chicken salad croissants

There are so many ways of making chicken salad. I have tried so many ways and know for sure that I do not like pineapple in mine. I also don't like pickles or curry or nuts (besides cashews) and please no seasoning salt! But that's just me. How do you like your chicken salad?

4 chicken breast halves, cooked and shredded
5 green onions, finely chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
2-3 medium red delcious apples, chopped with skin on
1-2 cups green or red grapes
1/2 - 3/4 cup cashews
Best Foods Mayonnaise
salt and pepper

Chop onions, celery, apples, and grapes. Toss with chicken. Add enough mayonnaise to moisten or to taste. Salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle cashews on top after spooned into croissants.

For this recipe, I left out the cashews and apples, but I would put them in if I had them on hand. You could also skip the croissants, and boil 1/2- 1 package of small shell pasta and stir it into the chicken mixture and serve over greens. This is something we usually eat on Easter for some reason.

Crockpot Curry

We love this curry recipe. We've been making it for years. I'm sorry I can't say where it came from, but it is now part of our permanent recipe collection. We eat it with brown rice and/or naan. It is also optional to sprinkle chopped peanuts over each serving. We have a boy with a peanut allergy so we don't do that. Everyone who has tried this recipe loves it and it does make the house smell wonderful while it's cooking.

CROCK POT CURRY

3 Tbsp. flour
3 Tbsp. curry powder
1 ½ tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. salt
1 ½ lbs chicken (1 in. chunks)
2 c. potatoes, peeled & chopped
1 ½ c. bias-sliced carrots
1 cup cooking apple, chopped
¾ c. chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped (it is very mildly spicy. You can add more jalapeno if you want more kick)
1 tsp. chicken bouillon granules
½ cup water
1 (13 oz.) can coconut milk (in Asian store or Asian aisle in grocery store)
cooked brown rice
Optional: ¼ c. chopped peanuts

In a gallon Ziploc bag, combine flour, curry, cumin, and salt. Add chicken, a few pieces at a time; seal bag. Shake bag to coat. In a 3 ½ - 4 quart crock pot, combine potatoes, carrots, apple, onion, garlic, jalapeno, and bouillon. Top with chicken. Pour water over all. Cover and cook on low setting 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. If using low setting, turn to high at the end and stir in coconut milk. Cover and cook for 30 minutes more. If desired, serve over hot rice.

**Last time I made this I didn't follow the ziploc bag instructions to coat the chicken. I just threw it all into the crockpot together and mixed it together and cooked on low for 8 hours. I did use a crockpot liner and that made for ZERO cleanup (other than the lid).

man-pleasing food: zesty chicken drumsticks

I love mixing my own spices. This "zesty" seasoning mix is made up of garlic powder, cumin, paprika, seasoning salt, and lemon pepper. I usually double or triple the measurements and fill a bag or jar to have this spice on hand. We love it.

These are the spices all mixed up.

1 Tablespoon of oil per 1 Tablespoon of spices.

Trim the fat off of the drumsticks and baste both sides with the seasoning/oil mixutre.

Broil 36 minutes on high, turning every 12 minutes.

Delicious.

For kids and spouses going to work, wrap a strip of tinfoil around the top of the drumstick to keep fingers from getting messy and sticky. They can just hold onto the tinfoil part.

Zesty Seasoning Mix

1/4 cup garlic powder (not salt, the powder! I used the California blend for no particular reason)

1 Tablespoon paprika

1 Tablespoon lemon pepper

1 Tablespoon cumin

1 Tablespoon seasoning salt

oil

Mix all the spices together without oil. This is your "bulk" spice. You can use the desired amount to taste. For about 12-14 drumsticks, I like to use 3 Tablespoons of the spice. The oil to spice ration is 1 Tablespoon of spice per 1 Tablespoon of oil. Mix the spices with the oil and baste over drumsticks.

To make the drumsticks:

1 Family Pack (12-14ish) chicken drumsticks

3 Talespoons zesty seasoning spices

3 Tablespoons canola oil

After basting your drumsticks on both sides of drumsticks, place in broiler on foil-lined cookie sheet with sides, or broiler pan. Make sure they are 1-2 inches apart. Broil on high for 36 minutes, turning every 12 minutes. Let sit for a few minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

pesto-chicken italiano

I discovered this wonderful little recipe on the back of a KRAFT shredded cheese bag. The Italian five cheese blend, to be precise. It was so good. This is my picture of it above, but there is also a picture in the link. I will be adding this recipe to our keepers. It was simple, fasy, and delightful! I bought pre-made pesto from Sam's Club or Costco, and everything else we pretty much had on hand.

