Chicken on a Ritz

You may also know this recipe as Poppy Seed Chicken...SO GOOD!!!

My family has been making this recipe for a while now. We found it in a church cookbook a long time ago. It is a recipe from our pastor's wife at the time, my sweet friend Karen (Miss ya!). My mom uses it a lot when we have our whole family together because it is SUPER easy and everyone loves it!

You will need:
6 pieces of chicken (boneless, skinless)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 c. sour cream (light works just fine!)
1 sleeve of Ritz (or generic form of) crackers, crushed
1 stick of butter, melted
2 t. poppy seeds

Place chicken in a 9x13 baking dish.

Combine cream of chicken soup and sour cream; stir well (you can thin this mixture with a little milk if you'd like). Spread this mixture over the chicken pieces.

Stir crushed crackers and melted butter together and sprinkle over the chicken.

Sprinkle poppy seeds over the top.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 1 - 1 1/2 hours.

ENJOY!!

Burritos

I have made these several times now and we really like them!! I make a bunch of them ahead of time and freeze them. A very quick & easy meal!!

You will need:
2 cans of refried beans
1 c. salsa
3 c. cooked chicken, chopped (I have also used 1# ground beef, cooked and drained)
3 c. shredded cheddar or mexican blend cheese
flour tortillas (about 16 or so...depends on size of tortilla)

I combine the beans, 1/2 c. salsa, meat and 2 c. cheese in a large bowl and stir it all together until it is mixed well. Then I spread the meat/bean mixture into the center of the tortilla and roll it up. Place them in a pan, spread remaining salsa over the top and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or so.

When I freeze these, I just roll up the burritos and place in a ziploc freezer bag. When I am ready to bake, I pull out what I need and put in a baking dish and let them thaw in the refrigerator. When I am ready to bake, I spread 1/2 c. salsa and sprinkle with about 1 c. cheese over the top and put in the oven.

ENJOY!!!

*I adapted the recipe for these a little bit from Money Saving Mom.

Homemade Taco Seasoning

Up until recently, I had a huge stockpile of taco seasoning...but with coupons not being as available as they once were, my stockpile dwindled and I had no more taco seasoning packets left. So, I gave the homemade version (found here) a try and I thought it tasted really close to store-bought! It is made with ingredients I already had on hand so I didn't need to buy a thing to do it! :)

You will need:
1/4 c. chili powder
1 1/2 t. onion powder
1 1/2 t. garlic powder
1 1/2 t. cumin
1 1/2 t. oregano
1/2 t. paprika
1 t. salt
1 t. pepper

Mix in a small bowl and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Use 2 rounded tablespoons in place of one taco seasoning packet.

*The author of this recipe also suggested if you like it a little spicier, then you could add 1 t. of red pepper flakes. I did not do this but will probably try it next time.

Ranch Chicken

This was DELICIOUS!!! Our whole family really liked it!! AND it was REALLY EASY to make!!

I think I found it on Pinterest...but I can't be sure.

You will need:
6 pieces chicken (I used 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts and cut each in half)
1 c. corn flakes, crushed
1 c. shredded parmesan cheese
1 pkg. of dry ranch dressing mix
1 stick of butter or margarine, melted

Combine corn flakes, cheese and ranch dressing in a bowl.

Coat each chicken piece with butter and then roll to coat in corn flake mixture. Place in baking dish. I had a little leftover of the corn flake mixture so I pressed it onto the chicken. Then I drizzled the leftover butter on top of the chicken.

Bake at 400 degrees for 40-50 minutes or until chicken is done.

ENJOY!!

Slow-Cooked Pulled Pork (or Chicken)

I made this recipe for the first time back when I did my freezer cooking session. The sauce was different than what I'm used to (more sweet than spicy), but my kids REALLY liked this...so much so, that two of them wanted it cold in their lunches for school! So the next day, I sent them with cold pulled pork sandwiches and they thought it was the greatest lunch EVER!!

Not sure where I found this recipe but apparently it is even Weight Watcher friendly...which is good, because I've been starting to feel guilty for my recent posts of French Toast Casserole, Homemade Donuts and S'more Brownies!

You will need:
1 1/2 # pork roast or chicken breast
1 c. tomato sauce
1/2 c. ketchup
2 T. plus 2 t. brown sugar (not packed)
2 T. plus 2 t. cider vinegar
2 t. garlic powder
red pepper flakes, to taste

Place all ingredients, except meat, in the crock pot. Stir until well mixed. Add meat and coat with sauce.

