Chicken and Ham Roll-Ups

from the fabulous Kathy Rickertson:

2 -3 boneless chicken halves
about 10-15 slices deli ham (the Kirkland brand from Costo is perfect cut in half the short way)
block of Swiss cheese (you will only use a portion), cut into about 1/4"-wide sticks (however many strips of chicken you end up cutting is how many pieces of cheese you'll need)
(This should serve about 4-6, adjust accordingly)

Sauce:
1 can cream of chicken soup (of course I use one recipe of the SOS mix!)
1 cup sour cream

These are basically cheater chicken cordon bleu!  :)   I would allow for 2 roll-ups for kids and 4 for adults.  Personally I only eat 2 and then fill up on veggies since they are deliciously cheesy and creamy and therefore probably not the best for my non-exercising self ;)

Prep:  Cut your ham slices in half (however many you would like for your family - if you end up with extra rolls I have frozen the assembled rolls, sans sauce, and thawed and baked them later with great results).  Take a couple of chicken breasts and then slice then into strips (like you would for fajitas) in a diagonal direction - I get about 8-10 strips per breast.  Feel free to place smaller pieces of chicken together to equal a longer piece when assembling.  From a block of Swiss cheese, cut off a chunk about 1/4" wide.  Cut that into long sticks (like a cheese stick).  Slice as many cheese sticks as you have chicken strips.
Assembly:  Lay out the ham slices and place a slice of chicken breast and a cheese stick in each.

    

Roll up so the chicken and cheese are rolled up inside the ham. 

Lay roll-ups side by side in shallow baking dish (seam side down) misted with oil.  I don't stack them.
Mix sauce ingredients and spread on top of roll-ups.  Cover and bake 1 to 1.5 hrs at 325 degrees F.

Enjoy!

Chicken Breasts with Peppers

I made this a few months ago and loved it!  I took the picture and then promptly lost the recipe so I couldn't post it - so frustrating!!!  But we've been doing some organizing and I finally found the recipe.  It's amazing what you find when you clean.  ; )

Chicken Breasts with Peppers

2 Tb olive or vegetable oil
2 medium red, green or yellow peppers, cut into thing strips
1 tsp garlic powder
1 envelope (or 1/4 cup of your homemade mix) onion soup mix
2 boneless chicken breasts, halved (meaning if you bought them butterflied, or the halves of the breast were connected - cut them into separate halves. You should end up with 4 halves like the one pictured above)
1 c water
1/2 tsp basil leaves

In large skillet, heat oil and brown chicken over medium-high heat.  Remove chicken.  Add peppers and cook, stirring frequently, two minutes or until peppers are crisp-tender.  Stir in onion soup mix blended with water and basil; bring to a boil.  Return chicken to skillet and simmer uncovered eight minutes or until chicken is done, turning chicken once.  Makes 4 servings.

Adaptations:
For a Food Storage meal- use canned chicken and peppers or another veggie.
For the Crockpot - dump all the ingredients in the pot!  Cook for the typical 3-4 hours on high or 6-8 on low.  You could absolutely use frozen peppers and chicken without thawing first - just toss them in as is!  You may brown the chicken first if you prefer.

Creamy Chicken Soup

This is a recipe from one of my favorite sources - an Australian Women's Weekly cookbook.

This cookbook give fresh ideas for every stage of a young baby's developing palate. From prenatal nutrition to rice cereal at four months to foods for 6 month-olds, one year-olds, toddlers and busy families you will find so many delicious and healthy recipes along with advice and hints. I love it! Whenever I feel stuck in a rut with my kids (and it is SO easy to do!) this is where I turn for inspiration. Everything is from scratch and gives directions for freezing and adapting meals to be suitable for babies and toddlers. And as a bonus there are some CUTE birthday cakes.

Picking a cake out of the Australian Women's Weekly Birthday Cake cookbook was something I looked forward to each year. And I'm happy to do with my kids as well. Here are some of the cakes I've made with their easy-to-follow directions. (Really - anyone can make these!)

Here's the book I have at home -

And here is a great recipe from AWW Babies and Toddlers! It is a favorite at our house and I like to bring it to new moms or sick families because it's comforting, mild for nursing moms, and the whole family likes it!

1 Tb olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, chopped finely

1 clove garlic, crushed

4 chicken thigh fillets, sliced thinly

2 medium carrots, chopped coarsely

2 trimmed celery stalks, chopped coarsely

1 can of creamed corn

4 cups chicken stock (I use water and bouillon)

1 cup short pasta (shells, elbow macaroni, etc)

1/2 cup cream

1 Tb finely chopped fresh parsley

Heat oil in large pan; cook onion and garlic, stirring, until onion is soft. Add chicken, carrot, celery, corn and stock, bring to a boil; simmer, covered, 20 minutes. Add pasta; simmer, uncovered, about 20 minutes or until pasta is tender. Stir in cream; reheat without boiling, sprinkle with parsley to serve.

Store up to 2 days in fridge (it is generally advised not to freeze cream soups or pasta because of undesirable changes in texture - but if you freeze it before you add the pasta or cream you should be fine!)

For babies: puree

For toddlers: chop to suit development

FOOD STORAGE: use canned/dehydrated veggies and canned chicken. Substitute whatever you have on hand for the cream. I would use evaporated milk (made from powdered milk or from a can) or thicken regular milk with a cornstarch slurry near the end of cooking time.

Chicken Curry Casserole

adapted from Kim's recipe

For a meatless meal - this is delicious w/o the chicken!

