The Easiest Chicken Cacciatore Ever

Cacciatore means "hunter" in Italian. In cuisine, "alla cacciatora" refers to a meal prepared "hunter-style" with tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, herbs, often bell pepper, and sometimes wine. Cacciatore is popularly made with braised chicken (pollo alla cacciatora) or rabbit. (Wiki Source)

Chicken Cacciatore is super easy to make with just a few staples that you (hopefully) already have on hand in the pantry and the fridge. This recipe has a bit of a twist and can be made in the oven or the slow cooker, whichever is handiest.



Easiest Chicken Cacciatore Ever
3-4 chicken breasts
1 can tomato soup OR 1 can Italian style diced tomatoes (with liquid)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
splash of milk

Veggies Used, all sliced:
green bell pepper
mushrooms (canned is fine; fresh is best)
1 small onion
tomatoes

NOTE: You can substitute any of these veggies with whatever you have on hand. Broccoli, green beans, squash, or even zucchini would be fantastic in this. Try not to skimp on the onions though--they really make the dish!

Herbs & Spices Used: rosemary, basil, parsley, garlic salt, pepper

---

Mix canned tomatoes with cream soup thoroughly. Add herbs and spices to taste. Stir together.

Spray baking pan or slow cooker insert with cooking oil. Place chicken in a single layer. Cover with soup/tomato mixture. Add veggies on top.

Bake in the oven at 375 degrees for 45 minutes for thawed chicken; 80-90 minutes for frozen chicken.

Alternatively, cook in the slow cooker on high for 4-5 hours or until the chicken is cooked through (registers 165 degrees in the thickest part of the breast).

Serve over rice or pasta noodles.

BBQ Chicken Muffins

This is about as easy a dinner as it gets.



BBQ Chicken Muffins

2-3 chicken breasts
Premade BBQ Sauce
Onions, sliced
1 can refrigerated biscuit dough (8-10 pieces)
Cheddar cheese

Pan cook the chicken thoroughly, then slice into thin strips. Toss with BBQ sauce. Press each biscuit into a cooking-sprayed muffin pan cup, making a hollow for the chicken. Add BBQ chicken, then sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes.

Even my kids loved this--totally a winner.

Honey Orange Chicken

I love trying to figure out how to use ingredients that I already have, especially ones that I am trying to use up. (e.g. frozen veggies on their last leg, that can of beans that's been sitting around forever, a bag of crushed tortilla chips)

We have a giant container of honey that we purchased awhile back and haven't quite finished. It's getting to that stage where we have to microwave the container everytime we want to pour it, so I'm trying to use it up as fast as I can. Thus, adding it to chicken seemed a good idea. The rest of the recipe sort of came together as I looked around the kitchen.


NOTE: Yes, a better picture would have been nice, but we dished it up so fast that night (it was a quick dinner) that I didn't even think to take a picture.

Honey Orange Chicken
2 large boneless chicken breasts
1/4-1/2 C. honey (don't measure, just pour enough to cover the chicken)
2 clementines (small, easy-peel oranges)
1 scallion
Onion
Apples
Salt

In a dutch oven (or deep pan with a lid), place frozen chicken breasts side by side. Pour on the honey and sprinkle in a pinch of salt. Juice clementines into the pan, getting all the pulp you can onto the chicken as well. Cover.

Cook on medium-high heat for 15-20 minutes, then turn. Add thinly sliced onion, apples, and scallions. Cook the other side for 10 minutes.

When the chicken is done, turn off the heat, remove chicken from the pan and slice somewhat thinly across the grain of the meat. Return to pan and toss to coat in the velvety, sweet honey-orange sauce. Serve over rice if desired.

Easiest Chicken Cattiatore Ever

Cattiatore means "cooked in a casserole." I've mostly baked my chicken cattiatore, however this is one I cooked in the slow cooker. It worked great and was a lot less work than fussing over the oven.