Cook on low for 7-8 hours, until meat is fully cooked.

Shred meat with two forks and mix well into sauce so it is well coated.

You can eat this plain or serve on hamburger buns.

ENJOY!!!

*This works well to cook ahead and then freeze so that when you need it you just have to pull it out, thaw and heat up for a quick meal!

Lemon Chicken

I had my menu plan all worked out but came across a recipe for Lemon Chicken the other day and it sounded good. I had all of the ingredients I needed except for a lemon. I was making a trip to the store anyway so I grabbed a lemon and made this for dinner! I thought it was pretty tasty!

I adapted the recipe a little. You can find the original here.


This is what I did...

You will need:
Zest from one lemon
juice from one lemon
1 heaping teaspoon of minced garlic
2 t. dried thyme
1 t. kosher salt
1 t. ground black pepper
3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut in half for a total of 6 pieces

In a ziploc bag, combine lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Mix these ingredients well and then add chicken; press air out and seal bag tight. Toss chicken around in the bag until well coated with the marinade. Put the bag in the refrigerator and let it marinate for 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Remove the chicken from the marinade and place in a 9x13 baking dish. Save the leftover marinade.

Bake the chicken for a total of 50-55 minutes. About halfway through the baking time, pour the remaining marinade over the chicken.

ENJOY!!!

Chicken Stuffed Shells

Love this dish! We can get about 3 meals out of this so I divide it up and then freeze what we can't eat in one meal.

You will need:
1 box Jumbo Shells
1 box Stove Top Stuffing (we used Chicken flavor)
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 c. cooked, chopped chicken
1 c. mayonnaise (light works fine)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 soup can of water
1 c. Parmesan cheese

Cook shells according to package directions. Prepare stuffing mix according to package directions.

Add celery, chicken and mayo to prepared stuffing; mix well. Fill cooked shells with about 2 T. of stuffing mixture. Put shells into a 9x13 dish or 2 or 3 8x8's.

Pour soup & water into a bowl and mix with a whisk. Pour soup over stuffed shells. Top with Parmesan Cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes.


To freeze: Cover with foil.

To serve: Thaw completely. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes.

I found this recipe at Freezer Friendz.

Chicken and Dumplings

Sorry...I always mean to take pictures but I forget. :(

I made Chicken and Dumplings the other night for the first time. It was really good! We all really liked it but I'd probably change a few things. This was a good recipe to start with.

I found the recipe here.

You will need:
4 cups of cooked, shredded chicken
6 c. chicken broth
1 c. water

For the dumplings:
2 c. flour
1 T. baking powder
1 1/4 t. salt
1 c. plus 2 T. milk

Pour chicken broth and water into a large saucepan and bring to a boil on high heat.

To make the dumplings, in a medium sized bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and milk. Stir until smooth and let the dough rest for 5 minutes. Roll the dough out onto a floured surface to a 1/2" thickness. Cut into 1/2" squares (a pizza cutter makes this job very easy!).

Drop each dumpling square into the simmering broth. The dumplings will partially dissolve to thicken the broth to make a gravy. Simmer for 20-30 minutes until thick. Stir often. Add the chicken and cook another 5 minutes. Season with pepper.

I served this with mashed potatoes and green beans.

ENJOY!


*Next time I would consider adding celery, carrots and some other seasonings to the broth/gravy portion of the recipe. I'd also cut back on the dumpling recipe, would probably cut it in half but I'm not sure how this would affect the gravy. The dough for these was super sticky...but I also had a "helper" in the kitchen so I may have lost count of the number of tablespoons of milk I added. ;) I'll have to pay more attention next time.

Cranberry Chicken

I found this recipe in our church cookbook. I've passed over it for a few years thinking that maybe some day I'd get brave. In my opinion, it has a strange combination of ingredients. Well, I got brave and I have to say we were all PLEASANTLY surprised! :) And it is super easy to make! Thanks Cathy B. for sharing this recipe!

You will need:
6 chicken breast halves
1 can cranberry sauce
8 oz. Western salad dressing
1 packet of dry onion soup mix

Place the chicken in a baking dish. In a bowl, combine the cranberry sauce, dressing and soup mix; whisk it together. Pour over the chicken. Bake at 250 degrees for 3 hours.

*NOTE: The recipe called for whole berry cranberry sauce. I only had the jellied kind of cranberry sauce in my cabinet so that is what I used. It also said you can use fat free Western dressing.

Chicken Salad

I love Chicken Salad! I make it several different ways but this is one of my favorites.

