Chicken Ranch Pizza

When I'm in the mood for pizza, I'm usually in the mood for traditional pizza. You know, red sauce, mozzarella cheese, maybe some pepperoni and onions. Occasionally I'll want to go a little different with the toppings--add some broccoli, peppers--but even that is rare.

So to ask me to step completely out of the box and make an "alternative" style pizza? Well, I have to be in a special kind of mood.

Since we are celebrating this New Year's Eve with a quiet night at home, we decided to make some good "party-like" food, which included two mini specialty pizzas--taco pizza, which we've made a handful of times in the past, and then we decided to give this new one a try.

I was afraid that the ranch dressing would be really overwhelming, but to my surprise, it really wasn't. All of these ingredients come together to make a nice slice of pizza. Will I ever make this as a full-size pizza? Probably not, but it's perfect to cut up into small pieces for a party.

Since it's the dead of winter, we didn't grill chicken for this--we boiled it and shredded it instead. But you could do it either way, or even cook it up quickly in a pan on the stove.

Chicken Ranch Pizza
(Source: Annie's Eats)

Ingredients:
- 1 recipe your favorite pizza crust (we use 1/2 of this recipe and freeze the other half for another time!)
- 1/4 cup Ranch dressing
- 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 to 1 grilled chicken breast, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 1 tomato, seeded and diced
- 2-3 green onions, chopped
- 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven according to the directions associated with your pizza crust. Prepare the pizza crust by rolling it out.

2. Spread the ranch dressing in a thin layer evenly over the unbaked crust. Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella. Top with grilled chicken, tomato and green onions. Sprinkle with shredded cheddar.

3. Once assembled, put pizza into preheated oven. Bake according to the directions for your crust, or until the cheese is melted and browned.

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Cheater White Chicken Chili

Remember when I posted about our favorite "cheater" chili?

Well, now I'd like to introduce you to cheater WHITE CHICKEN chili. It is oh-so-delicious.

Found right next to the original Carroll Shelby's kit, this is similarly EASY to make and was a nice change from regular ol' chili. In our supermarket, these are located in the section with the gravy packets/mixes.

We never follow the directions on the box, as it always says to cook the chili on the stove, and we like to put ours in the crockpot so we can "fix it and forget it." Plus, we add more ingredients (like beans and veggies). Sooo, I've included below our "recipe," if you can call it that.

This chili is perfect to cook up on a cold winter's night. Enjoy!

Cheater White Chicken Chili
(Source: Adapted from Carroll Shelby)

Ingredients:
- 1 Carroll Shelby's White Chicken Chili Kit
- 1 lb. raw chicken breasts
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes, undrained
- 2 (15 oz.) cans white beans
- 2 cups water

Directions:
1. Cut raw chicken into strips.

2. Combine chicken + all other ingredients (excluding masa flour packet) in crockpot. Cook on low for 5-6 hours.

3. Remove chicken strips from crockpot and shred with two forks. Return shredded chicken to crockpot.

4. Add masa flour packet and allow chili to cook for an additional 30-60 minutes. Serve with shredded cheddar cheese on top.

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Pasta with Chicken & Broccoli in a White Cheddar Wine Sauce

By the time we sat down to eat this meal, I was so hungry and pissed off that I barely got the chance to really enjoy it. Now that's an endorsement for a recipe, isn't it? I'm sure you're all dying to make it now.

The thing is, I didn't plan ahead. I didn't roast the garlic ahead of time, and that turned out to be a mistake. If you make it beforehand--well, this recipe is a piece of cake. And when we make this again, we'll most certainly be making the roasted garlic paste a day or two in advance.

I'm not a big fan of cheese (or most dairy, really), but I have a love affair with cheddar. I seriously *heart* cheddar. So I thought this dish was going to be heaven on a plate. To my surprise, I couldn't really pick out the cheddar taste; if I didn't know what was in the sauce, I would never have been able to guess cheddar. But the cheese gives this a wonderfully creamy texture and, paired with the roasted garlic and wine, this is a real winner.

For obvious reasons, this recipe reminds me a bit of Spicy Garlic & Lime Chicken Pasta, but it's different enough where they could both be in the regular dinner rotation.

Pasta with Chicken & Broccoli in a White Cheddar Wine Sauce
(Source: Good Things Catered)

Ingredients:
- 1 lb. uncooked pasta
- 3 tbsp. butter
- 1/2 cup roasted garlic paste (see instructions below*)
- 3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup dry vermouth or dry white wine
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
- 1 large head of brocolli, cut into florettes (about 2 cups)
- 10-16 oz. cooked chicken, cubed or shredded (about 2-3 cups)
- 3 oz. aged reserve cheddar (preferably white), grated (about 1 1/2 cups)
- parmesan cheese (optional)
- salt and ground pepper

*To make garlic paste (HIGHLY recommended to do this in advance): Peel the outer papery skins off two heads of garlic, leaving the heads still intact. Slice about a quarter off the top of each head so that all of the cloves are partly exposed. Wrap the heads in foil and bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Remove from the oven and let cool. Once cool enough to touch, squeeze the garlic cloves out of the peels and smash with a fork to make roasted garlic paste. (Alternatively, you can toss the cloves into a food processor--I found this to be much easier.)
Roasted garlic instructions from Annie's Eats

1. Bring water to a boil in large pot. When boiling, add pasta and cook according to package instructions. Throw uncooked broccoli florettes into the boiling water 3-4 minutes before pasta is done. Drain pasta and broccoli mixture.

