Grilled Chicken & Arugula Salad

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, grilled & shredded

arugula

raw corn cut from 2 cobs

gorgonzola cheese, crumbled

cherry tomatoes, halved

Mix chicken, arugula, corn, tomatoes and cheese in large bowl

Mix 2 Tbs. olive oil & 2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice and pour over salad; Enjoy!!

Opah's Grilled Chicken

4 large garlic cloves, chopped

juice of 2 limes

1/4 c. EVO

handful of minced fresh basil

1/2 tsp. coarse salt

freshly ground pepper

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 3 in. strips (or use chicken tenders)

1. Combine all ingredients in ziplock bag, add chicken, seal and refrigerate for 4 hrs. or up to overnight

2. Heat grill to medium high, place chicken on grill and cook 6-10 min.

Serve on a bed of arugula drizzled with a little EVO (optional)

EDIT: Stellar Baked Shells - Additional Suggestions

EDIT: I wanted to make Stuffed Baked Shells last night but went to three groceries stores unable to find the large shells needed for the recipe.  So I decided I would still make everything the same and rather than stuffing shells I would boil medium size shells, spread them in a 9x13 pan (on top of about 2 cups of sauce), and spread the 'stuffing' on top.  Then I topped the covered shells with the remaining sauce and sliced some fresh mozzarella in circles and placed them on top.  I baked the pasta on 350 for about 20-25 minutes.  Since the 'stuffing' mostly consists of cheese once it was baked it had melted a covered the noodles nicely.

This baked shell, casserole, concoction, I threw together was fantastic.  So if you have been intimidated with 'stuffing the shells' thinking it would be a lot of work try the recipe this way.  It was great and super easy!  I also highly recommend the fresh mozzarella rounds on top, they were delicious!

(Making this recipe the casserole way would also allow for a gluten-free eater to use their favorite gluten-free pasta!)

These were great! (I know I say that about every recipe I post, but I only post the best! HA!) The shells took sometime to assemble but all in all it was easier than I had expected.

Ingredients:

Serve 6

1/4 cup boiling water

6 sun-dried tomatoes
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon parsley
S&P
2 cups ricotta cheese (whatever the amount is in smaller container you get at the grocery store)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 box jumbo pasta shells, you can find them with the lasagna noodles

SAUCE:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 chopped onion
1 chopped green bell pepper
1 chopped red bell pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
EVOO
3/4 - 1 pound low-fat turkey sausage, casings removed
1/4 cup red wine
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
S&P
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. To prepare stuffing, combine 1/4 cup boiling water and sun-dried tomatoes in a small bowl; let stand 20 minutes or until tomatoes soften. Drain and finely chop. Combine tomatoes, mozzarella, and next 6 ingredients (through egg) in a food processor; process until smooth. Spoon 2 tablespoons stuffing into each shell. Set stuffed shells aside.
3. To prepare sauce, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell peppers, and garlic; sauté 6 minutes or until tender. Place onion mixture in a bowl.
4. Coat pan with cooking spray; return pan to heat. Add sausage, and cook 6 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Add wine; cook until wine is reduced to 2 tablespoons (about 3 minutes). Stir in onion mixture, tomato paste, and next 5 ingredients (through tomatoes); bring to a simmer. Cook 25 minutes or until slightly thick.
5. Spread 2 cups sauce over bottom of an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange stuffed shells in a single layer in pan; top with remaining sauce. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons Parmesan over sauce. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes or until bubbly.

Chicken with 40 garlic cloves

1 4 lb. chicken, rinsed & patted dry
1/2 tsp. salt & pepper
1 cup olive oil
2 fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs
1 each fresh rosemary, thyme, and sage sprig (some stores sell them in combination for poultry)
1 Turkish bay leaf or 1/2 California bay leaf (I forgot this and it was still tasty!)
1 celery rib
40 peeled garlic cloves

Sprinkle chicken with salt & pepper; Tie chicken legs together with kitchen string
Heat oil in 6-8 qt. wide oven proof pot over moderate heat; Add chicken & sear, turning until golden brown all over and then transfer chicken to a plate
Tie herbs & celery together and add to pot; Scatter garlic over bottom of pot and place chicken on top
Cover tightly & transfer to oven, baking until thermometer inserted in thigh reads 170 degrees (30 - 40 min.)
Transfer chicken to cutting board & let rest 10 min. before carving
Spread garlic on mini-toasts and enjoy!

