Chicken

Ingredients
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into ¹⁄₂-inch cubes
8-10 medium potatoes, such as red skin, scrubbed and cut into ¹⁄₂-inch pieces
¹⁄₃ cup olive oil
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon paprika
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1-3 tablespoons Sriracha

For the topping
2 cups Mexican cheese blend, shredded
6-8 ounces bacon, cut into pieces and cooked until crisp
1 cup green onion, diced

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 500*F.  Spray 9 by 12-inch baking dish with cooking spray. 

2. In a large bowl mix together olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and hot sauce.  Add potatoes and toss to coat.  Scoop potatoes out of hot sauce mixture, leave as much of the sauce in the bowl as possible, and transfer to baking dish. 

3. Bake potatoes 45 to 50 minutes, stirring occasionally, until cooked through and crispy brown on the outside. 

4. Meanwhile, add chicken to bowl with hot sauce mixture and stir to coat. 

5. Mix cheese, bacon, and green onion together in medium bowl. 

6. When potatoes are done, remove from oven and reduce heat to 400*F.  Top potatoes with chicken.  Then top chicken with cheese mixture.  Return baking dish to oven and bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and topping is melted and bubbling.  Serve with extra hot sauce or ranch dressing. 

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Comments
This recipe is from Cook Lisa Cook.  I actually didn’t eat any of it since it’s something I made for the guys before I went to trivia one night.  When I got home, Lance informed me that he wouldn’t be eating any for leftovers and that I should avoid it as well.  Art, on the other hand, ate it all in two days.  He loved it. 

What happened?  Hot sauce.  The original recipe called for 6 tablespoons of “hot sauce.”  I use Sriracha as my hot sauce of choice but, even then, 6 tablespoons seemed like a lot so I reduced it to 3.  Apparently even 3 was way too spicy for the milder palates of the household.  I would really like to make this again in a way that’s palatable to Lance and myself, so I’ll be going with a mere single tablespoon of Sriracha next time and seeing how that works.

Ingredients
For the sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
Kosher salt and pepper
¹⁄₄ teaspoon dried oregano
Pinch red pepper flakes
1 (28 ounces) can crushed tomatoes
¹⁄₄ teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons fresh basil, coarsely chopped

For the chicken
6-8 chicken cutlets
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 ounces fontina cheese, shredded
1 large egg
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1 ¹⁄₂ ounces Parmesan cheese, grated
¹⁄₂ cup panko bread crumbs
¹⁄₂ teaspoon garlic powder
¹⁄₄ teaspoon pepper
¹⁄₃ cup vegetable oil
¹⁄₄ cup fresh basil, coarsely chopped

Instructions
1. To make the sauce, heat 1 tablespoon oil in medium saucepan over medium heat until just shimmering. Add garlic, ³⁄₄ teaspoon salt, oregano, and pepper flakes; cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes and sugar; increase heat to high and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until thickened, about 20 minutes. Off heat, stir in basil and remaining 1 tablespoon oil; season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and keep warm.

2. To make the chicken, sprinkle each side of each cutlet with ¹⁄₈ teaspoon salt and let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes. Combine mozzarella and fontina in bowl; set aside.

3. Adjust oven rack 4 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Whisk egg and flour together in shallow dish or pie plate until smooth. Combine Parmesan, panko, garlic powder, oregano, and pepper in second shallow dish or pie plate. Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Working with 1 cutlet at a time, dredge cutlet in egg mixture, allowing excess to drip off. Coat all sides in Parmesan mixture, pressing gently so crumbs adhere. Transfer cutlet to large plate and repeat with remaining cutlets.

4. Heat oil in 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Carefully place 2 cutlets in skillet and cook without moving them until bottoms are crispy and deep golden brown, ¹¹⁄₂ to 2 minutes. Using tongs, carefully flip cutlets and cook on second side until deep golden brown, ¹¹⁄₂ to 2 minutes. Transfer cutlets to paper towel-lined plate and repeat with remaining cutlets.

