Cajun Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

Ingredients
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 pound chicken thighs chopped – chicken breast is good, too
Salt and pepper to taste
12 ounces andouille sliced into ¼ inch slices
½ cup peanut oil or vegetable oil
½ cup flour
1 medium bell pepper chopped
1 medium onion chopped
1 medium celery stalk chopped
3 cloves garlic chopped
1 cup okra I used frozen
2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning or more to taste
6 cups chicken stock
3 bay leaves
4 tablespoons chopped parsley + more for serving
1 tablespoon filé powder or to taste if desired
For Serving: Cooked white rice if desired

Directions
Heat a pan to medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon olive oil and heat.
Season chicken with salt and pepper and add to the pan along with the sliced andouille. Cook a couple minutes per side until browned. Set aside until ready to use.
Add ½ cup peanut oil to a large pot and heat to medium heat. Add flour and stir. Cook for 20-30 minutes, constantly stirring, until the roux browns to the color of chocolate.
Add peppers, onion, celery and garlic. Stir and cook about 5 minutes.
Add chicken and andouille. Stir and cook for 1 minute.
Add okra, Cajun seasoning and chicken stock. Scrape up the brown bits from the bottom.
Add bay leaves and cook at medium-low heat for 1 hour to thicken. You can simmer longer if you’d like.
Stir in parsley and cook 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in filé powder, if using.
Serve into a bowl, over white rice if desired, and garnish with extra parsley.

Baked Mushroom and Ricotta Chicken

Ingredients
4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
8 Slices Thick Cut Bacon
¼ Cup Parmesan Cheese, shredded
½ Cup Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese
8 Cremini Mushrooms, finely chopped
2 TBS Butter, divided
2 TBS Olive Oil, divided
2 TBS Garlic, minced
1 tsp Thyme
Few Sprigs of Fresh Parsley, chopped
Cajun Seasoning

Directions
Preheat oven to 350° Place a cooling rack on a baking sheet.
Sprinkle a little Cajun Seasoning on each side of the chicken breasts.
Pan-sear the chicken in 1 Tbs. olive oil and 1 Tbs. butter for about 5 minutes per each side until browned.
Remove the chicken.
Fry the bacon in the same pan for 2-3 minutes to partially cook the bacon.
Remove bacon from pan but leave any bacon grease.
Saute mushrooms and garlic over medium heat with remaining bacon grease, butter and olive oil, for about 10 minutes.
In a large mixing bowl combine the mushrooms, ricotta, parmesan, thyme, and chopped parsley.
Cut slits in the chicken lengthwise down one side and ¾ of the way through the chicken to create a pocket.
Stuff each breast with ¼ of the mushroom ricotta mixture.
Wrap each breast with 2 slices of bacon.
Bake the Chicken on the cooling rack for 15-20 minutes.

Keto Chicken Crack

We just recently bought a new house. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done before we move in. Since my wife is on a low carb diet, I thought this would be a perfect lunch dish. Haul the slow cooker over to the new house with a quick stop at the local grocery store. 6 minutes of prep and boom… Put it altogether, turned it on and got to work scraping 50 year old wall paper. 5 hours later we are celebrating our first meal at the new house with smiles on both our faces.

Ingredients;
2 pounds chicken breast
2 TBS parsley flakes
1 TBS dill weed
1 TBS Chives
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
16 ounces Cream Cheese, divided into 1/2 inch chunks
1 Cup Cheddar, shredded
1/2 Cup bacon bit and pieces
1/3 Cup green onion, chopped
1/2 C chicken broth

Directions;
Layer chicken in the bottom of a slow cooker.
Sprinkle Chicken with herbs and spices.
Arrange cream cheese pieces evenly over the chicken.
Add broth.
Cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours.
Shred chicken with forks and stir.
Stir in cheese, bacon and green onion.
Replace lid for five minutes and serve.

Tips;
You can substitute herbs and spices with 1 packet of dry Ranch seasoning.
If you like it spicy, add a 1/4 tsp of cayenne.
For Keto diets, use red bell pepper strips to dip this with.

Skinny Buffalo Chicken Soup

INGREDIENTS

• 2 pounds rotisserie chicken cooked and shredded
• 3 tbsp ranch seasoning*
• 1 large head of cauliflower chopped
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup water
• 1 pound sliced carrots
• 6 stalks of celery sliced
• 1 medium onion diced
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 cup Buffalo Sauce (store bought or click for recipe)
• chopped green onion and blue cheese crumbles for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

• Boil cauliflower in stock pot with water, ranch seasoning, chicken broth, and chicken stock until very tender; approximately 10 minutes.
• While cauliflower is cooking, saute carrots, celery, and onion with the butter. Cook on medium heat until the onions are translucent and the vegetables are fork tender.
• Using an immersion blender, blend the cauliflower into a puree in the stock pot. It should blend completely and form a thicker base for the soup. Add the hot sauce and stir.
• Add the celery, carrots, and onion to the stock pot and stir.
• Stir in chicken and let cook on low for 20-30 minutes

Ingredients

• Serve hot with green onion and blue cheese as garnish (optional)

GRILLED ITALIAN BRUSCHETTA CHICKEN

PREPARATION

• Mix Marinade Mix, 1/4 cup of the olive oil, water and vinegar in small bowl. Reserve 2 tablespoons marinade for brushing.

