Chicken Recipes

If you are looking for a little “comfort food”, a new recipe for your dinner table, or an economical meal, here are a couple of recipes for you!  These casserole recipes will remind you of those delicious hot meals from grandma’s or mom’s oven.  For most of us, that is “comfort” enough.   Colorful Chicken Rice Casserole is a type of Tex-Mex food which means a great blending of flavors.   Chicken and Ham Casserole also makes use of rice and blends the flavors of two meats.  Both will no doubt be big hits with your family.

COLORFUL CHICKEN RICE CASSEROLE

1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup small-curd cottage cheese

1 pkg (3 oz) low-fat cream cheese, cubed

3 cups cubed cooked chicken

3 cups cooked brown rice

1 1/2 cups (6 oz) shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies

1 can (2 1/4 oz) sliced ripe olives, drained

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1/2 to 3/4 cup crushed corn chips

2 cups shredded lettuce

2 medium tomatoes, chopped

In a blender or food processor, combine the soup, sour cream, cottage cheese, and cream cheese; cover and process until smooth.  Transfer to a large mixing bowl.  Stir in the chicken, rice, cheese, chilies, olives, and garlic salt.  Spray a 2-quart baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.  Transfer mixture into prepared dish.  Bake, uncovered, for 25 to 30 minutes, or until bubbly, at 350 degrees.  Remove from oven and just before serving, sprinkle top with corn chips, lettuce and tomatoes in that order.

Yield 6 to 8 servings.

Note:  I adapted the above recipe from one I found in an old Taste of Home’s Quick Cooking magazine.

CHICKEN AND HAM CASSEROLE

1 pkg (6 oz) long grain and wild rice mix

2 cups cubed cooked chicken

1 cup cubed fully cooked ham

1 can (10 3/4 oz) low-sodium cream of chicken soup, undiluted

1 can (12 oz) evaporated skim milk

1 cup shredded Colby or Cheddar cheese

1/8 tsp pepper

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cook rice mix according to package directions.  Transfer to a greased 2-quart baking dish.  Top with chicken and ham.  In a bowl, combine the soup, milk, cheese, and pepper; pour over chicken mixture.  Sprinkle with the Parmesan.  Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Serves 6

Enjoy!

Two delicious chicken entree recipes that you can make in a half hour or less.  Forget the fast food chains and cook at home.  It’s healthier and it can be quick and easy too.  Try these recipes for Chicken Piccata and Quick and Easy Chicken Oriental.  With the Chicken Oriental serve some steamed broccoli and pass out store bought fortune cookies.  Serve hot buttered noodles and a salad with the Chicken Piccata.  These are two meals that are ready in no time and the clean up is easy.  In the time it takes to wait in line at the fast food drive-in windows, get home, serve the food and clean up the mess, you can have a decent meal ready to serve your family.QUICK AND EASY CHICKEN ORIENTAL1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breasts2 tbsps butter1 cup diced celery1 bunch green onions, sliced1 can (6 oz) sliced water chestnuts, drained1 can (8 oz) sliced mushrooms, drained1 can golden mushroom soup, undiluted2 tbsps soy sauceCut chicken into bite-sized pieces.  In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat.  Add chicken and cook until no longer pink.  Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.  Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring frequently.  Serve over hot brown rice.

Note:  Add 1/4 cup chopped cashews if desired.CHICKEN PICCATA4 boneless,skinless chicken breast halvesdash of black pepper1/4 tsp salt1/4 cup flour4 tbsp butter1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced1 clove garlic, minced1/4 cup dry white wine or chicken broth2 tbsp lemon juice2 tbsp chopped parsleyPlace chicken between 2 pieces of plastic wrap and pound chicken to 1/2-inch thickness.  Sprinkle with the salt and black pepper.  Coat chicken with the flour.  In a large skillet, over medium heat, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter.  Place chicken in the skillet and cook about 5 minutes or until golden brown, turning once during the cooking time.  Remove chicken from the skillet and keep warm.  Add remaining butter to the skillet; add the mushrooms and garlic to the skillet and cook until tender.  Return the chicken to the pan and add the wine OR chicken broth and the lemon juice.  Simmer approximately ten minutes, stirring occasionally until sauce is slightly thickened.  Place chicken on serving platter and sprinkle with chopped parsley.Enjoy.

If you enjoy chicken, there are many different easy chicken recipes that you can try. They range from the simple recipe where you cook some plain chicken or chicken with just a few spices to more elaborate but still easy recipes that might include vegetables, rice, soups, spices, and other simple ingredients. One Foodieview.com recipe even just requires you to cook your chicken in a crock pot. No other ingredients are even required. To find this recipe and other easy chicken recipes, you can go to the Foodieview website and type “easy chicken recipes” into the search box. You will get 131,564 options for easy chicken recipes. There are a variety of ways that you can cook your chicken when using easy chicken recipes. Some recipes will require a cock pot. With a crock pot, if you want to eat the chicken for dinner, you will start the dish early in morning, put it in the crock pot, and allow it to cook all day. You can also start the chicken before you go to bed and have it ready in the morning. Cooking your chicken using a crock pot is going to take a few hours, but the good thing about it is that you can just put all the ingredients in your crock pot and let it cook on its own. There does not have to be a lot off effort on your part to complete the dish. Many crock pot dishes will also have you put vegetables, bouillon, or rice with your chicken to give it more flavor. The good thing about a crock pot for your easy chicken recipes is that you can often adjust the temperature and the cooking times depending upon when you want the dish completed. Many easy chicken recipes will even tell you how to do this. Another cooking option for many easy chicken recipes is to cook the dish in the oven. At 375, most dishes will take about an hour, and at 425, they will take about 40-50 minutes. Of course, the size of the chicken and the other ingredients put in the dish need to be taken into consideration when deciding how long a dish is going to take. For example, a full chicken is going to take longer to bake than one that has been cut into smaller pieces. Precooked chicken in a casserole is going to take less time than a dish that is being cooked for the first time.  Even if a recipe tells you that your chicken should be completed in a certain amount of time, it is important that you check to make sure that the meat is really done. It should no longer be pink. When poked with a fork or knife or cut, the meat should be juicy. Make sure that the juice coming out of the chicken is clear and not bloody. Chicken that is cooked properly should be tender and juicy. It should not be difficult to cut. If you are using chicken thatís on a bone, it should fall freely off the bone.Although chicken with little more than a few spices and maybe some soup and vegetables are going to be your easiest chicken recipes, there are other easy chicken recipes that are a little more exotic that you might want to try. For example, chicken enchiladas are a fairly easy and quick recipe. Even soups and salads can be made from chicken in a quick, easy manner.