana recipe. While they vary a little bit, I think its always important to change things up, revisit, improve, expand. Cooking is like working with horses. You can never learn all there is to know, or know too much. There is always something to improve on.

Yesterday was National Spaghetti day, and so what better dish to serve in the winter, on National Spaghetti Day than Chicken Parmigiana with spaghetti. (According to MSL, serving parmigiana with noodles is an American tradition anyway, so I will argue you can’t get more appropriate!)

I followed the recipe petty closely with only slight variations, but you will find the recipe in its whole in the link. Below is how I did it.

Chicken Parmigiana


2 cups plain breadcrumbs
½ cup grated Parmesan
2/3 cup flour
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 package (8-10) Boneless, skinless chicken tenders
¼ cup vegetable oil

Marinara Sauce
1 cup finely shredded sharp cheddar
1 cup shredded Jack cheese (or Mozzarella)
¼ cup grated Parm
1 lb spaghetti noodles (small box)

Directions:
While Marinara Sauce Simmers, boil noodles and heat oil in sauté pan.

Mix breadcrumbs, flour, ½ cup Parm in a shallow dish or pie plate. Beat eggs in a separate shallow dish or pie plate. Dip Chicken first in egg, then in breadcrumb mixture, then repeat before placing in hot oil. Cook 3-4 minutes on each side until crispy and dark golden brown. Drain on plate lined with paper towels.

In a 9 x 13 baking dish, add 1 cup marinara sauce, top with Chicken tenders followed by another 1 ½ cups of marinara Sauce. Top with Cheeses. Cover with tinfoil. Bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes.

Drain pasta and add noodles to remaining Marinara, tossing gently. Serve Chicken Parmigiana over pasta.

Mustard Parmesan Chicken

This is one of those recipes that I decided to try after watching a Paula Deen episode. I love Paula Deen. Seriously. Brazen, tell it like it is in your Southern Grandma’s voice. LOVE HER. I took loose inspiration from her Oven Fried Chicken recipe to create this simple delightful creation. I enjoyed the juicy lightly flavored taste but my husband was not a fan.

Mustard Parmesan Chicken

Ingredients:
2 cups Flour
1 cup Grated Parmesan
2 tbs olive oil
Salt and Pepper
¼ Mustard
2 Chicken breasts pounded ¼” thick (wrap in Saran Wrap to reduce mess)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and lightly spray with cooking spray.

Combine flour, cheese, salt and pepper in a pie plate or shallow dish. In a separate shallow dish combine mustard, oil, salt and pepper and whisk.

Coat chicken in mustard mix then dredge in flour mixture coating everything well. Bake for 30-40 minutes until crispy and golden brown. Serve Hot.

Chicken with Roasted Sweet Potato Salad

This recipe sounded so fresh and fall, light and flavorful that I had to give it a try after digging it out of the Health Magazine (December 2009). I did change it to suit my tastes and what I had on hand and it was lovely. It was a great recipe for two (with a few potato wedges left over for my lunch) and perfect after a night of exercising.

Ingredients:
2 large sweet potatoes
2 skinless bone-in chicken breasts
½ of a thinly sliced Red Onion
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 cups of fresh spinach leaves
1 tsp lemon juice
1/8 tsp garlic powder

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425. Peel and slice Potatoes into wedges. In a large baking sheet with deep sides toss potato wedges, onion slices, approx a tbs of olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Roast for 25 minutes.

While the potatoes bake, heat approx 1 tbs of oil in skillet. Pour lemon juice on chicken breasts. Sprinkle Salt, Pepper and Garlic Powder over breasts and sauté until cooked through on medium high heat. About 10 minutes per side.

Serve: Place 1 cup of spinach leaves on a plate. Top with potato wedges and onions and one piece of chicken. I served with a runny buttermilk ranch. (See Ranch recipe and modify by using 1 tbs dry mix, 2/3 cup mayo, 1 cup buttermilk, whisk briskly for a “drizz-able” dressing).