2. Meanwhile, melt butter in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. When just coming to foaming, add garlic paste and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute).

3. Add flour and cook until beginning to turn golden (about 2 minutes). Add vermouth and cook until evaporated (about 1 minute). Stir broth into pan and simmer sauce until slightly thickened (about 2 minutes).

4. Add cheddar and stir constantly while returning to a boil.

5. Add in cooked chicken pieces. Fold in pasta and broccoli, cook for one more minute, and remove from heat.

6. Plate and top with parmesan; serve.

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Chicken Enchilada Dip Roll-Ups

For a family party with my in-laws this weekend, I decided to do something new for a change--I made an appetizer instead of dessert!

I've had these roll-ups bookmarked FOREVER, so it was nice to dig it out of the "to try" archives and give them a whirl. They were super simple to put together, and really tasty, too!

I mixed everything together for the filling the night before the party, then made the roll-ups on site at the party. I'd suggest waiting as long as possible before making the roll-ups to prevent them from getting soggy.

The original recipe apparently was meant to be a dip--so if you don't want to roll up the mixture into tortillas, just set it out in a bowl with some tortilla chips! We taste-tested the filling with some chips right after we made it, and it was definitely great both ways. The roll-ups make for a nice presentation, though, and are easy to eat at a party as they make a great finger food.

Chicken Enchilada Dip Roll-Ups
(Source: Adapted from Delicious Meliscious)

Ingredients:
- 2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened (I used light cream cheese)
- 1 1/3 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
- 1 tsp. garlic, finely minced
- 1 1/2 tbsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp. cumin
- cayenne pepper to taste
- salt to taste
- Approximately 12 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cooked and shredded
- 1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
- 4 green onions, chopped
- 1 (14 oz.) can petite diced tomatoes
- 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 package tortillas (any flavor you like--we used plain flour tortillas)

Directions:
1. Mix cheeses together until well blended.

2. Add all remaining ingredients and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour.

3. Spread filling evenly onto entire tortilla (all the way to the edges). Roll and cut into slices. Repeat with tortillas until filling is gone.

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Asian Lettuce Wraps

If you've ever been to P.F. Chang's, I'm guessing you've had lettuce wraps. It seems as if it's a crime to go there without ordering them!

When I saw this homemade version on Annie's blog, I was excited to try them! But, there was just one thing holding me back.

Confession: I have a weird aversion to ground chicken and ground turkey. I have no idea why, since I don't have any problems with lean ground beef. It's just one of those things, but because I don't have a good reason, I knew it was time to get over it.

This was just the recipe to help me over the hurdle.

I'll admit that I was still a little put off by the ground chicken as it was cooking, but I quickly got past it once I took my first bite into one of these babies. Delicious!

I adapted the recipe slightly to make a bit more sauce. When we drizzled the original amount over our filling, it didn't seem like enough so I made a bit more. And as Annie says--don't leave out the diced apple! It's fantastic!

Asian Lettuce Wraps
(Source: Slightly adapted from Annie's Eats)

Ingredients:

For the sauce:
- 2 1/4 tsp. hoisin sauce
- 1 1/2 tsp. soy sauce
- 3/4 tsp. sesame oil
- 1 1/2 tsp. rice wine vinegar
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 tsp. Sriracha hot sauce

For the filling:
- 2 tsp. canola oil
- 1 tsp. minced garlic
- 1/2 tsp. grated fresh ginger
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 1 lb. ground turkey or chicken
- 2 cups mixed vegetables (I used frozen peas, diced red pepper and onion)
- 1/2 green apple, finely chopped

To assemble:
Butter lettuce leaves (if you can find them--otherwise, use iceberg), washed and separated
Shredded carrots for topping (optional)

Directions:
1. Combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl and mix to blend.

2. To make the filling, heat a skillet on high heat with cooking oil. Once the pan is hot, add the garlic, ginger and green onions to the pan, and stir fry for a few seconds, just until fragrant.

3. Add the ground turkey or chicken, breaking into small pieces, and cook until almost cooked through. Add the vegetables to the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes. Mix in the sauce and cook for about 1 minute until thickened slightly.

4. Add the apples to the pan and toss to coat. Immediately remove the pan from the heat.

5. Serve the filling in lettuce “cups” and top with shredded carrots, if desired.

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Brown Garlic Sauce

One of our favorite meals to throw together is a stir-fry. They're easy, they're healthy (lots of veggies!), and they're always really tasty. Plus, there are so many variations to make. Want to switch it up from the usual? Add some new vegetables, or try a new sauce.

Today, we decided to do just that. The new sauce, that is. I found a recipe for a garlic sauce on RecipeZaar, and we whipped it up and used it to cover a stir-fry that we made with chicken and vegetables (broccoli, carrots, onions, water chesnuts, and baby corn).

