TGI Friday's Spicy Cajun Chicken Pasta

Yummo! We loved this at our house! I think one of the key ingredients for the sauce is the can of V-8 juice. At least you are getting your servings of veggies!

Ingredients

10 oz. cooked fettuccine (cooked al dente)

1 cup Spicy Cajun Pasta Sauce (recipe follows)

1 boneless chicken breast, cooked and sliced in strips

1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon chopped parsley

Spicy Cajun Pasta Sauce:

2 oz. olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh chopped garlic

1/2 cup coarsely chopped onion

1/2 cup coarsely chopped green peppers

1/2 cup coarsely chopped red peppers

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 cup chicken stock

1 cup V-8 juice

cornstarch (mix about a table spoon with a couple tablespoons cold water to form a slurry)

salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Prepare sauce: Heat oil in saute pan; add garlic; saute for 30 seconds; add onions and saute for 1 minute; add peppers and continue to saute for another minute. Deglaze with chicken stock and reduce to half. Add V-8 juice and cayenne pepper; bring to boil; simmer 10 minutes.

2. Thicken to consistency with cornstarch; season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Add cooked pasta to sauce and heat through until hot.

4. Arrange on serving dish and top with chicken breast. Sprinkle with Parmesan and parsley.

I got this recipe and the Applebee's smothered chicken recipe from this site

http://www.recipesecrets.net/forums/

Applebee's Santa Fe Stuffed Chicken

This turned out so great that we don't have to go out now:) Although I want to go back to Applebees and see if it is as good at the resturant. Very easy to make at home.

4 boned, skinned chicken breast halves
4 oz. block Monterey jack cheese - divided
1/2-1 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 1/2 Tbls. grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. black pepper

Sauce
1 Tbls. butter OR margarine
1 Tbls. all-purpose flour
1 cup milk (I used fat free)
2 oz. shredded cheese

1 sm. red bell pepper - seeded, diced
1 sm. green bell pepper - seeded, diced

Pound chicken with a meat mallet until flat and rectangular shaped; repeat with remaining breasts. Cut half of the cheese block into 8 slices; grate the remaining cheese; set aside.

Wrap each flattened chicken breasts around a slice of cheese; secure with wooden picks or uncooked spaghetti noodles. ( I used spaghetti noodles and it is a brilliant idea, works great!)

Combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, salt, cumin, and pepper.
Roll the secured chicken pieces in some melted butter ( I'm sure you could use something else, such as an egg white or cooking spray rather than butter) and then in the bread crumb mixture.

Place chicken breasts in a 13" X 9" X 2" baking dish, being careful not to crowd them.

Refrigerate for 1 hour or freeze to bake later (baking time will be increased by about 5-10 minutes).

Bake in a 400 degree oven for 25-30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

Melt butter in saucepan, stir in flour,whisk in milk, then bring to a simmer.

Stir in grated cheese, reduce heat, and simmer until thick, stirring constantly so the cheese doesn't burn.

Place chicken on plates, pour sauce over, and top with diced peppers.

Enjoy!

Chicken breasts Pierre

We had this last night and loved it. This meal combined with spaghetti noodles is under 400 calories (as long as you keep your noodles portion down and use whole wheat noodles:) It has great flavor and my husband thought it was a keeper as well. Recipe adapted from all recipes.

3-4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 pinch ground black pepper
3 tablespoons butter
1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes, with liquid (important, make sure you use stewed and not diced)
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (used Tabasco)

optional additives ( Which I didn't have on hand but it tasted great w/out)
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon celery seed

1. In a shallow dish or bowl, combine flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt and ground black pepper. Coat chicken breasts with flour mixture. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat, and brown chicken on all sides. Remove from skillet, and drain on paper towels.
2. In the same skillet, combine the tomatoes, water, brown sugar, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. Season with salt, chili powder, garlic and hot pepper sauce. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and return chicken to skillet. Cover, and simmer for 35 to 40 minutes, or until chicken is tender, no longer pink and juices run clear.

Instead of letting it simmer on the stove top I put everything in a baking dish and baked it uncovered at 350 for about 20 minutes. This allowed the sauce to thicken up and was easy!

Crispy Cheese Crackers

¼ cup butter, softened
¼ t. sea salt
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, room temperature
1 cup whole wheat flour
¼ t. baking powder
1 T. cold water

Use beaters or food processor to mix butter and salt until creamy. Add cheese. Mix well. Gradually add flour, baking powder and water, mixing until dough begins to form a ball. Form dough into a ball with hands.

Roll the dough into 1/8 inch thickness onto a cookie sheet. (I find that placing the dough between two pieces of parchment paper helps me to roll them out more easily.) Cut the rolled out dough into 1 ½ inch squares. Bake 15 minutes at 350° or until lightly browned. Turn off the oven and leave the crackers inside to crisp up. Store tightly covered.

Popcorn Chicken

recipe from Heavenly Homemakers

3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 t. sea salt
1/2 t. garlic powder
butter

In a medium sized bowl, stir together flour, salt and garlic powder. Using kitchen shears, cut chicken breasts into tiny bite sized pieces. Toss chicken in flour mixture to coat well.
Smear a thick layer of butter on the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish. Pour coated chicken into dish, spreading so that they are in a single layer.
Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Stir chicken and bake another 10 minutes.

Homemade Yummy Chocolate Sauce

Our family loves chocolate and we love dippin' in chocolate!

Since Valentines Day is just around the corner I thought that I would submit our family favorite as an appetiser. This is my dear sister in-laws recipe she calls it.

Leslie's Best Hot Fudge Sauce Ever....Period.

1-12oz. package of semi sweet chocolate chips

1-cube of butter

4 cups of powdered sugar

2 2/3 cup evaporated milk

Melt butter and chocolate in sauce pan. Gradually add powdered sugar and milk. Bring to a boil and boil for 8 minutes