Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

This week's menu consisted of bbq chicken sandwiches, salad with crispy chicken tenders, and marinated london broil.

My cousin, Amber, suggested I try this recipe out. Although we thought it was good, it was more tomato-based than I had hoped. Next time, I will add more liquid smoke to make the bbq flavor stronger. I used whole wheat potato rolls for the sandwiches.

Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

Source: Food Network

1 tbsp canola oil

1 large onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 can (14oz) low-sodium tomato sauce

1/4 cup tomato paste

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

5 tbsp molasses

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp liquid smoke

1 whole rotisserie chicken or 3 chicken breasts - meat shredded into thin strips

6 whole wheat hamburger rolls

Heat the oil in a large saute pan over a medium heat. Add the onions until they are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, water, vinegar, molasses, pepper, and liquid smoke and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes. Add shredded chicken, return to a simmer and cook an additional 10 minutes.

Sweet Mustard Chicken

I have to admit this wasn't a completely NEW recipe, but I'd only made it once before and that time I made it according to the recipe, using pork. It was absolutely delicious and I decided to give it a try with chicken. The result was great. I do think, however, that the pork hold the marinade flavor better but I would still make it again with both pork and chicken. The marinade mix seemed very odd to me but it really turns out delicious. Mike also grilled zucchini and corn on the cob for a delicious and very healthy meal.

Sweet Mustard Chicken (or Chops)

Source: Taste of Home

3 or 4 chicken breasts or pork loin chops

1/2 cup mayo (I used light)

1/4 packed brown sugar

1/4 cup prepared mustard (I used spicy brown)

2 tsp seasoned salt (I just used kosher salt)

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

In a small bowl, mix mayo, brown sugar, mustard and salt. Whisk in vinegar. Pour into a large ziploc bag; add chicken or pork. Seal and refrigerate overnight.

Discard marinade. Grill, covered, over medium heat for 20-25 minutes or until a meat thermometer says 160 degree, turning occasionally.

Yields 4 servings.

Long Overdue...

I have been a terrible slacker when it comes to this post...I'm going to try and say that I've been terribly busy but that probably doesn't cut it. Anyways, this was a dish I came across in the Kraft magazine. It was so incredibly easy to throw together and it turned out to be a great comfort food dish. The cheese, strangely, wasn't my favorite part. And I would like to try making it again leaving the cheese out...but instead making it more like chicken pot pie. I really think it would be a great alternative to making chicken pot pie...and very easy! The next post is also long overdue...but after that I'll be caught up. Try not to hold it against me, please.

Chicken & Biscuits

Source: Kraft

1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup
3/4 cup BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream, divided
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 pkg. (16 oz.) frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
1 cup KRAFT Shredded Mild Cheddar Cheese
3 Tbsp. milk (I used fat free)
1 cup all-purpose baking mix (I used bisquick)

Heat oven to 375ºF. Mix soup and 1/2 cup sour cream in 8-inch square baking dish. Stir in chicken, vegetables and cheese.

Stir milk and remaining sour cream into baking mix. Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls into 6 mounds on top of chicken mixture.

Bake 35 min. or until biscuit topping is golden brown and chicken mixture is hot and bubbly.

Crispy Chicken Salad

On Saturday, we spent the day at the beach. I wanted something easy to do for dinner and something relatively healthy. I chose a salad which I would serve chicken over. For the chicken, I settled on some chicken tenders I had seen on Lani's blog. These were perfect over salad. I used romaine, a cucumber, a tomato, shredded cheddar, hardboiled eggs and crispy turkey bacon to round out the salad...oh and light ranch dressing. I served some good ol Jiffy cornbread with it and it was delicious, filling dinner.

Honey-Pecan Crusted Chicken Tenders

salt

pepper

boneless, skinless chicken tenders

1/4 cup honey

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

3/4 tsp paprika

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1 1/4 cups finely crushed cornflakes

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400. Sprinkle salt and pepper over chicken. Combine honey, mustard, paprika and garlic in a small bowl. Combine cornflakes and pecans in a shallow dish (I crushed up the cornflakes and pecans together in my mini food processor). Brush both sides of chicken with honey mixture; dredge in cornflake mixture. Place chicken on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Lightly coat the chicken with cooking spray. Cook at 400 for 15 minutes or until done.

