Chicken Marsala

I've always seen recipes for Chicken Marsala but for whatever reason, I never felt compelled to try it. I came across a picture on someones blog that looked tasty and lo and behold, that's what it was. After looking at a few of the ba-zillion chicken Marsala recipes on the internet, I came up with this...

Chicken Marsala

Ingredients:

1 pkg boneless skinless chicken breasts - approx. 3 chicken breasts
1 cup flour
1 tablespoon oregano
desired seasonings - I like salt, Tony's Creole seasoning, garlic powder and onion powder
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 cups Marsala wine
3 cups chicken stock
1 package whole fresh mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
linguine, cooked

Method:

In a gallon size Ziploc bag, pound chicken breasts until thin, but not breaking. Season as desired. In a large bowl, mix flour, oregano and desired seasonings. Heat oil and butter over medium-high heat. Dredge chicken breasts in the flour and add to the oil mixture, cooking 3-4 minutes on each side. Transfer to an oven-safe dish and keep warm in the oven.

In the same pan that you fried the chicken breasts, add the wine to deglaze. Make sure to scrape all that golden goodness leftover into your wine! Add chicken stock, mushrooms and garlic, bring to a boil. Check for seasonings, adding desired seasonings (careful not to add too much salt!). Cook about 15-20 minutes, or until sauce has reduced by 1/2. Return chicken to the pan and cook an additional 10 minutes. Serve over linguine.


Chicken Marsala with Bacon & Caramelized Onion Asparagus

The Verdict: This was delicious!! I added the part about being careful adding salt because I messed that up. I tasted it and it was a bit bland, so I added salt. Then when it reduced, I guess all that flavor was bundled up because it was SALTY! I had to add a little sugar to make it not so bitter. It still turned out delicious though! I don't like eating whole chicken breasts so I left one whole for photo purposes, and cut the rest into small pieces before I added it back to the sauce. Definitely will be making this again!

40 Garlic Clove Chicken and Homemade Creamed Potatoes

I admit I frequently stalk other cooking blogs looking for inspiration and tasty recipes. Recently I've come across different versions of 40 Clove Garlic Chicken and have been intrigued. While trying to decide what to put in the crock pot today, I found one recipe for this that was a crock pot recipe. I got the basis for my recipe from Beantown Baker's Blog but made a few additions on my own. I served it with my mom's recipe for creamed potatoes.

Crockpot 40 Clove Garlic Chicken

Ingredients:

3-4 lbs. mixed chicken pieces, bone in and skin on
1 TBSP olive oil
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp Tony Chachere's Spice N'Herbs Seasoning
1 bay leaf
1-2 tsp rosemary
3 heads fresh garlic, out of peels but left as whole cloves
1 onion, chopped
splash of white wine

Method:

Spray crock pot with cooking spray to prevent sticking and aid in easier cleanup. Cover bottom of pot with onions. In a large bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients and mix well, being careful not to pull the skin from the chicken. Place on top of onions in the crock pot. Cook on HIGH setting 6 hours.

Penny's Homemade Creamed Potatoes

Ingredients:

3/4 of a 5 lb. bag potatoes
1/2 cup warm (not scalded) milk
1 stick butter
salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

Wash potatoes well and peel. Chop into smaller pieces and boil until soft. Drain well and empty to a large bowl. Add stick of butter and using a hand mixer or stand mixer, mix well, slowly adding warmed milk until the consistancy you desire. Season with salt and pepper.


40 Clove Garlic Chicken with Creamed Potatoes

The Verdict: This is probably the juciest, most tender chicken I've ever had. It literally just falls off the bone when you try to get it out of the crock pot. The flavors are fantastic, it's not overwhelmingly garlic-y tasting like I feared it might be. The potatoes are the perfect complement, as the chicken makes it's own grease type gravy. I agreed with Beantown Baker that it was a little greasier than I'd like so next time I'd probably do some of the chicken without the skins. This was a definte make again recipe! And again, and again!