5. Place cutlets on rimmed baking sheet and sprinkle cheese mixture evenly over cutlets, covering as much surface area as possible. Broil until cheese is melted and beginning to brown, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer chicken to serving platter and top each cutlet with 2 tablespoons sauce. Sprinkle with basil and serve immediately, passing remaining sauce separately.

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Comments
This recipe is from Cook’s Illustrated 2013.  (I finally bought myself an online subscription so that I don’t need to wait for the annuals to arrive every year!)  I thought these were super tasty and while they won’t displace Art’s favorite Parmesan Chicken, I would certainly enjoy making this again in the future since it’s a bit easier than my other recipe.

Ingredients
¹⁄₃ cup flour
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut lengthwise into cutlets
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
³⁄₄ cup white wine
2 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
Pinch of salt
¹⁄₂ cup Parmesan cheese, shredded or grated

Instructions
1. Place flour on large plate and dredge chicken in flour, making sure to coat chicken well. 

2. Heat garlic in large skillet over medium-high heat.  Working in batches, cook chicken cutlets until done, about 3 to 5 minutes per side.  Remove to plate. 

3. Add garlic to skillet and cook 30 seconds until fragrant.  Add wine and cook, stirring, about 3 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half. 

4. Remove skillet from heat and add butter, parsley, and salt.  Continue stirring until butter is melted.  Pour sauce over cooked chicken then sprinkle with Parmesan before serving. 

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Comments
This recipe is from Eat Good 4 Life.  I, like most Americans, used to believe that parsley was no more than a non-edible garnish, something to be pushed to the side of a plate and ignored.  Now, I can hardly get enough of the stuff.  I enjoyed this dish quite a bit as a result of my love of parsley!

Ingredients
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into pieces
¹⁄₂ cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
1 white onion, sliced
2 green onions, sliced
Salt and pepper, to taste
Oil for frying

For the sauce
¹⁄₄ cup chicken broth
¹⁄₂ tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon sherry
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
 
Instructions
1. Combine all sauce ingredients in medium bowl and whisk well to mix. 

2. Heat 1 inch oil in large skillet, Dutch oven, or wok over medium-high heat.  Toss chicken in cornstarch and fry in batches until cooked through and golden brown.  Remove to paper towel lined plate. 

3. Remove all but 2 tablespoons oil and return heat to medium-high.  Add garlic, onion, and green onions.  Season vegetables with salt and pepper and stir fry until vegetables are tender crisp.  Remove vegetables to plate with chicken.  Pour sauce mixture into pot and cook until thickened.  Stir in vegetables and chicken and toss to coat.  Serve with rice or noodles. 

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Comments
This recipe is from Jo Cooks.  I think I fried the chicken like the recipe says?  But I might have skipped the cornstarch step and just sautéed it up in the skillet instead since I was pressed for time.  I seem to recall that’s what I did.  You can always skip the frying in a recipe like this if that’s what you’d like to do!  I’ve never had Mongolian Chicken in a restaurant so I can’t compare this, but it was delicious nonetheless!

Ingredients
8 ounces crushed pineapple in juice
¹⁄₃ cup soy sauce
¹⁄₃ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ginger, minced
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed into 2 tablespoons water
 
Instructions
1. Combine pineapple, soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, garlic, and ginger in slow cooker.  Stir well to combine.  Add chicken and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours or HIGH for 4 to 5 hours. Stir 2 to 3 times during cooking to flip chicken and press down into sauce. 

2. One hour before chicken finishes cooking, stir cornstarch mixture and stir into slow cooker.  Cover and cook another house. 

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Comments
This recipe is from Chicken Recipe Box.  I broke up the chicken with a wooden spoon at the end of cooking and served it over rice.  This was very tasty, but the pineapple got pretty lost.  I would recommend adding it at the end of cooking instead of at the beginning.