* Cook spaghetti & combine with left over garlic cloves, oil, and a jar of marinated artichokes (quartered) the next day for a second meal. Mix in pieces of chicken to make it even more yummy!

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

I made this soup while Ben and I had some visitors in town. It turned out great, however, I added way too much rice so I ended up having to add more broth making the pot of soup HUGE! So even though the amount of rice sounds small it will end up being plenty. Don't double the amount like I did!

Ingredients:

Serves 4 (generous amounts)

• EVOO
• 4 carrots chopped
• 4 celery stalks chopped
• 1 small onion chopped
• coarse S&P
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 1 zucchini chopped
• 2 cups frozen peas
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (cooked)
• 2/3 cup wild-rice

Directions:

1. Ahead of time I put some EVOO and seasoned chicken in a skillet and cooked until no longer pink. Chop the chicken in small bit size chunks.
2. In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium high heat. Add carrots, celery, and onion; season with S&P. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are crisp-tender, 3-5 minutes.
3. Add broth, chicken, rice, and 2 cups water to pan. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer, and cover. Cook for 10 minutes add zucchini and peas, cover and cook for another 10 minutes. (Or until rice is tender.) Season with S&P to taste, serve with bread and a salad.

Tomato-Lime Tortilla Soup

We had this soup tonight for dinner & it was so souper delicious! Ha! :) I got the recipe from one of my most recent Food Network magazines. It was way easy and Lydia (my 4 year old) inhaled it, John raved about it, and I (the preggo momma) ate 2 bowls. Micah was the only one who decided to eat just chips - but really, who can blame him on that choice?!?! :) Anyway, here is the recipe:

2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 medium sized shallots or 4-5 garlic cloves finely diced
2 pints fresh cherry or grape tomatoes (optional)
8 cups chicken stock or broth
1 large can (28oz.) diced tomatoes
1 bag frozen corn kernels
4 limes juiced
1/4 cup diced fresh cilantro (or 2 tablespoons dried cilantro)
2 tsp. dried, ground cumin
2 chicken breasts, boiled & then shredded

Salt and pepper to taste

1) Saute diced shallots in olive oil until they soften
* Salt & pepper the shallots to make them sweat - a pinch of sugar works too
2) Add cherry tomatoes & saute until the skins begin to burst
3) Add 8 cups chicken stock or broth, canned tomatoes, corn, lime juice, cilantro, and cumin.
4) Bring soup to a boil, stir, and then simmer for 20 minutes to an hour
5) Add shredded chicken breasts

Serve & top with tortilla chips, shredded cheddar cheese, and salsa.

** Take out the chips and I believe this is gluten free! **

Chicken Curry

This chicken curry dish a easy to make and you can prepare it in the morning and let it cook in your crockpot all day long!  A great dinner for those nights when there is a lot going on and not enough time to make dinner.

Ingredients:

Serves 8 

I use the same amount of garlic, coconut milk, ginger, and spices, that the recipe calls for even if I am cooking less meat.  (I want the flavors to come out the same.)  So if you are trying to cut this recipe in half my reccomendation is to only reduce the amount of chicken, peas, and onions you use.

• 3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs (I always use chicken breast just because it is what I have in my freezer.)
• 2 medium onions
• 8 cloves of garlic
• 16 thin slices peeled fresh ginger
• 2 c. unsweetened coconut milk
• 2 tbl. curry powder
• 1 tsp. ground coriander
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 2 packages frozen peas (if you don't love peas you could use brocoli, green beans, zucchini, really any vegetable you like would work great with this dish.)

Directions:

1. In your crockpot, toss chicken, onion, garlic, ginger, curry powder, coriander, and cumin.  Mix around to make sure chicken is well coated.  Season with salt.  Cover and cook for the amount of time you desire.  Cook on HIGH for 4 hours, MEDIUM for 6 hours, LOW for 8-10 hours.
2. Once your chicken is done uncover and stir in coconut milk, cover and cook for another 20 minutes.  Transfer chicken to a large bowl and shred with forks.  Return to pot; toss with sauce.
3. Heat peas in microwave/stove.
4. Serve chicken and onions with sauce over a bed of rice, top with cooked peas, add cilantro if desired.

