Deep Dish Chicken Pot Pie

Original Recipe from Kraft Food and Family Magazine

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/4 cup zesty Italian reduced fat salad dressing
4 oz cream cheese or Neufchatel cheese
2 Tbsp flour
1/2 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
1 pkg (10 oz) frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
1 pie crust for 9 inch pie

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Cook chicken in dressing in large skillet on medium heat for 2 minutes.  Add cream cheese; cook and stir until melted.  Add flour and mix well.  Add broth and vegetables; simmer 5 minutes.

Pour mixture into deep dish pie plate.  Arrange pie crust over filling and flute edges.  Cut four slits in crust to allow steam to escape.

Bake 30-40 minutes or until crust is golden brown.


Tips and Hints:
*With our crew, and because I like to have leftovers, I double this and make it in a 9x13 glass baking dish instead of in a pie pan.
*Instead of cutting up and cooking fresh chicken, you can use leftovers or a rotisserie chicken.  Lightly coat the saucepan in salad dressing, and saute the chicken in the dressing for a minute or two to flavor.
*I prefer Philadelphia brand cream cheese for recipes--it melts better and has a better flavor.
*I make a homemade pie crust for this, but you can use refrigerated or frozen pie dough to save time.

Slow Cooker Variation
Mix all ingredients, except pie crust, (cook chicken in dressing or use pre-cooked chicken) in slow cooker.  Heat on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.  Serve over warm biscuits.

Fiesta Chicken Enchiladas

Originally from Kraft Food and Family Magazine

I love Mexican food.  I loved that these were super easy to make, and the flavor was really great too.


1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces or strips
1 large green pepper, chopped
1 large red pepper, chopped
1 Tbsp chili powder
3/4 cup salsa, divided
2 oz cream cheese or Neufchatel cheese
3/4 cup shredded Mexican style cheese, divided
8 tortillas, 6 inch "taco" size

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray large skillet with cooking spray.  Heat over medium heat on stovetop.  Add chicken, peppers, and chili powder.  Cook and stir 8 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.  Stir in 1/4 cup salsa and cream cheese.  Cook and stir until cheese is melted and mixture is well blended.  Stir in 1/4 cup shredded cheese.

Spoon heaping 1/3 cup mixture down the center of each tortilla, roll up.  Place, seam side down, in 13x9 baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.  After filling all tortillas, top with remaining salsa and shredded cheese.  Bake covered for 20 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted.  Garnish with cilantro if desired.


Tips and Hints:
*I cut the chicken into chunks, but will do strips the next time.  I think strips will fill the tortillas a little more evenly.
*Neufchatel cheese is a nice alternative to cream cheese.  It contains less fat than real cream cheese, but still has the same tangy flavor and creamy texture.  In recipes like this, you can definitely substitute with no issues.
*You can substitute any cheese for the Mexican style cheese.  I used cheddar.
*We live in tortilla paradise--I can get all sorts of styles and flavors of tortillas.  I used flour tortillas when I made these, but you can substitute whole wheat, corn, or a flavored variety as you desire.  I actually got 10 enchiladas out of the filling, so have a few extra tortillas on hand.

Cheddar Chicken and Rice Skillet

1/2 cup Zesty Italian Dressing

4 chicken breast halves, cut into strips OR one large (13 oz) can chicken

2 cups instant brown rice, uncooked

1 1/4 cups chicken broth

2 cups small broccoli florets

1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes, or one can (15 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained

1 cup cheddar cheese

1/2 cup sliced green onions (optional)

Heat dressing in large skillet on medium-high heat.  Add chicken; cook and stir 2 minutes.

Stir in rice, broth, and broccoli.  Bring to boil; cover.  Reduce heat to low; simmer 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and rice is tender.  Let stand covered, 5 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed.

Add tomatoes, cheese, and onions if desired.  Stir until blended.

Tips and Thoughts:
The brown rice takes a little longer to cook than instant white rice, so delay adding the broccoli by a few minutes to avoid having it be overdone.  We liked this with canned chicken; it made a more even distribution of the chicken through the dish. 

