Olive Garden Chicken & Gnocchi Soup

1 cup diced chicken
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups evaporated milk
½ cup celery, finely diced
1 garlic clove, minced
½ cup carrots, finely shredded
½ cup onion, finely diced
1 cup fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon extra virgin oil
½ teaspoon thyme
½ teaspoon parsley
Freshly grated parmesan cheese – optional
1 pound potato gnocchi
1 tablespoon cornstarch - optional*
 
Sauté the onion, celery, garlic, spinach, carrots in the olive oil till the onion is nearly translucent. Add the chicken, chicken broth, and spices. Bring to a boil. Slowly add the gnocchi into the boiling broth. Turn down the heat and let simmer for about 10 minutes.  Add milk and allow mixture to come to a boil and then turn off heat.  *For a thicker soup, mix cornstarch into the milk before you add it into the broth. 

Top with grated parmesean cheese before serving, if desired.

Best Hawaiian Haystacks!

3-4 chicken breasts
8oz square of cream cheese, softened
1 package Italian dressing mix
1 can cream of chicken soup
cooked rice
toppings: shredded cheese, chopped celery, diced green onions, chopped bell or red pepper, pineapple tidbits, mandarin oranges, chow mein noodles, sliced olives, shredded coconut, sliced water chestnuts, etc.

Combine cream cheese, dressing mix and soup into bowl and stir until mixed.  Place chicken breasts in crockpot and cover with soup mixture.  Cook on high for 3-4 hours, or low on 6-8 hours.  Right before serving, remove chicken from crockpot and shred meat with a fork.  Place back in pot and stir to combine with sauce.  Serve over cooked rice and top with your favorite toppings.

Recipe from Just Cook Already.  The author includes a recipe for coconut rice.  It did give it a little extra, but this recipe is good over plan rice too, and makes it easier to cook.

Chicken Broccoli Casserole

4 lbs chicken cooked and cut into 1 in pieces

2 packages 8 oz cream cheese

2 cups milk

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1 cup parmesan cheese

2 pkg broccoli spears, cooked 

Mix cream cheese, milk, salt, garlic salt and 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese together in saucepan; heat until cheeses are melted.  Place chicken in large casserole dish, cover with broccoli then cheese sauce.  Top with remaining 1/2 c of parmesan cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Let stand 10 minutes before serving.  

Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup

2 chicken breasts
5 C. chicken broth
3 C. diced vegetables (carrot, celery, potato)
1 small onion or 1 T. dehydrated onion
1 t. poultry seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
3 c. egg noodles, uncooked

Combine all ingredients except noodles in slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours. Remove chicken breasts, shred meat, and return to pot. Add noodles and cook 30 min. more. Do not over cook. Serves 4.

Chicken Stir Fry

1 C. chicken, cut into small chunks or thin strips (apx. 2 chicken breasts)
1 T. corn starch
1 T. soy sauce
2-3 t. oil
1/4 C. water
2 carrots, sliced thin*
2 stalks celery, sliced thin*
1 C. sauce (sweet and sour, spicy orange, teriyaki, etc.)
1 C. pineapple chunks or mandarin orange slices
*other veggies can be used, like onion slices, snow peas, broccoli florets, etc.

Coat chicken with corn starch and soy sauce. Heat oil in fry pan, then add chicken. Cook until outside of chicken is white. Add water and simmer covered 10 minutes, stirring twice. Add carrots and celery and fry for a couple of minutes while stirring. Then add the sauce and simmer covered for 10 more minutes. Add pineapple or oranges and heat through. Serve with cooked rice.

Black Bean Quesadillas

2 pkgs. (10 count) medium size flour tortillas shells
2 pkgs. (10 ounces) Monterey jack cheese, shredded
1 can (15 ounces) black beans
1 bag (22 ounces) of fully cooked grilled chicken breast strips (Tyson’s or John Soules Foods brand)
1 jar (16 ounces) picante sauce
2-3 sprigs of cilantro (optional)
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet cook the chicken breast on medium heat until warm (3-5 minutes). Remove from heat.
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy clean up. The saves time when you are entertaining.
To assemble the quesadillas, place a tortilla shell on a baking sheet. Spread ¼ cup of the shredded Monterey jack cheese on the tortilla shell. Next, add 1/3 cup of the black beans. Layer about ½ cup of chicken breast on top of the mixture. Add a final ¼ cup of the shredded Monterey jack cheese. Place another tortilla shell on top. Repeat with another tortilla shell.
Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes until the tortilla shells are golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes before cutting. Slice the quesadillas into 4 pieces.

Kathy's Boneless Buffalo Wings

I hate buffalo wings usually cause I am not a fan of bones in chicken so I thought I would try these boneless buffalo wings.  You can adjust the hot sauce to you liking.  They are suppose to be a little healthier than normal hot wings.  They turned out great, forgot to get the picture. This recipe came out of the Ogden Standard Examiner.

1 cup trans-fat-free Panko (Japanese) bread crumbs

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon paprika

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Ice water

1/2 cup light mayonnaise

1/4 cup hot sauce

Cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Set a rack on a foil lined baking sheet.  Spray the rack generously with cooking spray.  

Combine the first four ingredients in a pie plate or shallow bowl and mix well.  Slice each chicken breast into six pieces, then put the chicken in a large bowl of ice water until well chilled.  Remove the chicken from the ice water and pat dry with paper towels.  Using a pastry brush, throughly coat each piece of chicken breast with light mayonnaise.  Transfer the chicken to the pie plate and bread each piece.  

Put the chicken on the prepared rack and spray each piece lightly with cooking spray. 

Place the baking sheet on the bottom shelf of the oven and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the coating crisps and browns.  Place the baked chicken pieces into a container that has a lid.  Pour the hot sauce over the chicken in the container, cover with chicken is coated with hot sauce.  

Makes 12 pieces Serves 6 Per serving (2 pieces): 193 calories, 7.5 grams fat grams, 270 milligrams sodium, 45 milligrams cholesterol.  

 

Cashew Chicken Casserole

So, I think it's been long enough since I've been a member and not posted a thing so here it comes...
I've not made this myself, but I helped a friend this past week and I intend to use this often as a regular. And, since I observed, I don't have specific amounts of the ingredients, or a picture :).

3-4 chicken breasts
diced onion
diced celery
cashews
1 can Cream of Chicken soup, plus one can water
Chow Mein noodles

Cook and cut up chicken. Add onion, celery, cashews, soup and water. Mix well. Pour into 9x13 pan and top with Chow Mein noodles. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes (long enough for the onion and celery to soften as desired). I intend to serve this over rice, although that's not how we ate it at my friend's. Enjoy!
Monica

Chicken Curry

Ingredients:

1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. butter
1 medium chopped onion
1 Tbsp curry powder
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. grated (or ground) ginger
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups milk
4 cups cooked chicken (boiled)
lemon juice


Saute onion and curry in butter, blend in flour and seasoning. Stir over low heat until smooth. Gradually stir in broth and milk. Boil 1 minute stirring constantly. Add chicken and a squirt or two of lemon juice. Serve over rice.


Variations: I usually add in potato chunks, carrot chunks, and coconut. Add one or all!