You will need:
2 1/2 c. cooked & cubed chicken (canned chicken works well too if you're in a hurry)
1 c. thinly sliced celery
1 c. red grapes, cut in half (you can use green too...I prefer red)
1/2 c. chopped onions (I've used sweet or red onion)
1/2 c. light mayo
1 T. lemon juice
1 T. cider vinegar
1 1/2 t. yellow mustard
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. sugar
1/8 t. pepper

Combine chicken, celery, grapes and onions together in a bowl. Combine remaining ingredients for sauce and pour over chicken mixture. Refrigerate for an hour or so and serve.

This is super yummy on croissants; but also good on a whole grain bread.

ENJOY!!

Freezer Cooking Day

With the cheap price of chicken and pork loin this week at Meijer, I decided to do a little bit of freezer cooking the other day. I haven't done this in a long time so it was fun getting a lot of stuff done for future use. A lot of these recipes are new to our family so I'll have to let you know what I think later. ;) I will also post the recipes that do not have links later in another post.



In about 4 hours I was able to make:

New! Cranberry Chicken
New! Cabbage Rolls (2 meals)
Banana Bread (2 loaves)http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Chicken Southwest Roll-ups (3 meals)
Beef Southwest Roll-ups (3 meals) Note: I changed the chicken to cooked ground beef.
New! Bada Bing Pork Chops
New! Honey Mustard Chicken
New! Breakfast Burritos (enough for 13 breakfasts)
New! Pulled Pork for Sandwiches (2 meals)

I saved enough plain chicken and plain pork for one meal each. I will choose what to do with these later.

I also had leftover cabbage that I chopped up and put in a bag to freeze. I will use this to throw into some soup some time. I also had some celery in my fridge that was meant for something and I didn't end up using it. So I chopped that up as well and put into two ziploc bags, 2 cups each. I will also use this in soup.



Do you put meals in the freezer for future use? If so...what are your favorite recipes?

Chicken Rolls

My sister gave me this recipe a long time ago. These are SO GOOD!!

You will need:
1 tube of crescent rolls
Cooked, cubed chicken (about 2 cups or so??)
About 1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
2/3 c. milk

In a small pot, combine soup and milk. Heat on low till heated through and well blended (I whisk mine every so often as it warms up). While soup/milk is warming, take crescent rolls and press 2 triangles together to get a rectangle...you will end up with 4 rectangles. Spread chicken and cheese in the centers of each rectangle and roll up and place in lightly greased 9x13 dish. If you have leftover chicken & cheese, throw it in the soup mixture. Pour soup mixture over the tops of rolls (cover tops lightly otherwise they end up doughy). Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Delicious!!!

*If you have bigger eaters, you will probably want to double this recipe. It is just enough for our family of 5.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

This is a yummy appetizer that works well for parties and other gatherings.

You will need:
8 oz. cream cheese or neufchatel cheese, softened
1 chicken breast, cooked and shredded (or use a large can of chicken, drained)
8 oz. shredded cheese (I've used cheddar or a colby jack mix)
3/4 c. Red Hot Wings Sauce, Buffalo flavored (lessen this if you're not into spicy food)
1/3-1/2 c. ranch dressing
Tortilla Chips, for serving
Celery, for serving

I start out by melting the cream cheese. You can do this on a stove top or in the microwave. Then I slowly start adding in the other items (except chips & celery) until it is all well blended and melted together.

Serve hot with with chips & celery.

ENJOY!! :)

Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken

You will need:

1 whole chicken
1 can tomato soup
3/4 c. onion, chopped
1/4 c. vinegar
3 T brown sugar
1 T worcestershire sauce
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. dried basil

Put chicken in the crockpot. Combine all of the rest of the ingredients; mix and pour over chicken. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Enjoy!! :)

Chicken Tetrazzini

I found this recipe over at allrecipes.com. It is a super easy recipe and tasted pretty good too! No one complained in our house...that's always a good thing! :)

I made some small changes, nothing major. Below is what I used.

You will need:
8 oz. spaghetti, cooked & drained
1 1/2 c. cooked, chopped chicken
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 1/4 c. water
2 T. butter
1 chicken bouillon cube
1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Place noodles in the bottom of 11x7 baking dish. Layer chicken over the top of the noodles. On stove top, bring soup, water, butter and bouillon cube to a boil (make sure the bouillon cube dissolves); then pour over chicken & noodles. Sprinkle cheese over top. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

ENJOY!!

Chicken Rolls

Made these for dinner tonight! This recipe is from my sister. DELICIOUS!!!