Homemade Chicken Stock

Ok ladies (and Colin!)... now I know what you're thinking... "I'm not Martha Stewart - I cannot possible make my own chicken stock!" Oh but you can! And with all the hype about flu and swine flu and colds and the sniffles there is really no reason not to make your own stock! Homemade stock has some of the best germ fighting-immune system boosting stuff ever! And how is this for a clincher - it's easy and it will stretch your food dollar!

First you need to, need to, need to, start with a whole ORGANIC chicken. If not, you'll be making stock and eating concentrated chemically filled chicken... YUCK! You can get whole organic chickens at Costco for $2.99/lb. - that's a deal in my mind. Especially when I consider the fact that 1 roasted chicken will get me through 2 dinners and then make enough stock for about 3 soup recipes!

Now, I can't claim this recipe as my own but I can tell you it's the one I've followed and it's way easy! Enjoy! (Oh and LEAVE the gelatinous fat on the top of the stock when it's done - it's really good for you too!)

Recipe courtesy of: http://www.musingsofahousewife.com/?s=chicken+stock

Chicken Stock
1. When the chicken is cooled down enough to handle without burning your fingers, you’ll want to remove the rest of the meat from the bones.

2. Place the chicken carcass (break it up some if you want) and any discarded chicken bones from dinner into a large stockpot. Throw in the "holy trinity of stock veggies" AKA some washed but unpeeled carrots (2-3) - you don't peel them because the good minerals/vitamins are right there under the skin, an onion - sliced in 1/2, and some celery stalks. If I have it, I also throw in some cilantro, parsley, and thyme.

3. Cover the bones and veggies with cold water, cover the pot, and place it on the stove over high heat until it comes to a boil. (For optimum health benefits, you should first soak the bones in a vinegar/water solution for about an hour. This draws the minerals out of the bones. Just add 2 tablespoons of vinegar to the pot and let it sit for an hour before you start to boil.) Also, you’re supposed to skim off any junk that rises to the surface as it comes to a boil; supposedly this is full of impurities. I have never noticed anything. I doubt that my chickens are particularly clean; I’m just not that observant.

4. Once the pot is boiling, turn it down to low so that it’s just simmering. You may have to adjust the temperature a few times to get it right. I simmer mine for anywhere from 2-4 hours.

5. When you’re done, drain the stock through a colander set over a large bowl. Discard the pieces of bone and skin and veggies.

6. I usually drain again, this time through a wire mesh strainer, over a big glass liquid measuring cup – the kind with a spout. That gets the little bits out and makes a nice, clear stock. After it cools down a bit, I pour the stock into quart-sized mason jars and store them in the freezer. And I always have stock when a recipe calls for it!

Black Bean & Chicken Enchiladas

This is another variation of a lighter enchilada that we thought turned out very tasty.

1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 slices center cut bacon (make split pea soup that week and use the rest of the bacon :)
3 cloves minced garlic
16oz jar of your favorite salsa (divided)
1 15oz. can of black beans, undrained
1 red or green bell pepper chopped (optional)
1 Tsp. ground cumin
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 bunch green onions chopped
8 (6-8-inch) flour tortillas
8 ounces mexican blend or monterey jack shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 350
1. Cut chicken into chunks and set aside.
2. In a skillet, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove bacon to a paper towel to soak any excess grease; discard any grease in the skillet.
3. In the same skillet, coated with nonstick cooking spray, saute the chicken and garlic until the chicken is almost done, 5-7min. stir in 1/2 of the jar of salsa, the beans, bell pepper, cumin, salt and pepper. Simmer until thickened, about 5min., stirring occasionally until the chicken is done. Stir in green onions and crumbled bacon.
4. Divide the mixture among the tortillas, topping each with cheese, then rolling and placing seam down in a 13x9x2 inch baking dish. Spoon the remaining salsa evenly over the enchiladas and top with the remaining cheese.
5. Bake for 15 min or until cheese is melted.

Chicken with Feta Cheese

A super easy and fast dinner, a favorite at our house... 30 minutes start to finish!

Ingredients:
Serves 4

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 tbs. EVOO
• 3/4 c. crumbled feta cheese (I use seasoned feta, with basil)
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• Salt and Pepper

Directions:

1. Combine feta and oregano, created a pocket in each chicken breast by slicing across the top of the breast. Stuff with feta mixture, season with salt and pepper.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet, add chicken and cook 6-7 min per side.
3. Cover skillet and continue cooking until chicken is cooked though, or until 160 degrees internal temp.
4. Serve with rice and your favorite vegetable or salad!