The Easiest Chicken Cattiatore Ever

4-5 chicken breasts
1 can diced Italian-style tomatoes (tomato soup will do in a pinch, but it won't be the same)
1 can cream of chicken (or mushroom or celery, whatever you have on hand)
mushrooms
tomatoes (yes, more!)
onions
bell peppers
rosemary, basil, garlic salt & pepper, parsley
splash o' milk

Place chicken in a single layer in a large casserole dish (or slow cooker) coated with non-stick spray. Combine remaining ingredients. Pour over chicken. NOTE: If you're doing this in the slow cooker, feel free to just throw it all in without mixing. It will meld together as it heats.



Bake, uncovered, at 375 for 45 minutes if the chicken was thawed. If it was frozen (like my chicken usually is), bake for 80-90 minutes. If you're going the slow cooker way, give it at least 5-6 hours if the chicken is frozen, perhaps 3-4 if it isn't.

Serve over rice. The vegetation-liquid part of this dish is uber delicious after soaking into the rice on your plate. Mmm... Also great with Cheesy Garlic Bread.

Chicken, Black Bean & Tortilla Casserole

Nobody really likes the word "casserole", do they? But they're easy... and often tasty too! So here's a recipe Heath got from work one day that we tried out:

2 chicken breasts (diced)
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
2 tsp. cumin
1 chopped onion
chopped green bell peppers
14.5 oz. can diced Mexican-style tomatoes
3/4 c. salsa
2 15 oz. cans black beans (drained and rinsed)
6 7-inch tortillas
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese (mozzarella might be good too)

In a large skillet, brown the chicken with a little garlic salt and pepper, the cumin, and the minced garlic. Add the onions and bell peppers and cook a bit longer.

Add undrained tomatoes and salsa. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Stir in the beans.

Spray a 2-quart baking dish with non-stick spray. Add 1/3 of the chicken-bean mixture to the pan. Sprinkle with a little cheese. Layer three tortillas on top. (I found that if you do a whole one first, then cut the next into fourths and put those with the corners in the corners of the pan, followed by another whole one atop that, then you get complete coverage. Clear as mud? Maybe I'll post an illustration if we get complaints. ;o)

Repeat the process: chicken-bean mixture, cheese, tortillas, then chicken-bean mixture. (Now stop because you've run out of tortillas!)

Top with the rest of your cheese (and a little more if you're feeling sassy). Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. (Needs to have that congeal-factor, like homemade pizza.)

This is a staple meal at our house. Dee-lish!

Chicken & Eggs Skillet Dinner

We've been eating out so much lately! Whew... it's good to eat at home...

Tonight, I started too late to make the Black Bean Casserole I'd had on the menu. So I started defrosting some cubed chicken in hopes that inspiration would hit in five minutes or less.

Well, it did and it turned out pretty tasty. I threw in some veggies that we had lying around plus a can of Mexican tomatoes. But the wrench in all this is that I forgot to get any pasta or rice going to serve with this concoction. So what did we use? Scrambled eggs! I figured it would turn out like one of those fancy skillets at the Olive Branch... and it really did!

cubed chicken
sliced onions
garlic pepper & salt
rosemary (thanks for the tip, Erica!)

Cook these up until chicken is browned. Then I added:

sliced sweet peppers
snow peas

Saute these a bit, then add 1 can Mexican style diced tomatoes and a splash of lemon juice. Simmer until the liquid has reduced.

In a separate pan, scramble some eggs. I used 3 whole eggs, 2 egg whites, and a little milk. Add cooked eggs to the chicken and veggies.

I'd imagine this would be awesome with some mozzarella cheese sprinkled on top. Then again, isn't everything awesome with cheese?

Chicken Recipe & Meatballs with Peas

Here are a couple recipes I just received from my old friend Erica. ("Old" as in, we've known each other since 6th grade - she's not that old!) - Dianna

---

ERICA WROTE: Making me hungry just reading those recipes. So I thought I'd submit a couple of my families favorites. The first one really has no name- my grandma cooks her chicken like this, and I always find it foolproof to make- takes 20- 30 min. as long as you have chicken defrosted.

