Creamy Chicken Hash

For those us who gave up canned cream of chicken soup but still wish we had a natural, delicious alternative. Creamy Chicken Hash comes to the rescue.  It's a main dish not a soup; Creamy Chicken Hash is loaded with leftover roasted chicken, chopped and baked into a creamy, lightly textured, custard sauce.  It's a simple recipe to bring together in under 30 minutes.  I served it with Duchess Potatoes; the oven was already hot and I baked them together.  Dinner was ready in no time.

HERE'S ALL IT TAKES

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon yellow onion, minced
• 2 1/2 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup cream or whole milk
• 2 to 3 cups roasted chicken, chopped
• salt and pepper
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 to 2 tablespoons Sherry (optional)
• 1/2 cup grated cheese

Preheat oven to Low Broil.

Heat butter; add onion and cook over low heat until soft but not browned.

Add flour and stir until blended; slowly add stock and stir over low heat until thick and smooth; add cream and chicken; season to taste.

Slowly add a little hot cream sauce to the beaten eggs (to temper the eggs); add tempered eggs to remaining chicken mixture, stirring constantly.  Add sherry.

Turn into buttered shallow casserole dish or deep-dish pie plate; sprinkle with grated cheese.

Heat under broiler until brown and bubbly, 10 to 15 minutes.  Keep watch over it.  Makes 6 servings.

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I apologize for not having a photo.  I didn't have good light at dinner time, so I thought would save back some to photograph tomorrow.  My family at it all.

Roasted Chicken with Garlic and Herbs

Slow roasted in the oven, this chicken came out tender and full of flavor.  I served it with good ol'mashed potatoes and fresh baked Deli Style Rye bread.  It made my family very happy.

Pictured above, I roasted our favorite pieces from a whole chicken.  The rest of the chicken went into the stock pot to make homemade chicken broth.

HERE'S ALL I DID

• 1 whole chicken, cut up
• 4 tablespoons melted butter
• 4 to 6 garlic cloves
• Herbs de Provence seasoning
• salt & freshly ground peppercorns

Heat oven to 350ºF.
In a large dutch oven or roasting pan, pour the melted butter in first, roll the chicken pieces in the butter and leave skin side up.  Drop in the garlic cloves between the pieces.  Sprinkle the seasonings over the chicken to your taste.  Roast slowly 45 to 60 minutes, until juices run clear and light meat is no longer pink in center.

Oven Fried Crispy Chicken Bites

My friend, Patsy from Family, Friends and Food had me drooling over her simple Crispy Chicken Recipe using Panko Bread Crumbs.  Inspired by Patsy's cooking process, I ventured to make my own version.  But only because I had to work with what I had on hand in the pantry.

I liked this recipe because I could BAKE the chicken in the oven in a relatively short time.

HERE'S ALL IT TAKES
to feed 2 adults, 2 small kiddos

• 1 fresh large egg
• 3 to 4 tablespoons milk
• 3 to 5 dashes of Tabasco pepper sauce (optional)

• 1 1/2 cups Panko Bread Crumbs
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons oil or fresh roasted garlic oil
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch thick cuts

Heat oven to 400ºF.

Beat the egg, milk and Tabasco sauce together in a small bowl and set aside.  In a pie plate, mix bread crumbs, salt and pepper.  Stir in oil.

Dip the cuts of chicken into the egg/milk liquid then move to pie plate with seasoned bread crumbs.  Press the crumbs into the chicken until well coated, lightly shake excess crumbs.  Place on cookie sheet sprayed with nonstick spray.  Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Cut the thickest piece to make sure no pink exists, if you're not sure that 30 minutes is long enough.  If the chicken pieces are different sizes, then you may want to remove the smallest pieces from the oven to keep from drying out.

Full On Chicken Dinner STILL SIMPLE

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Total Comfort Food Here! A full on meal, made as quickly and as easily as possible.  Every where I could, I trimmed down the fat calorie intake as best as I could.  It's not "fat-free" but "low-fat" and STILL SATISFIES a hungry family.

