Chicken Cups

We really liked these and they were fairly fast and simple, especially with the canned chicken. The boys really liked them too.

4oz cream cheese, softened
2 T. butter, softened
1 can chicken meat (the size from Costco)
2 T. minced onion

2 T. minced green pepper
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. ground black pepper
3. T. milk
2 (8 oz) pkg refrigerated crescent rolls
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 c. bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese and 2 T. melted butter or margarine until smooth. Add the chicken, onion, green pepper, salt, pepper, and milk. Mix well.
Separate crescent dough to fit in mini muffin tin. Firmly press into cups. Spoon about 1 T.of the chicken mixture into the center of each cup. Pull corners of dough over top and pinch shut.
Brush tops of cups with 1 tablespoon of melted butter or margarine; sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Mulligatawny Soup

I know it's the middle of summer, but I made this at the end of May when we had that freakish cold week. It was fabulous. Chad and the boys devoured it...no problem. I do love Indian food and this is a good recipe to start with if you're not sure. I used cooked rice that was left over from another recipe instead of waiting for it to cook in the recipe. Oh, and you have to cook the chicken ahead of time too...that's unclear in the recipe. Also, I don't think the cream added much to the recipe, so it's definitely optional.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 carrot, diced
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 apple, cored and chopped
1/4 cup white rice
1 skinless, boneless chicken breast half - cut into cubes
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
1 pinch dried thyme
1/2 cup heavy cream, heated

DIRECTIONS
1. Saute onions, celery, carrot, and butter in a large soup pot. Add flour and curry, and cook 5 more minutes. Add chicken stock, mix well, and bring to a boil. Simmer about 1/2 hour.
2. Add apple, rice, chicken, salt, pepper, and thyme. Simmer 15-20 minutes, or until rice is done.
3. When serving, add hot cream.

Chicken Salad

I have been using this recipe since we first got married 5 years ago and still love it more than others I've tried. The texture is fantastic and it works on croissants, pita bread, lettuce, crackers...pretty much anything. I forgot to take a picture when I recently served it at a baby shower, but all who tried loved it and ate another. Often I leave out the pecans because I don't have them on hand usually, and I have left out the peppers before too and it still tasted great.

Ingredients
4 cups cubed, cooked chicken meat
1 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
1 cup chopped celery
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup minced green bell pepper
1 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
In a medium bowl, mix together mayonnaise with paprika and seasoned salt. Blend in dried cranberries, celery, bell pepper, onion, and nuts. Add chopped chicken, and mix well. Season with black pepper to taste. Chill 1 hour

Hawaiian Haystacks

The first time I ever had Hawaiian Haystacks (or some call them chicken sundaes) was in college. All present were shocked that I'd never heard of them before, but I'm guessing there might be someone else out there who hasn't tried them.

1.) MAKE CHICKEN GRAVY (you can buy it in a can or make to taste--see below)
2-3 cans of cream of chicken or celery
1-2 c. of milk or chicken broth (depending on taste and desired consistency)
cooked, cubed/shredded chicken (I usually cook 2 chicken tenders for each person, but that is more chicken than some would like)
1 c. of rice/person

toppings:
green onions (a must I think)
green peppers
tomatoes (for sure)
cheese
pineapple
coconut
chow mein noodles
cashews

Easy Chicken and Rice Casserole

This recipe came in the mail with some coupons when we were first married and while it isn't too different from other chicken and rice recipes, it is easy and good. Chad's Grandma requested it, so we took a casserole over to her last week, but I forgot to take a picture. I usually line the pan with foil and it makes it MUCH easier to clean the pan afterwards. Often I'll substitute the vegetables for whatever veggies I have on hand.

2 c. rice
2 cans condensed cream of chicken (you can mix it with mushroom or celery too)
2/3 c. water
1 t. seasoned salt
2 medium carrots, sliced
1 medium bell pepper, cubed
1 small onion, thinly sliced
6 skinless chicken pieces
Seasoned salt, paprika, and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. For easy clean-up, line a 13x9 pan with heavy duty aluminum foil. Spray foil with nonstick spray.

2. Combine rice, soup, water, and 1 t. seasoned salt. Add carrots, bell pepper and onion. Arrange vegetables and rice in an even layer in foil-lined pan. Place chicken over rice mixture in an even layer; sprinkle chicken with additional seasoned salt, paprika and pepper.

3. Cover pan with a sheet of foil.

4. Bake about 45 minutes or until chicken reaches 170 degrees; stir rice before serving.

Pineapple Chicken

This basically tastes like a lighter sweet and sour chicken. It is super good and SO easy. My mother-in-law doubles this for a big crowd and it goes a long way. I like to add big chunks of green peppers and onions into it for color and taste. Yesterday I happened to have a fresh pineapple too, so I used that in place of canned and it was beautiful. As far as the call for russian dressing--I've only ever seen one size (8 oz). I cooked mine at 250 for like 2 1/2 hours because I had other things going on and it worked out fine. I bet you could even pour it into the crockpot and cook on low for 3+ hours.

6 chicken breasts (+/-)
salt and pepper to taste
1 pkg. onion soup mix
1 (about 16 oz) jar of apricot preserves
1 bottle russian dressing
1 can chunk pineapple

Preheat oven to 350 degrees; place breasts in pan and season with salt and pepper according to taste.

Mix ingredients and pour on top. Bake uncovered 30-45 minutes. Serve over rice.

Cream Cheese Chicken

I've seen several versions of this recipe, but this one is fastest and easiest; plus it doesn't have butter in it like the others do. My mother-in-law gave me this one.

Ingredients:
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 8oz cream cheese
1 envelope of Good Seasons Italian Dressing (sometimes I use ranch packets instead)
6 to 8 chicken breasts

Empty 1 can of soup into crockpot. Place chicken in pot, then slice cream cheese over top. Add additional can of soup and sprinkle dry dressing mix over top. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or on low all day. Serve over rice.

Chicken Pot Pie

This is THE BEST I've ever had.

Chicken Pot Pie--Ready in about 1 hour 15 mins.

1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breasts--cubed
1 c. sliced carrots
1 c. frozen green peas
1/2 c. sliced celery
1/3 c. butter
1/3 c. chopped onion
1/3 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. black pepper
1/4 t. celery seed
2 c. chicken broth
1 c. milk
2 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts.

1. Preheat oven to 390 degrees
2. In a saucepan, combine chicken, carrots, peas, and celery. Add water to cover and boil for about 15 mins. Remove from heat, drain, and set aside.
3. In the saucepan over medium heat, cook onions in butter clear. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and celery seed. Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Press one pie crust in a deep-dish pie pan and baste with egg whites (to keep from getting mushy). Then place chicken mixture in bottom pie crust. Pour hot liquid mixture over. Cover with top crust, seal edges, and cut away excess dough. Make several small slits in the top to allow steam to escape.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 mins before serving.