Chicken Fit Wraps

OK, so we're a little obsessed with wraps lately. They are easy to assemble and freeze, great for grab and go, and best of all HEALTHY AND FILLING! I accidentally started eating all of Gabes breakfast wraps, so I figured I better make some dinner versions! Gabe and I both gives these 2 thumbs up. Seriously - they are good!

Ingredients:
3 cooked shredded chicken breasts
1 can of mixed beans (3 bean blend, I bought the organic kind from fred meyer for $1)
1 small 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 bag reduced fat mexican cheese blend (also at freds for $2 - its made with 2% milk)
2 bags of smart and delicious wraps - I bought tomato basil flavor
1/2 brick of greek yogurt cream cheese

In a large bowl, microwave cream cheese until soft. Drain beans and tomatoes very well (or your burrito will be runny) and stir together with cream cheese. Stir in bag of cheese and shredded chicken. ** Next time I will also add 1 cup of cooked brown rice

Fill wraps with filling and roll up in foil. Freeze.
To heat just defrost in microwave for 1 minute and toast in oven until the shell is crispy!
Enjoy!

Light chicken taco salad

not my photo

This is a beal family special. Strange at first... And then terribly addicting! Even my kids will eat lettuce thanks to this recipe! A great way to sneak in a ton of veggies!

1/2
 head of lettuce chopped small
1/2 head cauliflower chopped small
2 diced tomatoes
2 carrots chopped small
1 large avocado diced
2 green onions sliced
I can olives sliced
1 can kidney beans
1 cup part skim mozzarella shredded cheese
2 chicken breasts
1 packet taco seasoning
Nacho Doritos
Light Ranch dressing

Cook and shred chicken. Add taco seasoning with 3/4 cups water and simmer briefly.
Combine chicken and all salad ingredients. Toss until well combined. Serve with crushed Doritos and light ranch dressing. Enjoy!

* feel free to sub ground beef or turkey or leave meat out completely!

Buffalo Chicken Chili

Im taking this to trunk or treat tonight....found on closetkitchen.com

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground chicken
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1/2 cup celery, sliced
• 1/2 cup carrots, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon cumin, toasted and ground
• 1 cup beer or chicken broth
• 1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/2 cup hot sauce (or to taste)
• salt and pepper to taste
• crumbled blue cheese to taste

Directions

1. Cook the chicken in a large pan over medium heat and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in the pan, add the onions, celery and carrots and cook until tender, about 10-15 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and cumin and cook until fragrant, about a minute.
4. Add the beer or broth and deglaze the pan.
5. Add chicken, tomatoes, beans, paprika, oregano, cayenne and hot sauce and simmer for 15 minutes.
6. Serve topped with crumbled blue cheese to taste.

PW's Chicken Spaghetti

My family liked this recipe so Im posting it here! Gabe and the kids wont usually touch peppers, so I grated them finely with a cheese grater and it turned out great! Step by step photo tutorial HERE

Ingredients

• 2 cups Cooked Chicken
• 3 cups Dry Spaghetti, Broken Into Two Inch Pieces
• 2 cans Cream Of Mushroom Soup
• 2 cups Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• 1/4 cup Finely Diced Green Pepper
• 1/4 cup Finely Diced Onion
• 1 jar (4 Ounce) Diced Pimentos, Drained
• 2 cups Reserved Chicken Broth From Pot
• 1 teaspoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt
• 1/8 teaspoon (to 1/4 Teaspoon) Cayenne Pepper
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• 1 cup Additional Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Preparation Instructions

Cook 1 cut up fryer and pick out the meat to make two cups. Cook spaghetti in same chicken broth until al dente. Do not overcook. When spaghetti is cooked, combine with remaining ingredients except additional 1 cup sharp cheddar.

Place mixture in casserole pan and top with remaining sharp cheddar. Cover and freeze up to six months, cover and refrigerate up to two days, or bake immediately: 350 degrees for 45 minutes until bubbly. (If the cheese on top starts to get too cooked, cover with foil).

