Chicken Breast with Tomatoes and Olives

This recipe is amazingly delicious. Everything about it is wonderful...feta cheese, kalamata olives. We put this dish over rice pilaf and we use fresh Bulgarian feta. I was talking to my "cheese guy" at the Eden Market and he was explaining the differences between Greek, French and Bulgarian feta. I don't remember what they were, but Bulgarian feta is our new fave cheese! Here is the recipe, enjoy! (Sorry for the bad picture, taken at my sister's house on her plates which look like we were eating on cement)




Ingredients:
-4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
-1 cup multicolored cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
-3 tablespoons oil and vinegar dressing, divided
-20 olives, halved
-1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese

Prepare grill to medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Place chicken on grill rack coated with cooking spray, and grill for 6 minutes on each side or until chicken is done. Keep warm. Combine tomatoes, 1 1/2 tablespoons dressing, and olives in a medium skillet over medium heat, and cook for 2 minutes or until tomatoes soften slightly and mixture is thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally. Brush chicken with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons dressing. Cut each chicken breast half into 3/4-inch slices. Top each chicken breast half with 1/4 cup tomato mixture. Sprinkle each serving with 2 tablespoons cheese and torn basil leaves, if desired.

Serve over rice.

Source: Cooking Light Magazine, September 2009

Buffalo Chicken Stromboli

Dan created this recipe after a stromboli we order from our favorite pizza place. He has re-created it perfectly & it's really easy!



Ingredients:
Pizza Crust (We use Pillsbury)
Mozzarella Cheese
Buffalo sauce
Grilled chicken

Preheat oven to 425. Cook chicken on the grill, about 2-3 pieces. Roll out the pizza dough on a greased cookie pan. Cut chicken & mix with desired amount of buffalo sauce. Pour chicken mixture onto crust, and top with mozzarella cheese. Brush top with melted butter. Roll up & place in oven! All done! Cook for about 15-18 minutes.

Chicken Parm Pizza balls

This was an awesome recipe I found on another cooking blog that we decided to try last night. Dan ended up eating all of them minus 2, so you know they were good!



Ingredients
1 ball of fresh pizza dough
1-2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
1-2 cups of diced chicken (or any other meat)
2 tsp Italian seasoning (combine oregano, basil, and garlic)
1/4 cup olive oil
pizza or marinara sauce
Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease pie pan.

Grab a walnut-sized piece of dough and flatten. In each dough piece place a couple pieces of diced chicken and a tablespoon of cheese. Seal dough around meat and cheese and place seam side down in pie pan.

Repeat, placing approximately 16 dough balls in each pie plate.

Once assembled, drizzle oil over the balls and sprinkle with the herbs.

When ready to bake: bake at 400°F for 16-20 min. Serve with warm pizza or marinara sauce.

Source: Lauren's Kitchen Blog

Spaghetti with Sauteed Chicken and Grape Tomatoes

Spaghetti with Sauteed Chicken and Grape Tomatoes



Servings: 4 • Serving Size: 1 1/2 cups • Calories: 302 Points: 5.5 pts

-2 skinless chicken breast halves, diced in 1 inch cubes
-cooking spray
-1/2 tsp each of dried oregano and dries basil
-kosher salt and fresh pepper
-8 oz spaghetti

-2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
-6 cloves garlic, smashed and coarsely chopped
-4 tsp extra virgin olive oil
-4 tbsp chopped fresh basil
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.

Season chicken generously with salt, pepper, oregano and basil. Heat a large skillet on high heat. When hot, spray with oil and add chicken. Cook about 3-4 minutes, until no longer pink. Remove chicken and set aside.

Add pasta and cook according to package directions. Reserve about 1/2 cup pasta water before draining.

While pasta cooks, add olive oil to skillet on high heat. Add garlic and sauté until golden brown (do not burn). Add tomatoes, salt and pepper and reduce heat to medium-low. Sauté about 4-5 minutes. When pasta is drained, add pasta to tomatoes and toss well. If pasta seems too dry, add some of the reserved pasta water. Add fresh basil and chicken and toss well. Serve and top with good grated cheese.

Source: Gina's Weight Watchers Blog

Drunken Noodles - Pad Kee Mao

Thai Fried rice was such a hit we decided to try our other favorite, Drunken Noodles. The recipe was awesome, the picture doesn't do it justice!



