Olive Garden Protein Pasta

 Serves 6-8

From Zac Coens YouTube channel:

1.5- 2 pounds chicken breasts, diced

16 oz light Olive Garden dressing

1 TBSP garlic powder

1 TBSP onion powder

1 tsp paprika 

1 tsp oregano

Salt and pepper

8 oz Cream Cheese (Greek cream cheese if you can find it) 

14.5 oz Protein Penne

5 oz baby spinach

Place chicken in crock pot. Combine spices with dressing and pour over chicken. Dice cream cheese into 8 blocks and place blocks on top of chicken and dressing. Place lid on crock pot and cook on low 4 hours. When it’s almost time to eat, boil pasta. While pasta is cooking remove lid from chicken, stir cream cheese into mixture, then pour in the spinach and let wilt and cook while pasta is cooking. Once pasta is cooked, drain and stir into crockpot. Mix thoroughly then serve. 

Chicken Veggie Stir Fry

I am reposting this from Allrecipes.com. Every time I try to find it (again), I lose it, so I am copying it here.

I like this recipe because it has ingredients that I generally have on hand (never have broccoli -- we live without it. Never have sesame seeds, either.)

1 skinless, boneless chicken breast half -

cut into thin strips

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

7 snow peas

1 cup fresh broccoli florets

1/3 cup julienned sweet red pepper

4 medium fresh mushrooms, sliced

3/4 cup chopped onion

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 cup cold water

3 tablespoons soy sauce

Hot cooked rice

1 teaspoon sesame seeds, toasted

 

In a skillet or wok, stir-fry chicken in oil for 6-8 minutes or until juices run clear. Remove chicken and set aside. In the same skillet, stir-fry peas, broccoli and red pepper for 2-3 minutes. Add mushrooms and onion; stir-fry for 3-4 minutes. Combine cornstarch and sugar; stir in water and soy sauce until smooth. Add to the pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Return chicken to the pan; cook until mixture is heated through and vegetables are tender. Serve over rice. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Soup

A yummy favorite at my house, this is like queso with some chicken chunks thrown in -- and just that nutritious!

4 cans cream of chicken soup

1 can Ro-Tel
1 pint half and half

1 pint milk

1 small pkg. Velveeta

3 chicken breasts, cooked, diced

salt, pepper, chili powder and cumin to taste

avocados and tortilla chips for serving

Melt Velveeta in microwave. Combine all other ingredients until warm, not boiling. (It's VERY easy to burn the milk on the bottom of the pan -- take your time with this soup). Great in a Crock-Pot on low. Serve over tortilla chips and/or avocado.

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Got this when I made a plea for what to do with leftover Rotisserie chicken. Obviously, the amounts are not exact for veggies, etc. but cook to your family's likes and dislikes.

Chicken

package of Wild Rice (cooked)

Carrots

Celery

Onions

4 c. chicken broth

1 can condensed milk

Saute' vegetables, combine all ingredients. Simmer.

Paninis

Someone suggested paninis for my 'what to do with rotisserie chicken' question.

Paninis are a favorite around here, though I confess that I forget about them from time to time. One of our favorites is like so:

Chicken cut into bite size pieces

(if it isn't already cooked, cook it with pesto sauce)

Basil pesto sauce -- mix with cooked chicken -- a tablespoon or two.

Sliced red bell peppers

Grated monterrey jack cheese

Sliced sourdough bread

It helps to soften the red bell peppers (cook with chicken) but not necessary.

Mix chicken with pesto, put on bread with bell peppers and cheese and grill like a panini. Simple, yummy.

Rotisserie Chicken, a dozen ways

So, today I have a leftover Rotisserie chicken. Yes, a whole one. Sam's sells them for $5, so I always buy 2. I usually use the 2nd one for chicken salad for sandwiches, but wasn't in a chicken salad mood (AND had nothing planned for dinner tonight so I needed it anyway). I posed the question on facebook: What should I do for dinner with leftover rotisserie chicken. Holy cow. Got quite a response. I will link to a recipe if I have one!

• Chicken Spaghetti
• Tortilla Soup
• Quesadillas
• Chicken Sour Cream Enchiladas (okay, who am I? Betty Crocker? What the heck?)
• Chicken Pot Pie
• Chicken salad
• Fettucini Alfredo
• Chicks-in-a-blanket (I made that name up -- chicken w/ grated cheese wrapped in crescent rolls cooked according to directions)
• Etouffe' (again... Betty Crocker? What?)
• Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup
• Chicken Tacos
• Chicken and Dumplings
• Fajitas
• Paninis

So, what are you waiting for? Get cooking!

