Thank You Pinterest for Lazy Chicken

I've been in a depressed kind of funk lately, and then I realized that I haven't been cooking and trying new recipes, which makes me happy - so I turned to my Pinterest boards and made a plan!

I've tried quite a few new recipes and I thought I'd share the good ones with you!  I tried this Chicken Marsala, and while edible, I won't make it again.  I don't have Marsala wine on hand to cook with, and I often sub vegetable broth with no problems, but this recipe was way too bland with just the broth.

One of the good recipes was this Chicken Lazone! I have no idea what the word Lazone means or even how to pronounce it, so I'm just going to call this recipe Lazy Chicken, because it was super easy and you can make it even if you're feeling lazy like I was!

It's flavor is similar to an alfredo sauce, but not as thick as an alfredo sauce.  We also sprinkled parmesan cheese over the top of ours and it was delish!  The recipe calls for cream and if you don't want to be a Fatty McFatterson like me, you can sub some milk or half and half and I'm sure it will be fine. 

Lazy Chicken Recipe
Recipe from HERE

• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 lb chicken tenders
• 1/4 cup butter, divided
• 2 cups heavy cream (I used about 1.5 cups of cream, and 1/2 cup of 2% milk)
• Parmesan Cheese for sprinkling on top

1. Combine salt, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper.  Sprinkle over both sides of chicken tenders.

2.  In large saute pan, melt half of the butter over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken until done, about 8 minutes.

3.  Pour the cream and remaining butter into the skillet.  Lower heat and simmer until the sauce thickens, about 5-7 minutes.  Serve chicken and sauce over pasta or mashed potatoes, if desired, (I used spaghetti noodles.)

Enjoy!!

Mushroom Chicken Asiago

I found this recipe via Pinterest a while back.  Even though my picture isn't pretty, it is delicious and a simple "gourmet" meal! The recipe is from The Midnight Baker and I went to her site again to put the link here and apparently is super popular and has won awards.  I had purchased some asiago cheese to make bagels and came across this recipe and made it instead!  It's delicious!  You should try it! 

Mushroom Chicken Asiago Recipe

Recipe from The Midnight Baker

• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast (about 2 large)
• 2 cups mushrooms, cut in half
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 springs fresh thyme (I used dry thyme and didn't measure)
• 1 1/2 cups dry white wine (I used vegetable broth)
• 1/2 cup seasoned flour
• 2 tbs butter
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/4-1/2 cup shredded asiago cheese
• 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
• 1/4 tsp pepper (or to taste)
• seasoned flour:
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Pound chicken breast with a meat mallet between 2 sheets of waxed paper or plastic wrap until meat is uniform thickness; about 1/4-inch. Cut into serving-sized pieces (2 or 3 pieces per breast)

Heat the butter with *1* tbs of olive oil in deep, heavy skillet or saute pan over medium heat.

Dredge chicken in seasoned flour.  Add to hot oil/butter in skillet.  Saute until golden on each side, about 5 minutes per side.  Remove from pan.

Add remaining olive oil to hot skillet.  Saute mushrooms and garlic until mushrooms begin to brown.

Add vegetable broth to skillet, scraping up all the browned bits that are at the bottom of the pan (deglazing). Bruise the fresh thyme by twisting it between your fingers or hitting it with the dull side of a knife in a few places.  Add thyme to mushroom/wine mixture in pan.  (I just used dried thyme, and I didn't measure)

Add the chicken back to the pan.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Remove chicken from pan.  Add the cream and heat through. Add the asiago cheese (if you like it strongly flavored, use 1/2 cup; not as strongly flavored, use the 1/4 cup--asiago is a strong cheese and you can even use less for just a whisper of flavor).

Cook, stirring constantly over low heat until cheese melts. Continue cooking until sauce is reduced by about 1/2.  If you wish to skip the reduction step, you may thicken the sauce slightly with about 1 tbs instant flour or 1 tbs cornstarch mixed with 2 tbs water...however, the reduction will taste better.

Add chicken back to pan and heat through.

Garnish with sprigs of fresh thyme.  May be served over any pasta.

About 4 servings.

