Chicken With Sun-dried Tomatoes

The original recipe is from a 20011 calendar that has recipes, but I could not find a source.

It called for:
1lb fusilli pasta
8.5 oz jar of sun dried tomatoes (in oil)
1lb diced chicken
1 bunch asparagus (in 2" segments)
4 cloves of minces garlic
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

I modified the recipe slightly by seasoning my diced chicken with salt and white pepper, only using 2/3 of the jar of tomatoes, and adding sauteed mushrooms. This was more than enough for five people and only took around 30 minutes to make.

I started by cooking the pasta according to the package directions while I sauteed the chicken in the oil of the sun dried tomatoes. I suggest setting aside a cup of the pasta water in case you need it to loosen the pasta at the end. Once the chicken was cooked, I reserved it and began sauteing the asparagus. I added the mushrooms once the asparagus started to get tender. Next, I added the garlic and the tomatoes, and tossed in the pasta. I added about 1/4 cup of the pasta water which seemed to help distribute the seasoning and loosen the pasta. You will also want to salt and pepper and sprinkle the parmesan cheese over the pasta at this point.

Enjoy!

Chicken Enchiladas

2-3 cooked and chopped chicken breast (I like to saute them in taco seasoning)
1/2-1/3 cup chicken broth
2-3 chopped jalapeno peppers
1-10oz can of Cream of Chick soup
1-8oz container of sour cream
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (divided)
6-8 8in flour tortillas

In a mixing bowl combine the first 6 ingredients (using only 1 cup of the shredded cheese) Place about 2 tablespoons of the mixture in each tortilla and roll up placing each one seam side down in a 9 x 13 baking dish. Pour the remaining mixture over the top then cover with the remaining cup of cheese. Bake at 350 for approximately 40 minutes or until it bubbles on the sides and the cheese is melted.

Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

I grew up eating chicken pot pies. Twice a week my mother would drive to a local university to take night classes in order to finish her doctorate. My dad can fry a mean egg and make rice, sort of, but that was the end of his culinary talents. Anyway, he'd heat us up chicken pot pies and we'd sit in the den (ooh, don't tell my momma) and eat them while we watched TV. Tonight I made my first attempt at a homemade chicken pot pie and all I have to say is Marie Callendar watch out!

Here's how I did it.

While I was boiling the chicken in one pot, I diced potatoes and carrots.

Then I sauteed them in butter with some garlic, salt, and pepper.

I added chicken broth and let it cook down until it was tender.

Next I added a can of cream of chicken, a large dollop of sour cream,

about a 1/2 cup of milk, and some English peas.

After mixing well, I poured into a store bought pie shell and covered with the extra shell.

I just baked it at 400 for about 30 minutes.

I think they liked it.

Teriyaki Chicken

If this doesn't make your mouth water you're dead.

My favorite husband, who prefers to remain nameless, fix us up so good eats tonight. This is simple enough even I could make it, but lets not tell him, I like it when he's home to cook.

All you need is some Teriyaki marinade and sauce. My favorite husband crush fresh garlic and cut up some fresh green onions mixed it with about 1/2 to 3/4 of the bottle then dropped in 4 boneless thighs. At it had marinated for over four hours he took the remainder of the teriyaki and stirred in some corn starch (as a thickener) slapped those bad boys on the grill (low heat) and brushed on the glaze.
With this he served rice pilaf and corn because apparently corn is considered a vegetable even if it is a starch. I wasn't going to argue with a good meal, he even did the dishes.

Sweet 'n' Tangy Chicken

You can make this for dinner
or just fix up a mess of wings for the game,
either way you'll be lovin' this chicken.

Per my usual, I didn't measure anything. Can't you just taste the artist comin' out in my cooking? For this meal you will need your chicken, the amount of the other ingredients really depends upon how much you're making. Let's pretend you gonna fix a couple of legs for the kids and some breast for the grown folk. (that's 4 pieces if your not keeping up)

You will need about 2 cups of ketchup, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, a couple of good dashes of Worcestershire, a dollop of Dijon mustard and some garlic.

I salted and peppered my chicken then broiled it in the oven for about 20 minutes,

flipping it after in began to turn brown.

While the chicken was getting a suntan, I mixed the other ingredients in a bowl.

I tossed the chicken in the sauce and poured into my crock pot. Just a hit you might want to grease your crock pot before starting. Clean up will be much easier for you husbands. Trust me they will thank you.

