Chicken Enchiladas

Recipe from Karen Kowallis

1/2 small onion, chopped finely
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp oil
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast cooked, shredded
1 1/2 c salsa
4 ounces Philadelphia cream cheese, cubed
1 tsp ground cilantro
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tbs chopped green chilies, drained
1 tsp jalapeno juice
1/2 cup shredded cheese blend
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
8 flour tortillas

Cook and stir onion and garlic in hot oil in skillet on medium heat for 2 minutes.  Add chicken, 1/4 c salsa, cream cheese, cilantro and cumin.  Mix well.  Cook until heated through stirring occasionally.  Add 1/2 cup of shredded cheese and green chilies.  Mix well.

Spoon into tortillas.  Roll up.  Place seams down in 12x8 baking dish.  Top with salsa and cheese.  Bake 15-20 min or until heated through.

Michelle's notes:  I boil the chicken in water and then shred it.  I like to use fresh cilantro instead of dried.  I don't like to put the remaining salsa on my enchilada's (Paul likes it) but I do put cheese.  I don't like it as leftovers because the tortillas get soggy.

Crock Pot Pesto Ranch Chicken

8 Boneless skinless chicken thighs
6 ounce jar of pesto
1 pkg Ranch Dressing Seasoning Mix
1/2 C chicken broth

Turn crock pot to high setting.  Place chicken thighs into pot.  Mix pesto, ranch dressing and chicken broth and pour over chicken.  Close with lid and cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low 6-8 hours.

Serve with mashed potatoes and a side salad.

Serves 8

Honey Mustard Baked Chicken

Recipe stolen off my friend Julie's food blog. (Thanks Julie!)

1/2 cup butter
1 cup honey
1/2 cup dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. curry powder
4-6 chicken breasts

Heat oven to 375F. Melt butter in sauce pan over medium heat. Whisk in the honey, mustard, salt and curry powder. Pour enough of the sauce to generously coat the chicken (leave some sauce to pour over rice). Bake 40-45 minutes or until chicken is done. Serve over rice.

Michelle's notes: I cut my chicken breasts in half just to make them cook faster cause I'm impatient like that. So this only took me about 30 minutes to bake. The kids loved this recipe, Lana even said the sauce tasted like McDonalds sauce. (It doesn't really but she loves McDonalds so it just meant she loved the sauce.)

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

Recipe and picture courtesy of OurBestBites.com.

1/3 C (3 oz) cream cheese
1/4 C green salsa
1T fresh lime juice
1/2 t cumin
1 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/4 t granulated garlic, or garlic powder
3 T chopped cilantro
2 T sliced green onions
2 C shredded cooked chicken


1 C grated pepperjack cheese

small corn tortillas (flour ones are good as well)
kosher salt
cooking spray

Heat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.

Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it's soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and granulated garlic. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well.

You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.

Work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. It helps to place them between damp paper towels. Usually 20-30 seconds will do it. If you find yours are cracking when you roll them or are coming unrolled right away, just try heating them longer and try the paper towel thing.

Place 2-3 T of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges. Then roll it up as tight as you can. Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and sprinkle some kosher salt on top.

Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.

Michelle's Notes: A little bit labor intensive and exceptionally yummy, but be prepared with some Beano for the next day...

Shoyu Chicken

3 lbs. chicken, cut up
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup water
1 tbsp. ginger
1/2 cup shugar
1 tbsp. oil
garlic salt.

Season chicken with garlic salt and brown. Combine other ingredients in a pot. Place chicken in pot. Cover and cook slowly over low heat approx. 1 hr. Serve over rice.

Slow Cooker Jambalaya

Recipe found on All Recipes here.

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 inch cubes
1 pound andouille sausage sliced
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
1 large onion, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chicken broth
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. dried parsley
2 tsp. Cajun Seasoning
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 lb. frozen cooked shrimp without tails
Brown Rice

Throw everything except shrimp into a slow cooker and cook on low for 4 hours. Add shrimp 30 minutes before serving. Serve over Rice.