Turkey (or chicken) Pot Pie

I've been making this recipe since college.  I adapted this recipe out of a friend's family cookbook.  It's my favorite and I love that it's a favorite in some of my friend's homes now as well!!  My friends ten year old can even make it - so you can too!! 

Turkey or Chicken Pot Pie Recipe

1/3 c. butter
1/3 c. flour
1/4 c. grated onion (heaping)  or 1 small - medium onion diced
1/2 tsp. salt or seasoned salt to taste
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 small clove garlic (optional!)
1 3/4 c. chicken broth (or turkey broth if you still have some leftover!)
2/3 c. milk
10 oz. steamfresh frozen veggies or 2 c. of carrots and frozen peas (already cooked)

Melt butter over medium heat.  Saute onions and garlic if using.  Whisk in flour until smooth.  Add salt and pepper.  Stir in broth and milk.  Heat to boiling until thick.  Remove from heat add (cooked) vegetables and cooked turkey or chicken.  There is nothing worse than a pot pie with vegetables that aren't cooked all the way. (Been there. Done that...)  Let the filling mixture hang out in a pot NOT on the hot stove while you make your crust. 

Crust Recipe

Makes crust for two pies or top and bottom of one pie
(This crust can also be used for dessert pies, but you would need to add 2 T. sugar to the dry ingredients)  

2 1/2 cups flour
1/2  tsp. salt
1 cup cold unsalted butter
1/2 - 3/4 c. ice cold water

Mix dry ingredients.  Cut in butter with a pastry blender until pieces of butter are the size of peas.  Add water and mix until dough comes together.  I've always found pie dough to be different every time with the amount of water?  It helps to bring it together with your hands by kneading it just a bit.  You don't want to overwork pie dough.  Be careful not to add too much water - or it just gets sticky and won't turn out as flaky.

Take your dough and divide it into to two rounds.

Roll out your bottom pie dough and place in large pie plate.  Add filling.  Roll out your top dough and place it on top of filling and pinch edges together.  I usually cut a few pretty slits in the top of the dough in the middle.  

Bake at 340 degrees for about 40 -45 minutes or until dough is lightly browned. 

Enjoy!

You guys, I made TAMALES!!!!!!

I was so excited to eat these, I BARELY got a picture... 

I kept saying this over and over, "I made tamales!!"  I also told every member of my family that I talked to on the phone, "Guess what? I made tamales!"  I'm easy to please like that.  I think I can check this off my bucket list!  But, don't get me wrong, I will be making these for the rest of my life!! 

I love tamales!!!  Over a decade ago, I helped someone make tamales for my family.  She didn't speak any English, and my mom and I were helping her.   She used shortening, and while mom and I picked every piece of fat off the pork we were using she just reached over and grabbed the pork, fat and all!  Gross!  So, I loved being able to make my own without any fat on the chicken and no lard in the dough part!  I did almost jump ship when I started going through the corn husks to wash and found a super long dark hair and little buggies, etc...  If you know me and my issues, preservering through that is a big deal...  I did throw away quite a few corn husks though.... Now I know never to trust someone else to make these because what if they didn't wash them good enough!?!?!  Yeah, I have issues.  Mine got washed a few times... 

I read lots of recipes to see how to make these and roll these, etc.  I had to be a little creative with making them because I don't have a steamer that goes inside a pot (must get one!!!), so you can see my pictures below.  I did change from the original recipe a tiny little bit, so the recipe below has my changes.  I'm no expert, so don't judge me if I'm not doing a part that is authentic or something, but this worked for me. 

This is a time intensive meal, but worth it!  You could also make the chicken part ahead of time and let it sit in your fridge until you are ready to use it, to cut back on your meal preparation for one day. 

Something that made me love tamales even more??  My kids loved them too!!!


Healthier Chicken Tamales
Recipe from HERE

Ingredients

 

Wrap

• 18 corn husks (I actually used a lot more than this.... but I didn't count...sorry.)

Filling

• 3 1/2 cups boiled and shredded chicken
• 1/3 onion (finely chopped)

Filling Sauce

• 1 1/3 cup water (from boiling the chicken)
• 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon
• 1 teaspoon lime juice
• 4 Tablespoons Taco seasoning
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons corn starch
• 1 Tablespoon cold water

Dough

• 4 cups masa (no salt added)
• 6 teaspoons canola oil
• 4 cups hot water
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

 

Preparation

1. Before starting, (I washed my corn husks first!!!!! then did the next part)  place your corn husks in water and allow them to soak for at least 2 hours, but a lot of recipes I looked up had them soak overnight. Once they are completely soaked and pliable, completely rinse them (again...). 