Pretzel Chicken with Mustard Cheese Sauce

I came across this recipe while reading blogs, and forgive me but for the life of me I can’t remember who’s it is. I hate when I print things out and it doesn’t have a name on it. It sounded very tasty so I decided to give it a try. I served it up with Broccoli and Rice on the side. I have to admit this chicken is some of the best chicken ever. It was so moist and tender with a lovely crunchy coating. The cheese sauce enhanced the pretzel coating only slightly though and was way too blah in flavor to do anything for the broccoli or rice. In my opinion the cheese sauce was too mild. It had a hint of cheese and a hint of mustard but neither flavor stood out and it was a little too “gooey”. It stuck together in like a cheese SHEET. Now granted I didn’t use sharp cheddar or spicy brown mustard so those two items may make the flavor stronger but I’m thinking it needs a bit more of a softer cheese to act as a complimentary background for the flavors. I’ll work on that because I am definitely making this again. I do not consider it a fail, as it was good with the chicken, just needs a little punching up.

Pretzel Chicken with Mustard Cheese Sauce

Ingredients:
3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 cups pretzel sticks
Salt and pepper
2 eggs
¼ inch oil in pan for frying
2 tbs butter
2 tbs flour
2 cups milk
1 cup mild cheddar cheese (shredded)
2 tbs mustard

Directions:
Heat the oil over medium to medium high heat. Pound the chickens flat between two sheets of Saran wrap (keeps area clean and no splatters). Grind the pretzels in a mini chopper or food processor until mostly powdered (I left a few small pieces for extra crunch). Place the pretzels on a plate or coating dish with salt and pepper. Whisk eggs in a shallow bowl or large plate.

Dip each piece of chicken in the egg and then in the pretzel mixture to coat. Cook on each side in hot oil about 5 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink and is crispy deep golden brown on the outside. Drain on a paper towel.

When chicken is halfway through cooking, melt butter in a sauce pan. Add flour and whisk. Cook for approx one minute. Whisk in milk and brink to a low boil. Take off the heat and add: salt, pepper, mustard and cheese. Stir until cheese is melted.

Serve hot over poured over chicken.

Chicken Noodle Casserole

I was looking for something I could throw together quickly and inexpensively. We are on a budget crunch for the next few weeks as a lot of things have been going on above and beyond our normal bills (birthday party, Steve’s birthday present, T’s birthday present, shutting down the pool –chemicals and maybe a new cover- etc.) So one of the area’s to cut back is the grocery bill. If any of you have an Aldi’s grocery store, you know how cheaply you can shop but you also know there are certain items to stay away from. I am a brand snob when it comes to certain things so I’m a two grocery store person now a days. Considering our completely bare pantry/fridge, I did pretty good to cut our normal $150ish food bill down to 80 this week (includes non food items such as laundry detergent as well as my husbands soft drink addiction). This recipe is one of my new inventions to suit a budget crunch. Needs a bit of tweaking but it is well on its way.

Chicken/Turkey Noodle Casserole
Ingredients:
1 pack Chicken tenders (or leftover pieces of turkey etc.)
1 tbs oil
1 medium yellow onion diced
1 pack egg noodles al dente
2 cans cream of chicken soup
½ cup milk
1 cup frozen green peas
1 can coined carrots
1 can mixed veggies
1 cup shredded cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1 cup French’s Fried Onion topper
1 cup Bread crumbs (or stuffing mix)

Directions:
Heat oil on stove and cook chicken WITH diced onions until chicken is cooked through. I sprinkled my salt/pepper/garlic powder on the chicken before cooking to flavor the chicken.

While chicken is cooking (and noodles are cooking), in a 13 x 9 casserole dish, pour strained cans of veggies and frozen peas. Add cans of chicken soup and mix. Pour hot noodles over this mixture and add milk and cheese. Mix well. Layer over the top: chicken and onion mixture, French’s onion toppers and bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven until bubbly and browned. Serve hot.

Cheesecake Factory's Chicken Costolleta

I found this recipe while roaming around food blogs and sites. I’ve never actually had this dish as the closest Cheesecake Factory is an hour and a half away. The only thing I’ve ever had from there is my wedding cakes. (Yep, we did multiple tiers of cheesecake for our wedding.) So I can not guarantee the authenticity of this recipe. Having said that, it is darn good! I’m definitely adding this to the rotation. I’m In LOVE with the lightly flavored dipping sauce for a hot crispy piece of chicken. You HAVE to try this.

Chicken Costolleta (and I still think that looks/sounds like Cost-a-lotta)
Ingredients:
4 large skinless boneless chicken breasts cut into large strips and pounded to ½ inch thick
3 tbs flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 eggs
Splash of water
Zest of 1 lemon
1 ½ cups plain breadcrumbs
2 tbs grated parmesan
Vegetable oil

Directions:
Heat vegetable oil over medium high (about ¼ inch of it in a deep cast iron pan- I used a dutch oven). In three dishes put the following ingredients:
Dish 1: flour, pepper and salt. Mix.
Dish 2: Eggs and water. Whisk.
Dish 3: Lemon zest, bread crumbs and parmesan.