Red, White & Bleu

My husband and I normally enjoy doing something festive for the 4th of July, and it usually involves an outdoor grill. I don't know if it's just me, but this summer seems like it's a LOT hotter than normal! That said, the last thing we wanted to be doing was standing outside in 100 degree heat, over flames! No thanks! We thought of what some other favorite "American" meals were and decided to try making buffalo wings at home. We're both HUGE buffalo wing fans, but never made them at home. After checking out a bunch of different recipes, this is what we came up with:

Christen's Spicy Buffalo Wings

Ingredients:

1 package raw chicken wings and drummettes
vegetable oil for frying
Seasonings to taste (I used Tony's Creole Seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder and salt)
1 bottle Emeril's Wing Sauce
Bleu Cheese (we used Marzetti Ultimate Bleu Cheese)
celery sticks, if desired

Method:

A few hours in advance, dump all raw chicken into a gallon sized ziploc bag, add desired seasonings, close (with some air in the bag) and shake it up! When it seems like all of the chicken is evenly coated, place in refrigerator.

When ready to fry, heat oil in a deep fryer to 350 degrees. Place chicken in (we were only able to get about 6 pieces at a time in our Cuisinart Mini-Fryer) the fryer and cook 11-12 minutes, or until a deep golden. Drain on a wire rack placed over paper towels. If you're only able to fry a little at a time like us, place some aluminum foil over the chicken to keep warm on the wire rack.

Pour bottle of wing sauce into a microwave safe bowl and when all of the chicken is almost fried, heat the sauce in the microwave until hot.

Put all the chicken in a large bowl and toss with the warmed wing sauce. Serve immediately with bleu cheese and celery sticks.


Delicious, crispy buffalo wings!

The Verdict: mmmmmmmmm. That's the sound you make when you take a bite. This was fantastic! I've actually never fried chicken on the bone before because I'm always scared it won't be cooked through. This was cooked to perfection, the perfect amount of crisp and the Emeril's Wing Sauce delivered the exact amount of heat needed. A few of the recipes I looked at called for the wings being breaded first. I'm really glad I did it the traditional way, it was delicious! With today's economy this was an inexpensive way to enjoy a restaurant favorite at home! Two very enthusiastic thumbs up!

Spicy BBQ Chicken Wraps

Nothing says summer like throwing something on the grill! One of my favorite things to grill are Spicy BBQ Chicken Wraps, a recipe given to me by my friend Kenleigh. You can do any variation of this, including using chicken breasts or chicken tenders. I prefer tenders, just because they're not as huge. You can also use spicy jalapenos or find a brand that's not as spicy. Anything is wonderful when it's wrapped in bacon, so the sky is the limit with this recipe! We like to serve with green beans and potatoes. As a pre-dinner drink, we also made Scrumptiously Sassy's Gin & Lemondade. It's the perfect cold refreshing drink on a hot day!

Spicy BBQ Chicken Wraps

Ingredients:

Chicken Breasts or Tenders (I used 13 tenders)
1 pound bacon, uncooked
1 package of cream cheese, softened
chopped jalapenos
Seasonings of your choice
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 stick butter
3 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
a few shakes of your favorite hot sauce

Method:

Place a few tenders at a time into a ziploc bag and flatten with a tenderizer. Repeat this until all meat is fairly thin, but not torn apart. In a bowl, mix together minced garlic, cream cheese and however much of the chopped jalapeno you prefer. I like to add a little Tony's creole seasoning at this step.

Season all the chicken tenders with seasonings of your choice. Spread a thin layer of cream cheese mixture down the center of each tender, then roll. Wrap each roll with one slice of bacon, making sure the bacon covers the end so the cheesy goodness doesn't leak out! Secure with a toothpick. At this point, you can set these in the refrigerator if you plan on cooking later. If cooking immediately, continue on!

Melt the stick of butter in a small pot. Once melted, add Worcestershire sauce and a few shakes of the hot sauce, stir well. When your coals have turned white, place the chicken wraps on the grill. Baste with the butter mixture frequently. Cook until chicken is cooked through. Make sure to tell your guests to be cautious of the toothpicks when eating!



