Broccoli Chicken Lasagna

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 1/2 cup AP flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/8 tsp gr nutmeg
• 1 can (14 1/2 oz) chicken broth
• 1 3/4 cups milk
• 2/3 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 (16 oz) package frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
• 9 lasagna noodles, (we use no-boil noodles)
• 1 1/3 cups diced ham
• 2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
• 2 cups cooked chicken, diced

Directions:

1. Saute mushrooms and onion in butter until tender.
2. Gradually add flour, salt, pepper, and nutmeg until well blended
3. Next stir in broth and milk, continue to mix well. Bring mixture to a boil. Stir while continuing to cook for an additional 2 minutes - or until mixture has thickened.
4. Add Parmesan cheese and broccoli to sauce - remove from heat. Stir well.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare baking dish with cooking spray.
6. Begin layering lasagna by first spreading the bottom of the baking dish with the 1/2 cup of the thickened broccoli sauce.
7. Layer 3 noodles on top of the broccoli mixture.
8. Next top the noodles with 1/3 of the remaining sauce, 1 cup of ham, 1 cup of shredded Monterey Jack cheese, and 3 more lasagna noodles.
9. Begin the next layer with 1/3 of the sauce mixture, all of the chicken, and 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese - then the 3 remaining lasagna noodles.
10. Last, top the lasagna noodles with the remaining sauce and ham. Sprinkle any remaining cheese on last.
11. Cover with foil, and bake in a 350 degree F oven for 45-50 minutes. Remove foil cover for the last 5-10 minutes to allow cheese to brown slightly.
12. Remove from oven and allow lasagna to rest for 10 minutes before slicing or serving.

This recipe is being shared at the Old Fashioned Recipe Exchange over at Lil House on the Prairie Living - go check it out!!

Luau Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1 (20 oz) can sliced pineapple
• 1 TBS brown sugar
• 1 tsp ground mustard
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• boneless, skinless chicken breasts - 1 per person (4 oz each)
• 1/4 cup mayo
• 1 TBS Dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp dill weed
• deli rolls, split & toasted
• optional lettuce leaves

Directions:

1. Drain juice from pineapple, reserving 1 cup of juice and 1 pineapple slice per person (serving). Remaining juice and pineapple can be saved to use in another recipe.
2. Combine the brown sugar, ground mustard, garlic salt, pepper, and reserved 1 cup pineapple juice in a large resealable bag with the chicken breasts. Seal bag, turning to coat chicken.
3. Refrigerate chicken in resealable bag with marinade for 2 hours in the refrigerator. Turn occasionally to thoroughly coat chicken in marinade.
4. In a separate small dish, combine the mayo, Dijon mustard, and dill. Once completed mixed, refrigerate (covered) until ready to use.
5. Time to cook! Drain and discard marinade from chicken breasts.
6. Preheat the grill to medium heat. Cook the chicken breasts on a covered grill, using medium heat for 5-6 minutes per side - or until juices run clear.
7. Grill the pineapple slices for 1 minute on each side.
8. Prepare the split, toasted deli rolls with mayo if desired and layer each roll with 1 chicken breast, 1 slice of grilled pineapple, and 1 lettuce leaf (if desired).

Hint: We opted to make these open face - using only 1/2 a deli roll per person. One of our side dishes was a salad, so we also skipped on adding lettuce to the open sandwich. The boys really liked the chicken grilled this way, and all 4 guys requested that we put this back on the menu, soon!


This recipe is shared over at Sweet & Simple #6 at Cups by Kim.  Please visit and tell her I said hello!  Be inspired by all the great shares...and share a recipe from your kitchen too!

Chicken-Spinach-Mushroom-Alfredo-Extra Cheese Lasagna

Every once in a while, I hit the Mommy jackpot with a dinner meal. Tonight was one of those nights. I can happily report that my 12 year old who can never, ever, ever, never manage to finish a meal did in fact finish his dinner and asked for seconds. Score!!

The upside is we will get to enjoy this meal again for lunch tomorrow (and probably the two days following), but the downside is...there was enough to feed a small army.

This is comfort food to the 10th power.

Seriously.

And it has spinach.

Seriously.