This is a great, fast, one-pan meal.  Excellent for a weeknight dinner.

Parmesan Crusted Chicken in Cream Sauce

Originally from Kraft Food and Family Magazine

2 cups instant brown rice, uncooked

1 (14 oz) can chicken broth, divided

6 Ritz crackers, finely crushed

2 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese

4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves

2 tsp vegetable oil

1/3 cup chive and onion cream cheese spread

Cook rice as directed on package, using 1 1/4 cups of the broth and 1/2 cup water

Meanwhile mix cracker crumbs and Parmesan cheese on plate or in shallow bowl.  Rinse chicken with cold water; shake off excess water.  Dip chicken in cracker mixture, turning to coat.

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet on medium heat.  Add chicken; cook 5-6 minutes on each side or until chicken is golden brown and cooked through.  Place chicken on serving plate.  Set aside; keep warm.  Add remaining 1/2 cup broth and cream cheese spread to same skillet.  Cook on medium heat until mixture just comes to a boil, stirring constantly.  Simmer 3 minutes or until sauce thickens.  Spoon sauce over chicken.  Serve rice with chicken.

Thoughts and Tips:

I tried to just spray the cooking pan with cooking spray.  All the crusting came off the chicken.  So definitely use the oil and don't cook the chicken on too high heat at first so that the crusting will cook onto the surface of the chicken instead of onto the pan!

Asparagus or broccoli go well with this.

The crusting keeps the chicken lovely and tender.  I would guess you could bake this as well, but you wouldn't get the same crispy outside that you get from cooking in oil.

Easy Fettuccine Alfredo with Chicken and Broccoli

1 pound fettuccine noodles, cooked according to package directions

1/4 cup Italian dressing

2-3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips or cubes

2 cups water

1 chicken bullion cube

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

2 Tbsp flour

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 cup shredded Parmesan or Italian blend cheese

Heat Italian dressing in large skillet.  Cook chicken in dressing until cooked through.  Add water and bullion cube to skillet; bring to a boil.  Add cream cheese and cook until melted.  Add flour and stir regularly for 3-5 minutes until sauce thickens.  Add broccoli; cover and simmer for 5 minutes until tender/crisp.  Mix in nutmeg and cheese.  Cook until cheese is slightly melted.

Pour sauce over noodles on plate or mix noodles into sauce and serve.

Tips and Thoughts:

I find it easier to throw the broccoli in with the pasta for the last 3-4 minutes of cooking time rather than cooking it with the sauce.

We love this recipe!  My husband actually likes this Alfredo sauce better than most restaurants'.  The cream cheese gives it a nice creamy texture, while the parmesan gives it the distinctive Alfredo flavor.

Salsa Chicken and Rice

This is a family favorite. 

1 large can chicken

2 cups water

2 cups instant rice

1 jar of your favorite salsa

3/4 cup cheddar or Mexican blend cheese

Empty chicken into large pan.  Add water.  Heat to boiling.  Add rice; cover and simmer 5 minutes.  Stir in salsa (you may not need full jar); heat until desired thickness.  Stir in cheese and heat until melted.

Serve with tortilla chips or put in tortillas with lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, and extra cheese.

You can also use smoked sausage instead of the chicken. 

Tips and Thoughts:
For kids who don't like spicy food, you can use a milder salsa or pull some of the rice out before adding the salsa for them to eat plain.
You can use either white or brown instant rice or a mix.
Canned chicken is a great ingredient for a lot of recipes.  It saves cutting and cooking chicken.  The texture is a little different (more like canned tuna) and it crumbles more, so think about whether you want that texture before substituting in other recipes. 

Chicken and Sausage Paella

Originally from Family Fun Magazine

In it's original form, the directions for this recipe were a complete failure.  What I'm posting here is the revised version that actually allows the rice to cook.  The original recipe called for putting the whole thing in the oven; after more than an hour, the rice was still completely hard.