The Verdict: We've been cooking this for years and I think it gets better each time! This is a fantastic dish to fix when you're having a few friends over for a fun summer BBQ. If you use chicken breasts, you may require more than one piece of bacon to wrap around it! We had a couple of pieces left over, and I'm going to hide them from my husband so I can have them for lunch tomorrow! Two very enthusiastic thumbs up!

Chicken Piccata Pasta Toss & Tomato, Avocado & Onion Salad

Today's recipe is mixing a little tried and true with a little new to you! I discovered Rachel Ray's Chicken Piccata Pasta Toss recipe in one of her cookbooks a few years ago, and with my own variations of it, have been cooking it ever since! I also came upon a recipe on a friend, Josh's blog the other day that literally made my mouth water, for a fresh tomato, avocado and red onion salad. I knew I had to try it, soon!

Chicken Piccata Pasta Toss

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/3 pounds chicken breast tenders, cut into 1-inch
pieces
Seasonings to taste
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 green onions, chopped
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white wine
1 lemon, juiced
1 cup chicken broth or stock
3 tablespoons capers, drained
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 pound penne rigate pasta, cooked

Method:

Heat a deep nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil and the chicken to the pan. Season chicken as desired. Brown chicken until lightly golden all over, about 5 to 6 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. Add another tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter, the garlic and green onions to the skillet. Saute garlic and green onions 3 minutes. Add flour and cook 2 minutes. Whisk in wine, lemon juice and broth into sauce. Stir in capers and parsley. When the liquid comes to a bubble, add remaining 1/2 tablespoon butter to the sauce to give it a little shine. Toss hot pasta with chicken and sauce and serve. Adjust seasonings to your taste.

Fresh Tomato, Avocado & Onion Salad

Ingredients:

2 avocados, sliced into chunky strips
3 Roma tomatoes, sliced into chunky strips
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lime juice

Method:

Combine in a bowl, folding gently to avoid breaking up the avocado. Let stand for 5-10 minutes and serve.



The Verdict: Well as I said, the recipe for the pasta is one I've been cooking and enjoying for years. It's delicious. The recipe I wrote is an altered version from the one from Rachel Ray, just as a FYI. And the tomato salad was fantastic! It was so light and fresh and even better leftover once the flavors really got to mingle! I think I'll try cilantro in it next time, for a little more of a kick, but that's just because DH has this strange obsession with cilantro! It's delicious as is!

Honey-Pecan Chicken

This recipe is another that is not new to us. I am a cookbook fanatic (I'll have to take a picture of my overflowing cookbook shelf sometime!) and a couple of years ago bought The New Holly Clegg Trim & Terrific Cookbook. This was the first thing I tried out of it and it was fantastic! The recipe I'm going to write up has a few differences, in some tweakings I've done over the years. I also even emailed Holly herself to see if she had thoughts on how to make a glaze to drizzle over it. She's a super nice person! I hope you enjoy it as much as we have!

Honey-Pecan Chicken

Ingredients:

1 cup Wheat Chex Cereal
1/3 cup finely chopped pecans
4 tablespoons honey
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 pkg. boneless, skinless chicken tenders
Seasonings to taste

Method:

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with Pam. On a plate, mix the cereal crumbs and the pecan crumbs well. In a bowl, mix the soy sauce and honey until well combined. Reserve half of this mixture in another bowl, or a small pot if you don't want to dirty an extra bowl! Season the chicken to taste, then dip completely into the honey-soy mixture. Dredge in the pecan-cereal mixture and place on the baking sheet. Repeat until all the chicken has been coated. Bake 10-15 minutes on each side, until chicken is cooked through (be careful not to overcook it as it will be dry).

In a small pot, heat the reserved honey and soy sauce mixture until it forms a slight syrup. Be careful not to burn it, but don't turn the heat off or it will turn to glue! Lightly drizzle over the chicken.

Serve with your favorite sides (we had mac and cheese and creamed corn).


The Ingredients


Ready to bake!