Place each chicken strip in the flour, then egg, then breadcrumb mixture. Make sure in each stage it is thoroughly coated. Place in heated oil for about 4 minutes per side or until Golden brown and done in the center. Try to only flip once. If your oil is smoking, its too hot. You want it just below smoking point.

Lemon Cream Dipping Sauce:
Ingredients:
1 tbs olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups heavy cream
1 tbs Dijon mustard
The juice from two lemons
Zest from One lemon
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 tbs butter, cold

Directions:
Over medium heat in saucepan, heat olive oil. Add minced garlic and sauté until fragrant. Add cream and boil until reduced and slightly thick. Add mustard, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Simmer about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter until melted.

You can serve the cream sauce OVER the chicken or use it is a dipping sauce which is how I preferred it.

Spring Green Rice Casserole

This is one of those recipes that I stumbled across on a blog and took inspiration from. Annie’s Eats is the original source I believe. I’m not sure if this was an original recipe of hers, but I did not use the recipe as she did. It’s a fine recipe but I did not have all the ingredients on hand and wanted to add chicken. It was good. I nice mild spring flavor with just the hint of citrus. (Though I think I’m going to have to steer clear of lemon for a bit as the hubby is making comments about it. I think I’ve done too many lemon dishes, but really, I had a whole bag, I didn’t want them to go bad!) This makes quite a bit too. Fed three people for dinner, two servings for lunch the next day and I sent about two servings home with my sister for my dad’s lunch.

Spring Green Rice Casserole
Ingredients:
One box of chicken Stock (I think that’s about 4 cups, maybe 5, can’t remember)
1 ½ tsps Olive Oil (Plus some for the chicken)
1 ½ tbs butter
3 large skinless boneless chicken breasts
2 shallots minced
3 leeks, white and just part of the green parts, not the whole stems, chopped
2 cups plain white rice
1 bag frozen peas, thawed (about 15 ounces)
Zest of One lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
Juice from One lemon
1/3 cup Mascarpone cheese
½ cup freshly grated parmesan

Directions:
Lightly oil a grill pan and grill chicken breasts over medium heat.

In a large stock pot, heat up olive oil and butter. Lightly toast the rice. Add the leeks and shallots to the rice, and toast/sauté for a bit stirring constantly. Add chicken stock, 2 cups at a time (let the rice absorb for a few minutes and then add the rest of the stock). Cook for about 10 minutes, till stock is absorbed and rice is al dente. Add the peas and stir. Stir in the lemon zest, salt and pepper. Continue cooking till rice is done (though it needs to still have a bit of bite to it). Turn the heat off and add in the lemon juice, mascarpone, parmesan. Stir well. Dice up the chicken and combine or serve strips of the chicken OVER the rice.

*Even when the computer is working again, I will not be adding a picture as I was distracted and forgot to take one! Sorry. But it really is pretty!*

Chicken Burgers

Browsing through foodie blogs I came across Cilantro Chicken Burgers on Beantown Baker. Since I'm cutting out the majority of red meat, I thought this might be a great replacement for my lucious burgers. I'm not a big fan of cilantro and I wanted to make something quick and easy as my red meat burgers are so I immediately spun the recipe.

Citrus Chicken Burgers
Ingredients:
1 lb ground chicken
2 tbs minced garlic
1 small yellow onion
zest and juice from one small lemon
dash of soy sauce
pinch of salt and pepper
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup panko

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 6 muffin tin with cooking spray.

In food processor, chop onion. Add garlic, lemon zest and juice, soy sauce. Blend well. Add in ground chicken, salt and pepper, oatmeal, and panko.

Divide mixture into muffin tins and bake for about 40 minutes until crispy and golden on the top.

I served on Sweet Potato Biscuits for a bright fresh flavor.