Lighter Chicken Enchiladas

I love enchilada's but a lot of time when I make or order them they seem really heavy and saucy.  This "lighter" enchilada recipe is a great alternative to the red sauce usually found in enchilada's.  Everything about this meal is gluten-free except you have to add a little flour to the sauce to thicken it.  I'm wondering you can replace the flour with a little corn starch?  What do you think Julie?

Ingredients:

Serves 4

• Coarse salt and ground pepper
  
• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, or I about 8 chicken breast tenders
  
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, such as safflower
  
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
  
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  
• 1 to 2 tablespoons minced canned chipotles in adobo (I used 2 chipotles and our dish was very spicy)
  
• 1 can (14 1/2 ounces) reduced-sodium chicken broth
  
• 8 corn tortillas
  
• 1/2 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese I also used a little Cheddar
  

Directions:

1. In a large skillet with a tight-fitting lid, bring 1 inch salted water to a boil. Add chicken. Cover; reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer 5 minutes; remove skillet from heat. Let chicken steam, covered, until opaque throughout, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer chicken to a medium bowl; shred with two forks. Set aside.
   
2. While chicken is cooking, make sauce: In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium. Add garlic; cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Add flour, cumin, and chipotles in adobo; cook, whisking, 1 minute. Whisk in broth and 1/2 cup water; bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook, whisking occasionally, until sauce has thickened slightly, 5 to 8 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Transfer 1 cup sauce to bowl with chicken; toss to combine.
   
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pour 1/4 cup sauce into bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish; set aside. Stack tortillas, and wrap in a double layer of damp paper towels; microwave until hot, about 1 minute. Fill each tortilla with chicken mixture; roll up tightly, and arrange, seam side down, in baking dish. Cover with remaining sauce, and top with cheese. Bake until hot and bubbling, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Asian Chicken Salad

This is a yummy, refreshing pasta salad that is a big hit at my work parties. I think the recipe is for 8 servings- but it goes fast!

Salad

14-16 ounces bowtie pasta
2 cu. cooked chicken bite size pieces
2 cu. raw spinach
1 cu. dried cranberries
1 can mandarin oranges (drained)
1 can water chestnuts (drained and sliced)
1/4 cu. toasted sesame seeds
1 bu. green onion chopped
3/4 cup peanuts (chopped)

Dressing*

1 cu vegetable oil
2/3 cu. terriyaki sauce/marinade
6 Tb. sugar
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

*I have also used a bottled Asian Sesame dressing instead and it works well too- just a slightly different flavor.

Combine pasta and dressing and refrigerate for 2hrs. Add remaining ingredients just before serving.

Cayenne-Rubbed Chicken with Avocado Salsa

photo from: Everyday Food

The avocado salsa on top is what makes this dish!  As my friend Stacy says, "Is there anything better than an avocado?"  Stacy and I made this meal as a combined effort, I made the chicken and she made a delicious cilantro rice.  I'll try to get the recipe from her to post with this meal.

Ingredients:

Serves 4

• Coarse salt and ground pepper
  
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
  
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
  
• 1/2 medium red onion, finely diced
  
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  
• 1 Hass avocado, pitted and cut into chunks
  

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and cayenne; rub all over chicken.
   
2. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium. Add chicken, and cook until browned on the outside and opaque throughout, 8 to 10 minutes per side.
   
3. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine onion and lime juice; set aside. Just before serving, fold avocado chunks into onion mixture; season with salt and pepper. Serve chicken topped with salsa.
   

Orzo with Chicken, Corn, and Green Beans

photo from:  Everyday Food

Have you tried Orzo?  I had never made orzo or used it in any recipe before tonight.  I found this dish very easy to prepare and had lots of flavor!  The sweetness of the corn, garlic and salty flavors all compliment each other making this dish a delight!  I am a fan of orzo and will be looking for more recipes that call for it!

One tip: Have everything prepped before you start cooking!

Ingredients:

Serves 4

• Coarse salt and ground pepper
  
• 1/2 pound orzo
  
• 8 ounces green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
  
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
  
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
  
• 1 package (10 ounces) frozen corn kernels, thawed
  
• 1 whole roasted chicken, (3 pounds), skin discarded, shredded (about 3 1/2 cups)  I didn't use a whole roasted chicken, I just fried 5 chicken breast tenders in a little EVOO and cracked some salt and pepper over them while they were frying.  