GRANDMA'S NAMELESS CHICKEN
Ingredients:
3-4 Chicken Breasts (Bone in or out - if in, cooking time takes little longer)
2 T. Olive oil
1 T. Butter
1 chicken bouillon cube
1-2 fresh tomatoes diced, or 1 can diced
2 T. garlic - less if you prefer
parsley
basil
pinch of rosemary
salt and pepper
3/4 c water
1/4 c water

* Heat butter and olive oil over med. heat until warm - add garlic. (make sure you use a skillet with a 2" rim)
* Rinse and dry chicken, add salt and pepper to taste (remember bouillon is salty), then add to olive-oil/butter - remember to keep the heat on low-med. You don't want to have it completely browned or it won't suck up the juices
* Add 3/4 c water and bouillon cube
* Add tomatoes, garlic, parsley, basil, and rosemary
* Let it simmer 15-20 min. turning chicken occasionally.
* When the water has been almost entirely sucked into chicken, add the last 1/4 c. and let simmer 5 more minutes. You now have gravy for whatever else you serve with it.

I serve this with just about everything. Buttered noodles, leftover spaghetti, rice, biscuits, salad, and another of my families favorites, green beans cooked on a skillet. (2 T butter, melted in skillet over med. heat, add green beans, stir
often until cooked - watch though, they go from cooked to burnt fast!)

And because I know you are such a huge fan of peas here is another family favorite, handed down from my great-grandmother:

MEATBALLS & PEAS
1 Pd. gd. beef
1 can/bottle (or if you prefer otherwise) of mushroom gravy
ketchup
mustard
seasoned salt
bread crumbs
olive oil
1 bag of frozen peas(or again-if preferred fresh)

* Heat olive oil in large skillet over low-med. heat
* Take 1 pd. of ground beef, and in a bowl, add (you ready for this?) a squirt of ketchup, a squirt of mustard, about 1 tsp of seasoned salt, about 5T. of mushroom gravy, and enough bread crumbs to make the meatballs hold together.
* Scoop up meat and make into about 1-2" meatballs.
* Put in skillet and cook them, turning with a spoon often - try not to let them fall apart.
* Add the bag of peas, and the remainder of the mushroom gravy and about 1/4 c water (little less if peas are frozen)
* Cover and simmer until peas are cooked.

You can serve with noodles, but I prefer just a slice of buttered bread to soak up all the leftover gravy! My family can't get enough of their meatballs and peas!!!!!

---

Thanks for the recipes, Erica! They both sound wonderful! I'm always looking for ways to use my Rosemary. I guess I'm not sure which dishes it should go in. I'll let you know how they turn out. :o)

Cashew Chicken Salad

Just tried a new recipe this evening that I got from AllRecipes.com. We originally had Fried Rice on the menu, but it just didn't sound very tasty to me. (Maybe it was because I had pineapple beef leftovers for lunch.) So I went searching for something with chicken that could be baked because I was in no mood for slaving in front of a pan for an hour. Here's what I found and how I modified it.

Original Recipe | Modified Below

Combine these and pour into a large Ziploc freezer bag:
3 Tbsp. melted butter
1 beaten egg

Put the following into a food processor and chop until coarse. I'd suggest using the "pulse" function and not holding it down too long. Otherwise your mixture will get too fine.
(generous) 1/2 c. sweetened flaked coconut
(generous) 1/2 c. cashews
10 Ritz crackers (I used wheat ones and it was awesome)
Garlic salt & garlic pepper

Pour the chopped stuff into a large Ziploc freezer bag.

Dice 4 chicken breasts and place in the first bag with the butter and beaten egg. ZIP THE BAG!! (I did actually forget to check and see if it was totally zipped and ended up having to spray down my counter with bleach.) Squish chicken around until coated.

Pour the coated chicken into the second bag with the coconut/cashew mixture. ZIP UP! (I didn't forget to check that time.) Squish chicken around as you would with Shake n' Bake until all coated.

Line a cookie sheet with foil and coat with non-stick spray. Pour out the chicken and spread it evenly over the pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Serve over salad greens with a dressing of your choice.

We both really liked this. I wasn't sure if Heath would like it, thinking that he wouldn't enjoy the coconut. But as it turns out, he recommended that I add more coconut next time! This is definitely going into our stock of regular meals.

I pre-diced my chicken, so it wasn't a big deal to use it. Whenever we get raw (not frozen) chicken, I try to dice up some of it ahead of time and put one breast of diced chicken each in a snack size Ziploc bag. Saves time on days when I'm in a hurry - like today! You could just cut the breasts into strips if you were short on time too.