Ingredients:
For the sauce:
-2 T oyster sauce
-2 T fish sauce
-2 T palm sugar/brown sugar
-1 T mirin
-1 T rice vinegar
-1 T Golden Mountain sauce or Maggi
-1 T Thai chili-garlic paste (or substitute with another Asian chili sauce, like sriracha)
Juice of half a lime

Other ingredients:
-7 ounces (about half a package) wide rice noodles (XL)
-3 T canola oil
-1 T minced garlic
-4-5 Thai chili peppers, seeded and chopped (or substitute with another hot pepper, ex: jalapenos)
-3 green onions, white ends thinly sliced, green tops cut into 2-inch pieces
-2 chicken breasts, cubed & cooked
-Handful of fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped


Optional additions:
Broccoli florets
Bell peppers
Napa cabbage
Tomato wedges

-In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients for the sauce. Mix until the sugar has dissolved and set aside.
-In a large bowl, pour boiling water over the noodles and soak for 15-20 minutes, or until softened. Then drain.
-Add oil to a wok or large skillet over high heat. Cook chicken (same way as thai fried rice). Add garlic, chili peppers and sliced green onion ends, and saute for about a minute.
-Add vegetables (from optional additions list, except tomatoes) and stir-fry for 3-4 minutes. Keep texture in vegetables.
-Add noodles and sauce to wok. Toss until noodles are coated with the sauce and heated through, 2-3 minutes.
-Add basil, cilantro, and green onion tops (and tomatoes) and toss until well mixed.

Source: Massive Appetite Blog.

Thai Fried Rice

Dan & I have come to love thai food, so we decided to try it at home! (Tomorrow is drunken noodles!) This was a huge success. I had my doubts. The fish sauce does not smell so good on its own. BUT this was delicious!! I found it on Gina's Weight Watchers blog which is awesome.




Thai Fried Rice

-1 chicken breast (1 cup), cut in small cubes
-3 cups jasmine rice, cooked
-1/2 large onion, chopped
-3 cloves garlic, minced
-2 scallions, chopped
-3 egg whites, scrambled
-1 whole egg, scrambled
-2 tomatoes, sliced
-3 Thai chili peppers (optional)
-4 tsp vegetable oil
-4 tsp soy sauce (or more to taste)
-2 tsp fish sauce
-salt and pepper

Prepare rice ahead of time according to package instructions. It's best if it's made slightly on the dry side.

Heat a skillet or wok on a high flame. Meanwhile, season chicken with salt and pepper. When the wok is very hot, add 2 tsp oil. When the oil gets hot, add the chicken and cook on high a few minutes, tossing so that its browns all over. Remove chicken from wok and set aside, add the eggs and salt and cook a minute or two until done. Set aside.

Add the remaining oil to the wok and add the onion, scallions and garlic. Saute 1 minute, add the chili pepper and tomatoes and stir in all the rice. Add soy sauce and fish sauce stir to mix all the ingredients. Keep stirring a few minutes, then add egg and chicken back to the wok. Adjust soy sauce if needed and stir well another 30 seconds.

Modifications - I added a little oyster sauce & then used chili paste to flavor at the end. Spicy but good!! I also used only 1/2 a tomato & 2 chicken breasts instead of 1. ENJOY!

Source: Gina's Weight Watchers Blog.

Chicken Parm Meatball Subs

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds ground chicken
1 tablespoon various seasonings
1 large egg
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
EVOO
Salt
Pepper
Crusty sub rolls
Sliced Mozzarella

Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Place chicken in a bowl and season. Add egg, grated cheese, bread crumbs, and a serious drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil to the bowl. Mix the meat and form 12 large meatballs. Squish the balls to flatten them a bit like mini oval meatloaves. Be careful not to form the balls wider than your bread. Bake the meatballs 15 minutes until golden and firm. Switch the broiler on.


Cut sub rolls making the bottom a little deeper than the top. Hollow out a little bread and lightly toast the sub rolls under broiler. Fill the bottoms of the breads with flattened balls and sauce. Cover the subs with cheese and return to broiler to melt the cheese until golden.

Adapted from Rachel Ray

Recipes to try in 2009

Here are some recipes I'd really like to try in 2009:

Chicken Parm Meatball Subs

Parmesan Orzo

Chicken Stuffed Shells

This will be good for Superbowl!
Buffalo Chicken Dip

Thai Style Chicken Fried Rice

Ricotta Gnocchi with Tomato Cream Sauce

Weight Watchers Penne Vodka

I hope I have a chance to try them all! So many cooking blogs out there & so many fun recipes :)

Creamy Tomato Chicken

We found this recipe on a cooking blog and thought we'd give it a try.

Our pictures don't look so great, but it tasted delicious!!





And here's Dante, waiting for Grandma to visit in her bedroom!!! This is his new favorite spot...its so cute.



Creamy Tomato Chicken

Ingredients
4 thin sliced chicken breasts
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp flour
½ c chicken broth
¼ c light or heavy cream
1 oz cream cheese
4 oz tomato sauce (canned is fine)
½ tsp red pepper flakes
½ tsp oregano
1 tsp butter
½ c parmesan cheese
1 tsp capers

Directions
1. Melt butter in a pan; add chicken and cook until just done; move chicken to a baking dish and cover (keep drippings in the pan)
2. Add flour to the pan and stir until pasty
3. Add chicken broth and red pepper flakes, and minced garlic, simmer 1 min
4. Add cream cheese, cream, tomato sauce, most of the parmesan cheese, and oregano
5. Cook over medium-high heat until thick and bubbly, stirring almost constantly
6. Pour sauce over the chicken; top with capers and the rest of the parmesan cheese
7. Bake on 400 degrees for 10-15 min

Original recipe found on THIS
cooking blog!!