Chicken Tetrazzini Recipe

 Ian saw this recipe in the October issue of the Rachael Ray magazine and requested I try to make it.  It turned out to be yummy and we have enough leftover for a couple days!

Ingredients:
linguine pasta, broken in half
Boneless Skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch chunks

Salt and pepper

6 tbsp. butter

8 oz. small white mushrooms, quartered

1 tbsp. chopped fresh thyme

3 tbsp. flour

2 cups milk

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 cup frozen peas and carrots

Directions:

1.Preheat the oven to 400°. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Cook the pasta according to package directions until just barely al dente; drain.

2.Meanwhile, season the turkey with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp. butter over medium-high heat. Add the turkey and cook until browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.

3.Add 2 tbsp. butter to the skillet. Add the mushrooms and thyme; season with salt and pepper. Cook until the mushrooms start to soften, about 3 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the turkey.

4.Melt the remaining 3 tbsp. butter in the skillet. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the milk and broth and bring to a boil, then simmer for 2 to 3 minutes to thicken. Stir in ½ cup parmesan and the peas and carrots. Season with salt and pepper.

5.Add the pasta and turkey-mushroom mixture to the sauce and toss well to combine. Transfer the pasta mixture to the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining ½ cup parmesan. Bake until the top is golden-brown and the sauce is bubbling, 12 to 15 minutes (shorten the baking time by at least 5 minutes if you’re planning on freezing this for later).

Buffalo Chicken Sandos

This is a quick and easy recipe i've been making since I first saw this recipe on Rachael Ray's show "30 minute meals" back in college. Anytime Ian's friends come to town, this is one of my "go-to" recipes since it's soo easy!

Ingredients:
4 pieces, 6 ounces each, boneless, skinless chicken breast
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon sweet paprika, 1 /3 palm full (I use smoked paprika also)
1 teaspoon chili powder, 1/3 palm full
A drizzle extra-virgin olive oil

Sauce for chicken:
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup, 4 ounces, cayenne pepper sauce, preferred brand Frank's Red Hot (sometimes I buy the Franks Buffallo Red Hot Sauce)
Bib or leaf lettuce leaves

4 crusty rolls, split
2 cups blue cheese dressing (from the refridgerator isle)
4 scallions, thinly sliced
Havarti or Jack cheese (whatever you have on hand)
Small red onion, thinly sliced
8 ribs celery, cut into sticks
2 large carrots, peeled and cut into sticks

Directions:
Season chicken with salt, pepper, paprika and chili powder. Drizzle breast with a little extra virgin olive oil to coat. Grill chicken breasts on bbq
Heat a metal or oven safe glass bowl over low heat and melt butter in the bowl. Add hot sauce to the butter and combine. When the chicken breasts are done, remove from grill and add to the bowl and coat evenly with hot sauce mixture.

Place cheese on chicken breasts and then on the bun bottoms and top with lettuce. Affix bun tops on sandwiches and serve with remaining sauce for dipping your veggies. Arrange Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches on dinner plates with red onion, celery and carrot sticks.

Chicken Marsala

Delicious over pasta or rice. Pretty simple.

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour for coating
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded 1/4 inch thick
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup Marsala wine
• 1/4 cup cooking sherry

Directions

1. In a shallow dish or bowl, mix together the flour, salt, pepper and oregano. Coat chicken pieces in flour mixture.

2. In a large skillet, melt butter in oil over medium heat. Place chicken in the pan, and lightly brown. Turn over chicken pieces, and add mushrooms. Pour in wine and sherry. Cover skillet; simmer chicken 10 minutes, turning once, until no longer pink and juices run clear.

3. Love to serve with greens on the side (asparagus, spinach or swiss chard) and over fettuccine, angel hair or rice.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

When the weather gets chilly, soup just sounds right. You can easily adapt this soup to your tastes, adding cheese, sour cream, corn, rice and/or black beans.

• 2 tbs vegetable oil
• 5 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 onion chopped
• 2 Roma tomatoes, diced or 1 can diced tomatoes
• 2 tbs ground cumin
• 1 tbs chili powder
• 3 bay leaves
• 6 cups chicken broth (+water as desired)
• 3 boneless chicken breast halves, cooked (or rotisserie chicken)

• 1/2 tsp. salt (if desired)
• 1/2 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
• 5 radishes, sliced thin

• 1/2 avocado
• Tortilla chips

Directions

In a large stock pot heat oil. Add garlic and onion, saute for 2-3 minutes.

Stir in tomatoes and bring to boil over high heat. Add cumin, chili powder, bay leaves, and chicken stock. Return to boil, reduce heat to medium and add salt and cayenne. Simmer for 30 minutes. Using a fork, shred the chicken.

Remove bay leaves and stir in chicken. Heat through and ladle into bowls. Garnish with tortilla chips, avocado, cilantro and radish (if desired). MMM

It's plenty spicy without the cayenne. And I left out the additional salt, still lots of flavor. Enjoy!