Michelle's notes:

I browned the sausage first to get some flavor then de-glazed the pan with the chicken broth, then poured everything else into the slow cooker. I wouldn't let it cook longer than 4 hours or so because our sausage turned out a little soggy. (my original time was 1 hr on high before church, then 4 hrs on low) The rice is normally cooked in the Jambalaya, but I didn't want my rice to soak up all the liquid while we were at church, so I just whipped up some brown rice right as I threw in the shrimp and spooned the Jambalaya over it. Also, watch the seasonings. I'm usually light handed with dried herbs because they're so strong but when I went to taste everything all I could taste was the spicy andouille sausage so make sure to add the correct amount of seasonings.

Crescent Chicken Squares

Courtesy of The Sideline Mom @ Tasty Kitchen

1 can Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
1-½ cup Cooked Chopped Chicken
¾ blocks Cream Cheese
3 Tablespoons Butter
¼ teaspoons Onion Powder
2 Tablespoons Milk
1 dash(es) Salt
1 dash(es) Pepper

Mash cream cheese and butter together.Mix in onion powder, milk, salt and pepper.Stir chopped chicken into mixture.

Separate Crescent rolls into 4 rectangles. When unrolled and you will be able to see 4 rectangles quite easily. You can pinch together the perforated line that runs diagonally down the rectangle to ensure that none of the divine creamy mixture tries to make a run for the border. Or not.

Then spoon a generous amount of chicken mixture into the center of each.Close the pocket by pulling all 4 corners together at the top and again pinch down each seam to ensure none of the divine creamy mixture escapes.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Michelle's notes: I didn't have any onion powder. All I had was dried minced onion, so I sprinkled in a little of that. I didn't affect the texture to me at all. Also, this only makes 4 pockets. I could only eat one, but would double the recipe next time especially for leftovers.

Almond Chicken Stir Fry

1 1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
3 tbsp. canola oil
3-4 cups veggies of your choice. I usually use matchstick carrots, sugar snap peas, red onion and broccoli.
3 cups chicken broth
3 tbsp. soy sauce
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup cold water
Hot cooked rice
1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted

In a skillet or wok, stir-fry chicken in oil until no longer pink. Stir in the vegetables, chicken broth and soy sauce. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and cook until vegetables are crisp-tender. Combine cornstarch and water until smooth; stir into chicken mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve over rice. Sprinkle with almonds. Yield: 6 servings.

Chicken Noodle Superole

4 Chicken boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 - 12 ounce package egg noodles
1 onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup carrots chopped
1/2 cup celery
3-4 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 stick butter
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
salt and pepper
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley (or 1 tsp. dried)
1 cup crumbled saltines or butter crackers, optional

In a large pot of boiling water drizzle some olive oil and 1 tbsp. of salt. Boil the chicken until done. Cook the noodles in boiling water. While the noodles are cooking cut up the chicken into 1/2 inch pieces. Drain pasta and set aside.

In a pot saute onion, garlic, carrots, and celery in the olive oil and butter. Cook until the onions appear translucent, add the mushroom soup, chicken soup, and sour cream. Mix well. Salt and pepper if needed. Add the noodles, chicken and parsley. Stir until fully coated. Transfer to a greased 2 1/2 quart baking dish (or 9x13 pan). Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until bubbly. If you are using crackers, remove from oven and sprinkle with crackers and bake 5-10 minutes more.

Michelle's notes: When using all of the noodles, I found it made the casserole really dry. So use less noodles and maybe add milk to soup mixture.

Easy Parmesean Garlic Chicken

Courtesy of Kraftfoods.com

1/2 cup KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese

1 envelope GOOD SEASONS Italian Dressing Mix

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (2 lb.)

HEAT oven to 400°F.

MIX cheese, dressing mix and garlic powder.

MOISTEN chicken with water; coat with cheese mixture. Place in shallow baking dish.

BAKE 20 to 25 min. or until chicken is done (165°F).

For a golden appearance, after chicken is cooked through set oven to Broil. Place 6 inches from heat. Broil 2 to 4 min. or until chicken is golden brown.

Michelle's notes: This sounds bad, but I actually preferred to use pre-frozen chicken breasts and then thaw them. They came out more moist than the fresh chicken.