Hungarian Sweet Paprika Chicken with Spaetzle May 9, 2008

Ingredients
2 lbs. Chicken Breast (Boneless, Skinless and Cubed)
3 T. Sweet Hungarian Paprika
2 t. Hot Hungarian Paprika
1 t. Salt plus 1/2 t.
3 T. Butter
1 C. Onion (Finely Chopped)
2 t. Garlic (Minced)
1/2 C. Tomatoes (Chopped, Seeded and Peeled–I like to use the canned ones)
1 C. Chicken Stock
1/2 C. Sour Cream
Spaetzle Pasta

Method
1. Season chicken with 2 T. sweet and 1 t. hot paprika, and 1 t. salt.
2. Melt butter in large saute pan. Add onions and garlic and remaining paprikas and salt. Cook 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, cook 30 seconds. Add chicken, stir and cook about 4 minutes. Add enough stock to cover chicken and bring to a boil.
3. Lower heat, cover and cook about 25 minutes. Add more stock if needed. Uncover and add sour cream. Stir.
4. Serve over cooked spaetzle tossed with olive oil and fresh herbs.

Laura’s Crockpot Chalupas March 16, 2008

Ingredients
Ground Beef, Pork Shoulder Roast or Chicken Breasts
1-2 Cans Pinto Beans and Liquid
1-2 Cans Diced Green Chilies
Salt, Pepper, Garlic, Onion and Cumin

Method
1. Combine all in a crock pot and cook on low all day or high 4-5 hours.
2. Serve over nachos, in bowl like chile, dress like tacos or burritos, etc.

Notes: This recipe comes from Laura who was adopting from Ethiopia at the same time as us. We were all trying to find new recipes that would make a bunch of food for freezing so we’d have meals ready to go when we came home from Ethiopia with our kids. Laura said she catered her own wedding using this recipe and that everyone loved it, so I had to give it a try. It’s amazing!! Don’t let the simplicity fool you–this makes the meat taste exactly like it does in your favorite Mexican restaurant. We usually make it with Pork, then turn it into burritos, enchiladas, tortilla soup, etc.

Enchiladas March 15, 2008

Ingredients
2 C. Chicken or Pork
1 C. Onion (Diced)
1/3 C. White Wine
2/3 C. Chicken Broth
2 1/2 T. Garlic (Chopped)
2 t. Pepper
2 t. Oregano
2 1/2 t. Salt
2 1/2 Limes (Juiced)
1 Can Pinto Beans
1 C. Cheddar Cheese (Shredded)

Method
1. Combine all ingredients except cheddar cheese in crock pot and cook all day.
2. Roll meat mixture in softened tortillas (the par baked ones work especially well here, as do homemade ones made from a mix).
3. Pour sauce from crock pot over top of rolled enchiladas, cover with cheese and bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes.

Notes: These can be made very easily using the Laura’s Crock Pot Chalupas (recipe on this blog) recipe as the filling, then just covering with cheese and baking. I do that if I have leftover (frozen) chalupa meat. Great with Green Chile (recipe on this blog).

Chicken Noodle Casserole March 4, 2008

Ingredients
1 Can Cream of Celery Soup
1 C. Milk
1/4 t. Pepper
1/4 t. Salt
1/4 t. Paprika
1 C. Vegetables
2 C. Chicken (Cubed and Cooked)
2 C. Egg Noodles (Cooked and Drained)
1/2 C. Parmesan Cheese
1 C. Cheddar Cheese (Shredded)
French’s Fried Onions

Method
1. Boil noodles. Cook chicken with salt, pepper and paprika. If you’re using hard vegetables (i.e., carrots), then cook them with the chicken.
2. Stir the cooked noodles, chicken and veggies with the soup, milk and Parmesan. Add to casserole. Top with Cheddar and French’s Fried Onions.
3. Bake at 400 for 25 minutes.

Notes: This is a recipe my friend Kim found–we’ve both contributed to the modifications

Apricot Chicken March 2, 2008

Ingredients
6-8 Boneless Chicken Breasts
8 oz. Russian Dressing (see Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe on this blog for homemade version)
1 C. Apricot Jam
1 Pkg. Dry Onion Soup Mix

Method
1. Mix dressing, jam and soup mix thoroughly and pour over chicken arranged in baking pan.
2. Cover with foil and bake at 275 for 1 hour. Remove foil and continue baking another hour.

Poppy Seed Chicken March 2, 2008

Ingredients
6-8 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts (Cubed)
2 Rolls Ritz Crackers (Crushed)
6 T. Butter (Melted)
1 T. Poppy Seeds
1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 Can Cream of Celery Soup
1 C. Sour Cream
Salt, Pepper, Paprika

Method
1. Saute cubed chicken in oil with salt, pepper and paprika
2. Crush Ritz and stire with butter and poppy seeds in bowl. Stir soups and sour cream in another bowl.
3. Layer half the crumbs in pan. Add chicken. Pour soup mixture over top. Spread remaining Ritz.
4. Bake 1 hour at 350.