Chicken Souffle

MY FIRST SOUFFLE! And that was worth e-shouting about! Souffle's are one of those daunting dishes full of strife and complication. Perils that rival seafaring colonists of yesteryear. Rumor has it that a cough or loud noise will make your souffle fall, though this may be more of a myth. Souffle's by nature are made to fall once removed from the heat. In fact, souffle itself means to "blow up" or in cooking terms "Puff up". It is the distinct combination of cream sauce with thick eggs yolk combined with whipped stiff egg whites. When heated through the dish "puffs". Once removed from the oven, it falls as it cools. That's the nature of the beast. For the record, mine did not fall, ever. It was fabulous.

I've always wanted to try a souffle but never quite had the guts. The mixing and combining of the ingredients is a simple task. I was never quite sure what there was to fear. In my ever growing addiction to the Food Network, I discovered Giada making a savory version from her Husbands family. I figured this would be as good a recipe as any to cut my teeth on.

I changed VERY LITTLE about the recipe. I do think a very important tip on this one though: Get all your ingredients READY to go before making. The sauce comes together very quickly. Basically in the time the KA Mixer takes to whip the egg whites, the sauce is finished.

Chicken Souffle
Ingredients:
Unsalted butter for greasing the souffle dish, plus 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons), at room temperature
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole milk, at room temperature
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups shredded mild Cheddar
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 package frozen chopped spinach
3 roasted/baked chicken breasts, cubed
6 egg yolks, at room temperature, lightly beaten
2 (1/2-inch thick) slices country-style white bread, crusts removed, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
6 egg whites, at room temperature

Directions:
Arrange an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 2-quart souffle dish. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, heat 1/2 stick of butter over medium-low heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the milk until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a spoon, about 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the nutmeg and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Remove the pan from the heat and add the cheeses, the spinach, chicken, egg yolks, and bread cubes. Stir until combined (mixture will be thick).

Using a KA Mixer with Whisk Attachment, beat the egg whites at high speed until they hold stiff peaks, about 2 minutes. Stir 1/4 of the egg whites into the chicken mixture. Using a spatula, fold in the remaining egg whites. Spoon the batter into the prepared dish and bake until the souffle is puffed and the top is firm and golden, about 55 to 60 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

1st Blog Challenge Recipe: Chicken Stew

In our family, there are many recipes that bring to mind comfort and home. One of my favorite though? Cousin Tim's Chicken Stew. I'll never forget when I first had it. Everyone had been saying for years how great of a cook my cousin was and he even had a small catering company. For some reason, I had never gone to his annual Christmas Eve Chicken Stew. Then one year I did. That first buttery creamy taste of stew MELTED in my mouth and I fell in love with chicken all over again.

I never could come close to mimicking his recipe though. I didn't know the secret. When our wedding came around I could think of no better dish to serve for an outdoor Halloween/Fall wedding than Chicken Stew and Eagle's Chili. So I approached Tim about the price to make a big pot. This sweet darling of a man, made GALLONS (I'm not even sure how many but I'm pretty sure he used at least 20 chickens that's how much there was!) for my wedding as a wedding gift to me. It was fabulous and my guests RAVED about it for MONTHS. So I finally broked down and asked him (begged him and groveled along the ground, see, I'm not above these things) for the recipe. It is fabulous. We do it a tad different but the KEY is the same. So I will tell you how I do it. Play around with it but make sure you follow the first part exactly because that is the key.

Cousin Tim's Chicken Stew
Ingredients:
1 whole roasting chicken
1 large onion
1 whole garlic clove
2-3 large carrots
2 celery stalks
salt and pepper
Half and Half
1 stick of butter

Directions:
Place all of your ingredients (except Half and Half and Butter) in a crockpot. Make sure the bird is washed and dried inside and out and well seasonged with salte and pepper. Just cut your cleaned vegetables in half or quartered in the cavity of the bird. Cover with water. Cook on low for 8-10 hours until bird is falling apart. Place a large collander in a large bowl and pour contents through strainer. Place the broth you collected in the bowl BACK into the crock pot. Throw butter into broth and melt. When melted, add cream until broth turns a golden cream color. SAlt and pepper liberally.

Debone meat and rough chop or shred chicken. The key here is to DISCARD the vegetables. The flavor is infused into the broth and chicken. Add the chicken back into the broth/cream mixture and THAT's IT. Serve with cornbread. You can play with the vegetable flavors that you want as well as how creamy you want your stew but this is the best simple stew you have ever had.

ENJOY!

I took pictures but as you can imagine, with my dinky camera, they didn't come out well. I will post them anyway soon. Promise.

