Grilled Chicken Alfredo

Served some grilled chicken Alfredo to my family for dinner tonight; it's my boys' favorite!  However, it struck me by surprise when my DH not only had one serving of the pasta, but went back for more!  He has not been one to "like" my Alfredo.  It made me laugh inside & smile for sure!  This is all what's left for tomorrow's snack.

Ingredients:

1/2 stick butter

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 cup shredded cheese (I used jack/cheddar)

1 cup milk

garlic powder to taste

16 oz cooked pasta

1 lb grilled chicken

Directions:

In a large skillet, melt the butter over med-med high heat.  Add your heavy cream and cheese, and bring to a low boil until thick.  Gradually, add the milk to thin it out some.  Season with garlic powder.  Toss with pasta and grilled chicken.  Sauce will thicken as it stands.

Chicken Enchilada Pie

Here is a spinoff from a family favorite, Frito Pie, growing up.  The recipe is inspired from Linda's Low Carb Mexican Chicken recipe.  Now that school has started with after school activities, I needed a quick recipe to put together from items I already had in the freezer.

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked rice
2 cups cooked chicken breast pieces
1 can enchilada sauce or homemade
4 oz can green chilies
Fritos corn chips
shredded cheese
shredded lettuce
diced tomatoes
sour cream

Directions:
Heat together the rice, chicken, sauce, and green chilies until warm.  I used a crockpot to put mine together.

In a 9x13 dish, layer the chips, rice mixture, cheese.  Place in microwave for about a minute, or until cheese is slightly melted.  Top with lettuce, tomatoes, and a dollop of sour cream for each serving.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

As hesitant as DH was to me making this pizza, I.loved.it!  I think my favorite part of it was the cilantro added as a garnish on the BBQ Chicken Pizza.  (I love cilantro in the first place...just was not sure how it would be with BBQ.)  I really didn't want to open up a jar of marinara for the pizzas made tonight, but ended up anyways for variety---just in case not everyone in the family liked it.  However, there were only a couple slices of this for leftovers.  The recipe is adapted from Food.com.

Ingredients:

pizza dough or homemade

1/4 - 1/2 cup honey BBQ sauce

1-2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

cooked chicken thinly sliced

cilantro chopped (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees, or as prescribed on the packaging for the pizza dough.  Coat the pizza pan with a layer of canola oil, and spread the dough in the pan.  Smear the sauce on the dough and layer the pizza with the cheese and chicken.  (The chicken I used was cooked in a sweet BBQ sauce.)  Sprinkle additional cheese over the chicken, if preferred.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes.  When pizza is done, remove from oven, and sprinkle the pizza with cilantro as a garnish, if preferred.  

...Since I don't have a pizza pan, I used a 9x13 pan.  Once the pizza was done baking, I was able to transfer it to a cookie sheet to cut and serve easier.

...If you are using plain chicken, toss lightly in some BBQ sauce before placing on pizza.

Boneless Buffalo Wings

Something that my Dear Husband has been craving lately are boneless buffalo wings.  After spending money for multiple packages at the grocery stores, it was time for me to figure out how to make my own!  While the ones at the stores have been too hot for him, he was delighted that the ones I made tasted mild!


Watching all the fry cooks at Applebee's make the boneless wings, it seemed pretty easy to make; I just needed to find a recipe.  Very grateful that he likes these.  I'll be making another batch, I'm sure!  The recipe is adapted from Franks Red Hot.

Ingredients:
cooked boneless chicken fingers (homemade)
1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup hot wing sauce

In a small bowl, melt the butter in the microwave.  Then, stir in the wing sauce.  In a larger bowl, add the chicken you wish to coat, about 10 pieces at a time.  Pour a small amount of sauce on the chicken and gently toss until all is coated.  Continue coating the desired chicken in batches.  Enjoy!

Crispy Chicken Fingers

A few years ago, I became so disgusted with the over-priced frozen chicken fingers at the grocery stores.  Out of desperation, I decided to make my own, like at the restaurants.  To save money and make the chicken last longer, I serve these "precious beauties" on a bun and fill up the tummies for my four "baby birds!" lol  However, my Dear Husband loves to sample all the chicken pieces while I'm at the stove making these!  It makes me feel good to see him approve of "What's For Dinner?"  I also love that I know what the ingredients are in these!  It is a little time-consuming to make them, but sooo worth the wait!  My Dear Husband loves to eat these dipped into honey mustard!

Ingredients:
3 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, tenders, or bites
3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 eggs
1 cup water or milk (add more as needed)
shortening


Directions:
In a large skillet, melt the shortening on medium heat.

In a mixing bowl, add the flour, Italian seasoning, chili powder, garlic salt, and pepper.  Mix well the ingredients.  In another bowl, add the eggs and milk or water and whisk well together.  Add more milk or water as needed.

My fingers get real "gummy" in this next phase...

