Category: Chicken

Chicken Tetrazzini

Chicken, Crockpot /Make Ahead Meals, Leftovers/ Freezer Meals, Pasta

Hey guys! So I made this yummy meal last night. Everyone cleaned their plates; some did 2 times! It was a hit and we have leftovers =) Going to have to add this one in the monthly rotation.

Chicken Tetrazzini

Ingredients

3 chicken breasts, poached or grilled and shredded/cut up in bite sized pieces- you could even use a rotisserie chicken
3/4 cup dry white wine
3 cups grated Parmesan cheese and 1 package shredded mozzarella cheese
1 pound spaghetti, broken in half
1 stick of butter
1 pound white mushrooms, trimmed and sliced 1/4 inch thick  and 1 onion, sliced
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups milk
1 can (14.5 ounces) reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs

 

Ingredients

Preheat oven to 350. Boil a large pot of water, salt heavily. In a large pan, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium high heat. Add mushrooms and onions. Liberally season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until tender and browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, and set aside.

Sauce- In same saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add flour- cook and constantly whisk for about 1 minute. Continue whisking and  gradually add milk, broth, and wine. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer, and add 2 cups Parmesan and thyme. Season with salt and pepper. If it seems too thick, you can add more milk or a little splash of heavy cream.

Cook pasta 2 minutes less than package instructions for al dente; drain and return to pot. Add sauce, chicken, half the mozzarella, and the onion and mushroom mixture. Toss well to combine. Add to a sprayed non-stick casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese, breadcrumbs, and the rest of the butter (maybe more) melted to the top. Bake until browned, about 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
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Easy weeknight dinner—Crock Pot Pork Ragu

Chicken, Pasta, Pork

Hey guys! So as predicted, this week has been super crazy! Monday Becca had cheer practice, so she ate a cheese quesadilla. We took her to practice and the rest of us ate at a local Greek place. I had a bowl of lentil soup and falafel with pita (eating leftovers tomorrow).

Tuesday night my parents picked up the girls from school. They took them for a snack and then took Katie to her cheer practice. I was stuck at bus duty until late (middle school gets out the latest here), so the hubby went to the first curriculum night. I got home, started cooking dinner, and then helped Becca with her homework. I made a version of my chicken and mushrooms. Delish!

https://funfoodiefamily.com/2014/02/11/creamy-chicken-with-mushrooms-and-onions/

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Hello little toes =)

Last night I also browned my pork for my crock pot rendition of Pork Ragu.  https://funfoodiefamily.com/2014/10/21/crock-pot-pork-ragu/

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Tomorrow night will be another cheer night. Thinking of making something with sausage. Have a great night!

Spinach Salad with Chicken, Bacon, and Eggs

Chicken, Dips, Dressings, and Spreads, poultry, Salads

Hope you are having a terrific Tuesday! Here is a quick dinner I made for myself that is both healthy and indulgent. I added some of my oven roasted chicken (3/4 chopped breast), 2 boiled eggs, and 3 slices of chopped bacon on top of a generous serving of spinach. I topped with a few croutons and a tablespoon or so of dressing.

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Oven Roasted Chicken Two Ways

Chicken, Crockpot /Make Ahead Meals, poultry

Summer has been super amazing! Lots of relaxation, pool time, beach vacation, sleeping late, and cooking whenever and whatever I want. While I am super bummed that it is coming to an end for us, I am still looking forward to a great school year. I can’t believe I am going in to my 17th year of teaching!

Soon school will start back; cheer practice, Girls on the Run practice, homework, weekend ball games at the park, etc. Meal planning always gets tricky, so hopefully I will keep coming up with some fast easy meals for those crazy school nights. Look for lots of crock pot meals, throw together one pot recipes, and super fast meals that will hopefully save us a lot of time and money!

So this week is going to be a bit crazy. The girls have cheer camp everyday, so my dinner meal plan for the week is a great big question mark. I did a little prep to have some things in the fridge to grab for quick snacks and fast meals. I made a whole pot of hard boiled eggs (which after breakfast today are almost gone!), an entire pound of bacon, and cooked up the 2 chickens that I got from the farmer’s market. I love buying those rotisserie chickens from the grocery store in a pinch, but roasting your own is much cheaper and you can do different flavor profiles.

The first one was simply olive oil, salt and pepper. The second one I used this Moroccan dry rub. First I browned all sides on the stove top in my cast iron skillets. Then I put both in a 350 oven for about an hour. Now my family has 2 chickens for our disposal for sandwiches, chicken salad, pasta, etc.

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Chicken Tikki Masala

Chicken, grains

Hope you guys are having a great Sunday! Ours was pretty nice. We slept in until 9ish, then I made a yummy breakfast of bacon, hash browns, and scrambled eggs. Since we just got back from vacation, I thought we would be making a trip to Waffle House, but luckily we had these in the fridge. Perfect Sunday morning!

The rest of the fridge and pantry were pretty bare, so the girls and I took a trip to the market. We got enough food to last us a few days. I decided to step up my culinary game by researching and creating new dishes this week. Tonight- Chicken Tikki Masala.

I love Indian food. I mean, for real, I LOVE it. I really could eat it everyday. I know that is extreme, but there are so many things on the menu that I want to try, so it is true. Unfortunately, I am the only one in my family who likes it. My husband and girls tolerate it. Hubby doesn’t like curry or coconut. The girls are still wary of new spices. I would bathe in coconut milk and add curry to all my meat if I could. I love chickpeas more than the average American. I think lamb kebabs should overtake hamburgers. I may be on the extreme just a bit, but there are some really amazing Indian dishes out there that I think you should try.

So I thought I should try this one first; Chicken Tikki Masala. Mild flavors and one of the main dishes on the “kid menu.” I researched a bunch of dishes and here is what I came up with. Everyone loved the chicken and seemed to just be content to eat Naan and soak up the sauce. Just enough leftovers for me =)

Chicken Tikki Masala

Ingredients
3-5 boneless chicken thighs or breasts
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1-inch piece whole ginger, peeled and grated
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 to 2 tablespoons garam masala
2 teaspoons paprika- sweet or smoked
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes- (or use roasted for a more smoky flavor)
3/4 cup coconut milk or heavy cream
Fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)
2 cups cooked rice, to serve

Directions

Cook the onion, garlic, ginger, tomato paste, 1 tablespoon of garam masala, paprika, and kosher salt. Cook down, about 10 minutes. Stir in the diced tomatoes with their juices. Mix for about 5 minutes. Add in your chicken cut up in small, bite-sized pieces. Cover and cook 30-40 minutes. Fifteen minutes before the end of cooking, stir in the heavy cream. Taste and add more garam masala or salt if needed.

Serve over white rice. I would use basmati or jasmine. I cooked it according to package with chicken stock instead of water. I also added 2 tablespoons of butter. Top with fresh cilantro if you like. Serve with a side of toasted Naan bread.

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