Buffalo Chicken Soup

1 pkg of chicken breast (3-4 breasts)
1 container chicken stock (from Trader Joes) (about 3-4 cans)
½ bottle of Frank’s Red Hot BUFFALO sauce
1 whole celery heart, chopped fine (including leaves)
4 large carrots, shredded
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ white onion, chopped
1 container sour cream
2 small cans cream of chicken soup
3-5 cups milk, depending on the consistency you want
Juice of 1 lemon
Celery seeds 1 tsp
Celery salt to taste, 1-2 tsp
Smoked paprika to taste (start with 1/8 tsp, I used about ¼ tsp)
Salt and pepper to taste
2 packages of frozen Jasmine rice (from Trader Joes) microwaved for about 2 minutes or about 4 cups       cooked jasmine or basmati rice.
1 wedge blue cheese, split in half
Green onions, chopped

1. Place chicken, stock, celery seeds and hot sauce in stock pot and simmer on low for 1-1.5 hours until chicken is cooked through and you’re able to shred it with a fork. Leave all of the broth in the pot.

2. While the chicken is simmering, chop celery, onion and garlic and set aside.

3. After chicken is shredded return it to the pot with the cooking broth and add celery, onion, garlic, paprika and celery salt. Set heat to medium. When the soup starts to boil, add milk (start with 3 cups, add more to desired consistency), cream of chicken soup and sour cream. Crumble ½ wedge of blue cheese. Return to low boil and add lemon juice and crumbled blue cheese. At the end of cooking time, add cooked rice and stir.

4. Top with crumbled blue cheese and chopped green onions.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Caserole

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

3 chicken breasts
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
olive oil
2/3C white wine
salt and pepper
1 pkg (5-8oz) prosciutto
3C cooked rice - I used Jasmine
14oz chicken broth
2T butter
1/4C flour
1/4C sour cream
1/4C milk
2T parsley, chopped
1C Swiss cheese, grated
2-3T blue cheese crumbles

1. Chop and saute onion and garlic in olive oil until onions are translucent. Chop and saute chicken breasts in same pan, adding white wine, salt and pepper.

2. While the chicken is cooking, chop prosciutto and place on wax paper. Microwave for 5 minutes, until slightly crisp.

3. When chicken is done, place in a large mixing bowl with rice and prosciutto.

4. Using same saute pan, bring chicken broth and butter to boil. Very slowly add flour while whisking. Continue to whisk until smooth. {This sauce is called a roux.}

5. Add roux to the chicken/rice mixture and stir well. Add sour cream, milk, parsley and cheeses.

6. Bake at 400 for 25-20 minutes, until bubbling.

Mama B's Buffalo Chicken and Blue Cheese Pasta Salad

1 lb chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
1/2 C Louisiana Hot Sauce, or other Buffalo sauce
1- 1lb package bow tie pasta, cooked
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1/2 small purple onion, finely chopped
3/4C blue cheese dressing - I use Lighthouse brand, in the cold case
1/2C real mayo
1/2C sour cream
1/4C blue cheese crumbles
1/4tsp celery seeds
1/2tsp salt
1/2tsp black pepper

1. Add the hot sauce to uncooked chicken pieces, let marinade in refrig for 1-2 hours before cooking. Saute in frying pan with small amt of olive oil. Cool.

2. Mix wet ingredients.

3. Add everything together in large bowl. Place in refrig for at least 1 hour.

This is best prepared in advance and eaten on day 2, 3 etc.

Jerk Chicken

From LV

1 large onion, cut into 8 pieces
1 teaspoon ground ginger or tablespoon minced crystallized ginger
1/2 to 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded, & finely minced
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
2 tablespoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 cloves garlic, crushed & minced
2C chicken stock
3 to 4 pounds chicken breasts

1. Combine onion & ginger in food processor, process until finely chopped. Add remaining ingredients except chicken, & pulse until well blended.

2. Place chicken in slow cooker & cover w/ sauce, cover, set on low, and cook for 6 to 8 hours, or until chicken is tender (3-4 hours on high).

3. Shred and serve on buns.

Smothered Chicken

4-6 chicken breasts
1 pkg baby bella mushrooms
1/2C feta cheese crumbles
1 small onion
1 package (5oz) Prosciutto, grilled and crumbled
1/2 C white wine
2T olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced

1. Grill chicken breasts with salt and pepper.

2. Meanwhile, saute mushrooms and onion in white wine, olive oil and garlic.

3. Crisp prosciutto on grill with chicken

4. When chicken is done, place on plate. Top with feta cheese, prosciutto, mushrooms and onion. Excellent with white wine!

Crock Pot Garlic Chicken

1 head garlic - peeled and kept whole
6 chicken breasts, dredged in flour
1/2 bottle white wine
2 C chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
1/4C chives, chopped
1/2 tsp Lawry's seasoned salt
Rind of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2C flour
1/2 jar capers

1. Pour white wine and chicken broth in bottom of crock pot.

2. Add garlic

3. Add chicken

4. Top chicken with seasonings, capers and chives.

Cook in crock pot on high for 3 hours. Add lemon rind and lemon juice in last 15 minutes of cooking. Transfer chicken to serving dish.

