Tomatillo Chicken Soup - Better Homes and Garden Recipe

This was my first experience making anything with tomatillos. I was disappointed to discover that one of them was moldy when I got home. If you're making anything with them, it might be wise to peek under their husks before buying them.

The tomatillos are the little green plants on the left. I'd never seen one before making this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 6 medium tomatillos, husks removed and rinsed
• 1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1 32 ounce box chicken broth
• 1 medium green sweet pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 4 ounce can diced green chiles
• 2 tablespoons snipped fresh cilantro
• 1 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced*
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Preparations:

1. Chop three tomatillos. Place remaining tomatillos in blender. Cover; blend until smooth. 
2. In a 3-1/2- or 4-quart slow cooker combine pureed and chopped tomatillos, chicken, broth, sweet pepper, onion, celery, chiles, cilantro, jalapeno, cumin, lime juice, chili powder, garlic, and 1 tsp. each salt and pepper.
3. Cover; cook on low for 6 to 7 hours or high for 3 to 3-1/2 hours. 
4. Remove chicken; let stand until cool enough to handle. Shred chicken; return to soup. 
5. If desired, top with sour cream, additional chopped red sweet pepper or jalapeno peppers, snipped cilantro, and/or tortilla chips. Makes 4 to 6 servings.
   

Easy Chicken 'N Dumplings - Slow Cooker Recipe

I have really great memories of my great-grandmother making chicken and dumplings. Sadly, I don't have her recipe but I found one that's easy and pretty close to hers. Using canned biscuits saves a lot of time and they taste yummy!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked chicken (I baked a couple of chicken breasts and then cut them into pieces.)
• 1 can (10 3/4 ounces) cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can (10 3/4 ounces) cream of chicken soup
• 2 soup cans of water
• 4 teaspoons of all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 can refrigerated buttermilk biscuits (8 biscuits)

Preparations:

1. Combine all ingredients except biscuits in slow cooker.
2. Cut biscuits into quarters and gently stir into mixture. 
3. Cover and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours.

Velveeta's Cheesy Chicken Rotini

My dad grew up with a working mom and so he knew his way around a kitchen. (Mostly he cooked Hamburger Helper and Tator Tot Casserole.) Often times, we had Velveeta rather than hard cheese. In honor of dear old dad, I found this recipe and thought it looked yummy enough to track down some Velveeta. I found it on the snack aisle which I do not understand....

I ended up using 4 cups of water - not 2 and 1lb of Velveeta. It was really good. Serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 2 cups water
• 3 cups rotini pasta, uncooked (a box of Barilla rotini only cost me $.99)
• 1 pkg. (16 oz) frozen broccoli, cauliflower and carrot blend)
• 1 can (10 oz) diced tomatoes and green chili, undrained
• 8 oz Velveeta cut into 1/2 inch cubes

Preparations:

1. Cook chicken in cooking oil over medium heat for five minutes or until no longer pink. USE LARGE SKILLET.
2. Stir in water. Bring to boil. Add pasta, stir and cover. Simmer on medium to low heat for 10 minutes or until pasta is tender. 
3. Add remaining ingredients; stir. Cook, covered for five to seven minutes or until Velveeta is completely melted and vegetables are crisp-tender. Stir frequently.

Chicken Enchilada Chili

We had lunch at Cafe Zupa's recently and I had the Chicken Enchilada Chili. It was so good that I searched the web for something close to it. I couldn't find a recipe that matched it so I tweaked one. Sadly, it's not as close as I would have liked but still pretty good.


Ingredients:

• 1 ½ lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into pieces
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 large bell pepper, chopped
• 2 (14 ½ ounce) cans diced tomatoes
• 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (10 ounce) can red enchilada sauce
• 1 (10 ounce) can green enchilada sauce 
• 1 (4 ounce) can diced green chilies
• ½ tablespoon cumin
• 2 teaspoons Chili powder
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 sour cream
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Preparations:

1. Pour tomatoes, beans, onion, green pepper, sour cream and enchilada sauces into 6 quart crockpot. Stir.
2. Add spices. Stir well. 
3. Pour chicken in and mix well. 
4. Cook on low for 6 hours or until chicken is cooked. Add cheese right before serving.

