Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Chicken

Another great find on pinterest! I made a couple modifications to this; so easy and delicious! My family loves chicken, but sometimes you feel like you make it the same way all the time. This is just a few ingredients and so so easy to make!

Ingredients:

4 boneless chicken breasts
8 slices of uncooked bacon
2 peppers, either sweet red or orange ( cut in long strips)
1 1/2 cups shredded  cheddar cheese(any kind you like!)


Directions:

~ carefully butterfly each chicken breast to make them thin.

~lie each breast flat, season with salt and pepper. I use spicy garlic seasoning.....makes everything taste better!

~place strips of pepper across chicken and cover with a generous amount of cheese

~ roll each breast and secure with a toothpick. I wrapped two slices all the way around the chicken, but I think it would be better if you cut each piece in half, so you would have 4 small pieces for each piece of chicken and it would be crispier.

~place chicken in a 9 X13 casserole and bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

~ if you like you bacon well done, you can place under broiler for 2 minutes. 

Garlic and Oil Pasta with Chicken and Asparagus

Since I have been making weekly trips to the Farmers Market, it has inspired me to try new recipes! I can't resist the opportunity to purchase slender asparagus and then hunt down a recipe. This was the perfect summer dinner. I made some changes and it was a success!


Ingredients:

1 lb. of pasta, cooked al dente
approx 1 lb of boneless chicken, sliced thin
1/3 cup olive oil
1 lb. of fresh asparagus, cut into one inch pieces
1 pint of cherry tomatoes, cut in half
a bunch of scallions, sliced and separate the white and green parts
one small handful of fresh parsley, chopped
3 large cloves of garlic, minced
1/2-1 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes

I like to use alot of bowls when I cook. It helps when you are ready to start cooking, since this really doesn't take long to throw together. It's all in the prep work!

First get your water boiling for the pasta. I used Penne Pasta, but you can use any variety you like.

While the water is boiling, you can saute the thinly sliced chicken in the cloves of minced garlic and olive oil in a large skillet. Remove the chicken and place in a bowl while you then saute the asparagus on mediun heat.

Add the sliced cherry tomatoe, parsley and the whites of the scallions and cook briefly.

Your pasta should be boiled now. Drain the water from the pasta and add to the sauteed vegetables.
 Add your cooked chicken.

Serve with grated pecorino romano cheese and top with greens of scallions. Bellisimo!

Chicken Fried Rice

Who doesn't love fried rice?!? This recipe has been perfected, thanks to my hubby! We cook the rice early in the day and chill it so it "fries" better.

3 cups uncooked rice ( cook in 1 1/2 cups water and then refrigerate)
1 1/2 cups diced cooked chicken ( great way to use leftover chicken or any meat)
1 cup diced sweet onion
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup diced raw carrots
3 eggs, scrambled
2 T chicken stock
1 T soy sauce
1 T dry sherry
spicy garlic
canola oil

Heat skillet on high and add canola. Saute onion,carrots, peas,and chicken, then egg. Mix chicken stock, soy sauce and sherry together in a bowl, then add to rice. Continue to toss rice until it is fried. Looks delish, right?!?

Chicken with Kielbasa

This recipe can be made in either a  crock pot or skillet. It is a very tasty combination of two meats and is perfect over rice. Very easy to make!

Ingredients:

2 TBS olive oil
1 pkg kielbasa (usually around 12 oz) sliced into 1/2 inch rounds
6 pieces boneless chicken (adjust to number of servings you want)
1 onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup diced carrots
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2- 1 cup frozen peas

NOTE: If you want to cook rice in the crock pot with meat, the ratio is 2 cups rice and 3 1/2 cup water. I prefer to do mine separately.

Saute onion, garlic, red pepper and carrots until tender. Then over medium heat, brown sausage on both sides.  Add chicken to skillet and brown. This will simmer nicely in a skillet. Add the peas 5 minutes before serving. ( or you can brown the meats and add everything to a crock pot if desired)

Pretty over rice!

Week 12~ Festive Chicken with Asparagus

Asparagus lovers, its in season!!! Try this recipe, you won't be disappointed. :D

4-6 boneless chicken breasts
2 TBS all purpose flour
3 TBS canola oil
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 pound asparagus


~ coat chicken with flour. preheat oven to 37 degrees. using canola oil in a skillet, cook chicken until lightly browned.

~ in a 3 Qt casserole, mix the wine, feta cheese, undiluted cream of chicken soup, and a little pepper. arrange the chicken in the mixture, covering the chicken with some of it.

~ bake for 30 min uncovered.

~ add the cleaned asparagus to the casserole and cover tightly with foil. bake another 15-20 minutes.

This is so simple and delicious!! ENJOY !!

Week 10~ Lemon Chicken

It was so hard for me to pick a new recipe these last two weeks. Having my kids take turns being home from college, they crave their favorite meals, so I have been busy making the traditional things they love!

I have made different variations of this type of chicken, but this one was really easy and smelled fabulous! If you have time, you can marinate the chicken overnight. I soaked mine for about 6 hours.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup dry white wine
4-6 boneless chicken breasts

Mix these ingredients and pour over chicken. Refrigerate and cover for at least 4 hours or overnight.

When you are ready to cook,  combine the following:
1/2 cup flour
1 TBS lemon zest (from the lemons you squeezed)
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large skillet, heat some olive oil over medium heat. Lightly coat your chicken that's been soaking, in the flour mixture. Brown the chicken breasts on each side, then place in a greased baking dish.

Sprinkle1/4 cup brown sugar over the chicken.
Mix 1/2 cup chicken broth with 1/2 cup lemon juice and pour around the chicken. Top each breast with a lemon slice and garnish with sesame seeds.

