Chicken Chili

Serves: 4-6

8-16 oz. skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1" pieces
1 15-oz. can white kidney beans (cannellini beans) or Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/4. c. chicken broth (about 1-14 oz. can)
1/4 c. chopped onion
1/3 c. chopped green pepper
1/2 small fresh jalapeno chile pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1/4 t. ground cumin
1/4 t. dried oregano, crushed
1/8 t. ground white pepper
1 clove garlic, minced

Ideas for Garnishes:

• Fresh chopped tomatoes
• Small slices of green onion
• Shredded cheese
• Crumbled bacon
• Sour cream

1. Brown chicken over medium-high heat in a non-stick skillet. It should take on a little golden brown color.

2. Combine the chicken and all the rest of the ingredients in a crock pot. Cover and cook the chili about 5-6 hours on low or 2 1/2 hours on high. (4-5 hours if the crock pot doesn't specify a heat setting.)

Notes: I would tend to add more garlic, onion, and green pepper and the whole jalepeno pepper. (So long as the ribs and seeds are removed, they're fairly mild and I hate to waste the rest of the pepper.) I might add part of another can of chicken base too, if there isn't enough liquid. I'd also add a dollop or two of chicken base, which is like chicken bullion but better and richer, in a paste form. It's available in the soup aisle of the store. The white pepper is worth it just for this recipe. This recipe is quick and almost as easy to make just on the stovetop; the process is pretty much the same and you just simmer the soup over medium or medium-high heat until the vegetables are tender.

Crock Pot Chicken Stroganoff

Serves: 6-8

2 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breast halves and/or thighs
1 c. chopped onion
2-10 3/4 oz. cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
1-2 t. chopped garlic
1/3 c. water
1-8 0z. carton sour cream
Salt and pepper to taste
12 oz. dried wide egg noodles

1. Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces. In a 3 1/2 or 4 qt. slow cooker, combine the chicken pieces, garlic, and onion. In a medium bowl, stir together the soup and water and salt and pepper to taste. Pour the soup mixture over the other ingredients in the crock pot.

2. Cover and cook on low setting for 6-7 hours or on high setting for 3 to 3 1/2 hours.

3. Cook noodles in salted water and drain. Just before serving, stir the sour cream into the mixture in the crock pot. To serve, spoon stroganoff mixture over hot, cooked noodles.

Note: I'd add mushrooms in with everything else. :)

Chicken Rice Casserole

This is based on a family recipe by Rosilene Capell.

Serves: About 4 people

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 1/4 c. uncooked white rice
1 1/4 c. water
1 T. parsley flakes
1-2 chicken breasts, cut into chunks.
1/2 pkg. dry onion soup mix
Salt and pepper

Mix soups, rice, parsley flakes, chicken chunks, and water in a 9x13" pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and mix it in. Sprinkle onion soup mix over the casserole. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 40-60 minutes at 350 degrees.

Quiche Lorraine

This recipe is taken directly from the America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, which is worth every cent it cost.

Because a warm pie shell is crucial for an evenly cooked filling, proper timing is key here. Do not substitute low fat or skim milk for the whole milk in this recipe.

Serves: 6-8

1 - 9" pie shell, partially baked and still warm
4 oz. bacon (about 4 slices), chopped
1 small onion, chopped in medium-sized pieces
5 large eggs
1 c. whole milk
1 c. heavy cream
1 t. minced fresh thyme
1/2 t. pepper
1/4 t. salt
4 oz. Gruyere cheese, shredded (about 1 c.)

1. After removing the partially baked pie shell from the oven, fry the bacon in a 10" skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer the bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate and pour off all but 2 t. of the fat left in the skillet. Add the onion, return to medium heat, and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Toss the onion with the crisp bacon and set aside. Whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, thyme, pepper, and salt.

2. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and reduce the oven temperature to 35o degrees. (The pie shell is baked at 375 degrees.) Sprinkle the cheese and then the bacon mixture evenly over the bottom of the warm pie shell. Place the pie shell [on the rack] in the oven and...carefully pour the egg mixture into the shell until it reaches about 1/2" from the top of the crust. (Depending on the depth of your pie shell, you may have some leftover egg mixture.) Bake until the top of the quiche is lightly browned and a knife inserted about 1" from the edge comes out clean, [about] 40-50 minutes. (The center should be set, but soft like gelatin.) Transfer the quiche to a baking rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes:

• I prefer to use a traditional scalloped tart pan for this as they would in Europe, but one of the reasons I like this recipe is that it is adapted to regular American pie plates if that's what you have. A tart pan is bigger around than a pie plate, but shallower and better adapted for this recipe.
  
• In France, quiche is made using lardons and creme fraiche. Lardons are like little chunks of bacon shaped like rectangular cylinders, a good bit thicker than our regular bacon slices, so I like to use a very thick-cut bacon or bacon odds and ends. Creme fraiche is very thick and tangy, sort of a mix between yoghurt and sour cream, so when I have sour cream I like to add a few generous dollops to the egg mixture for flavor or replace some cream with it.
• I might substitute 1/8-1/2 t. dried thyme for the fresh thyme, but even 1 t. dried thyme won't ruin the recipe.
  
• The recipe doesn't want to confuse the process and doesn't want the cook to forget the pie shell in the oven. Personally, I'd make the egg mixture, cook the bacon, and then put the pie shell in the oven while I was cooking the onion so the shell would be hot and ready just when the onion was finished.
  
• Finally, I don't buy whole milk, so I substitute 7/8 c. skim milk and 1/8 c. heavy cream for the whole milk, since I need heavy cream to make the recipe in the first place.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fondue

1- 12 oz. pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4-1 c. heavy whipping cream
1/3-3/4 c. peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla

This may not be very precise but... it's experimentation based on a number of recipes. Combine chocolate chips and 3/4 c. cream in a heavy saucepan and put over a little less than medium heat, stirring constantly. The chocolate should gradually melt into the cream. (Do not try to heat this too hot or too fast or it will burn.) Add the peanut butter to taste and the vanilla and stir until smooth. Keep gently warm. (You can always add a little more cream if the sauce gets too thick.)

This is just a very basic dessert fondue, and it serves a lot of people. Goes wonderfully with apple and banana slices, strawberries, chunks of pound cake, marshmallows, etc.

Crock Pot Chicken

There are probably a million versions of this, but it was so easy when my sister described it to me that I had to try it myself!

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts, cubed
8 oz. cream cheese (low-fat works fine!)
1 pkg. Italian dressing seasoning mix
1 can condensed cream soup (I like cream of mushroom, but cream of chicken or cream of celery work.)

Combine all of the ingredients in a crock pot and cook on high for for 4 hours, stirring occasionally. Serve over rice.

Orzo Mediterranean Pasta with Chicken

Orzo Mediterranean Pasta with Chicken
Ingredients:
16 oz. Orzo  Pasta
2 Cups Grilled chicken strips
1/2 Cup Oil-packed sundried tomatoes diced
½ cup    Kalamata Olives ( any kind could be used)
1/3 Cup Fresh basil chopped
2 Tablespoons Fresh lemon juice
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
¼ Cup Parmesan Cheese grated ( I used percorino)
1 pinch salt and ground black pepper

Instructions:
1.        Cook orzo pasta according to package directions.  Aledente.  Drain and transfer to a large bowl.
2.       Fold in chicken, sundried tomatoes, olives, basil, lemon juice, olive oil and Parmesan
3.       Season toi taste with salt and pepper. 
(Recipe from tysons package recipe)