In saute pan, pour in cooking liquid from crock pot. Bring to boil. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid in separate bowl. Whisk in flour until completely mixed, then add to boiling cooking liquid. Mash garlic cloves into gravy. Cook for 2-3 minutes over medium heat. Pour gravy over top of chicken.

Serve with sour cream mashed potatoes and asparagus sauteed with scallions and prosciutto.

You can also use cooked garlic cloves to make garlic butter to eat with no-knead bread!

Fuji Mama's Sopa Pollo

Makes approximately 8 servings
From La Fuji Mama

1 Tbsp. oil
1 large onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
1 tsp. ground cumin
8 cups chicken broth
3 cups cooked chicken, shredded
1 can (4-oz./113 g) green chilis, diced
2 cups cooked long grain rice
juice of 2 limes
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
3 roma tomatoes, diced
2 avocados, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
sour cream, to taste
lime wedges, for garnish

1. In a large pot, saute the onion, garlic, jalapeno pepper, and cumin in the oil until the onion is soft and translucent.

2. Add in chicken broth, shredded chicken, and green chilis. Heat over medium-high heat until chicken is heated through. Remove from heat.

3. Stir in rice, lime juice, tomatoes, and cilantro.

4. Garnish with avocado, a dollop of sour cream, and a lime wedge.

40 Clove Garlic Chicken

From a Year of Crockpotting
Take from La Fuji Mama
6 servings

3-4 pounds chicken
1 large onion, sliced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. pepper
20-40 garlic cloves, peeled, but intact

1. Place onion slices on the bottom of the crockpot (mine is a 6-quart oval crockpot).

2. In a large mixing bowl, mix olive oil, salt, paprika, pepper, and garlic cloves. Add chicken and toss to coat. Pour into crockpot on top of the onion slices. Do not add water.

3. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 4-6. The longer you cook chicken-on-the bone, the more tender it will be. If you use drumsticks, the ones on the side will brown and may stick to the sides of the crockpot, burning a bit. To avoid this, you can rearrange them with tongs an hour before serving.

Greek Pockets

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

1 pkg premade pizza dough (I use Trader Joe's)
1 bag prewashed spinach
1/2 onion, minced
3-4 chicken breasts, seasoned with lemon, salt and pepper and cooked (I grilled). You can also use rotisserie
1 small container feta cheese
2 cups Basmati rice, cooked
salt and pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1 lemon, wedged
1 container Trader Joe's Taziki sauce

1. Sautee spinach, onion, garlic, salt and pepper until spinach is wilted and onions are translucent. 2. Flour a work surface and roll out pizza dough. Divide in 4.
3. Place 1/2C rice, 1/2C chicken, scoop of sauteed spinach mixture on dough center
4. Sprinkle with feta
5. Bring edges of dough together and pinch. Turn upside down and brush with egg white.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until bread is browned. Remove from oven and plate, top with Taziki sauce and drizzle with lemon juice.

Chicken Noodle Caserole

From: The Cutting Edge of Ordinary

1 package of egg noodles
6 tablespoons butter
½ small onion, chopped
1-10 oz package of mushrooms, sliced
¼ cup flour
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 - 16 ounce container of sour cream
4 cups chicken, cubed (1 rotisserie chicken, meat picked off the bone, shredded)
1 teaspoon chopped parsley
1 teaspoon fresh chopped thyme
salt and pepper

Topping

2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup breadcrumbs (I used Panko)
½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 teaspoon fresh chopped parsley

Preheat the oven to 350.
Bring water to a boil and cook noodles until al dente. Drain and set aside in colander.
Melt 2 tablespoons of better in a sautee pan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms, ½ teaspoon salt and some pepper. Cook until most of the water has evaporated out of the mushrooms. Stir in the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter and let it melt.
Add the flour and stir until it becomes lightly browned, about 2 minutes.
Add the garlic and cook about 30 seconds.
Gradually whisk in broth and sour cream. Let it cook 5 to 7 minutes, but don’t let it boil, you just want it to thicken.
Stir in the chicken, noodles, parsley & thyme. Season with salt and pepper if desired.
Transfer the filling into a greased 3-quart baking dish while you prepare the topping.
To make the topping:
Mix all the topping ingredients in a bowl and sprinkle on top of the casserole.
Bake until browned and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Let cool for about 5 minutes before serving.

Plum Chicken Kabobs and Fruited Bulgar

Chicken Marinade:

1/2 jar plum jam
2T soy sauce
1/4C olive oil

Whisk together and add raw cubed chicken. Best to marinade in refrigerator overnight. Place on skewers and grill over medium heat.

3C cooked bulgar
1/4C olive oil
1/2C orange juice (make from concentrate, and have dilution strong)
1 can mandarin oranges
1C purple grapes, halved
1T sage, minced
3T parsley, chopped

Combine and chill for at least 1 hour before serving.

