Triple P (pesto, Parmesan, pasta) Chicken

1 lb boneless/skinless chicken (cut into bite-sized pieces)
1/3 box mini-penne pasta (or other pasta of your liking)
1 package (10-12 oz) frozen Parisian vegetables
2 Tbsp pesto sauce
1/3 c. grated or shredded Parmesan cheese
fresh ground pepper to taste
1-2 Tbsp olive oil

Prepare pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, heat oil in nonstick skillet. Cook chicken until no longer pink inside. Remove chicken from pan. Drain oil from pan. Cook vegetables until tender. Combine chicken vegetables, and pasta. Stir in pesto and Parmesan cheese. Add fresh ground pepper to taste.

This was a completely on the fly meal. I started out thinking I was going to make a chicken stir-fry and then decided to do this instead, just grabbing from my pantry (pasta) and freezer (vegetables and some pesto I had made a while back). The vegetables I used were a Kroger brand so if you don't live near a Kroger/Fry's Market, you will have to find a substitute, but really any vegetables (fresh or frozen) will work. This is just a quick easy throw together meal, but is tasty and beautiful enough for company...and healthy too!

Chicken Rose

2 large boneless/skinless chicken breast halves
3 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp pepper
2 Tbsp flour
2-3 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup white cooking wine
1 tsp dried tarragon leaves, crushed

Place garlic powder, salt, pepper, and flour in a large Ziploc bag. Cut chicken into uniform strips, about 2x 1/2x1/2-inch. Place chicken in back. Shaking bag to coat chicken with flour mixture.

In a 10 inch skillet over medium-high heat, melt butter (do not brown). Add wine, tarragon and chicken. Stirring constantly, cook for 5 minutes or until pieces are golden brown and no longer pink inside.

This recipe was modified from a recipe in "Express Lane Recipes".

I LOVED THIS, and so did my family.

Club Pizza

1 can (13.8 oz) refrigerated pizza crust
1/4 cup KRAFT Mayo with Olive Oil Reduced Fat
1/2 cup KRAFT Ranch Dressing, divided
1 1/2 cups KRAFT Shredded Triple Cheddar Cheese
1 1/2 cups finel chopped cooked chicken
8 slices bacon, cooked, crumbled
1 1/2 cupes finely shredded lettuce
1 tomato finely chopped

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Unroll pizza dough onto a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. press into a 15x10 inch rectangle. Bake 10 minutes.

Mix mayo and 1/3 cup ranch dressing; spread onto crust. Top with 1/2 the cheese. Top with chicken, remaining cheese, and bacon.

Bake 5 minutes of until crust is deep golden brown and cheese is melted. Top with lettuce and tomatoes; drizzle with remaining ranch dressing.

This recipe is from my sister-in-law. I think she said it's a KRAFT recipe (which makes sense based on the ingredient list).

It was delicious! Not low-fat/low-calorie, but yummy! BONUS... our 3 year old gobbled it up and wanted more! I did use low-fat ranch dressing and probably a little less than a cup of cheese. You could skip the ranch drizzled on top too if you're trying to cut calories/fat. I think you could do this on any pizza crust (store bought or homemade) and it would be just as good and probably less fat and calories too. I know we'll be making this one again!

Chicken Parmesan (slow-cooker)

1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 egg (beaten)
1/2 c. bread crumbs
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 c parmesan cheese
4 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
4 slices of mozzarella cheese
1 jar of pasta sauce (26 oz)

Spread olive oil around bottom and sides of crockpot

Beat the egg in a dish. Combine parmesan, seasonings, and bread crumbs in a dish.

Dip the chicken in the egg, then coat both sides with the bread crumb mixture. Stagger the chicken in the bottom of the crockpot. Put a slice of mozzarella cheese on top of each piece of chicken. Pour the jar of pasta sauce over the chicken. Cover and cook on low 6-7 hours, or on high 4 hours.

Serve over pasta.

*I got this recipe from my cousin Kylee.

This is one of the easiest, tastiest meals out there. As you can see by the pictures, I use shredded mozzarella cheese. I also prefer to use whole wheat linguini as my pasta when I serve it. My family's preferred pasta sauce is Ragu Thick and Chunky Garden Combination.

