Buffalo Chicken Quesadillas

Last weekend Eric and I made three dozen tortillas. After making my own--even though they are a bit of work--I just can't bring myself to buy tortillas from the grocery stores. Homemade ones are just that much better. And with Eric's help--one of us rolling out the tortillas, the other one cooking them--it went so much faster! Plus, it was fun cooking together. So after all our hard work, we had to enjoy a tortilla or two for dinner. I've been obsessed with buffalo sauce ever since I made buffalo chicken dip, so I made buffalo chicken quesadillas. Days later, Eric was still mentioning how good they turned out.

Ingredients: 10 ounces cooked chicken (I used canned chicken)
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
3-4 tablespoons buffalo sauce (depending on just how spicy you want it)
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
Green onions, chopped (optional)
8 6-inch tortillas

Dipping Options:
Blue cheese dressing
Sour Cream (Eric stirs hot sauce into his sour cream)

Directions:
Combine the chicken, cream cheese, and buffalo sauce in a bowl. Divide the mixture between four tortillas and spread it. If desired, sprinkle each tortilla with 1/4 cup cheese and with green onion. Place the remaining tortillas on top of each quesadilla.

Spray a skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium high heat. Cook each quesadilla for 2-3 minutes on each side or until the tortillas are browned and crisp.

Service with a side of blue cheese dressing or sour cream.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Mexican-Inspired Recipes:
Homemade Tortilla Chips 
Chicken Enchiladas with Fire-Roasted Tomatoes 
Chile and Tomato Shredded Chicken with Cheese Sauce
Corn and Black Bean Skillet Chicken 
Margarita Chicken and Steak Fajitas 

Melt-in-Your-Mouth Chicken

I wanted a super simple chicken recipe with a lot of flavor that I didn't have to marinate first, and that's how I found this recipe. No marinating, not a lot of ingredients, and incredibly moist and tasty.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup mayonnaise (I used low fat)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease an 8x8 baking dish with cooking spray.

Cut chicken breasts in half horizontally so you have 4 thin chicken breasts. Place the chicken in the baking dish.

In a bowl, mix together mayonnaise, Parmesan, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Spread mixture over the chicken breasts. Don't put it on too thick.

Bake for 45 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

Melt-in-your-mouth chicken with soy wax beans

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Chicken Recipes:
Pizza Inspired Chicken 
Potless Chicken Pot Pies
Provincial Chicken
Orange Chicken with Fried Rice
Parmesan-Seared Chicken

Spicy Bacon-Wrapped Chicken

I also call this dish Because I love my husband chicken simply because of the bacon and his mad love of bacon. I've actually never wrapped anything in bacon before. I don't know what I was waiting for because bacon just makes everything better.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
10 chicken tenders (or about 3 chicken breasts cut into 10 strips), rinsed and patted dry
10 strips of bacon
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon chili powder

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, combine paprika, black pepper, onion powder, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder. Rub the spices evenly over the chicken strips so they are completely coated. Wrap each piece of chicken in a strip of bacon. Place the bacon-wrapped chicken in a baking dish.

In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar and chili powder. Sprinkle this mixture over the top the chicken then press it down. Flip the chicken over and repeat.

Bake for 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

Optional: Transfer chicken to a cookie sheet and place under the broiler for 3 to 4 minutes to give the bacon extra crispiness.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Chicken Recipes:
Pizza Inspired Chicken 
Potless Chicken Pot Pies
Provincial Chicken
Zesty Shredded Chicken (Crockpot) 
Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Chicken
Tomato and Artichoke Chicken 

Hobo Meal: Lemon Pepper Chicken with Garlic Potatoes

Eric's mom introduced me to hobo meals, and I quickly fell in love with them. Not because they are so delicious--which they are!--but because of the minimum clean up. For the first time in many years, I am living without a dishwasher, and I can't begin to tell you how tired I am of washing dishes. The amount of dishes and pans a meal requires has begun to greatly matter to me.

So anyway, what is a hobo meal? It's basically throwing your meat and veggies on a big sheet of tin foil, wrapping it up, and cooking it in a campfire or an oven. I bake it in the oven. Everything comes out so incredibly moist and flavorful. And there are no pans or baking dishes to scrub. You just throw out the tin foil!

Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thawed
Lemon Pepper Seasoning, to taste
2 small Russet potatoes, diced
garlic powder, to taste
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Season both sides of the chicken breasts with lemon pepper seasoning and place them in a single layer in the center of a large piece of tin foil.