1 Tbsp olive oil

4 medium boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes

Salt and pepper

16 oz sausage (chorizo or kielbasa) cut into half-moon slices

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 red bell pepper, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

2 cups medium-grain rice

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup seeded and chopped tomato OR 1 can diced tomato, drained

4 cups chicken stock OR two cans chicken broth

1/2 cup frozen peas, opt.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium high heat.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper.  Add chicken, sausage, onion, pepper and garlic to skillet.  Cook 5-6 minutes until vegetables are softened and chicken is almost cooked through.  Add the rice, cumin, and salt.  Stir to coat rice.  Pour chicken broth over top and add tomatoes.  Stir gently.  Cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes until rice is cooked.  Add peas and simmer for 10 minutes until liquid is absorbed.

Thoughts and Tips:

Kielbasa is a little milder than chorizo; either works fine in this recipe.

This was delicious!  My husband said he would like it just as well without the chicken.  The blend of flavors was excellent.

Creamy Broccoli-Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Original Recipe from Kraft Food and Family Magazine

1 pkg (6 oz) Stove Top Stuffing Mix for Chicken

1 cup water

6 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (approx 1 1/2 pounds)

1 pkg (10 oz) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed, drained

1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp paprika

2 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine stuffing mix and water in large bowl.  Let stand 5 minutes.  Meanwhile, pound chicken to 1/4 inch thickness.  Add broccoli to stuffing; mix lightly.  Spread onto chicken to within 1/2 inch of edges; roll up starting at one short end of each.

Place, seam-sides down, in 13x9 inch baking dish.  Mix soup and milk; pour over chicken.  Top with paprika and cheese.

Bake 30 minutes or until chicken is done (165 degrees).

Thoughts and Tips:

If you need more detailed directions on how to stuff the chicken, check http://recipeexperiment.blogspot.com/2011/07/bruschetta-stuffed-chicken-breasts.html. 
You can use any "cream of" soup for this recipe.  I recommend lower fat or lower sodium for a healthier meal.

This is one of our new favorites.  Covering the chicken with the soup keeps it very tender and moist.  The broccoli adds a nice flavor without being overwhelming.

Stuffed Chicken Caprese

Originally from Cooking Pleasures Magazine

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

4 (1 oz) slices mozzarella cheese

8 large fresh basil leaves

1/4 tsp salt, divided

1/8 tsp pepper

2 tsp olive oil

2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 cup torn fresh basil

With small knife, make a horizontal slit in chicken breasts to create pockets, being careful not to cut all the way through.  Sandwich 1 cheese slice between 2 basil leaves; stuff into pocket.  Secure with toothpick.  Sprinkle chicken with 1/8 tsp of the salt and pepper.

Heat large skillet over medium-high heat until hot.  Add oil; heat until hot.  Cook chicken 5 minutes; turn.  Scatter tomatoes over chicken; sprinkle with remaining 1/8 tsp salt.  Reduce heat to medium-low.  Cook, covered, 4 to 5 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center.  Sprinkle chicken with torn basil.  Remove toothpicks before serving.

Thoughts and Tips:
This ended up being way easier than I expected it to be.  Use a thermometer to check the chicken--it should be at least 170 degrees before taking it off the heat.  The chicken breasts I used were fairly thick, so it took more like 8-10 minutes a side to get them cooked through.

We really liked this recipe.  The chicken stayed beautifully tender and the basil and olive oil infused it with a great flavor.  Highly recommend!

Chicken Bruschetta Pasta

Originally from Kraft Food and Family

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips

1/3 cup chicken broth

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 tub (10 oz) Philadelphia Original cooking Crème

2 cups grape tomatoes

1/2 pound hot cooked pasta

12 fresh basil leaves, torn

Cook chicken in large nonstick skillet on medium heat 5 to 6 minutes or until done.  Stir in broth and garlic powder; cook 3 minutes.

Add cooking crème and tomatoes; cook and stir 3 minutes.

Stir in pasta.  Top with basil.

