BBQ Chicken Pasta with Bacon

1 pound penne or other short pasta, cooked according to package directions
1 pound bacon, chopped
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size chunks
1 red onion, diced
Salt and pepper to taste
2/3 cup barbecue sauce
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Crushed red pepper flakes to taste (I used about 1/4 tsp.)
Green onions, bacon, and shredded cheese for garnish, if desired

Cook the bacon to a 12" dutch oven over a full spread of coals, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove bacon to paper towel.  Add the chicken and red onion to the bacon grease in the skillet, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the chicken is browned and cooked through and the onion is softened. Drain off any excess grease and stir in the reserved bacon, barbecue sauce and sour cream. Once mixed, add in the shredded cheese. Add pasta and stir to combine; heat through.  Serve immediately.  Serves 6-8

Enchiladas Verde

This would also be good with some Spanish rice... I got the recipe from all recipes.
Ingredients

• 2 cloves garlic
• 3 serrano peppers
• 1 pound small green tomatillos, husks removed
• 1 cup vegetable oil for frying
• 9 corn tortillas
• 3 cups water
• 4 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules
• 1/2 store-bought rotisserie chicken, meat removed and shredded ( I used my own chicken)
• 1/4 head iceberg lettuce, shredded
• 1 cup cilantro leaves
• 1 (8 ounce) container Mexican crema, crema fresca
• 1 cup grated cotija cheese

Directions

1. Cover a large griddle with aluminum foil and preheat to medium-high.
2. Cook the garlic, serrano peppers, and tomatillos on the hot griddle until toasted and blackened, turning occasionally, about 5 minutes for the garlic, 10 minutes for the peppers, and 15 minutes for the tomatillos. Remove to a bowl and allow to cool.
3. Heat oil in a small, deep skillet to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Using kitchen tongs, fry the tortillas individually, turning them once. They shouldn't be in the hot oil for more than 5 seconds per side. Remove excess oil with paper towels and keep warm. Remember that the hotter the oil, the less that the tortillas will absorb.
4. Place the toasted garlic, serrano peppers, tomatillos, and the water in a blender and blend until smooth; pour into a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Dissolve the chicken bouillon into the mixture, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook at a simmer until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. The sauce shouldn't be too thick.
5. Soak three tortillas in the sauce, one at a time, for a few seconds, fill them with shredded chicken, sprinkle the meat with some of the sauce, roll them and place them seam side down on a pasta bowl. Spoon a generous amount of sauce over them and top them with lettuce, cilantro, crema, and cotija cheese. Pour a little more sauce over the whole thing if desired. Repeat the procedure twice more. Serve immediately.

Oven Chicken Cacciatore

• 2 zucchini, sliced
• 2 cans (14 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 can (14 oz) artichoke hearts, drained, halved
• 1/2 cup olives
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, divided
• 1/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs with garlic salt added
• 2-3 chicken breasts cut in half
• 3 cups whole wheat penne pasta, uncooked

1. Heat the oven to 400.
2. Combine first 4 ingredients in 9x13 dish. In separate dish mix 1/4 cup cheese and bread crumbs. Add chicken; turn to evenly coat each piece of chicken. Place on top of vegetable mixture.
3. Bake 45 min or until chicken is done. Meanwhile, cook pasta as directed. Drain pasta.
4. Top chicken with remaining cheese.

I drained my tomatoes just a bit the second time I made this so it wasn't too juicy. It is really healthy and easy to put together!

Spinach and Feta Stuffed Chicken Breasts

I adapted this recipe from Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes.
Calories: 126
Points 2.5

We had this tonight and after my husband took the first bite he said wow, that has a lot of flavor! I loved the combination of the feta cheese and spinach! Delish! I will put my version of the recipe but if you want her original version, check it out here
Hers called for Ricotta cheese but I don't usually have that on hand and there is nothing more annoying then getting ready to make something and realizing you don't have every ingredient so I improvised!

This serving size is for two chicken breasts that I pounded out to make four chicken rolls, so keep that in mind if you are feeding more.

* Couple handfuls of fresh spinach
* 1 tsp. oil
*1/3 C. (give or take) feta cheese
* 1/3 C. ( give or take again, sorry I didn't really measure) Cottage cheese
*1/2 onion chopped
*2 cloves of garlic
* 2 chicken breasts
*1 egg
*1 Tbsp. h2O
* 1/3 C. seasoned breadcrumbs (Italian)
* Pam
* Spaghetti noodles ( to use as toothpicks)

Preheat oven at 350

Saute onions and spinach for a couple of minutes, add garlic and saute for about 1 min. Remove from heat, add feta and cottage cheese.