Season your potatoes with garlic powder, salt, and pepper and pile them on both sides of the chicken breasts. Distribute the small pieces of butter among the potatoes. Using the edges of the tin foil, wrap up the meal securely.

Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 1 hour or until the chicken is thoroughly cooked.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Chicken Recipes
Baked Garlic Chicken
Chicken Enchiladas with Fire-Roasted Tomatoes
Corn and Black Bean Skillet Chicken 
Crockpot: Brown Sugar and Garlic Chicken
Jalapeno Popper Chicken
Parmesan-Seared Chicken
Parmesan Chicken Casserole 
Potless Chicken Pot Pies
Provincial Chicken

Crockpot Brown Sugar and Garlic Chicken

Slow cookers, Crockpots, whatever you call them, they are fabulous for when you feel lazy. Throw in your ingredients, turn on the machine, and forget about it until dinner time. I'm so happy to add this chicken recipe to my list of Crockpot recipes.  Eric couldn't stop commenting on how amazing it smelled and then he couldn't stop telling me how amazing it tasted. I was a little worried about it being too sweet, but I'm happy to report that it was the perfect balance of sweet and savory.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
2/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons corn starch
2 tablespoons water

Directions:
Grease your slow cooker with cooking spray and place the chicken (frozen, thawed, or fresh--I used frozen) inside. In a bowl, mix together the brown sugar, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, soy sauce and pepper. Pour mixture over the chicken. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.

Remove the chicken from the slow cooker (I shredded mine) and pour the remaining sauce into a saucepan. In a small bowl or glass, stir together the corn starch and water, and then pour it into the saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat and allow to boil for 2 to 3 minutes or until the suace thickens. Remove pan from heat and allow to sit for a 1 to 2 minutes so the sauce can continue to thicken.

Pour over chicken and serve.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Crockpot Recipes
 Alfredo Green Bean Casserole
Creamy Butternut Squash Soup
Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip
Orange Chicken
Pumpkin Butter 
Tomato and Artichoke Chicken

Corn and Black Bean Skillet Chicken

I've been in a baking mood lately, not a cooking mood, which means that dinners around here have been pretty boring. Leftovers, boxed, or frozen. The other night I still didn't feel like cooking, but I craved real food. This is a nice quick recipe for those kinds of nights. It's got lots of flavor, it cooks in one pan, and fills you up.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
pinch of black pepper
1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup canned sweet corn, drained and rinsed
1 cup canned diced tomatoes with chiles, drained

Directions:
In a small bowl, mix together chili powder, salt, and black pepper. Sprinkle the mixture on both sides of each chicken breast.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and cook for 5 minutes, flip, and cook for another 5 minutes or until the juices run clear.

Add the black beans, corn, and tomatoes to the skillet. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until the veggies are hot.

Serve over rice, pasta, tortillas, or as is!

To be honest, I didn't think Eric would love this meal. He's generally not a fan of black beans. But he devoured it! I definitely will be making this again.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Chicken Recipes:
Baked Garlic Chicken
Chicken Enchiladas with Fire-Roasted Tomatoes
Chicken with a Honey Mustard Sauce
Jalapeno Popper Chicken
Lime Mustard Chicken
Orange Chicken in a Slow Cooker
Parmesan-Seared Chicken
Provincial Chicken
Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Chicken
Tomato and Artichoke Chicken

Parmesan Chicken Casserole

I'll keep this short and sweet: If you love chicken parmesan, you're going to love this dish. Chicken, pasta, tomatos, cheese, what's not to love?

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
14.5-ounce can of diced tomatoes
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
pinch of red pepper flakes
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1/2 to 1 cup chicken broth
6 ounces pasta
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
pinch of black pepper
1/2 cup mozzarella
1 cup cooked chicken, shredded

Directions:
Preheat oven to 475 degrees.

Over medium-high heat, heat oil in a large skillet (oven safe if you have one). Cook garlic, oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, and salt until fragrant, approximately 1 minute. Add canned tomatoes--liquid and all--the water, 1/2 cup chicken broth, and pasta to the pan. Stir to combine. Brinng to a vigorous simmer, cover pan, and simmer (you may need to reduce the heat) until the pasta is tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir mixture frequently.

Once the pasta is cooked, remove the cover and stir in the parmesan cheese, pepper, and chicken. If the mixture is dry, add another 1/2 cup of chicken broth (I had to do this). Now, if your skillet is oven safe, sprinkle the top of the casserole with the mozzarella. If your skillet isn't oven safe (mine wasn't) tranfer the mixture to an 8x8-inch baking dish and sprinkle with mozzarella. Bake for 5 or 10 minutes or until the cheese has melted and bubbles have formed around the edges of the pan.