Campbell's Kitchen - Chicken Broccoli Divan

I made this recipe because I saw a picture of the dish while I was surfing the web (Do people still say that?) and thought it looked yummy. I like to cook my chicken in a crock pot with lots of chicken broth. It's the easy way to get cooked chicken without having to worry about it burning. :) My husband isn't a huge fan of chicken but he liked this dish a lot. It serves four.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups cooked broccoli florets
• 1 1/2 cups cubed cooked chicken
• 1 can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 tablespoons dry bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted

Preparations:

1. Place the broccoli and chicken into an ungreased casserole dish.
2. Stir the soup and milk in a small bowl. Pour the soup mixture over the broccoli and chicken. Sprinkle with cheese. Top with bread crumbs. 
3. Bake at 450 degrees for 20 minutes or until the chicken mixture is hot and bubbling.

Kraft's Chicken Almond Stir-fry

Here's a recipe that's both easy and healthy. I recommend it if you're sleep deprived and have cranky kids. :)

Ingredients:

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp.  cornstarch
1/2 cup KRAFT Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing, divided
1 pkg.  (16 oz.) frozen oriental mixed vegetables, thawed
1/2 cup PLANTERS Sliced Almonds, toasted
2 cups  hot cooked brown rice


Preparations:

1. Mix chicken with cornstarch and 1 Tbsp. dressing; cover. Refrigerate 15 min.
2. Heat large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 5 min. or until chicken is done, stirring frequently. Add vegetables and remaining dressing; cook 5 min. or until heated through. Stir in nuts.
3. Serve over rice.

Makes 4 servings

Martha Stewart's Chicken with Artichokes and Angel Hair Pasta

I told Ken that before he ate this dish, he had to take a picture of it with our digital camera. He says the pictures I've taken with my phone - suck so I have to use the camera. That would have been fine except the "re-chargeable" batteries in the camera failed and the pictures he thought he took are non-existent. Sometimes, technology is just super annoying.

Martha Stewart recipes are usually time consuming but this one isn't and if you love artichokes and don't mind the $3+ per can - I say make this one! It was very easy.

Check out Martha's Site

 

 

 

Ingredients:

• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 8 thin chicken cutlets (about 1 1/2 pounds total)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 can (14 ounces) artichoke hearts packed in water, rinsed, drained, and quartered
• 2 tablespoons rinsed and drained capers
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 8 ounces angel-hair pasta
• 1/2 cup parsley leaves

Preparations:

1. Set a large pot of salted water to boil. Place flour in a shallow dish, and season with salt and pepper. Dredge cutlets, shaking off excess. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Cook chicken in batches, adding remaining oil as needed, until light golden, 1 to 3 minutes per side; transfer to a dish.
   
2. Add broth to skillet, and bring to a boil; cook until reduced by half. Add artichokes, capers, and the chicken with any juices. Gently swirl to combine, and bring just to a boil. Remove skillet from heat. Swirl in butter, and cover to keep warm.
   
3. Add pasta to boiling water. Cook until al dente; drain. Serve chicken and sauce over pasta, topped with parsley.
   

Taste of Home's Berry Chicken Salad

I had Wendy's berry almond chicken salad with raspberry vinaigrette last week and it was so good that I decided to make it for a potluck. This recipe is very similar to what I had.

There's one shortcut you can take with this recipe. Instead of using chicken breasts, I used Oscar Mayer's Carving Board meat. I had a coupon for $1.00 off one package and a Target coupon for $1.00 off two.  I figured why not save some money and time and just use that instead of cooking chicken.

This recipe comes from Taste of Home and is great for a hot summer day.

Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (4 ounces each)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 package (6 ounces) fresh baby spinach
1 cup fresh raspberries
1 cup halved fresh strawberries
2/3 cup crumbled goat cheese
3 tablespoons chopped pecans, toasted
1/4 cup prepared fat-free raspberry vinaigrette

Preparations:

1. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Grill chicken, covered, over medium heat or broil 4 in. from the heat for 4-7 minutes on each side or until juices run clear.
2. In a large bowl, combine the spinach, raspberries, strawberries, cheese and pecans. Divide among four serving plates. Slice chicken and arrange over spinach mixture; drizzle with vinaigrette. 

Yield: 4 servings.