HERE'S ALL IT TAKES

For the Chicken

• 1 (3 to 3 1/2 pound) whole chicken
• salt & fresh ground pepper
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1 small lemon, halved
• 5 to 7 garlic cloves, whole
• 1 small onion, thickly sliced

For the Noodles

• 1 1/2 cups dry egg noodles
• 1 cup chicken stock/broth from drippings
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup No Fat Half and Half (Land O'Lakes)
• salt & pepper
• ground red pepper flakes (for the grown ups' plates)

Blanched Broccoli

• 1 large broccoli crown, cut into large bite size pieces

Starting with the chicken. Preheat the oven to 425ºF degrees.

Prep the lemon, garlic and onion.  Have your spices measured out in small bowls, so you don't contaminate your spice rack.

Remove the chicken parts from the inside that they always give us.  Rinse out the inside of the chicken and remove any excessively fatty pieces.  Pat the outside dry with a paper towel.  Place the chicken in a roasting pan.

Generously salt and pepper the inside of the chicken.  Sprinkle in the dried thyme, stuff with the lemon, garlic.  Give the outside of the chicken a spritz of canola oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Tie the legs together with kitchen string, or not, and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken.  Scatter the onion slices around the chicken.

Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh.  Move to a serving dish and cover with foil.

BEFORE YOU START THE NOODLES

Scoop out 1 cup of broth from the drippings, try to get as much as you can.  If you can't make a cup, you can fill in with water or canned chicken broth.  Put the drippings in the freezer, so the fat can separate and solidify quickly.  Skim off all the fat.

NOW start a large pot of boiling water for blanching the broccoli, then cooking the noodles as directed on the package.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring the 1 cup of drippings/broth to a boil.  Pour in No Fat Half and Half, and reduce heat to low just to keep warm.  Do not allow cream sauce to simmer. Think low and slow.

At the same time, blanch the broccoli florets in the boiling water for 2 minutes, scoop out with a slotted spoon and keep warm until noodles are cooked.

Drain off cooked noodles, pour creamy chicken sauce over the noodles and toss.  Allow noodles a few minutes to absorb cream sauce and thicken. Separate chicken while you wait.

Serve it all up family style!

Kitchen, I mean Chicken Cacciatore

Chicken Cacciatore is super simple to put together and absolutely delicious to eat!

Denise's husband asked Denise to ask me if I had a Chicken Cacciatore recipe. I told her that I had never made it before but after researching how to put it together, I would make it and post about it. So here we are folks. Take a look at that delicious red sauce loaded with garlic, bell peppers, onions, celery, mushroom and capers. It spells over that moist chicken breast that just lays beautifully over macaroni coated in basil olive oil.

I ate this for leftovers, two nights later and it STILL ROCKS!

I made a big batch and now I seriously cannot decide whether to put the extra in the freezer or just keep chowing on it. You just wait. You're gonna make this and be right where I am and you'll know where I'm coming from. This stuff is GREAT!

OH! I almost forgot. It only takes one pan and one pot to pull this meal together. How's that for easy clean up?

HERE'S ALL IT TAKES TO MAKE A BIG BATCH (To Eat Now & Later)

• 8 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 3/4 cup flour for dredging
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• enough oil for lightly frying, 3 to 4 tablespoons

• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 small yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 1 small green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 large celery stalks, chopped
• 1 pint mushrooms, cleaned & quartered

• 3/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 1 (15oz) can petite diced tomatoes with juice
• 1 (15oz) can Italian-style tomatoes with juice
• 4 tablespoon capers, drained
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves

• 2 cups elbow macaroni or your favorite pasta, cooked, drained & drizzled with your favorite olive oil

Get all the vegetables chopped first.

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Dredge the chicken boobs in flour, salt & pepper, then set aside.

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Heat a large nonstick pan with oil over medium high heat. Add chicken to pan and saute for 2 minutes on each side or until chicken is lightly browned.

Remove chicken and set aside on a plate. Add all the chopped vegetables EXCEPT the mushrooms. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper, saute until softened, 7 to 10 minutes. Stirring occasionally.

Add in the red wine vinegar and cook for 3 minutes. (This helps remove the strong vinegar aroma.) Take this time to scrap the tasty crispy bits from the pan with your spatula. Then, it's time to add in the chicken broth, both cans of tomatoes WITH their juices, capers and oregano.