Ingredients:

2 - 13 oz cans cooked chicken breast, drained

2 jars prepared Alfredo sauce

1 large container, small curd cottage cheese

1 package frozen spinach, thawed and drained

1 small can of mushroom stems and pieces, drained

1 lb of shredded Mozzarella cheese

shredded Parmesan, Asiago and Romano cheese blend

1/2 package of oven ready, no boil lasagna noodles

Italian seasoning blend - to taste

garlic blend seasoning - to taste

1 - Prepare baking stone or pan with cooking spray

2- Combine 1/2 cup of Alfredo sauce with 1/2 the container of cottage cheese and 1st can of chicken. Spread over bottom of baking dish.

3- Cover chicken-cheese mix with drained spinach and drained mushrooms. (Our mushrooms were only on half - otherwise my 16 year old would never speak to me again)

4- Top vegetables with 1/3 of the shredded Mozzarella cheese and a portion of the Parmesan cheese blend. Sprinkle lightly with Italian seasoning blend and garlic seasoning blend.

5- Next, add the first layer of bake-ready lasagna noodles.

6- Combine remaining cottage cheese, 2nd can of chicken, and 1 jar of Alfredo sauce. Spread over lasagna noodles.

7- Cover with more shredded cheese, (leaving enough to cover noodles a final time.)

8- Add additional seasoning if desired, final layer of noodles, then top with last of the shredded Mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese blend. Top with seasoning before baking, if desired. (I definitely added more seasoning.)

9- Cover with foil and bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes.

We served this delicious lasagna with fresh bread and a Bacon-Caesar salad.

And lucky for me, more Chicken-Spinach-Mushroom-Alfredo-Extra Cheese Lasagna for lunch tomorrow!!

That's okay, I do not mind at all!!

Chicken Broccoli Braid

**This is not my recipe, it originally came from a Pampered Chef cookbook**

2 cups cooked chicken, chopped

1 cup broccoli, chopped

1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped (optional)

1 garlic clove

1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

1/2 cup mayo

2 tsp all purpose dill seasoning mix (pampered chef)

1/4 tsp salt

2 packages crescent rolls

1 egg white, lightly beaten

2 Tbs slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Chop chicken and broccoli. Place in bowl. Chop pepper and add to bowl. Press garlic into bowl. Add cheese to mixture. Next add mayo, dill mix, and salt. Mix well. Unroll crescent rolls but do not separate. Arrange longest sides of dough across width of a 12x15 pan. Using dough roller seal perforations. On longest sides cut dough 1 1/2 strips apart for braiding. Put mixture from bowl into center of dough lengthwise and pull cut pieces of dough up over filling to cover in a "braided" fashion. Twist each strip one turn. Tuck ends under to seal. Coat outside of dough with brushed egg white. Sprinkle top with almonds. Bake 25-28 minutes or until deep golden brown.

**Mary's modifications: I used egg beaters egg whites instead of separated eggs, used a pizza crust/roll mix instead of crescent rolls, did not do the whole braid thing...instead more of a stromboli...it was a hit**

Cajun Chicken Pasta (remake)

Our remake of Cajun Chicken Pasta (a favorite from Chili's). Kids cleaned their plates and Jon said mine was better than Chili's - Woohoo!!

Cajun Chicken Pasta:

Start with:

penne pasta, cooked as desired - drain and add to:

1 jar prepared Alfredo sauce + 2 TBS white cooking wine

1 lb diced grilled chicken breast

cajun seasoning (to taste)

Top with:

roma tomatoes

diced green onions

chopped parmesan cheese

**served with garlic bread and fresh salad**

Chicken Pot Pie with Stuffing

We started out with 1 whole chicken that we roasted in the crock-pot with seasoning. This is meal #3 we were able to cook from that 1 chicken:

Ingredients:

2 1/2-3 cups cooked chicken, shredded or chopped
1 (29 oz) can home style mixed vegetables, drained
1 (10 3/4 oz) can cheddar cheese soup
1 onion soup mix packet
1 cup shredded cheddar blend cheese
1 (6 oz) package stuffing, prepared

- Combine cooked chicken, mixed vegetables, cheddar cheese soup, onion soup mix, and shredded cheese.

- Turn into freezer safe/oven safe casserole dish sprayed with cooking spray.

- Top with prepared stuffing mix.




- Cook at 350 degrees F 30-35 minutes, or until heated completely through.