Baked Barbeque Chicken Drumsticks from AmericanFood.com

There's a story behind this recipe. I took the girls to Chili's on August 10th because they ate for free. (I spent $23 for two adult entrees and one soda.) While we were there, they hit me up for Coke and Diet Coke to go with their meals. I said yes and even though I know that stuff is not good for them. So to balance out one bad parenting decision, I consoled myself by prepping this meal so they could have a decent lunch the following day. (As opposed to the chicken strips and a bologna sandwiches they've been having.)

I need a brush for barbeque dishes....

The girls actually worked with me on this and I hear from their babysitter that they loved this recipe. WARNING: if you have kids that HATE spicy food - leave out the hot sauce. (See the original recipe and it's awesome reviews.)

Ingredients:

• 12 chicken drumsticks, about 3 1/2 pounds
• 1 cup barbecue sauce, divided
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt, plus more as needed
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
• vegetable oil to grease pan

Preparations:

1. With a sharp knife, make 2 slashes, about 1-inch apart into the thickest part of the drumstick, cutting to the bone. Transfer the chicken to a large sealable plastic freezer bag.
2. In a small bowl, mix together 1/4 cup of the barbecue sauce with the rest of the ingredients. Pour into the bag of chicken, press out most of the air, and seal tightly. Shake the bag gently to distribute the sauce evenly. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
4. Line a baking sheet with foil and grease lightly with vegetable oil. Remove the chicken from the bag with tongs and space evenly on the pan. 
5. Brush both sides of the drumsticks with barbecue sauce.
6. Bake for 15 minutes, remove, and brush generously with more sauce. Return to the oven, and repeat this brushing process 3 more times, for a total cooking time of about 50-60 minutes.
7. Chicken will be fork tender, when it's done.

Easy Oven Barbecued Chicken Wings from Food.com

Our kids are a little weird. Kali ate leftover pull beef for breakfast two days this week. I don't know another 9-year-old on this planet who loves meat as much as she does. She received $20 as a present and spent it all on beef jerky. I asked her why and she said, "Because it's meat, it's chewy and it makes my teeth happy!".

Kess, on the other hand, is the pickiest 10-year-old around. (I'm sure there are worse but she's the only picky eater I know!) Every day, there's a new dish that she says she doesn't like. Lately, she's on a "I hate red meat in any form" kick. So imagine my happiness when this easy dish satisfied them both. At first, Kess resisted but after one piece of chicken, she wanted more and Kali insisted that she be able to eat the leftovers for breakfast. (Seriously - when did kids stop wanting Lucky Charms for breakfast?)

On that note, I give you easy chicken for a weeknight. 

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs chicken wings
• salt
• fresh ground pepper
• 2 cups tangy barbecue sauce

Preparations:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.2 Bend the wings and tuck the tips under the large joint to form a triangle.
2. Season the chicken wings on both sides with salt and pepper.
3. Set wings in a single layer in a large roasting or baking pan. Use two pans if you have to.
4. Bake the chicken wings, turning once, until browned, about 45 minutes.
5. Remove the wings from the oven. Pour off all the fat from the pan. If necessary, blot the wings with paper towels. Return the wings to the pan.
6. Pour the barbecue sauce over the chicken wings and return to the oven. Bake for 10 minutes.
7. Turn the wings over and bake 10 minutes longer. Serve hot, at room temperature, or cold.

Kraft's Senorita Fajita Sandwich

I think this recipe belongs in the "man food" category. I served it to Ken, a guy friend and the girls. The girls didn't like it the pepper jack cheese. (They don't do spicy - even cinnamon gum.) But the guys really loved it. You have to weigh their opinion against the fact that they were really hungry and are not particularly picky eaters. I didn't try it because I HATE mayonnaise.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup thin green pepper strips
• 1/4 cup  thin onion slices
• 2 oz. Rotisserie Seasoned Chicken Bread
• 1 whole wheat tortilla (8 inch)
• 1 Tbsp. Chipotle Flavored Reduced Fat Mayonnaise
• 1  Slice Pepper Jack Cheese Slice, cut in half

Preparations:

1. COOK and stir vegetables in medium nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium-high heat 4 min. or until crisp-tender; spoon to one side of skillet.
2. ADD meat to other side of skillet; cook 2 min. or until heated through, turning after 1 min.
3. SPREAD tortilla with mayonnaise; top with cheese, meat and vegetables. Roll up.

