Couscous Salad with Fresh Spinach and Chicken

My church hosted a Spring Fling event recently for women in the church.  This lovely dish was served for dinner and was so wonderful!  All of the ladies at the table talked about how great it tasted.  I can't wait to try it at home!  It goes well with pita bread or chips.

Couscous Salad with Fresh Spinach and Chicken
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted
1 ½ cups cooked couscous
2 cups baby spinach leaves, rolled and sliced into slivers
1 cup dried cranberries

1 English cucumber, chopped

1 15oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 small red onion, chopped

Cooked and sliced chicken (marinated in olive oil, lemon juice and Nature’s Seasoning)

Dressing:

½ cup plain low fat yogurt
3 T olive oil
2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 cloves minced garlic

 

Directions:
Combine the almonds and the red onion in a bowl. Whisk together yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice and

garlic. Pour over salad and toss. Season with salt and pepper. Chill, serve with sliced chicken.

Chicken, Pesto, and Spinach Quinoa

I've been wanting to try quinoa since it seems to be everywhere now!  This was the first recipe I've made, and I really liked the way it turned out.  The cheese and pesto help to give it a creamier taste, so it doesn't seem dried out.  I'm definitely going to be trying some other quinoa recipes in the future!

Photo from Sea Jet Cook

Chicken, Pesto, and Spinach Quinoa
From: Sea Jet Cook
Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa
2 chicken breasts
3 big handfuls of fresh spinach (about 3 cups)
6 tablespoons pesto
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Cook the quinoa according to the package directions (we used a brown rice and quinoa mix).  Cut the chicken into small cubes and cook in a fry pan or a grill pan until done. When the quinoa is done, add the spinach, pesto, and parmesan.  Then add the chicken stir it all together.

Crusted Honey Mustard Chicken

This is a great chicken recipe that I first tried in the fall.  ...And the best part is that it's a Weight Watchers recipe!  I used Panko bread crumbs instead of the cornflake crumbs, and it was delicious!  It has a great crunch like fried chicken but it healthier since it's baked.  I think this is something that would be great for children, and it has a fancy enough taste for adults.  This is definitely going in my chicken recipe rotation!

Photo from WeightWatchers.com

Ingredients:

	1 spray(s) cooking spray
	2/3 cup(s) lite honey mustard dressing
	1/8 tsp table salt
	1/8 tsp black pepper
	2 tsp dill, freshly chopped
	1 medium uncooked scallion(s), finely sliced
	1 cup(s) cornflake crumbs
	1 pound(s) uncooked boneless skinless chicken breast(s), four 4 oz pieces

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 425°F. Coat a shallow pan with cooking spray.
• In a small bowl, combine honey mustard dressing, salt, pepper, dill and scallions; remove 1/3 cup and set aside.
• Place cornflake crumbs in a shallow bowl. Dip chicken into dressing mixture and then cornflake crumbs; place in prepared pan.
• Bake until chicken is golden and no longer pink in center, about 15 minutes.
• Drizzle remaining dressing mixture (the 1/3 cup that was set aside) over chicken breasts and serve.
• Yields 1 piece of chicken and about 1 1/3 tablespoons of dressing per serving.

Chicken and Avocado Salad with Lime and Cilantro

Kent and I made this the other night.  The original recipe says that it makes 4 servings, but it was really closer to just 3 lunch servings or 2 dinner servings.  But, it was super good!!  It definitely has a Mexican feel (Kent added a little tequila, too).  This recipe comes from a link to no-heat lunches, so I think I'll definitely be making this again to take to school!

Picture from: Kalyn's Kitchen

Chicken and Avocado Salad with Lime and Cilantro
(Recipe from Kalyn's Kitchen)

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked chicken, shredded into large pieces
2 medium avocados, diced
1 T + 1 T fresh squeezed lime juice
salt, to taste (I didn't use too much salt because you can always add more at the table.)
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onion
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro (or chop it more coarsely if you prefer)
2 T mayo or light mayo

Instructions:
Shred the chicken apart until you have 2 cups of chicken shredded into fairly large chunks. Dice the avocados into medium-sized pieces, mix with 1 T of the lime juice, and season avocado with salt to taste. Thinly slice the green onion and finely chop the cilantro. Mix mayo and 1 T lime juice to make the dressing.