Orange Mandarin Chicken

I knew I wanted to make 2 new meals this weekend because Mike has been working insane hours lately and because of that the company orders in lunch and dinner everyday. I knew he would be sick of eating out so I decided on 2 meals. I had found this recipe on Cooking Light's website and it looked easy enough. Better yet, I already had all of the ingredients on hand. I served this over brown rice. This turned out great! The key is to pour a lot of the sauce over the chicken and rice (noodles, etc...whatever you serve with it). The sauce is where all of the flavor is! I didn't have jalapeno peppers so I just sprinkled in some crushed red pepper. We loved how the sweetness of the mandarin oranges mixed with the 'kick' of the red pepper. This was a really good, light meal.

Orange Mandarin Chicken

Source: Cooking Light

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
4 (4-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (I used 3 chicken breasts)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 (11-ounce) can mandarin oranges in light syrup, undrained (I used an 8 oz can)
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 tablespoon finely chopped seeded jalapeño pepper (sprinkled red pepper instead)
1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic (I used 2 fresh garlic cloves)
1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Preparation:
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Add chicken to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until browned.

While chicken cooks, drain oranges in a colander over a bowl, reserving 2 tablespoons liquid. Add oranges, 2 tablespoons liquid, onions, jalapeño, and garlic to pan. Reduce heat; simmer 2 minutes.

Combine broth, soy sauce, and cornstarch; add to pan. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute or until slightly thickened.

GTGs and all that Jazz!

This past weekend was full of friends and food. We invited 16 people over to our house on Saturday evening for food, drinks and games. It started as a small group of our knottie/nestie friends for another GTG, but then turned in to us inviting all of our friends. It was a really fun night. I love having people over. This is what I decided on for food: buffalo chicken dip, taco dip, fruit with fluff dip, bbq chicken sliders, crab wontons, and lunch lady bars (which turned out really dry, I'll have to try them again sometime) and mini chess pies for dessert. Everything turned out pretty good. You know me, it wouldn't be right if there weren't mishaps...I totally forgot to put tomatoes and/or salsa on my taco dip, the edges of the wontons were extra crispy and I was scared to death of how the mini chess pies would turn out. But there was nothing left at the end of the night and everything really was delicious. Anyways, on to the recipes:

Taco Dip

8 oz cream cheese, softened (I used reduced fat)

1 packet of taco seasoning (I use Old El Paso lower sodium)

shredded cheese (mexican mix or cheddar)

shredded lettuce

tomatoes or salsa

Mix the cream cheese and taco seasoning. Spread into small dish (a pie pan works well), then layer with lettuce, cheese and tomatoes/salsa. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Goes really well with tostito scoops.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

16 oz cream cheese (I use 1 block of regular and 1 block of 1/3 less fat)

2 large cans of canned chicken (I use All Natural)

3/4 cup of hot sauce (I prefer Frank's)

1 cup of ranch (I use light)

2 cups of shredded cheddar

salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Over medium heat, add chicken to sauce pan, shredding with a fork. Add hot sauce, stir and let simmer for a few minutes. Add cream cheese and let it melt, then stir together. Stir in ranch dressing. Put 1/2 of shredded cheddar in, stir and let melt. Add a little salt & pepper. Pour mixture into 9x13 pan. Bake on 350 for 25 minutes or until cheese is melted on top. Serve with ritz crackers (wheat are the best!).

BBQ Chicken Sliders

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 bottle of bbq sauce

1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar

1/2 tbsp of brown sugar

24 mini Martin's potato rolls

Bake frozen chicken breasts on 350 for 45 mins to 1 hour. Once cooled, shred chicken (I find it's easiest with my hands and I usually cook the chicken the night before and after shredding, keep in the fridge.

Over medium heat, add chicken to sauce pan along with just enough bbq sauce to cover. Add in vinegar and brown sugar, stir well. Once it's warm, change heat to low, cover and simmer for as long as you can. I simmered mine for well over an hour.

Scoop a little chicken onto each roll. Enjoy!

Crab Wontons

Source: Sam the Cooking Guy

4 oz cream cheese, softened (I used 8 oz of 1/3 less fat)

3 green onions, finely chopped (I used about 6)

1 cup of crab meat (I used 1 8oz pack of 'special' crab meat - not imitation)

1 tbsp of hot sauce (Sriracha)

1 package of wonton wrappers (I used square wrappers)

Preheat oven to 400
Mix all ingredients well in bowl, except wrappers
Put about a teaspoon and a half of mixture in center of each wrapper
Dip finger tips in water and wet edges of wrapper lightly and fold in half (I folded them corner to corner to make triangles) - try to remove as much air as possible
Seal tightly and place won tons on baking sheet coated with cooking spray

Bake until they start to brown - should be about 15 to 20 minutes (my corners got very brown)

While they cook, make the dipping sauce:
3 tablespoons soy
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon green onion, finely chopped
Mix all ingredients and serve on the side

These things are delicious and so is the dipping sauce. Yum. I also added some extra srirachi hot sauce on the side, as Mike is a big fan of it!

