Herb Roasted Chicken and Vegetables

I cut this recipe from a coupon page! I'm not sure who wrote it, but it talks about a "Reynolds Kitchens Tip". The recipe calls for 4 to 6 bone-in chicken pieces, but I rarely buy chicken like that (mostly boneless skinless...) so I've changed that part of it. This is easy! Enjoy!

3-4 Chicken breasts or 4-6 chicken breast tenderloins
2 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon garlic salt
4 medium red-skin potatoes, quartered (I've used russet, but red is best!)
1 package (8 oz) peeled baby carrots
1 medium onion, cut in eighths
Aluminum Foil (Heavy works best)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a 13 x 9 x 2 inch pan with foil (I've done it on a cookie sheet). Place chicken pieces in pan. Brush with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Combine basil, rosemary and garlic salt in medium bowl; sprinkle 1/2 of the herb mixture on the chicken. Add remaining olive oil, potatoes, carrots and onion to bowl with the herb mixture; stir to coat. Arrange vegetables in an even layer around chicken. Cover dish with sheet of foil; fold back one corner of cover for heat circulation. Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until vegetables are done and meat thermometer reads 170 degrees. Carefully remove cover. (Reynolds Kitchens Tip: To line pan, flip pan upside down. Press a sheet of foil around pan. Remove foil. Flip pan upright and drop foil inside. Crimp edges to rim of pan.) This tip works a little but in general the pan is bigger outside than inside so it's still a little difficult to put foil in a pan!

King Ranch Chicken

This one's a hit every time I make it, Shane and everyone else who has tried it loves it. I got it from my old roommate, Amanda. I am not sure why it's called King Ranch Chicken, so don't ask, and there's not really many specifics on the amounts of everything, but I usually just eyeball everything anyway. It's mostly just personal preference.

Ingredients:
1 package tortilla chips
cooked and shredded chicken breast
diced onion
grated cheddar cheese
chopped green pepper
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic salt
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can Rotel tomatoes
Sour cream for topping

Grease a 9x13 pan, crunch tortilla chips and layer on bottom, cover with shredded chicken. Sprinkle onion, cheese, green pepper, chili powder, and garlic salt on top.

Mix separately: cream of chicken, cream of mushroom, can of tomatoes, and then spread on top of the casserole.

Cook for 30-45 minutes at 350 degrees

Serve with sour cream and more tortilla chips.

Hone-Lime Chicken Enchiladas

I hope Afton doesn't mind me posting this recipe - her friend and neighbor brought this over after Logan was born and it was an instant favorite, so she got the recipe. It's easy and tastes the best. This is my favorite recipe at this time!

Oven: 350 Degrees

1/2 C honey
1/4 Cup Lime juice (squeezed from fresh limes is best, but 100% lime juice woks too)
1 T Chili Powder
1/2 t Garlic Powder
1 1/2 pound chicken, cooked and shredded (I use 10 to 12 frozen skinless, boneless, chicken tenders) You can use you crock-pot on low to cook your chicken (2 or 3 breasts) - more tender. I boil mine with some seasonings and it takes about 20 minutes.

Stir together honey, lime juice, chili powder and garlic powder until combined. Add chicken and let sit in marinade for at least 30 minutes.

2 (10 oz) cans green enchilada sauce (Make sure it's green! Some places don't sell this - Wal-mart didn't until recently, I always found it at Cub Foods.)
1 C Half & half
Flour Tortillas
Shredded Colby Jack Cheese (I use a mixture of cheddar and colby jack)

Mix enchilada sauce with half & half. Spread roughly 3/4 C of the sauce in the bottom of a 9" x 13" baking dish. Fill flour tortillas with marinated chicken and shredded cheese, roo up, then place side-by-side in baking dish. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over the top of the enchiladas and top with more cheese. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes.

Stacey will actually eat this without the sauce (I keep 2 out for her) and it is one of her favorite meals...could be the sweetened meat.

Tastes great with guacamole and Mexican Rice (recipe to follow).

Barbecue Chicken Thighs

Uncle Vaughn taught me how to make this! It's best on a grill, but since our's isn't working, I cheat and use the broiler. I've been cheating even more when I make it ahead or just want to be sure the chicken gets done by cooking the chicken in the oven before I broil it. It tastes just as good and doesn't get burned by the broiler as easily! When I want to make it ahead (church in the afternoon), I make it completely and put it in my crock-pot that has been sprayed with cooking spray. It turns out even more tender and you still have the barbecue flavor!

You will need: Boneless, skinless chicken thighs (the thighs are more tender than chicken breasts, but harder to find skinless) and barbecue sauce. I used to use Cattlemen's, but I can't find it out here any more so I use Sweet Baby Ray's Original or Honey.