Ingredients
For the filling
8-10 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 large onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed with the side of a knife
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and quartered
4 cups chicken broth
16 ounces sour cream
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons chili powder
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons cumin, ground

For the sauce
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups strained cooking liquid from poaching chicken
2 (15 ounces each) can tomato sauce
2 tablespoons chili powder
4 teaspoons ground cumin
2 leaves fresh sage, chopped

For assembly
24 corn tortillas (6 inch)

Ingredients
1. Place chicken, onion, garlic, jalapeño, and chicken broth in a large pot.  Cover the pan, bring to a simmer, and poach the chicken for 12 to 14 minutes or until the chicken is completely done.  Remove the chicken from the pot and discard remaining ingredients.  Once the chicken has cooled, shred or chop it into small pieces in a large mixing bowl. 

2. Combine the sour cream, cream cheese, chili powder, and cumin. Add chicken to the cheese mixture and combine until well mixed. 

3. To make the sauce: In a medium saucepan, heat the butter and oil over medium heat. Once butter has melted, add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Stir in flour until garlic is coated.  Add cooking liquid and continue stirring until smooth.  Stir in tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, and sage.  Turn heat to high and cook until boiling, stirring frequently, until sauce thickens a little.  Remove from heat.

4. Heat oven to 350*F.  Spray 9 by 12-inch baking dish with cooking spray. 

5. Layer 6 tortillas over bottom of baking dish.  Spread one third of chicken mixture over tortillas then top with one fourth of enchilada sauce. 

6. Layer 6 more tortillas over sauce and top with half of remaining chicken mixture and one third of remaining enchilada sauce. 

7. Layer 6 more tortillas and top with remaining chicken and one half of remaining enchilada sauce. 

8. Layer remaining tortillas over top of everything and top with remaining enchilada sauce. 

9. Cover with foil and bake 45 minutes.  Serve with salsa, sour cream, and other toppings as desired. 

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Comments
A while ago I made delicious beef enchiladas that had a great homemade sauce.  Prior to this I’d only ever bought enchilada sauce from the store.  I thought it might be fun to turn my normal enchilada recipe into a layered dish using the homemade sauce from that beef enchilada recipe, and this dish was created!  It was yummy and we all loved it! 

Note: You might need to make this in two baking dishes, I’m not 100% sure.  Must revisit so I can update the recipe.

Ingredients
For the cornbread
¹⁄₂ cup butter, softened
1 ¹⁄₂ cup plain yogurt (I used Greek.)
2 eggs
¹⁄₂ cup brown sugar plus 2 tablespoons
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup flour
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
12 ounces frozen corn

For the barbecue chicken
5 tablespoons olive oil
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup ketchup
¹⁄₄ cup water
¹⁄₄ cup balsamic vinegar (I used pomegranate balsamic.)
¹⁄₄ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 ¹⁄₂ cups cheddar cheese, shredded

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 375*F. 

2. Beat together butter, yogurt, eggs, and ¹⁄₂ cup brown sugar.  Add cornmeal, flour, baking soda and salt.  Mix until batter forms. 

3. Heat olive oil over high heat in large skillet.  Add frozen corn and 2 tablespoons brown sugar and sauté 5 minutes. 

4. Transfer corn to casserole dish.  Pour batter over corn and stir to combine.  Transfer to oven and bake 25 to 30 minutes or until just barely done. 

5. Heat 5 tablespoon olive oil in now-empty skillet.  Add chicken and cook until done, about 5 to 10 minutes.  Add onion and bell pepper and continue cooking until soft. 

6. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Add remaining ingredients except for cheese and reduce heat to low.  Simmer 15 minutes or until thickened.

7. Pour chicken mixture over cornbread and top with cheese.  Return to oven and bake until cheese has melted, about 10 to 15 minutes. 

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Comments
This recipe is from Damndelicious although I ended up modifying it quite a bit to use a recipe I love for cornbread and a recipe I love for barbecue sauce.  It was super tasty although a bit on the sweet side due to the sauce and cornbread.  I might reduce the sugar in one of both of those places next time.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into pieces
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch fresh ginger, minced
2-3 small shallots, minced
1-3 thai chiles
3 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon sugar
¹⁄₂ teaspoon black pepper
¹⁄₄ cup water
6-8 green onions, chopped

Instructions
1. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add chicken and cook, stirring, until no longer pink.  Add garlic, ginger, shallots, chilies, and cook until softened and fragrant. 