The whole mixture was served over brown rice and it was quite good! The sauce was also pretty easy to throw together, so we'll definitely be making this again. The garlic flavor was not overwhelming, despite the hefty amount of it included in the recipe.

We couldn't find rice wine (note: it's NOT rice vinegar) in our grocery store, so we had to use one of the substitutes I found through Google--apple juice. Also, we didn't want to buy white pepper just for this dish, so we used regular ol' black pepper. We didn't notice any foul effects from our substitutions.

I also read in the comments that if you use regular soy sauce, this can be quite salty. Thankfully, we always use low-sodium everything, so we thought it was perfect. If all you have is regular soy sauce, you may want to start off using less soy sauce and doing a few taste tests to see if you need to add more.

Enjoy!

Brown Garlic Sauce
(Source: RecipeZaar)

Ingredients:
- 2/3 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1/3 cup rice wine (or apple juice)
- 3 1/2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper (or black pepper)
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 cup water

Directions:
1. In a bowl, combine soy sauce, broth, rice wine, sugar, sesame oil and white pepper.

2. Dissolve the cornstarch in 1/4 cup water.

3. Heat a pan over high heat; add the cooking oil, swirling to coat; add the garlic and ginger; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 15 seconds.

4. Add the soy sauce mixture; bring to a boil.

5. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 1 minute.

6. Add the cornstarch solution and cook, stirring, until the sauce boils and thickens.

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Chicken and Basil Dumplings

I've attempted chicken and dumplings before, and it wasn't exactly pretty. I couldn't figure out the whole dumpling situation--they seemed to be doughy, no matter how long I cooked them. Come to find out later, dumplings sometimes take WAYYY longer to cook than I ever imagined. Hmph. I was discouraged by the experience and hadn't tried it since, instead choosing to leave it to the professionals (like, say... my mom).

But when I saw this recipe pop up in my Google Reader, I was inspired to give it a try, simply because it is a crockpot dumpling recipe. Fix it and forget it? Those are my kind of dumplings, for sure.

Because it cooks for so long, the chicken is fall-apart tender, and I loved the combination of vegetables. The basil seasoning, in both the soup and the dumplings, is a wonderful addition and makes this recipe slightly different than your typical chicken and dumplings. The dumplings themselves are full of flavor, what with the basil, garlic powder, and butter. Melissa wasn't kidding--this dish is delicious!

You definitely have to allow yourself enough time, since it involves at least 8 hours of total cook time. Also, you need to plan ahead so that you are home to be able to make the dumplings two hours before you want to eat. Even though it involves a few different steps, it is a really easy recipe and it's perfect when you want a great meal with very little effort.

Chicken and Basil Dumplings
(Source: Delicious Meliscious)

Soup Ingredients:
- 1 chopped onion
- 1 cup carrots, diced
- 1 cup celery, diced
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 8-10 cups of chicken broth
- 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (you can put them in frozen to start)
- 1 tsp. dried basil
- salt and pepper to taste

Soup Directions:
Put all ingredients above into slow cooker and cook on low heat for 6 hours.

Dumpling Ingredients:
- 1 1/4 cups of flour
- 1/2 tsp. dried basil
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 2 tbsp. butter, softened
- 1/2 cup low fat buttermilk
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten

To Prepare Dumpling Dough:
Combine the flour with basil, garlic powder, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl. But in butter with pastry blender or 2 knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Combine buttermilk and egg, stirring with a whisk. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture, stirring until just combined.

Remaining Ingredients:
1/4 cup of cornstarch
1/4 cup of chicken broth (you can dip some out of the crockpot to mix)
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

To Finish Soup:
Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and shred with 2 forks. Add the chicken back into the slow cooker. Combine the cornstarch with the chicken broth and mix thoroughly to make a slurry. Add slurry to the soup.

Dumpling Directions:
Drop dumpling dough, 1-2 tsp. per dumpling, into the chicken soup. Cover and continue to cook on low for another hour and a half to two hours. Add the chopped parsley to the soup and serve.

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Chicken Piccata

A few months back, I was looking for new recipes to try. My cousin sent me this one and proclaimed it as her favorite. I put it in my bookmarked pages and planned to try it soon, but it kept getting pushed further and further down the list.

Earlier this week, when I was doing the meal planning for the week, I came across it again and decided that this weekend would be the time to try it.

The crispy, breaded coating nicely complements the tender, juicy chicken. The lemon/wine sauce spooned over the top kicks the chicken flavors up a notch and makes for a really awesome meal.

We served the chicken with homemade red smashed potatoes and some veggies. Everything came together pretty easily and we were sitting down to eat in no time.

Chicken Piccata
(Source: Ina Garten, Food Network)

Ingredients:
- 2 split (1 whole) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 extra-large egg
- 1/2 tablespoon water
- 3/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
- Good olive oil
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, divided
- 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons), lemon halves reserved
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- Sliced lemon, for serving
- Chopped fresh parsley leaves, for serving

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

2. Place each chicken breast between 2 sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap and pound out to 1/4-inch thick. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.