Lemon and Garlic Roasted Chicken

I've been roasting chickens and turkeys for years using halved citrus fruit stuffed in the cavity but it wasn't until I watched INA GARTEN chop an entire garlic in half and stuff it in skin and all with lemon that I turly found perfection. For that Ina, I will forever be greatful! This truly changed my world of chicken.

The thing is, its SO EASY and so simple. I now roast one to two chickens on the weekend and debone and save the meat in portions in the fridge and freezer to use throughout the week. There really is no easier and quicker and CHEAPER method to using chicken for weeknight meals when you are on the go.

*Pictures coming this weekend*

Lemon and Garlic Roasted Chicken
Ingredients:
One whole Chicken, washed and dried
salt and pepper
olive oil
1 whole lemon
1 whole garlic

Directions:Salt and pepper the inside and outside of the chicken. Cut the galric in half (through the cloves so they insides of all cloves are exposed) and place skin and all inside chicken. (both halves). Halve the lemon and place both halves in the chicken cavity.

Place chicken in roasting pan. Tuck winds underneath and truss the legs. Roast on 350-400 for about an hour or until thermometer reads 150-160. Take the chicken out and place in dish, cover with tinfoil and let rest for about 30 minutes.

TA DA, you are done! Serve slices fresh and warm, save diced chicken for later recipes, serve on sandwiches, make chicken salad, whatever you wish but the delicate infusion of lemon and garlic gives this chicken such a wonderful flavor its the perfect combination to use with vegetables of all kinds.

Roasted Vegetable Pasta with Lemon Vinaigrette

My second dish for Pasta week is a creation of my own comprised of reading SEVERAL recipes. There wasn't anything quite like I was looking for so I just made it up. It was a pretty big hit. Fresh and lively with strong flavors that tantalize your tongue. This healthy eating thing's not so bad after all! And it was QUICK. Just use leftover chicken from a Garlic Lemon Roasted Chicken and the rest of the recipe takes max 30 minutes! Enjoy!

*Pictures coming this weekend*

Roasted Vegetable Pasta with Lemon Vinaigrette

Ingredients:
1 large eggplant, diced large
2 straight neck squash, diced large
1 zuchini, diced large
1 small onion, sliced thick
1 shallot, sliced thick
4-5 cloves garlic, deskinned (either whole or halved)
4 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper
1-2 cups diced chicken
1 lb fusilli pasta (or penne)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese (optional)
1 can diced tomatoes

Lemon Vinaigrette:
1/2 cup olive oil
Juice of One lemon
1 1/2 tsps of dijon mustard
1/2 tsp sugar
(I did not use lemon peel or shallot since I'm mixing with lemon chicken and roasted veggies.)

Directions:
In a large bowl coat ALL the veggies with olive oil. Spread out on greased baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for about 15-18 minutes on 450 in the oven.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in salted water till tender. In large bowl, combine drained pasta, chicken and roasted vegetables (and cheese if you opt to use it).

Whisk vingaigrette ingredients together and pour over pasta mixture and mix well. Serve warm or cool.

Penne with Asparagus and Tomatoes

First Recipe of Pasta Week! It was far different from most pastas I cook. Here in the south we smother everything with, creams, gravys, sauces, and cheese. Literally. If its not fried, its smothered in something. I'm trying to expand my horizons.

I'm not sure how you feel about Giada on the FoodNetwork but other than the fact that her arms are short and I feel like I'm watching a pretty little Tyranasaurus Rex (and I don't mean that to be mean in anyway, I have a lot of respect for her), the girl can cook up some pasta! So I have taken note of a few of her pasta dishes that incorporate veggies and barely any "sauce" to speak of other than some light broth and olive oil. So I'm kicking up our pasta palatte with the help of inspiration by Giada and so far, SO GOOD!

Unlike my love affair with all things spaghetti, I don't think I'll be making this dish once a week, but once a month? Yea, I can see that! Especially in the spring when asparagus is fresh! Definately worth a try and I felt NO GUILT eating it, AT ALL.

*Pictures coming this weekend*

Penne with Asparagus and Cherry Tomatoes
Ingredients:
8 ounces penne pasta
3 tbs olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 bunch thin asparagus (about 1 1/2 lbs), tough ends trimmed
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups cherry tomatoes (my cherry tomatoes had mold on them -1 DAY after buying them, stupid Aldi's- so I used two roma's diced from the farmer's market)
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup grated moneterey jack cheese (My addition)
1 cup diced roasted chicken breast (my addition)

(Giada calls for parmesan and fresh basil but I didn't do this).