Thoughts and Tips:
I have to say that the Philadelphia Cooking Cremes are awesome!  They are a little expensive normally, but I've had not problems finding sales and coupons.  For the convenience and the fact that you don't have to add a lot of other seasonings, they are well worth it and have become a staple in our refrigerator for quick and easy meals.
Cut the grape tomatoes in half so they will be more present throughout the dish.

Even the members of our family who are not fond of tomatoes liked this meal. 

Parmesan-Crusted Chicken

Originally from Cooking Pleasures Magazine

4 Tbsp olive oil, divided

1 cup finely chopped sweet onion

1 garlic clove, minced

2 tsp dried oregano

1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes in puree

2 tsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt, divided

1 tsp pepper, divided

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

8 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (approx. 2 lbs)

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Heat 2 Tbsp of the oil in medium saucepan over medium heat until hot.  Add onion, garlic, and oregano.  Cook and stir until onion is softened, approximately 4 minutes.  Add tomatoes, sugar, 1 tsp of the salt, and 1/2 tsp of the pepper.  Simmer 35 minutes or until sauce is thick, stirring occasionally.  Stir in cream.

Spoon 2 cups of the sauce into 13x9 baking dish.

Sprinkle chicken with remaining 1/2 tsp salt and pepper.  Heat remaining 2 Tbsp oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until hot.  Cook chicken 4 to 6 minutes or until browned, turning once.  Place chicken on top of sauce.  Cover with remaining sauce and sprinkle with cheeses. 

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Bake, uncovered, 20 to 30 minutes or until sauce is bubbling, chicken is no longer pink in center, and cheese begins to brown.

Serve over pasta or rice.

Thoughts and tips:

You could probably make this just as easily with a jarred sauce, but this sauce was really good and not too hard to make.  It was a little sweeter and lightly creamy. 

Sauce can be made 4 days ahead and refrigerated or a month ahead and frozen.  Heat gently before using.

Instead of using a 13x9, make this in 2 square pans and freeze one up to a month.

All of us really liked this dish.  It was pretty easy to make and definitely delicious.  The chicken stayed nice and tender. 

Bruschetta Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Originally from Kraft Food and Family Magazine

1 can (14 1/2 oz) Italian style diced tomatoes, undrained

1 1/4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1 pkg (6 oz) stuffing mix for chicken

8 small boneless chicken breast halves (approx. 2 lbs)

1/3 cup Roasted Red Pepper Italian with Parmesan dressing

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare stuffing:  combine tomatoes and their liquid, 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, basil, and dry stuffing mix.  Stir until just moistened.

Place two chicken breasts in a large, heavy, resealable bag.  Pound the chicken with the side of a heavy can, rolling pin, or meat mallet until it is 1/4 inch thick.  Repeat process with remaining chicken breasts, two at a time.

Place pounded chicken breast, smooth-side down, on a cutting board.  Spread with 1/8 of the stuffing mixture. 

Roll chicken breast, starting at the narrow end, as tightly as possible around stuffing mix.

Place in 13x9 baking dish with seam side down, as this allows the chicken to hold together nicely.  Pour dressing evenly over chicken and bake for 40 minutes.

Spring with remaining 3/4 cup cheese and bake 5-10 minutes longer, or until cheese is melted and chicken has an internal temperature of 170 degrees.

Thoughts and Tips:

I used an Italian blend of cheeses instead of just Mozzarella.  The combination of Parmesan, Romano, and Asiago with the Mozzarella gave this a nice smoky flavor.

Kraft is the only one who makes the Roasted Red Pepper Italian.  You can definitely substitute a regular or zesty Italian dressing instead.

If you don't have fresh basil, substitute 2 Tbs dried.

You can buy thin sliced chicken breasts instead of pounding them.  I find this MUCH easier.

I found the easiest way to stuff the chicken is to lay it flat and spoon a little stuffing on, roll the breasts, then stuff a little more in the ends.

I really liked this chicken.  My husband, being not so fond of tomatoes, didn't like it quite as well.  Emily ate the chicken and picked out the stuffing.  Abigail ate the stuffing and left the chicken.  So not quite a family winner, but we'll be eating it again anyway because I liked it!