Instructions

• Place chicken in large resealable plastic bag. Add remaining marinade; turn to coat well. Massage chicken and marinade for 5 minutes. Remove chicken from marinade. Discard any remaining marinade.
• Grill chicken over medium-high heat about 6 to 8 minutes per side, or until cooked through. Brush tomato slices lightly with remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Grill until lightly charred, about 2 minutes per side.
• While chicken is still on the grill, top each piece with one slice of mozzarella and 2 to 3 slices of grilled tomato. Brush lightly with reserved marinade. Cook 1 minute longer or until cheese is melted.

Slow Cooker Chicken Chile Verde

I like to brown or braise my meat before putting it in the slow cooker so I seasoned up my chicken breasts with some cumin and salt and pepper and then browned them on both sides in some olive oil.

Ingredients
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 12-ounce jar Salsa Verde (such as Trader Joe’s)
1 4-ounce can fire roasted green chiles
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp dried oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh cilantro, lime wedges and/or diced avocado for serving, optional
Cauliflower rice or lettuce leaves for serving

Instructions
Place chicken in slow cooker.
In a small bowl, combine salsa, green chiles, cumin and oregano. Pour over chicken.
Place lid on slow cooker and cook on LOW heat for 4 – 6 hours.
Remove lid and allow chicken to cool slightly before shredding it with 2 forks right in the slow cooker. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Transfer to serving dish, top with chopped fresh cilantro and serve with lime wedges, if desired.
Serve over cauliflower rice or in lettuce wraps.

BBQ Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

This recipe is for 2 servings. Double as needed.

Ingredients
1 large sweet potato
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pinch salt
1 rotisserie chicken breast (or grilled chicken)
1 cup red cabbage, shredded
⅓ cup barbecue sauce, plus more for serving
2 tablespoons green onions, thinly sliced

Preparation
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper.
Using a sharp knife, carve out one of the breasts from the rotisserie chicken. If the chicken is particularly small, use both breasts.
Chop the chicken breast into very small pieces and set aside.
Use a fork to poke holes all over the sweet potato. Transfer the sweet potato to the prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 40-50 minutes, until the sweet potato is tender when pierced.
Add the cabbage to a medium skillet over medium heat.
Add the barbecue sauce and sauté until the cabbage starts to soften, about 3 minutes.
Add the chopped chicken and stir just to incorporate.
Remove the pan from the heat.
Once the sweet potato is cool enough to handle, slice it in half lengthwise and scoop out the flesh with a spoon until a ¼-inch layer remains.
Fill the sweet potato skins with the chicken and cabbage filling, drizzle with barbecue sauce, and top with the sliced green onions

Faux Roasted Chicken

Ingredients
6 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts
4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 TBSP freshly chopped sage
1 lb russet potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces
kosher salt
1 tsp olive oil

Instructions
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Set chicken out for 20 minutes while oven preheats.
In a small bowl, combine butter and 1 tablespoon of sage.
Use your hands to run half of the butter under the skin of the chicken breasts. Spread the other half of the butter on the outside.
In a bowl, toss remaining sage with potatoes, oil, and a liberal amount of salt.
Spread potatoes on a large sheet pan. Place chicken on top.
Liberally season chicken with salt and pepper.
Place chicken in the oven for 25 minutes.
Remove from the oven and toss the potatoes.
Turn the heat up to 450 degrees and roast until skin is golden brown and crisp, another 15 minutes.
If potatoes aren’t crispy yet, remove chicken from the pan and give the potatoes a toss (drain excess moisture if needed), place the potatoes back in the oven and roast until crisp.

Chicken Stroganoff

Ingredients

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts cubed
8 ounce sliced mushrooms
1 8 ounce cream cheese softened
1 10 1/2 ounce cream of chicken soup
1 envelope 1 1/4 ounce dry onion soup mix
salt and pepper to taste
fresh parsley chopped for garnish
1 pound large egg noodles for serving

Instructions

Place the chicken in the bottom of a lightly greased slow cooker.
Add the mushrooms. In a medium sized bowl add cream cheese, cream of chicken soup, and dry onion soup mix.
Mix until incorporated and spread on top of chicken and mushrooms.
Cook on low for 4-6 hours or high for 3.
Serve over noodles and top with fresh parsley and salt and pepper.

Simple Chicken Brine

Ingredients

1 gallon warm water
¾ cup kosher salt
⅔ cup sugar
¾ cup soy sauce
¼ cup olive oil

Directions

Pour the warm water into a container that is twice the volume of the water. Pour in the salt, sugar, soy sauce, and olive oil.
Stir until the sugar and salt have dissolved, then allow the brine to cool to room temperature.
To use, place chicken in the brine, cover, and refrigerate two hours for skinless breasts, 4 hours for bone-in pieces, and 4 hours to overnight for whole chickens.
Drain and pat the chicken dry before cooking.
One gallon of brine is enough for 6 pounds of whole chicken or bone-in chicken pieces, and up to 10 pounds of skinless, boneless chicken breasts.