Pesto-Chicken Italiano

In case the link gets dodgy, here's the recipe:

1 Tbsp. oil

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 large red pepper, cut into thin strips

1/4 cup pesto

1 lemon, cut in half, divided

1 cup KRAFT Finely Shredded Italian* Five Cheese Blend

2 cups hot cooked angel hair pasta

HEAT oil in large nonstick skillet on medium heat. Add chicken and garlic; cook and stir 4 to 5 min. or until chicken is evenly browned. Stir in peppers; cook 3 to 4 min. or until chicken is done, stirring frequently.

STIR in pesto and juice from 1 lemon half; top with cheese. Cover; cook on low heat 2 to 3 min. or until cheese is melted. Spoon over pasta.

SERVE with remaining lemon half, cut into wedges.

We definitely used up the lemon wedges. I squeezed at least one extra wedge on while eating it.

sweet and sour chicken

4 chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup evaporated milk
3 eggs

Sauce:
1/2 cup chicken broth
4 Tablespoons ketchup
1/2 cup vinegar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
dash of garlic powder (I press a couple of cloves)
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
chopped green peppers (optional)
1 small can pineapple tidbits (optional)

1. Mix eggs, milk, cornstarch, and flour
2. Dip cut up chicken pieces in egg mixture and deep fry in oil until chicken is cooked and no longer pink. Drain on paper towels. (you don't have to deep fry it, sauteeing it in a little bit of oil works well too)
3. Put all ingredients for sauce in a 9X13 casserole dish, mix, then put chicken on top. (I sometimes add 1 small can of drained pineapple tidbits, you can also add chopped green peppers)
4. Bake at 325 for one hour.

Serve with rice and veggies. We like to do broccoli or fresh whole green beans. If you are in a hurry, you can heat the sauce on the stove until it thickens and then pour on top of already cooked chicken.

go to meals I

Chicken Roll Ups, Chicken Filled Stuffing Rolls, Mystery Rolls, Hidden Treasure Rolls. . .

These are called a by a number of names, and there are numberless ways of preparing them. Really, anything goes. I've made them a variety of ways, using crescent rolls, cream of soups, mushrooms, broccoli, cheese, etc., but I shun canned soups now, and I also want things to be as easy and short as possible these days, so this really is the easiest way one can make these. I call them Chicken Stuffed Rolls, and here's what you need:

Frozen Rhodes Dinner Rolls (16-20 rolls in a 9X13 pan)
(or if you have time, you can make your favorite roll recipe)
1 Tub Philadelphia Chive and Onion cream cheese
2-3 chicken breasts

If you are using the frozen rolls, follow the speed method for thawing. Plan for about 1-2 hours. You just need the dough to be manageable, or able to be flattened or rolled out. Cook chicken breasts until done, using preferred method; boiling, stove top, or oven. Dice into small bite-size pieces. In a medium bowl, you are going to combine the chicken pieces with the entire tub of cream cheese.

Filling the rolls: Remove one of the thawed sections of dough. You can roll it out flat or pat it back and forth in your hands to flatten. I use my hands. In the center, you are going to place 2 Tablespoons of the mixture in the center. Then you wrap the dough from all sides around the mixture. Pinch the dough together so that it is sealed and place face down in a lightly greased 9X13 baking dish. Continue with the rest of the dough. You will bake the rolls according to the package instructions. I usually do it at 350 for 20-25 minutes, but that is our oven. You will want to make sure that the tops are golden.

We eat them as is, but a lot of people pour some kind of a gravy on top made out of cream of chicken soup. Some people, before placing them in the oven, dip them in butter and then roll them in seasoned breadcrumbs. Like I said, these are very versatile. They can be filled with a number of ingredients. This is how we prefer them. They can also be frozen before or after baking them. Simple, and as easy as it can get. It's one of those meals where I usually have the ingredients on hand. Frozen rolls, chicken, and cream cheese. We are cream cheese fanatics.

christmas eve

photo credit: danmex.org

Make a postcard - it's easy!

ideas for chicken

3 from simply recipes:

Chipotle Grilled Chicken with Avocado Sandwich (we were in a hurry and we used a rotisserie chicken with little seasoning and it was still great. We also used french hamburger buns and toasted them in the toaster. The whole sandwich was ready in 5 minutes or less.)