Slice chicken breasts in half and pound them ( I use my rolling pin) to make them thinner. Season with salt and pepper.

Place spinach mixture in the middle and wrap the ends around, secure with spaghetti noodles if needed ( nice thing about this is you can eat them and for some reason I never have any toothpicks:)

Dip chicken into the egg wash and then breadcrumbs

Spray your cookie sheet with pam and back for about 25 minutes. I also added a little itsy bitsy pat of light butter on top to keep the chicken moist.

Hope you like it!

Brown Sugar Chicken

• 12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs or 6 boneless skinless breast halves
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup lemon-lime soda
• 2/3 cup vinegar
• 3 cloves smashed and chopped garlic
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp black pepper

Plop chicken in crockpot. Cover with the brown sugar, pepper, chopped garlic and soy sauce. Add the vinegar and pour in the soda. Cover and cook on low for 6-9 hours or on high for 4-5. The chicken is done when it is cooked through and has reached desired consistency. The longer you cook it, the more tender it will be.
Serve over a bowl of rice with a ladle full of the broth

I got this from the crockpot365.blogspot.

Nice and easy and pretty tasty!

Chicken Scallopine

• 4 boneless, skinless, fat trimmed chicken breasts
• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated
• 3 tsp olive oil
• 2 tsp butter
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1/3 cup white wine
• 1 Tbsp capers
• 1 tsp lemon peel
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 cup chicken stock
• 1/4 tsp salt
• pinch ground black pepper
• 2 cups angel hair pasta, cooked
• 2 Tbsp parsley, freshly chopped

1. With a meat mallet pound chick to 1/2 inch thick. In a small bowl, combine flour and cheese. Dredge both sides of chicken breast in flour mixture
2. In a large saute pan, saute chicken breasts in 1 tsp olive oil for 3 to 5 mins on each side or until cooked through. Remove from pan.
3. Heat butter and remaining olive oil together over medium-low heat. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Add wine and simmer for about 3 minutes or until wine is evaporated. Add remaining ingredients except salt, pepper and parsley. Simmer sauce for 5 more minutes. Add salt and pepper.
4. Serve each chicken breast with 2 Tbsp sauce and 1/2 cup cooked pasta and parsley.

I got this from some random free book they were handing out at Wal-mart last year.

Changes I made:
I used chicken broth/stock in place of the white wine
I didn't have capers so I used 3 green onions
I left out the lemon peel
I also forgot to add the parsley

Southwest Casserole

• 2 cups cooked rice
• 1.5 cups cooked, diced chicken
• 1 can (15 oz) black beans drained, rinsed
• 1 can ( 15 oz) corn, drained
• 1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes slightly drained
• 1 Tbsp. cilantro
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1 Tbsp chili powder

Combine ingredients in a large bowl and mix

• 4 Tbsp butter
• 4 Tbsp flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup cheese

In a saucepan melt butter over medium-low heat; stir in flower until well blended and thick. Gradually stir in milk, chicken broth, salt and pepper. Cook stirring constantly, until thick and bubbly. Stir into chicken mixture.

Pour into a 9x13 dish sprayed lightly with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 20-25 min. Sprinkle with cheese 5-8 mins before done.

I'm not sure where I got this recipe, I thought it was from here but couldn't find it on here when I searched for it, so I'm not sure who to give the credit to! But it is yummy!

Changes that I made:
I used brown rice. I just served corn on the side instead of putting it in the casserole, and I didn't drain the tomatoes much at all to add the moisture the corn would have. I also only used about 1 1/2 tsp of chili powder, one of my boys doesn't like things too hot. And I also just mixed things together in the 9x13 so it was one less dish to wash and it worked out just fine!

We had it was a green salad and the corn and everyone enjoyed it!

Crispy Coconut Chicken Fingers

This recipe definitely goes in my top 5 favorites! I am still dreaming about how good it was! Enjoy...

Crispy Coconut Chicken Fingers
Recipe by Our Best Bites

12 chicken tenders (ya know, more or less...)
1-2 eggs (start with one and crack another if it runs out)
1/2 C flour
1 C sweetened coconut flakes
1 C  bread crumbs
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp table salt
3/4 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
*I also added 1 tsp mustard powder

preheat oven to 450 degrees.

