Recipe 43: Chicken or Turkey Puffs (Main Course, Chicken)

This is a great recipe my mom has been making for years now.  Super simple, delicious, and even the kids like it.  I LOVE making these after Thanksgiving and using up leftover turkey instead of chicken.  Cream Cheese, Turkey and Crescent rolls...what could be better??





THE RECIPE

2 cups cooked chicken or turkey, chopped
2 TBSP milk
3 oz cream cheese, softened
1 TBSP chopped onion
salt and pepepr to taste

Mix everything together.

Open your can of refrigerated crescent rolls(eek, I HATE doing this it always scares the crap out of me.) and separate into 4 rectangles.
(You will not separate into triangles, you will leave in groups of 2 triangles to make rectangles...Geometry class anyone?)

Put 1/4 cup of mixture into the middle of each rectangle.  Pull up all four corners to the center.
Brush tops with melted butter(optional) and sprinkle with crushed croutons(again, optional)

Bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes, until the crescent rolls are nice and golden brown.

Recipe 40: CAFE RIO SHREDDED CHICKEN (main course, knock off, chicken)

In Utah there is a restaurant called Cafe Rio. They have just the most deliciously amazing shredded chicken. It is legendary. Seriously. This recipe is kind of a knock off, that gets pretty close to the real deal and is simple, delicious  and CROCK POT!!! You cant beat that.  Use this with rice, in a salad, in a burrito. It has so many uses and is simply to die for.  If you cant make it out to Cafe Rio for yourself, try this knock off.

5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 small bottle Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing

1 TBSP Chili Powder

1 TBSP ground Cumin

3 Cloves Garlic, minced (Or 3-5 tsp pre chopped from a jar)

cook everything together in a crock pot for 4 hours.

Go through and shred the meat and then cook for 1 more hour.

Tomorrow is the Cafe Rio Rice recipe to go with this chicken.

Recipe 16: CLASSIC ROASTED CHICKEN (Main Course)

SOURCE:  When i got married I received a packet of easy, healthy recipe cards in the mail. If I liked what I saw I could continue receiving packets of recipes every month for the low low price of 4.95 per shipment.(Plus shipping and handling)  AND it came with a plastic recipe box...WITH DIVIDERS!  Well needless to say I felt the urge to impress my new husband with my brilliant skills, so I subscribed to these recipe cards for about  2 years and amassed quite the collection that I used about 3 times and is now collecting dust in the cabinet above my refrigerator.  The one lesson to come from this experience (Apart from not subscribing to something that just showed up in the mail) was how to make the worlds BEST ROAST CHICKEN.  I make this chicken often and use the leftovers for other chicken dishes later in the week. This has great flavor, is tender and juicy and is healthy!!  So thank you 4.95 a month for 24 months for a box of recipes I almost never use ! And thanks for selling my name to the "Never Run Nylon company", the "Romance Book of the Month Club", the "Cookies of the monthBaking Club" and the "Makeup of the month club".

THE RECIPE:  CLASSIC ROAST CHICKEN

1 roasting Chicken, about 3-4 pounds.

Clean out the cavity and  lightly salt the cavity.

in a small dish mix together:

4 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 tsp dried Thyme

2 tsp Dried rosemary

3 cloves minced garlic (3 tsp pre chopped from a jar)

1/4 tsp of ground sage

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper.

Whisk together well.

Place Chicken in a roasting pan.

Rub the oil and herb mixture all over chicken and lift up the skin on the breast and get the oil and herbs in there as well.

Pour remaining oil herb mixture inside cavity as well and rub in.

Slice half a lemon and put several slices inside the cavity.

Bake at 325 for 1 hour.  After an hour, tilt the chicken forward and let all the juices run out of the cavity. Use these juices to baste chicken.

Roast chicken for another hour until done, basting frequenly.

Recipe 13: CHICKEN CHAPLUPAS (main dish)

SOURCE:  Another goodie from my Aunt Joy.  She made these one time and the dish was licked clean.
My mom got the recipe from her and has made these on many occasions. People cant help but like these. The wonderful flavor, the creaminess, the ooey gooey perfection...
This is an easy recipe, no slaving in the kitchen for hours on end. It is, however, high in fat and lots of cheese and sour cream and all the other good things in life that make the world go round.  So be aware.
"C is for Chalupa thats just a sometimes food..."






THE RECIPE:   CHICKEN CHALUPAS (Main Dish)

The Filling: (combine in bowl and set aside for a minute)
2 cans Cream of chicken soup
1 large can chopped green chilis
1 small onion, finely diced.
1 pint sour cream.

mix well. To this mixture add:
6oz shredded cheddar cheese
6oz shredded monterey Jack cheese
2 1/2 to 3 cups of cooked, diced or shredded chicken.

voila, and here is your filling.

NOW here comes the fun part.
you will need 12 small flour tortillas.

Place 2-3 TBSP of the filling in each tortilla.
roll and place seam side down in a greased baking dish.

Pour remaining filling mixture over the rolled tortillas.
Sprinkle with
6oz cheddar cheese
6oz monterey jack cheese.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.
let cool for at least 5 minutes before cutting into it.

You can top with chopped tomatoes and green onions if desired.