Notes: I didn’t have poppy seeds and made this with sesame seeds, it was still really good

Sweet and Sour Chicken March 2, 2008

Ingredients
6-8 Boneless Chicken Breasts
8 oz. Russian Dressing (recipe follows)
8 oz. Apricot Jam
1 Pkg. Dry Onion Soup Mix
1/4 C. Water
1 Small Can Crushed Pineapple (Drained)

Russian Dressing
1/4 C. Salad Oil
1/4 Ketchup
1 T. Sugar
1 T. Vinegar
1 T. Lemon Juice
1 t. Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 t. Paprika
1/4 t. Salt
1/8 t. Pepper

Method
1. Whisk Russian Dressing ingredients together in a medium bowl. Add apricot jam, dry onion soup mix and 1/4 water. Stir.
2. Arrange chicken in lasagna pan and pour dressing over top, making sure all pieces are coated. Sprinkle drained pineapple on top of chicken.
3. Cover chicken and bake 1 hour at 350 degres.

Notes: This recipe comes from my friend Kim! It’s a really great and easy meal for when you’re craving Chinese takeout. I add veggies in with the chicken (broccoli, peppers, etc.) and bake it all together, then serve over brown rice. The dressing makes a great salad dressing, and if you’re craving Thousand Island dressing, just make the same recipe, but substitute mayonnaise for the oil.

Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce March 15, 2007

Ingredients
1 lb. Chicken Breast (Thiny Sliced)
1/2 C. Creamy Peanut Butter
2 T. Lemon Juice
2 T. Soy Sauce
2 t. Ginger (Fresh)
2 Cloves Garlic (Minced)
1 t. Sesame Oil
1/2 t. Sugar
1/4 t. Red Pepper Flakes

Method
1. Thread chicken onto skewers. Mix rest of ingredients and set aside some for dipping. Thin out rest with water, then pour over skewers and marinate overnight. Grill and dip in sauce.

I made these for our Tapas and Sangria Shower. They are yummy, can be made in advance and are easy for people to carry around.

Buffalo Chicken Chilli December 6, 2006

Ingredients
1 T. Olive Oil
2 T. Butter
2 lbs. Ground Chicken (white meat, I used ground skinless breasts, omit if making vegetarian)
1 Large Carrot (um, I used 3…)
1 Large Onion (Chopped; Bagged Works Well)
3 Ribs Celery (I used like 5…)
5 Cloves Garlic (Chopped)
1 T. Smoked Paprika
1 Bay Leaf
One Can Kidney Beans (use 3 cans if you’re making vegetarian; this wasn’t in the original recipe, but I like the added fiber and lower calories and cost)
3 Zucchinis (Chopped) (these weren’t in the original recipe, but I had a bunch that were about to go bad…)
Salt and Pepper
2 C. Chicken Stock (I used half chicken, half vegetable stock because I had some of each leftover; use vegetable stock if you’re making vegetarian)
1/4-1/2 C. Hot Sauce (I used lots of “dashes” of a hot sauce, maybe around 1/4 C. in total, and a small container of wing sauce)
1-15 oz. Can Tomato Sauce
1-15 oz. Can Crushed Tomatoes (I like the ones with the basil and garlic, but you could also use the ones that have jalapeno here if you like it hot)

Method
1. I literally just threw all this in the crock pot and went Christmas shopping…the original recipe says to brown the chicken in the olive oil and butter, yada yada, soften onions in butter, yada yada, all of which I considered to be a valuable waste of time. It turned out fine and I wouldn’t waste the time doing it step by step, unless you don’t have a crock pot (in which case you will brown the chicken, saute the veggies, add the rest of the stuff and simmer till it seems cooked…but seriously, buy a crock pot!)
2. Top with fresh parsley.
3. I also put some of those Terra Chips (Sweet Potato and Beet version) in a broiling pan and topped them with gorgonzola (me) and “a really good cheddar” (for the very unadventurous when it comes to cheese, Bryan), then put them in the broiler till the cheese was melted and crushed that over top. Um, yea. It was that good. I also reheated some leftover Appetizer Cheese Toasts I got the recipe for over on Bek’s cooking blog, which I had cut into croutons, and put those on top.

I like to make chilli because it’s really easy and you can use whatever you have lying around, but I’m sorta over regular chilli, so I’m always trying to come up with new ones. I hijacked this one from Rachael Ray’s new talk show and put my own spin on it (crock pot, more veggies and beans). She had the topping as corn chips with blue cheese, but I thought the sweet potato and beet chips were tastier and better for you. Bryan probably told me 35 times during dinner how good this was! I liked that I could use the crock pot and that it didn’t have red meat in it. You could easily make this vegetarian by omitting the chicken and adding more beans, and replacing the chicken stock with veggie stock.