Pour barbecue sauce on the chicken in a dish (I use my 9" x 13" baking pan). Make sure all the chicken gets covered in the sauce.

For the grill: put the pieces of chicken on the grill separately, then baste with more barbecue sauce. Keep turning and basting until done.

For the broiler: Set your broiler on low. Put the chicken pieces separately on a cookie sheet or broiler pan (for easier clean-up, use aluminum foil). Baste with barbecue sauce. Bake under the broiler about 7 minutes. (Check it after 5 minutes to make sure the time works in your broiler.) Turn and baste again. Broil 7 minutes. Repeat 2 more times or until done.

Tastes great with corn on the cob, potato salad and cold veggies.

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

I made these last night and they turned out really good! Shane's mom posted it on Facebook and I had to try them, they're from six sisters stuff. They didn't look quite like the picture that they had on their site, but I thought they were perfect. They turn out nice and crispy like regular taquitos.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (4 oz) cream cheese (light works fine in this recipe)
1/3 cup green salsa
1 Tablespoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried cilantro
2 Tablespoons sliced green onions
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 cup grated Pepperjack cheese
About 20 (6 inch) flour tortillas
Salt
Cooking spray

Directions:
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.
Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it’s soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and garlic powder. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and Pepperjack cheese and combine well.
Place 2-3 Tablespoons of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges and roll it up as tight as you can. Place seam side down on the baking sheet.
Lay all of the filled taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle some salt on top.
Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.

We didn't have a sauce for them, but they tasted just fine plain. If you want a sauce for them you could make a "salsa ranch" dip (just mix together equal parts salsa and ranch dressing), or it would also be good with guacamole or regular salsa,

This is how a few of mine looked when they were done, they were a nice golden brown:

They were very filling, I know the recipe said about 20, but ours made about 15 and we could barely finish them with just the 2 of us. I would have been perfectly fine with just a few of them.

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

This has been a favorite of mine since I was in college and my roommates and I cooked for an apartment of boys! They loved it, too. This is one of Dad's favorite recipes and he asks for this when he gets to choose the menu.

Butter a 9" x 13" pan.

Precook about 6 chicken breasts (or a whole chicken or 10 to 12 chicken tenders) with whatever method you desire. If you bake it, you can use water instead of chicken broth for the sauce. I usually boil the chicken with onions, bay leaf, basil, salt and pepper. Cut into cubes. (I've not tried it shredded.)

Cook one large package of broccoli (not Sam's Club Large - just grocery store large - not sure how many ounces - probably 16.) You can also use fresh broccoli, but only cook it half way. Drain the water.

Lay the broccoli in the buttered casserole dish. Lay the chicken on top of the broccoli.You can sprinkle the chicken with sliced almonds, mushrooms and a little parsley before you cover it with the sauce. I usually skip that.

Sauce:
2 cans Cream of Chicken soup
1 C Mayonnaise
1/4 C Chicken Broth (from chicken)
1/2 t Curry powder

Put the sauce over it and then sprinkle the sauce with buttered bread crumbs. I found that toasting 4 pieces of bread, buttering them and then processing them in my food processor makes a great bread topping.

Cover with foil, removing for the last 10 minutes. Bake at 325 degrees for 1/2 hour. You can make this ahead and keep in the refrigerator, but bake for 1 hour.

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Sweet & Sour Chicken

I looked for years for a sweet and sour chicken recipe that I liked and finally came up with this. There are two ways to make it: the chicken can be made with batter yourself or you can skip that part and use pre-battered chicken tenders baked in the oven and then cut into strips (I use Tyson). This isn't as good as the home made way, but it makes a good, quick meal.

Sweet & Sour Chicken

Cut 12 pieces of chicken tenders (or about 4 chicken breasts) into 1" squares.

Batter:
1 Egg
1/3 C Milk
1/2 C Flour
1/2 t Baking Power

Mix ingredients for batter and then roll the chicken pieces int it. Stir fry them in oil.

Sauce:
2/3 C Sugar
2 T Rice Vinegar
3 T Ketchup
3/4 C Water
2 T Cornstarch
*

Combine sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan, mixing well. Add ketchup and vinegar and stir until mixed, then add water. (I found that doing it this way prevents lumps when it's cooked.) Cook over medium heat until thickened.

*Optional: Use pineapple tidbits: drain and use the juice instead of water in the sauce recipe. Add the pineapple after the sauce is thickened.

*Optional: Slice green peppers and/or onions to add to sauce after thickened.

Serve over rice.