Recipe 8: WHITE CHICKEN CHILI (main course/CROCKPOT)

SOURCE:  This recipe is from my friend Christine. She made this for a church function one time and I fell in LOVE with it.  I have made it many times for friends, potlucks, personal meals, functions and more.
This recipe is Included in the Weddington relief Society cookbook.

This Chili can be used as a main course by itself, or goes WONDERFUL with cornbread.
The best part about this recipe...you can make it as spicy as you want, depending on the heat you bring with your salsa choice. If I know kids are eating it, I will use a mild salsa. If it is for my husband and myself I will use a medium or hot.
But the BESTEST Best part...This is a crockpot recipe. dump everything in, set it and (forgive the Ron Popeil moment)forget it.
This calls for cooked chicken.  I use leftover rotisserie Chicken, that I kind of shred up into bite sized pieces. You can use any leftover chicken or just boil some chicken and then shred it. 

THE RECIPE:  White Chicken Chili (Crockpot Version)

In a crockpot combine the following:

1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped (or 2 tsp pre chopped from a jar)
2 tsp cumin (I use a touch more, probably 2 1/2 to 3 tsp)
2 cups cooked chicken, shredded or chopped
1 can Great Northern Beans, drained(can also use cannellini beans if  you can find them)
1 can Garbanzo beans, drained
1 can corn, drained
1/2 can chicken broth
1/2 cup salsa
1 can chopped green chilis
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook on Low for 6-8 hours or on High 3-4 hours.
Serve with cornbread for a fantastic meal.

Top with a dollop of sour cream and chopped cilantro for a fancypants presentation!

Recipe 3: HAWAIIAN CHICKEN WITH PASTA(Main Course)

THE SOURCE:  It was November 2003. My Husbands baby brother was getting married in Illinois.   We flew into Chicago and stayed with my best friend Lindsey.  After the wedding several hours away, we drove back to Chicago and stayed for an extra day.
Lindsey prepared this dish for us, saying HER mom made it a few weeks ago and gave her the recipe. 
Dont know exactly where her mom got the recipe. It
is so delicious, simple and F.O. Worthy.

This is a main course dish that consists of grilling Kebobs, and then un-kebobing them over pasta.
This is one of those recipes that you will crave and will make the pasta with just the sauce.  Or you may make the kebabs with the marinade. Or you may make them together.  This is a great recipe that is very versatile for any situation.   Either way you will get bombarded for the recipe.

So get the broiler ready, pull out those Kebab sticks and get ready to rock your tastebuds.


HAWAIIAN CHICKEN WITH PASTA AND MACADAMIA NUTS

1. Start by Soaking Bamboo Skewers in water.  If you dont soak them first they can burn. trust me...
2. Drain a 20oz can of pineapple chunks, RESERVE  1/3 cup of pineapple juice.
3.  Mix together the following, whisking well to combine everything completely.
    3/4 cup soy sauce
   1/2 cup packed brown sugar
    1 1/2 tsp FRESH grated ginger(do not use dry)
    2 cloves garlic, finely chopped (or 2 tsp from a jar)
    2 TBSP Sesame Oil
   1/3 cup of the reserved Pineapple juice
SET ASIDE 1 CUP OF THIS MARINADE. DO NOT TOUCH IT UNTIL THE VERY END. DONT EVEN LOOK AT IT!!! Just put it in a corner and ignore it.



In gallon sized ziplocks, put the following:
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
1 sweet onion, cut into chunks (white onion, like a vidalia or sweet texas or maui)
1 green bell pepper cut into chunks
the 20oz can of Chunk Pineapple(drained)
sensing a theme here with the chunk? chunk chunk chunk, everything's a chunk.

Add the leftover soy sauce mixture/marinade to this bag with the chunks, making sure everything gets coated well.
refrigerate and let marinate for 40 minutes, but no more than an hour. Turn every 20 minutes, to make sure all components in bag are getting evenly marinated.

Remember those skewers you were soaking??  Pull those out.  On these skewers,  put the chicken, onion, peppers and pineapples on them.  You can make any pattern desired.  Unless you are making these as kebobs it doesnt really matter because after they are done grilling you are de-skewering them.
Even though I know it doesnt matter I have food OCD and I will make sure I have a nice ratio on every skewer. I am kind of wacky like that.

grill or broil 8-10 minutes, turning after 4 minutes.  Grill times are approximate, just make sure the chicken is grilled through...dont want to send people home with Salmonella.

Now, while these are grilling you can boil your angel hair pasta!
Use 1 lb angel hair pasta and boil in a pot of water with 1 TBSP olive oil added to it.  Angel Hair pasta doesnt take excessively long, so keep an eye on it! (if you are using whole wheat pasta it will take about 8 minutes.  If you use regular angel hair, about 3 or 4 minutes)

Once chicken is done grilling, de-kabob everything into a bowl and throw skewers away.
Add cooked pasta to the un-kabobs and toss completely.
NOW, here is where the magic happens.  Take that RESERVED MARINADE and pour it over the pasta!  Toss everything well to evenly coat.
NOW- Top with 1/4 cup chopped toasted macadamia nuts.

VOILA.

You can also substitute the angel hair pasta for 2-3 cups hot white rice.

I have used JUST the kabobs for grilling. I have made JUST the pasta when I was craving that marinade.
Each individual component is amazing, but put them together and it will be like a KY Intense commercial. Fireworks, geysers erupting, opera...you get the drift.

ENJOY!!