Tag: Chicken

Strawberry Bacon Salad

This is a nice summery meal, and it makes lots of leftovers. You can use prepackaged candied pecans, but I usually make my own because I can make a lot–and they’re much cheaper. The coating from the candied pecans does tend to dissolve off in the leftovers, though. Haha, that’s if you don’t secretly sneak all the candied pecans before dinner–they’re too tempting! Sometimes the red onion can be a bit much, so we often opt for green onions instead. You can opt to add feta cheese, but we found that the salad didn’t need it, with the salt from the bacon. And this salad is delicious, but it does take a fair amount of time to make.

For the salad in the picture, I just used one package of spinach, 1 pound of strawberries, a package of bacon, 1 bunch of green onions, a rotisserie chicken, and I made my own candied pecans. And I used Kroger Poppy Seed dressing, much cheaper than Brianna’s.

And luckily the poppy seed dressing is gluten free, so this one is naturally gluten free.

Make it a meal with:

Strawberry Bacon Salad

  • Servings: 6-8?
  • Difficulty: medium
  • Print


Delicious and summery–try not to eat all the pecans before mealtime. Haha

Ingredients

  • 1-2 (8 oz.) pkgs. Spinach
  • 1-2 lb. Strawberries, sliced
  • 1 pkg. Bacon, cooked and crumbled
  • 1 small Red Onion, diced OR 1 bunch Green Onions, sliced
  • 1 Rotisserie Chicken, broken down into pieces OR 4 Chicken Breasts, cubed and cooked
  • 2 c. Candied Pecans (prepackaged or using recipe below)
  • Brianna’s or Kroger Poppy Seed Dressing

Candied Pecans

  • 3 Tbsp. Brown Sugar
  • 1/4 tsp. Salt
  • 1 Tbsp. Water
  • 1/4 tsp. Vanilla
  • 2 c. Pecan halves

Directions

Place the spinach in a very large bowl, then place the rest of the ingredients on top, except the dressing. We generally don’t toss the salad because everything falls to the bottom of the bowl. Each person can add dressing as desired.

For candied pecans: In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, salt, water and vanilla. In a heavy frying pan on medium-high heat, toast pecans until they smell nutty and brown. Be careful because once they’re toasted, they can start to burn quickly. Pour the liquid over the nuts and mix to coat. Spread nuts on wax paper or Silpat to cool and harden.


Stir Fry

Stir fry is great because you can kind of put in whatever vegetables you have in your fridge. And it makes great leftovers. I generally put in at least carrots and broccoli. And to make things faster, I usually microwave the broccoli, then add it to the rest. Jeff prefers to have stir fry on rice, but you can also make a kind of lo mein and mix it with noodles (like spaghetti).

If you’re making this gluten free, you can either buy gluten free teriyaki sauce or make your own with tamari or gluten free soy sauce (since soy sauce is usually made with wheat).

Make it a meal with:

  • Rice or Noodles
  • Egg Rolls
  • Fortune Cookies

Stir Fry

  • Servings: 5?
  • Difficulty: medium
  • Print


Great Asian flavors and great leftovers.

Ingredients

  • 2-3 lb. Chicken Breasts, cubed
  • 1/3 c. Oil
  • 1 heaping tsp. minced Garlic
  • 1 Onion, chopped
  • 1 big Carrot, thinly sliced
  • 1 bag fresh or frozen Broccoli (or broccoli/cauliflower blend)
  • Yoshida’s Gourmet Sauce to taste
    • For gluten free, use gluten free teriyaki sauce or make your own:
    • ⅓ c. Gluten Free Soy Sauce or Tamari
    • 1 c. Water (or for more flavor use 1/2 c. water, 1/2 c. orange juice)
    • 1 tsp. minced Garlic
    • 1/4 tsp. Ginger
    • 3 Tbsp. Brown Sugar
  • 2 Tbsp. Cornstarch
  • 2 Tbsp. Water
  • ½ c. Cashews
  • White Rice, prepared; Minute Rice, prepared (2 c. rice, 2 c. water); OR 1 pkg. Spaghetti, prepared