You will need:
1 tube of crescent rolls
Cooked, cubed chicken (about 2 cups or so??)
About 1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
2/3 c. milk

In a small pot, combine soup and milk. Heat on low till heated through and well blended (I whisk mine every so often as it warms up). While soup/milk is warming, take crescent rolls and press 2 triangles together to get a rectangle...you will end up with 4 rectangles. Spread chicken and cheese in the centers of each rectangle and roll up and place in lightly greased 9x13 dish. If you have leftover chicken & cheese, throw it in the soup mixture. Pour soup mixture over the tops of rolls (cover tops lightly otherwise they end up doughy). Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

*If you have older children or bigger eaters, you'll probably want to double the recipe. This is JUST enough for our family of 5 (3 of which are young children).

ENJOY!!

Lime Chicken

I love this recipe because there are so many options for it!

You will need:
1 1/2 # skinless, boneless chicken breast meat
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
1 lime, juiced
2 t. white sugar
1 t. salt
1 t. pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 t. dried oregano


I mix up the ingredients, excluding the chicken, in a ziploc freezer bag. I then poke the chicken a few times with a fork, throw it in the bag and then seal and put in my freezer for future use. To use the chicken, I let it thaw in the fridge. I place the pieces of chicken in a baking dish and discard the remaining marinade. I then bake it at 400 degrees for about 30-40 minutes. I cut this up and my family eats it in flour tortillas with the usual taco toppings (lettuce, tomato, cheese, onion, sour cream, salsa). I also like to eat it on a salad and crush some tortilla chips over it. I also make my own mexi-ranch dressing to go with it. My mexi-ranch dressing consists of mixing 2 T. light or fat free sour cream, 2 T. light ranch dressing and 1/3 c. salsa.

If you don't want to freeze this, you could always just make the marinade and add your meat a little while prior to baking or grilling.

If you didn't want to bake the chicken, you could also cube your chicken, saute it over medium-high heat and then once it's cooked through, you could add the marinade ingredients and let it simmer for 10 minutes or so.

Chicken Strips Italiano w/ Noodles

Here is a family friendly recipe for you!

You will need:
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese, reduced fat
1/2 c. Italian style bread crumbs*
1/2 c. light Italian dressing
3/4 - 1# boneless chicken, cut into 1" strips
1/2 of a 13.25 oz. box of whole grain noodles
26 oz. jar spaghetti sauce

Combine Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs in a bowl. Pour Italian dressing into separate bowl. Dip chicken strips into dressing, then coat with bread crumb/cheese mixture and put on cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Cook noodles, top with sauce & chicken strips.

*If you do not have Italian style bread crumbs, use plain and add some Italian seasoning.

ENJOY!!! :)

Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

These are SO good!! Give them a try!! :)

You will need:
3-4 chicken breasts, cooked & cubed
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, cubed*
1 can (4.5 oz) chopped green chiles
12 flour tortillas for fajitas
2 cans (10 oz. ea.) green chile enchilada sauce
3/4 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Oven 400 degrees. Spray 9x13 baking dish.

In skillet over medium heat, add cream cheese & chiles to cooked chicken. Cook & stir till cream cheese is melted. Spoon chicken filling into tortilla, roll up and place seam side down in baking dish. Pour enchilada sauce over top, sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Bake 15-20 minutes--till hot & cheese is melted.

*I use fat free cream cheese or neufchatel.

ENJOY!! :)

Chicken, Potato and Green Bean Dinner

I am making this for dinner tonight...and it smells so good right now while it is baking in the oven! This stuff is DELICIOUS!! It is one of our favorite meals...and it is SO GOOD that Tim will even eat the green beans! That is saying something!

5 T. olive oil
2 T. lemon juice
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 t. salt
1/2 t. black pepper
1 can cut green beans, drained (French cut works, too!)
4 russet potatoes, cut into larger cubes
4 chicken breast halves
about 1 t. lemon pepper seasoning (this can be hot/spicy so use an amount that works for you!)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a bowl combine: olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt & pepper. Add green beans to this mixture and stir around to coat well. With a slotted spoon, scoop out green beans (I let as much of the oil drain off them as I could) and place in 9x13 baking dish. Then add the potatoes to the olive oil mixture and coat them as well; then place in baking dish with beans. Place the chicken in the olive oil mixture and coat; then place chicken on top of beans & potatoes. Sprinkle chicken & veggies with lemon pepper seasoning. Bake for 40 minutes.

ENJOY!! :)