Bacon-wrapped Teriyaki Chicken Skewers

So, I got this from my Best Bites cookbook and went to type out the recipe, and realized, duh, it's online too. So here it is:
http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/04/bacon-wrapped-teriyaki-chicken-skewers/

I used the "homemade" sauce that they recommend-there is a link on this recipe.

Baked Cheesy Chicken Penne from ourbestbites.com

Baked Cheesy Chicken Penne
slightly adapted from this recipe by Martha Stewart

• 6 tablespoons butter, plus more for baking dishes
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 pound penne rigate
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 8 ounces each), halved horizontally
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
• 6 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 6 cups whole milk
• 10 ounces white or cremini mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced
• 1 cup sliced oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained
• 1 1/2 cups shredded provolone* (6 ounces) you could also make that 1/2 mozzarella
• 1 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan (about 6 ounces)

*Note on Cheese: 
Sometimes provolone cheese can be hard to find.  I don’t always encourage the use of pre-shredded bagged cheeses (because ‘ve found they usually contain additives and therefore don’t melt or taste as good), but in this recipe I’ve used a *good* quality one, like Sargento, and it’s turned out great.  Actually in this batch I used Sargento’s Provolone/Mozzarella mix.  You’ll find that with packaged cheese mixes, provolone is often mixed with other white cheeses and that’s totally fine.  Just try to find one that is mostly provolone, like a 50/50 mix.  The other easy option is to go to the deli department where you can buy sliced cheese.  Just ask for a 6 oz chunk and you can grate it yourself.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400. Butter two shallow 2-quart baking dishes. If you’re going to freeze one, use a disposable foil pan.  In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta 3 minutes short of al dente; drain pasta and set aside.
2. While pasta is boiling, heat oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Season chicken with salt and pepper; cook until opaque throughout, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Halve each piece lengthwise, then thinly slice crosswise.  While chicken pan is still hot, toss the mushrooms in and saute until golden brown (3-4 minutes).  Use a little extra olive oil if needed.
3. In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot (I just use the pot I cooked my pasta in), melt butter over medium. Add flour and garlic; cook, whisking, 1 minute. While whisking constantly, gradually add milk; bring to a simmer.  Keep whisking frequently as sauce thickens, about 1 minute more. Add mushrooms and tomatoes; cook 1 minute. take the pan off the heat and and gradually stir in provolone and 1/2 cup Parmesan.
4. Add chicken and pasta to pot; season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide pasta mixture between baking dishes.  If freezing, place remaining parmesan cheese in a zip-top baggie.  If cooking, sprinkle on top.
5. Bake, uncovered, until top is golden and bubbling, about 25 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Freezer instructions:
To freeze, prepare through step 4 and then let pasta cool.  Cover pan well with plastic wrap.  Place extra cheese in baggie (for topping) on top and then cover entire pan well with foil.  Freeze for up to 3 months.  To bake, preheat oven to 400.  Remove foil and plastic from pan and set cheese baggie aside.  Place foil back on pan and bake for about 1 1/2 hours.  Remove foil, stir pasta, and top with cheese.  Return pan to oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until mixture is hot and bubbly throughout.

Alfredo Sauce

2 Cups low fat milk
1/3 Cup (3oz) low fat cream cheese
2 TBSP flour
1 Tsp kosher salt
1 TBSP butter
3 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 Cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. In blender, blend milk, cream cheese, flour and salt until smooth and set aside.
2. In a large, non stick saucepan, melt butter on medium-high heat and add the garlic.  Keep stirring so butter doesn't burn.
3. Add the milk mixture to the pan.  Stir constantly for 3-4 minutes or until it comes to a simmer.  Keep stirring and let it cook for a few minutes more or until the  sauce thickens, about 6-7 minutes. 
4. Once the sauce has started to thicken, remove from heat.  Whisk the cheese into the sauce and immediately cover the pan.
5. Allow the sauce to stand for at least 10 min before using.  It will continue to thicken upon standing.
6. Serve immediately. If refrigerate leftovers, add a TBSP of milk one at a time until desired consistency is reached.
7. Serve over noodles.  Also can add grilled chicken.
If baking from frozen, thaw, bake 400 degrees for 45 min.
Yield 8 Servings

Chipotle Chicken Taco

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons minced canned chipotle chilies in adobo sauce
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
salt and pepper
flour or corn tortillas

1. Poach Chicken.  Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add garlic and chipotle and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Stir in orange juice, Worcestershire, and 1/2 cup cilantro and bring to boil.  Add chicken and simmer, covered, over medium-low heat until cooked through, about 10-15 minutes, flipping chicken halfway through cooking.  Transfer to plate and tent with foil. 