Directions

Heat heavy pan or wok on high, then add oil. When the oil is shimmering, add chicken and cook until golden brown. Then add garlic and onion to cook until softened. For faster cooking, microwave broccoli while doing the rest. Add the carrot and cook until tender, then add in cooked broccoli. Then add sauce to taste, diluting with water if it’s too strong. Mix cornstarch and water to make a slurry, then add it to the mixture to thicken the sauce. Simmer until the sauce is thick enough. If the veggies aren’t soft enough, cover the pan with a lid and steam a few minutes until they’re soft. Just before serving, add cashews. Serve on rice or toss with spaghetti noodles.


Tin Foil Dinner

We used to make these all the time when we’d go camping as kids. I always forget how good these are–maybe it’s the butter that makes them so delicious. You can make these on the camp fire or in the oven. We’ll often make a “camping” family night at home and have tin foil dinners, then roast some marshmallows.

I remember one time when I was about eight, my dad was in charge of Scouts for our church, and they were going to a campout at Bear Lake. My mom, twin brother, and I decided to tag along with Dad and my older brother as they went camping with all the other boys from the church. The first night was a Sunday, and all the boys were supposed to bring their own dinner with them. Most boys did, but two or three forgot. So we had to give up our tin foil dinners to those boys, and mom had to find somewhere for the three of us to get dinner. That was the first time I ever ate a raw onion on a diner burger. It was hot! Haha. But I’ll never forget it. And I think raw onions are fine now. Just a funny memory.

And of course these are naturally gluten free–I even had these when I had to do the FODMAP diet for a few months.

Make it a meal with:

Tin Foil Dinner

  • Servings: 1
  • Difficulty: medium
  • Print

Fun for camping or at-home camping.

Ingredients

For each person’s pie tin, you’ll need:

  • 1 pie tin or round cake pan
  • 1 Chicken Breast
  • 1 medium Potato, peeled (optional) and sliced
  • Corn
  • Italian Seasoning
  • 2 Tbsp. Butter
  • Baby Carrots (optional)
  • Tin foil

Directions

In a pie tin, place chicken, potatoes, and corn. (You may want to place carrots in the bottom/top if you’re cooking on the fire, in case of burning.) Place 1 Tbsp. of butter on the potatoes and 1 on the corn. Sprinkle all with Italian seasoning. Cover well with foil. In the oven, cook at 375° for 30-45 minutes, depending on thickness of chicken. If cooking on the fire, stack dinners with 6 coals on bottom and on top. Check after 20-30 minutes. Cook until the carrots are tender and the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°.

For a sheet pan dinner for a family: Place the carrots on a sprayed sheet pan in a preheated oven while you slice the potatoes. Carrots need to cook longer. Once you’re done slicing, place the potatoes on a layer, season and cover with butter, then place chicken breasts on top and season those. Cover all with foil and bake as directed.


Rosemary Rotisserie Chicken

This recipe came from McCormick–they discontinued a line of spices in individual packets that you’d combine in a bowl for the final recipe. It was delicious, so I wrote it down for future use. I’ve made this using thighs, Cornish game hens, and leg quarters. It works well for all of them, but I’ll often double the recipe if I’m making it with the potatoes or if there’s tons of surface area to cover. And I’ll often just drizzle some oil on the chicken, then sprinkle the mixed seasoning on top and rub it all over. Also, to make it less fatty and easier on the digestive system, I’ll often remove the skin from the chicken thighs. It’s still nice and moist.

And this one is naturally gluten free! Just avoid using a pastry brush to cover with oil, if the pastry brush has ever touched bread or anything with gluten (gluten often gets stuck in the bristles).

Make it a meal with:

  • Fresh Fruit or Fruit Salad
  • Green Beans
  • Rolls

Rosemary Rotisserie Chicken

  • Servings: 3?
  • Difficulty: medium
  • Print

Just make sure to crush the rosemary leaves for best results. And double if you’re making with potatoes.