3. Mix the flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper in a shallow plate. In a second plate, beat the egg and 1/2 tablespoon of water together. Place the bread crumbs on a third plate. Dip each chicken breast first in the flour, shake off the excess, and then dip in the egg and bread crumb mixtures.

4. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium to medium-low heat. Add the chicken breasts and cook for 2 minutes on each side, until browned. Place them on the sheet pan and allow them to bake for 5 to 10 minutes while you make the sauce.

5. For the sauce, wipe out the saute pan with a dry paper towel. Over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter and then add the lemon juice, wine, the reserved lemon halves, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Boil over high heat until reduced in half, about 2 minutes. Off the heat, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and swirl to combine. Discard the lemon halves and serve 1 chicken breast on each plate. Spoon on the sauce and serve with a slice of lemon and a sprinkling of fresh parsley.

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Chicken & Apple Couscous

Warning: This is just the first in a series of apple recipes I'll be sharing with you this week. If you don't like apples, well... we can't be friends you're not going to like my blog this week.

After picking up our first 30 lbs. of apples earlier this weekend, I'm a bit apple obsessed. This morning, when we were trying to figure out what to eat for dinner tonight, I knew that I wanted to incorporate apples. After a little Googling, I found something that sounded perfect: chicken and apple couscous.

The flavors and spices in this dish really come together to give you a taste of fall. The recipe itself was really easy to throw together, so this would be a great weeknight meal. Plus, it's not at all heavy, which is nice. I'm bringing leftovers for lunch tomorrow!

Chicken & Apple Couscous
(Source: All About Apples)

Ingredients:
- 2 cups coarsely chopped cooked chicken (we used approximately 1 lb.)
- 2 cups dry couscous
- 2 1/2 cups boiling chicken stock
- 1/2 cup golden raisins (we omitted)
- 1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds
- 2 apples, peeled, cored and coarsely chopped
- 1/4 cup butter cut in small pieces
- 1/2 tsp. ground coriander seeds
- 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp. ground cloves

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine all ingredients in a 9 x 13 x 2 inch glass baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes.

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Mexican Salad

As I've mentioned before, sometimes, especially in the summer, it's nice to have a light and healthy meal. We have a couple of heavy eating weekends coming up, so when it came time to plan dinner for tonight, we decided to keep it simple. This salad is something I first put together last summer, and it's so good! Lots of flavor, and versatile--you can easily adapt the ingredients to your tastes.

And just look how COLORFUL! Love it.

This time of year, our local corn is SO. DAMN. GOOD. that we actually cooked up a couple of pieces of corn on the cob and then sliced the kernels off of it to throw into the salad. We used chicken (seasoned with some taco seasoning) as our protein, but you can also use a can of beans instead. Sometimes, we also throw a few baked tortilla chips in for more of a taco salad, but decided to skip them tonight. We pick up fresh salsa from the grocery store (though you could use a jar of salsa if you wish) to use as "dressing," and that's it--delicious salad!

Mexican Salad

Ingredients:
- leafy salad greens (I think romaine works best for this salad)
- 1/4 small onion, sliced
- 1/2 lb. chicken, cubed, cooked and seasoned with a few tbsp. taco seasoning (optional)
- corn (can use fresh, frozen, or canned)
- red or black beans (optional)
- fresh salsa (homemade or store-bought)
- shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
1. On a plate, arrange a bed of leafy salad greens. Top with onions, chicken, corn, and beans.

2. Spread salsa over the entire salad.

3. Sprinkle the top with a little shredded cheddar. Enjoy!

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Summer Salad

We haven't really had the chance to get back into "the groove" of eating normally since being back from vacation. We've had a lot going on, and I'm afraid to admit that for me, the scale is reflecting that by showing a couple additional pounds. Coming from someone who hates to see the scale budge in the upward direction, even just a little bit, I'm not a happy camper. :(

The other issue is just that it's summer. I find that it's more difficult to meal plan when you have to consider whether a meal is too heavy for the warm weather.

And so I find myself on a quest to get some light and healthy meals into our weekly rotation for summer.

This summer salad is something that I threw together for us on a whim the night after we got back from vacation. Then, yesterday, after our 4th of July indulgences, it was a perfect way to start the road to recovery from a weekend of eating.

The mixture of fruit, vegetables, and protein, all drizzled with a good balsamic dressing makes for a wonderfully light, but filling, meal. The other pro is that it is so easy--especially if you have some leftover grilled chicken already in the fridge.

Summer Salad

Ingredients:
- leafy salad greens (my favorite is romaine, but a "spring salad" mix or baby spinach would work well for this, too)
- 1 apple, cubed
- 6 to 8 strawberries, sliced
- 1/4 small onion, sliced
- grilled chicken pieces, sliced
- 1 tbsp. bacon bits
- shredded cheddar cheese
- balsamic vinaigrette dressing, for drizzling (we buy Ken's Light Balsamic Vinaigrette, which is fantastic!)

Directions:
1. On a plate, arrange a bed of leafy salad greens. Top with apple cubes, sliced strawberries, onions, and grilled chicken pieces.