Crockpot Tips:
As you can see by the pictures I use the Reynolds Crockpot Liners. I've found them the cheapest at Target and Walmart ($1.87 for a pkg of 4). They cost twice as much at my local grocery store. I will often get coupons for them for $1.00 off too, which makes them even cheaper. Honestly even if I had to pay twice as much for them, I would because they make crockpot clean-up so much easier!

I usually put my crockpot meals together the night before and stick them in the fridge until morning when I plug it in.

Devilish Chicken

1/4 c. dijon or spicy brown mustard

1/4 c. reduced fat greek yogurt

1 T. hot sauce

1 lb. chicken tenders

1 1/3 c. panko bread crumbs

4 tsp. Italian Seasoning

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

In a large bowl, whisk together mustard, yogurt, and hot sauce. Add the chicken, turning to coat, and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes (or cover and refridgerate up to 12 hours).

Line a baking sheet with foil. Place a wire cooling rack on top of the baking sheet and spray it with cooking spray.

In a large bowl mix together the bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Working the chicken one piece at a time, coat in the bread crumb mixture. Place on wire cooling rack. Spray chicken lightly with olive oil or cooking spray. Bake 12-15 minutes or until chicken is cooked and golden brown.

*This is a recipe I modified from Rachel Ray.

Super easy and has great flavor. You can modify the amount of hot sauce you use to make it more or less spicy.

Our Pefect Zesty Chicken Tortilla Bake

1/4 c. Miracle Whip Salad Dressing
1/4 c. flour
1 1/2 c. milk
4 oz. shredded cheese, divided
3/4 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces
1/4 c. salsa
1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley
8 flour tortillas, 6 inch

Heat oven to 375. Mix dressing and flour in a medium saucepan with whisk until well blended. Gradually stir in milk. Bring to a boil on medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook and stir until thickened. Add 1/2 c. cheese; cook until melted, stirring constantly. Reserve 1 cup sauce.

Stir chicken, salsa, and parsley into remaining sauce. Spoo 1/3 c. down center of each tortilla. Roll up and place in 13x9 baking dish (greased). Repeat with remaining tortillas. Top with reserved sauce and remaining cheese.

Bake 25 minutes, or until heated through.

*This recipe is from the Kraft Food and Family Magazine. I have modified it so that it is just a 1/2 recipe. The full recipe fills 2 13x9 baking dishes.

My family enjoyed this recipe, though I felt it could use more kick. I would try this again with some diced green chilies and/or spicier salsa. I served it with the Mexican Rice recipe.

Pesto Chicken Florentine

2 T. Olive Oil
2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (cut into strips)
2 cups fresh spinach leaves
1 (4.5oz) pkg dry alfredo sauce mix
2 T. pesto
1 (8oz) pkg dry penne pasta
1 T grated Romano cheese

Directions:
1.Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic, saute for 1 minute, then add chicken and cook until no longer pink. Add spinach and saute together for 3-4 minutes.

2.Meanwhile, boil penne in salted water. Drain when done.

3.While the chicken is cooking, prepare Alfredo sauce according to package directions. When finished, stir in 2 T pesto.

4.Add chicken/spinach mixture to pasta. Stir in pesto/alfredo sauce mixture. Mix well, top with cheese and serve.

This recipe is from the website "allrecipes.com".

My husband and I both loved this (we didn't try to get our 2 year old to eat it, he had pasta with red sauce instead). You pretty much have to get the pasta cooking before starting the chicken. I found that my chicken cooked really fast and I had to wait for the pasta (though I started it at the same time as the garlic/chicken). As soon as the chicken is in the pan, start making the alfredo. This dinner is really quick (less than 30 minutes from start to finish). I happened to have some homemade pesto on hand so I used that. I also didn't buy the romano cheese. I justed used parmesean since I already had some in my fridge. Delicious!

Mexican Casserole

2 c. diced chicken

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. ground corriander

2 T. cilantro

1 can black beans (drained)

1 can (4.5 oz) green chilies (drained)

1 can (10 oz) enchilada sauce

8 corn tortillas

2 c. shredded cheese

8 oz. sour cream

Preheat oven to 375. Saute chicken with cumin and corriander. Put into medium bowl. Stir in beans, cilantro, and chilis. Spread 1/2 of the sauce over the bottom of an 11x7 glass baking dish. Place 4 tortillas over the sauce. Spread 1/2 of the chicken mixture over the tortillas and sprinkle with cheese. Repeat the layers (minus the cheese). COVER and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with cheese, dot with sour cream and cook an additional 5-10 minutes or until cheese melts. Let stand 10 min and serve.

