Spicy Basque Chicken

Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 tea paprika (I use a lot more than this though)
1/4 rea black ground pepper
1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into tenders
2 tea olive oil
2 tea minced garlic
1/4 C green olives
2 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with chiles, undrained (Rotelo)
1/4 finely chopped prosciutto
2 T chopped parsley

Coat chicken with paprika and pepper (can mix the two together first). Heat oil over medium high heat. Add chicken and cook 4 minutes (without flipping). Add garlic for 30 seconds, then turn chicken over. Add olives and tomatoes and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 6 minutes.

Remove chicken from pan. Increase heat to medium high and cook for another two minutes. sprinkle with prosciutto and parsley, and serve.

I got this recipe years ago from a Cooking Light magazine (so its healthy for you). It spicy and yummy. Serve over rice (preferably saffron rice). I never remove the chicken before bringing it back up to high heat the last time though.

Cheezy Chicken Parmesan with Zucchini "Pasta"

Serves 4

*Recipe taken from "Cook Yourself Thin"

For the tomato sauce and zucchini pappardelle
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/4 red onion, coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic, sliced thin
Salt
1 28-ounce can peeled plum tomatoes, preferably San Marzano, in juice, mashed (I used Roundy's Brand From Rainbow Foods)
1 sprig fresh basil (I used dry)
Pepper
1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves (I used dry)
4 zucchini, thinly sliced

For the chicken
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus 2 tablespoons extra for serving
1/4 cup dried whole-wheat or white bread crumbs (I used corn flake crumbs)
1 large egg white, lightly beaten with a fork
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts split in half to make 6–8 large, thin cutlets
Pepper
4 teaspoons olive oil, plus 2 teaspoons extra for serving
1/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese (I skipped this, we aren't fans of it)

1. For the sauce, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onion, garlic and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring, 1 minute. Cover, reduce heat to very low and cook until vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes. (Check a few times during cooking; if vegetables begin to brown, add 2 teaspoons water and stir.) Add the tomatoes with juice, basil and another 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer, cover and simmer gently 5 minutes. Then simmer very gently, partially covered, until thickened, about 20 minutes. Season with 1/8 teaspoon pepper.

2. Meanwhile, using a mandoline or vegetable peeler, slice the zucchini lengthwise into 1/8-inch-thick long pappardelle-like strips, turning the zucchini and slicing on 4 sides only until you see the center seeds. Discard the centers.

3. Remove the tomato sauce to a bowl with a rubber spatula; no need to clean the skillet. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in the skillet over medium heat. Add the zucchini and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cover and cook until wilted, tossing often with tongs for even cooking, 8 to 10 minutes. Return the tomato sauce to the pan, add 1 tablespoon of the parsley, and season with 1/8 teaspoon pepper; cover and set aside.

4. On a plate, combine the bread crumbs, 1/4 cup grated Parmesan and the remaining chopped parsley. Place the egg white on a second plate. Sprinkle chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Dip the chicken into the egg whites, and then into the bread crumb mixture to coat completely; set aside on a large plate or platter.

5. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in each of two nonstick 10-inch skillets over medium-high heat. Add half of the chicken to each skillet and cook until lightly browned on one side, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip, and cook until chicken is firm, and lightly browned on the other side, 1 to 3 more minutes.

6. To serve, re-warm the zucchini in the tomato sauce over medium heat. Use tongs to make a “twist” of zucchini pappardelle on each of 4 plates. Lean chicken cutlets against the side of zucchini. Scoop 1 tablespoon ricotta onto each plate, and spoon remaining tomato sauce on top of the chicken. To garnish each plate, drizzle chicken with 1/2 teaspoon olive oil, and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon Parmesan.

Side Note: We have made this a few times so far and one time instead of cutting the chicken into cutlets, we hollowed them out and stuffed them with mozzarella cheese. Turned out to be delicious.

Lemon Garlic & Rosemary Chicken

• Thawed chicken breasts
• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
  
• Zest and juice of 1 medium lemon
• 2 Tbs dried rosemary
• 1 tsp Kosher salt
• Freshly cracked black pepper

1. In a mixing bowl combine olive oil, garlic, lemon zest and juice, rosemary, salt and pepper.
   
2. Add chicken breasts to a large Ziplock bag, pour in your marinade, seal up and let sit for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour.
   
3. In a pan over medium to medium high heat add chicken breasts plus marinade. Cook on each side 5-6 minutes or until cooked through.
   

* Note: If you have a side dish disaster, i.e. pouring all of your pasta down the drain on accident, the chicken can be kept warm in a 150-200 degree oven until you correct your foolishness.

Honey Nut Chicken and Oven-Baked Fries

There is a restaurant here in Louisville called the Hall of Fame Cafe which has the best walnut crusted chicken - its in their Honey Nut Chicken Salad and its what I order every single time we eat there. Their chicken is fried so I wanted to try to make a healthier version. (And I really wanted fries to go with it.)

