Chicken with Olives, Salsa and Lime

If you need an effortless 

dish for dinner 

that comes together in 20 minutes, 

this saucy chicken dinner is for you.

Chicken breasts braised in flavorful pico de gallo (salsa) and salty green olives for tender, delicious meat...

Chicken Cutlets Blue Bloods Way

I’ve said it before, I’m a huge fan of “Blue Bloods” TV show 
and haven’t missed one episode. 

  
The Blue Bloods Cookbook  
is just as good!

SLOW COOKER SANTA FE CHICKEN

It was a frigid -1° on the thermometer in our backyard this morning, it’s at 9° now, and there's too much snow on the ground.  

 

Lightened up Chicken Parmesan

I love the Italian-American classic, Chicken Parmesan ~ breaded, then fried and smothered in mozzarella cheese and served alongside a plate of pasta.  

This recipe is sort of like it, just lightened-up.

Delicious Chicken with Lemon-Wine Sauce

FYI:  Don't be eating your chicken with a fork in Gainesville, Georgia, the 'Chicken Capital of the World', it's against the law.   And by the way, Honest Abe was an honest-to-goodness foodie.*  He even did his own grocery shopping!  Abe could eat four score and seven corn cakes; and, speaking of chicken, chicken fricassee was one of the only two dishes the Lincolns were known to have eaten at dinner in the 1850's, the other was corned beef.

It's no wonder that chicken appears as a staple in practically every culture’s cuisine ~ it can easily be flavored and prepared in many ways ~ roasted, grilled, poached, broiled, in stews, potpies and soups ~ with a plethora of sauces, toppings and seasonings, such as...

Baked Chili-Lime Chicken Kabobs

It may be Spring according to the calendar, but by looking around outside now, it's still Winter for sure ~ thanks to the sleet/snow/wind combo over the weekend, we have another 3" snow on the ground yet again...

Because of the above, it's not grilling season here yet, so our chicken kabobs came from the oven.

Midwestern Chicken and Noodles over Mashed Potatoes and My 8 Year Blogiversary!

Spoon chicken and noodles over what?  Mashed potatoes, really!  Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!

It isn’t soup, it’s not a potpie, it’s a hotdish ~ it’s thick and creamy noodles topping a mound of mashed potatoes.

Creamy, rich gravy smothers bites of savory chicken, chewy noodles and mashed potatoes. You haven’t eaten Midwestern food until you eat this for supper!

We like mushrooms with the noodles, skip them if you don’t.  Chop up and add carrots or celery, if you desire.  I poached chicken breasts, but I’ve also picked the meat off a rotisserie chicken when in a hurry.  

It may not make a pretty picture, but it more than makes up for it in goodness.  And if you have leftovers, it’s your lucky day!

Chicken and noodles over mashed potatoes is a great hearty homestyle one-dish meal for a crisp evening, any day of the week!

As a side note ~ I was recently reminded that I  have been blogging for 8 years now.  I started this blog October 29, 2009, that's a lot of posts!  Back then, I just wanted a way to organize and document family recipes.

I look back and cringe at some early posts, the writing, the photos.  But what makes up for that is the great people I have virtually "met" along the way.  I feel like I truly know many of you who share the same passion I do:  food.

I've seen a lot of blogs come and go over the years and I've learned a lot along the way from reading what you share ~ whether your travels, books you've read, music you like, food from your kitchen or in restaurants, I've enjoyed it all!

Thank you for all for visiting here and your positive comments!  

And I give a special thank you to our older son, Bill, Jr., Bubba here on my blog, for helping me to start it all!  Couldn't have done it without you, son! 

Here's to 8 more years... 

Yield: 4-6 servings

Midwestern Chicken and Noodles over Mashed Potatoes

Midwestern hearty chicken and noodles at it's best!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 medium white onion, diced
• 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
• 1 large jar of Heinz Homestyle Chicken Gravy
• 1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
• 4-6 cups chicken broth, divided
• 1/4 cup flour
• 8 ounces egg noodles
• 2 boneless chicken breasts, cooked and diced
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Enough mashed potatoes for everyone

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In a large skillet, or pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add onions and mushrooms, and sauté until cooked.
2. In a liquid measuring cup or blender, whisk 1/4 cup broth and flour until smooth, no lumps. Stir into skillet mixture.
3. Add remaining broth, gravy and soup to mixture, stir well, bring to a boil.
4. Add noodles. Cover and cook until noodles are almost tender, about 7 minutes. Add more broth if needed.
5. Stir in chicken and heat through. Add additional salt and pepper, if needed.
6. Serve immediately over mashed potatoes.

notes

Add more broth or water as needed, the noodles soak it up.
This dish should be just a touch soupy, but much thicker than a noodle soup.  
Takes about 1 hour, total time to prepare.

Enjoy!

Last Night's Dinner ~ Sautéed Cherry Tomatoes over Grilled Chicken

I know ~ you’re probably thinking grilled chicken is boring and dry.  Well, when grilled correctly, it’s very tender with a nice char, and Bill does this perfectly!

