Pepperoni and Cheese Stuffed Chicken with Parmesan Cream Sauce

This was very good! It could of used a little something more to flavor the chicken meat. I think next time I will either marinate the chicken or well season both sides of the chicken before stuffed and rolling.

INGREDIENTS

boneless skinless chicken breasts
sliced pepperoni

cheese (I used tomato basil sharp white cheddar....SO good)

extra virgin olive oil

Italian seasoning

salt

pepper

toothpicks

For the Parmesan cream sauce I made a basic bechamel sauce and added some Parmesan cheese, garlic and pepper. (I cut the linked recipe in half).

DIRECTIONS

Between wax paper pound out your chicken breasts.

Layer down your sliced pepperoni (I used 11 small slices per chicken breast).

Layer on your cheese (I used 2 quarter inch slices per chicken breast).

Secure with toothpicks.

Place in oven safe dish, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, and sprinkle with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning to your liking.

Bake on 325 until done.

If you choose to make the Parmesan Cream Sauce you can do that will the chicken it baking.

Photo without the Parmesan Cream Sauce:

Caramelized Baked Chicken

I thought I would try this recipe from Allrecipes since I had everything on hand and the ratings were so high.

INGREDIENTS

3 pounds chicken wings (I used chicken breasts)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 cup honey
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Place chicken in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Mix together the oil, soy sauce, ketchup, honey, garlic, salt and pepper. Pour over the chicken.

Bake in preheated oven for one hour, or until sauce is caramelized.

My Notes: As stated above I used chicken breasts for this. I also cut the recipe down to accommodate two pieces of chicken. It was just "ok". If I make it again I plan to brown it in the sauce mixture on the stove top, then transfer it to the oven. I also spooned the mixture over the chicken while it was baking so it had a nice coating.

Buffalo Chicken Burgers

I wanted to make a burger that had a buffalo chicken wing taste. Jason thought it was too salty...but I love salt and thought it was perfect. Since I did not added any salt I guess it was the cheese or wing sauce that had a high sodium content. Nonetheless - I LOVED it!

INGREDIENTS

Ground Chicken

Wing Sauce (I used Budweiser brand - SO good)

Blue Cheese Crumbles

Bread Crumbs (you may not need this depending on how "loose" your meat mixture is)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

DIRECTIONS

Combine the ground chicken, wing sauce, blue cheese and bread crumbs (feel free to add an egg if you need the meat to bind more). Shape into patties and cook on your stove top, flip as needed. I added some more wing sauce and extra virgin olive oil to the pan to keep the burger from sticking.

Dorito Chicken

Not sure why the pic came out blurry...but you get the idea.

Jason is a BIG fan of Doritos. When I told I saw this recipe he kept asking when I was going to make it. I finally did....it was ok. We think it needed some more flavor (even though I added some spice). It was missing something.

INGREDIENTS

Egg Wash

Chicken Breast

Crushed Doritos

Ranch Dressing (I added this)

Hot Sauce (I added this)

Red Pepper Flakes, Cumin, Garlic, Smoked Paprika and Chili Powder (I added these)

DIRECTIONS

Crush Doritos and mix in spices. Mix ranch and hot sauce together. Dip chicken breast in egg wash, then ranch mixture and lastly dip into Dorito mixture.

Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes (or until done).

I believe the orginal source of this recipe is: Southern Living's Easy Weeknight Favorites

Deep Dish Chicken Pot Pie

My co-worker, Sonja, told me about this recipe she found from Kraft. I love chicken pot pie, but Jason did not always feel the same way...until now! This will be made again very soon.

INGREDIENTS

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup KRAFT Light Zesty Italian Reduced Fat Dressing
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, 1/3 Less Fat than Cream Cheese, cubed
2 Tbsp. flour
1/2 cup fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
1 refrigerated pie crust (1/2 of 15-oz. pkg.)

DIRECTIONS

PREHEAT oven to 375°F. Cook chicken in dressing in large skillet on medium heat 2 min. Add Neufchatel cheese; cook and stir until melted. Add flour; mix well. Add broth and vegetables; simmer 5 min.

POUR mixture into deep dish 10-inch pie plate. Arrange pie crust over filling; flute edges. Cut four slits in crust to allow steam to escape.

BAKE 30 min. or until crust is golden brown.

MY NOTES: I used regular dressing and cream cheese. I also added a little more broth and some spices (garlic powder, salt, pepper, thyme and poultry seasoning). Before I place the crust on top I sprinkled on a little cheese. After cooking for 40 minutes the crust wasn't as "golden" as I had wanted so I turned the broiler on...a quick fix! I did not have a deep pie dish so 1 1/2 quart casserole dish.

Pan-Fried Stuffed Chicken With Prosciutto, Mozzarella and Basil

I wanted to make something good for dinner since it had been a while since I had cooked. My basil has been growing like crazy so I wanted to find a recipe where I could use my fresh basil. After searching the Internet I found "Pan-Fried Stuffed Chicken With Prosciutto, Mozzarella and Basil" from recipezaar.com.

Ingredients

2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
4 small slices of prosciutto or smoked ham (I cut large slices of prosciutto in half)
2 ounces of fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 4 slices (I used more cheese)
8 basil leaves, plus 1/4 cup thinly sliced
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons honey mustard
1 garlic clove, minced

Directions

Heat oven to 350°.