The honey-soy sauce mixture that will be drizzled over the chicken!


Honey-Pecan Chicken

Verdict: Well as I already said, we have had this before numerous times and loved it! The first couple of times I made it, it turned out kind of dry but careful baking without overcooking has corrected that problem. Also, the sauce drizzled on gives it a little something extra! The original recipe does not call for the sauce to be added as a drizzle, and it also calls for chicken breasts. I prefer tenders, they're easier to eat! Definitely try this recipe soon!

Chicken Noodle Soup

Let's face it, the economy sucks and we're all trying to find ways to pinch those pennies and make things stretch as much as possible. Yesterday's meal not only dirtied practically every dish I own, it also called for three quarts of chicken stock or broth, which would have been wasted as it was only used for boiling the spaetzle. Rather than let it go to waste, I made it into another recipe.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

3 quarts chicken stock
2 chicken breasts, diced
1 can sliced carrots
2.5 cups egg noodles, raw
2 stalks celery, chopped
3 bay leaves
2 TBSP fresh parsley, chopped
3 cups water
1 TBSP heavy whipping cream
desired seasonings

Method:

In a large pot, bring chicken stock and water to a boil and add the bay leaves. Season chicken with desired seasonings and add to the pot, cook till done. Add carrots and celery, allow to slowly boil for another 5 minutes. Add noodles, cook covered until they are tender. Add whipping cream. Serve hot.


Chicken Noodle Soup

Verdict: I have never made chicken noodle soup before that was not condensed! This was very easy to make and was delicious! If you don't have leftover stock on hand, you can buy it already made, or buy broth and season it up! Two thumbs up!

Chicken Stew

My husband loves good home-style cooking. I call it food people on farms eat. Things like chicken stew just seem like something hearty and homey that a farmer would come in and eat after a long day on the tractor or something! I'm silly, I know. Anyway, I've been making this recipe that I created for a few years now and I think it's pretty tasty. I served it with the Bacon-Carmelized Onion Asparagus and there were almost no leftovers!

Chicken Stew

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts, cut into small pieces and seasoned to taste
1 stick butter
1/2 cup flour
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
Seasonings to taste (I used Tony's, Salt, Garlic Powder and Onion Powder)
1 can chicken broth
1 small can mushroom stems and pieces
rice

Method:

In a deep, non-stick pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and stir constantly until a golden brown (this is called a roux). Add pieces of chicken and combine well with the roux. When chicken is no longer pink, add the onion and garlic and cook until softened. Add the mushroom stems and pieces, including the liquid and the chicken broth. This will break up your roux and turn it into a nice gravy. Let simmer for a few minutes, then season to your tastes. Kitchen Bouquet can be added sparingly to achieve the brown color you desire. Serve over rice.


The Ingredients (minus the chicken)


Stew is simmering


Ready to eat!

Verdict: I think this is a pretty darned good chicken stew recipe, if I do say so myself! We also serve it with peas often. Anyone that loves rice and gravy will love this, two thumbs up!

Creamed Chicken over Biscuits

This recipes is courtesy of the Cooking Light 15-Minute Cookbook. In August I had some pretty serious heart problems after giving birth to my baby girl, Elise. As a result, I had to watch my diet pretty close and I used recipes from this cookbook often. Everything I've ever cooked out of it was delicious! I told my husband that we needed to go back to using it for our meals so we can stay on the right track, and asked him to pick a recipe and I would fix it. This is what he chose.

Creamed Chicken over Biscuits

Ingredients:
1 can flaky buttermilk biscuits
Cooking Spray
1 (9-ounce) pkg frozen diced cooked chicken breast
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 (10-ounce) package frozen mixed vegetables, thawed and drained
1 (10 3/4) can condensed cream of roasted chicken with savory herbs soup, undiluted (such as Campbell's Healthy Request)
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Method:
Bake biscuits according to package directions, set aside and keep warm.

While biscuits bake, coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; place over medium-high heat until hot. Add chicken and garlic; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in vegetables and remaining 4 ingredients; cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender and thoroughly heated, stirring often.