Put the chicken into a bowl large enough to hold all the salad ingredients. Add the sliced green onions and dressing and toss until all the chicken is coated with dressing. Add the avocado and any lime juice in the bottom of the bowl and gently combine with the chicken. Then add the chopped cilantro and gently mix into the salad, just until it is barely combined.

Serve right away or chill for a while before serving. This could be served inside pita bread or sandwich bread, but we just ate it as a salad. (I would imagine this would be fine in the fridge overnight but I didn't have any left over when I made it!)

Spicy Sweet Glazed Chicken

This is a recipe from a great site that my sister-in-law sent me.  I've tried several recipes, and this is one of my favorite.  They are all made to be able to cook immediately or to easily freeze and thaw.  I'm always looking for easy chicken recipes, and this one's great!

Spicy Sweet Glazed Chicken
(from When the Dinner Bell Rings)
Ingredients:
2 Teaspoons Minced Garlic
2/3 cup Apricot Preserves
1/3 cup Soy Sauce
1/3 cup Ketchup
1 Teaspoon Tabasco Sauce
1 1/2 Pounds Chicken Pieces

Directions:
For immediate cooking: Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Place all ingredients into a
large baking dish, turn chicken to coat. Bake until chicken juices run
clear (45-60 minutes for chicken pieces, or 20-30 minutes for chicken
breasts).

For freezing: Place all ingredients into a 1 Gallon freezer bag. Lay flat
in freezer.

To thaw and cook: Take the bag out of the freezer the night before, make
sure the baggie is completely closed. Place the Bag on a shelf furthest
from the freezer (It works best if the bag is laying flat, although this
may not be the best option with a side-by-side fridge/freezer). Preheat the
oven to 350 F. Empty the contents of the bag into a large baking dish and
bake until the juices run clear (45-60 minutes for chicken pieces, or 20-30
minutes for chicken breasts).

Per serving: 277 Calories (kcal); 12g Total Fat; (37% calories from fat); 16g Protein; 28g Carbohydrate; 70mg Cholesterol; 1145mg Sodium
Food Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 1 Fat; 2 Other Carbohydrates

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Sally sent me this recipe several weeks ago, but I've been waiting to publish it.  I feel like after so much filling food in December, January is always a great time for soups.  This one looks really yummy!  I can't wait to try it!

Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe
Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 T. olive oil
2 t. chili powder
1 t. oregano
1 (28-oz.) can crushed tomatoes
2 (10.5-oz.) can chicken broth
1 & 1/4 C. water
1 C. cooked corn kernels (or canned)
1 C. white hominy (same section as canned corn)
1 (4-oz.) can chopped green chilis
1 (15-oz.) can black beans, drained & rinsed
1/4 C. chopped cilantro
2 chicken breasts, cooked & cut into small pieces (or use a rotisserie
chicken, would use 1/2 of the chicken for this serving size, give or
take depending on how much chicken you want)

Garnish: tortilla chips, avocado, Monterrey jack cheese, sour cream, green onions, whatever sounds good!

Preparation:
Sauté onions in olive oil with garlic on low heat for awhile to cook down (I like to cook out onion flavor). Transfer to large pot & stir in chili powder, oregano, tomatoes, broth & water. Bring to a boil &simmer about 10 minutes. Stir in corn, hominy, chilis, beans, cilantro & chicken. Simmer another 10 minutes. Serve and top with garnish.

Pesto Chicken

I found a simple recipe on-line a few weeks ago for baked pesto chicken and decided I had to try it.  I changed around some of the ingredients to get a slightly different flavor.  It is super easy and is ready really quickly!  Kent and I both loved it and decided we would have to make it a regular dinner item!

