chicken mcnuggets knock-off

Not that I'm any busier than any other woman out there, but you'd think I'd have like a dozen cookbooks specifically geared towards busy women.  I only have one, and it's only because my mom bought it for me.  (Try out the green chile chicken alfredo recipe I found in that cookbook here.)  Instead of dumping stuff in my awesome crockpot, I sometimes like to tackle more complicated projects (try out the chicken satay recipe or read about how I'm never going to become like Julia Child) -- because, you know, I don't have a 10 page paper to write on doing business in India, do I?

I digress.  My friend, Amy (need a cake??), posted this recipe to her facebook wall.  I finally had an excuse to use our super new food processor too.  CJ had been hogging it to make fruit leather.  Oh, and we got it super cheap too, so I'm pretty pumped all around.

Chicken McNuggets
Makes 34 (if you make them in ping-pong sized balls)
From Shine on Yahoo! (I don't know.)

4 chicken breast fillets
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. parsley
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 eggs, beaten
1 C. flour
1.5 C. oil

I'll shorten up the directions.  Dump your chicken into a food processor and blend to make a paste.  Add in the other ingredients, less the eggs, flour, and oil.  Heat up oil in a pan.  Roll the chicken paste into balls, roll in flour, roll in egg, and roll back in flour.  Then put it in your heated up pan and cook on both sides.

Healthy?  Not so much.  But probably better than McD's.

chicken satay

Quite awhile ago, I purchased Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook, Deceptively Delicious, at one of the library's book sales for two bucks.  Her cookbook is geared towards getting kids to eat more vegetables, so she crafted recipes that use vegetable purees.  I bought it, thinking I might want it a few years down the road when we have kids, and haven't touched it since.

Then I saw her on Oprah several weeks before Christmas and requested her newest cookbook, Double Delicious, for Christmas.

Long story short, I just wanted to show off one of the recipes I made from the cookbook.

Chicken Satay
Jessica Seinfeld - Double Delicious
Serves 6

Sauce:
1 clove garlic, cut in half
1/4 C. lite coconut milk
1/4 C. sweet potato puree
3 Tbsp. creamy peanut butter
2 Tbsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp. lime juice
Pinch of cayenne (optional)

Skewers:
1.5 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
30 10" wooden skewers
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. sweet paprika
2 Tbsp. olive oil

Directions:
Chop the garlic.  Add all sauce ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.  Set aside.

Cut chicken into thin (approx. 1" strips) and thread onto skewers.  Sprinkle with salt, garlic powder, pepper, and paprika.

Warm 1 Tbsp. olive oil in a large skillet.  Add half the skewers.  Cook 7-8 minutes per side, turning once, until the chicken is cooked through.  Repeat with the remaining skewers.  Serve immediately with dipping sauce.

And here's the final product:

CJ's a big fan of Asian food.  I could take or leave it.  We might make stir fry every so often, but generally speaking, we just don't have Asian food at our house.  But, we loved this!

Here's my tip:  Omit the skewers.  After I had threaded my chicken onto the skewers, I realized it was more for show than anything.  These recipes are geared towards making healthy/healthier food appealing to kids, so I can see where the skewers would make it fun.  I probably could have cooked our chicken a bit quicker if I wouldn't have used the skewers, but decided that we could stand to have a fun meal for once too.  Plus, we already had a lot of them on hand that I wanted to use up.

I'll be back tomorrow with the puree how-to.

green chile chicken alfredo -- crockpot!

Stick with me for a minute.  Combining green chiles and alfredo sauce really does work.  And, I got to use my awesome programmable crockpot (thanks, mom & dad!) for this one too, so that makes it even tastier.  (Oh, and the cookbook came from them too, so thanks again.)


Green Chile Chicken Alfredo
Busy Woman's Slow Cooker Cookbook
6 servings

1.25 lbs. chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
16 oz. jar Alfredo sauce
2 4.5 oz. cans chopped green chiles
10 oz. pkg rigatoni noodles, cooked & warm
2 C. shredded mozzarella cheese

Place chicken in slow cooker.  Pour Alfredo sauce over the chicken.  Top with green chiles.  Cover and cook on low 4-6 hours.  Add rigatoni noodles to the slow cooker and mix well.  Sprinkle cheese over top.  Cover and cook on high 25 minutes.


My (helpful) notes:

Instead of using a total of 9 oz of chopped chiles, I bought one 7.5 oz can instead.  We still had good flavor, but it wasn't overwhelming or too spicy.

I accidentally cooked this on high for five hours.  It still turned out fine.

I would go with less cheese the second time around.  I added the two cups like the recipe called for, but it made it a bit stringy.  I mean, I love cheese as much as the next guy, but I also had to double up on the fiber for the day to make up for it.

chicken wraps

Unfortunately, I can't credit this recipe to anyone/thing because we've long since thrown it away.  This is a quick and easy recipe that we can eat on for days.

