Dottie's Chicken A La King

Dottie was my mom. I lost her before I was grown up and have come to know her through recipes she left behind. She was an amazing cook and as a kid, I ignorantly refused her offers to teach me. Since where we live has turned into Narnia, in honor of our latest snow storm here is one of my favorite comfort foods. It is also the go-to dish I make when bringing a meal to someone in need of a dinner. Oh, and of course I morphed this recipe but in my heart, it's still Mom's.

INGREDIENTS
1 pkg of Wide Egg Noodles
2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup
1/2 can Cream of Celery Soup
12 oz can Evaporated Milk
2 big pinches Kosher Salt
4 cups Cooked Chicken (*I like to use my leftover Panko Chicken)
2 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
1 cup Slivered Almonds
1/2 cup Bread Crumbs

STEPS
1. Cook Egg Noodles al dente in large pot. Drain and place in large baking dish at least 11 x 13 in size.
2. Rinse out pot and add soups, milk, salt and celery. Heat through.
3. Chop chicken into cubes and add to pot. (* You can also use a cooked chicken from your grocer's deli)
4. Add cheese and stir frequently til mixed and melted. Pour over noodles in dish.
5. Sprinkle Bread Crumbs over top, then add the Almonds.
6. Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes or til hot.

Spot gives this 3 paws because the sizzling on the stove is a tad worrisome, but does she ever like it when we toss her some chicken as we're chopping! Reheats really well as a leftover and can be split into two pans and frozen up to 6 weeks. Good, fast and filling.

Lemony Chicken Piccata

Five years ago, I picked up Rachel Ray's magazine for the first time. Much to my delight, there were recipes everywhere I looked and even a section for meals in under 30 minutes. That is where I found the inspiration for this recipe. Even though it took me twice as long, each minute was well worth the final taste. Over the past five years, this has been my signature dish. As I continue to add more recipes to my repertoire, this beloved one has fallen to the back burner. R-R-R. The other day I thought I should make this again and much to my surprise, found I had not put it on the blog. This recipe is the beginning of me really trying to cook. Thank you, Rachel Ray. And thank you, parmesan cheese. I sure love to cook and this one started it all.

Serves 6 and great for company

INGREDIENTS
6 chicken breasts, flattened to 1/2"
3 eggs, whisked and placed in a gallon plastic zip bag or pie plate if you don't like to litter
3/4 cup flour & 1/4 cup Wondra, placed in another gallon zip bag with Kosher salt and pepper to taste
12 oz shredded parmesan cheese & 6 oz shredded 5 cheese combo in another gallon zip bag
3/4 box angel hair pasta, cooked al dente and set aside
10 oz fresh spinach
6 cloves garlic, minced
Extra virgin olive oil
4 TBSP unsalted butter, cold
1 cup flat leaf (Italian) parsley, rough chopped
1 cup dry white wine
3 lemons, sliced
6 more oz. parmesan cheese
1/4 - 1/3 cup lemon juice
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
Sea Salt
Ground pepper

STEPS
1. Dip each breast in flour, then egg mixture. Then dip breasts in the zip bag with the cheeses. Press cheese firmly into each breast. Stack beasts on plate until all breasts are ready to cook.
2. Heat large skillet on medium high with enough extra virgin olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. When heated, cook the breasts in two batches. 5 minutes each side until golden brown. To be sure the chicken isn't pink, cut each breast in half while cooking the second side. Remove cooked breasts to platter and cover with foil.
3. While breasts are cooking, heat water in large pot and cook angel hair al dente. Drain and set aside, cover to keep warm.
4. After all breasts have cooked, add more olive oil to skillet if necessary and then add the garlic and lemon slices. Cook 3 minutes, turning lemons once. Whisk in wine and parsley. Lower heat and cook til reduced, another couple of minutes.
5. Stir in 1 cup of chicken broth and butter, cook til butter melts (3 more minutes). Add the lemon juice and briefly heat. Generously spoon this over each breast on platter and recover/
6. Add spinach to skillet mixture 5 oz at a time and cook til wilted. Add the remaining chicken broth. Stir in the drained pasta and toss to coat, season with salt and pepper. Then add the last parmesan cheese and toss again.
7. Serve! Scoop the pasta on your plate, top with a breast and enjoy.

4 paws. Spot didn't even move as I fell over her. How a 10 lb dog can become an anchor is beyond me. "The Posse" (teen guy eaters) was here tonite and loved it. The hour in the kitchen was worth the taste, and my Hubby even flattened the breasts. Definitely a family fav!

Hearty Chicken Pot Pie

A few months ago I was in need of comfort food and went in search of Chix Pot Pie recipes. This is the one I found and tweaked that will comfort any man or woman in your life. I made it so often I started tripling the ingredients (except the pie crust) and freezing. Then all we had to do was thaw and bake when craving comfort or all your veggies mixed in one bite. We serve this with rice.

