quick and easy oven baked chicken parmesean

1lb fresh chicken breasts
panko (or regular) bread crumbs
jarred marinara sauce
mozzarella cheese
grated/shredded parmesan cheese
1 tsp dried oregano

1. salt and pepper both sides of chicken. cover both sides in bread crumbs and lay on a foil-lined (for easier clean-up) baking pan.

2. baked at 400 for 20 min or until cooked through. top each chicken breast with marinara sauce and cheeses. sprinkle with oregano. bake an additional 5 min or until cheese is melted (i usually then broil it for a few minutes to get the cheese yummy and brown).

as a side dish, i usually prepare fettuccini noodles and either toss them with some of the left-over marinara or with butter/parmesean/parsley.

pesto chicken florentine

recipe courtesy of allrecipes.com (adapted a bit)

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into strips
1 bag fresh spinach leaves
1 jar alfredo sauce (i used bertoli's light version)
2 tablespoons pesto
1 (8 ounce) package dry penne pasta (i used some veggie rice pasta i had on hand)
1 tablespoon grated Romano cheese

Directions

1. season chicken (salt, pepper, a little tony's) and cook in 1-2 tbsp heated oil for 7 to 8 minutes on each side.
2. remove chicken from skillet once cooked and place in foil, covered.
3. in same skillet, heat 1 more tbsp oil over medium. add garlic, saute for 1 min. add spinach and saute all together for 3 or so minutes.
4. add alfredo and 2 tablespoons pesto; set aside.
5. in a large pot of boiling water, cook pasta for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente. Rinse under cold water and drain.
Add chicken to sauce and then toss in pasta. top with cheese and serve.

notes; very easy and delicious! a variation i read on this said to top with diced tomatoes before serving. yum! oh, the possiblities...sun dried tomatoes, pine nuts...

also, it reheats beautifully. i even froze some. we'll see how that comes out when i use it on a busy night!

chicken noodle soup

recipe adapted from friend, j.

about 1-1.5 hours from start to finish, although hands-on time is only about 30 min.

ingredients:
1 small yellow onion
3 cloves garlic
2.5 cups chopped or diced carrots (i use a whole bag of frozen heb circle carrots or crinkle carrots)
2.5 cups celery
3-4 cups cubed or shredded chicken breast
4 cups of cooked pasta or rice (i use ww or multigrain plus pasta)
1 box (appx 18 oz) butternut squash soup
32 oz chicken broth
16 oz water (i always find a need more and just add until it looks right)
3 bay leaves
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

1. boil chicken, drain water and ickies, set aside. in same stock pot, sautee onion, garlic, carrots, and celery until tender.
2. add chicken and continue to saute.
3. add all liquids and bay leaves, bring to boil, and then lower heat to med. low. simmer for 45 minutes.
4. i add the pasta about 15-20 min into simmer time and let it cook until very soft (falling apart a bit). you can also cook pasta separately and add at the very end before serving.
5. salt and pepper to taste.

notes: i love, love this soup. i crave it. it makes plenty for leftovers and for freezing. everyone here loves it.

tonight's meal: wild rice turkey bake

recipe courtesy of busycooks.about.com via friend, b.

prep 20-30 min; baking time 40-50 min.

ingredients:

3 cups wild rice (i use one box of uncle ben's wild rice)

3 cups shredded cooked turkey (or chicken) (i cook then shred in food processor)

16oz. pkg frozen french cut green beans, thawed

17oz. jar alfredo sauce (i find this is the minimum amt of sauce needed to keep it moist...i usually use 1.5 jars, maybe because i never measure out the rice or turkey)

1/2 cup soft bread crumbs (3-4 slices ww bread chopped in food processor)

1. preheat oven to 350. mix turkey, rice, green beans and alfredo sauce in large bowl.

2. place in 12x8 glass dish and sprinkle with bread crumbs.

3. bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes until casserole bubbles at edges and bread crumbs are browned.

notes: the girl's like her mom and not a fan of her food all mixed up (however, mom likes this dish a lot). flavor of this dish is great, though. it's super easy and freezes well, too.

tonight's meal: chicken soft tacos/flatbread wraps

start to finish about 20 min.

ingredients:

chicken breasts, seasoned and grilled or sauteed

flatbread/tortillas/wraps of your choice (we went with flatbread this time)

shredded cheddar/mexican blend cheese

ranch dressing

lettuce, tomatoes optional

1. prepare chicken and slice.

2. add chicken to flatbread. then add cheese and other fixings as desired.

3. top with sauce (ranch dressing + tony's/zatarain's = spicy ranch).

super fast, easy, and yummy. we just serve the ingredients separately for the kids, since they aren't big on having their foods all mixed together (i.e., pile of chicken, pile of cheese, etc.) you could get really creative with this; we just like our foods kinda simple, here. :)

a new recipe: chicken, broccoli, and brown rice

(adapted from campbell's)

appx 25-30 min from start to finish

ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil

4 chicken breasts

1 can (10.75 oz) campbell's healthy request condensed cream of chicken soup

1 1/2 cups water

1 1/2 cups uncooked instant brown rice (i used an uncle ben's brown and wild rice ready rice packet...lazy, i know).

2 cups fresh (or frozen) broccoli flowerets

1. heat oil in skillet over med-high. salt and pepper both sides of chicken. add chicken and cook until well browned on both sides. i also butterflied mine midway through (i think it's easier (and way less yucky) to do when it's already mostly cooked). remove chicken from skillet.

2. stir soup and water into skillet. bring to a boil

3. stir rice and broccoli in skillet. reduce heat to low. return chicken to skillet. cover and cook 5 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked and rice and broccoli are tender.

review:

this was a big hit with the boys in the family. i thought it was pretty good, maybe just a bit too salty. using plain brown rice would have probably helped with that, but i was more about the quick and easy tonight. the girl wasn't really into the look of the meal. i'll give her that. maybe not the best eye candy. there was plenty for jamie's lunch tomorrow and i froze a complete serving, too. overall, pretty good and i'd make it again.

tonight's meal...a new recipe: whole wheat rotini with walnut pesto

(from good housekeeping, march 2009)

about 45 min from start to finish

ingredients:

3/4 c. walnuts, toasted and cooled (i left these out because of the tree nut allergy)

1/4 c. packed fresh parsley leaves

1/4 c. freshly grated parmesean (i used the kind in the jar from kraft)

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice (i used my refrigerated bottle)

1 clove garlic

1/4 c. plus 3 tbsp water

12 oz whole wheat rotini (i used rice vegetable rotini b/c that's what i had on hand)

1lb chicken-breasts, cut into strips

2 tsp olive oil

1 med red pepper, sliced

1lb asparagus, cut into 1-in pieces

1. in food processor, blend walnuts, parsley, parmesean, lemon juice, garlic, 1/4 c water, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper until pureed. set pesto aside.

2. meanwhile, cook pasta.

3. while pasta is cooking, season chicken with salt/pepper on both sides. in skillet, cook chicken (i butterflied the chicken and sliced it after it was cooked). transfer chicken to bowl and keep warm.

4. in the same skillet, add red pepper and 1 tsp oil. cook on medium 3 minutes. add asparagus and remaining 3 tbsp water; cover and cook 6-7 minutes or until tender-crisp, stirring occasionally.

5. reserve 1/2 c pasta water. drain pasta and return to saucepot; stir in chicken, vegetables, pesto, and reserved pasta water. toss to coat.

review: this was a light, fresh-tasting dish. lots of color and everyone like it well enough. it didn't taste like a traditional pesto to me, but i also didn't use the walnuts, so maybe that's why. it makes plenty enough for leftovers (6 main-dish servings); but without a sauce, i wouldn't think it would be good for freezing. i'll definitely make it again.

tonight's meal: spinach and chicken sausage, left over sweet potatoes, fruit

start to finish about 15 minutes.

ingredients:

organic, all-natural chicken sausage (HEB has some great ones...and they're great to have in the freezer for quick easy meals)

saute or grill sausage, serve with condiments of your choice. for a quick meal tonight, i just served the left over sweet potatoes from thursday and fresh fruit that we had on hand. instant, colorful meal!