Directions:

1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook orzo until al dente, according to package instructions; add green beans during last 6 minutes of cooking. 
   
2. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium. Add garlic; cook until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add corn and 1 teaspoon salt; cook until warmed through, 2 to 3 minutes.
   
3. Toss pasta and green beans with corn mixture and chicken. Season generously with salt and pepper.
   

Easy Chicken Tacos

This is a great recipe that can easily be used twice - the 1st night for tacos and the 2nd night you could add a can of black beans and turn your leftovers into enchiladas!

What you need:

A crockpot
3 -4 chicken breasts
1 jar salsa of your choice (we use a roasted garlic salsa from Trader Joe's)
1 can corn
1 red bell pepper diced
tortillas
shredded cheese (we use extra sharp cheddar)
sour cream (if desired)
guacamole (if desired)

How to make it:
1. In the morning put your chicken breasts in your crockpot (they can even be frozen!!!)
2. Empty the entire jar of salsa into the crockpot & cover crockpot with lid
3. Cook chicken and salsa on low for 8-10 hours
4. About 30 minutes before serving shred the chicken in the crockpot (it should pretty much fall apart on its own) and add the can of corn & diced bell pepper

• at this point you could also add a can of green chiles, or onions, or black beans - whatever you want in your tacos or enchiladas

5. Fill your tacos with the chicken mixture (watch out it may be a little juicy if the chicken breasts were frozen before) and top with shredded cheese, sour cream, guacamole (maybe some fresh chopped cilantro?) and enjoy!

6. Night 2 with leftovers? Add a can of black beans or beans of your choice and use the leftovers and enchilada fillings!

Honey-Lime-Garlic-Chicken

Since my sister Mandy called and asked for this recipe today I thought I'd make it my first contribution to this awesome blog! I learned this recipe from a girl I went to Nicaragua with in 2000. I've tweaked it a bit to bump up the lime flavor and have (of course!) added garlic! :) This is a super easy dish that can be made any night of the week and the bonus is, if you prep the night before, it marinates all day infusing the chicken with all that honey lime and garlic goodness!

What you need:

4 chicken breasts (for feeding 4-5 people)
1 lime per chicken breast (so in this case 4 limes)
1 bottle of honey (or maybe plain agave nectar would work?!?!)
2 garlic cloves
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. zest limes and set zest aside
2. juice limes and pour juice into whatever dish you'll be cooking the chicken in
3. add about 1/2 cup honey to lime juice and whisk until ALL honey is combined with lime juice
4. taste the lime juice - is it too tart (probably!) so add more honey until you get the sweetness you desire. My family likes it a teeny bit on the sweet side. :)
5. press your garlic cloves into the lime juice and whisk to combine
6. add zest, then salt and pepper the lime juice to taste
7. marinate your chicken for 30 minutes to 24 hours before cooking
8. Bake chicken at 350 for about 35 minutes (depending on the thickness of your chicken - you can always pound the chicken breasts to flatten and thin them out if you're in a hurry!)

I always serve this chicken over a bed of couscous or rice. That way I can drizzle a little bit of the cooked juices over the chicken and bed of grains. As a side my hubby usually prefers broccoli.

Mandy, I hope your dinner turns out great! This one is always a hit for me!

Ciao for now! <>< Bree

Easy Chicken Cacciatore

a.k.a. "Kitchen Catch-A-Story" (so quick and easy, you can sit down and read a story in the time you'll save) . . . I "invented" this recipe in a moment of dinner desperation, and amazingly my family thought it tasted great. Everyone I've shared it with has had a similar reaction, which gives me the courage to share it as my very first blog post EVER. Hopefully it will help someone dear to me in a moment of dinner desperation. You can adjust the number of servings by how much chicken you use. BTW, if you need to, you can skip the browning of the chicken and throw it in the crock pot with the salsa and spaghetti sauce, cook it all day and fix the pasta when you get home. Let me know what you think.

Serves 6 with left-overs. I combine the remaining pasta and chicken and refrigerate. Keeps well for 3 days.

