Chicken & Spinach Alfredo

8 oz uncooked spaghetti

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 lb. chicken tenders (not breaded), cut into 1-inch pieces

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground pepper

1 ½ cup chopped spinach

1 jars (16 oz) Alfredo pasta sauce

1 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
parmesan cheese, optional
¼ cup Panko

Steps

1 Heat oven to 350°F.

2 Cook pasta as directed on box; drain.

3 Meanwhile, in 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken, salt and pepper; cook 6 to 8 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Add spinach, saute 2-3 minutes.  Add Alfredo sauce; carefully stir until well blended.

4 Spoon spaghetti evenly into 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with non-stick; sprinkle mozzarella cheese over spaghetti.  Evenly spoon Alfredo mix over the cheese. 

5 Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and thoroughly heated.
6 Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and Panko.  Put back in the oven and turn the oven off, allowing the cheese to melt.

Serves 6-8

Comment:  This recipe originally used broccoli, which I can’t eat, so I substituted it with spinach.  I used frozen ‘bag’ spinach which is easier to work with.  The original had everything mixed together and then placed in a baking dish.  I made the separation which made ‘cutting’ a serving so much easier.  I also added the parmesan and panko.  So delicious!  So easy!

Chicken Lazone

2 teaspoons kosher (coarse) salt

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 lb uncooked chicken breast tenders (not breaded)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup whipping cream

In small bowl, stir together 2 teaspoons kosher salt, 2 teaspoons garlic powder and 2 teaspoons chili powder. Sprinkle over 1 lb uncooked chicken breast tenders (not breaded) to completely coat.

In 10-inch skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of the unsalted butter over medium-low or medium heat. Add coated chicken tenders; cook 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until browned and no longer pink in center. Transfer chicken to plate; set aside.

In same skillet, heat 1 cup whipping cream, scraping up any brown bits from bottom of skillet. Increase heat to simmer or until cream comes to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer until cream is reduced by half. Stir in remaining 2 tablespoons unsalted butter. Season to taste with salt. Return chicken to skillet.
Serves 4

Comments:  I forgot to buy the whipping cream so I used 1 1/4 cups of milk and 1 Tbsp. flour, mixed until smooth and I also added 1/4 cup of soft cream cheese with chives & onions.  I added the cream cheese to the frying pan after taking the chicken out, stirring until melted.  I then added the milk with flour cooking until it started to thicken.  Then I replaced the chicken, heating everything and poured over the pasta.  This dish is different.  I took one bite and wasn't sure I liked it but found myself wanting another bite, then another, then another.  It really is good.

Chicken Spinach Artichoke for One

1 chicken breast, baked
1/4 cup Spinach Artichoke Dip
1/2 cup boiling bag rice, cooked

Preheat oven to 400.  In an ovenproof dish sprayed with non-stick spray, place the rice, top with all but a tablespoon of the Spinach Artichoke Dip on the rice, top with the chicken, top that with the tablespoon of Spinach Artichoke Dip.  Place in the oven 5 minutes or until the dip is hot and lightly melting.

Comment:  This is so easy and so good.  You can actually use deli baked or fried chicken or bake your own.  The dip I buy is in the produce section.  It's creamy and full of chunks of artichoke and lots of spinach.  This is such a simple dish as well as delicious.

Chicken-Spinach-Artichoke Casserole

1 pkg. cream spinach (Green Giant)
1 can artichokes (drained and not seasoned)
1 cup cooked chicken (cut into bite size pieces)
1 boiling bag of rice (boiled)
1/2 cup cheese (shredded)
French fried onions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cook spinach according to package (microwave).  When done, place in a large bowl.  Chop the drained artichokes and add to the spinach.  Add the chicken and cheese.  Spray a baking dish or pie pan with non-stick spray.  Evenly spread the rice on the bottom of the pan.  Top with the spinach/cheese mixture spreading it over the rice.  Bake 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and top with French fried onions.  Bake another 5 minutes.