A few pieces at a time, dip the flour into the flour, then the egg wash, and back into the flour mixture.  Once the oil is hot, but not too hot, place the floured chicken into the skillet.  The chicken should start frying immediately.  Fry the meat for about 7-10 minutes at a time, until golden brown.  I usually flip the meat over after about 3-4 minutes.  (You may need to adjust the temperature of the oil, be careful not to burn it.)  Continue cooking the rest of the chicken in batches.

When done, place let cool on a plate with paper towels.  Enjoy!

Cream Cheese Chicken Pot Pie

A few years back, I stocked up on cream cheese when it was a loss leader.  I got them almost free after a coupon.  My family loved the flavor with the cream cheese for the Creamy Chicken Pot Pie.  I stretch the dish out a little more to feed my family with a 9x13 pan and just one layer of crust.  The recipe is adapted from Allrecipes.com.

Ingredients:
1 can cream of chicken soup or homemade (2 cups) *
8 oz cream cheese (room temp/softened)
5 cups mixture of diced carrots, peas, corn, and diced cooked potatoes
1/4 cup diced mushrooms (optional)
2 cups cooked chicken chopped or shredded
1 rolled out pie crust (room temp)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a 9x13 pan, spray with a nonstick cooking spray.  In a large bowl, mix together the soup, cream cheese, and veggies.  I like to heat it in the microwave to cut down on the time in the oven.  Stir until creamy.

Then, add the chicken.  Pour into 9x13 pan.

Top with the pie crust and bake for about 18 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and the sauce is bubbly.  Let sit for a bit and cool.  Sauce will thicken as it stands.

Variation:  Use turkey in place of chicken.

**My family can easily eat this in one sitting.  It concerns me that I will have to make more than 1 9x13 dish for dinner, if I want leftovers, for my family of 6.


*Recipe adjustments:  I used only 2 tbs of the cornstarch instead of 4 tbs that the recipe calls for in tonight's dinner, as I was running low on it & didn't think of using flour.  It was a little runny, per se, but the sauce did thicken as it cooled off.  I will remake this another time & remember to record any necessary changes; my family will be happy with that! :)

Sour Cream Sauce

I'm not Mexican, but I love to eat Mexican foods, the mild stuff, anyways!  Wanted to reuse some of the leftovers from a Spanish Rice Casserole from last night.  I threw in some extra diced chicken, some more cheese, a little bit more seasoning, and rolled it up into a dinner I will have more leftovers, I think!  (As not everyone is eating at home tonight.)  I like to taste my foods while I make them.  I had to exercise some self-control to stop eating the sauce on top of these burritos!  Oh, my son went "nuts" over the sauce as well.  I hope you like it, too!

Recipe adapted Sour Cream Sauce for Enchiladas and Chimichangas.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup flour
1 3/4 cup chicken broth (I used water & 1 large bullion cube)
1 cup shredded jack/cheddar cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk

In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, melt the butter.  While whisking, gradually, add the flour and chicken broth, smoothing out all lumps as they appear.  Remove from heat.  Then, add the shredded cheese.

Stir until the cheese is melted.  Then, add the sour cream.  I had to stir in some milk to get the creamy consistency I was looking for, to spread over the burritos.

Spread this over your favorite burritos or enchiladas.  If you'd like sprinkle some extra cheese as a garnish, over the sauce.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, until hot  and bubbly.  

Chicken Spaghetti Casserole

This casserole is one of my family's favorite dishes.  I usually don't have leftovers.  I had just finished making a turkey earlier in the week, that I bought last year.  In place of the chicken, I used turkey; it tasted great.  I like that you can throw in any kind of veggies that you want; it's great for the little bit of leftovers.  The recipe is adapted from Pioneer Woman.

Ingredients:
14.5 oz spaghetti**
1/2 onion diced
1/2 cup green bell pepper
1/2 cup red bell pepper
1/2 cup fresh chopped spinach
1/4 cup corn (optional)
1/3 cup green chilies diced make your own
1 can cream of mushroom soup homemade
1 can cream of chicken soup homemade
2 cups milk*
1 can Campbell's Fiesta Nacho Cheese soup
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups diced cooked chicken or turkey
Garnish with diced tomatoes and shredded cheese.

In one large pot, cook your spaghetti according to the directions on package.  **I've also made it with bowtie pasta as well; it was a super-hit with one of my 4 boys, as he does not like spaghetti much.

In a small saucepan, saute the onion, peppers, spinach, corn, and green chilies until soft.

*If you are making your own cream of chicken soup, add 1/4 cup diced mushrooms.  This will substitute the two canned cream soups and the 2 cups milk.  You will not need to make the cream of mushroom soup.  I love that I can throw it together, it's pretty forgiving.  You only need to make one of the homemade soups.  Hence, there's only 3 cups water and 1 cup milk, plus the seasoning and mushrooms.

In a large bowl, combine your soups, milk*, chicken, sour cream and the cooked veggies.  Then, stir in the cooked spaghetti.  It wasn't until just recently that I decided to add a sour cream to give it a more creamier flavor.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray with a nonstick cooking spray a 9x13 pan.  Place the pasta into the pan.  Cover and bake for about 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.  Garnish with the diced tomatoes and shredded cheese.

