Tag Archives: chicken

Jun15

A unique twist on tacos…..

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A unique twist on tacos…..

My friend Heather tried a different way of eating tacos last week – she made the shells out of cheese:

cheese taco shells (2)

She made cheese crisps not too long ago, so I think she wanted to expand her creativity.  Plus, she loves Mexican food, as I do.  Here are the super easy directions:

1/2 cup cheddar cheese in circles on parchment paper.  Bake at 425 for 5-7 minutes.  Let cool slightly, then hang them over a spatula or utensil handle to form as shells.

Her filling was super easy as well – cooked chicken in the crockpot with Rotel tomatoes & green chiles, and threw in some taco seasoning.  Shredded and offered lettuce, avocado, salsa and more cheese.  She also made a lime sour cream (YUM) which was just sour cream, fresh lime juice, lime zest, salt and garlic powder.

Heather has two daughters who keep her super busy on competitive sports teams, so an easy crockpot meal is just the ticket.  Thanks for sharing my good friend, and thank you to all of my followers for stopping by!

~Connie Kaye

 

 

Jan16

Chicken, bacon, cheese…….

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oh yeah, and jalapenos, but not hot.  I promise.

chicken bacon

Since we had the day off yesterday,  we did a barbeque run to a new spot, and are recovering from some amazing Kansas City BBQ at Slaps in Kansas City, KS.  I highly recommend this joint to everyone.  RIBS.  The end.  We ended up with an entire meal that we brought home, so order lightly.  Oh yeah, and BRISKET.  The best word to go with BBQ is joint, and this place brings it home.  We will definitely be back.  We shopped and then gambled at Hollywood Casino on the way home, and although we didn’t come out on top, it was fun!

Thought I might brew up something a little lighter for dinner, and made these chicken bacon jalapeno wraps.  We had a wonderful Christmas with friends, family and even more friends from Australia, plus an upcoming Mexico vacay in which we might just possibly overindulge, so the hubs and I have been eating a lot of meat, veggies and fruit.

So, let’s bring on the yard bird.  The husband of the house is not a fan of “yard bird” as he and his friend Charlie call it, but this, is delish.  I remove all of the innards from the jalapeno so it’s not hot, and combine with cheese and bacon, and yummo.  It’s about -10 degrees outside so I didn’t grill, which is the best, and most delicious option, but baking works as well.

Happy New Year everyone, and here’s to a fantastic 2018!!

~Connie Kaye

Chicken Bacon Rollups

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Ingredients:

5 boneless skinless chicken breasts
5 jalapeno peppers
20 strips bacon
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup cup grated colby jack or cheddar cheese
salt & pepper to taste
Favorite BBQ sauce

Slice chicken breasts in half width wise (each half makes 1 chicken rollup).  Place between 2 pieces of wax paper and pound to 1/4″ thickness.  Season each with salt & pepper.

Slice jalapenos in half lengthwise and remove seeds, ribs and the end with the stem.

In a small bowl, mix softened cream cheese with your grated colby jack or cheddar cheese.

Fill each jalapeno half with cheese mixture.  Place 1 jalapeno half at the end of each chicken piece, and roll up.  Doesn’t always close the way you think it might – no worries, the bacon brings everything together.  Wrap each piece of chicken with bacon, tucking in the ends of the strips.

Preheat grill and cook over indirect heat for 20-25 minutes, turning every 4-5 minutes.  Baste chicken with BBQ sauce every time you give it a flip.  Chicken is done when it reaches an internal temp of 165 degrees.  If you don’t have a meat thermometer, buy one.  🙂  Just kidding…you can pierce the chicken with a fork, and if juices run clear, you’re good to go.

Alternate method — if you choose to bake, set oven at 375 and bake uncovered for 30 minutes, basting as above.  You can broil at the end so bacon can crisp completely.

Mar26

Creamy Chicken & Bacon w/Herbed Puff Pastry

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Creamy Chicken & Bacon w/Herbed Puff Pastry

Pretty fancy title, huh?  It might sound fancy, but it’s super easy to make.  I found this recipe in the March issue of Southern Living and I’m not sure if it’s on their website, so I’ll share it here (plus of course, I made a couple of small edits).  The hub was a little dubious, but he said it’s a keeper.

I had never made anything with puff pastry, but it was a snap.  It did look a little funny when it came out of the oven, but this is normal:

IMG_2052

As it cooked this delectable dish just got better:

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Note:  bacon!!!

This was the final product, and it didn’t last long.  I’ll share the recipe below, and it can be a quick weeknight meal if you either cook the chicken beforehand, or go the rotisserie option at your local grocery store.