I made bread sticks to go with this casserole and we have spiced rum brown butter cookies for dessert!

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Casserole Recipes:
Alfredo Green Bean Casserole
Black Bean and Sausage Stovetop Casserole
Cheesy Sausage and Potato Casserole
Cheesy Tomato Zucchini Bake 
Pumpkin Penne Casserole
Sausage and Bean Casserole
The Ultimate Comfort Food Casserole

Chicken with a Honey Mustard Sauce

I'm not a big fan of yellow mustard. I like Dijon mustard. But I love honey mustard. Eric shares this love. So when I saw a recipe for a Dijon mustard sauce, I knew immediately that I was going to turn it into a honey mustard sauce. It turned out soooo good. And what's better than a delicious recipe? An easy, delicious recipe. It's hard to believe something that tastes this good could be so easy to make.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoon yellow onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
3 tablespoons chicken broth
3 tablespoons honey mustard
1/2 tablespoon dried thyme

Directions:
With a meat mallet, pound the chicken breasts to 1/4-inch to 1/8-inch thickness. (Or you could buy Tyson's Thin Sliced Chicken Breast, which is what I had in my freezer. They are so convenient!) Combine flour and pepper in a shallow dish. Coat the chicken in the flour mixture.

In a skillet, melt the butter over medium heat then add chicken. Cook each side for approximately 6 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink. Remove chicken from pan and cover it to keep it warm. Leave the drippings in the pan.

Add the onion and garlic to the skillet and cook until tender, about 1 to 2 minutes. Dissolve the cornstarch in the milk (you could replace the milk and cornstarch with 1/3 cup heavy cream) then add to pan. Add chicken broth and honey mustard. Stir and continue to cook until the sauce has thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in thyme.

Spoon sauce over chicken and serve.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Chicken Recipes
Baked Garlic Chicken
Chicken Enchiladas with Fire-Roasted Tomatoes
Chicken Patties
Chicken Stuffed with Ricotta, Pesto, and Sun-dried Tomatoes
Jalapeno Popper Chicken
Lime Mustard Chicken
Olive Garaden Chicken and Gnocchi Soup Knock Off
Orange Chicken in a Slow Cooker
Parmesan-Seared Chicken

Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Ricotta, Pesto, and Sun-dried Tomatoes

This dish came together because I just happened to have all four of these ingredients in the refrigerator and I needed to make dinner. I had made the sun-dried tomatoes a few days ago without any plan for them other than letting Eric snack on them. I had a little ricotta that needed to be used before it expired, and I happened to pick up the pesto at the store on a whim. It all just came together into one delicious dinner.

Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 tablespoon ricotta cheese
2 tablespoon mozzarella, shredded
2 tablespoon Parmesan, grated
2 tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes*
3 tablespoon pesto**
pepper, to taste
1 egg white
3/4 cup breadcrumbs (I usually make my own by crushing saltine crackers)

Directions:
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease an 8x8-inch pain with cooking spray.

With a mallet, thin the chicken breasts to a 1/4-inch thickness. Mix the ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, and pepper together in a small bowl. Spread half the mixture on each chicken breast and roll the breasts up tight.

Place the egg whites and breadcrumbs each in a different shallow bowl. Dip the chicken rolls in the egg then in the breadcrumbs, coating it. Set the chicken breasts seam side down in the baking dish. Bake uncovered for 35 to 40 minutes or until the chicken is thoroughly cooked.

*I make my own sun-dried tomatoes out of cherry tomatoes. If you're using sun-dried tomatoes out of can, you'll want to chop them up.

**I use Knorr pesto mix to make my pesto. But you can use jarred pesto or homemade.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Lime Mustard Chicken

Making candied citrus peels has quickly become a Christmas tradition. It's kind of a two for one deal. I get to made candy out of the peels then find tasty uses for the leftover fruit. I used the orange to make spiced cranberry juice. And I used the limes to make this chicken.

Kind of forgot to take a picture until the chicken was almost gone!

Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup lime juice
1/4 cup honey mustard
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the lime juice, mustard, olive oil, chili powder, salt, pepper in a 7x11 baking dish. Marinate chicken breasts in the mixture, any where from 15 minutes to overnight. 

Bake for 40 minutes or until the chicken is thoroughly cooked and juices run clear.


I acutally made this back in early December for my future father-in-law's birthday (along with a decadant chocolate birthday cake). Though the flavors were more summery than wintery, it was a huge success. And sometimes you just need that hint of summer when it's snowing and below freezing outside.

Enjoy!

~Krissy