Honey Nut Chicken
(Serves 2-3)

1 package of chicken breasts
3/4 cup of finely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup of AP flour
1 egg
1 T spicy mustard
1 T honey
S&P

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a baking pan by spraying with cooking spray. Butterfly the chicken breasts and pound thin. Combine egg, mustard, honey, S&P and whisk together in a shallow bowl. Combine flour, walnuts, S&P on a plate. Dip each piece of chicken into the egg mixture, then the flour mixture, then transfer to the baking pan. Bake in the oven for approximately 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Oven-Baked Fries
(Serves 2 -3)

2 Russet potatoes
2 tsp olive oil
Lawry's seasoning salt
Garlic

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Clean 2 large potatoes. Cut each potato into thin strips. Soak the fries in a bowl of hot water for approximately 20 minutes. Mix with olive oil and spices and spread onto a baking pan lined with foil in a single layer. Cook for approximately 20 minutes, turning about half way through.

Mexican Chicken Lasagna

Serves 4 adults

• 1 large chicken breast cut into small cubes
• 1 can of black or pinto beans (I used pintos)
  
• 5-6 soft taco sized tortillas
• 1 can of enchilada sauce
• 1-1.5 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
• 1 small onion diced
  
• 2-3 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 tsp cumin
  
• 1 Tbs taco seasoning
  
• 2 Tbs vegetable oil
• 1 man to do the dishes afterward
  

1. Heat the beans (plus the liquid from the can) over medium heat. Stir in the cumin and let gently simmer while the chicken is cooking. When the chicken is almost done, mash with a potato masher to desired consistency.
   
2. In another pan, heat your vegetable oil over medium to medium-high heat. Add the onion and the garlic and saute until the onion is soft and translucent. Add the chicken and taco seasoning and cook until the chicken is done.
3. In an 8x8 in. casserole dish begin layering your lasagna. Pour in a small amount of enchilada sauce, then a tortilla, a scoop of beans, scoop of chicken, sprinkle of cheese and a little more sauce on top of that. Repeat until your chicken and beans are used up. Top final layer with another tortilla, the remaining sauce and the remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until the cheese has melted and your lasagna looks bubbly.
   

Lazy Chicken and Rice

Makes 2-4 servings

Boneless chicken breasts
2 packs of 90-second rice (I use Garden flavor a lot, though any rice will do)
1 can cream of chicken soup

Melt a bit of butter or oil in a pan. Cut up raw chicken breasts to bite-sized pieces and throw onto pan. Let chicken cook all the way through while adding cream of chicken soup to the chicken. Heat rice in the microwave while chicken is cooking, then add to soup and chicken. Mix around thoroughly and let cook for another 5 minutes. You can also add sliced mushrooms or broccoli to this to make it more well-rounded nutritionally. :)

Chicken Tuscan

Serves 1

Microwave for 5 -6 minutes. I like to mix the vegetables with the pasta and chicken together once cooked.

Slow Cooker: Hungarian Chicken Paprikash

Serves 2-4

• 3-4 boneless chicken breasts
• 1C chicken broth
• 2 medium yellow onions diced
• 1t salt
• 1T paprika * I used more like 2T :)
• 1t black pepper
• 8oz Sour Cream
• 1T flour

1. Put everything except the sour cream and flour into the pot
2. Cook on low 4-6 hours
3. 30 minutes before serving mix the flour into the sour cream container
4. Dump the sour cream/flour mixture into the pot
5. Stir and let the sauce thicken

Serve over dumplings, rice or noodles.

I served over some no yolk egg noodles. This is good, a little bland though. I would suggest using at least 3 T of paprika and cutting the chicken broth back to 1/2C maybe. I think the onion let off a lot of moisture. It tried adding more flour but it still wouldn't thicken.

Baked Pesto Chicken

Serves 2

• 2 frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 cups fresh basil
• 2-3 large garlic cloves
• 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cut pine nuts
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Pesto directions:

1. In your food processor pulse the basil, garlic and pine nuts a few times to a coarse mixture.
2. Turn the processor to on and stream in 1/3 cup of olive oil. This should only take a few seconds.
3. Empty mixture in a mixing bowl and stir in the cheese.

Chicken:

1. Place chicken breasts in a baking dish (I used an 8x8 glass dish) and coat with pesto.
2. Marinate in your refrigerator at least 6-8 hours or until the chicken has thawed. Doing this the night before would work well too.
   
3. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 35-40 minutes or until done.
   

I served this with penne pasta and a Parmesan cream sauce. Phillip was somewhat skeptical of "the green stuff" as he hadn't had pesto before and really enjoyed this. I'll definitely make it again.