Leftover Chicken, Cheese and Vegetable Quesadillas

My refrigerator is often a wasteland of leftovers. I hate cleaning it out so for the first few years of married life, it was pretty common to find leftovers covered in green fur or vegetables that had liquified. (so gross!) After three years, I finally wised up a bit and decided to set a limit on how long food stays in the fridge (leftovers get two weeks.) and to freeze vegetables rather than let them become a science experiment in the vegetable drawer.

Green and red bell peppers were on sale at the grocery store a while back so I chopped up what I couldn't use, put them a freezer bag and stored them. They came in very handy this last Saturday when I was trying to get rid of leftovers. This recipe combines my leftover chicken breasts, corn and frozen peppers.

Ingredients:

• 2 large cooked chicken breasts, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups chopped green and red bell peppers
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup cooked corn
• 1 Fajita seasoning packet
• 8 tortillas
• sour cream  & salsa (optional)

Preparations:

1. Place chicken and peppers in large skillet. (I didn't use oil because the peppers were frozen.)
2. Cook on medium heat for five minutes. 
3. Add fajita seasoning and water as directed on packet. 
4. Pour corn into pan. Stir well. 
5. Let vegetables and chicken simmer in seasoning. 
6. In a separate pan or quesadilla maker, place one tortilla. 
7. Put a fourth of the chicken mixture on tortilla, add 1/4 cup of shredded cheese. Cover with tortilla. 
8. Cook until cheese is melted and top with sour cream and/or salsa.

Makes 4 servings

Chicken Curry

For Mother's day, I only asked for two things - a good night's sleep and for my husband to make me dinner. I told him that he could choose whatever recipes he wanted in the hopes that it would spark some enthusiasm. (Turns out he saves all his enthusiasm for his St. Patrick's day dinners.)

Well, I didn't get the good night's sleep. Instead, my son woke up every two a half hours that night and if that wasn't enough to make me absolutely thrilled to be his mother - he decided top it off with prying open his diaper and peeing all over everything. What is it with little boys and their need to constantly do that?

On that note, here's the dinner Ken made for me.  (He never could get the sauce to thicken but it was still pretty good. :)

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
• 1/2 teaspoon white sugar
• salt to taste
• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 3/4 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Preparations:

1. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute onion until lightly browned. Stir in garlic, curry powder, cinnamon, paprika, bay leaf, ginger, sugar and salt. Continue stirring for 2 minutes. 
2. Add chicken pieces, tomato paste, yogurt, and coconut milk. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.
3. Remove bay leaf, and stir in lemon juice and cayenne pepper. Simmer 5 more minutes.

Pillsbury's Chicken Italian

This is a really easy version of Chicken Marinara. It's so easy in fact that you could put your teenager to work making dinner with this recipe. The only thing I found is that it took me more than 8 minutes to cook my chicken so I'm leaving their cooking time for chicken out of the recipe.


Ingredients:

8 oz uncooked spaghetti
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 package (1 lb) boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 can (19 oz) Progresso® Vegetable Classics hearty tomato soup
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (2 oz)

Preparations:

1. Cook and drain spaghetti as directed on package.
2. Meanwhile, in 10-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat until hot. Cook garlic and chicken in oil until chicken is light brown on both sides.
3. Sprinkle basil and pepper flakes on chicken. Pour soup over chicken; sprinkle with cheese. Cover and simmer 10 minutes.  

Herb Baked Chicken

This recipe comes from Better Homes and Garden's cookbook.




One thing to note: Their temperature and cooking times are off so cook your whole fryer according to the weight and directions on the package.

Ingredients:

1 - 3 to 3 1/2 lb whole fryer chicken
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 cloves garlic, melted
1 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground sage
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
1/4 teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning or black pepper

Preparations:

1. Clean fryer well and pat dry.
2. Combine butter with spices.
3. Cover chicken with spices.
4. Bake chicken as directed on the package.
5. Baste chicken with collected juices after an hour.

I stuffed this chicken with stuffing. (The recipe is under holiday recipes.)