2. Shred and Sauce.  Increase heat to medium-high and cook until liquid is reduced to 1/4 cup, about 5 minutes.  Off heat, whisk in mustard.  Using 2 forks, shred chicken into bite-size pieces and return to skillet.  Add remaining cilantro to skillet and toss until well combined.  Season with salt and pepper.  Serve with tortillas. 

FROM FROZEN:
Thaw.  Heat on stovetop until heated through.  Serve with tortillas and favorite taco toppings like cheese, shredded lettuce, grated cheese, diced avocado, diced tomatoes and sour cream.

Cream Cheese Chicken

1- 0.7 oz. Italian dressing envelope mix
1/2 cup butter
2 lbs. bonesless skinkess chicken breasts
1- 10.75 oz. can COC soup
1- 8oz. package cream cheese

Turn slow cooker on high.  Melt butter in botom of slow cooker.  Stir Italian dressing mix into butter until well mixed.  Cut chicken into 1-inch strips.  Place in slow cooker and stir to coat with butter and dressing mix.  Cover and cook on high for 2 hours.  Remove chicken to plate to cool.  Add cream of chicken soup and cream cheese to liquid in slow cooker.  Stir to melt and mix until smooth and creamy.  Remove sauce from slow cooker and allow to cool.  Place chicken and sauce in freezer bag.

To serve: Thaw.  Heat and stir until smooth, hot and bubbly.  Serve over mashed potatoes, rice or noodles.

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup lime juice (approx. 2 large limes)
2 tsp- 1 tablespoon chili powder (use a little less for a milder version)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (I used 3 cloves fresh garlic, crushed)
1 pound chicken, cooked and shredded (I used 2 large chicken breasts)
12 corn tortillas
1 pound monterey jack cheese, shredded (I used cheddar and monterey jack)
16 ounces green enchilada sauce
1/2 cup heavy cream

Mix the honey, lime juice, chili powder and garlic together and toss with the shredded chicken. Let it marinate for at least 1/2 hour (or toss together in a ziploc bag and let it sit in the fridge for a few hours).


Heat a large griddle and spray surface with non-stick spray.  Heat tortillas about 20 seconds on each side till warm and flexible.. keep them between paper towels until ready to use. 

Pour about 1/2 cup enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9X13 baking pan. Fill tortillas with chicken (about 2TBS) and shredded cheese, saving about 1 cup of cheese to sprinkle on top of enchiladas. Mix the remaining enchilada sauce with the cream and leftover marinade. Pour sauce on top of the enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese.  <Freeze>


THAW: Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes until brown and crispy on top.

Serve with sour cream, rice and black beans.


* I got this recipe on ABC4- Good Things Utah recipes... also linked to http://phemomenon.blogspot.com
its also really good with black beans and this rice http://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/2008/09/cafe-rio-cilantro-lime-rice-and-black.html

Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup

3 chicken breasts
1 cup peeled and diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
2 quarts of chicken broth, either canned, from bouillon, or homemade
1 cup instant brown rice
1 tablespoon minced onion flakes
1-2 tablespoons parsley flakes
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 tablespoon sugar
 1/2 teaspoon black pepper or more per taste

White Sauce:
1/4 cup butter
1 tablespoon flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup evaporated milk

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper.  Grill chicken.  Let stand and cool.  Dice chicken and set aside.
2. In large pot, combine broth, carrots and celery. Bring to boil.  Add rice and onion flakes.  Simmer about 15 minutes.
3. Make white sauce separately: heat butter, flour and cornstarch.  Once melted and combined, add evaporated milk.
4. Add white sauce to rest of soup.   Add spices and sugar.  Stir constantly until soup thickens.  Add chicken.
5. Enjoy or cool completely then freeze.

Freezing note:  I added 3 extra cups of broth because that is how I usually make it and I thought it would help not get too thick as it cooled and sat frozen.  This made enough for two meals.

Breaded Ranch Chicken

Breaded Ranch Chicken

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup Ranch Dressing
1 cup Italian style bread crumbs
3 Tbs minced onions
1 lb. cooked and crumbled bacon (or 1 cup pre-cooked bacon pieces)

Mix bread crumbs, onions and bacon together. Dip chicken in ranch and then cover with bread crumb mixture.

Label: Thaw and bake at 375 for 1 hour

Broccoli, Chicken & Rice

1 cup uncooked rice
1 (10 oz.) package frozen broccoli
1/4 chopped onion
1 (10.75 oz.) can COC soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup mayonaise
1 1/2 cup shredded Monteray Jack cheese
3 cups cooked, chopped chicken
1 cup French Fried onions

Cook rice according to package directions.  Thaw and squeeze water from broccoli.  In a large bowl, combine broccoli, onion, soup, cour cream, chicken broth and mayonaise.  Mix well.  Stir in cheese, cooked rice and chicken.  Place in foil pan and freeze.