Baked Pesto Chicken
Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup refrigerated basil pesto (just use the jarred pesto from the grocery store)
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 Parmesan cheese

Directions:
 Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Place the chicken in a glass casserole dish and cover with pesto.  Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink in the center.  Remove from oven and top with tomatoes and cheese.  Place the dish back in the over for 3 - 5 minutes until cheese is melted.


(Recipe adapted from www.food.com)

Grilled Lemon Chicken with Satay Dip

Just before Christmas, Kent and I were at a friend's house, and I noticed that she had The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook sitting in the kitchen.  I picked it up to look at some of the recipes and immediately knew it was a cookbook I needed - I love everything Ina Garten makes!  I was looking for a new chicken recipe a few weeks ago and was sure that this cookbook would have a good one.  I'm really excited about this one because the grilled lemon chicken recipe is a good standard recipe, but the satay dip (a thai sauce) makes it taste completely different.  I kept the chicken breasts whole with the dip on the side when I served them, but Ina suggests cutting the cooked chicken breasts into strips and putting them on skewers to make an appetizer with the dip.  If the satay dip is not your thing, the chicken works beautifully on its own or as part of another dish.

Grilled Lemon Chicken
Ingredients:
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (4 lemons)
3/4 cup good olive oil
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp. minced fresh tyme leaves (1/2 tsp dried)
2 lbs. boneless chicken breasts

Directions:
Whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme.  Pour over the chicken breasts in a nonreactive bowl.  Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 6 hours or overnight.  Cook on the grill and serve! 

Satay Dip
Ingredients:
1 tbsp. good olive oil
1 tbsp. dark sesame oil
2/3 cup small-diced red onions
2 cloves minced garlic
1 1/2 tbsp. minced fresh ginger root
1/4 tsp. creshed red pepper flakes
2 tbsp. good red wine vinegar
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter (I used sunflower seed butter.)
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tbsp. dry sherry (I used a white wine that I already had open.)
1 1/2 tsp. freshly squeezed lime juice

Cook the olive oil, sesame oil, red onion, garlic, ginger root, and red pepper flakes in a small, heavy-bottomed pot on medium heat until the onion is transparent (10 - 15 minutes).  Whisk in the vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, peanut butter, ketchup, sherry, and lime juice; cook for 1 more minute.  Use as a dip for chicken - it can be served warm or cool.

Roasted Corn, Chicken, and Goat Cheese Quesadillas

My friend, Julie, told me about this recipe recently - and it sounds fantastic!  She got it from this cute blog, Keeping up with the Joneses (recipe originally published in Cooking Light).  Their website has step-by-step directions for this dish with pictures.  Julie says that this recipe is a sure hit and can be made any night of the week!


Roasted Corn, Chicken, and Goat Cheese Quesadillas
Ingredients:
1 cup fresh corn kernels

1/4 cup chopped green onions

2/3 cup (5 ounces) goat cheese, softened

10 tablespoons salsa verde (or salsa of your choice)

chopped, cooked chicken (this was our addition to the 'dillas)

soft tortillas of your choosing

Directions:

Cut the corn off of the cob (one cob should be enough).  Chop 1 - 2 green onions. In a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, roast the corn for about 2 minutes or until it starts to brown. Add the corn to the goat cheese and mix thoroughly.  Spread the corn mixture over the tortilla.  Add chicken, green onions, and salsa. Coat a skillet, with nonstick spray and add the quesadilla. Cook over medium heat and watch closely because these burn easily!  Flip it over and toast the other side. Remove from pan and slice into pieces.

Baked Greek Chicken

I easily get tired of chicken recipes since we eat chicken pretty often.  A few weeks ago we were planning to eat chicken for dinner and wanted to try something different.  We were both hungry and had not planned ahead - so we didn't have it marinated and I didn't feel like standing over the stove watching it cook.  This baked chicken recipe was perfect!  It had so much flavor and was ready to eat quickly!

