Shannon's Raspberry Chicken Salad

4 b/s chicken breast halves
1/3 c raspberry preserves
1/3 c frozen oj concentrate
1/3 c soy sauce
2 Tbl rice vinegar
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
6 cups mixed salad greens
1/3 c raspberry vinaigrette
1/2 c fresh raspberries

Place chicken in a ziploc bag. Combine the preserves, oj concentrate, soy sauce, rice vinegar, chili powder and garlic powder in a bowl and mix well. Pour over the chicken and seal tightly. Toss to coat.  Marinate in the refrigerator for at least two hours, turning occasionally.

Grill the chicken until cooked through. Cut into 1/2 inch strips. Toss the salad greens with the vinaigrette in a bowl.  Top with chicken and sprinkle with fresh raspberries.

I like to sprinkle caramelized toasted chopped almond on top to add some crunch.

Chicken Parmesan

6-8 chicken breasts
1 pkg Ritz crackers
3 T parmesan cheese
1 T garlic salt
1 c sour cream

Crush crackers, add parmesan cheese and garlic salt.  Set aside. Wash and dry chicken. Coat with sour cream. Dip in cracker crumbs. Place on foil-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with butter. Bake at 350 for 45-1 hour.  Spaghetti sauce on top

Alli's Fruit & Feta Salad with Grilled Chicken

We had this at our book club Christmas party and it was a smash!


8 cups assorted greens (I use mix of Romaine and Spring Mix)
1/2 cup feta, crumbled
1 or 2 (11oz) cans mandarin oranges
1/2 cup dried craisins, cherries or golden raisins or a combo of your favorite
1 small red onion, chopped
1/2 cup toasted pecans or almonds

Dressing:1/4 cup raspberry wine vinegar
1/2 cup vegtable oil
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
dash of tabasco sauce

Chicken:
1 Sam's Club (or Costco!) Frozen Chicken bag

Marinade:
2c 7up
1/2c soy sauce
1/2c olive oil
1tsp garlic powder
1tsp Horseradish (I didn't have and used horseradish mustard and it worked as well)

1- Open Sam's Club bag. Add all above ingredients. Put into fridge overnight.

2- Rotate in the morning and throughout the day. (If breasts are super thick, cut in the morning.)

3- Take out approx 1hr before grilling. Combine salad ingredients in large salad bowl. Stir Dressing ingredients till well combined in seperate bowl. Pour over (amount will be to your liking-add more lettuce if you think it is too saturated) salad just before serving. Toss and top with grilled chicken!

Lemon Chicken

6 chicken breasts, pounded flat
juice from 1/2 a lemon
4 Tbl. chopped parsley
1 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup butter
2 Tbl. olive oil
salt and pepper

Coat chicken in flour, then cook in oil and 1-2 Tbl. of butter in a skillet until done. Remove chicken. Add 4 Tbl. of butter, parsley and fresh lemon juice from 1/2 a lemon to a pan. Pour over chicken and serve with rice.  Also good with a clove or two of garlic thrown in for good measure.

Poppy Seed Chicken

Ingredients:
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, boiled for about 10 minutes, then cut into chunks
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
8 oz. sour cream


Topping:
1 stack of Ritz crackers, crushed into crumbs
1/4 - 1/3 cup melted butter
1 Tbl. poppy seeds

Pour the melted butter in small bowl, stir in crackers, and then stir in poppy seeds (it will look lumpy). Combine chicken that has been cut into small chunks, soups and sour cream in bowl and mix together.  Grease a casserole dish and pour the above mixture into the pan.  Top with combined crackers, butter, and poppy seeds. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes. Serve over rice or egg noodles.

Spicy Chicken and Mushroom Soup

I had this soup the other week and I have not been able to stop thinking about it! If you like Indian flavor, then this is the soup for you. Best of all? I can probably use my new immersion blender on it! The only problem is it didn't make a ton, so you might want to double it.

8oz boneless chicken
6 Tbsp ghee or butter
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
1 tsp garam masala (I have a lot more than I will ever use if you
don't want to buy it)
1 tsp crushed black peppercorns
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 medium leek, sliced (also good with onion)
1 cup of mushrooms (3 oz) sliced
1/3 cup corn (I use frozen)
1 and 1/4 cups water
1 cup light cream (I confess - I sometimes use mix of sour cream and
milk. still good)
1 Tbsp chopped fresh coriander (cilantro) - (sometimes I don't have it
and it is fine without)
1 tsp dried red chillies (optional)

Cut chicken into very fine strips. Melt butter in medium pan. Lower
heat slightly and add garlic and garam masala. Lower heat even further
and add pepper, salt, nutmeg. Finally add the chicken pieces, sliced
leek, mushrooms, and corn. Cook, stirring constantly for 5-7 minutes
or until chicken is cooked through.

