Lemon Cilantro Chicken Skewers

This was a super easy and delicious dinner we had with brown rice and garden green beans. The kids ate it all! YAY!
I adapted the recipe a little bit from here. Her pictures are better too, so check it out.

I didn't grill mine, I just put them on a sheet pan with foil and broiled them for a few minutes on each side. I also just used about 6 chicken tenders for 4 of us.

We made it again yesterday and had friends over and they said they loved the chicken (and 1 of them isn't much of a meat eater).

Chicken Tikka Masala

Holy shaboley. This was stinkin' amazing. loved it! Definitely a repeater for us.

I got the recipe from My Kitchen Cafe.

1 cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 tablespoons minced fresh ginger 

1 teaspoon salt
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Combine all ingredients except chicken. Pour sauce over chicken and refrigerate for one hour. Grill or cook chicken in frying pan. Discard marinade.

1 tablespoon butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper finely chopped (I used about 3/4 of the pepper because I didn't want it too spicey for the kids. It turned out just right.)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
1 cup cream
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic and jalapeno for one minute. Season with cumin, paprika and salt. Stir in tomato sauce and cream. Simmer on low heat until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes. Add grilled chicken and simmer for 10 minutes. Garnish with fresh cilantro. Serve over hot rice.

Orange Chicken

A very tasty meal! We served this with brown rice and asparagus. I did not use a whole 2 pounds of chicken. I thought that was quite a lot of meat. I think I probably used about 3/4 of a lb. for the 4 of us (2 adults and a pittance from 2 kids).

Recipe source:  My Kitchen Cafe

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2″ cubes
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons oil or butter

1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon finely minced ginger
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons green onion
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup water

Heat oven to 350. In a shallow dish combine the flour, garlic powder and pepper. Dip each piece of chicken in flour mixture and coat evenly.

Pour oil (or melt butter and pour) in a shallow baking dish, large enough to accommodate chicken in a single layer. Arrange chicken in pan and bake uncovered for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan combine water, fresh orange juice, rice vinegar, soy sauce, orange zest and whisk over medium heat for a few minutes. Then stir in brown sugar, ginger, garlic, and green onion and let it come to a boil. Combine cornstarch with water and let it dissolve and add it to the sauce until thickened.

After chicken has baked the 30 minutes, turn each piece over and pour 1/2 sauce mixture evenly over chicken. Bake another 30 to 40 minutes basting frequently.

Serve chicken over rice with extra sauce on the side.

Ritz Chicken Fingers

My kids don't eat meat. I mean, rather, they won't. But, this, they ate right up. A miracle, folks.

Recipe source: Cooking on Clover Lane. (I love this woman's blog.)

1 roll of Ritz crackers, crushed
1 cup of mayo
1 tsp. dried mustard
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast (or one container...you know what I'm talking about...usually about 1# and 1/2.)
Smoosh the crackers and set in one bowl.
Mix the next 3 ingredients together and set in another.
Cut up chicken in strips or nuggets.
Coat chicken in mayo mixture. (I usually get lazy and just dump all the chicken in the mayo bowl and mix up good.)
Then coat chicken piece by piece in Ritz crackers...be generous...this is the best part.
Set on a WELL OILED cookie sheet. (About 2 TBS.)
Bake for 20 minutes at 350 or till done.

Creamy White Chili

Found the recipe at Mel's Kitchen Cafe.Oh it is good. Really good. Go HERE to see the recipe. And her picture is prettier and therefore more enticing. :-)

I put way too much chicken in it. I would also add another can of beans. Those great northerns cook down!

Chicken Wings

Made with an orange hoisin sauce. Very tasty. We make these fairly often since Brian is willing to process the wings. Go HERE for the recipe.

Thai Ruby Curry (Ganeg Phed Gai Yang)

Behold, my favorite dish. We first had something akin to this at a restaurant in Provo, UT called Thai Ruby (it's their "House Special"). I fell in love with it. The fresh basil with the sweetness of the pineapple and tomato in combination with the delicious coconut curry is wonderful. So Brian did a little research and we adapted some online recipes and came up with this. We've been making it for years. I now share the recipe with you!

Cut up 2 chicken breasts (it really is best NOT to use chicken thighs)

Cut up about 5 fresh basil leaves, chiffonade

Cut up about 2 tomatoes [we used Romas] into thin wedges

Put a little oil in a pan (not olive oil) and heat it up. Add a teaspoon of red curry paste and fry until fragrant. Then add 1/2 can of coconut milk (shake it up first) and heat it up until a thin film of oil come to the top. Add chicken and cook through. Add 1tsp fish sauce (find in Asian section of your grocery store) and the rest of the coconut milk. 

