Scott's BBQ Chicken (on the Grill)

Scott added another recipe to his grilling repertoire with some delicious BBQ chicken. It's pretty simple, but some of the best recipes tend to be simple. Enjoy!

Scott's BBQ Chicken

Ingredients:

• ~5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into ~8 oz. pieces
• cooking oil
• BBQ seasoning (pick your favorite)
• ~1 bottle BBQ sauce (pick your favorite)

Directions: 

1. Brush chicken pieces, top and bottom, with a thin layer of oil.
2. Sprinkle BBQ seasoning generously on chicken pieces, top and bottom.
3. Grill chicken to an internal temperature of ~160 °F
4. Brush BBQ sauce on top of chicken and cook 2-3 mins.
5. Turn chicken over, brush other side with BBQ sauce, and cook 2-3 mins.
6. Remove from grill and serve!

Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Pie Noodles

These looked so good, I had to try them! Everyone thought they were great over mashed potatoes. The noodles soften up faster than the recipe said, I will update my notes to reflect that.

Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Pie Noodles

Ingredients:

• 3-4 small chicken breasts
• salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and any seasoning blend you like on chicken
• 2 cans cream of chicken soup
• 2 cans chicken broth (3 cups)
• 1 small bag frozen mixed vegetables
• 1 package homestyle egg noodles

Directions:

1. In your crock pot, add you chicken and season with your desired seasonings.
2. Then add your cream of chicken soup, broth and frozen veggies.
3. Stir things together the best you can and cover with the lid to cook on low for 4-6 hours or on high for 3-4 or until your chicken is cooked through. 
4. Remove the chicken and either chop or shred before adding back to the crock pot.
5. Add your noodles and continue to cook until noodles are tender (the original recipe said to let them cook for 90 minutes, but mine were soft and done after about 30 minutes).
6. Stir and taste-test for seasonings.

Marsha's Notes:

I found that an hour and half for the noodles to cook was way too long. They were soft after about 30 minutes and the sauce was nice and thick. However, we weren't expecting to eat for another hour, so after sitting on warm in the crock pot for the additional hour until it was dinner time meant that the noodles and soaked-up just about all of the liquid in the pot. It was still good, but not the creamy consistency I had hoped for. 

One key to this "homestyle" type recipes is to get these homestyle egg noodles instead of the regular egg noodles.

Use this kind...

... not this kind.

Chicken Fried Chicken

I made this chicken fried chicken and Scott immediately said, "This is a birthday meal request." So, it was pretty darn good, I would say!

Chicken Fried Chicken

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless chicken breasts, cut in half length-wise
• salt, pepper, garlic powder
• 2/3 cup of oil (or more if needed)
• 1 cup of flour
• 2 tsp each of salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and steak seasoning (for flour mixture)
• 1 cup of milk
• 1 egg

Gravy:

• 1/3 cup of grease from frying the chicken
• 1/3 cup of flour
• 3 cups of milk
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. If you haven't already done so, cut chicken breasts in half lengthwise to make them thinner. Pound any thick parts with a meat mallet until the chicken is a uniform thickness. Season chicken on both sides with some salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
2. In a pan heat oil over medium heat. While the pan is heating up mix together 1 cup of flour, 2 tsp each of salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and steak seasoning.
3. In a separate bowl or container mix together 1 cup of milk and 1 egg. Dredge chicken in flour mixture, egg mixture, and back in the flour mixture.
4. Once the oil is hot fry the chicken for a few minutes on each side until they are golden brown and reach a temperature of 165 degrees F with a meat thermometer.
5. Remove the chicken from the pan and pour out all but about 1/3 cup of the grease. To make the gravy add 1/3 cup of flour to the grease making a roux. Once grease and flour are well incorporated add 3 cups of milk and keep stirring constantly. Add salt and pepper to taste. Once thickened serve over fried chicken.

Marsha's Notes:

Our grocery store just seems to have the biggest chicken breasts, so I bought a tray of four and cut them in half length-wise to make eight chicken fried chickens. Making this much chicken meant that I needed to double the dredging flour mixture, but I felt like I really didn't need to double the egg wash.

My family gave me this breader as a gift, and it works perfect for this recipe:

On our current stove, I found that heating the oil up to "4" was perfect.

Chicken Caesar Salad "Smash Burger" Wrap

These are incredibly easy and delicious. You can change things up by what kind of bread, meat or toppings you use, so the sky is the limit. But for this post, here is the basic Caesar recipe. Enjoy!