Husband & Kid Tested & Approved

Baked Chicken Parmesan

Working at Applebee's, eating the Chicken Parmesan was one of my favorites.

Ingredients:

2-3 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 eggs 

1/2 cup milk

2-3 cups Italian bread crumbs homemade

1 jar of spaghetti sauce

2 cups mozzarella cheese

16 oz cooked spaghetti

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line your 9x13 pan with aluminum foil and spray with a nonstick cooking spray.  Beat the eggs and milk together in a small bowl.  In a separate bowl, add the bread crumbs.  Dip the chicken into the egg wash.  Then, coat the chicken completely in the bread crumbs and place on prepared foil.  (Add more crumbs, if needed.)

Bake for 30-40 minutes, until no longer pink and the juices are clear.  (I flipped the chicken over while baking half way for an even crispiness.)

Either reuse the same 9x13 pan, or use another, removing the foil.  Spray the 9x13 pan with a nonstick cooking spray.  Pour about half the jar of the spaghetti sauce in dish and spread about.  Place the chicken over the sauce. 

Then, add the remaining sauce over each cooked chicken breast.  Top with mozzarella cheese.  

Cover and bake in oven for about 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted, and sauce is bubbly.

Serve with spaghetti.

Husband and Kid Tested and Approved 

Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com.

Mexican Chicken Casserole

When I was growing up, we ate a lot of this!  It was so good.  It's been a while since I last made it.

Ingredients:
1 can cream of chicken soup or homemade (2 cups)
1 can diced mushrooms
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can diced green chilies
2 cups chunky cooked chicken
8 oz shredded cheese or Velveeta
tortilla chips (crushed)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray with a non-stick cooking a 9x13 pan.  Except for the chips and cheese, combine all ingredients and warm up together, slightly, to reduce cooking time in oven.  (If using 1 can of cream of chicken soup, you may want to fill up the empty can with milk, to make it creamy.  I used homemade.)

Apply a couple cups of the sauce on the bottom layer, then crushed chips, and sprinkle w/ cheese.  Continue in the same pattern, ending with the cheese sprinkled on top.  (I used 2 cups of sauce for each layer and smoothed it over the chips.)

Cover and bake for 20 minutes, or until bubbly.

Kid tested and approved.

*To cut down on cost, I used fresh mushrooms, tomatoes, & green chilies I portioned and placed in freezer during the summer months.

Flaky Grilled Chicken Chimichangas

Making your own restaurant favorite foods is easy in your own kitchen.  These grilled chicken chimichangas are a favorite.  I like to eat the leftovers cold, even.  We used to always go out to eat at either On The Border or Chimi's, before we started getting out of debt.  But, you can still make your favorite restaurant meals frugally at home, for a fraction of the cost at a restaurant.

Ingredients: 

1 green pepper

1 red bell pepper (optional)

1/2  onion

oil

1/4-1/2 cup Campbell's Fiesta Nacho Cheese Soup 

2 cups grilled Italian Chicken strips

10 flour tortillas

Slice your peppers and onion into thin strips.  Pour a splash of oil into you non-stick skillet and heat it up, careful to not burn the oil.  Then, carefully saute over med-high heat until desired doneness and caramelized.  

Mix the cheese soup,  cooked peppers/onions, and grilled chicken.  Add a touch of water for desired creaminess. 

Place a spoonful of filling on a warmed flour tortilla, and roll into a burrito, tucking in both sides.  Stick toothpicks on the lip to seal together.  

Fill non-stick skillet with about 1/2 cup to a cup of oil and heat over medium-high heat.  Place burritos into skillet and let cook on all sides, rotating, to desired doneness.  Be careful that the filling doesn't fall out and splash hot oil.

When done, let cool on paper towels.  Remove toothpicks before serving.

Top with queso and/or sour cream as a garnish, or eat plain.

Sour Cream Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Got this recipe earlier in the year for my son's Cinco de Mayo food bash @ school.  Made another pan for dinner to test with my family.  Previous to this recipe, I vowed that I would NEVER make Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas again!  But, this recipe has changed my mind!  It is a family favorite.


Sour Cream Chicken Enchilada Casserole
(Modified from original recipe, Chicken Enchilada Casserole)

1 cup plain homemade yogurt
2 cups cream of chicken soup (homemade)
1/3 cup chopped green chilies
2 cups diced grilled chicken
10 flour homemade tortillas
2 cups shredded cheese
sour cream

Preheat oven to 350.  Combine plain yogurt, cream of chicken soup, green chilies, 1 cup shredded cheese, & grilled chicken in a bowl.  Spray a 9x13 pan with a nonstick spray, spoon some sauce into the bottom of pan, layer with flour tortillas & sauce, until sauce is gone.  Finish w/ sauce on top.  Top w/ the remaining shredded cheese.  Cover & bake for 30-45 minutes, or until bubbly.  (To prevent cheese from sticking to aluminum foil, spray with Pam.)  Garnish w/ sour cream.