Chicken And Broccoli Pasta

Ingredients
2 medium-sized boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 pound), cut into 3/4 inch pieces
1 TBS Lemon pepper seasoning
2 TBS olive oil
½ C dry white wine
3 TBS unsalted butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 TBS AP flour
3/4 C half and half
1 tsp hot sauce
2 ½ C broccoli florets
¾ C Parmesan, grated (about 4 oz)
¼ C Asiago, grated or crumbled (about 1 oz)
½ lb Penne
2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp Italian seasoning
½ tsp mustard powder
1 good pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

Directions
Season chicken with Lemon Pepper Seasoning
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat
Add chicken and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, until a brown crust has developed (about 159° IT)
Remove chicken from skillet, cover loosely, and set aside (IT will continue to rise slightly)
Start boiling a large pot of salted pasta water
Add the white wine to the same skillet that you used to cook the chicken and set the heat to medium
Let the wine reduce by half (about 4 minutes) while scraping the bottom of the skillet
Add the butter and garlic and cook for 1 minute
Stir in the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring continuously
Add chicken broth slowly, stirring continuously
Add the half and half slowly, then stir in the hot sauce, Italian seasoning, mustard powder, and red pepper flakes
Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cover partially.
Meanwhile, boil the pasta to al dente according to package instructions, adding the broccoli during the last 4 minutes, then drain
Reduce the sauce to low and slowly stir in the grated cheese
Remove from heat and let cool slightly before stirring in the lemon juice
Add the pasta, broccoli, and chicken to the skillet and stir to combine
Serve immediately

Note: This is one of those dishes with multiple layers of flavor, where good ingredients make great food. Be sure to grate your cheese from a wedge instead of using pre-shredded. Squeeze your fresh lemon to get juice. Mince your garlic cloves from a fresh bulb.

Traditional Chicken Casserole

Ingredients:
3 cups shredded chicken, cooked
2 cans (10.5 oz each) condensed cream of chicken soup
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (8 oz)
2 sleeves of crushed Ritz crackers or Panko Crumbs
6 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Spread chicken into the bottom of an ungreased 13x9x2-inch (3-quart) baking pan
Spoon soup over the chicken evenly
Sprinkle the cheese over the soup
Pour butter over crumbs in a medium bowl, stir until crumbs are evenly coated
Sprinkle bread crumb mixture over cheese
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the cheese is melted, the bread crumbs are golden brown
Let stand 10 minutes before serving

Alternative addition:
Use Campbell’s Cream of Chicken with Herbs soup, mix in 1 cup sour cream, and ½ cup diced green onions, mixed together

Note: This is a classic southern dish, much older than you think. Growing up in Louisiana, we had at least two pans of this dish at every church function, family reunion, or funeral repast, and it almost always tasted the same, regardless of who prepared it. It’s been made the same way for many generations and doesn’t need any improvement. The addition above is a slightly rarer but tastier alternative from the ’50’s.

Baked BBQ Drumsticks

Ingredients

2 lbs chicken drumsticks

Cajun seasoning

Garlic and herb seasoning

BBQ sauce

Olive oil

Basting Sauce

2 TBS butter, melted

1/2 C BBQ sauce

Directions

Pat chicken dry with paper towels

Place chicken in a large bowl

Coat lightly with olive oil and season to taste

Add just enough bbq sauce to coat chicken

Mix well and sprinkle more seasoning on top

Place chicken in a roasting pan with rack

Bake at 400 for 30 minutes

Meanwhile, combine butter and bbq sauce

Baste drumsticks with sauce

Bake an additional 30 minutes

Baste one more time and enjoy

Chicken Casserole

INGREDIENTS
3 C cooked, shredded chicken
2 Cans of cream of chicken soup
2 C shredded cheese
3 C Panko bread crumbs
6 TBS butter, melted

DIRECTIONS
Place chicken in a casserole dish
Spread the cream of chicken soup, evenly over the chicken
Sprinkle cheese evenly over the soup
Combine Panko with butter and pour over cheese
Bake at 350 F for 25 minutes

Variation
Sprinkle a package of onion soup mix over the chicken, and top with a box of prepared stuffing mix, cover with foil, and bake until the stuffing gets a little crisp

Smoked BBQ Chicken

Ingredients:
4 chicken leg quarters
2 cups apple wood chips
Your favorite BBQ rub
Your favorite BBQ sauce
Brine (optional, but recommended):
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 gallon of cold water

Directions:
Brine the chicken (optional):
In a large container, dissolve the salt and brown sugar in the cold water
Submerge the chicken pieces in the brine, cover, and refrigerate 2-8 hours
Remove the chicken from the brine and pat dry with paper towels
Discard remaining brine

Coat the chicken pieces generously with BBQ rub, making sure to get under the skin as much as possible
Cover and refrigerate the chicken for at least 1 hour, or up to overnight for more flavor penetration

Preheat your smoker to 225°F
Add wood chips to the smoker.
Place the chicken pieces on the smoker grates, skin-side up
Close the lid and smoke for 2-3 hours, or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F
Check the smoker occasionally to ensure it maintains the proper temperature, adding more wood chips or charcoal as needed
In the last 30 minutes of cooking, brush the chicken pieces with your favorite BBQ sauce

Forgotten Chicken

This dish goes back quite aways. While simple and easy, it goes by different names depending on where you live or where your grandma got the recipe. It can also be called Chicken Continental, Chicken and Rice Casserole, or No Peek Chicken. Campbells Soup included a version on their products for a while back in the 70’s I believe. It is pretty much foolproof and allows for various alterations. You can substitute milk or chicken broth for the water. Some cooks add mushrooms. And some recipes don’t even include the onion soup mix. Any kind of cream soup works just as good. This dish can even be prepared on the stovetop by cooking all ingredients but rice for 20 minutes covered, then adding the rice, and simmering for another 10 minutes. You can even add cheese if you wanted to. No matter how you do it, what you add or what you call it, this dish is a classic.

