Asian Chicken with Broccoli

The Mission:

Make something a little different using the chicken that I thawed.  We haven't had any Chinese in a while, so I figured that a chicken/broccoli stir-fry would be tasty and easy enough to make.  So I added broccoli to the grocery list and hit up Food.com for a simple recipe.  Hopefully I have sesame oil.... I can't remember if I ran out or am almost out.  Oh well.  I added in some cornstarch to thicken the sauce a bit as well. 

The Ingedients: 

• 4 cups cubed chicken 
• 1 bag ( 16 oz) frozen broccoli florets 
• 4 cloved minced garlic 
• 5 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1/3 cup sesame oil - I was out so used peanut oil
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1 1/2 tsp grated ginger root 
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 2 Tbsp oil (I used peanut oil)
• rice to serve with 

The Instructions: 

1. Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a large skillet. 
2. Add the chicken and the garlic and stir-fry until chicken is no longer pink. 
3. In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the sauce ingredients (brown sugar, sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, and cornstarch) until smooth. 
4. Pour over chicken and stir. 
5. Add broccoli and stir-fry until broccoli is tender (but not mushy) 
6. Serve over hot rice. 

The Results & Reviews:  
This recipe is a definite keeper.  Not only was it super easy to make, my husband just raved about it.  I'm glad I decided to make extra.  As mentioned above I was out of sesame oil, so I just used peanut oil.  Though the sesame oil would've given it a slight bitterness to offset the sweetness of the brown sugar, I think the full third cup would add too much bitter, so when I make it again I will start with adding just a tablespoon of the sesame oil to see how it turns out.   Adding the cornstarch to the thicken the sauce gave it a great texture - so that was a definite plus.  I have a feeling that my husband is going to be requesting this meal often.  Actually - he thinks the sauce would be good with beef, so I'm sure I'll be blogging about that in the next few weeks!

Chicken Parmesan

The Mission:

I wanted to try something a little different with my Chicken Parmesan this time around, but I got so busy that I fell back onto my old standard. Oh well - it still tasted really yummy. (And of course I forgot to take any pictures since I was trying to get dinner ready in a hurry!)

The Ingredients:

• 4 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts - trimmed off fat
• 1 cup Italian flavored bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese - grated
• 1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese - shredded
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 pound of cooked thin spaghetti or Angel hair pasta
• 1 jar of your preferred marinara/spaghetti sauce

The Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350*F
2. In a shallow bowl, dredge each piece of chicken in the milk, then coat with the bread crumbs.
3. Place breaded chicken into a shallow baking dish and sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese.
4. Bake for 30 - 45 minutes or until chicken juices run clear. While waiting for chicken, boil the pasta according to the instructions and warm the sauce until hot.
5. When chicken is done, top with the shredded mozzarella and return to oven for 5 - 10 minutes or until cheese is melty.
6. Serve chicken with the pasta and the sauce.

The Results & Reviews:

The chicken turned out just fine, but I served it with a marinara sauce as opposed to my husband's favorite spaghetti sauce (Prego meat flavored) so he didn't think it was as good. Next time I'll make sure to use our normal sauce! But all in all this is an easy recipe to make and it does taste pretty good. In the future I hope to make a really great chicken parmesan that is truly something to brag about.

Improved Chicken Pot Pie

The Mission:
To flavor up the original Chicken Pot Pie recipe so it wasn't so bland. Since it's an easy dish to throw together, I wanted to have another "in a hurry" meal to add to my menu regime, but was disappointed with my first batch. Adding spices and cheese really flavored up the pie and made it into a dish worth making more often.