Comments:  This is delicious and healthy!  Since spinach is the only green I'm allowed to eat (due to a health problem) I try to find creative, healthy and tasty ways to change it up.  Rotisserie chicken works great and cuts prep time too.  If you want, you can add another sprinkle of cheese before adding the onions. This helps them 'stick' to the dish.  I made this in a glass pie pan so it wouldn't be too thick nor too thin.  It worked perfectly.

Chicken Parmesan

¾ cup panko breadcrumbs, preferably whole-wheat

4 chicken breast cutlets (4 ounces each, about ½ inch thick), trimmed

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1 tablespoon minced garlic
¼ cup chopped onions (I like red)

1 can cream of chicken soup with herbs
1 soup can of water

¾ cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Season chicken with salt & pepper to taste.  Place panko in a shallow dish and dredge cutlets in it, pressing gently to fully coat.

Heat 1½ tablespoons oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat; add half the cutlets and cook until crispy, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with 1½ tablespoons oil and the remaining cutlets.  Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, garlic and onion to the pan; cook, stirring often, until softened and fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in soup and water, bring to a boil over medium-high.   Pour into a baking dish sprayed with non-stick.  Nestle the cutlets into the sauce in the pan. Top with mozzarella and Parmesan. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake 15-20 minutes or until bubbly and cheese has melted.

Comments:  Due to a digestive problem I can no longer eat tomatoes but love Chicken Parmesan.  When I ran across a recipe for this delicious dish I decided to make it into one that I could actually eat without the tomatoes.  I did this by simply thinking with my taste buds, substituting the cream of chicken soup for the tomatoes.  And by using the soup with herbs it gave this dish a wonderful taste.  So, even if you still like your Chicken Parmesan with tomatoes, give this one a try too.  I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Easy Chicken & Dumplins

2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth

1 ½ cups shredded cooked chicken 

3 – 4 frozen buttermilk biscuits

½ cup shredded Cheddar cheese

In 1 1/2- or 2-quart saucepan, heat broth and chicken to boiling. Cut each biscuit in half and cut each half into 4 pieces; add to boiling mixture. Reduce heat to medium; simmer uncovered 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently, until dumplings are cooked through and mixture is slightly thickened. Stir in Cheddar cheese until cheese melts. Serve immediately.

Comment:  During cooking some of the biscuits will dissolve during cooking which will make the soup nice and thick.  I used the frozen biscuits but I feel sure you could probably use canned too.  For my chicken I used butter garlic rotisserie from Walmart.  This dish is quick and sooooo easy to make.  And best of all, it’s delicious.  I made a double batch and ended up giving nice servings to 3 of my food testers who wanted more.

Tetrazzini Casserole

4 tablespoons butter, melted

1 medium onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)

1 can (10 1/2 ounces) Campbell’s® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 ½ cups milk

¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese

3 cups cubed cooked chicken  or turkey

1 small can English peas, drained

8 ounces (1/2 of a 1-pound package) spaghetti, prepared according to package directions (about 4 cups)

1/3cup Panko

Set the oven to 400°F.  Melt half the butter.  Stir the melted butter and bread crumbs in a small bowl.

Heat the remaining butter in a 4-quart saucepan over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook for 1 minute.  Stir in the soup, milk and Parmesan cheese. Add the chicken, peas and spaghetti and toss to coat. Pour the spaghetti into a 13x9x2-inch baking dish sprayed with non-stick.  Evenly spread the chicken mixture over the spaghetti.  Sprinkle the Panko over the chicken mixture.  Bake for 25 minutes or until the mixture is hot and bubbling.

Comments:  The original recipe called for mushrooms and cream of chicken soup.  When I went to my pantry I found I was out of mushrooms but did have a can of cream of mushroom soup.  I used it instead of the cream of chicken.  For my chicken I used a garlic and butter rotisserie chicken.  The original called for 2 Tbsp. of sherry which I didn’t have so I simply eliminated it from the dish.  I didn’t have frozen peas that the recipe called for but did have a small can which I think worked even better.  I also changed the original bread crumbs to Panko.  This dish is simply delicious.  It’s even better the next day after all of the flavors have blended.  And the garlic, butter rotisserie chicken was a great addition.  Simple, easy and great to make with leftovers.