Chicken Caesar Salad Smash Burger Wrap

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground meat
• seasoning (I used "Everything But the Bagel")
• tortillas or pita bread
• salad kit, Caesar

Directions:

1. Divide up your meat evenly into however many wraps you are making.
• For a 1 lb. package, I was able to make three sandwiches pretty easily. If using a big tortilla, the meat may not go all the way to the edge.
2. Press the meat onto one side of your tortilla or pita bread, spreading out evenly and thinly.
• The meat needs to cook through quickly from one side, so don't make it too thick.
3. Sprinkle your seasoning over your meat, as much as you like.
• You can use any combination of seasonings that you like, but for this recipe, I used Everything But the Bagel.
4. Place on your griddle (sprayed with non-stick spray if using a low-fat meat such as ground chicken) and cook until your meat is done.
• I prefer to start with a cold griddle that I spray with non-stick spray, place my bread and seasoned meat "meat side down" and then turn the griddle on to 325 degrees. I feel like this gives the meat more time to slowly cook on the griddle and get done all the way through, as opposed to putting the meat on a hot griddle and then it's done on the surface before it's done all the way through.
• I cook until the meat is golden and cooked through, maybe 5 minutes or so with the idea that I could take it off the heat at this point and serve it.
5. Flip and toast the other side of your bread, if desired.
• I do this because I want my bread toasted on the other side and I want to give the meat a little more time and heat to keep cooking, if needed.
• I sprayed my bread-side before flipping and it came out nice and crispy once toasted.
6. Top with your salad kit and serve.

Marsha's Notes:

Be sure to use some kind of baking spray or butter on your skillet if using a low-fat ground meat like chicken, because things can (and will) stick during the cooking process. I thought I sprayed my griddle really well, and my ground chicken still stuck just a touch, so next time I might spray both the griddle and the meat itself.

This recipe would be great with any ground meat and any kind of salad kit/toppings. I am imagining using this some day for our Star Wars Ronto Wraps with ground pork.

Here are two pitas and one tortilla with the meat pressed onto one side and seasoned. I formed them on the griddle just to make sure all three were going to fit.

Here they are after I sprayed the (cold) griddle, flipped over and (griddle turned on and) cooking at 325 degrees.

Meat side is done! Everything is flipped to toast the other side.

I have seen people put these in a taco form to help them cool into more of a taco shape, but I just put mine flat on my plate and then folded up the sides burrito-style to eat.

Buffalo Chicken Protein Bowl

I stumbled across this recipe and had to give it a try. Some people will find it completely unappealing, but I just happen to enjoy tangy, sour, tart things, so pickles, blue cheese, and buffalo sauce are all okay in my book but you could certainly do something similar with ingredients you enjoy more. For example, you could make this into a pizza bowl, taco bowl, or BBQ bowl!

Buffalo Chicken Protein Bowl

Ingredients:

• 1 serving cottage cheese, I used about 1/2 cup
• 1 serving cooked bite-sized chicken of your choice (I used popcorn chicken)
• sprinkle of blue cheese crumbles
• sprinkle of ranch seasoning powder
• drizzle of blue cheese dressing
• drizzle of buffalo sauce
• handful of pickle slices (cut up, if you prefer)

Directions:

1. Place everything into a bowl in your desired quantities.
2. Stir and enjoy!

Marsha's Notes:

As mentioned above, it would be easy to sub different ingredients to make a pizza bowl (cottage cheese, popcorn chicken, pepperonis, pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, and any other pizza toppings you like) or a taco bowl (cottage cheese, taco meat, cheddar cheese, taco sauce/salsa/pico, lettuce, olives, corn, beans, onions, tomato, etc.) or a BBQ bowl (cottage cheese, chicken, BBQ sauce, shredded cheese, onion (or grilled onions), peppers, etc.).

On another day, I took a few pictures of my assembly process.

Instant Pot Butter Chicken

Scott and I took William to an Indian restaurant recently that someone at Scott's work recommended and I tried butter chicken for the first time and really enjoyed the entire exotic experience. Then, about a week later, we saw Costco had a butter chicken dinner pack, complete with naan bread, so we took that home to compare and let Chris and Lucas try it. From there I started to look on the Internet and I found this Instant Pot recipe from Six Sister's Stuff. We tried it last night and every agreed that it was even better than the Costco pack! Enjoy!

See the original recipe here: https://www.sixsistersstuff.com/recipe/instant-pot-butter-chicken-recipe/

If you haven't had butter chicken before, one of the things that I think makes it taste so exotic to my pallet is that the Indian spice blend (garam masala) contains flavors that I usually associate with baked goods (cinnamon rolls, cookies, breads) and instead they are used in this savory creamy tomato sauce for the chicken.