2. Sprinkle bacon bits, and a little shredded cheddar cheese.

3. Drizzle entire salad with a good balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Enjoy!

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Chicken Lo Mein

Last week, we were in the mood to try something new for dinner. I was thinking about something Asian-inspired, but didn't want stirfry. I wanted something different.

First, I did some blog searching, but didn't find anything that sounded quite right. So I turned to my trusty-dusty allrecipes.com. A couple of clicks and I landed on this recipe for Chicken Lo Mein.

This ended up being exactly what I was looking for. Simple, and the ingredients required (aside from the veggies) were mostly things we already had on hand. I didn't want to have to buy a bunch of new ingredients that aren't used for very many recipes.

The only things we changed about the original recipe were the veggies we used, and the proportions. Since we used a lot of vegetables and additional pasta, so we had to increase the sauce ingredients a bit to make sure we had enough to coat everything. We also didn't have any bouillon granules, so I used a bit of extra chicken broth instead. It worked out perfectly. The changes we made are reflected in the recipe below.

I wouldn't call this "fake-out take-out," because it really doesn't taste like any lo mein I've ever had at a restaurant. But this dish has great flavor, and you wanna know the best part? I thought the leftovers a couple days later were even better tasting than the night we made it. Give this one a try!

Chicken Lo Mein
(Source: Adapted from Allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 tbsp. corn starch
- 1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
- 1/3 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup sherry or reduced-sodium chicken broth + an additional 1/4-1/2 cup (we used the chicken broth)
- 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small chunks
- 1 box uncooked linguine or spaghetti
- approx. 1/2 lb. broccoli florets
- 1 large sweet red pepper, chopped
- 1/4 large onion
- a bunch of green onions, cut into 2 inch pieces (use however many you like, depending on preference)
- 3 tbsp. canola oil, divided.
- 2 tsp. sesame oil

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, combine the cornstarch, ginger, soy sauce, and sherry or broth until smooth. Add chicken and stir to coat; set aside.

2. Cook linguine or spaghetti according to package directions.

3. In a large nonstick skillet or wok, stir-fry vegetables in 1-2 tbsp. canola oil for 3-5 minutes, or until crisp-tender. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

4. In the same skillet, stir-fry chicken mixture in remaining canola oil for 4-5 minutes, or until no longer pink. Add in 1/4 - 1/2 cup additional sherry or chicken broth (depending on how much sauce you want/need), and bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Return vegetables to skillet.

5. Drain pasta; add sesame oil and pasta to skillet. Toss to coat. Cook 1-2 minutes longer or until heated through.

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Chicken Corn Chowder

We had another really beautiful day today. As a result, it felt a little bit wrong to make a chowder, but since it's what we had planned, we went with it. And boy am I glad we did.

This corn chowder is simply delicious. While eating, Michael and I kept saying to each other, "This is really good!" And I am looking forward to leftovers, I'll tell you that. My only regret with this recipe is that I didn't find it sooner! I need to find a way to fit it into our recipe rotation another couple of times before the weather really starts to warm up.

When I was doing our meal planning early last week, I came across this recipe on Cooking Light's website, and even though I had never made (or even had) corn chowder before, I figured we couldn't go wrong with the ingredients.

As always, I read a lot of the reviews, and took some suggestions from them to help make the recipe even better than the original.

At first, I thought this chowder was going to be pretty thin, but after several minutes on the stove, it thickened up quite nicely. This is such a simple meal, too--perfect for a weeknight.

Chicken Corn Chowder
(Source: Adapted from Cooking Light)

Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 6 green onions
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 12-16 oz. chopped (or shredded) cooked chicken breast
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 (15 oz.) cans whole kernel corn (we use the "no salt added" variety)
- 1 (14 oz.) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
- 4 small white potatoes, peeled and diced
- 2 1/2 cups fat-free milk
- 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
1. Melt butter in a Dutch oven (or stockpot) over medium-high heat.

2. Remove green tops from green onions. Chop green onion tops; set aside. Thinly slice white portion of each onion. Add sliced onions to pan; sauté 2 minutes.

3. Add flour; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly with a whisk.

4. Stir in chicken, salt, pepper, 1 package of corn, and broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes.

5. While mixture simmers, combine the remaining corn and milk in a blender. Add a handful or two of the diced potatoes. (I combined everything in a smaller pot, then used my imersion blender--much easier cleanup!) Process until smooth.

6. Add remaining diced potatoes and milk mixture to pan; simmer 15 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

7. Ladle 2 cups chowder into each of 4 soup bowls; sprinkle evenly with green onion tops. Top each serving with 2 tablespoons cheese.

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Sesame Ginger Chicken Pitas

On the first day of our honeymoon in Hawaii, we went to lunch at a little place called Cheeseburger in Paradise.

Normally, I won't touch chicken salad with a 10-foot pole because I absolutely loathe mayo. But I noticed a "Polynesian Chicken Salad Sandwich" on the menu that was made with a ginger sauce instead of mayo, and decided to give it a try. Michael got it, too, and we were both really impressed by it. Honestly, it was maybe my favorite meal of the entire honeymoon, and we had a lot of nice ones!