Thaw.  Bake covered for 1 hour at 350.  Uncover and top with French Fried onions.  Bake additional 10 minutes. (French Fried onions don't stay crispy when frozen, if you like them and want extra onions on top of your casserole, you will need to buy them.)

Chicken Cordon Bleu

8 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
8 slices cooked ham
4 slices Swiss cheese, cut in half
Dijon Mustard
salt and pepper to taste

• 
  
• Egg
• Italian seasoned breadcrumbs

Sauce:

• 1 can condensed cream of mushroom/chicken soup
• 1/2 cup sour cream (or milk)
• 
  

Directions

1. Place each chicken breast half between sheets of plastic wrap and pound with a meat mallet to about 1/8 inch thickness. Squeeze 1 TBS of Dijon mustard on each chicken breast. Place a finger of cheese on each ham slice and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper to taste. Roll up seasoned ham and cheese 'jellyroll-style', then roll each chicken breast with ham and cheese inside. Tuck in ends and fasten with toothpicks.
2. Place egg in a small bowl and place bread crumbs in a shallow dish or bowl. Dip each chicken roll , then roll in crumbs, turning to coat thoroughly. Place coated rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish.
3. or FREEZE by wrapping in plastic wrap to keep them from sticking together
4. unwrap each individual chicken roll and defrost
5. Bake at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) for about 40 minutes or until chicken is golden brown and juices run clear. Serve with cordon bleu sauce, if desired.
6. To Make Cordon Bleu Sauce: In a small saucepan mix together the soup and sour cream(I sometimes just use milk and it works good too). Heat over low heat, stirring occasionally, and serve hot over chicken rolls. Makes about 2 cups; 8 servings of 1/4 cup each.

Chicken Pot Pie

4 chicken breasts
4-6 red potatoes
4 medium carrots
1 can of green beans
1 can of corn
1 can of peas
2-3 cans Campbell's Chicken Gravy (the store brand gravies I have tried do not even compare)
Biscuits

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Chop chicken into bite-size pieces and cook in skillet.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Cut up potatoes and carrots.  Boil potatoes and carrots until almost done (still a little firm). Drain and put into large bowl.  Add chicken and cans of green beans, corn, and peas.  Add 2-3 cans of chicken gravy.  Mix so all is covered in gravy. Place in 9 x 13 baking dish.  Place biscuits on top of filling, leaving a little space between biscuits.  Or, biscuit dough can be dropped by tablespoons over filling.  Bake uncovered 20 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown

If freezing for later use: Let chicken, potatoes and carrots cool completely before mixing with canned ingredients. Spread in dish or place in freezer bags.

If cooking from frozen: Let mixture thaw.  Place in 8x8 dish (for 1 bag of filling). Bake at 400 degrees.  Cook mixture for 10 minutes, then place biscuits on top of mixture and cook according to biscuit package directions, or if using homemade biscuits, cook another 15-20 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown and filling is hot and bubbly. (When cooking from refrigerated or frozen, I think the biscuits cook better if the mixture is already warmed up. I have also found that thinner biscuits cook better than jumbo size biscuits. The larger biscuits tend to stay doughy on the bottom).

Parmesan Chicken

3 chicken breasts, pound til 1/4" thick

2 eggs
1 t salt
1/8 t pepper
3/4 c bread crumbs

Combine eggs, salt, pepper.  Dip chicken in and roll in crumbs.

Heat 1/2 c oil and quickly brown on both sides.

16 oz tomato sauce
1/4 t sweet basil
1/8 t garlic powder
1 T butter/margarine

Simmer tomato sauce, basil, garlic powder 10 min and then stir in butter.

Place chicken in pan.  Pour sauce over chicken.

Sprinkle 1/2 c Parmesan over all.

***Here is where your meal is frozen.  Thaw and then bake as directed below.***

Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  Top with 1/2 pound mozzarella and bake uncovered 10 minutes longer.  Serve over spaghetti.

Your mozzarella is under your top layer of foil.  You really, really, really need to take that out before baking or you'll have a plastic-y mess.  Don't say I didn't warn you.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

2 cups cooked and diced chicken
12 corn tortillas
2 small cans red enchilada sauce
2 cans cream of chicken soup (I use 98% fat free)
1 can olives, sliced
2 (4 oz) can diced green chilies (I use mild)
2 cups (approx) grated cheddar cheese

Mix soup, chicken. chilies, and olives in bowl. In 9 X 13 pan (or 2 8X8's) layer as follows:
Enough enchilada sauce to cover bottom, tear half of tortillas and lay across bottom, cover with half of soup/chicken mix, enchilada sauce, cheese, torn tortillas, soup/chicken mix, enchilada sauce and top with remaining cheese. Bake 30-40 min (until bubbly) at 350 degrees. (Or freeze, thaw and then bake!)