Instant Pot Butter Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, diced
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 Tablespoons butter
• 2 pounds chicken thighs, or chicken breasts (raw, not cut or in large pieces for easy removal from the pot)
• 15 ounces tomato sauce
• 3 Tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 Tablespoons red curry paste
• 2 teaspoons garam masala
• 1½ teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
• ½ cup heavy cream
• fresh cilantro, optional garnish

Directions:

1. Set your Instant Pot to SAUTE and add butter, onion and garlic. Sauté for approximately 5 minutes until the onions are tender. Press OFF to cancel the sauté.
2. Add the chicken, tomato sauce, tomato paste, red curry paste, garam masala, ground ginger, salt, and smoked paprika to the Instant Pot. Lock the lid in place and turn the pressure valve to seal it. Set to HIGH PRESSURE for 7-9 minutes, depending on how larger your chicken pieces are.
3. When the timer goes off do a natural release for 5 minutes and then turn the valve on top to VENTING to let the remaining steam out of the pressure cooker.
4. Remove the lid and using a slotted spoon remove the chicken from the sauce and set aside.
5. Add the heavy cream to the pot and, using an immersion blender puree the sauce until smooth. (See Marsha's note about using a blender instead.)
6. Set the Instant Pot to SAUTE and stir the sauce while simmering for 7-10 minutes, or until it thickens. Turn OFF saute. (I found this step to be unnecessary, but if my sauce did appear to be too thin after blending, I could pour it back into my Instant Pot liner and continue to sauté.)
7. Add the chicken back to the sauce, stir together, and serve with a garnish of cilantro.
8. Serve with naan bread and white rice (here is my favorite Instant Pot rice recipe, which makes may about twice as much as you will need for the butter chicken but you can freeze the rest for later if desired:https://1brother2sisters.blogspot.com/2020/02/white-rice-in-instant-pot.html)

Marsha's Notes:

• For me, next time I am going to cook my chicken in larger pieces (instead of raw bite-sized pieces), then chop the cooked chicken on a cutting board into bite-sized chunks and then transfer them to my large serving bowl. Then, I am going to pour all of my sauce ingredients into a blender to make my sauce, then pour it over the chicken in the serving bowl. Because...
• The original recipe says to have the chicken in bite-sized pieces, but then later you have to fish them out of the pot to blend up the sauce. When I looked on their website, there is a picture of how they just put whole chicken thighs into their pot to cook. So I am not sure what is going on there, but I recommend either putting your boneless chicken in as is (for smaller thighs) or at least cutting into fairly large pieces/chunks that are easy to find and scoop out of the pot (i.e. cutting a breast into 2-4 pieces). Once the chicken is cooked and removed from the pot, then you can cut it into bite-sized pieces to add back to the sauce after it has been blended. Depending on how large your chicken pieces are, you may have to adjust the cook time for a minute or two longer.
• I also found that there wasn't enough sauce ingredients in the bottom of the Instant Pot to blend with my emersion blended without it splashing all over the place because the head of the blender couldn't get completely submerged, so it might be worth it to pour your sauce into a different, smaller diameter bowl for blending, or even pouring it into a blender.

This recipe calls for red curry paste, which I found easily in the Asian/Indian section of my local grocery store. However, I could not find the garam masala spice blend, so I had to order mine from Amazon. There are recipes online for making your own homemade version, but I wasn't really sure what it was supposed to taste like, so I got a professional blend. Now that I know better what things should taste like, I might try making my own when this bottle runs out. Here is the link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00309S13Q?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

Homemade Garam Masala Spice Blend (from Allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cardamom
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• ½ teaspoon ground cloves
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions:

1. Mix all together. 
2. Store in airtight container.

Crockpot Creamy Chicken Spaghetti

A super simple, yet yummy spaghetti with some chicken for added protein to feel satisfied. Enjoy!