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp. olive oil
• salt/pepper
• 6-7 chicken tenders
• 1 jar mild salsa (16 oz.)
• 1 jar sphaghetti sauce (24 oz.) (I like Classico or Barilla "Roasted Garlic")
• fresh grated parmesan cheese
• pasta (approx 12 oz.) (I use Mrs. Leeper's Organic Rice-Vegetable Twists to keep it gluten free)

Directions:

1. Heat oil in large skillet over med. high heat. Brown chicken 2-3min. each side, salt and pepper lightly.
2. Pour salsa and spaghetti sauce over chicken, cover and cook 25-30 min. over med. heat until chicken is cooked enough to break into small chunks or shreds. Stir chicken chunks around in sauce, reduce heat to low and continue to simmer another 10-15 min. while cooking pasta.
3. Prepare pasta according to package directions. Drain. Toss with a little butter and olive oil to prevent sticking.

Serve chicken mixture over pasta, topped with parmesan cheese. Add a garden salad, maybe some garlic bread, and YUM!

P.S. BIG THANKS and HUGS to Mandy (our digital whiz kid) for getting our Dinner Belles blog launched. She has already posted some awesome recipes. Her enthusiasm is contagious. I am so excited to share recipes and ideas for nourishing our families, stretching our budgets, and changing meal planning from a JOB to a JOY. Love to all.

Chicken Enchilada's with Creamy Green Sauce

photo from: Everyday Food

The best thing about this recipe is you can prepare it a day ahead of time!  Just prep and assemble the enchiladas in a baking dish, cover and refrigerate until you are ready to bake.

WARNING:  This recipe can be very spicy!! For some reason the bottled green salsa is very spicy, so to tone it down a bit you can also use a regular red salsa that is not as spicy.

Ingredients:

Serves 6

• 3 large chicken breast or 6 chicken breast tenders (depending on what you have)
  
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
  
• 5 garlic cloves, unpeeled
  
• 2 jars (16 ounces each) medium green salsa
  
• 3/4 cup Half & Half
  
• 12 corn tortillas (6-inch)
  
• about 3 cups (or more) Monterey Jack cheese
  
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)
  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Season chicken with salt and pepper; place with garlic on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake about 25 to 30 minutes for breasts. Slightly shorter baking time for breast tenders.  Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine salsa and cream.
   
2. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Once chicken is cool enough to handle, shred meat. Peel and chop garlic. In a large bowl, combine chicken, garlic, and 1/2 cup salsa mixture.
   
3. Stack tortillas flat, and wrap in damp paper towels; microwave on high for 1 minute to soften. Working with one tortilla at a time, dip in salsa mixture, lay flat, and fill with 1/3 cup chicken mixture. Roll up and arrange, seam side down, in your baking dish. Top with remaining salsa mixture, then cheese.
   
4. Bake until cheese is browned and salsa is bubbling, 30 to 35 minutes; let rest 10 minutes. Serve, sprinkled with cilantro, if desired.
   

Barbecued Chicken Pizza

photo from: Everyday Food

Another favorite and regular meal at our house! I have slightly changed the recipe as I have made a few times. Here is my version!


Ingredients:
Serves 4

• Olive oil, for baking sheet


• All-purpose flour, for dusting


• 1 pound store-bought frozen pizza dough, thawed (If you have a bread machine you can make your own dough however I have never been happy when I make my own dough and then freeze it. It doesn't taste very good one thawed, so store bought might be a better choice.)


• 1 chicken breast


• store-bought barbecue sauce (I love "Sweet Baby Ray's")


• 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese


• 4 cloves of garlic


• 1 large zucchini, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced


• 1 small onion, halved and thinly sliced


• Coarse salt and ground pepper

Directions:

1. Pour bottle of BBQ sauce in a medium sauce pan, reserve a 1/2 cup to spread on pizza later. Add chicken breast to the pan and 4 cloves of garlic. Turn the stove on Medium High and let the chicken cook in the BBQ sauce for about 35 minutes or until there is no pink left. When the chicken is done it should flake apart. Keep the chicken in the pan and place it on Low until your dough is rolled out.


2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lightly oil a large baking sheet; set aside.


3. On a lightly floured work surface, use a rolling pin and your hands to roll and stretch dough to a 15-by-10-inch oval (if dough becomes too elastic to work with, let rest a few minutes). Transfer to prepared baking sheet.
   In a medium bowl, combine chicken and 1/2 cup barbecue sauce. Leaving a 1-inch border, scatter chicken mixture evenly over dough; sprinkle with cheese, then zucchini and onion. Season with salt and pepper.


4. Bake until crust is golden and cheese is melted, about 20 minutes. Serve immediately.