Baked Greek Chicken
2-4 chicken breasts
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp finely minced garlic (or garlic puree from a jar)
1 Tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme

Directions:
Place the chicken in a small casserole dish.  Mix all of the other ingredients together.  Pour over the chicken.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

Chicken Tetrazzini

I've made this recipe several times and always really enjoyed it.  It reminds me of my days in the Tri Delt house - we used to have a very similar dish on a pretty regular basis!  Chicken tetrazzini is a meal all on its own, and  you'll definitely have enough for leftovers. 

Chicken Tetrazzini
Ingredients:
1 (7 oz) package vermicelli spaghetti or noodles
2 cups chicken broth
3 cups cooked chicken, diced (you can boil boneless chicken breasts ahead of time and cube or dice it)
1 large onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
1 cup celery, diced
1/4 cup butter or margarine
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
2 cups grated cheese
1 package slivered almonds (I usually leave these out)
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Cook the spaghetti in chicken stock.  Drain and reserve 1/2 cup broth.  Saute the onion, bell pepper, and celery in butter until soft.  Grease the bottom of a 2 quart casserole dish.  Cover with half of the chicken, half of the noodles, and half of the onion, bell pepper, and celery mixture.  Salt and pepper to taste and pour 1/4 cup of chicken broth over the mixture.  Add 1 can of soup.  Repeat layers.  Top with grated cheese and almonds.  Bake covered at 375 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes or at 325 for 1 hour.  (Recipe from Remembering Old Louisville School Days)

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

This is a wonderful recipe and is so easy to make - I promise! Kent thinks they taste a lot like the lettuce wraps at P.F. Changs. I think they taste a little different (because of the hoisin sauce). Either way, they are so good!! This recipe definitely makes enough for a meal for two or works great as appetizers.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients:
1 large head iceberg lettuce
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 lb ground chicken
3 medium-size cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chopped scallions, green parts only (from 1 bunch)
1 tbsp minced peeled fresh ginger
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
4 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp Asian (dark) sesame oil
3/4 cup finely chopped water chestnuts

Directions:
Using a small paring knife, cut the core out of the head of the lettuce and discard it. Pull the lettuce apart, rinse it, and drain well on paper towels. Place the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add in the chicken, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until the chicken is cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Turn off the heat. Stir in the scallions, ginger, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, and water chestnuts. Cook the chicken filling over medium-low heat, stirring, until it bubbles and is heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Keep the filling warm if you are serving it immediately. Serve with lettuce leaves. Enjoy!

Hot and Sour Soup

I decided that it would be fun to have a Asian inspired theme week! So, I'll start by posting a new recipe that I tried this weekend. I will say that it was very time consuming, but also very tasty! It takes a while to make the chicken stock - so I might suggest using a store-bought stock and then heating it on the stove with the ingredients listed in "Chinese Chicken Stock" recipe that follows. Whole chickens are sometimes expensive, so if you do make your own stock look for sales in the poultry section and buy whatever is least expensive - I ended up buying a cut chicken. I also didn't have the BBQ pork, so I took out some of the chicken from the stock as soon as it was cooked through and used it in place of the pork. But if you happen to have leftover BBQ - this would be a great way to use it! This soup is very spicy and flavorful. Even though some of these ingredients are different, they are easy to find (Asian specialty section of the grocery store) and can be used in other Asian dishes.

Hot and Sour Soup
(Recipe by Tyler Florence)
4 dried Chinese fungi (about 1 ounce), such as wood ears or cloud ears (*I used shitake mushrooms)
2 tablespoons canola oil
1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 tablespoon red chile paste, such as sambal oelek
1/2 cup canned bamboo shoots, sliced
1/4 pound barbecued pork, shredded
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
Pinch sugar
2 quarts Chinese Chicken Stock, recipe follows
1 square firm tofu, drained and sliced in 1/4-inch strips
3 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Chopped green onions and cilantro leaves, for garnish