• Give coconut a rough chop so it's about the same size as the bread crumbs.
• Combine it with bread crumbs and spices in a shallow dish. Mix well to distribute all of the spices.
• Place the flour in another shallow dish, and the egg in another. Give the egg a quick beating.
  Working with one chicken tender at a time, cover in flour.
• Then dip in egg.
• And then finally coat in the coconut bread crumb mixture. Press in with your fingers to make sure the entire thing is well coated.
• Place chicken tenders on a foil-lined baking sheet (for easy clean up!) that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. I give mine a teeny drizzle of olive oil on top to help them crisp nicely, but it's optional.
• Bake in your 450 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until juices run clear. Try not to overcook them because chicken tenders go from perfect to overcooked really fast! If your tenders are on the small side, they could even be done in about 15 minutes so keep an eye on them. If they're big they can take more like 25. The coconut will be nice and golden and the panko crisp, but light in color still.

Honey Mustard Chicken

• 1 Tbsp butter or margarine
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 1 pound)
• 1 can (10 3/4 oz) cream chicken soup
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 1 Tbsp spicy brown mustard
• Coarsely chopped toasted pecans or walnuts (optional)

1. In 10 inch skillet over medium-high heat melt butter and cook chicken 10 minutes or until browned on both sides. Remove; set aside. Spoon off fat.
2. In same skillet combine, soup, mayonnaise, honey and mustard. Heat to boiling. Return chicken to skillet. Reduce heat to low. Cover; cook 5 minute or until chicken is no longer pink, stirring occasionally.
3. Serve over rice or risotto. Stir sauce and spoon over chicken. Sprinkle with pecans if desired.

I used less than 1/2 of the mayo that it called for and felt like it could have been left out completely. I also added a little more mustard. Over all it was a pretty good dish and it was easy and quick to prepare!

Roast Chicken with Rosemary and Lemon

We had this for dinner tonight and it was yummy. It is even a weight watchers recipe.

Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes Cook Time: 50 minutes • Points with Skin: Leg 4 pts, Wing 3 pts, Thigh 4 pts, Breast 5 pts

1 (3 lb) chicken, washed and dried, fat removed
1/2 onion, chopped in large chunks
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1/2 lemon
2-3 sprigs rosemary
1 tbsp herbes de Provence (or dried rosemary)
salt and fresh pepper
Heat oven to 425°. Season chicken inside and out with salt, pepper, and herbs de provence. Squeeze lemon juice on the outside of the chicken and stuff the remains of the lemon along with onion, garlic, rosemary sprigs inside the chicken.Roast the chicken until the internal temperature is 165°F, about 50-60 minutes (Insert thermometer between the leg and the thigh). Let the bird rest for 10 minutes before carving.

Smothered Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Garlic powder and seasoned salt to taste

1 T. vegetable oil

8 oz. button mushrooms, cut in half or quarters

1 c. shredded Cheddar cheese blend

½ c. chopped green onions

½ c. real bacon bits (real bacon works best and tastes the best)

½ c. tomatoes

1 bottle BBQ sauce

Flatten chicken breasts to ¼ in. thick (or just cut chicken breasts in half horizontally). Sprinkle with seasonings. In a skillet, brown chicken in oil for 4 min., or until mostly cooked through (you could also grill them if that is easier) In a separate pan saute cut up bacon until crispy. Drain the excess grease. Add mushrooms to the bacon and cook until mushrooms are soft. Place chicken breasts on a cookie sheet or in a 9x13 pan. Squeeze a generous amount of bbq sauce on top of each chicken breast. Top the chicken with the mushroom and bacon mixture. Sprinkle the cheese all over the tops of the chicken breasts. Cover and cook until chicken is done and cheese is melted, about 10 minutes. When chicken is finished, top the chicken breasts with the fresh tomatoes and green onions.

Chicken Parmasean

We enjoyed our homemade version of Chicken Parmasean. This was so good and so easy!

