Swiss Chicken Casserole

Our friends the Whitaker's made this for us when Nate was born!  I loved it!  And my friend Kim put it on her blog, so here is my take!  And Nate and I took it to 2 families this week who have welcomed little boys into their families!  Hope they enjoyed it as much as we did!

Ingredients
6 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 package fresh thyme (well, you only need about 6 sprigs, can also use a few dried pinches)
6 slices swiss cheese
1 10 ounce can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1 stick of butter, melted
1 14 ounce bag stuffing mix (I used Pepperidge Farm cubed)
1-2 tbsp olive or grape seed oil

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place the chicken in a greased 9x13 casserole dish.  I split this in half, so I used a smaller pan and froze the rest in a foil pan.
3. Season with the salt and pepper. 
4. Strip the thyme leaves from the stalks and sprinkle over the chicken (or place a couple on pinches on each). I used about one stalk per chicken breast.
5. Place a slice of swiss cheese over each chicken breast. 
6. Mix the soup and sour cream together, and spread over the cheese.
7. In a large bowl, combine the melted butter and stuffing, stir to coat.  My stuffing still looked dry, so I added a tablespoon of grape seed oil.
8. Sprinkle stuffing evenly over the chicken.
9. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Uncover and bake for 15 minutes more. This will crisp up the top of the stuffing, and turn it a nice golden brown.

A great meal to have on a cold night!  And all you need is some veggies or cranberry sauce to go with it!

Garlic Lime chicken

When I first made this, Ryan immediately asked me to put it in the family cookbook.  I usually make a batch of the spice rub and keep it on hand!  Great quick dinner!!  I got this from one of my favorite cooks, Leanne Ely.


Ingredients

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

¼  tsp cayenne pepper (omit if serving kids)

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp garlic powder

½ tsp onion powder

½ tsp thyme

4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts, or about 1 lb chicken tenders

2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil

½ cup chicken broth

4 tbsp lime juice

1. In a bowl, mix together first 7 ingredients (the spices). 
2. Evenly sprinkle mixture on both sides of chicken breasts/tenders.
3. In a skillet heat butter and olive oil together over medium high heat. Sauté chicken until golden brown on each side, about 5 minutes on either side. 
4. Remove chicken and add lime juice and chicken broth to the pan, whisking up the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. 
5. Keep cooking until sauce has reduced slightly. Add chicken back to the pan to thoroughly coat and serve.

Ryan's White Chili

This is Ryan's special recipe!  Tried and true, and makes lots!  You can freeze any extra for a quick meal another night! And look - cilantro from my fall garden!!

Ingredients

4 cups chicken broth

3-4 cups chicken or turkey, cooked and chopped

4 x 14.5 oz cans white (like navy) beans (or 1 lb beans, soaked and cooked according to package directions)

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

2 celery stalks,  chopped

1 cup green chilies, chopped

juice of 1 lime

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp mexican oregano

1 tsp cayenne pepper (use ½ tsp for less spice)

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp salt (use more if using reduced sodium chick broth)

2 tsp cilantro, chopped

Toppings

monterey jack cheese

fresh corn

diced tomatoes

cilantro

sour cream

green onion

avocado

lime

tortilla chips

1. Combine all items in 6 quart slow cooker.
2. Place on low for 6-8 hours, or until it reaches desired temperature.
3. Serve with desired toppings.

Roasted Thyme Chicken

In our process to being more local, I have stopped purchasing my "bag o' chicken breasts" from Sam's.  They were my staple.  I have found a local farmer with reasonable chicken, and tried this great recipe for roasting a whole chicken.  Ry loved it - "better than any rotisserie chicken" and he's requested it again!  I'm proud that I also made stock from the carcass and will post that later!

Ingredients
2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves (or 1/2 tbsp dried)
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 whole chicken (3-4 lbs), rinsed and patted dry
2 tbsp olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Combine thyme, salt and pepper and blend into a rub.
3. Prep chicken by removing giblets and loosen skin with fingertips, including thighs and drumsticks.
4. Rub thyme mixture under skin and season cavities with additional salt and pepper.
5. Tuck wings under breast and tie legs with kitchen twine (so chicken cooks easily and keeps shape).
6. Place chicken on rimmed baking sheet (lined with foil) or roasting rack and rub with oil.
7. Roast for about 1 hour until thermometer reads165 degrees (in thickest part of thigh, not next to bone).  Baste occasionally and when you remove from oven.uj jl 
8. Let chicken rest 10 minutes and serve.