Ingredients

  • 2 tsp. Paprika
  • 1 ½ tsp. Crushed Rosemary Leaves
  • 1 tsp. Dried Minced Garlic
  • ½ tsp. Pepper
  • 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
  • 1 tsp. Salt
  • About 6 bone-in Chicken Thighs or 2 Cornish game hens
  • (1 ½ lbs. Small red or Russet potatoes: 1” cubes) optional

Directions

Mix oil, spices, and salt in bowl. Mix in chicken (and potatoes) or brush on. Roast, uncovered at 425° for 30 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165° (it may take longer if the chicken was still slightly frozen). (Cornish game hen = 350° for 1 hour.)


Parmesan Ranch Chicken

I always forget how amazing this chicken is. We usually have it with twice baked potatoes, and everyone loves it. And the house smells so amazing. I think this recipe originally came from a lady at church where I grew up. But Mom loved it, and I even remember when we had a Young Women’s party for Leap Year, and my mom was in charge of the dinner, so she made this chicken. And everyone loved it. By the way, this is great boneless or not boneless.

If you’re making this gluten free, just crush up some Corn Chex and switch it out for the corn flake crumbs–that’s what’s in the photo. (Corn Flakes have malt flavoring, which has gluten.)

Make it a meal with:

Parmesan Ranch Chicken

  • Servings: 8
  • Difficulty: medium
  • Print


Amazingly delicious for a weeknight dinner or special occasion.

Ingredients

  • ¾ c. melted Butter
  • ¾ c. Crushed Corn Flakes (or crushed Corn Chex)
  • ¾ c. Parmesan Cheese
  • 3 Tbsp. Ranch Dressing Powder (1 pkg.)
  • 8-10 boneless, skinless Chicken Breasts

Directions

Mix Corn Flake crumbs, ranch dressing, and cheese in shallow dish. Pat chicken dry and dip in dry mix. Then dip chicken in melted butter and coat with crumb mixture for a double coating of the dry mix. Bake, covered at 350° for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake 20-25 minutes longer.


Lemon Chicken

This recipe came from Aunt LaRee, and it’s wonderful for grilling. You can also broil it in your oven if you don’t want to fire up the grill. Take note that the chicken needs to marinate for 4 hours, though.

And this one is naturally gluten free.

Make it a meal with:

Lemon Chicken

  • Servings: 6?
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print


Easy, flavorful, and great for grilling. Remember to marinate 4 hours.

Ingredients

  • ¾ c. Oil
  • ¾ c. Lemon Juice
  • 1 Tbsp. Garlic Salt
  • 2 tsp. Onion Powder
  • 2 tsp. Basil
  • Chicken Breasts or pieces

Directions

Mix all ingredients in gallon bag. Marinate 4 hours. Then place chicken on grill and heat until grill reaches 350°. Then reduce heat to low. Grill (or broil) for 3-6 minutes on each side (or more, depending on thickness of chicken) until internal temperature reaches 165°. 15-20 minutes for bone-in.


Mom’s Fried Chicken

Mom would make this fried chicken when we were growing up. It’s pretty simple and doesn’t have lots of herbs, but it’s still delicious.

If you’re making this gluten free, of course just use gluten free flour.

Make it a meal with:

  • French Bread
  • Green Salad
  • Corn
  • Fresh Fruit

Fried Chicken

  • Servings: 10
  • Difficulty: medium
  • Print


Simple but tasty.

Ingredients

  • About 10 Chicken Thighs
  • ½ c. Butter
  • ½ c. Vegetable Oil
  • 1 c. Flour (or gluten free flour)
  • 1 tsp. Salt

Directions

(Salt chicken before coating with flour.)  Combine flour and salt in gallon bag. Place chicken in bag and shake to coat. Fry chicken in butter and oil, skin side down for 15 minutes till golden. Turn over. Turn down heat and simmer for 30 minutes.