Tortilla Soup II

SuperMom already posted one Tortilla Soup recipe. Mine is a hair different (minus the hair, though I was served Tortilla Soup with hair in it at a very fancy local restaurant when my husband came here to interview for his job, though that is an entirely different story).

Start your can opener:

2 cans cooked chicken or 4 cooked chicken breasts
2 cans chicken broth
1 can Ro-Tel
1 can Whole Kernel corn, drained
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can Ranch Style Beans
1 can Enchilada sauce
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Combine and heat (hello, Crock Pot). Serve with grated cheese, tortilla chips, avocado slices, and sour cream. And... if you are really feeling fancy, jalapeno cornbread muffins.

Updated so that I will remember this next time: Sarah, a double recipe of this does NOT fit in your 6 qt. crock pot. Here is what you do: pour everything except the chicken into the lg. crock pot. Cook the chicken (frozen as it can be) in smaller crock pot. Pause to give thanks for crock-pot liners. Once chicken is cooked and after soup has cooked a while, ladle some of the soup into smaller crock pot while you dice chicken. Divide chicken between two crock-pots.

Purple Chicken

I think this has some other name -- citrus chicken, maybe -- but at my house we call it purple chicken because the chicken comes out ACU purple! We feel very wildcat-ish when we eat it... :-)
Everyone in my family LOVES this chicken -- it just has a very good flavor. AND... it's VERY healthy! Those two things rarely combine at my house!

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/3 cup red wine (you can use red wine vinegar, but I don't recommend it)
1/3 cup orange juice
1/3 cup lemon juice (I use concentrate)
grated orange peel
grated lemon peel
2 TBSP. cilantro (I use fresh -- my favorite ingredient ever!)
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. oregano leaves
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients. Marinate at least two hours (I usually try to marinate overnight -- also enhances the purple-ness... :-). Bake at 375* for 30-45 minutes, brushing with marinade every 10-15 minutes. (I add cilantro leaves on top when I put it in the oven).

Easy "Beck" Chicken

2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup, Healthy Request works great
1/2 soup can full of water
4-6 chicken breasts
1 or 2 cans of canned biscuits, baked

Place chicken breasts in crock pot, pour mixture of soup and 1/2 can of water over the top. Cover and cook. I use frozen chicken breasts, cook on low, and it takes about 8 hours. (Cook the chicken until it can be shredded with a fork) Take a fork and shred up the chicken in the crock pot and serve with the sauce over biscuits. Salt to taste.
This was so easy. My whole family liked it, I served it with veggies. You could mix stuff in, like veggies, and make it an all in one meal. Thanks to Jana Beck for this recipe, it's a household favorite.

Simple Chicken Cordon Bleu

This is my current favorite. Sounds fancy, but very simple. My little picky eaters like it, too. I haven't had great luck getting the sauce to thicken up, but it tastes really good, so nobody seems to mind if it's a bit runny.

Simple Chicken Cordon Bleu

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
4 slices Swiss or Provolone cheese
4 thin slices smoked ham
1/4 cup flour
1 egg, beaten
1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
4 tbs. butter
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 cup whipping cream
oregano, garlic, salt and pepper to taste

Pound chicken breast to 1/4-inch thickness. Sprinkle each piece on both sides with salt and pepper. Place 1 cheese slice and 1 ham slice on each breast. Roll up each breast using toothpicks to secure if necessary. Dredge each in flour, shake off excess, then in egg and finally in bread crumbs. Place seam side down in baking dish that has been sprayed with Pam. Place 1 tablespoon butter on each piece of chicken. Bake at 350 degrees fro 35 minutes or until juices run clear (It's been my experience that it can take up to an hour to cook if you don't get the chicken thin enough). Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine broth and whipping cream; season to taste with salt, pepper, garlic and oregano. Simmer on low, stirring until thickened. Pour over chicken.

Chicken and Rice

by Tammy

1 box of Uncle Ben's Fast Cook Long Grain Rice
2 cups cooked diced chicken
1 can of golden mushroom soup
1/2 soup can of water.

Mix up uncooked rice, soup, water then mix in the chicken. Put in a 9x9 pan and cook for about 45 minutes at 350.

This is my absolute favorite chicken and rice recipe. I tweaked it from my 4 ingredient cook book. For my family I double the recipe and bake it in a 9x13 pan. Easy and very yummy.

