Grilled Chicken Bruschetta

This is our absolute favorite meal right now.  So easy, and perfect for summer!


GRILLED CHICKEN BRUSCHETTA

via

Sundried Tomato Vinaigrette salad dressing (we used Kraft brand)
8 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
4 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
1 small pkg. fresh basil, chopped

Marinate chicken in sundried tomato dressing ahead of time. Place large sheet of heavy-duty foil over half of grill grate; preheat grill to medium heat. Grill chicken on uncovered side of grill about 6 minutes. Meanwhile, combine tomatoes, cheese, basil and dressing (as much as you desire; we did about 1/2 cup). Back to the grill – Turn chicken over; place on the foil-covered part of the grill, cooked-side up. Top evenly with tomato mixture. Close lid. Grill an additional 8 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

I usually serve with sliced toasted sourdough baguette and we warm up the extra tomato mixture to eat with it.  

Good stuff.

Baked Fried Chicken

I made this recipe last night. Of course I found it on Pinterest. It was YUMMY. Tate literally ate half a chicken breast and wanted more. It was so yummy he called it "nuggets" instead of chicken. For reals.

Place thawed chicken breast tenderloin strips in a bowl of milk. Let soak for 20-30 min.

Mix in a Gallon Size Ziploc or Large Bowl:

1/2 tsp. Salt

1 T Season All

3/4 tsp Pepper

1 c. Flour

2 tsp. Paprika

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut 1/2 stick of butter into a few pieces and place in a 9x13 pan. Melt butter in pre-heated oven.

Spread melted butter around the bottom of the pan. Lightly spray the pan, if needed, to make sure that there are no dry spots.

Shake excess milk off of chicken and completely coat each piece with the seasoning mix. You can either shake the chicken in the bag, until coated, or dip each piece in the bowl until coated.

Place each piece of chicken in the pan.

Cook for 20 min. Turn each piece of chicken and continue cooking for 20 more minutes, or until cooked through.

Penne Pasta with Sun Dried Tomato Cream Sauce

I found this recipe on Pinterest it is soooo yummy and super easy!

2 cups dry penne pasta
8 sun dried tomatoes chopped, about 1/3 cup
1 can (12oz) evaporated milk
2 cups (8oz package) shredded Italian style cheese blend
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ground black powder

Prepare pasta according to package directions. Add the chopped sun dried tomatoes for the last two minutes of cooking time. Drain.

Meanwhile combine evaporated milk, cheese, basil, garlic powder, and pepper in a medium saucepan on medium low heat, stirring occasionally until the cheese is melted. Remove from heat.

Add pasta and tomatoes to the cheese sauce, stir until combined

You can add chicken to this dish which would be super yummy but it was delicious without it too.

| Cheesy Chicken Pot Pie Cups |

- 1 can of reduced fat biscuits (10 count)
- 1 cup cooked chicken breast, diced
- 1 (10 1/2 ounce) can reduced-fat cream of chicken soup
- 2/3 cup shredded low-fat cheddar cheese
- 1 cup of frozen mixed veggies (I use broccoli, cauliflower, corn, peas...anything)
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
- 1 teaspoon of onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper


1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Separate biscuits and place each biscuit in a cup of a lightly greased 12-hole muffin pan, pressing dough up sides to edge of cup.

3. In a medium bowl, combine chicken, chicken soup, veggies, cheddar cheese, parsley flakes, and black pepper. Mix well to combine.

4. Evenly spoon chicken mixture into prepared biscuit cups.

5. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.

6. Remove from oven. Place muffin pan on a wire rack and let set for 2-3 minutes. Serve at once.

I doubled this recipe. We like leftovers. It was really yummy, and fairly quick too.

One-pot Chicken & Penne Parmesan

I couldn't figure out what to make for dinner last night so I pulled out a bag of penne, and found this recipe. It was SO good. I altered it a bit since I didn't have the veggies it called for. Seriously SO SO SO GOOD! Bryan couldn't stop telling me how good it was ;) (maybe that is because he rarely gets a made from scratch meal these days)

1 T Butter or margarine
3/4 lb. boneless, skinless ckn breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
1-3/4 cups (14 oz can) chicken broth
1/2 package (8 oz) Penne Rigate, uncooked
1 pkg (16 oz.) frozen broccoli, carrot and cauliflower mix (I used fresh cut carrots and frozen green beans)
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided

In 5 qt saucepan over medium heat, cook chicken till no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add broth; heat to boiling. Add uncooked pasta, veggies, and pepper, stirring to coat pasta with liquid. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 13 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes or till pasta is barely tender and most liquid is absorbed. Meanwhile, in medium bowl, stir together soup, milk, and 1/2 C cheese till smooth; stir into chicken mixture. Heat till mixture just comes to a boil; sprinkle with remaining cheese.


Serves 8. Or 2 if you are hungry :)

Southwest Super Nachos

This is one of my new favorite "it's 5:00 and I haven't thought about dinner yet" meals.  Quick and easy and almost everything is on hand in my food storage.

