Chicken

Ingredients
For the chicken
1 pound bacon
6 tablespoons flour
Salt and pepper
6 - 8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil

For the sauce
2 tablespoons butter or 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon bacon grease
¹⁄₂ teaspoon onion powder
¹⁄₂ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt
¹⁄₄ to ¹⁄₂ teaspoons red pepper flakes, optional
2 teaspoons white sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1cup cream or half and half
1 cup chicken broth
1 ¹⁄₂ cups cheddar, Swiss, or colby cheese, shredded
¹⁄₂ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 tablespoon freshly lemon juice

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 350*F. 

2. Cut bacon into pieces.  Cook in skillet over medium heat until crisp then drain on paper towels. 

3. Season flour with salt and pepper then toss chicken breasts in flour to coat. 

4. Heat butter and olive oil in skillet over medium high heat.  Once butter is melted, add chicken and brown on both sides, about 5 to 10 minutes per side.  Place browned chicken in 9 by 13-inch baking dish.  Brown chicken in two batches if necessary. 

5. Melt butter for sauce (and bacon grease if using) in saucepan.  Add salt, pepper, pepper flakes, onion powder, and sugar.  Stir until mixed and spices become fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Add flour and stir until bubbly and smooth.  Continue stirring and slowly add milk, cream, and chicken broth.  Continue stirring until sauce has thickened, about 10 to 15 minutes. 

6. Reduce heat to low and add cheeses.  Stir well until cheese melts then stir in lemon juice.  Mix half of bacon into sauce then pour sauce over chicken. 

7. Cover chicken with foil with bake for 45 to 60 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.  Top with reserved bacon and serve. 

Comments
This recipe is from Get Off Your Butt and Bake.  I served it over rice and it was delicious.  The sauce was scrumptious and rich.  I will definitely be making this again some day!  Even if the recipe has a very silly name.

Ingredients
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons butter, cut into 4 pieces
1 can (18 ounces) Progresso Creamy Parmesan Basil Recipe Starter
8 ounces cream cheese, cut into cubes
1 pound pasta
5-6 leaves fresh basil, cut into thin strips

Instructions
1. Place chicken breasts in slow cooker.  Top with butter pieces and Creamy Parmesan Basil Recipe Starter.  Cover and cook on LOW until chicken shreds easily, about 4 to 6 hours. 

2. Using two forks, shred chicken in slow cooker.  Add cream cheese cubes to slow cooker, cover, and cook on LOW for 30 minutes or until cream cheese has melted.  Stir well to combine. 

3. While cheese is melting, bring large pot of salted water to boil over high heat.  Cook pasta as directed on packaging then drain well. 

4. Serve chicken sauce over pasta and top with fresh basil. 

Comments
This recipe is from Taste and Tell.  It’s a very simple and easy one, pretty much a dump and stir.  It was super tasty and we all enjoyed it.  I sort of wish I had doubled the recipe in order to have had more leftovers!

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
26 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
80 ounces frozen chopped spinach
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ginger, minced
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons cumin, ground
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons coriander, ground
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
Salt to taste

Instructions
1. Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat.  Add onion and sauté until lightly browned.  Reduce heat to medium-low and add ginger, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, cumin, coriander, turmeric, and chili powder.  Sauté until spices are aromatic.  Add a few tablespoons water if necessary to keep paste from sticking to pan. 

2. Add chicken and stir to combine with spices.  Sauté for 2 to 3 minutes then add spinach.  Add enough water to just cover the ingredients.  Increase heat to high and bring to boil.  Cover and reduce heat to low.  Simmer until chicken is cooked through, spinach is heated through, and curry has thickened.  Serve with rice, naan, or similar. 

Comments
This recipe is from Fuss Free Cooking.  The flavors were good and we enjoyed the dish but it was nothing amazing and the leftovers were the last to go.

