Ingredients
For the chicken
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tomato, chopped
1 tablespoon flour
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons sour cream

For the noodles
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 pound egg noodles
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 tablespoon sour cream
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 350*F. 

2. Season chicken with salt and pepper.  Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Brown chicken on both sides, about 4 to 5 minutes per side.  Remove chicken to plate. 

3. Add remaining tablespoon oil to Dutch oven.  Add onion and cook until soft.  Add mushrooms and continue cooking until soft, 3 to 5 minutes.  Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant.  Add tomato and flour.  Stir and cook for 1 minute.  Increase heat to high and deglaze Dutch oven with 1/2 cup chicken broth. 

4. Return chicken and accumulated juices to Dutch oven.  Add remaining broth.  Cover Dutch oven and place in oven.  Cook 45 minutes, removing lid after 23 minutes of cooking. 

5. Remove Dutch oven from oven, uncover, and remove chicken to plate.  Stir mustard and sour cream into sauce.  Return chicken to Dutch oven and let rest 5 minutes while flavors blend. 

6. Meanwhile, bring large pot of water to boil.  Add bouillon cubes and cook noodles as directed by package directions.  Drain noodles and return to pot.  Add remaining ingredients and stir until butter has melted and noodles are coated.  Season with salt and pepper. 

7. Serve chicken over noodles. 



Comments
This recipe is from Taste and Tell.  It’s a pretty simple braised chicken dish that is almost like stroganoff in some of its flavors.  The noodles were a great addition, the sour cream, butter and parsley gives them more flavor than just regular egg noodles.  I might make the noodle part of this recipe in the future when I’m making beef stroganoff. 

We all enjoyed this chicken, although I believe that 45 minutes might be a bit too long since the chicken was a tidge on the dry side.  But that can be rectified with future experimentation.

Ingredients
6-8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

For the marinade
2/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried onion
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
1 teaspoon seasoning such as Montreal Chicken seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions
1. Make small cuts crosswise into each chicken breast to help marinade penetrate. 

2. Mix marinade ingredients together.  Place chicken in ziptop bag then pour marinade into bad.  Marinate at least 4 hours or up to 12. 

3. Heat grill and grill chicken until done.  This will be somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes a side, depending on the thickness of the breasts, heat of grill, and distance from flame. 

[Photo forthcoming]

Comments
This recipe is from Kalyn’s Kitchen and I thought the marinade was scrumptious.  The chicken had a ton of flavor and Art did a stellar job of grilling the breasts.  I believe it’s safe to say that he has mastered the chicken breast when it comes to the Big Green Egg! 

Sadly, I have no picture for this meal.  I guess I’ll just have to make it again!

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups rice
1 (12 ounces) can evaporated 2% milk
1 (10 3/4 ounces) can condensed cheddar cheese soup
1/2 cup mild or medium salsa (I used salsa fresco.)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (14-16 ounces) bag southwest-style vegetable blend (broccoli, corn, black beans, etc.)
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cut into small pieces
1/2 cup cheddar cheese or Mexican cheese blend, shredded

Instructions
1. Cook rice as instructed by packaging.  Heat oven to 350*F.  Spray 13 by 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. 

2. Combine evaporated milk, soup, salsa and pepper in baking dish and stir until well combined.  Add vegetables, chicken, and rice.  Cover dish with foil and bake 35 minutes.  Uncover, top with cheese and bake for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and dish is bubbly.  Let stand 5 minutes before serving. 



Comments
This recipe is from Very Best Baking.  I ended up doubling it and making it in the Dutch oven in order to use an entire package of chicken.  It was pretty tasty and the leftovers made great lunches for many days afterward.  I think you could easily use fat free evaporated milk if you wanted to and some sort of lower fat/healthy request condensed soup.  This is definitely more of a winter dish than a summer dish, but it was easy and tasty which makes it good for any time of year in my opinion.

Ingredients
2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup sour cream
6 tablespoons ranch seasoning mix
1 tablespoon salt
6-8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in half widthwise
5 slices white sandwich bread, torn into pieces

Instructions
1. Adjust oven racks to lowest and middle positions and heat oven to 450*F. Whisk buttermilk, sour cream, 4 tablespoons ranch seasoning mix, and salt in large bowl until salt dissolves. Add chicken and toss to coat. Refrigerate, covered, 30 minutes or up to 1 hour.

2. Meanwhile, pulse bread and 2 tablespoons ranch seasoning mix in food processor until finely ground. Bake bread crumbs on rimmed baking sheet on middle rack, stirring occasionally, until light golden brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer to shallow dish.

3. Line rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray. Remove chicken from bowl, allowing excess brine to drip back into bowl, and dredge in bread crumbs, pressing to adhere. Transfer coated chicken to prepared baking sheet and spray lightly with cooking spray.

4. Bake on lower rack until bottom of chicken is golden brown, about 10 minutes. Move baking sheet to middle rack and reduce oven temperature to 400*F. Bake until chicken is golden brown and white meat registers 160*F (or dark meat registers 175*F), 20 to 25 minutes. Serve. 



Comments
This recipe is from the 2010 Cook's Country Annual and I’ve got to say that it’s the first time the crew at America’s Test Kitchen have let me down.  This recipe was supposed to answer the lack of buttermilk flavor in most buttermilk chicken and I found the chicken to be pretty bland overall.  The crunch of the coating was definitely nice thanks to the homemade bread crumbs and the initial high heat cook, but the flavor just wasn’t there.  I couldn’t taste the buttermilk, sour cream, or ranch seasoning even after marinating the chicken for an hour.  Edit: I increased the ranch seasoning the second time I made it and it was much better!

I’m not sure what this recipe needs to make it better, but it’s definitely not all it should be as it currently stands. 

Shown here with Zucchini Fritterwaffles.

Ingredients
1/2 pound green beans, trimmed and cut in half
3 packages ramen noodles, seasoning packet discarded (I recommend Top Ramen.)
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1 small lime, juiced
3 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 pound ground chicken
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch green onions, chopped

Instructions
1. Bring large pot of salted water to boil.  Add green beans and cook 6 to 10 minutes, or until tender.  Add ramen during last 3 minutes of cooking time.  Drain well. 

2. Combine hoisin sauce, lime juice and chili sauce in small bowl. 

3. Heat oil in large skillet over high heat and cook chicken until no pink remains.  Add garlic and cook until softened.  Stir in hoisin mixture.  Cook until bubbly.  Add noodles, green beans and green onions and stir until well combined. 



Comments
This recipe is from Kitchen Simplicity and is the first time I’ve ever used ramen in cooking.  I was very pleased with the results!  The sauce was just a teeny bit too spicy, so I might use a little less chili sauce next time I make it.  I thought it was delicious and the guys enjoyed it as well.  Since I was only able to get ramen in 6 packs, I guess I’ll need to figure out something to do with the other 3 packs now!