The Ingredients:

• 3 chicken breasts - cubed
• canola or olive oil
• salt - to taste
• pepper - to taste
• paprika - to taste
• 2 cans cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 cup (or so) milk
• 2 (or more) cups frozen mixed veggies
• 1/2 cup (or so) shredded cheese

For the crust:

• 2 cups Bisquick
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• The Instructions:
• Preheat oven to 350*F. In a large skillet, heat the oil and toss in the chicken and as much salt, pepper, and paprika as you want. Cook and stir until chicken is no longer pink. As the chicken browns, mix the two cans of soup, 1/2 cup of milk, frozen veggies and cheese together in a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. (You can add more salt and pepper to the mix if you'd like). Stir in the cooked chicken and spread mixture evenly in the pan. In a medium bowl whisk together the Bisquick, eggs, and 1 cup of milk. Pour onto chicken mixture and smooth with a spatula so the mixture is covered. Bake uncovered for 30-45 minutes and serve hot. *If your "pie" is very full, you might want to place a cookie sheet under the baking dish to catch any drips that might occur when chicken mixture bubbles over.

The Results:

Much, much better! This pot pie had a lot of flavor and was definitely not bland. I was very pleased with how it turned out and my husband practically licked his plate clean - haha. Adding the cheese and the spices really perked up the flavor but didn't take away from the simplicity and ease of this comfort-food recipe.

The Reviews:

This was definitely a hit with my husband! I'm sure he'll be requesting this recipe a lot in the future - especially once the weather turns colder. It also has the added benefit of freezing quite nicely - which is why I make such a huge pan for the two of us. By the time he has seconds for dinner, and scoops a big serving into his lunch container I still have at least 2 servings to freeze for later.

Angel Hair Pasta with Chicken

The Mission:

Make dinner. Like always. Yeah. I wanted to make something different, so I pulled out one of my oldies-but-goodies recipes that I have been making for years and years. It is one of my favorites for entertaining since it's easy, much of it can be done in advance (the chopping and cubing), and it looks very pretty. It's fairly healthy, too!

The Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
• 2 chicken breasts, cut into 1" cubes
• 4 carrots, coined
• 1 head of fresh broccoli, chopped - you can substitute frozen broccoli if you're in a hurry
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 12 oz angel hair pasta
• 2/3 cup chicken broth
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

The Instructions:

Heat 1 tsp. of the olive oil in a large skillet. Add chicken and sautee until chicken is no longer pink. Remove chicken and drain on paper towels. Heat the remaining oil in the same skillet and add the carrots and sautee them for 4 minutes. While carrots are cooking, begin boiling the water for the pasta. After the carrots are done, add the broccoli and the garlic, sauting for 2 more minutes. Add the broth, basil and parmesan cheese to the skillet and stir. Return the chicken to the skillet and simmer for 4 minutes. Serve the chicken/veggie mixture over the pasta. (Note: I never follow the measurements for the broccoli or the carrots exactly. I like a lot of veggies in mine, so I tend to double them compared to the rest of the ingredients. This recipe is very easily adapted to what you prefer.)

The Reviews:

My husband really liked it. He thought it smelled fantastic and kept getting in my way as I was trying to cook - haha. A few of our friends had leftovers with us over the weekend and really seemed to enjoy this dish. Which is funny to me because most of our friends say that they don't like veggies - but they usually seem to eat them for me! Weird.

White Bean Chicken Chili

The Mission:

Make the recipe that my friend Heather gave to me after I begged her for it. She served me this Chili at her place on Superbowl weekend and I thought it was absolutely fantastic. Her recipe actually said "Superbowl Chili" on the top. (Bonus - I'm a huge Steeler's Fan, and they won the Superbowl this year!) I tried this out on a Friday so my husband wouldn't have to deal with eating leftovers at work the next day - just in case he didn't like it.

The Ingredients:

• 1 lb. boneless chicken, cubed
• 1/4 cup diced onion
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 cans (10.5 oz each) chicken broth, divided
• 2 cans (15 oz each) great northern beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can (small) diced green chilis
• 2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 packet of white gravy (country gravy)

The Instructions:

In a large sauce pan, sautee the chicken and onions in oil until chicken is done and onions are transparent. Add 1 can of the chicken broth, both cans of northern beans, the can of chilis, and the cumin. Stir well. Mix the packet of gravy with the reserved can of chicken broth until blended. Pour the gravy mixture into the sauce pan and stir untl thickened. Cover and simmer for 1 to 2 hours.