Directions:
Boil pasta in salted water till Just Tender.

Saute over medium-high heat the garlic in the oil for about 1 minute. Add asparagus and season with salt and pepper. Cook about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and peas and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Add the chicken stock and simmer about 3-5 minutes.

Add the chicken just to heat it up. (1 minute). Combine drained pasta, vegetables and cheese in a large bowl and toss well. Serve hot.

Simple, tasty and pretty healthy.

Biscuit Surprise a.k.a Stuffed Biscuits

I got the bright idea to play with my empanada stuffing using buttermilk biscuits instead of pie crust. I chuncked up the chicken in large dices to make it a little more substantial and whipped up some Buttermilk Biscuits. The beauty of this is that you can add and change anything about the recipe and still have a fabulous meal for breakfast, lunch or dinner that is perfect to reheat and on the go. For example, add some green peas and celery for a nice spring dinner. Add some bacon bits, cranberry and apple for a great fall breakfast. This is one of those PERFECT starter recipes that is delicious on its own but can be taylored for you and I'm very proud of this one. It was light, hearty, fluffy, soft, warm, cozy and satisfying all in one dish. A big hit amongst friends and family.

One of the few dishes my husband said "Mmmm, this is good, make this again!" He calls them Biscuit Surprise because when you bite into them, there is yummy filling in what looks like an ordinary biscuit. ENJOY!!

Stuffed Biscuits
Filling Ingredients:
1 tsp salt
5 ounces cream cheese
6 ounces colby jack shredded cheese
4 cups diced cooked chicken (I used leftover of the roasted lemon garlic chicken)
1 diced small onion
1 diced small shallot
1/2 tsp pepper

Biscuit Ingredients:
Ingredients:
5 cups of flour
3/4 cup crisco
2 cups buttermilk

Directions:
Mix your filling ingredients and set aside. Mix your flour and shortening with a pastry cutter and add in your buttermilk. Mix until moistened. Turn your biscuits out on a floured service and kneed gently to form a ball. Press out with your hands to about a 1/2 inch thick, square it up and cut into large squares (about nine pieces) (as if you were cutting for scones). The pieces will be about the size of your hand. Place a generous cookie scoop size dollop of filling in the center of each square and fold the endes up around it. Smooth into a rounded biscuit. (you should see no filling).

Brush biscuits with cream or butter.

Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until biscuits are lightly browned. Enjoy a warm flaky gooey biscuit and be sure to come back and tell me how much you love them because I know you will! And the only reason I added this dark blurry picture is because Cody is in the bottom corner begging which I didn't notice until I uploaded it. Hillarious.

Fried Chicken Tender Salad with Honey Mustard

This is SUPER EASY and super yummy and can be made anyway you like. Sometimes the simple is the most comforting.

Fried Chicken Tender Salad

Cook your chicken tenders just like you would Fried Chicken. The only thing I did different was to add some breadcrumbs to the flour mixture to give it extra crispness since it didn't have the skin.

Toss your salad ingredients together and serve with Honey Mustard Sauce.

Honey Mustard Sauce
Ingredients:
1/4 cup mayonaise
1 tbs Prepared Mustard
1 tbs honey
1/2 tablespoon Lemon juice ( I used half of one lemon)

Directions:
Whisk ingredients until smooth. Serve.

Chicken Empanadas

This post was a long time coming. I "southerned" up some Chicken Empanadas and reduced the spice. What this did, was make the pie crust seem a little salty in comparison to the filling but they were still good. I will make them again, with a homemade crust and add some green chili's for kick.

Chicken Empanadas (Mild Southern style)
Ingredients:
1 tsp salt
4 ounces cream cheese
6 ounces shredded mexican blend cheese
3 cups chopped, cooked chicken
1/4 tsp pepper
1 package Pillsbury Roll out pie crusts

Directions:
Mix all of your ingredients together. Roll out pie crusts on a floured surface and use a biscuit cutter or large glass to cut out circles. Dab some filling into the center of one, wet the outside edge and cover with another circle. mash edges together and seal with a fork. Brush the tops lightly with butter or cream. Bake at 400 on a lightly greased cookie sheet for 15 minutes.

I loved the crispy shells and the softy gooey centers. This dish was fun to eat and would be great for parties.