Remove from heat and cool slightly. Transfer 3/4 of mix into blender,
add water, and process for about one minute. Pour the puree back into
the pan and stir with the rest of the mixture. Bring to boil over a
medium heat. Lower heat and stir in the cream. Add fresh coriander to
taste for seasoning. Serve hot, garnished with red chillies if
desired.

Courtesy of Taralyn

Chicken Pot Pie

1 recipe pastry for a 9-inch double crust pie
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves boiled (I used chicken from a roasted store-bought)
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 (10.75 oz) can cream of celery soup
1 can condensed cream of potato soup

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
   
2. Line a 9-inch pie plate with pastry.
   
3. Blanch frozen veggies for 3-4 minutes.
   
4. Drain.
   
5. Dice chicken and place in a large bowl.
   
6. Add veggies, thyme, and soups.
   
7. Stir and pour filling into pastry-lined pie dish.
   
8. Arrange top layer of pie crust, seal and flute the edges. Cut slits in the top of the crust to allow steam to escape. (or weave a lattice top crust)
   
9. Place pie on cookie sheet.
   
10. Put aluminum foil around the pie crust edges.
    
11. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.
    
12. Remove foil and continue to bake for an additional 30 minutes until golden brown.
    
13. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes.
    
14. Serve.

Lacey's Thai Chicken Pasta Salad

This is my new FAVORITE pasta salad. It doesn't taste like any other pasta salad I know of but it sure is tasty. Give it a try!

salad:

16 oz pasta (fafalle or rotini)

1/4 c. toasted sesame seeds

3 c. cooked chicken, cubed

1/3 c. chopped cilantro

1/3 c. green onion

shredded carrot

dressing:

1/3 c. soy sauce

1/3 c. rice vinegar

1/2 c. vegetable oil

3 T white sugar

1/2 t. ground ginger

1/4 t. black pepper

Combine all dressing ingredients in a large ziploc and swish around. Then cook pasta, cook and cube chicken and toast sesame seeds. Chop cilantro, green onions and shred carrots and combine all in ziploc with the dressing. Swish around and put in a bowl to serve. Enjoy!!

-Courtesy of Lacey

Amy's Chicken Chowder

This is a new favorite and totally delicious with corn bread :)

1 ½ cups milk or half & half (I use half & half)
1 can cream of potato soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup chicken broth
½ cup chopped green onions
8 oz. sliced mushrooms
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 cups cooked cubed (or shredded) chicken
1 can whole kernel corn, undrained
1 4 oz. can chopped green chiles
1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese

Combine milk, soups and broth in saucepan. Blend well. Heat thoroughly.Meanwhile, sauté green onions, green pepper and mushrooms. Add sautéed vegetables, corn, chiles, and chicken to soup mixture. Heat thoroughly. Remove from heat and add cheese. Stir until melted.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

I made this last night and it was amazing. Rave reviews from all who tried it. If you have an immersion blender that's the way to go with this soup. It saves so much hassle of putting the soup in the blender in shifts. Give it a try and add a few chopped pieces of jalepeno for some zip!

8 cups water

8 bullion cubes

2-3 chicken breasts, whole

1 can chopped green chilis

1 large onion, chopped

5 medium potatoes, chopped (no need to peel)

1/2 a butternut squash, chopped and seeded

1 red pepper, chopped

2 cloves garlic

1 t. salt

2 t. cumin

Boil above ingredients in large pot on medium low for 3-4 hours (you could do it higher temp and faster if you don't care about the tenderness of the chicken). Make sure veggies are chopped but chicken breasts are whole. Once tender, remove chicken and chop/shred into bitesize pieces. Blend remaining ingredients until smooth (this is where the immersion blender comes in handy.)

To the remaining, mix in:

1 c. sour cream

1 c. white beans (great northern)

1 T. taco seasoning

Return cubed chicken and stir over low heat. Serve with chopped tomato, green onion and shredded cheese. Enjoy!