I found this recipe on TikTok here: https://www.tiktok.com/@cookinginthemidwest/video/7433439317583777066?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7439121840796157486

Crockpot Creamy Chicken Spaghetti

Ingredients:

• 1 lb chicken breast
• 1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper
• 1 tsp onion powder and Italian seasoning
• 1/4 red pepper flakes
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 24 oz jar Marinara Sauce
• 15 oz jar Alfredo Sauce
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 16 oz spaghetti, cooked
• Parmesan cheese
• Dried parsley

Directions:

1. Spray a crockpot with cooking spray. 
2. Add one pound of chicken breasts. Season with salt, pepper, onion powder, and Italian seasoning. 
3. Add 1 tbsp of minced garlic, marinara sauce, and Alfredo sauce. 
4. Cook on low for 4 hours. 
5. Once chicken is cooked, either pull it out of the pot and dice it up then put it back in, or just a hand mixer or a couple of forks to shred it up right in the pot. 
6. Add your mozzarella cheese and cooked spaghetti to the pot and stir everything up. 
7. Put the lid back on and leave it for a bit to let the mozzarella cheese melt, otherwise it is ready to serve.

Taco Chicken (with Rice and Queso)

Here is an easy recipe for some quick taco chicken with rice and queso for tacos or burritos. Enjoy!

Taco Chicken (with Rice and Queso)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. chicken, cubed
• 1 Tbl cooking oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp dried cilantro (optional)
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Directions:

1. Add chicken to a hot skillet with the oil and seasonings. 
2. Stir and cook until your chicken is no longer pink and golden brown. 

For Rice and Queso:

1. Get how ever many packages of Uncle Ben's Ready Rice in your desired flavor. Add to a large skillet  over medium heat with enough water to help heat and soften the rice 1-2 Tbl (up to maybe 1/4 cup) per package. (Alternatively, heat rice up according to package directions.)
2. Heat up prepackaged queso, or make your own with this recipe: https://1brother2sisters.blogspot.com/2024/09/homemade-queso.html

Use this chicken, rice and queso to make excellent burritos, tacos and more! Note: you will need to get tortillas, taco shells, and other desired taco toppings as well.

Garlic Parmesan Chicken Skewers

I saw this recipe on TikTok and it was billed as a meal ready in under 30 minutes (which is true, as long as you don't have to cook your chicken in batches). Everyone really liked it!

Garlic Parmesan Chicken Skewers

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken, cut into bite-sized chunks
• 1 TBL olive oil
• 1 tsp paprika
• 3/4 tsp garlic powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper

Garlic Butter: (Mix all together.)

• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1 TBL fresh diced parsley (or 1 tsp. dried)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions:

Toss chicken chunks with the oil and seasonings listed above, then skewer the chicken nice and compact onto your skewer sticks to keep your chicken from drying out (if grilling, be sure to soak your skewers beforehand so they don't burn up). Cook until internal temperature reaches at least 160 degrees, bushing occasionally with your garlic butter mixture. Alternatively, cook in an air fryer at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Turn and brush with garlic butter mixture and cook another 2 1/2 minutes. Turn and brush with butter one more time and cook for another 2 1/2 minutes. Insure your meat has reached the desired temperature, plate and brush with butter one more time.

Hibachi Chicken Bowls

We are new lovers of yum-yum sauce, and this hibachi chicken and veggie bowl with fried rice just hit the spot. Scott and I both LOVED it!

Original recipe here: https://thewoodenskillet.com/hibachi-chicken/

Hibachi Chicken Bowls

Ingredients:

Yum Yum Sauce:

• 3/4 cup mayo
• 1 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Garlic Butter:

• 5 tablespoons butter, room temp
• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced

Hibachi Fried Rice:

• 1–2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (sub avocado oil)
• 1/2 sweet yellow onion, diced
• 2 eggs, whisked
• 1–2 tablespoons garlic butter
• 4 cups cooked rice, preferably day-old*
• 1–2 tablespoons soy sauce, more as desired
• 1/4 cup green onions, sliced

Hibachi Veggies:

• 1–2 tablespoons olive oil (sub avocado oil)
• 3 medium carrots
• 1 sweet yellow onion
• 3 small/medium zucchini
• 1 pint mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tablespoon garlic butter
• kosher salt and ground black pepper

Hibachi Chicken:

• 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil (sub avocado oil)
• 1–2 tablespoons garlic butter
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

Directions:

1. Prep: With a recipe like this, regardless of whether you are cooking on a flat top (like a Blackstone) or large cast iron skillet – everything cooks pretty quick so it really helps if everything is prepped and ready to go before you start cooking anything. 
2. Make Yum Yum Sauce: Add ingredients to a small bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
3. Garlic Butter: Combine Garlic Butter ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.
4. Fried Rice: Bring flat top (or cast iron skillet) to medium-high heat. Add a tablespoon of oil. Add onions and move around until softened. Add whisked eggs and move around until cooked. Add 1 tablespoon garlic butter and let melt. Add rice and top with soy sauce. Move everything around until it is mixed together and rice is warmed through. Feel free to add another tablespoon of garlic butter and season with any salt and pepper you desire. Fold in the green onions and then transfer to a plate. Set aside. 
5. Veggies: Keep cooking surface at medium high heat. Add oil. Add carrots and move around until they are soft, but firm (approx. 5-6 minutes). Add onion, zucchini, and mushrooms as well as the garlic butter. Season the veggies with salt and pepper. Move around pan until all veggies are soft, but firm. Transfer to plate and set aside. 
6. Chicken: Season chicken with salt and pepper. Add oil to cooking surface and place chicken in oil. Let cook approx. 3-5 minutes per side or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. About halfway through the cooking process add some garlic butter and soy sauce. Remove and let chicken rest 5 minutes. Cut into pieces. 
7. Assemble + Enjoy: Build your bowl or plate by adding some fried rice, veggies, and chicken to it. Drizzle with as much Yum Yum Sauce as you desire as well as any extra sliced green onions and enjoy!

Marsha's Notes:

We used store-bought yum-yum sauce, and it was great. You can also use boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead of thighs if you'd like, which we prefer, and we skipped out on the mushrooms. Also, we had some leftover store-bought garlic butter that we used in the rice, but then just added butter and minced garlic in the right proportions to the other parts of the meal (veggies and meat). It all worked out great.

Crockpot Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta

I have really liked a lot of the recipes from Cooking in the Midwest, and this was another good one. The one difference we did was probably use more chicken, plus we added an extra jar of sauce because it was just not saucy enough for us. Otherwise, we followed the directions as listed. Here is a link to the original recipe, and here is our "two jar" version. Enjoy!

https://cookinginthemidwest.com/blog/crockpot-chicken-bacon-ranch-pasta/

Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs chicken breast
• 1/2 tsp each of salt, pepper, paprika, and onion powder
• 1 TBSP ranch seasoning
• 1 TBSP minced garlic
• 2-15 oz jars Alfredo Sauce, divided
• Cooked/chopped bacon 6 pieces
• 1-2 cups shredded mozzarella
• 1 16 oz box of pasta

Directions:

1. Add chicken breasts to a crockpot.
2. Season with salt, pepper, paprika, onion powder, and ranch seasoning.
3. Add 1 TBSP of minced garlic and 1 jar of Alfredo sauce.
4. Cook on low for 4-6 hours.
5. Shred or cube up the chicken and add it back to the crockpot.
6. Cook pasta according to the directions on the box.
7. While the pasta is cooking on the stove, add about a cup of shredded cheese and the chopped bacon to the crockpot. Stir well.
8. Add cooked pasta to the crockpot and stir everything together. If needed, add most or all of the other jar of Alfredo sauce.

Faux Rotisserie Chicken Crock Pot

If you need some rotisserie chicken but you don't actually have a rotisserie chicken, you can do this instead! It's yummy and easy.

Put as much chicken in the crock pot that you want to make, or go for a nice even layer in the bottom of the pot. Season to your liking with either a seasoning blend OR salt, pepper, ranch seasoning mix, garlic and paprika (I just go for a nice even coating on the top of all pieces of chicken). Cover and cook until easy to shred with a hand-mixer or forks (original recipe said 4 hours on low, but it just depends on how much chicken you are using and if it is fresh or frozen). No need to add extra liquid.

I used this in my Chicken Cobbler recipe for an easy dinner: https://1brother2sisters.blogspot.com/2023/03/chicken-cobbler.html

Crockpot Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta

Everyone really liked this recipe, but I do have to go out of town to Walmart to get the Buffalo Wild Wing's garlic parmesan sauce, so that was just a tiny bit tricky to find... if you don't live near a store that carries it. Otherwise, I plan on making this again and again! Plus, it doesn't use the whole bottle, so I don't even have to go back to Walmart for awhile.

Crockpot Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta

Ingredients:

• 1 lb chicken breast
• 1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper
• 1 tsp each of paprika, onion powder, and Italian seasoning
• 1 TBSP minced garlic
• Buffalo Wild Wings Garlic Parmesan sauce
• 1 jar of Alfredo sauce
• 1 16 oz box of pasta
• 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup of shredded mozzarella

Directions:

1. Add the chicken, salt, pepper, paprika, and Italian seasoning to a slow cooker.
2. Add minced garlic and enough of the garlic parm sauce to fully cover the chicken (couple of TBL or so per chicken breast, spread over the chicken with a spoon until covered).
3. Cook on low for 4-6 hours.
4. Shred or chop up chicken.
5. Boil pasta.
6. Add Alfredo sauce, Parmesan cheese, and Mozzarella cheese to the chicken in the slow cooker.
7. Stir everything together well.
8. Add cooked pasta to the slow cooker and mix everything together.