Evidently, I was more interested in eating this than taking pics!

Generally, he dips the chicken breasts in a little lemon juice and sprinkles them with seasonings, salt and pepper, and our favorite spices.  

If a little thick on one end, pound it with a mallet until it has a uniform thickness.  Grill over high heat quickly, searing in all the juices.

While I leave the grilling to him, I’m on to making sautéed cherry tomatoes to top the chicken for added flavor and moistness… 

Ummm, mmm!

The little gems will be slightly charred, tender and savory-sweet.  Sautéing them brings out their natural sweetness and flavor.  They’re a perfect chicken picker-upper!

If you’ve never sautéed cherry tomatoes, give them a try.  It’s well worth it!

Yield: 4 servingsAuthor: Pam

Sautéed Cherry Tomatoes over Grilled Chicken Breasts

Cherry tomatoes, a perfect picker-upper for grilled chicken!

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, chopped fine
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons seasoned pepper
• 4 grilled chicken breasts

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic to the oil and cook for 30 seconds.
2. Add tomatoes, vinegar, thyme, salt and pepper, stir gently.
3. Reduce heat to low and cook for 2-5 minutes, tossing occasionally until tomatoes begin to loose their firm shape and skins start to wrinkle.
4. Serve over grilled chicken breasts.

Created using The Recipes Generator

Happy cooking!

Here's supper... Homemade Sautéed Chicken Nuggets w/Smoky Bourbon BBQ Sauce

This will bring your family to the dinner table quickly,

Sautéed Chicken Nuggets!

You can call them fingers, you can call them strips, you can call them tenders or nuggets…

It makes no difference ~ these little handheld chicken gems are way up there in my list of deliciousness!  

There’s nothing humdrum about them, particularly if you serve them with a favorite sauce.

They’re easy peasy, simple and good, nuf’ said!

I have a feeling you’ll be cooking this a lot, because…

they’re a culinary wonder ~ simply delicious!

Homemade Sautéed Chicken Nuggets

Ingredients:

1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 egg

1 cup flour

½ teaspoon cayenne

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon seasoned pepper

1-2 tablespoons cooking oil, or butter

Smoky Bourbon BBQ sauce, for dipping (recipe below)

Method:

Cut chicken into 1½” chunks and set aside.

Beat egg in a shallow bowl.

Place flour and seasonings in another shallow bowl or resealable plastic bag, combining well.

Dip the chicken nuggets into beaten egg.

Dredge chicken in flour.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat.

Add chicken, cook about 10 minutes until cooked through and no longer pink.

Serves 4

Printable recipe

Smokey Bourbon BBQ sauce 

Ingredients: 

1 cup bourbon

½ cup water

¼ cup brown sugar 

1½ cups ketchup

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

4 tablespoons molasses

⅛ cup Worcestershire sauce

½ teaspoon liquid smoke

Dash hot sauce

Method:

In a large saucepan, bring bourbon to a boil, simmer for 7 minutes, most of it will evaporate.

Add remaining ingredients, heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes until it is of a smooth and thick consistency.

Makes 2 cups

This is great for grilled chicken and ribs too!

Printable recipe

Enjoy!

Spicy Goodness ~ Grilled Cajun-Style Chicken Breasts

Just imagine

the aromas of Acadian cuisine 

in the Louisiana bayous,

the euphonious sound of their music…

This is the Cajun way of life.

St.Martin Bayou Sunset by DramaQueenB Photography

Acadians are the ancestors of present-day Cajuns.  The world “Cajun” derives from “Acadia" ~  a name used to refer to the Nova Scotia area in Canada where French immigrants settled during the early colonial era.  

They were hunters, fishermen, and farmers, well-versed in the art of living off the land, when they arrived destitute in the New Orleans area, and were given land grants.  The Acadians had a strong bond with each other as they moved into the bayous, swamps and prairies of Louisiana to start their farms.  

Their old traditions and language merged with the distinctive Louisiana landscape to fuse into a new Cajun cultural identity.

A lot of people are unaware that the typical Cajun food was developed by extremely poor people.  Refugees and farmers used what they had to feed large families.  

Bill and I have visited the New Orleans area many times, and love Cajun-style cooking ~ it’s aromatic, spicy, and rich, really good…  

This time, I used a generous portion of minced garlic, onion powder and oregano, all whisked together with spicy Robusto Italian dressing for the chicken marinade. 

Bill grilled the chicken to a spicy, moist, delicious meat for our dinner.  

Fire up your grill now for some seriously good Cajun-style chicken!


Grilled Cajun-Style Chicken Breasts
Printable recipe 

Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup Wish-Bone Robusto Italian Dressing
2 tablespoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon each, salt and pepper

Method:

Combine marinade ingredients in a large bowl or a resealable plastic bag.
Add chicken breasts and let marinate for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
Remove chicken from marinade, shaking off excess.
When grill is heated, place chicken on grill over medium heat.
Grill chicken until cooked through, about 6-8 minutes per side, depending upon thickness, or when thermometer registers 165°.