Chicken Satay

Ingredients:
1 lb boneless chicken breast
1 c. unsweetened coconut milk
2 T. brown sugar
2 T fish sauce?
1 T ground coriander seed
1 t. cumin
1/2 t. turmeric
wooden skewers, soaked for 1 hr

Combine coconut milk, brown sugar, fish sauce, coriander, cumin and turmeric in large bowl and stir well to dissolve sugar. Slice meat into thin strips (1/4 in. thick and 3 in. long) Add meat to coconut milk marinade and refrigerate covered at least 2 hours. Preheat broiler or a grill. Thread 1 or 2 pieces of meat onto each skewer. Grill or broil meat for 4-6 minutes per side or until cooked through. Makes about 10 skewers.

Spicy Peanut Sauce
1 can unsweetened coconut milk
1 T brown sugar
1 T red curry paste
1 T fish sauce
1 t. grated fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 c. peanut butter

In small saucepan, combine coconut milk, brown sugar, curry paste, fish sauce, ginger and garlic over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook for 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the peanut butter. Cook for 3 more minutes or until peanut butter is well blended. Serve warm. Makes 2 1/3 cups.

Courtesy of Family Fun Magazine

Tasty Taco Fillings

Here is another winner (well, at least it looks like a winner) from Family Fun.

Chicken:
1 T. vegetable oil
1/2 c. minced onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 serrano chili, minced
1/2 c. tomato sauce
1 t. cumin
1/2 t. salt
3 1/2 c. shredded cooked chicken
12 flour tortillas

Beef:
1 T. veg. oil
3/4 c. minced onion
1 garlic clove
2 t. cumin
2 t. chili powder
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
2 T tomato paste
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. black pepper
12 flour tortillas

Ingredients:
Heat oil in large skillet and add onion, garlic and chili. Saute about six minutes. Add tomato sauce, cumin and salt and continue to cook about one minute. Add chicken/beef and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. Serve in tortillas and top with guacamole, cheese, tomato and lettuce

Courtesy of Family Fun Magazine

Barb's Chicken Won Ton Salad

My piano teacher growing up has the best recipe for this chicken won ton salad. We've made it twice in the last two weeks and I'm thrilled to have leftover for lunch today! (just not looking forward to soggy won-tons....) When I made it for dinner last week Phil told me that it was the best salad he'd ever eaten. He even helped himself to seconds (that's saying a lot for someone who didn't eat salad before we were married...) So, thank you Barb C for this fantastic recipe!)

Won Ton Chicken Salad
2 c. cooked chicken (small chunks)
2 heads romaine lettuce
1/4 c. sesame seeds, toasted
3 green onions, snipped
2 stalks celery, cut THIN, on the diagonal
cherry tomatoes (optional)
won ton wrappers, slice with pizza slicer into strips and deep fry to desired crispness

dressing:
1/4 c. oil
4 t. rice vinegar
3 T. sugar
1 t. salt
1 t. seasoning salt

ENJOY! (I know you will)

Thai Lettuce Wraps

These are one of my very favorite things to get at the Cheesecake Factory-- and lucky for me, my friend Laurie A had a recipe for them!!! Try them out! Check the italics for my additions.

Ingredients:
1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
1 Tbsp. plus 1 ½ Teaspoons peanut oil, divided
¾ cup chopped fresh mushrooms
1 can (8 ounces) water chestnuts, drained and diced
1 Tbsp minced fresh gingerroot

2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp reduced-sodium teriyaki sauce
1 Tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
½ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 ½ cups shredded carrots
½ cup julienned green onions
1 1/2 cups of bean sprouts, rinsed
12 Bibb or Boston lettuce leaves
1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted (don’t forget to toast!)

In a large nonstick skillet coated with nonstick cooking spray, cook chicken in 1 Tbsp. oil for 3 minutes; drain. Add the mushrooms, water chestnuts and ginger, cook 4-6 minutes longer or until chicken juices run clear. Drain and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk the vinegar, teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, garlic powder, red pepper flakes and remaining oil.

Set out lettuce leaves, carrots, chicken, onions, bean sprouts and any other desired toppings on a platter with the sauces nearby. Let guests create their own.

* I like the grilled feel for the chicken, so you could try marinating the chicken in some soy/teriyaki combo and then grilling it before cutting it into strips. Also, at Cheesecake factory they serve them with these Asian noodley things too...not sure where to get those.