Directions
Put the wood ears in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Let stand for 30 minutes to reconstitute. Drain and rinse the wood ears; discard any hard clusters in the centers.
Heat the oil in a wok or large pot over medium-high flame. Add the ginger, chili paste, wood ears, bamboo shoots, and pork; cook and stir for 1 minute to infuse the flavor. Combine the soy sauce, vinegar, salt, pepper, and sugar in a small bowl, pour it into the wok and toss everything together - it should smell really fragrant. Pour in the Chinese Chicken Stock, bring the soup to a boil, and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the tofu and cook for 3 minutes.
Dissolve the cornstarch in the water and stir until smooth. Mix the slurry into the soup and continue to simmer until the soup thickens. Remove the soup from the heat and stir in 1 direction to get a current going, then stop stirring. Slowly pour in the beaten eggs in a steady stream and watch it spin around and feather in the broth (it should be cooked almost immediately.) Garnish the hot and sour soup with chopped green onions and cilantro before serving.

Chinese Chicken Stock:
1 (4-pound) whole chicken
1 bunch green onions, halved
4 garlic cloves, smashed
3-inch piece fresh ginger, whacked open with the flat side of a knife
1 onion, halved
1 teaspoon whole white peppercorns
About 3 quarts cold water

Directions:
Put the chicken in a large stockpot and place over medium heat. Toss in the green onions, garlic, ginger, onion, and peppercorns. Pour about 3 quarts of cold water into the pot to cover the chicken by 1-inch. Simmer gently for 1 hour, uncovered, skimming off the foam on the surface periodically.
Carefully remove the chicken from the pot and pass the stock through a strainer lined with cheesecloth to remove the solids and excess fat. Cool the chicken stock to room temperature before storing in the refrigerator, or chill it down over ice first.
Yield: About 2 quarts

White Bean and Chicken Chili - from Melissa

I have not been very good about cooking new recipes and updating the blog amidst our move this month! But luckily, I've had several friends send some great recipes for me to post. I'm finally trying some new things this week - so I'll let you know how they go! But please keep sending recipes!!

This is a recipe that my wonderful sister-in-law, Melissa, sent me last week. It looks so good!! It seems like it will be a perfect comfort food during all of this cold weather we're having and is a great alternative to a more traditional beef chili.

White Bean and Chicken Chili
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 pounds ground chicken
1 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons chili powder
3 tablespoons flour
2 (15-ounce cans) cannellini or other white beans, rinsed and drained
1 bunch (about 1 pound) Swiss chard, stems removed, leaves chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed
4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Freshly ground black pepper for seasoning
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions:
In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the ground chicken, 1 teaspoon salt, cumin, fennel seeds, oregano, and chili powder. Cook, stirring frequently, until the chicken is cooked through, about 8 minutes. Stir the flour into the chicken mixture. Add the beans, Swiss chard, corn, and chicken stock. Bring the mixture to a simmer, scraping up the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Simmer for 55-60 minutes until the liquid has reduced by about half and the chili has thickened. Add the red pepper flakes and simmer for another 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Ladle the chili into serving bowls. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.

Greek Chicken with Angel Hair - from Katie

Since tomorrow is Mardi Gras, I had planned on posting the king cake recipe that I made last year. But, we're in the process of moving so it's hard to get to my cookbooks right now! Luckily, my friend Katie sent me a new recipe last week. This is her Greek Chicken with Angel Hair - thanks Katie!

Greek Chicken with Angel Hair
Ingredients:
1 pound uncooked angel hair pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breasts, halved (seasoned with salt and pepper)
2 cups chopped red onion
1 shallot clove, minced
1 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon basil
½ teaspoon dried oregano
2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano
¾ cup (3 ounces) feta cheese, crumbled

Directions:
Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan; sauté 3 minutes on each side. Add onion and next 5 ingredients (through tomatoes) to pan; stir well. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 25 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove from heat; sprinkle with cheese. Serve with pasta.

*Katie says that this recipe takes about 30 minutes to cook and makes about 8 servings. She also suggests making it with whole wheat pasta for a different flavor.