Ingredients
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 onion, diced
1 (16 ounces) jar salsa verde
1 (4 ounces) can diced green chilies
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced
Shredded cheese
Guacamole
Pico de gallo or fresh salsa
Flour tortillas
Sour cream

Instructions
1. Place chicken in slow cooker.  Top with onion, salsa verde, green chilies, cumin, and garlic.  Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours. 

2. Remove chicken from pot to large bowl and shred.  Stir in enough liquid from slow cooker to make the meat moist and almost saucy. 

3. Serve chicken in tortillas with desired toppings. 

Comments
This recipe is from Real Mom Kitchen.  (I wonder what a fake mom is?)  The recipe was super simple since it’s basically a dump and stir.  We sure love tacos in this family and these are a good addition to our selection of taco recipes!

Ingredients
For the sauce
¹⁄₂ cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoon mustard (use your favorite, I used Dijon)
¹⁄₂ teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon vinegar
2 tablespoon honey
Salt and pepper

For the nuggets
2 ¹⁄₂ cups flour    
¹⁄₄ cup powdered sugar
4 teaspoons salt
3 teaspoons pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
6-8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into pieces
Peanut oil or canola oil for frying (I prefer peanut oil since it doesn’t make the house smell gross.)

Instructions
1. Combine all sauce ingredients in small bowl.  Mix well and refrigerate until ready to serve. 

2. Heat oil in large Dutch oven or stockpot over medium high heat.  Oil should be 375*F for frying. 

3. Combine flour, powdered sugar, salt, pepper, and paprika in large ziptop bag.  Seal and shake well to combine then add chicken and shake until all pieces are coated. 

4. Using a slotted spoon, remove chicken from bag, shake off excess flour, and place on plate.  (Or transfer bag contents into colander and shake off excess flour that way.) 

5. Working with 10 to 15 nuggets at a time, fry each batch about 4 to 6 minutes, depending on size of nuggets. 

6. Remove nuggets from oil with spider strainer or slotted spoon and place on paper towel-lined plate to drain.  Serve with sauce. 

Comments
This recipe is from Table for Two.  Art cut the chicken pieces a little bit on the small side, so these cooked very quickly.  These were super tasty both hot at dinnertime and cold as leftovers later. 

Shown here with Roasted Parmesan Green Beans.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil 
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar 
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
¹⁄₄ plus ¹⁄₈ teaspoon kosher salt
¹⁄₈ teaspoon black pepper
¹⁄₄ cup mayonnaise 
1 tablespoon whole-grain Dijon mustard 
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (16 ounce) loaf French bread, cut in four pieces then cut horizontally
3 ounces Brie cheese, sliced
3 cups cooked chicken breast, sliced into thin pieces
2 cups fresh spinach

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 300*F.

2. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in large nonstick oven safe skillet over medium-high heat.  Add tomatoes and cook 4 minutes, stirring once.  Remove from heat and stir in 2 tablespoons vinegar.  Sprinkle tomatoes with thyme, ¹⁄₄ teaspoon salt, and pepper.  Transfer skillet to oven and bake 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and keep warm. 

3. Combine mayonnaise, mustard, and garlic in small bowl.  Spread out pieces of bread, cut side up, to assemble sandwiches.  Spread mayo mixture evenly over top halves of bread.  Spoon tomatoes evenly over bottom halves of bread.  Arrange Brie over tomatoes and top with chicken. 

4. Combine 2 teaspoons oil, 1 teaspoon vinegar, and ¹⁄₈ teaspoon salt in medium bowl.  Stir with whisk to incorporate.  Add spinach and toss gently to coat.  Top chicken with spinach mixture and carefully top bottom half of bread with top half of bread. 

Comments
This recipe is from Cooking Light 2001.  It was amazingly tasty.  Lots of great flavors that all just came together perfectly.  The only thing I’d modify when I make this again would be the bread, using a baguette was a bit complicated.  I think individual rolls might be easier to deal with.  These were really scrumptious sandwiches.

