Chicken Curry in a Hurry

This is from "Eat What You Love" by Marlene Koch. Adam loves to eat at Thai restaurants and this is one of his favorite things to eat at home. The author used nonfat half-and-half and coconut extract as a substitute one day when she was out of coconut milk, but I'm sure if you'd rather, you can use 1/2 cup of light coconut milk and it wouldn't change the nutritional composition too much.

Note: If you like your chicken curry served over rice, be sure to start the rice ahead of time, as this dish cooks quickly.

1 teaspoon canola oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic (2 cloves)
1 teaspoon minced ginger (freshed or canned), or 1/2 tsp ground (I used ground)
1 medium onion, sliced or wedged
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped into medium cubes
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
1/2 cup nonfat half-and-half
1/4 tsp coconut extract
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon curry powder
2 teaspoons brown sugar
Dash of red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon peanut butter

1. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and ginger (if using ground, wait and add it with the broth) and cook for 30 seconds. Add the onion and the bell pepper and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until slightly softened. Add the chicken and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned.

2. While the chicken is cooking, whisk together the half-and-half, coconut extract, and cornstarch in a small bowl. Set aside.

3. Add the chicken broth, curry powder, brown sugar, red pepper flakes, salt, (ginger, if using powdered), and peanut butter directly into the skillet with the chicken and stir until combined.

4. Bring to a simmer and pour in the half-and-half mixture. Stir again and let simmer for an additional 1 to 2 minutes, or until the sauce thickens.

Makes 4 servings. Nutritional Info (without rice): Calories 200, Carbs 11g (Sugars 4g, Fiber 2g), Total Fat 6g (Sat Fat 1g), Protein 25g.

Pasta and Chicken Alfredo "Casserole"

3 Tbs. Butter, melted, plus extra for the dish
1 Jar (about 15 oz.) Alfred sauce
8 oz. fettuccine
2 c. diced cooked chicken
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced (optional. I hate onions so I left it out and it still tasted good)
2 c. frozen peas, thawed
1 tsp. poultry seasoning
1/2 c. seasoned fine dry breadcrumbs
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Butter a deep 3-quart casserole. Cook the pasta according to package instructions (the instructions say to boil them for 12 minutes or until tender but still firm to bite.  I don't really think it matters though.) Drain. Transfer to a large bowl. Mix in Alfredo sauce, chicken, green onions, peas, and poultry seasoning.
In a small bowl, mix the breadcrumbs, Parmesan, and 2 tablespoons of melted butter.
Transfer pasta mixture to the buttered baking dish.  sprinkle with crumb mixture. (at this point the casserole can be covered and refrigerated overnight if you want to make it the next day. Just add 10 min. to the baking time.) Bake, uncovered, until the pasta is hot and the topping is golden brown, about 25 minutes.  (Keep an eye on it though... it only took like 20 min. in our oven. Just don't let it go totally brown!)

Crockpot Apricot Chicken

yams or sweet potatoes, cut in pieces (to your desired amount)
1 can chicken broth
1/2 cup apricot spreadable or jam, may add dried apricot
chicken breast or turkey, cut in pieces (to your desired amount)
1 bay leaf (discard when finished)

Place a layer of yams at the bottom of the crockpot, and then the chicken. Mix together jam and chicken broth and pour over chicken. Cook for 7 hrs in the crockpot.

Faster Method: Place yams and sauce mixture in the crockpot and microwave until it's hot, add chicken and cook until it is finished.

(From my Winder 4th Ward Cookbook. Irene Kikkert contributed this recipe.)

Baked Chicken Taquitos

Hey guys! It's Marlee :) I tried this recipe a couple of days ago and I LOVED it!! This recipe is so good!

Baked Chicken Taquitos
(Makes 10-12 Taquitos)

Ingredients:
- 4 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 c. green salsa
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, which is about half a lrg. lime (this is key!! FRESH! it's way better!)
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 2 c. shredded cheese
- 2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
- Small yellow/white corn tortillas (I would recommend really fresh, moist ones... the ones I used cracked a lot!)
- cooking spray

*Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with tin foil and coat with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, mix cream cheese, green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, and garlic powder. Stir to combine and then add cilantro. Add chicken and cheese.

Working with a few tortillas at a time, place 2-3 torillas between damp paper towels and microwave for about 30 seconds or until tortillas are soft enough that the wont crack. Place 1 tablespoon of chicken mixture on lower third of soft tortilla. keeping it 1/2" from the edges, the roll tightly. Place them seam down on baking sheet (be quick or tortillas will crack on the baking sheet). Spray with cooking spray and coat lightly with salt.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp. Serve imediatly with dips of your choice (we just used sour cream and some of the left over green salsa! it was so good!)

