Rosemary Grilled Chicken

Rosemary Grilled Chicken

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup ranch dressing
• 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoons salt
•  2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
•  1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 inch cubes

Combine all ingredients except chicken. Place in blender or food processor or use a stick blender to combine for about 10 seconds.  Set aside about 1/4 cup of marinade to use as a table sauce, if desired.  Place chicken in remaining marinade and refrigerate for at least one hour, up to one day. 

Place chicken on skewers and grill until no longer pink and juices run clear. 

Notes:  Adapted from a recipe found on Allrecipes.  Delicious with roasted potatoes and grilled vegetables. 

I used Trader Joe's refrigerated ranch dressing and it was perfect for this recipe. 

The Pioneer Woman's Chicken Spaghetti

I found this recipe a few weeks ago and Michael made it last week. OMG. It is amazing. Really, really amazing.

Chicken Spaghetti

We ate every last noodle over the next few days. It reheats great in the microwave, and includes directions for making it ahead and for freezing.

I am already looking forward to making it again.

Poppy Seed Chicken

Poppy Seed Chicken

1 1/4 - 1 1/2 pounds cooked chicken, shredded
1 16 ounce container sour cream
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
3 T. butter
1 sleeve Ritz style crackers, crushed
2 T. poppy seeds

Heat oven to 350. Spray casserole dish (see notes) with Pam. Place cooked chicken in the dish.

Combine sour cream and cream of mushroom soup and place over chicken, spreading evenly.

Melt the butter in a medium skillet. Remove from heat, add the cracker crumbs and poppy seeds and stir to combine. Pour over sour cream mixture in casserole and spread evenly.

Bake for 45 minutes or until bubbly and heated through.

Serve over cooked rice.

Notes:
I used an 8 1/2 by 10 inch casserole dish. You could easily use something larger, but not smaller.

This is one of our favorite super easy dishes.

Chicken with Finger-Licking Peanut Sauce

If I had to pick my one, absolutely favorite recipe this would be it. I have made it numerous times for lots of different people and nearly everyone raves about it - adults and children alike.

It originated as Fettuccine and Tofu with Finger-Licking Peanut Sauce in Cooking Light magazine in April, 2001. My version uses most of the same ingredients, but in different amounts.

Chicken with Finger-Licking Peanut Sauce

2/3 C. chicken broth
1/2 peanut butter (I use natural, smooth but chunky works good as well)
1/2 low sodium soy sauce
5 T. brown sugar (4 if you use regular peanut butter)
3 T. rice vinegar
3 tea. fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1/2 - 2 tea. of chili paste (sambal oelek) (see notes)
5 garlic cloves minced
8 ounces soba noodles (can use any long, thin pasta)
1 1/3 c. shredded carrots
3/4 pound chicken breast, cooked and shredded

Combine first 8 ingredients (chicken broth through garlic) in a medium sauce pan and cook over medium heat 7-10 minutes until smooth and slightly thickened. Add chicken to warm it. Remove from heat.

Cook the soba noodles according to package directions, adding the carrots during the last minute of cooking.

Drain the noodles and carrots and place in a large bowl. Add peanut/chicken sauce and stir gently to combine.

Notes:
The chicken works best if it is shredded, otherwise it won't incorporate well into the noodles.

If you use 1/2 tea. of the sambal oelek, it will give it a very mildly spicy taste. Use the full amount and it will be HOT. I use the 1/2 tea. then put it on the table to add more as desired.

Chicken and Dumplings

This one started out as something that I coworker brought in to work and I asked for her recipe. Mine is significantly different, so I can't even say it is a version of the original recipe!

(you can substitute 4 cups of cooked chicken and 8 2/3 cups of broth if you do not want to make your own broth - but be warned that it may be a bit salty)


1 whole chicken
4 stalks of celery, roughly chopped
1 medium onion, chunked
6 carrots, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 chicken bouillon cubes (or equivalent of the granular)
2 cans cream of chicken soup (or one chicken and 1 celery)
1 can cream of potato soup
1 egg
1 tea. baking powder
2 1/2 c. flour

Cook chicken in water with celery and onion until done. Cool chicken and removed bones and skin and tear into bite sized pieces. Chop and reserve celery and onion if desired. Reserve 8 2/3 cups of broth.

In a dutch oven, combine the 8 cups of chicken broth and carrots and heat to boiling. Add soups and bouillon cubes.

While this is heating, make the dumplings by combining the remaining 2/3 cup of chicken broth and the egg. Add the flour and baking powder and stir to a stiff dough. Add more flour or broth if needed.

Roll dough thin on a flour coated surface and cut into dumplings. The get quite a bit bigger when they are cooked, so I keep mine someone where in the 1 - 1 1/2 inch by 1/2 - 3/4 inch range. Drop dumplings into boiling broth. Simmer for 30-40 minutes until dumpling are done. Add chicken, celery and onions and cook for 5 minutes more.

Notes:
This is one of my favorite fall/winter dishes. It is hardy and very warming. Great with some cinnamon applesauce on the side.

It keeps very well in the refrigerator and can be frozen.

Spicy Chicken Soup

Michael found the basis for this soup in the current Penzey's catalog. The original recipe is here: Spicy Hot Chicken Soup

I made a few changes, so here is my version.

2 large chicken breasts, bone and skin removed, cut into chucks
2 T. olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
2 large carrots, chopped into small pieces
5 tea. minced garlic
1/3 tea. cayenne pepper
3 tea. powdered ginger
8 cups chicken broth
1/2 pound egg noodles

Heat oil in dutch oven, add chicken and saute for 5 minutes. Add minced onion and garlic and saute until the juices evaporate and the mixture begins to brown slightly. Then add the pepper and ginger and saute for 1 minute more. Add the carrots and chicken broth and simmer, covered for 45 minutes.

Uncover, bring the mixture to a hard boil, add the noodles and cook until done.

Notes: This soup has a nice kick to it, and the garlic and ginger give it Asian undertones. Very good with a side salad and some bread.

Crockpot Brown Sugar Chicken

Since we last spoke, I have done some more cooking! Yipee!

Yesterday, I put the Crockpot Brown Sugar Chicken in. The link is from the A Year of CrockPotting blog. Kiy first pointed me to this blog - I hope to find lots of inspiration from it and use the Crockpot more.

Maybe I was expecting too much. Michael and I both though it was okay, but not fabulous. I will try it again someday, with no soda, less sugar, more garlic and more soy sauce. And maybe a pinch of red or black pepper. It is certainly not bad, and the leftovers today at lunch were better than last night's dinner, but it was just not quite there.

On Friday, I stopped for groceries after work and found the deal of the day - the small clamshells (maybe 6 ounces) of blackberries for a dollar!!! I bought every one that they had - they were super fresh and Olivia was eating them like crazy. Last night I made a blackberry cobbler - I used Bisquick and it was was just okay. I seriously need a good cobbler recipe - anyone???? Then today, Michael and I used the rest of them and made 8 1/2 pints of blackberry jam!