- OR -

- Cover and freeze for up to 3 months before serving. In order to reheat, thaw casserole in refrigerate prior to cooking. *Be careful not to place a frozen glass dish into a heated oven to avoid breakage.*

Chicken Enchiladas

We started with 1 whole chicken. Roasted in the crock-pot with only seasoning. From that 1 whole chicken...we got 3 different meals. This is meal #2:

Ingredients:

2 1/2-3 cups cooked chicken, shredded or chopped
1 cup sour cream
1 (4.5 oz) can chopped green chilies
1 cup shredded cheddar blend cheese
1 cup salsa
8-10 fajita size flour tortillas
1 (10 oz) can green enchilada sauce
1/2 cup shredded cheddar blend cheese
sliced black olives for garnish**
2 chopped green onions for garnish**

- Begin by combining the chicken, 1 cup of shredded cheese, sour cream, green chilies, and salsa.

- Spray freezer safe/oven safe casserole dish with cooking spray.
- Spoon chicken mixture into flour tortillas, roll and place in casserole dish seam side down.

- Cover filled tortillas with enchilada sauce, 1/2 cup shredded cheese, and black olives and green onions if desired.

- Bake at 350 degrees F for 40-45 minutes or until heated through.

- OR -

- Cover and freeze for up to 3 months before reheating and serving. To reheat and serve, allow prepared dish to thaw in refrigerator prior to cooking. *Placing a frozen glass dish in a preheated oven may cause glass to break.**

MiMi's Chicken Chili

Ingredients:

1 package boneless skinless chicken thighs

2 can great northern beans, drained & rinsed

1 small can chopped green chilies

1 package frozen fiesta corn blend

1/2 medium onion, diced

5 cups water

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp taco seasoning

1 1/2 tsp garlic salt

*pepper to taste*

*tortilla chips*

*sour cream*

*shredded colby-jack cheese*

- Combine chicken, great northern beans, green chilies, corn blend, onion, water, and spices into a crock-pot

- Cook on low 6-8 hours

- Stir occasionally

- Serve with warmed tortilla chips

- Garnish with sour cream & shredded colby-jack cheese

Oven-Baked Chicken Nachos

1 13 oz. bag of bite-size Tostitos (as many as you can put on the pan before they get ate)
1 13 oz can cooked chicken breast meat, drained
1 2.24 oz can sliced black olives, drained
1/2 medium white onion, diced small
1 10 oz can rotel, drained
1 tsp Pampered Chef, Southwest Seasoning mix (sub. chili powder or mix)
4 oz shredded Colby-Jack cheese blend
**sliced jalepenos - to taste**

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.




Spread chips over baking sheet or stone.





Combine chicken, black olives, onion, rotel and cover chips.




Top with seasoning.

Cover with shredded cheese.

Add jalepenos if desired.




I desired!

Bake 15-20 minutes.

Sweet & Tangy Chicken

Another crock-pot recipe we tweaked a bit - it was a hit here!

Put in crock-pot first:

2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp allspice (we used Pampered Chef Cinnamon Blend)
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 TBS soy sauce
1/4 cup cider vinegar
**Juice drained from 20 oz. skinny fruit pineapple slices - save the pineapple to add later**
2 TBS quick-cooking tapioca
1 TBS sugar

Cook on low 5-6 hours, stirring occasionally.



About one hour before you are ready to eat, add to crock-pot:

reserved pineapple
1 1/2 green peppers (diced, large chunks)
1/2 medium red onion (diced, large chunks)



We decided to go with rice on the side tonight. Noodles would be good too but the resident 16 year old was fussing about "pasta, pasta, pasta"...so we switched it up a bit. Yep, we're sneaky like that!

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Buffalo Chicken Pizza:

1 seamless crescent roll

3/4 lb cooked chicken breast fajita meat

ranch dressing *

hot sauce *

bacon, cooked & crumbled

1/2 med red onion, diced

mozzarella cheese shredded (I use the 8 oz. bag)

Preheat oven to 375.

Unroll and press crescent roll onto cookie sheet or stone. Mix ranch dressing and hot sauce by 3 parts ranch to 1 part hot sauce (or as desired by taste). Use dressing mix as pizza sauce, reserve small amount to drizzle over top of pizza before cooking. Add precooked chicken, diced red onion, and bacon crumbles to top of sauced crust. Mostly cover with shredded mozzarella cheese. Drizzle remaining ranch-hot sauce mix sparingly over cheese.

Bake until cheese begins to bubble and brown.

After it cools a bit........Enjoy!!