*I found this recipe online when looking for something to use enchilada sauce with (without making actual enchiladas). It was really easy and very yummy. I did not put the sour cream on during the baking process. I also found that it took only a couple minutes for the cheese to melt (not the 5-10 minutes suggested). My family gobbled this up (including my 2 year old).

Parmesan Chicken and Rice Casserole

1 c. chopped onion

2 garlic cloves minced

2- 3 1/2 oz bags boil-in-bag brown rice (cooked)

1/3 c. dry white wine

8 skinless boneless chicken thighs*

1 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme*

1/2 tsp. salt

2 c fat free, less sodium chicken broth

3 Tbsp. whipping cream*

1/3 c. shredded parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 450. Heat large skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion to pan; saute 2 minutes. Add garlic; saute 30 seconds. Remove rice from bags; add to pan. Stir in wine; cook 30 seconds or until liquid almost evaporates. Spoon rice mixture in an even layer into a 9x13 in. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange chicken in a single layer over rice mixture; sprinkle evenly with thyme and salt. Combine broth and cream, stirring well; pour over chicken and rice mixture. Bake at 450 for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake an additional 5 minutes or until chicken is done.

*When I made this: I used fresh rosemary since I grow it in my garden. I also used 3 chicken breasts instead of the thighs, and I used 2% milk instead of the cream (don't use cream much so didn't want to buy a whole thing for a couple Tbsp.)

This recipe was so easy. I will definitely make it again. I'd like to try it with the thyme sometime, but the rosemary tasted great!

Recipe comes from March 2008 issue of Cooking Light Magazine.

Three Cheese Chicken Penne Pasta Bake

1 1/2 c. multigrain penne pasta uncooked (I like SmartChoice)
1 pkg. (9 oz.) fresh spinach leaves
1 lb boneles chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tsp. dried basil leaves
1 jar (14 1/2 oz.) spaghetti sauce
1 can (14 1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, drained
2 oz. (1/4 pkg) neufchatel cheese (I used cream cheese since I had some on hand)
1 c. mozzarella cheese, divided
2 Tbsp. grated parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 375. Cook pasta, adding spinach to boiling water for last minute of cooking.
Cook chicken and basil in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat for 3 min. Add sauce and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Simmer 3 min or until chicken is done. Stir in neufchatel cheese. Drain pasta mixture. Return to pan. Stir in chicken mixture and 1/2 c. mozzarella cheese. Spoon into 2 qt baking dish. Bake 20 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses. Bake 3 min.

TIP!!! Cook pasta in a large pot so you have enough room for the spinach and later adding the chicken mixture. I would also suggest at least a 2 1/2 qt baking dish (that's what I used and it was pretty full!)

This recipe is from Kraft Food and Family magazine.

Mandi Foster's White Chicken Chili

32 oz chicken stock
3 cans white beans (undrained)
5 c. cooked chicken (rotisserie or boiled)
16 oz salsa
8 oz pepper jack cheese (shredded)
2 tsp ground cumin
2 cloves garlic (minced)
black or white pepper to taste
1/2 c. finely crushed corn chips (optional, if you like your chili thicker)
sour cream (for garnish)

Place all ingredients except the corn chips in a crockpot. Cook on high until the cheese is melted. Chili may also be cooked on the stovetop over medium-high heat until cheese is melted. When the chili is ready, add the crushed corn chips, if using, and simmer for 10 minutes to thicken. Garnish with more chips, cheese and/or sour cream and serve.

*This is a recipe I saw on Rachael Ray's 2009 Top Ten show.   I love this recipe.  The flavor reminds me of a much more complicated tortilla soup recipe a friend makes.  When I made this, I did it on the stove, used boiled chicken, and did not add any pepper or crushed chips.  I did serve it with tortilla chips.  My husband would have preferred it to be thicker, so next time I'll try the crushed chips.  I don't really know if they mean regular corn chips (like Fritos) or tortilla chips.  I never buy Fritos, so I would use crushed tortilla chips instead.

Recipe and photo from http://www.rachaelrayshow.com