Bake this dish for approx 30 minutes.

This was perfect with our favorite Basmati Rice, which was cooked in the skillet after the chicken was removed to savor the drippings. Very light and delicious!!

Week 8~Chicken, Asparagus and Black Bean Enchiladas

Since yesterday was "Fat Tuesday" or "Mardi Gras", it was my quest to find an amazingly delicious, tempting recipe! And what better than from a cookbook I found in my treasured collection titled: "The New Inter Courses", an aphrodisiac cookbook.
So those of you who have never had asparagus, NEED to try this recipe!

This was a really "fancy" meal. It made me so happy making this, and it went perfect with a Margarita! Yummm.

Let me give you the ingredients first!

1 lb asparagus                                                     2 small red bell peppers, finely chopped
6 slices of bacon                                                  1 tsp ground cumin
1 lb boneless chicken                                           1/2 tsp red cayenne pepper ( or chili powder)
3 cloves garlic                                                      1/2 cup sliced green onions                                                  
1 1/2 cups salsa                                                    6 tortillas                          
1- 15oz can black beans, drained and rinsed         approx 1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
                                                                            1/2 cup light cream

I used a skillet to blanch the asparagus. Bring water to a boil and cook asparagus until it turns bright green, but still crisp. Rinse under cold water to prevent it from cooking further. Set aside.

In another skillet, cook your bacon until crisp and drain on paper towels. Crumble.
 SAVE THE BACON DRIPPINGS!

You are going to saute the sliced chicken and garlic in the bacon drippings. DON'T skip this step; it made the chicken amazingly tender, so don't worry about the calories.  :)

In another bowl, mix 1 cup of the salsa, the beans, diced red peppers, cumin and chili peppers. Add to the chicken in the skillet. Simmer for approx 7 minutes, then add the diced green onions and bacon.

                                        This is when everything starts to smell A - MAZING!!!

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9X13 baking dish.

To assemble the enchiladas, spoon the bean mixture down the center of each tortilla. I have a really large counter and have found if I lay them all out, I can evenly divide up the chicken. ( my scientist husband taught me that!)

 
                                                   Three asparagus per tortilla was perfect!!

As you can see, then I topped each one with a generous amount of cheese. I buy the mexican blend of cheese, my personal favorite......and I never really measure the cheese. Just pile it on!! ( after all, it was Fat Tuesday!)

Roll up each tortilla and place seam-side down in the dish. These can be prepared ahead of time up to this point and refrigerated. Or make one GIGANTIC mess like I did last night!

   For the topping, mix the 1/2 cup of cream ( I used half and half) with approx 1/2 cup of salsa. Pour over the top of each enchilada.

I baked these for approx 15 minutes covered, then uncovered them and topped with a little more cheese!

                                               Impressive if I must say so myself!!!
                                  (My personal bartender made the amazing Margarita!!)

Week 7~ Gnocchi Soup

I was soooooo excited to try this recipe, given to me by a good friend.  My daughter LOVES the Olive Garden's version of this soup. I think if she was here tonight, she would like mine better! <3

We enjoy our soups hardy and it's filling enough to be a meal , so I increased the amount of chicken and spinach from the original recipe. My daughter, mom and I made homemade gnocchi over last weekend. It was a PERFECT excuse to use the leftovers that I froze in this yummy soup! 

1 TBS olive oil                                                                 2 cloves garlic, minced

4 TBS butter                                                                    2 cups chicken broth

4 TBS flour                                                                      1 cup finely minced carrots

4 cups half and half                                                           2 cooked chicken breasts, diced

1/2 cup (2 stalks) celery, finely diced                                 4 cups gnocchi

1 cup spinach coarsely chopped ( I used 3 cups)                1/2 tsp thyme

1 cup onion, finely chopped                                               1/2 tsp parsley

Saute onion, celery, garlic in butter and olive oil until onion is translucent. Add carrot and simmer.

Add flour to make a roux. Slowly add half and half ; stir until it thickens.

( cook your gnocchi)

Into roux, add the diced chicken, and chicken broth.

Last, add the spinach and gnocchi. Add some black pepper to season.

I served this with a homemade crusty bread! 

Week 5~ Lustful Creamy Chicken Fettuccine

 Monday's in our house have traditionally been a pasta dinner night. Sooooooo, I found an interesting twist for a chicken alfredo in a great cookbook titled "Bite Me." ( Gotta love that title for a cookbook) I will definitely be making this recipe again!

Marinade 4 boneless chicken breasts with the following: ( for one pound fettucini)

2 TBS olive oil

1 large clove garlic

2 TBS lemon juice

1/2 dried basil

1/2 tsp dried oregano

Tomato cream sauce:

2TBS olive oil

1 onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2- 14 oz cans of italian stewed tomatoes, pureed

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 cup heavy cream ( I used half and half)

1 cup fresh parmesan cheese 

fresh ground black pepper

Allow chicken to marinate at least 30 minutes before grilling. Cook as desired. Set aside and keep warm; slice or dice the chicken.

In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil and cook fettucine as directed.

For sauce, heat olive oil over medium heat and add onion and garlic. Cook until softened.

Stir in pureed tomatoes and add red pepper flakes, cook for 10 minutes.

Turn heat to LOW and add cream. Remove from heat and stir in parmesan cheese, season with pepper.

*Note: I drained the pasta and kept it separate from the sauce, added the sliced grilled chicken to the sauce. This would allow you to add as much chicken/sauce to your pasta.

Bellisimo!! :)

Week 1 - Lemon-Orange Chicken

This was a very yummy, orange flavored stir-fry. My kids LOVE Asian food, so I try to make things I think they will enjoy!