**** easily can be gluten free by using GF noodles and GF cream of chicken or mushroom soup!

Amy's Enchiladas (sweet chili lime)

                                                                    (image from cookie+kate)

6T honey
5T lime
1T chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 pound cooked shredded chicken (3 small breasts)
8-1 flour tortillas
1 pound jack cheese
16 oz green enchilada sauce
1 cup heavy cream (you can sub sour cream if you want)

Mix honey, lime, and spices together and pour over shredded chicken.
Marinate for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight

Dump 1/2 cup enchilada sauce in bottom of 9x13 pan

Fill tortillas with chicken mixture and shredded cheese (saving about 1 cup of cheese for the top)

Mix cream with remaining enchilada sauce and dump over pan of rolled enchiladas. Top with remaining cheese.
At this point you can FREEZE the pan...or bake at 350 for 30 minutes uncovered until brown and crispy.
To cook frozen meal - DO NOT UNTHAW. Bake at 350 covered for 1 hour, and uncovered for another 30 minutes.

* Gluten-free adaptation: Use corn tortillas and typically the green enchilada sauce contains modified food starch, so substitute with a green jar of salsa verde.

Chicken tikka masala

our annual pilgrimage to Bombay house took place last night, and it did not disappoint! in fact I woke up this morning and polished off all the leftovers. I'm such an addict when it comes to this dish so I hope you will try it! Sooo easy to make, naturally gluten free, and fancy enough for date night or company!

In a large tupperware combine:
3 cubed chicken breasts
1 cup yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger (I never have any so I make it without)
4 teaspoons salt, or to taste

Place in fridge covered for at least 2 hours or even overnight. Once it has marinated just put the chicken in a glass baking dish at 350 for about 35 to 45 minutes.

While chicken is baking, heat a large deep skillet to make the sauce:

1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon garam masala (McCormick makes this, find it at the grocery store)
1 teaspoons salt, or to taste
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Sauté garlic and jalapeño in butter for a minute. Add in all the spices, tomato sauce, and cream. Stirring occasionally, cook until sauce thickens about 20 minutes.
Add in chicken and top with fresh cilantro. Serve over jasmine rice with a side of naan bread!

Chicken divan

This is sooo good, gluten free, freezes well, kids love it, and it's a one dish wonder!

3c cooked chicken
1 16oz package frozen broccoli
2 c cooked rice (1 c raw)
2 cans cream of chix soup
1 c mayo
1/8 tsp curry
1 tbsp lemon juice

Mix it all together and throw it in a 9x13 dish at 325 degrees for 45 minutes or until broccoli is done.

Buffalo Chicken Balls

These are my favorite appetizer at the moment....and can easily be made gluten free by using non breaded chicken, and GF panko (at fred meyer) or substituting GF bread crumbs. Mom, do you have a picture of these from last night???

Ingredients:

For balls:
1/2 a bag of frozen fully cooked breaded chicken strips (sometimes called fritters)
1 1/2 cups of hot sauce
1 stick of butter
2 celery ribs finely diced
2 green onions finely diced
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese or gorgonzola
4 ounces cream cheese (half a brick)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

For coating:
Flour (about 1 1/2 cups)
3 eggs beaten
Panko bread crumbs (about 2 1/2 cups)

Oil for frying

Method:
Bake or microwave chicken strips according to directions.
To make the buffalo sauce combine hot sauce and butter in small saucepan and melt together (can also be done in microwave)
Dice up chicken and combine with buffalo sauce. Drain off excess sauce.
Dump buffalo chicken into kitchen aid
Add diced celery, green onions, blue and cheddar cheeses, and room temp cream cheese, and stir until combined.

To coat:
Dump flour onto a plate. Dump beaten eggs onto another plate, and panko onto a 3rd plate.
Roll buffalo mixture into 1 inch balls
roll the balls into flour
roll the floured balls in the egg
roll the egg balls in the panko
*you can put the prepared balls in the fridge at this point if you made them ahead. I just seal them in a tupperware container

fry in hot oil until golden brown

Chicken teriyaki Rice bowls

On my list to make for lunch this week! - im going to just use left over Turkey (dont judge!)

3 tbsp low sodium soy sauce 

1 tbsp honey  

1 tbsp brown sugar 

2 tsp corn starch (Plus extra corn starch to coat chicken) 

2 chicken breast halves, cut into bite size pieces and lightly coated with corn starch 

2 cups assorted vegetables (We used carrots, broccoli and onions, 2/3 cup each) 

1 tbsp freshly minced ginger 

2 garlic cloves minced 

3 cups cooked brown rice 

Peanut or canola oil 

1. In a small bowl combine soy sauce, honey, brown sugar, and corn starch.  Whisk 

together and set aside. 

2. Heat a large wok on the stove and just enough peanut oil to lightly coat the wok. 

(about 2 tsp. – 1 tbsp) 

3. Sauté chicken in the wok until completely cooked.  Remove and place on a paper 

towel to absorb any excess grease. 