Ingredients
Cooking spray
2 C long-grain white rice
1 (10.5-oz.) can cream of chicken or cream of celery soup
1 (10.5-oz.) can cream of mushroom soup
1 C water
1 tsp dried oregano
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
salt and black pepper to taste
1 package onion soup mix

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 9”-x-13” baking pan with cooking spray
In a large bowl mix together rice, soups, water, and oregano then pour into the baking dish
Season chicken with salt and pepper then place on top of the rice mixture
Sprinkle onion soup mix over chicken then cover with aluminum foil and bake for 75 minutes, (chicken should be at least 165°F and rice tender)

Buffalo Chicken Fatty

Ingredients
1 lb Sliced Bacon
3 large Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
2 TBS Minced Garlic
1/4 C Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/3 C Hot Sauce
1 C BBQ Sauce
3/4 C Crumbled Blue Cheese

Directions
Pound chicken breasts flat
Make a bacon weave
Put flattened chicken breasts on top of the bacon weave
Add hot sauce, sauteed garlic, blue cheese, and Parmesan cheese on top of chicken
Roll it up into a cylinder shape and place it on a rectangular piece of foil
Smoke at 275° F until internal temperature reaches 175° F
About 30 minutes before it is done, brush on BBQ sauce

Chicken Bacon Ranch Kabobs

Ingredients

1 packet Ranch dressing mix (about 3 tbsp)
1/3 cup sour cream
4 tsp Frank’s Red Hot Wing Sauce
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 red onion cut into bite-sized pieces
12 slices of thick-cut bacon cut into 2″ squares
salt and black pepper to taste
5 kabob sticks/ skewers

Instructions

Make ranch dressing by mixing the sour cream with the packet of Ranch mix
Add Frank’s hot sauce
Pour into a quart-sized Ziploc bag
Place chicken pieces into bag
Marinate in the fridge overnight
Partially cook bacon (microwave for 1 1/2 minutes)
Assemble chicken kabobs, by threading onion, bacon, and chicken next to each other
Preheat the grill with indirect heat
Place the kabobs on the grill, rotating as needed
Grill until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 162° F
Remove kabobs and loosely tent to complete cooking

Chicken Spaghetti

Ingredients
2 cups boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed
1 TBS unsalted butter
1 TBS taco seasoning
1 TBS minced garlic
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
24 ounces chicken broth
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
8 ounces green chili sauce
8 ounces cream cheese
16 ounces pot-sized spaghetti
1 TBS chili powder
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp black pepper
10 ounces cream of chicken soup
4 ounces Velvetta cheese, cubed
4 ounces pepper jack, shredded

Directions
Melt butter in a large pot, add chicken
Season the chicken with taco seasoning
Cook chicken until done (about 8 minutes)
Remove chicken from pot
Sweat garlic with crushed red pepper (about 30 seconds)
Add chicken broth, milk, heavy cream, and green chili sauce
Add cream cheese and remaining seasonings
Once it comes to a boil, add pasta
Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally until al dente (about 11 minutes)
Add cream of chicken, and the cheeses
Return the chicken to the pot and stir
Once the cheese is melted, give it one more stir and it’s ready to serve

Roast Chicken Breast with Veggies

Ingredients
2-3 pounds chicken breast, thinly sliced
1 C Garlic and herb marinade
2 TBS unsalted butter, Melted
2 TBS Cajun seasoning
4 TBS of fruit-based rub
1 large onion, thickly sliced
4 small carrots, peeled, thinly sliced
2 medium yellow potatoes, thinly sliced
2 ribs celery, thinly sliced (optional)
1 1/2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon truffle oil, to drizzle (optional)
Fresh herb sprigs (optional)

Directions
Place chicken in a bag with the marinade and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Toss sliced vegetables with melted butter.
Arrange the vegetables in the bottom of a small roasting pan in such a way as to make a bed for the chicken to lie on.
Sprinkle Cajun seasoning over the vegetables.
Remove chicken from marinade and sprinkle both sides with the rub.
Place the chicken on the bed of vegetables and roast in the oven at 425° for 30 to 45 minutes.
Remove chicken, and toss vegetables
Reduce the oven temperature to 375°, Add chicken and continue to roast until the chicken is cooked through (165° IT), 30 to 45 minutes longer.
Remove the pan from the oven and set it aside to rest for about 10 minutes.
When ready to serve, drizzle the chicken with black truffle oil to taste and garnish with fresh herb sprigs if desired.