Chicken Wild Rice Soup

1 rotisserie chicken or 1lb chicken breasts, cooked and diced
3C wild rice, cooked
1/4C white wine
2C carrots, finely diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small onion, minced
3-4T fresh parsley, minced
1 container (16oz) sour cream
2 family sized cans cream of chicken soup
20-24oz chicken stock
6-8 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled
salt and pepper to taste

Simmer carrots, garlic and onion in chicken stock and white wine until carrots are soft and onions are translucent. Add chicken, wild rice, parsley, sour cream, cream of chicken soup, bacon, and salt and pepper. Simmer for 20-30 minutes on medium heat, stirring frequently to prevent burning on bottom of pan. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. If soup is too thick, add milk or more chicken stock to achieve desired consistency.

Greek Orzo Chicken

1lb chicken breasts or 1 rotisserie chicken

1pkg orzo pasta (looks like fat grains of rice)
2C frozen spinach or 1 bag fresh spinach
1-2T olive oil
1/2C feta cheese
1T lemon peel
1-2T lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1-2tsp black pepper
1/2tsp salt
1 tomato, diced

Saute spinach, garlic, salt and pepper, lemon peel, and lemon juice in olive oil. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper and grill, bake or saute. If using rotisserie chicken, remove meat from bone and slice. Cook pasta. Drain and add feta cheese. Place orzo in large serving bowl. Top with spinach mixture and chicken. Sprinkle with feta and tomato. Can add lemon wedges to the side to use if wanted.

Margarita Chicken Enchiladas with Cilantro Lime Rice

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

3-4 chicken breasts
1/2C Tequila
1/2 C margarita mix
grated peel of 1 lime
Juice of 1 lime
1/2tsp salt
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 container sour cream
2-3T capers
1/4 small onion, finely diced
1 jar green tomatillo salsa (the best is the Chavies brand in the cold case, or the Frontera grill tomatillo and green olive salsa)
8oz Monterrey jack cheese, shredded
4 oz manchego or other white Mexican cheese
1/2 can green chilies (optional)
Lime wedges
1pkg of 10 tortillas

CILANTRO LIME RICE

5-6C cooked basmati rice
juice of 1 Lime
2-3T cilantro, finely chopped
1/2tsp salt - add more to taste


Dice chicken and marinate in tequila, margarita mix, salt, lime peel and lime juice. Cover and place in refrigerator. The longer you marinate it, the better it is!
Saute chicken in the marinade. Combine cream of chicken soup, sour cream, capers, onion, 1/2 jar salsa, chilies and salt. Add cooked chicken and mix well. Spoon mixture into tortilla shells. Add cheese and roll. Place in large baking dish. When all tortillas are filled and in pan, pour remaining salsa over tortillas and top with Manchego cheese. Make sure all of the tortillas are covered, otherwise they will have burnt edges. If some edges are exposed, spray lightly with cooking spray. Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until cheese is golden and bubbly.

RICE: Immediately after cooking rice, drain and add lime juice, cilantro and salt. Stir well.

Serve enchiladas over a bed of cilantro lime rice. Just before serving, squeeze lime wedge over each serving. Enjoy with a cold margarita!

Oriental Chicken Pasta Salad

From Marshall Fields MarketPlace

1 package long fusilli pasta (or any large pasta), cooked
2C cooked chicken breast
2C pea pods, sliced diagonally
4 green onions, sliced
1 1/2C baby portabella mushrooms, sliced
1/2 package fried wonton crisps
1C mandarin oranges
3T toasted sesame seeds

DRESSING
1 egg yolk
1/4C sugar
1/4C soy sauce
1/4C Rice white vinegar
1/4tsp white pepper
2T sesame oil
1C vegetable oil

Whisk or blend dressing (should be thick). Toss with salad fixings, except for the wonton crisps. Chill for 1-4 hours in fridge. Just before serving, top with wonton crisps.
**Wonton crisps are next to the crunchy Chinese noodles in the Asian section at the grocery store.

Cold Lemon Chicken Salad

From TN's mom

6-8 Chicken breasts, grilled, sliced then chilled
1 red bell pepper, cleaned and sliced
1 green bell pepper, cleaned and sliced
2 C snow pea pods, halved
Juice of 2 lemons
1/4C olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Whisk lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Combine chicken and veggies. Toss with dressing and Chill for 1 hour before serving.

Fruited Chicken Wild Rice Salad

1 package chicken, cooked and shredded, or 1 rotisserie chicken (preferred)
2-3C wild rice, cooked and cooled
1 apple, chopped
2 carrots, shredded (use cheese grater)
3 ribs celery, chopped
2T chives, diced
2C grapes, halved
1 small container mandarin oranges
1C REAL mayo
3/4C sour cream
3/4 C Poppy seed dressing
1T Dijon mustard
2tsp salt
1tsp pepper

Combine all ingredients and chill. You may need to add more mayo or poppy seed dressing to accommodate for amount of chicken used.
Serve on croissants.