Chicken and Dumplings

After Christmas, I decided it was time to try something new! So last night I made this recipe out of a cookbook my mom had given me for Christmas. I was a little nervous about it and the cookbook didn't give too many specific details - so I was on my own for some of it. But it turned out pretty well! It wasn't as hard as I thought it might be, and the best part is that there are so few ingredients!

Ingredients:

1 large chicken, cut into pieces (you can buy them already cut)

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons vegetable shortening, melted

All-purpose flour

Method:

Sprinkle the chicken on all sides with salt and pepper. Place it in a large saucepan or a stockpot. Cover with water. Cook over medium heat until tender (I cooked it for about 45 minutes). Drain the chicken but save your broth (I just used tongs to take the chicken out, then poured the liquid through a strainer). Place the chicken in a large bowl. After the chicken cools some, tear it off the bone - you will add it back in later. In a separate bowl, combine 2 cups of the broth with just enough flour to make a stiff dough (I just kept adding flour until it was stiff enough to roll out - I have no idea how much I added!). Roll out very thin on a lightly floured surface before you cut into squares (I suggest cutting into 1 inch squares using a pizza slicer). Bring the remaining broth to a boil in a stockpot. Drop your dumplings into the broth. Add the chicken. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Chicken-Eggplant Parmigiana

This recipe comes from The Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook and is so good! Kent really likes it, but it's so rich that I feel like I can't eat it very often. This is an easy recipe to double or half. It is definitely enough to be a meal on its own, but you can add a side of pasta or bread.

Chicken-Eggplant Parmigiana
Ingredients:
4 skinned, boned chicken breast halves
3/4 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 small eggplant
1/4 cup vegetable or olive oil
1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil
1 (14 oz) jar meatless spaghetti sauce
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup (4 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Method:
Place chicken between two sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; flatten to 1/4 inch thickness, using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Combine breadcrumbs, salt, and pepper. Dip chicken in egg, and coat with breadcrumbs. Place chicken on an ungreased baking sheet; cover and chill about 10 minutes. Peel eggplant, if desired; cut lengthwise into 4 slices. Brown chicken in 1/4 cup hot oil in a large skillet over medium heat, turning once. Remove chicken from skillet, and place in a 13x9 inch baking dish. Add 1 tablespoon oil to skillet, and cook eggplant over medium heat until browned on both sides; drain on paper towels. Place 1 slice eggplant on each chicken breast half. Spoon spaghetti sauce over eggplant; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 365 degrees for 15 minutes. Top each eggplant slice with mozzarella cheese, and bake 5 more minutes or until cheese melts and sauce is bubbly. Sprinkle with parsley. (Yield 4 servings - 565 calories per serving)

Buffalo Chicken Wings

This is another great tailgating recipe! We love making these on Saturdays while we're watching football! Homemade chicken wings are usually much larger than wings served in restaurants - so you can definitely make a meal out of them!

Baked Chicken Wings - Recipe by Alton Brown

Ingredients:
Whole chicken wings

Method:
Place a 6-quart saucepan with a steamer basket and 1-inch of water in the bottom, over high heat, cover and bring to a boil.
Remove the tips of the wings and discard or save for making stock. Using kitchen shears, or a knife, separate the wings at the joint. Place the wings into the steamer basket, cover, reduce the heat to medium and steam for 10 minutes. Remove the wings from the basket and carefully pat dry. Lay the wings out on a cooling rack set in a half sheet pan lined with paper towels and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Replace the paper towels with parchment paper. Roast on the middle rack of the oven for 20 minutes. Turn the wings over and cook another 20 minutes or until meat is cooked through and the skin is golden brown.

Kent's Buffalo Sauce
Ingredients:
For hot wings - equal parts butter and hot sauce
For mild wings - substitute tomato sauce for some of the hot sauce

Method:
Mix the ingredients together and drizzle over the wings.
(To get different flavors, try adding garlic or honey)

Lemon and Garlic Roast Chicken

This is one of the first meat recipes I ever tried. Sally and I tried it sophomore year of college. It turned out so well that I've been making it ever since! It's really easy and turns out beautifully. It's good for when you're having company over - though it only feeds about four people. The whole house will smell amazing!