INGREDIENTS:
1 pkg of 2 refrigerator pie crusts at room temp
2 large chicken breasts, cubed or one deli cooked chicken skin and bones removed, cubed
1 cup sliced or shredded fresh carrots
1 cup sliced celery
2 cups frozen peas
2 small sweet onions, diced
1/3 cup butter
2/3 cups flour
Big pinch Kosher salt
1/2 - 1 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp celery seed
3 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
4 sprigs fresh rosemary, pulled off stem
3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup sliced mushrooms

Let's walk through the recipe:
1. In large skillet, sauté onions, garlic and mushrooms in butter
2. In large saucepan, place carrots, celery and peas if using a cooked deli chicken. If using uncooked breasts, add them too. Add enough water just to cover. Bring to boil and cook 13 minutes. Drain and set aside, adding chicken if you didn't yet.
3. When onions etc are soft, whisk in flour and seasonings. Slowly add broth and cream. Add rosemary. Bring to boil, then simmer til thickened. Stir frequently. Set aside.
4. Unfurl one pie crust and fit to bottom and sides of 9" pie plate. Use fork to poke some holes in bottom and sides.
5. Spoon the chicken-veg mixture into bottom of pie crust. Pour the onion-gravy mixture over all. Fit other pie crust to top of pie and seal edges. Pierce crust to let out steam.
6. Bake 350 for 45 minutes or til crust is golden brown. If you need to keep warm, turn off oven and tent pie with foil.

Spot gives 4 paws and sits in hope like a mime at our feet! This recipe makes a generous onion-gravy and if we have extra and I'm not making more than one pie, I freeze it for the next one.

Yummy Chicken Tenders

Ingredients

Boneless skinless chicken tenders
Sea salt and ground pepper
Whisked egg
Italian bread crumbs

Instructions

Sprinkle small plate generously with salt and pepper, place egg in pie plate, bread crumbs in large zip-lock bag. Take each tender and coat with s & p, dredge in egg, shake and cover with crumbs. Press crumbs into tender. Return to s& p plate one more time. Place on a separate dinner plate and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. This is the key to the recipe.

In medium high skillet, fry each tender til golden on each side. This will take just a couple of minutes.

For fun, you could add flat leaf parsley or even Parmesan. We like to serve with spinach angel hair pasta nests. Except our teenage son eats the tenders as they come off the skillet so I make 10 tenders for just 3 of us.

Spot heard the sizzling and ran for the hills. Once all was quiet, she slithered back in and waited at our feet. That is about a 3-paw rating.

My First Panko Chicken

Drool! This is going to be a regular go-to dinner. Low fat and fast. You can't beat that combo! Inspired by being a faithful watcher of The Chew (a daily food show on TV), here's my version:

INGREDIENTS
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1+ cup flour in a gallon ziplock bag (enough to lightly coat each breast)
2 eggs, whisked in a pie plate
2 cups Panko in a gallon ziplock bag (again, enough to coat breasts)
3+ TBSP extra virgin olive oil
1 stick unsalted butter
3 large lemons
1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Take each breast, coat with flour, dip in eggs, then shake with Panko. Place in large skillet with the heated olive oil and cook until golden on both sides.

Place cooked breasts on serving platter, remove oil residue from skillet and melt butter over low heat. Squeeze in the fresh juice from 3 lemons. Drizzle over all breasts, sprinkle with Parmesan and parsley to taste.

We served this with our favorite rice (see earlier blogs), but Fettucine would be another option. Leftover breasts would also make a terrific chicken sandwich if you use gormet bread.

Spot gives this a solid 4 paws... and loved her tastes!

Three Day Fondue

Okay, I only title this like that because we already enjoyed this two days in a row! Yes, I make too much because I always want enough for everyone. Must be some big feeder grandma type in my ancestry? We made this for New Years, and invited a friend to join us tonite for 'leftovers'. Yikes, there is still another dinner in the fridge! My hubby loves this but doesn't know if "he can take another night of this". Me? I just smile, pat my head and rub my belly. This would work for a large table of guests, or you can eat it three days in a row like we did.

Menu:
Sirloin and Chicken Breast Fondue (marinate in Balsamic Vinegar and Lite Soy Sauce overnight, or 3 hours)
Dipping Sauces (See below and drool)
Onion Rings with the best Batter ever (2 large white onions, sliced and separated into rings will feed me)
Bib Lettuce and homemade French Dressing with homemade croutons (Recipe to come... maybe... (it's an old fam secret)
Tasty Mini Baked and Stuffed Red Potatoes
A1 and Heinz 57 too

Tasty Mini Baked and Stuffed Red Potos
8-10 large red potatoes, baked 60 minutes at 380
3/4 pkg frozen, steam-able broccoli,micro'd 5 minutes
2 small pkg of reduced fat Feta OR Blue Cheese, crumbled
Lemon juice
Kosher Salt
Ground Pepper

After potos are baked, slice the "top" 1/8 off, discard. Using small (melon ball) scoop, cut out 1-2 scoops from each potato and place in medium bowl. Microwave broccoli, chop finely and add to bowl. Add salt, pepper, 4 generous squeezes of lemon juice, and cheese. Mash well. Repack ingredients from bowl into potatoes using scoop. Cover with foil and keep in oven on warm until ready to feast.