Filling

1. Cook enough chicken breasts (It took 2-3 large breasts) to render 3 1/2 cups of shredded chicken. (You can shred it with a fork, or chop it in a food processor for smaller pieces).
2. Add in the finely chopped onion and mix well.

Filling Sauce

1. In a small saucepan, put the 1 cup of water from the boiled chicken, the bouillon, lime juice and the taco seasoning together and stir over a low heat.
2. Dissolve the cornstarch in the cold water, then add that to the saucepan and stir until it thickens to the consistency you want. Note: It needs to be thick enough to make a thin gravy to mix with the chicken.
3. Pour the sauce together with the shredded chicken and thoroughly mix. Set this aside.

Dough

1. Mix the masa, garlic powder, and salt together. Add in the canola oil and mix completely. Note: This will still be very dry.
2. Mix the hot water in 1 cup at a time. Mix by hand. It should end up as a very moldable and pliable consistency. (I think ours may have been a little wet, but it still worked...)

Assembling the Tamales

1. Rather than trying to explain in words how to spread the masa, fill it, and roll it.  (Pictures below)
2. Wax paper will work well as the sheet for laying over the masa. Spreading with just your fingers works very well too once you get the feel for it.
3. I recommend that you spread the masa as thin as you can.
4. I pulled strips from one of the husks to use as a tie to hold the fold together. This helps if you aren't completely filling your steamer.

Cooking

1. Once you've loaded the tamales in the steamer, (opened end facing up), pour enough water in the pan to come just below the the bottom of the tamales, but not too much that the tamales are getting wet. Watch the water level so it doesn't boil away. (Not a good thing!)
2. Steam the tamales for 1 to 1 1/2 hours checking regularly.
3. Note: To check for doneness, remove a tamale and let it sit for 5 minutes. The masa should no longer be sticky, and it should easily pull away from the husk

Have your bowl of dough, bowl of husks (not shown), bowl of chicken, somewhere to stuff the tortillas (I used a cookie sheet), and your steamer to put them in (or I used a colander... you'll see.), and a paper towel to wipe off the ickies on your fingers. 

 

Spread your dough in the middle of your husk.

Put a spread of chicken filling in the middle.  Notice I tore a few husks to tie the tamales with. 

 

To wrap your tamale, bring the two sides of your dough together, closing in the chicken.  Then fold over that part, then the two ends.



I didn't have to tie all the tamales, just the ends that were thicker and wouldn't stay folded over.





See, my handy dandy colander filling in as a steamer.  You can see one tamale where I didn't need to tie it and the other one where I only needed to tie one end together.



All the tamales.  My husband started helping me, so it got a little sloppy....  ;)

Since I didn't have a steamer, I put a little water in the bottom of my stockpot, then put a small stainless steel bowl down to put my colander on, so the water wouldn't touch it. 



I put the colander in the stock pot and put the lid on. 

All done!!  You can see where my husband put too much chicken fillin in them and they didn't get wrapped good. 

 

 

Honey Garlic Chicken

My neighbor came over one night to borrow some soy sauce for the recipe she was making and I asked what she was cooking.  She told me and said she had recently pinned it, so I looked it up almost as soon as she left, I pinned it, and we made it for dinner the next night because I had all the ingredients on hand. 

The picture of the original recipe, found HERE, is much lighter than how mine turned out, and I don't know how because the soy sauce darkened mine so much...  My sous chef (John) didn't flatten the chicken quite enough, so mine took a little longer to cook. 

I did change the recipe a bit, because it used much more flour, egg, etc. than needed for four chicken breasts, but if you want to double the recipe look back to the original (or just double this...). 

This was super flavorful, John loved it, but my kids did not... I served them with these roasted carrots from pinterest because the flavors seemed like they would go nicely with the chicken.  The recipe apparently came from this blog, but I couldn't find it on her blog, lucky for me someone put the recipe on the pin.  I'll include it below.  We really liked the carrots! 