Ingredients
¹⁄₂ cup olive oil
¹⁄₄ cup fresh basil, parsley, tarragon, oregano, mint, and/or chives, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
Ground black pepper
3-4 boneless skinless breasts

Instructions
1. Whisk together olive oil, herbs, garlic, salt and pepper. 

2. Place chicken in ziptop bag and pour marinade over chicken.  Refrigerate 3 to 24 hours. 

3. Cook chicken on grill or in skillet, 5-10 minutes per side, or until cooked through.

Comments
This recipe is from Cook’s Illustrated 2007.  The original recipe was for kebabs, but I think I was feeling lazy when the recipe came up for dinner, so we just grilled the breasts instead.  Super delicious!  Lots of great flavors. 

Shown here with Greek Cherry Tomato Salad.

Ingredients
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons ginger, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
1 (28 ounce) can tomato puree
1 ¹⁄₂ cups plain yogurt (I used Greek.) 
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons garam masala
1 tablespoon ground cumin
¹⁄₂ tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
³⁄₄ teaspoon cinnamon
³⁄₄ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 bay leaves
6-8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
1 cup heavy cream
¹⁄₂ tablespoon cornstarch
¹⁄₄ cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Instructions
1. Combine onion, garlic, ginger, jalapeno, tomato puree, yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, garam masala, cumin, paprika, salt, cinnamon, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and bay leaves in slow cooker .  Stir well to combine.  Add chicken and stir again. 

2. Cover slow cooker and cook on LOW for 8 hours or HIGH for 4 hours. 

3. When slow cooker finishes, whisk cream and cornstarch together in a small bowl.  Pour cream mixture into slow cooker and gently stir.  Cover and cook 30 more minutes on LOW. 

4. Garnish with cilantro before serving. 

Comments
This recipe is from Cooking Classy and I had a bit of trepidation when I picked it!  Slow cooker recipes are really hit or miss for us.  Some are great and some are just really, really awful.  Maybe it’s because I can’t do anything to the food once it’s cooking so I can’t make adjustments?  I don’t know. 

This turned out to be a very pleasant surprise!  The chicken was tender, super flavorful, and the sauce was great.  I think we all had seconds and the leftovers have been disappearing at a steady pace.  This recipe is definitely going to be a keeper since it bucks the trend of crock pot mediocrity.  Super delicious.

Ingredients
¹⁄₂ cup mayonnaise
¹⁄₄ cup Parmesan cheese, shredded or grated
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
4 teaspoons Italian seasoned bread crumbs

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 425*F. 

2. Mix mayonnaise and cheese together in small bowl. 

3. Place chicken on baking sheet lined with parchment paper and spread mayonnaise mixture evenly over each breast.  Sprinkle bread crumbs over chicken. 

4. Bake for 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.  The exact baking time will depend on the thickness of the breasts.  Season with salt and pepper before serving. 

Comments
This recipe is from The Enchanted Cook.  It’s very simple and the mayonnaise helps keep the chicken moist. 

Shown here with Swiss Chard Cheater Greens.

Ingredients
2 cups buttermilk
5 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons paprika
Freshly ground black pepper
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions
1. Whisk together buttermilk, garlic, salt, sugar, paprika, and black pepper.  Place chicken in shallow container or ziptop bag and pour buttermilk over chicken.  Refrigerate for 2 to 24 hours. 

2. Heat oven to 425*F.  Remove chicken from brine, shake off excess, and arrange in baking dish.  Drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil then sprinkle with addition paprika and salt if desired.  Roast 25 to 30 minutes or until chicken is browned and done. 

Comments
This recipe is from Life is Great.  It’s another that was okay, but nothing amazing.  I think it might have been better if I’d grilled the chicken instead of baking it, but that’s something to try next time. 

Shown here with Creamy Lemon Pasta with Spinach and Tomatoes.