Grilled Lime Chicken with Black Bean Sauce

Cardamom Honey Chicken

Indian food

We seem to go in waves of wanting and making Indian food all the time to wanting nothing to do with it at all. I guess we get our fix and then we are good for quite a while. When I was 12, my parents bought a house that was previously owned by an Indian family. I remember when we were unpacking the kitchen, there was this odor that made me want to gag. We had no idea what it was. We would try to pinpoint it. "It's like honey mixed with soy sauce and spices". It was a distinct smell. In the last several years as my tastebuds have changed, I discovered the joys of cooking my own Indian food. We have a tasty Indian restaurant here called Bombay House. Anyway, I went to an International market to get Indian ingredients and I smelled this scent from this house we had lived in so long ago. I was sniffing like a dog on all the packaging until I found it. It was fenugreek seeds. They have quite an odor, except this time, I found it sweet, exotic and it was cool to experience the whole "the smell took me back in time to another place". That house will probably always smell of fenugreek seeds and other Indian spices no matter who lives there. Amazing stuff.

We tried Chicken in a Cashew Nut Sauce with some friends before they moved away to Arizona. I think we were all quite pleased. This recipe is from one of those Barnes and Noble or Borders $5.00 cookbooks. They are actually really good books. We have Indian, Healthy Indian Cooking, and Best-Ever Curry Cookbook.

Chicken in a Cashew Nut Sauce
2 medium onions
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1/3 cup cashew nuts
1½ tsp. garam masala
1 tsp. garlic pulp
1 tsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
¼ tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. natural (plain) low-fat yogurt
2 Tbsp. corn oil
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)
1 Tbsp. sultanas (golden raisins)
3¼ cups chicken, skinned, boned and cubed
2½ cups button mushrooms (we leave these out)
1¼ cups water
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)

Cut onions into quarters and place in a blender or food processor. Process for 1 minute. Add the tomato paste, nuts, garam masala, garlic, chili powder, lemon juice, turmeric, salt and yogurt to the processed onions. Process all the ingredients for a further 1-1½ minutes. In a saucepan, heat the oil, lower the heat to medium and pour in the spice mixture from the food processor. Fry for about 2 minutes, lowering the heat if necessary. Add the fresh cilantro, raisins, and chicken and continue to stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms, pour in the water and bring to a simmer. Cover the saucepan and cook over a low heat for about 10 minutes. After this time, check to see that the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is thick. Cook for a little longer if necessary. Serve garnished with chopped fresh cilantro.

We tried this recipe once with the mushrooms and once without. We definitely like it without. I like mushrooms, but for some reason, the mushrooms just tasted really bad to us in this recipe.

best southwest chicken i've ever had

I'm not usually a southwest sort of gal, but you've got to try this. This was SO good. We had this with some friends awhile ago. It was served with couscous and mixed fresh fruit. So so good.

Apricot Chicken

Apricot-glazed chicken

6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, pounded to 1/4 inch thickness

1/4 c. apricot jam

2 green onions, diced

1/4 tsp. balsamic vinegar

2 tsp. brown sugar

Place chicken breasts in a large zip-lock gallon-sized bag and use a rolling pin to flatten to desired thickness. In skillet over medium heat melt 1 Tbsp. of butter and brown chicken on both sides (About 2-3 minutes on each side). Add remaining ingredients to skillet with remaining tablespoon of butter. Cover and simmer for 3-4 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked.

I used chicken tenderloins so that it would cook faster. I served it with boiled red potatoes that were chopped into bite-size pieces with the skin left on. After potatoes were done boiling in salted water, I melted butter over the top and sprinkled them with fresh parsley. I also made steamed broccoli and served apple crisp for dessert. It tasted like some good old fashioned cooking that was much overdue in this house. My sister-in-law made her chicken with apple cider vinegar and saw raw sugar cane or something like that. She has gotten really good at substituting ingredients for all-natural and sugar-free. We used to eat some pretty scary things over at their house, but lately it hasn't been that bad at all.