Anyway, I cooked it all afternoon (3-4 hours) on low.

This is a nice change from the usual boring ole chicken. Good luck, it's good!

Chicken Pasta Toss

Oh, you are not going to believe this one. I have really gone and out done myself this time. This is so simple and doesn't take any time at all to make. All you need is:

Cubed chicken breast, minced garlic, some butter to saute with, salt, dried thyme, onion powder, white and black pepper, spaghetti, heavy whipping cream, Parmesan cheese, parsley and a dash of cayenne.

Don't forget that cooking is an art so feel free to add whatever else you think will be good. I ended up adding mushrooms at the last minute and it worked out wonderfully. Also remember that I don't measure so I can only estimate what I used. Sorry...

While the spaghetti was cooking, I melted the butter and added about a tsp of crush garlic. Then I seasoned the chicken with the peppers, salt, and onion powder. After sauteing the chicken for about 3-5 minutes I added the thyme and mushrooms. I then added in about 1 -1 1/2 cups of cream, parsley, cayenne and 1/2 a cup or so of Parmesan cheese, cooking it until the cream thickened up. I turned the heat down and added the pasta, tossing it until it was covered with sauce.

I am so sorry you can't taste this. Oh, it was so wonderful! You just have to try it, it's really not that hard and it only took about 30-40 minutes to cook.

Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole

This one is simple enough. All you need is some chicken, cream of chicken, sour cream, butter, rice, poppy seeds and Ritz crackers. I start off by boiling the chicken. I set aside the broth and use it to cook my rice. (more about the rice later)

While the chicken is cooking I crush a sleeve of Ritz crackers and melt a 1/2 stick of butter. Mix together and add about 2 TBS of poppy seeds, then set aside. (just make sure your not up for a drug screen at work because you will test positive for opiates)

After my chicken has cooled I take the meat off the bone and cut it into small bite size pieces. Mix the cream of chicken, sour cream and chicken together in a casserole dish. You can add pimentos and sauteed mushrooms if you like, but my short people lack the ability to eat food with 'red thingies' and mushrooms.

I then cover with the cracker mixture, Bake at 375 for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Sometimes I layer the fully cooked rice on the bottom, other times I just serve the Poppy Seed Chicken over the rice. It's really up to you.

Doesn't that look good!?!

Bayou Chicken Pasta

I think of cooking as an art and baking as more of a science so when I cook I don't measure and I change ingredients to suite myself. I seem to screw up almost everytime I try baking. Apparently, I'm an artist not a scientist.
Sunday I made chicken piccata tossed with bow-tie pasta. It called for penne rigate, but alas I did not have any in the cupboard. Sorry, I neglected to take a picture. It was devoured before I could find a camera.

Tonight I decide to try a bayou chicken pasta Yum yum people! I decided to share a picture and the recipe with you since it was a winner even with the short people.

Now doesn't that look good!

Start with:

1 lb of linguine 1/4 cup kosher salt ( I didn't even get close to using that much) 2 TBS butter 1 TBS olive oil 1 1/2 lb skinless chicken cut into 1-in pcs (I didn't measure) 2 TBS seasoning salt (I used Tony Chachere's) 1 cup finely chopped onion (I used much less and added onion powder mixed with Tonys) 1 TBS chopped habanero pepper (I didn't use because of the little people) 1 TBS minced garlic (once again I didn't measure, but I love garlic) 1 1/2 cups heavy cream 1 cup diced tomatoes (I don't have a garden in the winter so, no tomatoes) 1/2 cup reserved pasta water (I used chicken broth) 1/2 cup chopped green onions (no garden, no onions) 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (didn't measure) 2 TBS chopped parsley (didn't measure)

As I was cooking the pasta (al dente, of course) I took the butter and the olive oil and heated it in a skillet adding the chicken that was sprinkled with onion power, tony's and salt. I let that cook until it was brown on both sides then took it out and set aside while I sauteed the onion (this is where you can add the habanera if you like) I added the garlic and then stared adding the cream , the chicken, the chicken broth, parsley and parmesan cheese (the recipe calls for adding the parsley, green onions and parmesan at the very end but I hate to follow directions) I let the cream reduce then added the linguine (this is where you can add your tomatoes)

If you try this recipe let me know how it turns out and what you did to make it your own.