2. Combine fish sauce, brown sugar, white sugar, and pepper in a small bowl and stir to mix.  Pour mixture into skillet and stir to coat.  Bring to boil for 1 minute than add water.  Adjust heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce has thickened and chicken has cooked through.  Add green onions and serve over rice. 

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Comments
This recipe is from Girl Cooks World.  Sadly I made it so long ago that I don’t really remember how it tasted!  I remember that we all enjoyed it, though, so I guess I’ll just have to revisit it sometime in the future.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon mild paprika
¹⁄₄ teaspoons cayenne
¹⁄₄ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¹⁄₃ cups cold butter, diced
1 cup onion, diced
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes, with their liquid
1 can (19 ounces) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
¹⁄₃ cups heavy cream or half and half
1 cup cooked basmati rice
¹⁄₂ cups paneer (queso blanco is acceptable if you can’t find paneer)
¹⁄₄ cups fresh cilantro, chopped
4 large flour tortillas

Instructions
1. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat and cook chicken until done, about 5 to 10 minutes per side depending on thickness of chicken breasts.  Remove from skillet and cut into bite size pieces. 

2. Combine garam masala, ginger, paprika, cayenne, and cinnamon in small bowl. 

3. Heat 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat in the same skillet used for the chicken.  Once melted, add onion and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.  Add spice mixture and garlic and cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add tomatoes and stir well.  Simmer until liquid has reduced and mixture has thickened, about 10 minutes. 

4. Transfer sauce to blender or food processor and blend until smooth.  Use caution since mixture is hot.  (I used my hand blender directly in the skillet since I like to live dangerously.) 

5. Return tomato mixture to skillet set over low heat.  Add chicken and chickpeas and cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken and beans are heated through, about 5 minutes.  Add cream and stir gently.  Add remaining butter a piece at a time and stir, adding more butter once each piece has melted.  Do not allow sauce to come to a boil.  Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

6. Stir in rice, cheese, and cilantro and serve in tortilla shells. 

No photo!

Comments
This recipe is from Canadian Family and it had lots of great aspects!  However, through fault of mine or the recipe, it was entirely too soupy to work in tortilla shells.  We sort of scooped it up with the tortillas instead.  This might be resolved by letting the sauce thicken more in step 3.

However, the flavors and ingredients were great.  I used queso blano for the cheese and we all really liked the addition of chickpeas to the butter chicken sauce.  This was also a heck of a lot simpler to make than my regular butter chicken recipe which takes two days thanks to the marinade process.  I hope to make these again and to get a photo to share with you all!

Ingredients
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and diced
8 ounces ham, finely chopped
3 ounces Swiss cheese, finely chopped
1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated or shredded
³⁄₄ cup panko
¹⁄₂ teaspoon dried parsley
¹⁄₈ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil

For the sauce
1 ³⁄₄ cup milk
1 ¹⁄₂ tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon mustard
³⁄₄ teaspoon onion powder
¹⁄₂ teaspoon dried parsley
¹⁄₂ teaspoon dried thyme
¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
¹⁄₄ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¹⁄₄ teaspoon garlic powder
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
¹⁄₂ cup sour cream

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 375*F.  Layer chicken in a greased 9 by 13-inch baking dish. 

2. Mix together milk, lemon juice, mustard, onion powder, ¹⁄₂ teaspoon parsley, thyme, salt, ¹⁄₄ teaspoon pepper, and garlic powder together in measuring cup. 

3. Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat then stir in flour.  Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Pour in milk mixture and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture begins to gently boil and thicken.  Stir in sour cream.  Pour mixture evenly over chicken. 

4. Sprinkle ham over sauce then top with Swiss and Parmesan cheeses. 

5. Mix panko with ¹⁄₂ teaspoon parsley and ¹⁄₈ teaspoon pepper in small bowl.  Toss with olive oil to coat.  Sprinkle panko mixture evenly over casserole then bake for 30 minutes or until top turns golden brown. 

Comments
This recipe is from Cooking Classy.  It was yet another tasty one and we all enjoyed it!  I serve it with rice, but it would have worked with most any starch or none at all.