Cut each chicken breast in half crosswise to make 4 portions. Cut a slit into the sides of each portion. Insert a slice of prosciutto, a slice of cheese and 2 whole basil leaves into each slit. Secure well with a toothpick.

Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat until hot; add the chicken. Reduce heat to medium; cook, turning once, until chicken is browned, about 3 minutes per side.

Transfer chicken to a baking pan.
Bake until chicken is cooked through, about 15-18 minutes.

Transfer to a platter.

Meanwhile, heat the broth, mustard and garlic to a boil in the same skillet over high heat; cook until slightly thickened, 5 minutes. Stir in sliced basil; pour over chicken.

I personally didn't use the sauce but Jason and my Mom really liked the chicken with the sauce. It was very good and also reheated well.

Mexican Mix Up

Ok....so I am pretty picky with comes to Mexican food because I don't like all the onions and peppers. I made my own mexican dish that used the basic concept of enchiladas, fajitas and burritos. Here is what I came up with.....and might I say, it was pretty darn good!

2 chicken breasts
1 can enchilada sauce (not the large can)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 package fajita seasoning
10 corn tortillas
Shredded pepper jack cheese
Sour cream
1 cup uncooked long grain white rice
2 cups chicken broth or stock


Cut up chicken and coat with half of fajita seasoning packet. Place chicken in a pan on the stove and added 1 can of cream of chicken soup and ¼ of a can of enchilada sauce. Cook on medium/high heat for a few minutes. Then turn down low and cover. Let the meat simmer, stir occasionally, until the meat is very tender.

While the chicken is cooking cook the rice in the chicken broth. Feel free to add extra seasoning of your choice to the rice.

Once the chicken and rice are done fill the corn tortillas with some rice and chicken mixture. ***NOTE: You may want to crisp up the tortillas in a pan with some cooking spray so they hold together better before you fill them.*** Secure the tortillas with toothpicks if necessary. Place filled tortillas in baking dish and pour over some enchilada sauce. Bake in dish until tortillas are nice and crispy. Add shredded cheese as soon as you take them out of the oven. Serve with extra enchilada sauce and sour cream if you choose.

Bruschetta Chicken

This is one of my favorites!! I had some ideas in my head (scary, I know) and wanted to make a really good chicken dish. I just used ingredients I had on hand and made it work. It was a hit and I will certainly be making it again soon. I didn't really measure, but here what I used and what I did:

Ingredients

2 chicken breast

EVOO

white wine

balsamic vinegar

basil (I used 2 frozen basil cubes)

salt and pepper

canned chopped tomatoes

chopped garlic

seasoned breadcrumbs

parmesan cheese

mozzarella cheese

Directions

On med/high heat I put the EVOO, white wine, balsamic vinegar, basil, S and P in a pan. Once hot I added the chicken and flipped after 1 to 2 minutes. I then added the tomatoes and garlic. Cover the pan and turn the heat down to med/low (flip occasionally). Let the chicken cook a good amount of time to allow it to get nice and tender.

While the chicken is cooking, mix together equal parts of breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese, add EVOO to make a crumble.

When chicken is done top it with crumble and mozzarella cheese. Turn on broiler and transfer* chicken under the broiler. Leave in there a few minutes to let the topping crisp up and cheese melt.

* I used an oven safe pan to make the transfer of the chicken easier. Otherwise you will need to transfer the chicken from the pan to an oven safe dish.

Serve this with your favorite pasta and spoon the extra tomato mixture over it.

Sesame Chicken and Vegetable Rice

Baked Sesame Chicken

I adapted the sesame chicken from a recipe I found at allrecipes.com. They changes I made are in green.

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (I cut mine into strips)
2 tablespoons butter, melted (I used fat free Parkay spray)

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (I added this to the recipe)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

2. Place soy sauce in a 9x13 inch baking dish. On a piece of wax paper (I used a bowl), mix together the sesame seeds, flour, salt and pepper (and red pepper flakes). Dip the chicken pieces in the soy sauce to coat, then dredge in the sesame seed mixture.

3. Place in medium/hot pan on stove top and flip after a minute or two, add a little butter and soy sauce to keep the chicken moist. Remove and arrange in baking dish in a single layer, then drizzle with melted butter and some more soy sauce.
4. Bake at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) for approximately 40 minutes (mine took about 20 minutes because it was pre-cooked on the stove and cut into strips), or until chicken is cooked through and tender and juices run clear. Baste with drippings once during cooking time. Garnish with extra sesame seeds if desired, and serve.

Vegetable Rice

This is something I made up as I went using what I had on hand.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup of long grain white rice

2 cups chicken stock

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Dash of soy sauce

1 carrot grated (cook with a little water to make tender, drain water)

1 1/2 cups cooked broccoli-cut up small

Soy Sauce to your taste

oil

DIRECTIONS

Combine first 5 ingredients, bring to boil, cover and reduce to simmer. Cook about 20 minutes or until rice is fluffy and liquid if gone. Transfer rice to stir-fry pan add carrots and broccoli. Mix together and add some oil (I used EVOO) and soy sauce to your taste.