4. Transfer the freshly minced ginger, garlic, and vegetables to the wok and sauté 

for about 1 minute. 

5. Transfer chicken back to the wok and sauté until hot.  Add the soy sauce mixture 

and cook to thicken. 

6. Serve over brown rice and Enjoy!!!! Serves 5 

Penne Rustica

This is one of those divine dishes that you simply MUST try. It looks involved. And complicated. (and well, it kind of IS) And BELIEVE me when I say that it is BAD for you. Very very deliciously bad. 

And so you gain five pounds. worse things have happened.

Penne Rustica





Gratinata Sauce:
2 teaspoon Butter
2 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chopped rosemary
1 cup marsala wine
1/4 Teaspoon cayenne pepper
8 cups heavy cream


Saute butter, garlic , and rosemary until garlic begins to brown but do not burn the garlic.
Add marsala wine and then reduce by one-third. Add remaining ingredients and reduce by half of original volume.
Set aside.


Penne Rustica:
1 oz. pancetta or bacon
18 shrimp peeled and deveined
12 oz. grilled chicken breast, sliced
4 1/2 cups of granita sauce
3 lbs. cooked Penne Pasta
3 teaspoons pimentos, minced
6 oz. butter
1 teaspoon chopped shallots
1 pinch of salt and pepper
1 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon paprika
6 sprigs of fresh rosemary


Saute pancetta until it begins to brown. Add butter, shallots, and shrimp. Cook until shrimp are evenly pick but still translucent, you do not want to overcook the shrimp or else it will be rubbery. Add chicken, salt, pepper, and mix thoroughly. Add granita sauce and 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese and simmer until the sauce thickens.
In a large bowl, combine shrimp and chicken mixture with precooked pasta. Place this mixture into single serving dishes or one large casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese and pimentos and sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 475 degrees F for 10-15 minutes. Remove and garnish with fresh rosemary sprigs.


* I NEVER BAKE MINE. Who can stand to wait an extra 10 minutes????

Perfect Southwest Casserole

I had a roommate in College from New Mexico. Her name was Ana Min and even though she was tall, leggy, blonde, and could whip up divine meals - we got along top notch. So to show my love for her I stole this recipe and passed it off as my own. I know you will love it as much as I do:


Preheat oven to 350'
Set aside
3 chicken breasts cooked and shredded
Small bag of white or yellow corn tortillas torn into pieces (about 4 each)
1-2 lbs Shredded Cheese


In saucepan melt:
1 can cream of chicken
1 can cream of mushroom
1 small container sour cream
1 large can diced green chiles


In 9x13 pan layer like a lasagna. Start by spooning sauce to cover bottom of pan. Next cover sauce with torn tortillas. Toss on some shredded chicken over tortillas. Drop spoonfuls of sauce over chicken (cover well). Top with shredded cheese. Then layer with more tortillas, chicken, sauce and cheese. Repeat layers until your pan is full. Top with cheese, cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 15 minutes. Let sit 20 minutes, then serve! 

Its a BOY Boneless Buffalo Wings

If you're pregnant and you know it make some wings. If you're pregnant and you know it make some wings. If you're pregnant and you know it, and you really want to show it, if you're pregnant and you know it make these wings: (Dont worry, there are no actual wings involved. Just delicious spicy boneless chicken breasts.)


2-3 chicken breasts (dethawed and cut into chicken nugget sized bites)
2 eggs (beaten, salted, and peppered)
1 cup of flour salted and peppered, in a large ziploc baggie
Oil for frying



Sauce:
1/2 stick of melted butter
1 1/2 cup of hot sauce (I used some random mexican hot sauce - I dont think it matters what kind)
1 tablespoon vinegar

1. Heat oil on med/high heat
2. Place raw chicken bites in egg mixture. Let sit 10 minutes.
3. Throw chicken into ziploc baggie and shake until well coated
4. Fry 5-6 bites at a time until golden brown and crispy looking
5. Place in oven safe dish
6. Pour sauce over fried chicken and roll around until well coated
7. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes
8. Let stand 10-20 minutes before eating
9. Dip in ranch or blue cheese dressing!!
10. Take tums or Zantac
11. Pass out in greasy food coma whilst patting your belly in sheer bliss  

* As an equally delicious alternative you can toss these fried babies in a honey bbq sauce. Just mix about 1 cup of your favorite BBQ and add in 1/3 cup of honey.  So GOOD!