Marsha's Notes:

For my family, I did more chicken to make sure I had plenty, so I needed to adjust my seasonings for the added chicken.

Cotoletta- Breaded Italian Chicken

Stumbled across this on TikTok. Not a very complicated recipe, but a great reminder of how to made some simple, homemade breaded chicken. All ingredients are going to depend on how much chicken you are cooking, so it's kind of a "just eye-ball it" thing. Enjoy!

Cotoletta- Breaded Italian Chicken

Ingredients:

• Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Eggs
• Flour
• Bread Crumbs
• Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

1. Pound your chicken breasts with a meat tenderizer until each piece is equal in thickness. Butterfly larger pieces for easier, faster cooking.
2. Set up three dipping bowls; one flour, one bread crumbs and parmesan cheese, one with beaten egg(s).
3. First, dip your chicken in the flour, then the eggs, then the bread crumbs.
4. Drop in a hot pan that has like a quarter-inch of oil/butter melted in the bottom of the pan.
5. Cook until chicken is browned and cooked through. Drain on paper towels.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

I love chicken cordon bleu, so when I saw a recipe to make it into a casserole, I was pretty excited. The original recipe we tried is from Six Sisters Stuff, and it tasted almost exactly like my chicken cordon bleu soup recipe... so while good... it was nothing new or exciting. Plus, Chris is not a huge fan of cream soups right now, and so because it was so similar, he wasn't impressed. BUT! I thought, what if we did noodles instead of potatoes?!!! And everyone liked it a lot!

Find the original recipe here: https://www.sixsistersstuff.com/recipe/chicken-cordon-bleu-potatoes/#wprm-recipe-container-109529

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

Ingredients:

• 12 small golden potatoes or 1/2 pkg pasta
• ¼ cup butter
• ¼ cup flour
• 2 cups milk
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• salt and pepper to taste
• 8 ounces cooked ham diced
• 1 1/2 cups cooked chicken diced or shredded
• 2 cups shredded Swiss cheese divided (could also use mozzarella or Provolone cheese)
• Crushed croutons (opt.)

Directions:

1. Wash and slice yellow potatoes and boil them for about 7 to 10 minutes or until fork tender. OR boil your pasta just a few minutes less than package directions (pasta will continue to cook in the oven).
2. In a medium sauce pan melt the butter over medium heat. Add onion powder, garlic salt, and salt and pepper to your flour and mix. Then add in the flour mixture to the pan with the melted butter and stir with a whisk until well blended. Then slowly add in milk and continue stirring with a whisk until smooth and creamy.
3. Lightly grease a 9 x 9 inch square baking dish. 
4. If doing potatoes: Cover bottom of pan lightly with about 1/4 cup of the sauce. Spread half of the sliced potatoes in the bottom of the pan. Top with half of the ham and half of the chicken. Pour half of the sauce and then top with about 1/2 cup of cheese. Then repeat layers starting with potatoes, ham, chicken, sauce and the rest of your cheese.
5. If doing pasta: Add your ham, chicken, 1 1/2 cups Swiss, and your cooked pasta to the pan with your sauce (if it will fit, otherwise use a big bowl), and mix all of your casserole ingredients together. Dump into a 9x9 pan that has been sprayed with non-stick spray, smooth out and then top with remaining Swiss cheese.
6. Bake in 375 oven for 25 to 30 minutes until heated through. A few minutes before the casserole is done baking, top with crushed croutons, if desired and finish off the bake.

Chicken Cobbler

One of the new viral recipes floating around the inter-webs is this chicken cobbler. We tried it out last night and got positive reviews from our family (with the exception of William not liking peas and carrots, but he just picked them out). It's an easy casserole-type meal where everything you need is in one bowl: meat, veggies, bread. Enjoy! (In this picture, I used up some bacon bits, which you can see on my spoon, and it was yummy too.)

Chicken Cobbler

Ingredients:

• 1 stick melted butter
• 3-4 cups shredded chicken (or one shredded rotisserie)
• 16 oz. frozen veggies
• seasoning of choice (salt, pepper, garlic powder, etc.)
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 can chicken broth
• 1 pkg. Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuit mix w/seasoning packet
• 2 cups milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 
2. Melt one stick of butter in a 9x13 pan. 
3. Top with chicken, then veggies, then season to taste. 
4. Mix together cream of chicken soup and chicken broth, and pour over veggies. Do not stir. 
5. Next, mix Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuit mix and included seasoning packet with 2 cups of milk. Pour over veggies. Do not stir. 
6. Bake for 30 minutes, or until top is golden brown and filling is bubbly.