Add everything else: about 1/2 cup chunked pineapple, about 1/3 cup frozen peas, tomatoes, and fresh basil. Add heaping teaspoon of sugar. Heat until everything is warm and the coconut milk comes back together (shouldn't have to boil). 

Taste to make sure everything is okay. If it needs more curry, ladle out some of the coconut milk into a liquid measuring cup and stir in your curry paste. Once it's dissolved, add it back into the pan.

Serve over white rice.

(Go find an asian market, the red curry paste there is less expensive than the American grocery store's brands. For you Colorado folk, try the Pacific Ocean Marketplace in Broomfield. It's on 6600 West 120th Avenue, Broomfield, CO.)

Greek Flatbread Sandwiches

We used to just call them chicken pitas. But since we've found this flatbread, we prefer it to the pitas. Hence the new name.

We pile them with homemade hummus, lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, greek-seasoned chicken, feta cheese and sometimes ranch dressing (some do not like dressing).

Homemade Hummus

1 can garbanzo beans, drain but reserve about 1/4 liquid
2-3 garlic cloves (depends on how much you like garlic, I guess)
about 1/3 c peanut butter
a little water
about 1 tsp salt

Put all this into a food processor and puree. I sometimes add a little water to finish off the hummus to make it smooth. Here's a different recipe for hummus I got in college. It's a little more ethnic style:

2 cups canned garbanzo beans, drained
1/3 cup tahini
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic, halved
1 T olive oil
1 pinch paprika
1 tsp minced fresh parsley

Place garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice, salt, parsley, and garlic into a blend or food processor. Blend until smooth. Transfer mixture to bowl. Drizzle olive oil over the hummus. Sprinkle with paprika.

Chicken Chalupas

A Beck Family classic. Always a hit. The missionaries came over for dinner on Sunday and I made chalupas and they loved them. There was only half a chalupa left. I think they left it alone because no one likes to be the one to finish a dish!

2-3 large chicken breasts (cook in butter. Season with salt, pepper, onion powder)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 pt. sour cream (the 16 oz container)
1 small can diced green chili peppers
1 small can sliced black olives
3-4 green onions diced
2 cups monterey jack cheese shredded
10 flour tortillas
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Cook chicken, dice and set aside. Combine in a medium bowl soup, sour cream, peppers, olives, and onions. Add jack cheese.
Take a small amount of the mixture to cover the bottom of baking dish (to prevent the bottom of the tortillas being too hard).
Remove 2+ cups of mixture and add to diced chicken. Place chicken-soup mixture into tortillas, not too full, and roll up.
Place in a 9x13 baking dish.
Spoon remaining mixture over top.
Top with shredded cheddar cheese.
Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes or until hot & bubbly.

Mushroom and Artichoke Chicken

Before I post the recipe, can I just say while we enjoyed this, neither of us actually loved it, but we felt that was because of personal taste not because of a bad recipe. The basil and oregano in this are in the forefront, and the artichokes are strong -tasting because they're marinated. A little tweaking is probably fine. I got this recipe from a friend's family cookbook, and I got the chicken from Sprouts, which is having a sale through this coming Wednesday (FYI for you CO folk) $1.67 a pound, which is unheard of around here.

Mushroom and Artichoke Chicken

4 Chicken Breasts (I used 3 large ones instead)
flour - roughly a cup or so
2 Tab oil
1 C marinated artichoke hearts
1 can crushed tomatoes
2 garlic cloves, or the equivalent
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
8 oz mushrooms
1/4 C red wine vinegar

Dredge chicken in flour and brown on med-hi in oil. Generously sprinkle with salt and pepper. Remove and add mushrooms and garlic till golden. Add artichoke hearts, tomatoes, red wine and herbs, pepper, and salt. Cook 5 minutes, put chicken back.
Cover and cook on medium low for about 20 minutes. Remove and sprinkle with fresh parmesan.

Ack! I just realized I forgot to put the cheese on top. I think that would have made a delightful difference. Still probably won't make it again, but don't forget it if you do. :)

Almond Chicken and Rice

(I will add a photo later when I can upload it.)

Almond Chicken and Rice

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast

1/4 cup Italian Dressing and marinade (divided)

1 1/4 cup fat free reduced sodium chicken broth

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

2 cups broccoli florets

1/4 cup almonds

3 cups of cooked rice

Cook chicken in 2 tablespoons of dressing in large skillet over medium heat 4 minutes or until evenly brown on each side. Stir in broth, garlic powder and remaining dressing; bring to a boil. Cover; simmer 5 minutes. Remove chicken. Add broccoli to skillet and cook uncovered for 3 minutes. Stir in the rice and almonds. Serve chicken over rice.