To serve: Split biscuit in half, place on serving plate. Spoon chicken mixture evenly over biscuits.

Only 254 calories per serving!

Notes: Since I couldn't find the chicken soup it calls for, I used regular cream of chicken soup and some dry herbs. Also, I didn't have cooked chicken so I used one raw chicken breast, added a little creole seasoning and cooked it in 1/2 tablespoon butter. I also added 1/4 cup chopped onions, then the garlic and followed the recipe after that!


Creamed Chicken over Biscuits Ingredients


The finished product

The Verdict: We both LOVED this. I truly didn't think I would like it. I was wrong. And my husband ate IT ALL. There are no leftovers! It was so easy to make, very inexpensive (buy a good but inexpensive wine - Redwood Creek is only like $6). We will definitely be making this again in the near future!

Chicken in Mushroom Sauce over pasta

This is my favorite meal that I personally can cook. It's not my favorite meal, that is reserved for boiled crawfish. And a few other things. But this is a go-to meal for something easy, tasty, and always good. Just whatever you do, do not ever try to buy the powdered mushroom soup mix because that stuff is just awful! Another tip for all recipes (not only this one) is that if you use wine make sure it's a wine you would actually drink. Nasty wine in food equals nasty food.

Chicken in Mushroom Sauce over Pasta

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup white wine or inexpensive beer (or more if you want!) both are good. Just don't use a dark beer, probably wouldn't be as good!
2 small cans mushroom pieces and stems (or if you're richer than me, sliced mushrooms)
Butter
1 onion, chopped into small pieces
Seasoning to taste (Tony's, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder)
1 pkg egg noodles, cooked.
Milk as needed

Method:

Season chicken pieces with your seasoning of choice. In a deep skillet, cook your chicken in a few pats of butter. When almost done, add the onions. When those are almost soft, add the mushrooms. Let simmer for a few minutes. Add your cans of mushroom soup and stir well, then add your beer or wine. Depending on how thick you want your sauce to be, you can add milk until you reach your desired consistancy. Taste test and add seasonings if needed. Let simmer for 30 minutes. Serve over egg noodles with a salad and garlic bread!


The ingredients


The chicken, onions and mushrooms cooking away


A super yummy meal. Sorry for the blurry picture!

Verdict: As I said, this is one of my favorite things to cook (and eat!) so I had to share. If you use wine or beer, both are good but a slightly different taste. I cannot say enough how much I love this dish, I think I'll have to cook more this week!

Chicken Enchiladas

I apologize before you read any further that I completely had a brain fart today and did not take pictures as I went with the chicken enchiladas. I'm afraid that's something that I have to get used to. In fact, we had already eaten when I realized I hadn't taken any at all! This is a recipe I got out of the Paula Deen magazine. So that said, here it is:

Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups chopped cooked chicken (I bought the TYSON cooked chicken in chunks, by the prepackaged lunchmeat and bacon and stuff)
1 can medium enchilada sauce
1 package cream cheese, softened
½ cup chopped onions
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (I used the mexi cheese for both of these cheeses)
1 package 10-inch flour tortillas
1 (10.75 oz) can Campbell ’s Southwest-style pepper jack soup
1 (8 oz) jar picante sauce or your favorite salsa. (I used the On the Border brand)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a 13x9-inch baking dish.

In a large bowl, combine chicken, enchilada sauce, cream cheese, and onion, stirring to combine. Add 1 cup Cheddar cheese and ½ cup Monterey Jack cheese. Spoon mixture evenly down center of each tortilla; roll up tortillas and place seam side down in prepared baking dish.

In a medium bowl, combine remaining cheese, soup and picante sauce. Spoon mixture evenly over tortillas. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Note: I could not find the Campbell's Southwest-style pepper jack soup so I substituted their Fiesta Cheese and it was fine.

Verdict: Another dish with the two enthusiastic thumbs up rating. It was really easy to make, didn't take much time and only dirtied two bowls and a casserole. Cleanup was easy and James liked it a lot!