Lemon Pepper Chicken

4-6 chicken breasts
1/2 c. melted margarine
1/2 cup soy sauce
Lemon Pepper
Bake 350 degrees, covered1 hour
This comes from my 4 ingredient cookbook and it is so yummy. The sauce that the chicken cooks in tastes like the dipping sauce for lettuce wraps. We served it with rice and put some extra sauce on the rice too!

from Tammy

Chicken and Rice

My family LOVED MawMaw's spaghetti!
Now here is one of our favorites and it freezes beautifully.
Chicken and Rice
2 (6.2-ounce) packages fast-cooking long-grain and wild rice mix
2 (10 1/2-ounce) cans low-sodium chicken broth
1 (8-ounce) package fresh mushroom slices
3 cups chopped cooked chicken
2/3 cup (reduced fat or no fat)Italian dressing
1 (8-ounce) container lite sour cream
Cook rice in a large saucepan according to package directions, using 2 cans chicken broth instead of water. Add mushrooms before the last 5 minutes. Stir in chicken, dressing, and sour cream; spoon into a lightly greased 2-quart baking dish. Bake at 325° for 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Let stand 10 minutes.
Robyn

Poppy Seed Chicken

Denise Waldrop

I know you already make this but for the 1 person who doesn't...

2(or 3)chicken breasts, cooked and
cut into pieces
8 oz. light or fat-free sour cream
1 can fat-free cream of chicken soup
2(or 3) T. poppy seeds
1 sleeve buttery crackers, crushed(Ritz)
2 T. butter or margarine

combine sour cream, soup, and poppy seeds in a small baking dish. I use an 8 in square size.
Mix in Chicken and top w/crackers. Dot w/butter and bake at 350 for 30 min
Serve over rice. Even Abbie will eat it :)

7/08/2005 9:35 AM

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Breasts

from MC Jennings

6 boneless chicken breasts
6 slices ham
6 slices Swiss cheese
12 strips bacon
tarragon
parsley

Pound breasts until 1/4" thick. Top each piece with a slice of ham and 1 slice of cheese. Fold chicken over ham and cheese. Wrap each bundle with 2 strips of bacon. Place in a shallow baking dish and sprinkle with tarragon. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until chicken and bacon are browned. Garnish with parsley.

To adapt to crockpot:
I put chicken breasts in sprayed (with Pam) crockpot. I put cheese and bacon on top of each piece of chicken and added 1/4 cup water in bottom. Cook on low for 4-5 hours (I do this because my crockpot has a warming function that while only supposed to warm, continues to cook). The chicken was very moist and tender and so easy.

5/17/2005 8:25 AM

Melanie’s Chicken Pie

from Mignon

Pastry for a 2-crust pie*
6 Tblsp butter or margarine
6 Tblsp flour
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
1-3/4 cups chicken broth
2/3 cup evaporated milk
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped **

Melt the butter; add flour and seasonings. Let bubble. Add liquids and cook slowly until thickened. Add chicken. Pour into pastry-lined pan. Top with rest of pastry. Pinch edges together. Bake at 425 degrees for 35 minutes. Yield: 4 (generous) servings

*I use Pillsbury Pie crust in the refrigerator section.
**If I cook my own chicken, I cook it in water with celery, onion, salt, and Tony’s or some sort of Cajun seasoning. If I use canned chicken (which works pretty well), I season it with Tony’s before adding it to the mixture. Two 10-ounce cans is slightly more than 2 cups of chicken, so I use the two cans for each recipe that I make.

Serve with fruit salad (I really like pear halves topped with mayo and grated cheese) and any green veggie that your family will eat.

5/13/2005 10:16 PM

Southwestern Chicken Spaghetti

Robin Sailor

This is a quick and easy recipe that my daughter loves:

Mix together in a saucepan:
1 large can of chicken from Sam's (you can also boil and bone a chicken if you've got more time)
1 can original Rotel tomatoes, drained
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 cup velveeta cheese, cubed

Heat until creamy and pour over cooked spaghetti. Serve immediately, or you can put in a casserole dish and rewarm to serve later.

Crock Pot Barbeque Chicken

Robyn

"an easy and often requested recipe"

Six Frozen Chicken Breasts, One cut up chicken (fresh), or a package of leg quarters (thawed)

1 Bottle of KC Masterpiece Barbeque Sauce

1 Tablespoon of liquid smoke

1/4 C Water

Spray crockpot with cooking spray. Place chicken and then cover with the rest of the ingredients. Cook on low for 8 to 9 hours.

Eat and enjoy!!!!