Ever since then, I've been wanting to come up with a copycat recipe. The problem has always been the dressing. Someone on The Nest suggested trying a ginger salad dressing, and so today, I decided to give it a go. I switched it up and instead of putting the chicken mixture on a wheat roll like the restaurant, I bought some whole wheat pitas.

Quite honestly, at the end of the day, this wasn't a success for me. I picked up a bottle of Sesame Ginger dressing, fearing that I might not like it (I was pretty sure I had tasted something similar before), and as it turned out, I hated it. It was definitely nothing like the ginger sauce/dressing used on the sandwiches at Cheeseburger in Paradise. When I looked back at the menu online, the description mentions that the sandwich also includes mango chutney. I don't remember that at all, but who knows... maybe that is what my sauce was missing. I did see a mango ginger dressing at the store, so maybe we will try that next time.

Anyway, I'm still sharing this recipe because my husband really liked it. And for all of you out there who like sesame ginger dressing--this will be right up your alley. For the people who don't like it, like me? Well, you can still make these and personalize them to your tastes by using a dressing you do like. I ended up tossing my chicken mixture with some honey dijon vinaigrette dressing and it was good.

The search continues for the perfect dressing...

Sesame Ginger Chicken Pitas
(Inspired by the Polynesian Chicken Salad Sandwich at Cheeseburger in Paradise)

Ingredients:
- 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into really small chunks or strips
- 1 small/medium red pepper, diced
- 1/2 - 3/4 cup green onions, diced
- 1 small can water chesnuts, diced
- 1/2 cup chopped cashews
- sesame ginger dressing

Directions:
1. In large skillet, brown chicken over medium-high heat.

2. Add red pepper, green onions, water chesnuts and cashews. Cook until peppers become soft and the whole mixture is warmed through.

3. Add dressing (use your own judgement on the amount) and toss to coat.

4. Spoon mixture into pitas.

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Italian Baked Chicken & Pastina

My husband actually found this meal! Michael was browsing the Food Network website one day a few weeks ago and came across this recipe from Giada Bobblehead De Laurentiis.

Reading the measurements for the recipe, it was clear to me that we would need to double it to make a normal sized dinner. As I've mentioned before, we like to have leftovers.

This recipe is so simple (not many ingredients), it was hard to believe that it would really be all that tasty. But I was pleasantly surprised. Using a tip given by someone in the reviews of the recipe, I made sure to buy diced tomatoes that were Italian seasoned so that the tomatoes were already infused with flavor.

Making this meal creates a LOT of dirty dishes. The nice thing, however, is that you can finish up all of the dishes and cleanup while it is baking, resulting in very little fuss after dinner (very nice!).

Italian Baked Chicken & Pastina
(Source: Giada De Laurentiis, "Everyday Italian")

Ingredients:
- 1 box small pasta (we used a 14 oz. box of Whole Wheat Barilla Rotini)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lb. cubed chicken breast (1-inch cubes)
- 1 cup diced onion (about one small onion)
- 2 clove garlic, minced
- 1 (30-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice (get the ones with Italian seasoning! i.e. basil, olive oil, garlic, etc.)
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (we used a small handful of dried parsley instead)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
- 1 tablespoon butter, plus more for buttering the baking dish (we omitted the butter and just used olive oil cooking spray for the baking dish)

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until just tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Drain pasta into a large mixing bowl.

3. Meanwhile, put the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes.

4. Add the onions and garlic, stirring to combine, and cook until the onions are soft and the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes more.

5. Put the chicken mixture into the bowl with the cooked pasta. Add the canned tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Place the mixture in a buttered (or greased with cooking spray) 9" x 13" x 2" baking dish.

6. In a small bowl, mix together the bread crumbs and the Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle over the top of the pasta mixture. Dot the top with small bits of butter (optional).

7. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.

P.S. Today was the 7th anniversary of the night Michael and I met. Crazy!

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Chicken and Summer Vegetable Tostadas with Mexican Rice

This is a newbie for us. I was in the mood for something different for dinner one night this week, so I went perusing the internet for ideas.

I came across this recipe on Cooking Light, and since it sounded really good, I decided to go with it. I wanted to pair it with something else, so I then went on a hunt for a mexican rice recipe. I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for, so I used a couple different recipes as a foundation and added my own twists.

Both turned out awesome. Leftovers were fantastic, too.

Chicken and Summer Vegetable Tostadas
(Source: Cooking Light)

Ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons canola oil
- 12 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into really small chunks
- 1 cup chopped red onion (about 1) (we used a mayan onion)
- 1 cup fresh corn kernels (about 2 ears) (due to the winter, we used canned corn)
- 1 cup chopped zucchini (about 4 ounces)
- 1/2 cup green salsa (we substituted regular red salsa)
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, divided (we used dried cilantro)
- 4 (8-inch) fat-free flour tortillas
- Cooking spray
- 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese (we used a pre-shredded "Mexican" mix)

Directions:
1. Preheat broiler.

2. Combine first 3 ingredients, stirring well. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the spice mixture evenly over chicken. Add chicken to pan; sauté for 3 minutes.