Thanks to you, Lins!

We spent this past weekend in Charlotte for my friend, Ashley's, wedding. My best friend, Lindsay, opened her home to us and we spent 3 awesome nights there. On our first night, she prepared an easy but great meal for us. So, when we got home, we made it again ourselves. Using Ken's honey teryiaki marinade, we marinated 3 chicken breasts.... they marinated most of the day but she suggested doing it overnight and I agree, hers had more flavor than ours. We grilled those up along with some pineapple. And I roasted a vegetable/potato medley in the oven....using a Hidden Valley Ranch packet for seasoning. I chose red potatoes, a sweet potato and zucchini. Easy and delicious meal. Thanks, Lins, for the inspiration.

Good Ol Comfort Food

So, I bought all of the ingredients for chicken pot pie over a week ago and never got around to making it before Mike left town for the week. His flight arrived at 5 p.m. on Saturday so I prepared the pot pie and stuck it in the fridge before leaving to pick him up. When we got home, I popped it in the oven. I can't ever remember how I make it from one time to the next so this time I found a basic recipe online and went from there. I had a few mishaps, like usual and thought that my pot pie was ruined. I must have let the pie crust get a little too comfortable at room temperature because when I went to remove the one to put on the top, it crumbled in my hands. I was devastated. I didn't give up and just pieced it together.. no need to make any slits in the top, there were already several. Not the prettiest thing I've ever seen but.... It was delicious and we love having the leftovers too. The recipe came from AllRecipes and you can find it here. The one below is exactly how I made it which differs slightly from the original.

Chicken Pot Pie

2 chicken breasts, cubed

2 cups frozen peas/carrots

2 cups potatoes (I used 4-5 red potatoes, peeled and cubed)

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup chopped onion (I used 1/2 large shallot which was exactly 1/3 cup)

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 3/4 cup chicken broth (I used low sodium)

2/3 cup milk (I used fat free)

2 9" unbaked pie crusts

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a saucepan, combine chicken, potatoes, peas and carrots. Add water to cover and boil for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, drain and set aside.

In the saucepan over medium heat, cook the onions in the butter until soft and translucent. Slowly stir in flour, salt and pepper. Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick. Remove from heat and set aside.

Place half of the chicken mixture in bottom of pie crust. Pour half of hot mixture over. Then repeat one more time. Cover with the top crust, seal the edges and cut away excess dough if necessary. Make several small slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape.

Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until top is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Allow to cool 10 minutes before serving.

Time for BBQ, baby!

Mike had a flag football game tonight so I knew it would be a good day to throw some chicken in the crockpot. I started with some thighs that we had in the freezer (Mike would like those) and a big chicken breast for me. I dumped a bottle of Jack Daniels bbq sauce in there and added some water (enough to almost cover the chicken), set it on low for 8 hrs and off to work I went. For mine, I thought I would have a bbq sandwich so I shredded my chicken breast and put it on a delicious potato roll. The bbq taste wasn't distinct enough so I chose to add more to my sandwich. Mike preferred to just eat his right from the bone. I went simple with the sides since he wouldn't be home until 9:00. Corn....a favorite in our house..was the choice. I used frozen yellow corn. I always cook it the way my grandmother always did and it's always a hit. Simple!! In a saute pan, add some butter/ margarine of your choice (a tbsp or two, depending on the amt of corn)...then add the corn. Sprinkle with salt and pepper (use a generous amount of pepper)...once the corn starts to cook, add another tbsp of butter. Stir occasionally while cooking on medium for 10-12 mins then turn to very low until you are ready to serve. And dinner is served!

Food Bloggin'

Ok, here goes...my first food post. While searching all of the WC nestie's blogs, I came across these Crunchy Little Devils on Amber's blog, Amber's Delectable Delights, and I knew right away that I was going to try them. I also immediately knew how I would serve them... over a salad! Always a fan of fried chicken salads, this was going to be my new, healthier version. I made them last night and they were delcious....Mike and I really enjoyed it. I threw them on a bed of romaine with hardboiled eggs, cheddar cheese, cucumbers, tomatoes and some light ranch dressing. As a side note, I did use quite a bit of the hot sauce mixture because that's how we like 'em. And I made some Pillsbury Honey Butter biscuits too...Mike is not a big bread person but he does love these. Yum! Please excuse the pictures...I obviously have some practicing to do in that area.