Fondue Dipping Sauces


Japanese Steakhouse White Sauce (not my own creation)

INGREDIENTS:
1 ¼ cups Hellman’s Mayo
¼ cup water
1 tsp tomato paste
1 TBSP melted butter
½ tsp garlic powder
1 tsp sugar
¼ tsp paprika
dash pepper

Whisk all ingredients together til well mixed and sauce is smooth. Refrigerate overnight to allow flavors to blend. Bring to room temp before serving.


Sour Cream Dip

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup sour cream
2 TBSP finely chopped onion
Salt and Pepper
(try adding chives)


Garlic Lemon Dip

INGREDIENTS:
1 ½ cups mayo
1 ½ TBSP lemon juice
1 TBSP crushed garlic
½ tsp Tabasco Sauce
Salt and Pepper
(try adding chives)


Onion Ring Batter

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups flour
2 TBSP Wondra
½ tsp pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 ½ TBSP EVOO
2 eggs
1 beer
salt
3-4 onions, sliced and separated into rings

Mix all ingredients except beer, in large bowl. Add beer and stir til lump free. Add more Wondra if needed to thicken. Dip rings in batter and fry til golden (3-4 min.). Drain on paper towels. Salt. 


Spot gave ALL of the above 4 paws. Not only did she enjoy hovering under our feet while we prepped, she even sang some songs while we slowly dined and loved each bite.

Lazy Chicken Pizza

Tonite I was busy doing nothing, but wanted to have a tasty snack-dinner. This whole thing went so fast my hubby couldn't believe it when I told him everything was ready and warming in the oven. He loved it and I will indeed make this again. Funny thing, I was just too lazy to drive over to Papa Murphy's to get a similar pizza. A friend had told me their secret sauce was mostly Ranch and garlic, I just jazzed it up with salt and basil.

Prep Time: 10 Min.
Cook Time: 40 min.


INGREDIENTS:
1 pre-cooked chicken from the deli, chopped into bites
1 small red onion, diced
1 container Ranch Dressing
5-6 cloves garlic, minced or 2 TSBP prepared, chopped garlic
1 roll Pillsbury thin pizza dough
½ cup Italian shredded cheese mix (Target)
1 cup shredded Parmesan
1 tsp Kosher salt
1 squeeze refrigerated Basil

1. Unfurl pizza dough into jelly roll pan and bake about 10 min. at 425 or til light golden.

2. In small bowl, mix onion, Ranch, garlic, salt and basil

3. When dough is done, spread bowl mixture on dough. Top with chicken and cheese, being sure to cover the whole thing

4. Bake at 400 about 13 minutes or til cheese has melted


If you exclude your teenage sons, parents can eat well and have a little lunch the next day. We are big re-eaters.

Spot gives this 3 paws because dad gave her bits of chicken as he chopped away

Life Changing Gravy (and Chicken)

Last night in honor of our son's birthday, I made our favorite new creation: Life Changing Gravy...And Chicken. Let me tell you how proud I am to have created this one! Until a month ago, I had never, ever, ever cooked a whole chicken. (I have also never had a soda, but that is another story.) Wow has the world ever opened up to me! I took some ideas from friends and created a monster, in a chickeny good way.


Prep Time: 20 +Min.
Marinade Time: 24 hours
Cook Time: 90 min.
Serves 6


GRAVY:
Using medium saucepan on medium heat, whisk 3 TBSP Unsalted butter with 1-2 TBSP Wondra til thick. Sprinkle in more Wondra as needed. Let boil briefly, then slowly add ¾ cup white wine. Whisk til smooth. Then slowly add 1 ¼ - 1 ½ cups heavy cream. Bring to boil. Add 2 TBSP fresh parsley and enough Kitchen Bouquet to turn mixture a light tan. Kosher salt and ground pepper to taste. Boil briefly again, then cover and simmer til thickened… about 15 minutes.


SERVE WITH WHITE RICE MADE WITH CHICKEN BROTH AND THIS CHICKEN:
Marinate 1 whole chicken (minus guts) in a Ziploc with 1/3 bottle Newman’s Olive Oil and Vinegar salad dressing, turning several times in a 24-hour period.

Place chicken in small roasting pan, stuff with one sliced lemon. Insert enough Boursin Cheese and garlic mix between skin and body – approx. 6 TBSP. Cover with sprinkled Kosher salt, ground pepper and Paprika individually applied. Then drizzle generously with refrigerated Lemon juice. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley. Tent and bake at 380 for one hour. Uncover, take temp, and cook uncovered the rest of the time until done, when instant thermometer reads 170.


COOKING ORDER:
• Chicken in and cooking 60 minutes
• Prep gravy after 1 hour
• Start gravy after 1:20
• Start rice at same time
• Everything is done after @90 minutes


DELICOUS, and leftovers remain moist. We also add a green veggie and/or salad. With our yummy rice, this creamy wonder is our newest hit. For Christmas we usually repeat our Thanksgiving feast, but this year we are going to reprise this meal.


Spot gives this a 4 paw rating.