Marsha's Notes:

• I cooked a bag of frozen chicken breasts in the Instant Pot and then shredded it and layered enough chicken in my 9x13 to nicely cover the bottom of the pan, and then froze the rest of the shredded chicken. You can also just use one precooked rotisserie chicken to get your shredded chicken. 
• I did not precook my frozen veggies. I used about a half a bag of frozen peas and carrots with a half a bag of frozen corn (because we don't like the frozen mix that includes green beans), but you can use whatever veggies you want. Just do a nice layer over the chicken. For William, I might just make one end of the pan corn and then do peas and carrots over the other 2/3-3/4's of the pan. 
• Lastly, some recipes suggest adding about a 1/2 cup shredded cheese to the biscuit batter before pouring it over the casserole. I can't see why that would be anything but a good idea, but have not done it yet.

Crock Pot Pineapple Chicken

The chicken in this recipe turned out so tender and flavorful, I could just eat it by itself, but it is also tasty over rice with steamed veggies, fresh pineapple, and a sprinkling of sesame seeds. Flavor with extra teriyaki sauce if you need it for the veggies and rice. Enjoy!

See the original recipe here: https://www.sixsistersstuff.com/recipe/crock-pot-pineapple-chicken/#wprm-recipe-container-96752

Crock Pot Pineapple Chicken

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• ½ cup soy sauce
• ½ cup teriyaki sauce
• 20 ounces pineapple chunks (drain half of the juice out) OR 1 small can pineapple juice
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Directions:

1. Spray the crock pot with nonstick cooking spray and add chicken breasts.
2. In a bowl combine the soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, and pineapple chunks (with half of the juice) and pour over the chicken.
3. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes on top as desired.
4. Cook on high for 4-5 hours.
5. Shred chicken with two forks in the crock pot.
6. Serve over rice.

Marsha's Notes:

We decided that none of us were that thrilled with the pineapples chunks that had been cooked in the crock pot (Lucas said they just tasted like chicken...) and preferred to add non-cooked pineapple chunks to our plates instead, so we opt to use pineapple juice to cook the chicken in (one small can) or else just leave the pineapple chunks in the crockpot when serving the meat. It feels like a waste to not eat the chunks, so my preference is to use a can of juice when possible.

Grilled Chipotle Chicken

The entire family enjoyed this recipe, and I am attempting to freeze extra marinade for future batches to use up the entire can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. If I remember, I will return and report on how the sauce did when thawed. We marinated the chicken overnight, but I still found that I enjoyed it more with a little drizzle of reserved sauce. Just keep some in a container that you didn't use to marinade the chicken in. I found no need to thicken it, but that might vary from batch to batch.

To see the original recipe, go here: https://www.melskitchencafe.com/grilled-chipotle-chicken/

Grilled Chipotle Chicken

Ingredients:

• 12-ounce bottle chili sauce (see note)
• 1 to 2 tablespoons chopped chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (see note)
• ¼ cup fresh lime juice
• ⅓ cup molasses
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• ½ cup red wine or rice vinegar
• 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts (see note)

Directions:

1. In a blender, combine the chili sauce, chipotle peppers, lime juice, molasses, brown sugar, and vinegar. Process until smooth.
2. Place the chicken in a gallon-size Ziploc bag and add 1/2 to 3/4 cup of the marinade, tossing the chicken so it is evenly coated. Seal the bag and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 12 hours (highly recommend the longer marinating time for added flavor).
3. Optional: Add the remaining marinade to a small saucepan, bring to a simmer, and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring often to prevent sticking. Reserve until ready to eat (if longer than an hour, refrigerate until needed).
4. To grill: preheat a grill to medium-high (I do 400 degrees on my pellet grill). Remove the chicken from the bag, letting the excess marinade drip off into the bag, and grill for 4-5 minutes per side until cooked through and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part registers 165 degrees F. Let the chicken rest for 5-7 minutes before slicing and serving.
5. To oven broil: preheat oven broiler to high. Position an oven rack so it is 3-4 inches away from the broiler element. Line a baking pan with foil and lightly grease with cooking spray. Remove the chicken from the bag, letting the excess marinade drip off into the bag, and place the chicken in a single layer on the baking sheet. Broil for 3-4 minutes (watch closely in case your broiler cooks hotter than mine!), flip the chicken, and broil for 3-4 minutes longer until the chicken is cooked through and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part registers 165 degrees F. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5-7 minutes before slicing and serving.
6. Serve the chicken with reserved sauce (see note for our favorite way to serve this chicken!).