Shredded chicken
1 can corn
1 can black beans
1 can diced tomatoes w/ green chiles (or regular tomatoes and a can of green chiles)
1/2 packet of taco or chili seasoning
 *simmer*

Top chips with shredded cheddar and microwave until cheese is melted.  Top with chicken mixture, sour cream, and fresh salsa.  

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

I made these tonight for Cinco de Mayo. They were SO yummy. I would probably use this same recipe to make enchiladas the next time I do. It had such a good flavor. YUM.


1/3 C (3 oz) cream cheese
1/4 C green salsa
1T fresh lime juice
1/2 t cumin
1 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/4 t granulated garlic
3 T chopped cilantro
2 T sliced green onions

2 C shredded cooked chicken
1 C grated pepperjack cheese

small corn tortillas
kosher salt
cooking spray


Heat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.

Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it's soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and granulated garlic. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well.
You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge. 

Work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. It helps to place them between damp paper towels. Usually 20-30 seconds will do it. If you find yours are cracking when you roll them or come unrolled right away, just try heating them longer and try the paper towel thing.

Place 2-3 T of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges.

Then roll it up as tight as you can.

Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and sprinkle some kosher salt on top.

Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.

Dip 'em in salsa, sour cream, guacamole.


Recipe by OurBestBites.com

Chile Pepper Casserole

If any of you like Chile Relleños, then you will like this casserole. It was really yummy. I should have made a relleno sauce to go over the top and that would have finished it off perfectly!

8 whole large ancho/poblano or bell peppers
1 cup sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded (I used Mozzarella cheese)
1 cup Monterey jack cheese, shredded
4 green onions, sliced
4 eggs
2 cups milk
2/3 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 handful fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

This recipe works with lots of different kinds of chiles. Roast peppers under the broiler in the oven (put rack as close to broiler as possible) so that the skin blisters, then peel off most of the blistered skin. Remove stem and seeds, and continue with the recipe. (I am sure you could use canned peppers as well)

Split chile peppers lengthwise and remove seeds and pith. Spread chiles in a single layer in a greased 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle the green onions, cilantro and most of the cheese (reserving some for the top) over chiles.

In a bowl, beat eggs, milk, flour, and salt together until smooth. Pour over chiles and cheese. Bake at 325 degrees F for 40 minutes or until a knife inserted in custard comes out clean.

Sprinkle remaining cheese over casserole and return to oven for 10 minutes or until cheese melts. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Serve with a tomato salad or salsa.

Recipe from this site: http://poblanorecipes.blogspot.com/
(There is any and every poblano pepper recipe known to man on this site, or at least I am pretty sure of it!)

Chicken Enchiladas

4 chicken breasts
1 cup salsa
1/4 cup water
1 can black beans
Cheese
Tortillas
1 can enchilada sauce

Place chicken in crock pot cover with salsa and water (may need to add a little more salsa). Cook for 3 hours. Then shred chicken and add 1 can black beans drained. Cook for 1 more hour

Dip tortilla in enchilada sauce and fill with chicken and beans from crock-pot, add cheese and roll tortilla. Sprinkle cheese on top and bake at 350 for 10 to 15 min or until cheese is melted.

Creamy Chicken Broccoli Skillet

1/2 cup miracle whip
1 lb boneless chicken breasts cubed
2 cups water
2 cups broccoli florets
1/2 lb (8oz) velveeta cheese cubed
2 cups minute white rice

Heat miracle whip in a large skillet. Add chicken. Cook and stir 8 min or until cooked through. Add water, broccoli and velveeta. Bring to a boil. Stir in rice and cover. Remove from heat and let stand 10 minutes.

Cheesiest Potato Soup

2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup diced onion
2 1/2 cups peeled and diced potatoes
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
1 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 tsp dried dill weed
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 cup diced ham
1/2 cup frozen corn

Over medium heat melt butter. Cook onion in butter until soft. Stir in potatoes and broth bring to a boil then cover and reduce heat and simmer 15 to 20 min until tender. Stir in cream, cheese, dill, pepper, salt & cayenne. bring to a low boil and cook stirring until thickened (abobut 5 min) Add ham and corn and cook until heated through,

Easy "Lowfat" Stuffed Shells

1 jar spaghetti sauce
12 to 18 lrg pasta shells cooked and rinsed
1 cup lowfat cottage cheese
1 1/2 to 2 cups shredded mozzerella cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 tbsp. parsley
1/4 ts salt & pepper

In a bowl combine all cheeses, parsley, and salt and pepper. Stuff shells with cheese mixture. Then in a 9x13 pan spread 1/2 the spaghetti sauce in the bottom. Place shells in pan and cover with the rest of the sauce. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 min.

Taco Soup #2

All of these posts are from the recipe exchange we had with my girlfriends at Christmas. Everything was delicious and I am really just doing this to keep them recorded for myself but figured why not share a good thing1

1lb cooked ground beef
2 cans dark red kidney beans
2 cans of corn (undrained)
3 cans of stewed tomatoes (Blend 2 cans in a blender and pour 1 can into soup whole)
1 packet taco seasoning

Add all ingredients in a pot including corn and bean juice and simmer for at least 15 min.
Serve with a dollop of sour cream, cheese & chips