So there ya go! :) If you try it I hope you like it! :)

From,
Mars

Soy Chicken

A big hit with everyone in the family...very rare!

2 c sugar
1 t ginger
1 t garlic powder
2 c soy sauce
1/2 c water
chicken pieces (we use legs & thighs)

Put chicken in a large pan (I usually remove as much of the skin as will easily come off so it soaks up the flavor more). Pour soy sauce mixture over the chicken and cover with a lid or foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until very tender. (Sometimes we will bake it at 300 for two or more hours). Remove grease, strain liquid, thicken with cornstarch if desired, and serve it over rice. (We usually don't bother thickening it anymore, we just use one of those little containers that pours from the bottom as the grease stays on top. However, thickening the sauce will prevent it from spreading to other food on your plate :).)

Chicken Cordon Bleu

When we lived in West Valley, a girl in my ward brought me this after I had Jared (or maybe it was Keith?).

boneless skinless chicken breasts
ham slices
mozarella cheese, slices
cornflakes
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1/2 c sour cream
1/2 c milk

Put ham & mozarella cheese on half of the chicken breast. Fold other half over and secure with a toothpick. (You may need to "pound" your chicken to a consistent thickness). Crush the cornflakes and dip top half of chicken in them. If chicken is dry, dip in a beaten egg before dipping in cornflakes. Place chicken in baking pan. Mix cans of soup, sour cream, and milk (enough to make mixture slightly runny). Pour over chicken. Cook 350 for 1 hour. Serve chicken and sauce over rice.

Sweet Chicken Tacos

Never mind the horrible picture. I just needed one so that I could pin this recipe. :)

This is one of my absolute favorites! I got this off of 24 hour menu.

Sweet Chicken Tacos

3 tbsp. Butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 tsp. dried mustard
1 c. Ketchup
2 tbsp. Vinegar
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 c. Brown Sugar (I only use 1 cup)
about 2 lbs chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

Melt butter on medium low heat. Add onions and saute. Mix all ingredients (except chicken) until sugar is melted. Then add chicken and let simmer until juices are absorbed in chicken. Serve with:Flour Tortilla's, Shredded Lettuce, Diced Tomatoes, Shredded cheddar cheese, Sour Cream and Guacamole

Chicken Fajitas

I LOVE chicken fajitas. Whenever we eat at a Mexican restaurant, I inevitably order chicken fajitas if it's on their menu. That's one of the things that irritated me about PepperBellys...no chicken fajitas! I got this recipe from a friend who made them for our "Bunko" group. If nothing else, I got several of my favorite recipes from my bunko experience! Here it is:

Marinate boneless skinless chicken breasts in equal amounts of teriyaki & soy sauces. Add sugar (regular or brown) to make slightly thick. You can also add 7-up if desired (I never do because I don't want to waste the rest and my kids don't need it! I might if I was making a big batch).

Cook chicken and cut in strips (cut it before or after you cook it, whichever you prefer). Cut a white onion and green pepper in long slices. (I usually don't have a white onion on hand...it tastes great with yellow. I think white is just a little sweeter...?) Stir fry in oil until tender. Add cooked chicken. Serve on tortillas with cheese, lettuce, tomato, guacamole, sour cream & salsa.

Mexican Chicken Casserole

This is one of my favorites...so yummy! I had it at a Relief Society social when I lived in West Valley and had to have the recipe!

2 chicken breasts, cooked & cubed
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon each of:
cumin, cayenne pepper (I usually stick with 1/4 on this) & chili powder
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
shredded cheese
corn tortilla chips

Layer chips in pan and break them up. Layer cubed chicken on top of the chips. Mix soups, onions, tomato, green pepper, and spices together. Pour over chips and chicken. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Take out of oven and sprinkle shredded cheese on top. Return to oven until cheese melts. Serve with salsa if desired.
Note: the recipe calls for a whole bag of tortilla chips, but I don't use that much in the casserole. I just do what looks like a good layer and then serve it with more chips on the side.

Polynesian Skillet

2 boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1/4 inch strips
1 T oil
1 med. onion, sliced*
1 green pepper, chopped*
1 20 oz. can pineapple chunks, reserve juice
2 t. or cubes bouillon
1/4 c. vinegar
1/2 c. brown sugar (I only used 1/4 c.)
2 T. soy sauce
2 T. corn starch (or arrowroot powder)

(*You can use whatever veggies you have on hand. I added some grated carrots, chopped celery, a little cilantro, and crushed garlic.)

Saute chicken strips in the oil. Remove from pan. Saute veggies (I added just a little bit of water and covered them, stirring occasionally until tender.) Combine cornstarch and sugar, add soy sauce and vineger, stirring until smooth. Add pineapple juice and cooked chicken to veggies, then add cornstarch mixture. Stir until thickened. Add pineapple and heat through. Serve over brown rice.