IMG_2054

~Connie Kaye

Creamy Chicken & Bacon with Herbed Puff Pastry

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Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or a rotisserie chicken)
3 cups chicken stock (2.5 cups if using rotisserie)
Salt & pepper
1 frozen puff pastry sheet, thawed
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 pkg frozen petite peas
4 bacon slices
3 tbsp butter
1 cup chopped sweet onion
1/2 cup diagonally sliced celery (1/4 inch slices, about 1 large stalk)
1 clove  minced garlic
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup shredded or small cubed fontina cheese

  1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  If using chicken breasts, place chicken, stock and 1/2 tsp salt in large saucepan, bring to boil over high.  Reduce to medium-low; cover and cook until chick is cooked through, about 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and let stand about 20 minutes.  Remove chicken from stock and coarsely shred, saving 2 1/2 cups stock.  If you’re using rotisserie, skip this step.
  2. Place puff pastry sheet on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.  Cut pastry sheet into 4 squares, separate squares.  Brush lightly with egg, and sprinkle with pepper and dried parsley.  Baked on oven rack until puffed and golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes.
  3. Cook peas according to package, keep warm
  4. Cook bacon in large skillet, remove when crisp and crumble.  Add butter to hot bacon drippings and let butter melt, about 1 minute.  Add onion & celery, cook, stirring often until onion is tender and celery is tender-crisp.  About a minute before it’s ready, add a clove of minced garlic, stir and don’t let the garlic burn.  Add flour, and cook, stirring constantly about 1 minute.  Stir in cream and reserved 2 1/2 cups stock, bring to a simmer, stirring often.  Stir in peas, cheese, chicken, bacon and 1/2 tsp salt.  Reduce to medium low and cook until thickened and thoroughly heated.
  5. Divide mixture amount 4 shallow bowls and top with puff pastry.  Amazing!

Aug2

Another easy peasy slow cooker recipe!

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I first ate this delicious chicken after a long day on the lake…..Stacey had it simmering low and slow on the dock and it was oh so good once we returned from swimming in the cove.  Don’t let the pepperoncinis scare you away….use the chopped ones, and they aren’t spicy at all. With the italian salad dressing mix and the seasoning, it all comes out delish.  As with my bbq pork steak recipe, you can eat solo or throw on some buns, and it will be a crowd pleaser.  And it’s very economical (cheap)!

100311-PorkPepperonciniSandwiches14web

This pic shows some peppers, but typically they shred even more while cooking, they aren’t hot, and this is a delicious meal to come home to. We love it on individual cocktail rolls.  Thanks for taking a break and hangin with me!

~Connie Kaye

Italian Chicken

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Ingredients

1 bag frozen skinless chicken breasts
1 jar chopped pepperoncinis
1 package italian salad dressing mix
Garlic herb seasoning salt

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker.  Cook low and slow for 6-8 hours, depending on amount of chicken.  Shred for sandwiches.

Jul30

Delicious Cornbread Cake with Chicken

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How delicious does this look?

cornbread cake

You got it right….it may look like a cake, but it’s cornbread, mashed potatoes, gravy and chicken.  And, my good friend Erin is the chef on this one.  (Her man Kyle told me it was delicious too)  So, I’m going to introduce you to Erin, my fellow cooking (and lake) partner in crime:

erin

And, here’s verbatim her message to you, including some tips and tricks!  Be sure to comment on how it worked out for you, and any changes you made to the recipe, and thanks for stopping by!!

2 boxes of corn muffin mix
1 bag frozen corn
2 packets of instant potatoes
1 jar beef gravy (we all like beef over chicken gravy, and the color stands out more against the white potatoes)
1 bag frozen chicken strips

Mix corn muffin mix per directions on box and add in half a bag of frozen corn to each box of mix. Bake in 2 round cake pans at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. Checking them occasionally. When done, let cool completely, otherwise they will break when flipping them.

Cook instant potatoes according to directions on pouch. Assemble corn muffin cakes much like you would any dessert cake- one layer down and coat with mashed potato icing and repeat. The mashed potatoes need to be hot to cooperate.

I left 1 cup of mashed potatoes to the side in a ziploc bag for decorating. Cut the tip of the bag and use to make icing border around the edge of the cake. This also helps create a little ‘pool’ of gravy for the chicken.

Next, spoon the gravy over the edges to give the drizzle effect. Poor the rest in the center of the cake.

Cook chicken strips in the oven until fully cooked, do not deep fry or pan fry, as the grease slips with the gravy and doesn’t hold. Assemble  chicken on top of the cake and wa-la!

~Connie Kaye

Cornbread Cake with Chicken

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Ingredients

2 boxes of corn muffin mix
1 bag frozen corn
2 packets of instant potatoes
1 jar beef gravy (we all like beef over chicken gravy, and the color stands out more against the white potatoes)
1 bag frozen chicken strips

Mix corn muffin mix per directions on box and add in half a bag of frozen corn to each box of mix. Bake in 2 round cake pans at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. Checking them occasionally. When done, let cool completely, otherwise they will break when flipping them.

Cook instant potatoes according to directions on pouch. Assemble corn muffin cakes much like you would any dessert cake- one layer down and coat with mashed potato icing and repeat. The mashed potatoes need to be hot to cooperate.

I left 1 cup of mashed potatoes to the side in a ziploc bag for decorating. Cut the tip of the bag and use to make icing border around the edge of the cake. This also helps create a little ‘pool’ of gravy for the chicken.  Next, spoon the gravy over the edges to give the drizzle effect. Poor the rest in the center of the cake.

Cook chicken strips in the oven until fully cooked, do not deep fry or pan fry, as the grease slips with the gravy and doesn’t hold. Assemble  chicken on top of the cake and wa-la!