Honey Garlic Crunch Chicken Recipe

4 large boneless chicken breasts

Place the chicken breasts between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and using a meat mallet, pound the meat to an even 1/2 inch thickness.

Sift together:

1 cup flour
2 tsp salt
2 tsp black pepper
1.5 tbsp ground ginger
1 tbsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground thyme
1 tsp ground sage
1 tbsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Make an egg wash by whisking together:

2 eggs
4 tbsp water

Honey Garlic Sauce:
In a medium saucepan add

2 tbsp olive oil
3 – 4 cloves minced garlic

Cook over medium heat to soften the garlic but do not let it brown. Add:

1 cup honey
¼ cup soy sauce (I use low sodium)
1 tsp ground black pepper

Simmer together for 5-10 minutes, remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. Watch this carefully as it simmers because it can foam up over the pot very easily.
1.  Make sauce and set aside.  Put your rice in a rice cooker (or whatever your preferred method.) I like to have these started before my chicken is done. 

2.  Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper, then dip the meat in the flour and spice mixture. Dip the breast into the egg wash and then a final time into the flour and spice mix, pressing the mix into the meat to get good contact.

3.  Heat a skillet on the stove with about a half inch of canola oil covering the bottom. You will want to carefully regulate the temperature here so that the chicken does not brown too quickly. The thinness of the breast meat practically guarantees that it will be fully cooked by the time the outside is browned. I find just below medium heat works well. I use a burner setting of about 4 1/2 out of 10 on the dial and fry them gently for about 4 or 5 minutes per side until golden brown and crispy.

4.  Drain on a wire rack for a couple of minutes before dipping the cooked breasts into the Honey Garlic Sauce. Serve with noodles or rice.

 

 

Honey & Balsamic Roasted Carrots Recipe

 

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

 

2.  I put almost a whole small bag of baby carrots in a ziplock bag and drizzled a little bit of olive oil and sea salt over them and shook them up.  

 

3.  Roast for about 15-20 minutes. 

 

4.  Then drizzle with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 3 tablespoons of honey, and about 1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar. 

 

5.  Pop them back into the oven for about 5 more minutes to achieve sweet, salty, still slightly crunchy perfection!

Chicken Pasta Salad

When we lived in Maryland, one of my friends made this for a girls night out, and  I've been making it ever since.  You can add or subtract what you like!  It's a great summer meal!

Chicken Pasta Salad Recipe

Cooked Chicken breast diced

Mini Bow tie pasta (I only had the big kind to use when I made the above)

Grapes cut in half

Celery diced

Onion minced

Pineapple (you can totally leave this out, sometimes I use it sometimes I don't)

Cole Slaw Dressing to your liking

Mix it all together and enjoy!!

This was my first introduction into cole slaw dressing!  Marzetti makes the best kind!  (bottom left in picture)

The above dressings you find in the cold produce section.  They have a non refrigerated kind as well, but the one above is better, and it's all natural - can't beat that!

I'm going to give away one of my secret ingredients right now...  I used to make my own sauce for cole slaw, potato salad, and chicken salad (I still do occasionally), but this cole slaw dressing makes it fabulous as well!!  Use it for any of the recipes above!!  Everyone has loved it when I use it!!!  So easy, and so yummy!!  It's the perfect summer sauce!

Olive Garden's Stuffed Chicken Marsala Copy Cat Recipe

Oh. My. Goodness.  There are no words to describe how yummy/delicious/exceptional/etc. this was! 

Do you need a fancy meal to feed a bunch of people?  This is your recipe!!  Seriously.  You will not be disappointed, and everyone will leave your table with full, satisfied bellies.  I promise!!  I plan on making this a lot!! 

This is the best dish Olive Garden serves at their restaurant.  For real.  So, I had to try this recipe! 

I didn't feel like going out to buy Marsala wine just to have on hand for this recipe, so I used beef broth, and it turned out fine.  I also changed the amount of mushrooms.  The only thing I will change next time is to add a thickening agent to the sauce.  It was a tad bit too runny.  I might also try it next time without the breadcrumbs in the stuffing to see if that makes the stuffing creamier.  It was still wonderful, but I'm going to try it and see what difference it would make.  (** UPDATE - I did try making it without the breadcrumbs in the stuffing, and leaving the breadcrumbs out made all the cheese melt out of the chicken... next time I will try making it with only half of the breadcrumbs and see what that does...)