I'm a huge fan of the Wed. newspaper food section. I adapted this recipe from one I got from there. The recipe called for both a smaller can of pineapple and a can of mandarin oranges. I figured I'd end up wasting the leftover pineapple, and you had to toss the mandarine juice, so this way there was no waste. :) I thought it was yummy this way.

Sticky Coconut Chicken

I got this recipe off My Kitchen Cafe and it turned out yummy!

6-8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (I used breasts)
1 c canned coconut milk
1 T minced fresh ginger
1 t pepper
1 t red pepper flakes

Mix the above ingredients and marinate chicken in it for at least one hour (she let hers marinate 4-5 hours). Grill on barbeque (we have a grill attachment on our stove which was nice).

Glaze:
3/4 c rice vinegar
1/2 c sugar
3 T soy sauce
1 t red pepper flakes

While the chicken is grilling, bring above ingredients to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until mixture is reduced and thickened, about 8-10 minutes. Be patient because it takes a little while. But once it starts getting really thick, immediately take it off the heat. Glaze both sides of chicken the last few minutes of grilling and serve chicken over rice.

Sidenots: The blog suggested using the extra coconut milk left in the can as part of the liquid in the rice. It made the rice mildly sweet and went well with the chicken.

Simply Yummy Chicken

I don't know what else to call this. It's simple and so yummy.

4-6 chicken breasts
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup shredded cheese

Place chicken in a casserole dish. In a bowl, mix both soups and the cheese together. Pour soup/cheese mixture over the chicken. Bake at 350 for about an hour or until chicken is fully cooked.

Okay, here's a recipe that I haven't actually tried yet, but it sounds good. I watched it prepared on a "Healthy Decadence" episode on discovery health, then I found pretty much the same recipe in the newspaper food column. You can use this recipe for fish sticks, fish, chicken or pork filets as well:

Baked Popcorn Chicken (or chicken fingers, fish sticks, filets, etc.)

Olive oil cooking spray
2 large egg whites
2 T Dijon mustard
1/2 t salt
2 c panko (Japanese-style) bread crumbs
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into 1-inch cubes

Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg whites, mustard and salt. In a shallow bowl or pie plate, spred the panko. Add the chicken pieces to the egg white mixture and toss to coat. A few pieces at a time, transfer the chicken to the bread crumbs and toss to thoroughly coat. Transfer the breaded chicken pieces to the prepared baking sheet, arranging them close together but not touching. when all of the chicken is on the baking sheet, spritz them lightly with cooking spray. Bake for 15 minutes, then use a spatula or tongs to flip the chicken pieces. Continue baking until golden brown and no longer pink at the center, another 5-10 minutes.

Fragrant Chicken Curry and Coconut Rice

I thought that I hated Curry until I had this. I think it is the coconut milk that makes it. It is especially good over this rice. It's coconut rice. Really tasty. This is a super easy recipe. It doesn't look near as good as it is. Caeli didn't want to eat it at first and she usually doesn't care, but after she tasted it she ate it and asked for leftovers the next day. Mine was a little spicy, but that is easily adjusted with the cayenne.

Fragrant Chicken Curry

2 Tbsp curry powder
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic
1 shreded rotisserie chicken
1 can coconut milk (13.5 oz)
1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz)
1 can chicken broth (14.5 oz)

Heat oil in a pot over med/high heat. Add onion and saute 8-10 mins. Add garlic and saute until fragrant (30 secs) add spices and toast until fragrant. Add chicken and stir together until coated with spices. Add coconut milk, broth and tomatoes. Bring to a simmer and cook untilflavors blend and stew is thick. (abt 20 mins)

Coconut Rice

In a sauce pot, combine 1 1/2 C chicken stock with 1 C sweetened shreded coconut. Bring the mixture up to a simmer and add the rice (3/4 cups). Return to a simmer over low heat and cover. Cook the rice for 18 minutes
Toast 1/2 C coconut in a skillet and stir it into the rice when cooked.

Crockpot Southwestern Chicken

Here you go, Mom! BTW, This came from The Sister's Cafe.

1 small bag frozen corn
1 can black beans
2 large frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 16-oz jar medium salsa, such as Pace medium picante sauce
shredded cheddar cheese
tortilla chips
sour cream
chopped cilantro
diced avocado

Pour bag of frozen corn in bottom of crockpot. Place frozen chicken breasts on top of corn and cover with rinsed and drained black beans and jar of medium salsa. Cook on high for 1 hour, and then on low for 4 hours. Shred chicken with forks. Serve with tortilla chips and add toppings to individual servings.**It is very important that you use MEDIUM salsa in this. Mild simply isn't flavorful enough. Be sure to serve with tortilla chips, and not tortillas. The salty crunchy chips make this so good!