Lemon and Garlic Roast Chicken
Ingredients:
1 (5-6lb) whole roasting chicken
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large bunch of thyme
1 bunch of rosemary
4 lemons
3 heads of garlic
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 lb sliced bacon
1 cup of white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock

Method:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Remove anything from inside the chicken and discard. Wash the chicken in the sink, making sure to get off any feathers. Pat dry. Place it in a large roasting pan. Salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the thyme and rosemary (save some to garnish the outside). Cut the lemons and heads of garlic in half. Stuff two lemon halves and two garlic halves inside the chicken. Brush the outside of the chicken with butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper. I usually sprinkle some of the thyme and garlic on the outside as well. Top the chicken with about 5 or 6 pieces of bacon. Place the remaining lemon halves and garlic halves in the roasting pan (I usually squeeze the lemons over the chicken first). Add the cup of wine and 1/2 cup chicken stock to the pan.

Bake in the oven for 1 hour. Then remove the bacon and place it to the side. Cook the chicken for an additional 30-45 minutes depending on the chicken size and oven.

It will be beautiful when it comes out of the oven. The bacon can be served as a side (or eaten as a snack while you wait for the chicken to finish cooking!) Though this recipe may seem difficult, it is actually pretty easy. You can substitute any of the herbs for different flavors. This recipe is based off of one of Ina Garten's recipes - but she makes a gravy instead of cooking the chicken in the juices. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/lemon-and-garlic-roast-chicken-recipe/index.html

Suggested side dish:
This is really great with couscous. Instead of cooking the couscous (just buy a pack at the store in the rice aisle) in water, use chicken stock and white wine. This will go well with the same flavors in the chicken.

If Kent and I eat it by ourselves, we keep the leftovers to put in a different dish later in the week. It makes great chicken salad.

Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole and Italian Chicken Salad

I love when I can take one item and make two different meals out of it. It's always good when you can spend some time at the beginning of the week cooking so that you won't have to do as much later. To make these two recipes you will need one "family sized" package of chicken breasts (they go on sale pretty frequently so we usually buy two and freeze one.) Take a large pot of boiling water and put in all of the chicken breast. They will need to cook for 20-30 minutes. When they turn completely white take them out with tongs and cut them in half to make sure they are done all the way through! Once they cool, shred all of the chicken by hand. I usually use half of the chicken for each recipe.

Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole:
Using a large casserole dish, cover the bottom with half of the chicken from above.
Then add 1/2 cup to 1 cup of sour cream and 1 or 2 cans of either cream of mushroom/chicken/celery soup stirring together - you can use whichever soup you like best. (I usually add lesser amounts of sour cream and soup because I like mine to be firm, but some people prefer it to be creamier.) Mix in half of a sleeve of Ritz crackers.

Cook for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees. Then pull it out of the oven to cover the top with half of a sleeve of Ritz crackers. Sprinkle with poppy seeds. Put it back in the oven for 10 minutes. This usually lasts for at least 2 dinners for 2 adults.

Italian Chicken Salad:
This is great to take for lunch at work, but it's great for dinner too! It's different than southern chicken salad because it doesn't have the signature ingredient of mayonnaise!

The ingredients are harder on this one because I usually do it by sight and it's really about what you like to add in it. So these are some suggestions...
In a large bowl, combine the chicken and any of the following:
red/yellow/green bell peppers, chopped coarsely
red onion, chopped
parsley
basil
slivered almonds
drained capers
grated Parmesan
sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (my favorite ingredient!)
salt and pepper

Then top with a vinaigrette dressing.
1/4 cup of red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 tablespoon of honey
1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard
3/4 cup of good olive oil
salt/pepper
(Stir vigorously - you may also add finely chopped herbs)
You may not need all of the dressing.

*Another great option for chicken salad is to purchase it from Costco. My friend, Caroline, brought some over this weekend - it was so good and had an amazing flavor because of the way they roast the chicken. Chicken salad makes a wonderful snack on crackers and is great for any meal!