Serve



Enjoy it!

One-Pan Chicken Florentine Spaghetti Bake

This is about simplifying your day!

There’s very little prep work here ~ it’s a no fuss dish:  dry pasta, uncooked chicken, your favorite sauce, all blanketed with mozzarella cheese. 

To begin, break raw uncooked spaghetti in half, or thirds, over a layer of your favorite sauce; homemade or jarred, in a casserole baking dish. 

Cut the chicken into bite-size chunks and spread over the top, along with mushrooms and spinach.  Do this in two layers, finishing with mozzarella sprinkled over the top, then bake for an hour or so. 

That’s it!  One-pan, no fuss, little clean-up and a delicious comforting dinner for you and your family on a chilly day like it is here today!

It doesn’t get much easier!


One-Pan Chicken Florentine Spaghetti Bake
Printable recipe 

Ingredients:

8 ounces (1 box) dried spaghetti, broken in half or smaller
1 (10-ounce) package frozen spinach (thawed and squeezed of excess liquid)
8 ounce can sliced mushrooms, drained
14 ounces chicken breast, cut into bite-size chunks
42 ounces (one 26 ounce jar plus one 16 ounce jar) spaghetti sauce, or homemade
8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

Method:

Preheat oven to 350°.
Pour 1 cup of sauce in bottom of 13” x 9” baking dish.
Layer half of spaghetti over the sauce.
Layer half the mushrooms, half the chicken and half the spinach.
Arrange more dried spaghetti over all.
Continue with layers of remaining chicken, mushrooms and spinach.
Place remainder of spaghetti on top.
Spread remaining sauce over the top, covering the entire casserole.
Be sure all of the noodles are covered with sauce.
Scatter mozzarella over top.
Cover and bake for 40 minutes.
Uncover, and bake an additional 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.




ENJOY!

Chicken with Grape Chutney

Why not make some chutney?  It is the perfect accompaniment to chicken ~ there’s something about the delicious way sweet and sour chutney balances out the flavor of savory chicken. 

This recipe is from my Cooking Light cookbook.  It calls for both green and red grapes.  I knew from making Roasted Italian Sausage with Grapes, that it makes no difference in taste or color, which grape is used, so I used only green grapes.  I then added crushed red peppers to the mix for a little heat.  

I really like this recipe, and am looking forward to the next time I make it with chicken straight from the grill.  It will be delicious!

Chicken with Grape Chutney

Adapted

Ingredients:

½ cup chopped onion

½ cup red wine vinegar

½ cup dry red wine

2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon crushed red peppers

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 cinnamon stick

2 cups seedless green grapes

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

2 teaspoons canola oil

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon seasoned pepper

Method:

In skillet over medium-high heat, add oil.

When hot, add chicken breasts.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Sauté until golden brown and juices run clear, turning once.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine first 7 ingredients over medium-high heat.

Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes.

Stir in grapes; reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.

Remove cinnamon stick.

Serve chicken with chutney on the side.

It is delicious!

Be sure to visit my friend, Linda’s blog, @My Kind of Cooking for great tips and delicious easy recipes!

Chicken Pizzaiola with Capers ~~~ Lightened Up

I’ve never made, nor even eaten, Chicken Pizzaiola before, but I positively plan on cooking it again!

Chicken Pizzaiola is a traditional Italian food, as far as I know.  A lot of you, my foodie friends, out there are Italian, so please let me know if that is true---what is the origin of this dish?  I believe the original recipe combines the taste of herbs with tomato sauce, poured over cooked chicken and topped with slices of mozzarella cheese.  

I clipped this light variation of Chicken Pizzaiola from our local newspaper, The Northwest Herald.  It has the delicious tomato sauce with plenty of oregano, red pepper flakes and piquant capers.  Instead of layers of mozzarella, this is topped with grated Parmesan cheese. 

It was delicious!  I served it with a green salad and cooked spinach.  It would be great served with spaghetti!

Chicken Pizzaiola with Capers

Ingredients:

3 chicken breasts; boneless, skinless

1 teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon seasoned pepper

2 teaspoons olive oil

5 green onions, chopped

1 green bell pepper, sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 (14-ounce can) tomatoes, no-salt-added

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon capers, drained

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese, optional

Method:

Place chicken between 2 pieces of plastic wrap.

With meat pounder or rolling pin, pound evenly to about ¼” thickness.

Sprinkle chicken with oregano, salt and seasoned pepper.

Spray large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set over medium-high heat.

Add chicken and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side.

Transfer to plate.

Add oil to skillet and reduce heat to medium.

Add onion and bell pepper; cook stirring frequently, until tender.

Add garlic and cook about 1 minute.

Return chicken to skillet along and add tomatoes, pepper flakes and capers.

Cover and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 10-15 minutes longer; depending upon thickness.

Serve sprinkled with Parmesan, if desired.

Tender, Moist & DELICIOUS! 

Be sure to visit my friend, Linda’s blog @My Kind of Cooking for great tips on Tuesday’s and good and easy recipes every Friday!