Olive Garden's Stuffed Chicken Marsala Copy Cat Recipe
from THIS recipe

Cheese Stuffing

• ½ cup shredded smoked provolone cheese
• 1 (8 ounce) shredded mozzarella cheese
• ¼ cup parmesan cheese , grated
• ½ cup breadcrumbs
• 1 teaspoon fresh garlic , minced
• ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or a dash or ground red pepper)
• 2 tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes , flakes if in oil drain first
• ¹⁄₃; cup sour cream
• ½ teaspoon salt and pepper

Chicken

• 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (I used 6 chicken breasts, but you could do 8 easy!)
• 4 ounces cooking oil
• 1 cups flour
• salt and pepper , to taste

Sauce

• 1 small onion , chopped
• 1 16 oz container of button mushrooms , thinly sliced (about 4 cups)
• 24 ounces marsala wine or 24 ounces beef broth
• 8 ounces heavy cream

Directions:

1. Make Stuffing:Combine all cheese stuffing ingredients in a bowl.
2. Butterfly Chicken:Butterfly thickest section to create two lobes.Place pounded chicken breasts on a plate and place desired amount of stuffing on one half of chicken breast.
3. Gently press stuffing down and fold over other side of chicken breast. (I pressed the stuffing mixture into a kind of patty to make it easier to stuff in the chicken so it wouldn't be loose cheese inside.)  Preheat a large sauté pan on stove top. Add 4 oz. oil; heat oil until shimmering.
4. Place approximately 1 cup flour in a plate and season it to taste with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess flour. Place stuffed chicken breasts in sauté pan with the preheated oil.
5. Cook each side until golden. When chicken is seared on both sides remove them from sauté pan and place them in a baking pan and into the oven bake at 350 for 10-20 minutes. (It took mine at least 25 minutes)
6. Bake until juices run clear and stuffing and center reach a temperature of at least 165°.
7. Make Sauce: Add the onions to the sauté pan. Stir with spatula. After 2 minutes add the mushrooms; sauté mixture until onions are translucent. Deglaze sauté pan with the marsala wine or beef broth (make sure to incorporate particles from bottom of pan). Bring wine or broth to a simmer and add heavy cream. Simmer sauce on low heat until reduced by half.
8. Place cooked chicken breast on a plate and top with onions, mushrooms and sauce.
9. Enjoy!

I flatten my chicken between two pieces of plastic wrap

My stuffing patty

This was right before I added the broth

Homemade Chicken Nuggets and French Fries

My son would eat at Chick-Fil-A every day if he could... so I found a recipe to make my own BAKED chicken nuggets to make my six year old happy. I cut this recipe out of a magazine, but you can find it here.

Cornmeal Oven-fried Chicken

1/2 c. dry breadcrumbs (I just used the Italian seasoned ones because that's what I had on hand)

1/2 c. cornmeal

1/3 c. grated Parmesan cheese

4 tsp. dried parsley flakes

3/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 c. buttermilk

3 to 4 pounds of chicken breast, cut up

1 T. butter, melted

In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the first 9 ingredients. Place buttermilk in a shallow bowl. Dip chicken in buttermilk, then add chicken to bag, a few pieces at a time, shake to coat.

Place on cookie sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes; drizzle with butter. Bake 30 minutes longer or until juices run clear.

I also made a honey mustard dipping sauce to go along with them.

Honey-Mustard Dipping Sauce

1/2 c. Djon mustard

1/4 c. mayonnaise

1/8 c. honey

Stir together all ingredients and chill.

I also made my own french fries by peeling and cutting potatoes. I then throw them in a plastic bag and pour a little olive oil to coat and then add seasoned salt. I bake them at at least 400 degrees. 450 if I'm in a hurry. The french fries in the above picture had a little too much olive oil and I like my french fries more crispy than that. (I must have been in a hurry to put dinner on the table that night.....)

This meal puts a smile on my six year olds face. Take that, Chick-Fil-A!