Marsha's Notes: 

We broiled our chicken and it turned out great. We just used a walled cookie sheet with a non-stick liner and a cooking rack placed inside to set the chicken on. We used high-broil with the chicken placed on the highest rack in the oven. I was super scared it was going to burn on the outside and be raw in the middle, but it turned out great. There are certainly a few charred places, just like when you cook on a grill, but nothing burned except for sauce drippings, which cleaned up pretty nicely with the non-stick mat. 

I also put a thermometer in one of the pieces so I could monitor the temp while cooking. For our oven, I would say it took about 5 minutes per side. Seems like the first side was done about the time the chicken was about 90-95 degrees, I flipped the chicken pieces, rotated the pan in the oven, and then the second side was done when the chicken reached 165 degrees in another 5 minutes or so.

When it was done, I put it in a 9x13 pan covered with foil into our second oven set to warm while I got the rest of the meal prepared. This allowed the juices in the chicken to redistribute before we cut into it and kept it nice and warm.

I didn't make a note of what size the can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce was, but we had enough to make three batches of marinade with one can. It seemed like there were two sizes, and if I had to guess, I might have gotten the bigger can to make sure I had plenty because I didn't remember how much the recipe called for. It seemed like one can was the size of a small olive can, and the other can was the size of a small tuna fish can. I think we had the tuna-size.

Also, I don't believe my can was "chopped" but rather bigger, possibly sliced or chunked peppers, which was fine because they went in the blender, so it didn't really matter.

Slow Cooker Creamy Fiesta Chicken

Another great recipe from Six Sister's Stuff. This creamy fiesta chicken has a very similar flavor profile to the taco soup recipe on this blog, only it is cheesier and thicker (because it's not a soup... go figure) so it works better for putting on top of nachos, dipping with chips, or putting in burritos or tacos. One change I made, I felt like with both the salsa AND the chopped onions, it was a bit heavy on the onion side, which is not my thing. But feel free to add the "1 diced onion" back into the recipe if you like.

See the original recipe here: https://www.sixsistersstuff.com/recipe/slow-cooker-creamy-fiesta-chicken-recipe/#wprm-recipe-container-133580

Slow Cooker Creamy Fiesta Chicken

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 15 ounces canned corn drained, (1 can)
• 15 ounces canned black beans rinsed and drained, (1 can)
• 1 cup salsa
• 2 Tablespoons lime juice
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 1 packet dry ranch dressing mix
• 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature, cut into pieces
• 1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
• optional toppings (salsa, olives, guacamole, sour cream, cilantro, etc.)

Directions:

1. Spray slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Place chicken breasts in the bottom of the slow cooker.
3. Top with corn, black beans, salsa, lime juice, taco seasoning, and dry ranch dressing mix. Add the cream cheese on top.
4. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook for 6-7 hours on low heat (or high heat for 3-4 hours, but I prefer the "low and slow" method).
5. Shred the chicken using 2 forks (it should fall apart fairly easily; you can do this right in the slow cooker or remove the chicken and shred it on a cutting board if that is easier).
6. Stir the shredded chicken and the shredded pepper jack cheese in with all the ingredients until the cheese is fully melted and smooth.
7. Use this chicken for tacos, burritos, nachos, salads, enchiladas, quesadillas, etc. The possibilities are endless!

Chicken Dorito Casserole

I saw this video on Tiktok and it seemed like just the sort of thing my kiddos would love, and it WAS! It even has some veggies in it. Shhhh! Don't tell!

Chicken Dorito Casserole

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked shredded chicken
• 1 can Rotel tomatoes, drained
• 1 can corn, drained
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 pkt. taco seasoning
• 8 oz. shredded cheese, divided
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 bag Doritos, crushed (you can crush them in the bag with your hands)

Directions: 

1. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except Doritos and 4 oz. of shredded cheese (half of the cheese). 
2. In a 9x13, layer 1/3 of your crushed Doritos, then half your chicken mixture, then another 1/3 Doritos, then the rest of your chicken mixture, and then top with the remaining Doritos and 4 oz. shredded cheese on top. 
3. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until a thermometer reaches 160 degrees in the center.

Marsha's Notes:

You can also add beans, olives, or any other tex-mex-style ingredients that you want. Enjoy!