3. Add onion, corn, and zucchini to pan; sauté for 2 minutes or until chicken is done. Stir in salsa and 2 tablespoons cilantro. Cook 2 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates, stirring frequently.

4. Working with 2 tortillas at a time, arrange tortillas in a single layer on a baking sheet; lightly coat tortillas with cooking spray. Broil 3 minutes or until lightly browned. (Ours took much less than three minutes. Also, going from some suggestions in the comments section on Cooking Light, after they browned on the first side, we took them out of the oven, turned them over, sprayed with more cooking spray, and put them back under the broiler to brown the other side as well. This made the tostadas nice and crispy, and they held up well to the weight of the ingredients on top of them.)

5. Spoon about 3/4 cup chicken mixture in the center of each tortilla; sprinkle each serving with 1/4 cup cheese. Broil an additional 2 minutes or until cheese melts. Repeat procedure with remaining tortillas, chicken mixture, and cheese. Sprinkle each serving with about 3/4 teaspoon of remaining cilantro. Serve immediately.

Mexican Rice
(Source: Adapted from Southern Living)

Ingredients:
- 1 1/4 cups long-grain rice
- 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
- 1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 (14 oz.) can chicken broth
- 1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
- 5 oz. water
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
- 1/2 tbsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp. ground cumin
- 2 tsp. dried cilantro (optional)

Directions:
1. Saute rice in hot oil in a skillet over medium-high heat for three minutes or until lightly browned.

2. Add onion and garlic, and saute two minutes.

3. Stir in broth, tomato sauce, water, salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, and cilantro. Cover, reduce heat, and cook until tender (about 15-25 minutes).

4. Remove from heat, and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff rice with fork.

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No-Guilt Chicken Fingers

Today, more playoff football meant we needed to have more football food. Originally, we were thinking we'd go out to dinner somewhere, but after eating complete junk at a surprise birthday party we went to last night, we figured we'd be better off at least making our own junk food.

I saw this recipe a few months back on Amber's Delectable Delights, but wasn't really motivated to try it out until an internet friend mentioned it earlier this week. She said she tried them and highly recommended them, so I knew I had to find a reason to make these. As it turned out, football was the perfect reason.


The recipe for these Buffalo Chicken Tenders originally came from Cooking Light, so it actually isn't all that bad for you. And as I'm sure I've discussed before... I'm all for delicious food with less guilt. So, starting off with these, I went on the hunt for a french fry recipe. We could have just gone with some simple frozen oven fries, but when browsing Cooking Light's website, I found cheese fries! (I'll share that recipe tomorrow.)

Anyway, I know... it can be hard to imagine cornflake-crusted chicken tasting anything like regular chicken fingers. But it does. And in my opinion, this chicken is actually BETTER than traditional, fried chicken fingers (I don't really like much fried food). These guys are awesome, and I can't wait to have the leftovers.


The recipe calls for making a hot sauce to drizzle over the chicken tenders when they come out of the oven. I decided to skip that and just put some Frank's Red Hot Sauce on the table in case my husband wanted to use it. I don't really like hot sauce (it's not the heat that gets to me, but just the actual taste of it), so I dipped my chicken fingers in BBQ sauce, which was really, really good. The flour mix makes the chicken flavorful, and the corn flakes make for a great crunch. Really, you could eat them without any dipping sauces. You have to give these things a try; you won't regret it!

Changes from Amber's recipe: I doubled the amount of ingredients for the flour mixture, as well as the number of corn flakes (I reflected those changes in my recipe below). I had read in the comments on the Cooking Light website that people kept running out and had to make more, so I wanted to prevent that from happening.

Buffalo-Style Chicken Strips
(Source: Amber's Delectable Delights, adapted from: CookingLight.com)

Ingredients:
- 4 tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp. garlic powder
- 2 tsp. paprika
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
- 2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
- 3 cups coarsely crushed cornflakes
- 1 lb. chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch-thick strips
- Cooking spray
- 1/3 cup hot sauce (such as Crystal)
- 1 tsp. hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco)
- 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp. butter
- 1/2 cup fat-free ranch dressing for dipping (can substitute blue cheese, BBQ sauce, ketchup... whatever you like to dip chicken fingers in)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Combine first 6 ingredients in a shallow dish, stirring with a whisk. Place egg whites in a shallow dish. Place cornflakes in a shallow dish. Working with 1 chicken strip at a time, dredge in flour mixture. Dip in egg whites; dredge in cornflakes. Place on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Repeat procedure with remaining chicken strips, flour mixture, egg whites, and cornflakes.

3. Lightly coat chicken strips with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 10 minutes or until done, turning once.

4. Combine hot sauce, pepper sauce, and Worcestershire in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in butter. Drizzle hot sauce mixture over chicken. (I read in the comments that it's best not to drizzle it over the chicken, because it can cause the corn flakes to lose their crunch. If you make the hot sauce, I suggest dipping the chicken in it instead.)

Serve with ranch dressing, celery, and carrots.

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Saucy Chicken Enchiladas

This is a recipe that my mother-in-law first made for us a couple of years ago.