Return the chicken boobs, too. Make sure they are practically submerged. Now you see them...

.Now you don't.

Bring the sauce to a simmer. Continue to simmer over MEDIUM LOW heat, UNCOVERED until the chicken is cooked through, about 30 minutes. In the last 10 minutes, add the mushrooms.

TIME IT JUST RIGHT
15-20 minutes before the chicken cacciatore is finished, preheat the oven for baking a loaf of garlic bread. And start the water for boiling the pasta.

In the last 10 minutes, pop the garlic bread in the oven and pour the uncooked pasta in the boiling water. Everything will finish at the same time. So, turn off the heat from the Chicken Cacciatore, turn off the oven, then drain the pasta and drizzle with your favorite olive oil. Remove the bread from the oven and carefully cut into serving slices.

YOU ARE READY TO EAT!!!

Caesar Chicken Dinner

One of my favorite salad dressing makers is Briannas Homestyle dressings. I keep several different flavors on my fridge door. Well, the other day, I was staring down at four skinless boneless chicken boobs considering what I was going to do with them. I've read recipes that call for slabbing Ranch or Italian dressing on top of a chicken breast before baking it. Why not use my favorite dressing on these chicken boobs? I was in the mood for something garlicky so I got out Briannas Caesar dressing.
WOW! That was a good idea!

HERE'S ALL I DID

• 4 skinless boneless chicken breasts
• 1/4 cup Briannas Asiago Caesar Dressing
• 1 1/2 teaspoons tomato paste

Preheat oven to 400° Fahrenheit.

First, I had to cut the breasts lengthwise to make thin fillets. Why is it the butcher gives us two monstrous breasts and two small breasts in one package? I can't cook those evenly can you? Cutting them into fillets was the best way to cook them evenly and serve more chicken.

Blend the dressing and tomato paste in a small bowl and set aside. I covered my favorite cookie sheet with aluminum foil, and sprayed it with non-stick cooking spray. I moved all the chicken pieces to the sheet and coated each side of each one each one with 1 to 2 teaspoons of dressing.

Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, until no longer pink in center. I pick the thickest piece of meat to test for doneness.

I served this chicken with a side salad for Charles and I. The kids had mashed potatoes on the side. The next few days, I use those extra fillets to make Caesar chicken salad for lunch. Those were really good!

Chicken with Ham and Cheese

Every NEW recipe I try, I follow the cookbook instructions exactly. It's helps to understand where the recipe creator was going before I detour off on my own the next time. IF there's going to be a next time. There are certain rules, I created years ago, to help me sift recipes that work. For this recipe, I put the rules aside and started cooking.

My dear friend, Anna, came over so we could explore a couple of recipes together. We had a great time; learning a different way to roast garlic, trying pine nuts and prosciutto for the first time, and talking food. Anna is 17 years old and wants to attend culinary school after she graduates high school. Even though there's quite a few years between us, it doesn't seem to matter. Food just has a marvelous way of bringing people together.

This is another recipe that comes out of the Italian cookbook I'm always going on about.

HERE'S HOW EASY IT IS

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast
• 1/3 - 1/2 cup flour, seasoned with salt & freshly ground pepper for dredging
• 1/4 cup healthy oil
• 4 thin slices of prosciutto or cooked ham, cut in half
• 1/4 cup freshly shredded Parmesan or Romano cheese

Cut each chicken breast in half lengthwise to make 2 flat fillets the same thickness. Dredge the chicken in the seasoned flour and shake off the excess.

Preheat the broiler on low. Heat the oil in a large heavy frying pan. Add the chicken in one layer and cook over low to medium heat until golden brown on both sides, turning as necessary.

Remove the chicken from the heat, and arrange on a sheet pan or glass casserole dish. Place one piece of ham on each chicken fillet and top with shredded cheese. Broil for 3-4 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

KID FRIENDLY ALERT!
When my open-minded son wrinkled his nose at the prosciutto, I knew to leave it off a few fillets. I went ahead with the Parmesan, because I use a very mild brand the kids prefer. I didn't bother serving them the roasted garlic salad, instead I prepared good ol'mac-n-cheese. I've learned when asking my kids to try something new, I make something they love to go right next to it. They are more willing to oblige when the plate doesn't look completely unknown and scary.