Simple Chicken Soup

On a cold blustery winter day, there is nothing more comforting then a pot of soup, stew or chili. Many people go after bread, milk and eggs. Not me. I'm going after soup fixings. When bad weather strikes, I made a big pot of soup. If we lose power, I can heat it up on the grill and if you are stuck in a cold house, you definately want something WARM to eat, not cold sandwiches! This recipe can be done in the crock pot or on the stove. I at least start it in the crock pot.

Simple Chicken Soup

Ingredients:
4 carrots, peeled and coined
2 ribs of celergy, finely diced
1 onion, diced
1 whole chicken
1/2 pint of cream
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 box elbow macaroni noodles, cooked just under al dente

Directions:
Cook chicken in crock pot (covered in water) for 8-10 hours until it falls off the bone. Debone chicken and use 3/4 of the meat. (I save enough meat out to do a small dinner or make chicken salad for lunches) as this recipe will feed a family for a few days.

Use about 4-6 cups of the broth, and place all your ingredients (except cream) in a pot and simmer until noodles are finished cooking. Add cream. Serve hot.

Chicken Parmigiana

I've been looking for very simple dishes that I can keep on the bland side ingredient wise but still have a nice flavor to them so that I can eat them and my husband doesn't get bored.

With my sister coming over last night for a night of girl talk and scrabble, the pressure was on! She was going to make me eat! So I put together a simple Chicken Parmigiana that was both mild enough for me to eat and flavorful enough that everyone enjoyed it!

(and sorry about the picture quality. I didn't realize how blurry it was till I downloaded it!)

Chicken Parmigiana

Ingredients:
3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups flour
3 eggs beaten (with a little water added)
1 1/2 cups fine bread crumbs or panko (with 1/4 cup grated parmesian added if you wish)
1/2 cup olive oil
2 cups shredded mozzerella or cheese blend
Italian herbs/parsley (optional)
1 Quart Home Canned Tomatoes (1 can diced plus 1 can stewed of storebought)
1 shallot
1 small yellow onion
1 can diced tomatoes
salt and pepper
2 tbs tomato paste
Italian seasoning (optional)

1 lb spaghetti noodles

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Pour oil in pan and heat to medium high heat. Dip chicken breasts in egg, then flour, then egg again, then breadcrumbs. Place in heated oil and brown both sides (about 4 minutes each).

While chicken is browning, chop onion and shallot and place in blender with tomatoes, tomato paste, salt and pepper. Pulse till tomatoes are not in chuncks and mixture is blended.

Place browned chicken in 9 x 13 casserole dish. Pour tomatoe sauce over it and spread cheese over top of chicken breasts. BAke for about 30 minutes till cheese is golden and bubbly and chicken is cooked through.

While chicken is in oven, cook pasta in salted boiling water till tender. Serve chicken with sauce over pasta.

Southern Fried Chicken

I have never been able to do Fried Chicken. It was the one thing on my Southern Girl passport that was not checked off and it bugged me greatly. My grandma was a helluva chicken fryer. My Momma has made some mean fried chicken too, but I mostly remember my grandma's fried chicken thighs and biscuits. She would always have those around it seemed. So it has been one of my great disappointments that I couldn't fry chicken.

I finally conquered it. Thanks to a little obscure tip I pulled out of a SouthernLiving magazine in the Dr.'s office. (See something good DID come out of those copays!) And Yes, I'm one of those that swipes pages and magazines out of the waiting room...but rest assured, its only if there's a damn good recipe in it.

Southern Fried Chicken

Ingredients:
Buttermilk
One Whole Cut up Chicken with skin and bones
3 cups flour in a bag with salt and pepper
Oil

Directions:
Rinse and dry chicken pieces. Place in a large bowl and cover completely with buttermilk. Cover with plastic wrap and leave in refridgerator for atleast 2 hours but up to overnight (8-12 hours).
Preheat oven to 350. Heat oil to about 275-350 degrees in large skillet. You want about 1/4-1/2 inche of oil in pan.
Take two pieces of chicken at a time and place in flour bag and shake until chicken is coated. Place pieces in hot oil and cook about 5 minutes on each side until Crispy and golden brown. Place pieces on a baking sheet (one with sides) and repeat until all pieces have been cooked.
Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes to finish cooking chicken.

This gives you perfectly crispy fried chicken that is cooked all the way through and tender and juicy. For real southern flair serve it up with Paula's Cheesy Garlic Grits. Pure Southern Heaven.