Cheesy Chicken Asparagus Rolls

Photo from Google Images

Ingredients:

½ cup mayonnaise

4 Tablespoons Dijon mustard (or spice it up a bit and use horseradish mustard)

16-30 asparagus spears, trimmed

5 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

5 slices provolone cheese

1 cup bread crumbs

Salt and Pepper to taste

(feel free to get liberal and try other seasonings - either in the sauce or in the breadcrumbs – you know what your family likes.  I seasoned my breadcrumbs with oregano, garlic powder, basil, a hint of cayenne pepper and celery salt)

Mix the mayo, mustard, salt and pepper in a dish and set aside.  Preheat your oven to 475 degrees.

Cook the asparagus (wash and rinse it first) on a paper plate or paper towel in the microwave for 1 to 3 minutes (depending on the microwave) until bright green and just tender.  Set it aside. 

Take the chicken breast and pat it dry.  Then beat the hell out of it with a mallet or a good rolling pin, until its flat, about ¼ inch thick.  Then you add a slice of provolone cheese and three or four or six asparagus (depending on how many you want, how big they are, etc.), and roll up the chicken nicely and place in a baking pan seam down (spray the pan with cooking spray first).  When you’ve rolled all of your chicken and cheese and asparagus and placed it seam down in the pan, spread on the mayo/mustard mix evenly with a pastry brush or a plastic spatula coating all of the exposed chicken.  Sprinkle with the breadcrumbs and press the crumbs in to make a coating of sorts.  Bake at 425 degrees for 25 to 35 minutes, depending on the thickness of your chicken.  Chicken is done with the juices run clear and the breadcrumbs are browned.

The original recipe also called for 1 lemon zested and juiced to be added to the mayo/mustard sauce but we found that to be a very intense flavor that we weren’t really fans of once I made the chicken without the lemon the next time I made it.

Feel free to experiment and make this recipe better for your family.  My kids are picky.  They’re teenagers now, I’m lucky to find something they’ll eat more than once that isn’t made of Doritos or cookie dough.  

All in all, we like these chicken wraps and I’m making them next time with broccoli to see how that turns out.  I served them with buttered spaghetti the first time and smashed red potatoes (I used crushed red peppers and Parmesan cheese instead of rosemary) the second time.

Originally posted August 7, 2014

Easy Peazy Chicken Tetrazinni

1 lb cooked angel hair pasta (or spaghetti or linguini)
5 chicken breasts (cooked and cubed)
1 medium bell pepper (chopped)
I cup chopped celery
1 Tablespoon garlic 
3 10.75 oz cans creamy soup (I used two cream of mushroom and one cream of celery)
1 cup water
1/4 cup butter
2 cubes of chicken bouillon
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (or sharp cheddar is good too!)

Boil chicken breasts and set aside to cool.  In a separate pan boil the pasta until done.  Cube the chicken and set it aside.  Drain and rinse the pasta and put in a large mixing bowl.  In a sauce pan, mix the water and chicken bouillon until bouillon melts then add soup and mix well.  In another pan melt the butter and saute the celery and bell pepper until just tender and add to soup mixture (including pan drippings).  Mix soup, veggies, chicken and pasta together and pour into a baking pan (spray it with Pam or some other non-stick spray).  Top with cheese and bake for at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Serve with garlic bread and a salad.  

[Originally published August 26, 2014]

Blackened Oven Chicken

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon Paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper (if you don’t want really spicy chicken, cut this to 1 1/2 teaspoons)
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon ground pepper
1 teaspoon onion (or garlic) powder

8 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts

This recipe will yield enough seasoning to coat 8 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts. 

Photo from Google Images

Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside (you can also make this seasoning and put it in an old spice jar).

Wash and pat dry your chicken, lightly spray each side with cooking/baking spray (like Pam), coat in the seasoning (I sprinkled it on with a spoon then patted it in with my fingers covering all parts of the meat)

Heat a cast iron frying pan for about 5 minutes.  Place the chicken in the hot pan and cook it for 1 minute on each side.  Then place it in a baking pan (lightly sprayed also with cooking/baking spray)

Bake in oven on 400 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the size of your chicken breast.  Chicken is done with cut in center and juices run clear and meat is no longer pink. 