My Two Cents: PROSCIUTTO
Call me unrefined if you want, I don't care. It won't move me to buy proscuitto again. I'll admit that it could have been the brand I purchased, which was my only choice from my grocer. Whatever the case, I'm not impressed. I've tasted lunch meats that suited me more. For the price, $5 for four slices of thinly sliced smoked ham, I expected a heavenly smoked flavor that would send me to some new height of delight. Not the case. The next time I cross a recipe that calls for prosciutto, I'll immediately use my favorite smoked ham lunch meat. It's only runs $2.99 for 9 oz. and my kids don't wrinkle their noses when they see it.

One More Tidbit: I wrote a review about the Italian cookbook. It really is a book worth space on your shelf. Save your money and pick up a used copy. I always buy used books when they're available.

Hot Chicken Fajitas And Black Beans

For the BIG KIDS- Spicy Chicken Fajitas

For the SMALLER KIDS - Chicken Quesadillas

Here's a super fast dinner that tastes great and caters to the whole family!

HERE'S ALL YOU NEED

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into quarters
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 small onion, sliced
• 1 fresh jalepeno, sliced
• 2 cups shredded lettuce
• 1 jar of your favorite salsa
• 1 package (2 cups) shredded Kraft Mexican blend cheese
• 1 package Mission zesty Garlic Flour Tortillas
• sour cream
• 1 can Ranch Style Black Beans, warmed up

Cook chicken in oil on medium high heat, season well with salt & pepper; until cooked through, 7-12 minutes.  Set aside chicken in  a bowl, and keep warm.  Add a little oil to the pan, quickly saute onion slices, add a pinch of salt, then until soften and tender.  Meanwhile, heat up griddle on medium heat.

Let's feed the kids first, shall we?

Heat one tortilla on both sides for 1 minute each.  Sprinkle on cheese, about 1/2 cup.  Lay down 5 to 6 strips of chicken, breaking them into bite size pieces.  Fold tortilla in half and heat until cheese has melted and tortillas is golden brown.  Cut into fourths and serve with a side of black beans.

Now, let's feed the grown ups.

Warm the tortillas on the griddle, long enough to make them soften up, 2 minutes.
Down the center of the tortilla, spread on a tablespoon worth of sour cream, 1/4 cup shredded cheese, 3 slices of chicken, sauted onions, jalepenos (as much as you can bare to eat), 2 tablespoons of salsa, and top with lettuce.  Roll up it, folding in the ends, then slice in half.  Serve with a side of black beans.

Mmm, mmm, good!

Roasted Chicken Breasts

I've been watching so much Barefoot Contessa on TV. I decided to copy her roasted chicken technique. It's so simple, I had to make it. I admit it! I get in cooking routines and forget to try something new.

Now, this 'technique' is not new to the cooking world, it's just new to me and maybe you, too. It's new for me, because I usually cook my chicken in a stock pot with veggies and herbs, so I can have chicken broth as well. However, Ina's right about roasted chicken verses the stock pot method, roasted chicken has a better flavor. I noticed it more in the quality of the leftover chicken that was eaten the next day. The roasted chicken retained it's roasted flavor.

HERE'S ALL YOU HAVE TO DO

• 4 chicken breasts with skin & bones
• olive oil
• kosher salt & pepper

Preheat oven 350ºF degrees. On a baking sheet covered with heavy duty foil, drizzle and coat breasts with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper on both sides. Bake uncovered for 35 to 40 minutes. (If you bought skinless breasts, simple cover with foil so the meat does not dry out.) Remove skin, then cut up or shred chicken as needed for your recipes.

This is a time saver for me. I roast the chicken in the morning, let it cool, then divide it up. I store extra roasted chicken in a good freezer container to use for future meals:

• Chicken and Dumplins
• Sloppy Chicken Enchiladas
• Roasted Chicken Salad
• Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
• Simple Chicken Tortilla Soup
• REAL Chicken Chili

If you're interested in more of Barefoot Contessa recipes, Barefoot Contessa At Home has a great collection. I highly recommend adding this book to your library.