In a 9x13" pan place some diced onion and a few pats of butter, place pan in oven as it is preheating to 350*
Pull out of oven when butter melts.
4 chicken breasts cut in half and pounded to 1/4" thickness.
2 eggs cracked in a bowl and whisked
About 1-1/2 cups of Italian style bread crumbs in a bowl
Dip your chicken in egg, turn to coat
Place in crumb mixture, turn to coat.
Place in the 9x13" pan on top of butter and oven
Cook 30 min. Or until chicken is cooked completely and chicken is a little crispy.
You can put some of your spaghetti sauce over the chicken with a slice of cheese over each chicken piece or because most of my family doesn't like cheese, go with out it.
Serve with your family favorite noodles, (we use whole wheat) and spaghetti sauce.
We also serve a yummy veggie on the side. Enjoy!

Skillet Chicken & Vegetables Parmesan

Just had this for dinner! Super good & even healthy!

What You Need!

1/4 cup KRAFT Light Zesty Italian Dressing

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 lb.)

1 tsp. dried basil leaves, divided

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen mixed vegetables, thawed

2 Tbsp. KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese

{I didn't use as much pepper and basil as it tells you and added a little more cheese}

Make It!

MIX dressing and garlic in large skillet. Cook on medium heat 1 min. Add chicken; season with 3/4 tsp. of the basil and the pepper. Cook 4 to 5 min. on each side or until chicken is cooked through (165ºF).

ADD vegetables to skillet; sprinkle with remaining 1/4 tsp. basil. Cook 2 to 3 min. or until vegetables are heated through, stirring occasionally.

SPRINKLE with the cheese.

I also made whole wheat rice to go on the side! Super good.

Recipe came from Kraftfoods.com, click on the title to take you to the link

Whole Oven- Barbecued Chicken

• 2 small lemons
• 1/2 cup BBQ sauce
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 whole chicken (3 lbs)
• 1 pkg (6 oz) Stove Top Stuffing Mix for chicken

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Grate 1/2 tsp lemon peel, set aside. Cut lemons in half; squeeze juice into small bowl. Set aside lemon halves for later use. Add BBQ sauce and seasoning to the lemon juice; mix well. Place chicken in baking pan. Place 2 of the lemon halves and the garlic cloves inside the cavity of chicken. Rub skin of chicken with remaining 2 lemon halves and discard. Tie legs together with kitchen twine.
2. Bake 1 hour 45 mins or until chicken is cooked through, brushing with the BBQ sauce mixture every 5 min during the last 20 min of baking time. Sprinkle with reserved lemon peel during the last 5 min.
3. Prepare stuff mix as directed on package. Place in 1 1/2-qt baking dish sprayed with cooking spray; cover. Place stuff in oven during the last 30 min. of chicken baking time.
4. Remove chicken from oven, discard lemon halved and garlic cloves from chicken cavity. Serve chicken with stuff and fat skimmed chicken drippings if desired.

I got this recipe from the Kraft magazine and it is really good. The lemon adds the perfect little zing of flavor!

Heart Healthy Chicken Marsala

• 1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 3 Tbsp butter or margarine or spread
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 (10 oz) package sliced mushrooms (a can works too)
• 1 1/3 cup chicken broth, divided
• 1/2 tsp thyme

1. Mix 1/4 cup flour, salt and pepper in a dish. Evenly coat chicken in mixture.
2. Melt 2 Tbsp bitter in skillet over medium high heat and cook chicken, turning once 10 min or until thoroughly cooked. Set aside and keep warm.
3. Melt 1 Tbsp butter in same skillet over medium heat and cook onion and mushrooms, stirring occasionally, 3 min or until tender. Sprinkle in 1 Tbsp flour and cook, stirring constantly, 1 min. Add 1/3 cup broth and cook 1 min scraping brown bits from bottom of skillet. Add broth and thyme. Bring to boil over high heat, then continue boiling, stirring frequently until sauce is thickened, about 2 min. Pour sauce over chicken and serve.

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!

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.

Cheesy Chicken and Rice Bake

This is one of our family's favorites!

I especially love it because not only is it good,

but it is SO quick and easy!

*It is a Campbell's recipe, but I modified it slightly because I thought the rice was a little too soupy when I followed the recipe exactly. My modifications are in parentheses.

5-6 boneless skinless chicken tenders, or 3 breasts cut into strips

1 can (10.5 oz) Cream of Chicken soup

1 1/3 cup water (I use 1 1/4)

3/4 cup uncooked rice (I use 1 cup)

1 cup Mozzarella cheese

pepper

onion powder

Italian seasoning

In a casserole dish, mix soup and water. Add the rice and seasonings to taste. Top with chicken and sprinkle with more seasonings. Top with cheese. Bake at 375* for 45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Serves 4-5.