The Result:

I thought it turned out fantastic. I served it with shredded sharp white cheddar cheese and tortilla chips. I found out later that eating it with the tortilla scoops is fabulous - this chili is thick enough to use as a dip!

The Reviews:

My very good friend Jess came to visit me the night I made this and she was impressed - I'm glad I finally remembered to email the recipe to her. My Husband and our Friend Mark enjoyed the chili and it has since been requested a few times. A couple of our other friends (we have quite a few people who regularly join us for dinner) have been pleased as well. I'm glad to have yet another hearty meal to add to my repetoire!

Chicken Cordon Bleu Bake

The Mission:

Test out one of the recipes that sounded good from my current Taste of Home: Simple and Delicious Magazine. The ingredients and preparation looked simple enough, and hopefully the result will turn out fantastic. I know that casseroles aren't exactly "gourmet" but I love a simple, hearty meal that's easy to make and tastes good. As soon as my husband found out that mayo was NOT on the ingredient list for this dish, he gave it his approval for a test-run.

The Ingredients:

• 1 (6 oz.) box chicken stuffing mix
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1/4 cup milk
• 4 cups cubed, cooked chicken
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 lb. deli ham, sliced into 1" strips
• 2 cups shredded Swiss cheese, divided

The Instructions:

Prepare the stuffing mix as directed and set aside. Combine the soup and the milk in a small bowl and set aside. Place the chicken in a greased 9x13" baking dish and sprinkle with the pepper. Layer the chopped ham strips onto the chicken, then sprinkle with 1 1/2 cups of the swiss cheese. Pour the soup mixture over the cheese layer and then top with the stuffing. Sprinkle with remaining cheese, then cover and bake 30 minutes in a 350*F oven. Uncover and bake 15 minutes more until cheese is melty. I like to bake for 25 minutes until the cheese is a little crispy crunchy, but that's just me. Serve with your favorite side dish.

The Result:

It turned out great! The first time I made it I followed the Taste of Home recipe exactly (which called for a mixture of swiss and cheddar cheeses), but decided that using all swiss cheese would taste better to me, so I changed the recipe to suit my taste. The dish set up well in the oven, didn't take long to make, can be prepared the night before, and is definitely going into my "main rotation" of week-day dinners.

The Reviews:

Let me see..... so far I've fed this dish to a number of people and they all seemed to really like it. My husband is thrilled with it, Friend Mark thought it was tasty, and I've received compliments from everyone else as well :) I'm very pleased. This recipe is definitely a winner!

Bisquick Chicken Pot Pie

The Mission:

Make Chicken Pot Pie for dinner since I was craving it. I used the Bisquick recipe since that's what my husband suggested, since he remembered liking it as a child.




The Ingredients:

• 2 cups frozen veggies, thawed
• 1 cup cooked chicken, or 1 can chicken
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 cup bisquick
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 egg, beaten

The Instructions:

Mix the chicken, veggies, and soup in a bowl until well combined. Pour into a greased 8x8 inch pan. In a separate bowl, mix the milk, eggs, and bisquick until dough forms. Drop dough by the spoonful onto the chicken mixture in the pan. Bake in a 400* oven for 30 minutes.

The Results:

In all honesty, I wasn't very thrilled with how it turned out. It tasted rather bland, so I added salt and pepper to my portion. The crust part tasted just fine, but the chicken part seemed too thick. I guess I like "soupier" chicken pot pie. Oh well - next time I'll try a different recipe and see how that goes.

The Reviews:

My husband seemed to really like it, though he did add salt and pepper to his portion as well. Friend Mark had the same thoughts that I did - it was rather bland, and too thick. But at least it was still edible! I will look into finding a more appetizing recipe for chicken pot pie to use in the future.