Don't be weirded out by the yogurt. When she first handed me the recipe, I sure as hell was. But I figured--hey, I had already eaten it, and it was delicious. So something about it was right.

Just a tip... we usually make these the same week we make chicken noodle soup. Why? Well, because when making the soup, it's really easy to cook up some extra chicken. We shred the extra chicken and stick it in the fridge until later in the week, when we can make these tasty enchiladas! There's some decent prep time required for these, but they're still pretty easy for a weeknight.

These were impossible to get good photos of, so I apologize for the crappy photography tonight. They are good, I promise.

Saucy Chicken Enchiladas
(Source: http://www.colomboyogurt.com/)

Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups nonfat or low-fat plain yogurt
- 3/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
- 3/4 cup mild salsa (we use medium)
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 cans (10 3/4 ounces each) condensed 98% fat-free cream of chicken soup (we use Campbell's Healthy Request, which is also low sodium)
- 3 cups cut-up cooked chicken (as previously mentioned, we shred ours)
- 10 flour tortillas (8 inches in diameter) (we used 8 wheat tortillas, 10" in diameter)
- 2 1/2 cups shredded low-fat Cheddar cheese (12 ounces)

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray rectangular pan, 13" x 9", with cooking spray.

2. Stir together yogurt, bell pepper, salsa, onion powder, chili powder, garlic powder and soup. Divide sauce mixture in half; stir chicken into one half.

3. Place slightly less than 1/2 cup chicken mixture on center of each tortilla; spread to within 1/2 inch of edge. Sprinkle each with about 2 tablespoons cheese. Roll up and place seam side down in pan. Pour remaining sauce over enchiladas; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover with aluminum foil.

4. Bake 30 minutes. Remove aluminum foil; bake 5 to 10 minutes longer or until hot and bubbly.

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Chicken Noodle Soup

After the feast that was yesterday's Thanksgiving dinner (and dessert), we wanted to make something simple and "light" for dinner tonight. We have another day of eating scheduled for tomorrow (technically our Thanksgiving celebration with Michael's family), so we needed to take it easy.

Chicken noodle soup was the perfect solution. Another very simple recipe, and it's tasty, too. We always make a big pot so that we have leftovers to bring for lunches at work, and to have for dinner again.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:
- 16-20 cups water
- 12-15 chicken bouillon cubes
- 1 lb. boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, cut into tenders
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1/2 - 3/4 lb. small pasta (we used Barilla's Ditalini)
- 1 lb. frozen mixed vegetables
- Extra vegetables, if desired (we added additional carrots and peas)

Directions:
1. Start off with 16 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Add 12 bouillon cubes and dissolve. Add diced onion, and raw chicken breasts. Cook for 20-25 minutes.

2. Remove chicken breast pieces from pot. Allow to cool. Shred chicken.

3. In pot, add frozen mixed veggies and any additional vegetables. Return shredded chicken to pot. Bring broth back to a boil.

4. Add pasta. Cook according to time on package. At this point, judge how much broth you have. If some of it has cooked off, or you don't have enough broth for your pasta/chicken/veggies, add up to 4 additional cups of water and up to 3 additional bouillon cubes.

5. Once pasta is cooked, reduce heat to low. Simmer until ready to eat. Serve hot with toast or sandwiches.

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Easy Chicken Bake

Well, we essentially ended up eating the same thing two nights this week... only very slight differences between the two. The problem was that I didn't feel like going to the grocery store, and since we haven't been "good grocery shopping" in a while, the ingredients we had on hand were very limited.

It's been an interesting week. Quite honestly, it's been pretty shitty. I've been dealing with my emotions over Tessa getting sick--she's still not showing any signs of getting better (I've been wanting it to happen overnight), and I'm terrified of the possibility of lymphoma--and now I've got a wicked cold to contend with as well.

So a trip to the grocery store? Last night, it was not going to happen.

I found a box of Stove Top Stuffing in our cupboard, saw a simple recipe on the back, and decided to go with it. Another super easy weeknight meal to file away in the recipe bank. I just wouldn't plan on making this again the night after making chicken pot pie!

Easy Chicken Bake
(Source: www.kraftfoods.com)

Ingredients:
- 1 pkg (6 oz.) Stove Top Stuffing Mix for Chicken (we used low-sodium version)
- 1 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces (we only used 1 lb.)
- 1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup (used Campbell's Healthy Request--98% fat free, and reduced sodium)
- 1/3 cup sour cream (we didn't have any on hand, so we substituted skim milk)
- 1 bag (16 oz.) frozen mixed vegetables, thawed, drained

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. Prepare stuffing mix as directed on package; set aside.

3. Mix chicken, soup, sour cream and vegetables in 13x9-inch baking dish; top with the stuffing.

4. Bake 30 min or until chicken is cooked through.

Nutrition Facts (for 6 servings): Per serving, Calories 420; Total Fat 15 g; Saturated Fat 4.5 g; Cholesterol 80 mg; Sodium 990 mg (ours was less because we used the low sodium stuffing mix); Carbohydrate 35 g; Dietary Fiber 3 g; Sugars 5 g; Protein 31 g

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