You can definitely use instant rice, but since I don't I tweaked the recipe a bit. You do the exact same thing for instant but have to let it stand for 7 minutes before serving so the liquid can be absorbed into the rice. It was well received (except my picky daughter) and pretty low in fat. (original recipe from kraftfoods.com)

Peanut Sauce Chicken

Behold one of our favorite dishes. This comes from the repertoire of Brian's family.

2 chicken breasts, skinned, boned & cut

Sauce:
1/2 c. peanut butter
1/2 c. water
2 T. soy sauce
1 T. brown sugar

1. Put sauce ingredients in a microwave safe bowl and warm it (about 30 seconds-1 minute or so in the microwave) until it's starting to dissolve. Stir to combine.

2. Heat 2 T. peanut or veg oil
3. Add 2-3 cloves minced garlic, 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
4. Add chicken. Stir fry 5 minutes and add a green vegetable (3-4 c.) [we always make it with green beans. It rocks.] and cook for about 3 minutes. Add sauce and cook for 3 minutes.
Serve over rice.

I like it when the green beans are cooked so they still have some crunch on them. This is one of those dishes where you want seconds even though you're full because it tastes so good.

Brazilian Chicken

Ok, this is one of those recipes that by adjusting the spices you can really change things up a bit, especially the 'hotness' level. We serve this over rice or with naan or...whatever you want.

Brazilian Chicken
1 teas cumin
1 teas cayenne pepper (may I suggest you put in 1/4 to start and when it's ALL done then taste it and see if you want more)
1 teas turmeric
1 teas coriander
4 chicken breasts (this is negotiable - I only used 2, but I think about 3 is perfect and 4 is the max if you're feeding a lot or want a lot of leftovers)
2 tab oil
1 chopped onion, medium (preferably white, but yellow is ok - NO red)
1 tab fresh ginger grated, OR about 1 heaping teas ground ginger
2 jalapeno peppers (I left these out completely)
2 cloves garlic or the equivalent in powder/minced/etc.
3 tomatoes, chopped, or 1 can diced tomatoes, not drained
1 can coconut milk (low-fat is fine, but after having used it I'd bet the full fat would taste much better)
salt and pepper to taste (may I suggest about 2 teaspoons to start for salt and then taste it and add as you like it)

I precooked my chicken and had it in shreds or cubes, or whatever. Even leftover turkey would be fine. Heat the oil and add the chopped onion and all of the spices - everything through the garlic. Cook a bit until the onions are tender but not limp (ugh). Add the chicken and tomatoes. Heat for a couple minutes. Add the coconut milk and salt and pepper and then simmer stirring occasionally for about 5 - 10 minutes. I covered my pan (I used a wok) while it simmered.
Serve over rice.

"Anna's Burritos" aka Black Bean Chicken Burritos

We first had these at my good friend Anna's house. So now we call them "Anna's burritos." Also a regular in our dinner rotation. The leftovers for this one always get eaten. :)Takes probably 20 minutes to make this.
Ingredients:
1/2 onion
2 cloves garlic
1/4- 1/2 c. honey
1 bunch cilantro
2 cans black beans (or about 8 oz of the dried beans if you want to use those.)
1 lb. cooked chicken
cheese
lime

Directions:
Saute 1/2 onion, 2 cloves garlic in pan. Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup honey depending on how sweet you want it. (Sometimes I add more later after it's all done and it's not quite sweet enough.) Add 1 bunch chopped cilantro. Cook honey and cilantro for about 2 or 3 minutes. Add about 2 cans black beans and 1 lb. cooked and chopped (or shredded) chicken. Heat until boiling and most of liquid is evaporated. Serve in warm tortillas with lime and cheese.

* Make SURE you rinse those canned black beans or it'll be mushy and soggy! We actually like it better when we make it with the dried beans we've soaked and cooked ourselves. But, sometimes you just don't have the motivation/foresight/time for that!

Lemon Chicken

We had lemon chicken, rice and broccoli. This photo does not make it look appetizing and I think I lose points for the Mickey Mouse water bottle, Star Trek glass and Hercules "china". But it was well received. (First time making the meal.)

Recipe was super easy:

1 - 3 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast (I used about 1 1/2 because of my family size and appetite.)

1/2 c. lemon juice

1/2 c. brown sugar

1 pkg. onion soup mix

salt and pepper to taste

Mix lemon juice and sugar together and pour on top of chicken in crock pot. Sprinkle onion soup mix on top and set for 7-9 hours on low. (Mine was 7 hours.)

I don't use minute rice, so that took 15 minutes and the broccoli didn't take long either. Simple yummy meal. (How was that Marisa? More? Less?)