Italian Chicken Pasta Toss

Ingredients:
6 oz bow tie pasta
2 plum tomatoes, diced
1 small onion, chopped
1 medium zucchini, sliced
1 small red or yellow bell pepper, cut in thin strips
1/2 lb chicken breast, cut in 1 in. strips
1/2 c. frozen peas
2 t. olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, pressed
1 t. Italian seasoning
1 t. salt
1 oz grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Cook pasta according to directions, keep warm
2. diced tomatoes and chop onion, cut bell pepper and chicken into strips and zucchini with crinkle cutter
3. heat oil and saute garlic. Add chicken and stir fry for five minutes. Reduce head to medium and add onion, zucchini, bell pepper, peas, seasoning mix and salt. Stir fry two minutes. Add tomatoes, heat 1-2 minutes, stirring gently and remove from heat.
4. Stir in warm pasta, grate cheese over and serve immediately.

Courtesy of Pampered Chef

Southwest Cobb Salad

Another summer-ish meal, but it is light enough, but heavy enough to be a dinner.

Dressing:
1/4 c. milk
1/3 c. mayo
1/3 c. sour cream
1 T lime juice
1 T. southwestern seasoning mix (or taco mix)

Salad:
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts (3-4)
salt and pepper
1 t. vegetable oil
3 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
1 avocado, peeled and cubed
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 c. canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1 pkg torn romaine lettuce, (8 cups)
1/4 small red union, cut into thin wedges
6 slices bacon, crisply cooked and cut up

Directions: make dressing, pan fry chicken preses and cut into thin diagonal strips. Put lettuce and onion in serving bowl and arrange remaining ingredients onto a platter in rows and serve.

Courtesy of Pampered Chef

Quick Chicken Cacciatore

Ingredients:
1 pkg breaded chicken breat patties (partially thawed)
1 medium green bell pepper
4 ounces sliced mushrooms
1 small onion, chopped
8 oz uncooked linguine
2 cans Italian diced tomatoes (undrained)
1 garlic clove (pressed)
Fresh grated parmsan cheese

Directions:
Cut chicken into thin strips and cut bell pepper, cook linguine according to pkg directions. Meanwhile, in skillet, cook chicken patty strips for five minutes and then add tomatoes, bell pepper, mushrooms, onion and garlic. Bring to boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 8-10 minutes until vegetables are tender. Serve over hot linguine. Sprinkle with parmesan.
yields: 4 servings

Courtesy of Pampered Chef

Criminal Chicken

8 chicken breasts
3 eggs well beaten
3 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 cup bread crumbs
3 T. olive oil
3 T. butter
fresh mushrooms, sliced thick
4 slices swiss cheese
1/2 cup chicken broth
juice of one lemon

Add garlic and salt,pepper to eggs. Immerse chicken in eggs for 1 hour.
Roll in bread crumbs and sauté in olive oil and butter until golden brown. Place in large, shallow pan. Reserve butter and sauté mushrooms-sprinkle over chicken. Pour chicken broth over chicken and place half a slice of swiss cheese over chicken. Cover pan with foil and bake for 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees. Squeeze lemon juice over chicken after baking.

courtesy of Hannah M

Thai Chicken Crockpot Soup

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 C. homemade or canned low-sodium chicken broth
2 C. carrots, peeled and sliced bias-cut
1 large onion, chopped
2 T. grated fresh ginger root
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks lemongrass, with the outer parts peeled away and the tender white bottom stem, sliced finely
1/2 t. crushed red pepper flakes
1 15-oz. can unsweetened coconut milk
1 medium red or yellow bell pepper, diced
2 4-oz. cans straw mushrooms or button mushrooms
1/3 C. chopped roasted peanuts

In a 3 1/2-quart or larger crockpot, add the chicken, broth, carrots, onion, ginger, garlic, lemongrass and crushed red pepper flakes. Cook on low for six to eight hours or so.

Ten minutes before serving, add the coconut milk, bell pepper, drained mushrooms. Cover and let stand five to 10 minutes. Sprinkle peanuts on each serving.

Serves six.

Courtesy of All Recipes

Crockpot Chicken Teriyaki

Cut 8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts into medium-sized cubes. Place in a crock-pot. Top with the following mixture:

2 Tbsp Cornstarch
½ Cup Cider Vinegar
1 Tbsp Cold Water
2 Cloves Garlic, minced
1 Cup White Sugar
1 tsp Ground Ginger
1 Cup Soy Sauce
¼ tsp Ground Black Pepper

Set crock-pot heat to low and cook for 4 – 6 hours until chicken is thoroughly cooked and tender. Serve over rice.

Courtesy of Julie T