Chicken Wraps
Soft tortilla shells
Chicken
Sandwich spread (we buy the Kroger brand), eyeball it
4 oz. Goat cheese
Green olives (optional, thank goodness)
Romaine lettuce (our preference, although I suppose any kind would work)

Cook your chicken.  We used to use the frozen chicken strips which are a bit expensive, so we've switched to cutting up chicken breasts, which go further.

Melt the goat cheese ever so slightly, and then mix in with sandwich spread (eyeball it -- there should be more sandwich spread than goat cheese for sure).  Add in chopped up green olives if you like (CJ does, I don't).

Wrap up tortilla, romaine lettuce, chicken, and spread, and enjoy!

parmesan garlic chicken

This is a simple recipe, but the best part is, you can make lots of it well ahead of time and then pop it out of the freezer for a very easy meal later.

Parmesan Garlic Chicken
Don't Panic: More Dinner's in the Freezer
6 servings (or you can make more)

6 boneless chicken breasts
1 C. Parmesan cheese
1 envelope Italian salad dressing mix
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 C. olive oil

On cooking day:
Mix together cheese, garlic, and dressing mix.  Dip chicken breasts in olive oil, then coat with cheese mixture.  Wrap each coated chicken breast individually in plastic wrap, then place in a freezer bag.  Freeze.

On serving day:
Thaw completely.  Unwrap desired number of chicken breasts and place in a greased baking dish.  Bake at 400 degrees for 45-60 minutes until chicken is tender and no longer pink.

I added a little more Parmesan on top on cooking day to boost the flavor a little more.

crunchy baked chicken

Several months ago on a rare instance when I allowed CJ to go grocery shopping with me,* CJ stopped by the magazine section and bought the Taste of Home Comfort Food special magazine, just for the recipe on the front.  After buying the ingredients weeks later and then freezing the chicken, I finally found some time a few weeks ago and made it.  We really liked it, and although I would alter it a bit (skip the full broiler/chicken and just stick with chicken breasts), I can tell this one will probably become a favorite in our house.

Crunchy Baked Chicken
Taste of Home
Serves 4-6

1 egg
1 Tbsp. milk
2.8 oz. french-fried onions, crushed
3/4 C. Parmesan
1/4 C. dry bread crumbs
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. salt
dash of pepper
1 broiler/fryer chicken (3-4 pounds), cut up
1/4 C. butter, melted

In a shallow bowl, whisk egg and milk.  In another shallow bowl, combine the onions, Parmesan, bread crumbs, paprika, salt, and pepper.  Dip chicken in egg mixture, then roll in onion mixture.

Place in greased 9x13" dish.  Drizzle with butter.  Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes.

chicken and chips

I can't remember if I've posted this recipe before or not -- I probably have, because it's quick and one of our favorites.  Although I will eat the leftovers, I'll warn you that it's not as good warmed up as it is the first time around!

Chicken and Chips
Taste of Home
Serves 4-6

1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
8 oz. sour cream
2 Tbsp. taco sauce (I actually use taco seasoning)
1/4 C. chopped green chiles
3 C. cubed cooked chicken
12 slices American cheese (I use less than this -- judge based on the size of your dish)
4 c. broken tortilla chips

In a bowl, combine the soup, sour cream, taco sauces, and chiles.  In an ungreased shallow 2-qt. baking dish, layer half of the chicken, soup mixture, cheese, and tortilla chips.  Repeat layers.  Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly.

our favorite chicken fettuccine

Just wanted to share this easy, delicious, not-so-healthy-for-you recipe:

4-Cheese Chicken Fettuccine
Taste of Home
Serves 6-8

8 oz. uncooked fettuccine (although we've found any sort of pasta will work)
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
8 oz. cream cheese, cubed
1 jar sliced mushrooms, drained (the recipe calls for a 4.5 oz jar, but we love mushrooms, so I usually add more)
1 C. heavy whipping cream
1/2 C. butter
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
3/4 C. Parmesan
1/2 C. shredded mozzarella
1/2 C. shredded swiss
2 1/2 C. cubed chicken

Topping:
1/3 C. bread crumbs
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
1-2 Tbsp. Parmesan

Cook fettuccine according to package directions.  Meanwhile in a Dutch oven (I use just a regular skillet since I don't have a dutch oven yet), combine the soup, cream cheese, mushrooms, cream, butter, and garlic powder.  Stir in cheeses; cook and stir until melted.  Add the chicken; heat through.  Drain fettuccine and add to the sauce.

Transfer to a shallow greased 2-1/2 qt. baking dish.  Combine topping ingredients; sprinkle over chicken mixture.  Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.  Uncover; bake 5-10 minutes longer or until golden brown.