Serve with practically anything.  We like it with garlic potatoes and a green salad.

Best Hot Wing Recipe EVAH!

I got this recipe from my brother in law. He said it's the best hot wing recipe he's ever had. Trust me, this man knows wings! He also watches the Food Network faithfully, so in all probability, the recipe came from there.

Note: the recipe calls for sriracha sauce. Apparently, this is a Vietnamese hot chili sauce you can buy at most supermarkets in the Asian food aisle. It is in a plastic bottle with white writing and a roaster on the front of the bottle.

5lbs. Wing sections
4 Tbs salt
4 Tbs sriracha sauce or more
2 Tbs honey
2 Tbs butter (melted)
1 Tbs soy sauce
2 Tbs finely chopped cilantro
1 Tbs lime juice
4 cups canola oil or peanut oil
salt and ground black pepper to taste

Put chicken in a large bowl, sprinkle with salt, toss to coat. Transfer chicken to a baking sheet arrange them in a single layer. Cover with plastic and refrigerate for 12 hrs.

Remove chicken from refrigerator pat dry with paper towels, brushing away any salt. Let chicken sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 min.

In a small bowl whisk together sriracha sauce, honey, butter, soy sauce, cilantro and lime juice. Taste to check heat level. If too hot add more honey.

Heat oil in a large dutch oven or deep fryer until oil is 275 degrees.

Divide chicken into four batches. Fry one batch at a time for 8 min. As each batch is done transfer to a clean baking sheet.

Once all chicken is done, increase the oil temperature to 375 degrees. Again working in batches, fry the chicken for 2 minutes, then transfer to a baking sheet lined with paper towels.

Season each batch with salt and pepper. Transfer the chicken to a large bowl, then pour the sauce over the chicken. Toss to thoroughly coat all the chicken wings.

Another Yummy Chicken Recipe

4 skinless boneless chicken breasts
1 pkg. brie cheese
½ pound thinly sliced Italian ham

1 large green pepper
1 large red pepper
1 medium red onion
16 oz. container sour cream

Heat oven to 350 degree

Lightly spray jelly roll pan with Pam.

Chop peppers and onion into 1 inch cubes and put into saucepan. Add the container of sour cream and mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer and cook until the vegetables are just getting tender. While that is cooking, cut a large slit into side of chicken breasts creating a pocket. Cut the brie cheese into equal pieces and place into breast. Salt and pepper both sides of chicken then wrap breast with ham and place in prepared jelly roll pan with seam of ham on bottom of pan.

When vegetables are ready pour over chicken and put in oven for 40 minutes.

Boil egg noodles until al dente and serve chicken on top of noodles spooning sauce and vegetables over the top.

Serves 4

Garlic Parmesean Chicken

I found this recipe at Albertsons.com and it looked good so I made it last night. Holy delicious!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup dry bread crumbs
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. (I use Pam. I use Pam for everything. I use Pam Butter Flavored. mmmm butterrrr)

In a bowl, blend the olive oil and garlic.

In a separate bowl, mix the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, basil, and pepper.

Dip each chicken breast in the oil mixture and coate evenly, then in the bread crumb mixture. Arrange the coated chicken breasts in the prepared baking dish, and top with any remaining bread crumb mixture.

Bake 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.

Basic Polenta (with chicken)

9 Cups Water
1 Teaspoon Salt
3 Cups course grain Cornmeal;

Bring water to a boil in a large heavy pot. Add salt and reduce heat until
water is simmering. Add cornmeal by the hand, slowing sifting through your hand, while stirring constantly.

Cook 20 to 30 minutes on a simmer, stirring constantly. Polenta will thicken and when done, it will separate from the sides of the pan. Pour onto a large platter and smooth out (wet hands make this job easier). Let Polenta cool about 10 minutes and then cut into cubes or slices.

Place onto plate and cover with your favorite sauce.

To Fry Polenta: cook as above, cool completely, and fry on both sides in hot olive oil until golden brown. drain on paper towels and serve as above. (However, make sure your oil is hot, otherwise the Polenta will absorb the oil and then it is not edible).

Easy Chicken and gravy (my favorite):

Bake a whole chicken, when finished, break apart and place in heavy sauce pan.
Add chicken drippings, 1 can chicken stock and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, thicken with cornstarch and serve over Polenta.