Orange Chicken (Panda Express)

This is adapted from the Original Orange Chicken by Panda Express recipe on Tasty. It’s very delicious. But in typical Tasty fashion, there were things wrong with the recipe that they don’t show in the video. Like the fact that you have to double the liquid for the batter or you’ll basically have biscuit dough. But it’s a really great recipe that I’ve made many times, gluten free and regular. I’ve even made the chicken and just served it with sweet and sour sauce for a sweet and sour chicken. And frankly the chicken is so good and salty that we have a hard time not eating it all like popcorn chicken as it comes out. I usually make a huge batch and freeze one gallon bag of leftovers because it takes quite a while to make.

If you’re making it gluten free, of course use gluten free flour and gluten free soy sauce or tamari. Luckily it fries up and tastes the same if it’s gluten free or regular.

Make it a meal with:

  • Rice
  • Broccoli
  • Egg Rolls
  • Fortune Cookies

Orange Chicken (Panda Express)

  • Servings: 10
  • Difficulty: medium-hard
  • Print


Wonderful, but it takes lots of time.

Ingredients

  • 4 lb. chicken breasts, cubed into 1″ x 1″
  • 1 Tbsp. Salt
  • 1 tsp. Pepper
  • 1 c. Cornstarch
  • 3 c. Flour (or gluten free flour with xanthan gum)
  • 1 Egg
  • 3+ c. Water
  • 2 Tbsp. Oil
  • 6 c. Oil for frying (or however much to fill the electric skillet appropriately)

Orange Sauce

  • 3 Tbsp. Oil
  • 1/2 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes
  • 3 Tbsp. Minced Garlic
  • Pinch of ginger (optional)
  • 3/4 c. Sugar
  • 3/4 c. Brown Sugar
  • 3/4 c. Orange Juice
  • 3/4 c. White Vinegar
  • 6 Tbsp. Soy Sauce (or gluten free soy sauce/tamari)
  • 1/4 c. Water
  • 1/4 c. Cornstarch

Directions

In large bowl, mix salt, pepper, cornstarch, flour. Add egg, water, and oil until it reaches consistency of pancake batter (may need to add more water). Add chicken to batter and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

Heat oil to 375° in electric skillet. (You  may want to go below the max fill line because it takes longer to heat the oil and doesn’t hold the heat as well if it’s fuller, I’ve found.) Add chicken and cook 5-6 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove chicken from pan with a slotted metal spoon or tongs and transfer to a paper towel lined cookie sheet.

For sauce, heat heavy bottomed pan over medium high heat and add oil. Once the oil shimmers, add red pepper flakes, ginger, and garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Careful, the garlic turns dark quickly. Add sugars and stir to combine. Add orange juice and allow sugars to dissolve, stirring occasionally. Add vinegar and soy sauce and stir to combine. In a small bowl, add cornstarch to water, and whisk to combine. Add to pan with sauce and stir (if it thickens too much, add more water). Continue to cook sauce until it’s thick like maple syrup. Spoon a little sauce over the chicken and see how strong the sauce tastes on the chicken, adding more as desired.

To freeze leftovers, keep chicken and sauce separate. Freeze the chicken in a gallon bag and the sauce in a quart bag. You can also freeze a quart bag of cooked rice and put all the bags together in a grocery bag in the freezer.

To reheat from frozen, I find that the chicken holds up the best and retains its breading best when you microwave for 2 minutes, then heat on the stove. Heat some oil in a pan and warm up the chicken. Try not to stir a lot because the breading does tend to fall off if there’s a lot of movement. Place the sealed bag of sauce in water to thaw. You may need to add some water to the chicken pan and cover with a lid to steam. Once the chicken is hot, add the desired amount of sauce and heat through. To reheat frozen rice, poke some holes in the bag with a fork and microwave for 5 minutes at a time until hot.


Pesto Chicken

Man, I love pesto chicken SO much. It’s one of my very favorite meals. Garlic, basil, cheese, and tomato combine so well. You can make this as separate chicken breasts in a pan, or you can mix cubed chicken and cut up tomato with sauce in the pasta. Either way is delicious, but the separate chicken breasts in the pan seems a little more special for special occasions.

