Sweet & Sour Chicken

I have found a bunch of yummy recipes from Melskitchencafe.com Particularly from her The Best Recipe List. This chicken dish is very good. My entire family eats it and it's super easy. It tastes like chinese take out, but even better -- cuz you made it!

Chicken:
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper
1 c. cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 c. vegetable oil

Cut chicken into approx bite size pieces (maybe a little bigger). Season with salt & pepper. Dip chicken in cornstarch and then in egg mixture. Fry in a pan with the oil until lightly brown, but not cooked through. Place in a single layer in a baking dish. Mix sauce ingredients (below) together and pour over chicken.

Sauce:
3/4 c. sugar
4 Tablespoon ketchup
1/2 c. vinegar (I use whatever I have, which happens to be apple cider vinegar)
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic salt/powder

Bake for one hour at 325. Turn chicken every 15 minutes so it is evenly coated with the sauce. Serve chicken over rice. Toss some chopped green onions on for garnish.

(Almost) Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

1 can (14.5 oz) chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 teaspoon black pepper
1 to 1 1/2 cups milk (I use 2%)
3 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion chopped
1 cup sliced celery (I omitted before and it still tastes good)
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups diced, cooked chicken (about two breasts)
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables (broccoli, carrots, & cauliflower combo)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary or 1/4 dried rosemary
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or 1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 (9 inch) refrigerated pastry crust

Preheat oven to 400'F.

Pour chicken broth, salt, and pepper into a glass measure bowl; add enough milk to equal 2 1/2 cups.

Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and celery. Cook and stir 3 minutes or until translucent. Stir in flour until well blended. Gradually stir in broth mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens and boils. Add chicken, vegetables, thyme, rosemary, and parsley. Pour into 1 1/2 quart deep round casserole dish.

Roll out pastry. Cut slits or make cutouts. Place pastry on top of casserole. Roll the edges. Bake about 30 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling.

Parmesan Chicken Tenders

My kids loved this....they ALL asked for seconds the other night! A rare occasion in our home.

*coarse salt and ground pepper
*2 large eggs
*3/4 cup finely grated Parmesan (I use grated)
*1/2 cup plain dried breadcrumbs (I use Italian seasoned breadcrumbs)
*1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders
*1 3/4 cups tomato sauce, homemade or storebought
*4 oz. mozzarell, shredded (about 1 cup, or however much your heart desires)

Heat broiler, with rack set 4 inches from heat. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs. In another bowl, combine 1/2 cup Parmesan and breadcrumbs. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dip tenders in egg, then in Parmesan mixture; place on a rimmed baking sheet. Broil until golden, 2 to 4 minutes per side.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spread 1 cup tomato sauce in the bottom of a 9 X 13 inch baking dish. Then top with chicken, remaining 3/4 cup sauce, and finally mozzarella. Bake 15-20 min. or until cheese is melted.

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

SO GOOD. I made this tonight and I have to say this is the best I've ever had of this soup. I used garlic salt instead of regular salt. Serve it with crusty French bread for dipping.

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups chicken broth 2 cups water 2 cooked, boneless chicken breast halves, shredded 1 (4.5 ounce) package quick cooking long grain and wild rice with seasoning packet

1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup butter 2 cups heavy cream

DIRECTIONS:

1.	In a large pot over medium heat, combine broth, water and chicken. Bring just to boiling, then stir in rice, reserving seasoning packet. Cover and remove from heat.
2.	In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper and flour. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in contents of seasoning packet until mixture is bubbly. Reduce heat to low, then stir in flour mixture by tablespoons, to form a roux. Whisk in cream, a little at a time, until fully incorporated and smooth. Cook until thickened, 5 minutes.
3.	Stir cream mixture into broth and rice. Cook over medium heat until heated through, 10 to 15 minutes.

Coconut-Curry Chicken Soup

image from myrecipes.com

(from Cooking Light via my mother-in-law)

Ingredients:

4 cups water
3 cups fresh spinach leaves
1/2 lb. snow peas, trimmed and cut in half crosswise (I used frozen peas)
1 package (5 3/4 ounce) pad thai noodles (wide rice stick noodles)
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/4 cup thinly slice shallots
2 teaspoons red curry paste
1 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground tumeric
1/2 teaspoon ground corriander
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 cups light chicken broth (I used regular)
1 can (13.5 ounce) light coconut milk (I used regular)
2 1/2 cups shredded chicken breasts (about 1 lb.)
1/2 cup chopped green onions
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
4 small hot red chiles, seeded and chopped, or 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper (I omitted, for a non-spicy version for kiddos)
7 lime wedges

Directions:

Bring water to boil in a large sauce pan. Add spinach and peas; cook for 30 seconds. Remove vegetables from pan with a slotted spoon; place in a large bowl. Add noodles to pan; cook 3 minutes. Drain; add noodles to spinach mixture in bowl.

Heat canola oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add shallots and the next 5 ingredients (through garlic) to pan; saute 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add chicken broth to pan, and bring to a boil. Add coconut milk to pan; reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Add chicken, onions, sugar, and fish sauce to pan; cook for 2 minutes. Pour chicken mixture over noodle mixture in bowl (I added the noodle mixute to my pan instead). Stir in cilantro and chiles. Serve with lime wedges.

Yield: 7 servings

Looks lengthy, but goes together quickly. And very yummy flavor.

C Lo's Creamy Crockpot Chicken

*this is super good over bowtie pasta!*

2-3 boneless, skinless frozen chicken breasts

8 oz. cream cheese

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 package dry Italian salad dressing mix

1 can chicken broth

Place all ingredients in crock pot and simmer on low all day (8-10 hours). Shred or chunk chicken about an hour before serving; continue to simmer. Serve over rice, mashed potatoes, noodles, or toasted French bread. Make a big pot and freeze it for several dinners.

Cranberry Chicken

super easy and tasty for only four ingredients!

3-4 chicken breasts cut into tenders or pounded flat
1 packet onion soup
1 can whole cranberries
1 cup French dressing

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients and pour over chicken in glass pan. Cook about 35-45 minutes or until chicken is done. Serve over rice.

Lemon Chicken

Ingredients

• 1 (3 pound) whole chicken (you can use breasts w/bones too)
  
• 2 lemons
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/4 teaspoon dried sage (you can substitute marjoram)
  
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Cut 1 lemon in half. Stuff the cavity of the bird with half a lemon and rub the skin with the olive oil. Then cover the opening of the bird with the other lemon half. (Note: if you use breasts, slice one lemon and place the slices under each breast) Pour the juice of the second lemon over the bird. Season the bird with the salt, paprika, rosemary and sage (I like to rub it in the skin).
3. Cover and bake in preheated oven for 1 to 2 hours. Remove the cover half way through baking to brown. Baste often.

If you want really juicy flavorful chicken try this....

1 hour to 5 hrs prior to cooking. Soak chicken in a brine. 1/2 cup kosher salt dissolved in warm water (2 quarts). Then put in fridge. Rinse w/ cold water and pat dry. If you have time return bird to the fridge and let it air dry for 1 hour or overnight before roasting.