Modified from this recipe by Martha Stewart.

Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

I've been searching for a good enchilada recipe.  This one is pretty yummy!  I modified it a bit from this one at a blog I enjoy.  I'm too lazy to wrap up each tortilla, so I make it a layered bake!

Ingredients
1 can Rotel/Roasted tomatoes with chiles
1 can Hatch green chiles (can omit if you want less spicy)
1 can Hatch green chile enchilada sauce
2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
10 corn tortillas, cut into sixths
8 ounces cheese, grated (whatever blend you like, I used a Mexican blend)

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Add Rotel, chiles, sauce and chicken in saucepan.
3. Simmer over medium-low for 15 minutes.
4. Grease 13x9 pan.
5. Place a bit of sauce on bottom of pan.
6. Top with 2 1/2 tortillas, a quarter of the sauce and a quarter of the cheese.
7. Repeat 3 more times.
8. Bake for 20 - 30 minutes until browned and serve.

Lemon Artichoke Chicken

I used to cook lots with chicken. Lots and lots. I still do, but it is not just baked and breaded anymore. This one is one of Ryan's favorites - I actually made it for his birthday last week. And the photo, well, it is just what we had left over! With all the birthday festivities, we totally forgot to take a pic. Glad to have Tessa around to remind me!

Ingredients

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 4-5 oz each) or 1 lb chicken tenders.

1/3 cup flour

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 tsp grated lemon zest (about 1 large lemon)

1 tsp paprika (always Hungarian at our house)

1 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 cup lemon juice (about 1 large lemon)

1/2 cup dry white wine (or double the broth)

1/2 cup chicken broth (I always use low sodium)

1 14 oz can artichoke hearts (drained and quartered)

1. Pound chicken until about 1/2 inch thick. Set aside.
2. Mix flour, salt, pepper, lemon zest and paprika in shallow dish or plastic bag.
3. Dredge chicken flour mixture and dust off excess flour.
4. In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium high heat. When hot add garlic.
5. Add the chicken and saute about 3 minutes per side until browned.
6. Add lemon juice, wine (if using) and chicken broth and bring to simmer.
7. Turn heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes until chicken is cooked and sauce thickens.
8. Add artichoke hearts and simmer for 1 minute until heated though and serve.

If sauce is not thickened at step 7, make a slurry of 1 tbsp corn starch and 1 tbsp cold water. Mix in small bowl, then add to sauce and cook 1 minute. Sauce will thicken.

Chicken Pot Pie

A staple in our house is chicken pot pie. I guess you could say it is my "signature" dish. It is what I make to bring people when they are sick, have a baby, or just need a meal. I usually have one in the freezer ready to go (since making 2 is about as easy as making one). It has converted those who don't like pot pie, and can be easily modified to include other meats (like turkey) and other veggies you have on hand. I serve it with cranberry sauce to make it a meal.

Ingredients

1 package refrigerated pie crusts

1/4 cup butter

1/2 small onion, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

1/3 cup flour

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1/2 cups milk

1 1/2 cups cooked chicken, chopped (or 2 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped)

1 potato, cooked and chopped (I just boiled a potato)

1/2 cup frozen peas

(instead of using potato and peas, add 1 1/2 cups frozen veggie mix)

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp water

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Place one pie crust in bottom of pan
3. In medium saucepan, melt butter over medium. Add onions, celery and carrots and cooked until all are tender.
4. Stir in flour, salt and pepper. Cook 1 minute until flour is cooked.
5. Remove from heat and add milk and broth.
6. Return to heat. Heat and stir constantly until boiling. Cook for 1 minute then remove from heat.
7. Place chicken, potato, and peas in pie crust. Cover with sauce.
8. Flute or press edges with fork and cut slits into crust.
9. Mix egg and water and brush crust. Bake for 30-40 minutes until crust is golden brown.

If you wish to freeze, stop at step 8 and cover with foil. Defrost in fridge until ready to cook. Then brush with egg mixture and bake. You can use a disposable foil pan and cover with foil. Remember to note on the foil what is in it!