Chicken and Green Chile Enchiladas

Ingredients:

3 cups cooked chopped chicken
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
10 green onions, finely chopped
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 - 10 3/4 ounce cans condensed cream of chicken soup
2 cups sour cream
1 - 7 ounce can diced green chile peppers, undrained
12 - 6 inch corn tortillas

Preparations:

1. Preheat oven at 350.
2. Combine chicken, 2 cups of cheese, onions and chili powder
3. In another bowl - combine sour cream, soup and peppers
4. Stir 1 cup of the sour cream mixture into the chicken mixture
5. Spread 1/2 cup of combined mixture into greased 9x13 pan
6. Fill tortilla with 1/2 cup of chicken mixture, roll tortilla and place in pan. Repeat process until all tortillas are filled.
7. Cover tortillas with soup mixture and two cops of cheese.
8. Bake uncovered for 35-45 (until bubbly)

Slow Cooker Cashew Chicken

Here's a great recipe that you can give to your husband and say "It's your night to cook."

Ingredients:

6 chicken breasts
1 1/2 cups cashews
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup sliced celery
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/4 cup chopped green onion
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

Preparations:

1. Combine all ingredients in Crock pot slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours or on HIGH for 4 to 6 hours or until done.

Easy Green Chile Enchilada Casserole

Whenever I go to a Mexican restaurant I almost always order enchiladas. At the same time it gets expensive to eat out so I'm trying to make some of my favorite dishes at home because it's cheaper and contrary to what a lot of people think - it's not hard!




This is a recipe for an easy casserole version of chicken enchiladas that's on the fattening and spicy side. We tried to take a picture of it on the plate but it was too gooey for that! Yummy but very gooey!

Ingredients:

4 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 1/2 cups green enchilada sauce
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 container (8 ounces) of sour cream
1 can (4 ounces) diced mild green chiles
1/2 cup vegetable oil
12 (6-inch) corn tortillas (or you can use three large flour tortillas)
1 1/2 cups of shredded Colby-Jack cheese, divided

Preparations:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease 13x9 inch casserole dish.
2. Combine chicken, enchilada sauce, soup, sour cream and chiles in large pot. Cook on medium until the mixture is warm.
3. If you use corn tortillas, heat skillet with oil and fry tortillas until their soft.
4. Layer casserole dish - 3 tortillas, 1/3 of the chicken mixture and 1/2 cup of cheese.
5. Repeat layer process so there are three layers with cheese on top.
6. Bake casserole for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted and the casserole is warm all the way through.

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

I'm a huge fan of Cafe Rio's chicken tortilla soup so I thought that I'd try to make a homemade version. This recipe is great for Sundays.

Ingredients:

1 14.5 ounce can of stewed tomatoes in Mexican sauce

1 lb of chopped chicken breast

4 ounces of green chiles chopped

1/2 large onion chopped

1 teaspoon Ground Cumin

1 teaspoon Chili Powder

1 teaspoon of dried Cilantro

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon of minced garlic

2 cups of water

1 can of chicken broth

12 ounces of Enchilada sauce

tortilla strips

Preparations:

1. Chop chiles, onion and chicken. (I used my small food processor and it saved a ton of time.)


2. Pour chicken broth, enchilada sauce, water and stewed tomatoes into crockpot. Mix well.


3. Add cilantro, salt, garlic, chili powder and cumin to mixture. Mix well.


4. Add chicken, chilis and onion to crock pot.


5. Cook on high for 2 1/2 hours.


6. Top with tortilla strips and sour cream.

Servings: 4

Hungry Girl's Easy Tomato-Basil Chicken

I bought the Hungry Girl cook book recently and here's my first recipe from it. If you're not familiar with her cook book, every recipe is 200 calories or less so if you're watching your weight, this is a good cook book for you.

Note: This is a great recipe book if you're on Weight Watchers because it lists the points.

Ingredients:

• boneless skinless chicken breasts


• 1 1/2 cups crushed tomatoes with basil


• 1 1/2 cups thinly sliced onions

Preparations:

1. Pour 3/4 cup of tomatoes over bottom of greased pan.


2. Put chicken breasts on top of tomatoes.


3. Layer onions over chicken breasts and top with onions.


4. Pour 3/4 cup of crushed tomatoes over chicken mixture.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until chicken is done.

Servings: 4