And good news, this one is naturally gluten free–just serve it with gluten free noodles.

Make it a meal with:

  • Pasta
  • Garlic Bread or Breadsticks
  • Corn or Green Beans
  • Fresh Fruit

Pesto Chicken

  • Servings: 6
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print


Absolutely delicious, great for special occasions or weeknight dinners.

Ingredients

  • 3 large Chicken Breasts, fileted in half so they’re half the thickness (6 total pieces)
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 10 oz. jar Basil Pesto
  • 2 large Tomatoes, sliced
  • Sliced or shredded Mozzarella
  • Parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions

Place the fileted chicken breasts in a greased 9×13 pan and season with salt and pepper. Spoon the pesto over the chicken. Then cover each chicken with 1-2 tomato slices (salted and peppered), and top with cheese. (Optional: Sprinkle parmesan over all.) Cook at 375° for about 30-45 minutes or until the temperature reaches 165°. Also broil to melt the cheese until slightly golden brown at the end. Serve with pasta, and make sure to spoon the delicious liquid from the pan over the pasta.


Cordon Bleu

I like to make cordon bleu on Sundays or special occasions. They do take a little more effort because you have to pound out the chicken and assemble it, but I often make a big pan of 10 cordon bleus and freeze the leftovers with sauce.

I generally like to have everything laid out and ready at the beginning so it goes fast once you start. Also, I take out the exact number of ham and cheese slices beforehand that I need so that I won’t contaminate the whole package with my chicken-covered hands. It’s a messy job to assemble the cordon bleu–you can use latex gloves or try the technique of having one “dry” hand for breadcrumbs and one “wet” hand for dipping in butter. But it’ll be fairly messy no matter what.

You can use regular breadcrumbs or Italian breadcrumbs. Growing up we always had plain, but lately I’ve really enjoyed the extra flavor from the Italian. You can always make your own Italian breadcrumbs by shaking some Italian seasoning into plain breadcrumbs. Also growing up, we used to secure the rolled up chicken with toothpicks. But I’ve found that if I roll them and pack them fairly tightly (like 10 in a 9×13 pan), they’ll cook and hold their shapes. Then you don’t have to pull out the extra toothpicks before eating.

If you’re making it gluten free, just swap out the breadcrumbs for gluten free breadcrumbs or crushed Rice or Corn Chex. You can still add Italian seasoning if you want more flavor. And if you’re making the sauce, use a gluten free cream of chicken soup.

Make it a meal with:

  • Baked Potatoes, Risotto, or Pasta Roni
  • Green Beans
  • Waldorf Salad

Cordon Bleu

  • Servings: 10
  • Difficulty: medium-hard
  • Print


A nicer, fancier meal that takes more time but also freezes well.

Ingredients

  • 5 large Chicken Breasts, fileted in half so they’re half the thickness
  • 10 Ham Slices
  • 10 Swiss Cheese Slices
  • 1/4 c. Melted Butter in a bowl
  • 1/2 c. + Bread Crumbs with extra Italian seasoning if desired (or gluten free breadcrumbs or crushed Corn Chex) in a bowl

Sauce for Topping (I often double this if I’m making 10, depending who likes sauce)

  • 1 can Cream of Chicken Soup (or gluten free cream of chicken soup)
  • ½ c. Sour Cream
  • 1 tsp. Lemon Juice

Directions

On a cutting board, cover a fileted chicken breast with plastic wrap to prevent splashes. Then pound out chicken so that it’s thin and even. Put down one slice of ham on the flattened chicken and then one slice of cheese. Roll tightly then dip in bread crumbs, then butter, then bread crumbs again. Place in greased glass 9×13 pan. Pack tightly to keep cheese from melting out too much. Cook at 375° for about 45 minutes to 1 hour when tightly packed or until the internal temperature reaches 165°.

For the sauce, mix the ingredients and bring to a gentle boil. Spoon over cordon bleu.