For a food storage meal - use canned chicken and veggies

2 cups brown rice (uncooked)

16oz broccoli florets (or use one pkg of frozen broccoli)

2/3 cup SOS mix (or use 2 cans of cream of chicken soup and omit water)

2 1/2 cups water

1 cup mayo

2 Tbs curry powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp seasoned salt

2 cups cooked chicken (or 1/2 of a quart jar of canned chicken)

1/2 cup to 1 cup shredded cheddar or cheddar mix

Cook rice and steam broccoli. In a small saucepan, add SOS mix and whisk in water water a little at a time to prevent lumps. Heat mixture to boiling, cook 2 minutes and then take off heat. Mix together cooked rice, cooked broccoli, soup/SOS sauce, mayo, seasonings and chicken. Pour into 9x13" dish, sprinkle cheese on top and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

This is easily doubled (then you can use the full quart jar of chicken) and frozen in either a gallon freezer bag or in a 9x13" pan covered with 2 layers of foil. Make sure you label it!

Take out the night before to thaw, pour into pan and cook as usual. You can even thaw in the microwave for a last minute dinner.

Slow Cooker Enchiladas

2 lb meat

20 or so corn tortillas, quartered (I use a pizza cutter)

1 pkg taco seasoning (1/4 c)

3/4 c water

1 can beans of choice (black, kidney, etc)

1 12oz jar salsa (Herdez, baby!)

1 can cream of whatever soup, reserve 1/2 cup

2 c shredded cheese

Toppings: olives, green onions, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce

Cook meat taco seasoning, water and all but 1/2 cup of soup all day in the crockpot - your basic 6 hours on low. Remove meat mixture to large bowl. Shred meat if necessary - mix together and add beans, salsa and cheese.

In the crock pot (don't bother to rinse it out) place a double layer of tortillas to cover the base. Layer meat mix and tortillas in alternating layers.

On the top layer (meat or tortilla - it doesn't matter what you end with, just use up your ingredients) add rest of soup, green onions, cheese, black olives, whatever you'd like.

Cook on high 2 hours.

Serve over lettuce and tomatoes.

Yaki Soba

1 package of spaghetti noodles, cooked and drained

1 onion, chopped

1 head of cabbage, chopped

1 pkg bacon, cooked (I also add chicken as a variation)

2 T ginger

soy sauce to taste

1 can mushrooms, drained

Warm through and serve.

Fowl Soup

Cut up carrots, potatoes, celery and chicken/turkey pieces until the ratio looks good to you! Then add liquid - chicken broth and water in equal parts. Bring to low boil and cook till veggies are tender. Add noodles or dumplings.

Dumplings:

1 cube margarine

1 tsp salt

1 c flour

1 c milk

2 eggs

Melt margarine in saucepan. Add salt and flour, blend and add milk. Stir and cook mixture until it forms a ball around spoon and leaves sides of pan clean. Remove from heat. Let cook one minute and add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Drop by teaspoons into FULLY BOILING soup. Cover and cook 20 minutes without removing cover.

Chicken Taco Filling

1 pkg (4T) taco seasoning

1 c chicken broth

1 lb chicken breast

Place all in crock pot and cook on low 6-8 hours. Use two forks and shred.

To freeze, place meat and juice in freezer bag, press out air and seal.

Angel Chicken Pasta

Adapted from allrecipes.com

6 chicken breasts

1/4 c butter

1 packet Italian dressing mix

1/2 c milk

1 10.75oz can of cream of mushroom soup

4 oz cream cheese with chives

1 lb angel hair pasta

Chop up chicken and place in crockpot. Mix up sauce till blended and stir into crock. Cook 2 hours on high and 2 hours on low - longer if using frozen chicken. During last 20 minutes cook and drain pasta. Mix up pasta and sauce and serve.

Hot Chicken Hoagies

From My Kitchen Cafe

1 loaf french bread, cut lengthwise
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken (in a pinch, you can use two large cans chicken breast)
1/2 cup light mayo
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
2 green onions, thinly sliced (white and green parts)
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped (or 2 tablespoons dried)
2 cups shredded cheese (I used a combo of monterey jack and sharp cheddar cheese)
Olives, chopped (0ptional - I omit these due to my kids' preferences)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place french bread on large baking sheet. Mix all topping ingredients together in a bowl. Spread topping evenly on top of both lengths of french bread. Bake for 15-20 minutes until bubbly and edges are lightly browned. Slice into pieces and serve immediately.

White Bean Chicken Chili

from Lynette

1-2 T oil

1 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

2 cans (14 oz) chicken broth

2 cans (14 oz) white beans

1 can (15 oz) corn (may use frozen corn)

1 can chopped green chiles

2 cups cooked, cubed chicken breast

2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

juice of 1 lime

tortilla chips

Saute onion and garlic in oil until soft.  Add a little flour to the onions to thicken the soup slightly.  Combine remaining ingredients except chips.  Simmer covered 25 minutes.  Serve with tortilla chips, grated cheese and sour cream.

Best Chicken Pot Pie Ever

from pinchingyourpennies.com

1 lb chicken, cubed

1 c sliced carrots

1 c frozen 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 pepper

1/4 celery seed

1 3/4 c chicken broth

2/3 c milk

Combine chicken carrots, peas and celery.  

*NOTE:  I often chop up a ton of these veggies when I have them and put a recipe or two's worth in a gallon freezer bag to freeze and use for another time*  

Add water to cover and boil 15 min.  Drain and set aside.

Cook onion and butter till soft.  Stir in flour, salt and pepper and celery seed.  Slowly stir in broth and milk.  Simmer over med low till thick.  Place in 2 - 9" pie shells and bake at 425F for 30-35 minutes.  I put this into a 8x8" dish and top with puff pastry when I don't want to make pie crusts - which is almost always.  ;)

Food Storage:  used canned chicken and veggies (adapt to what you have).  Rehydrate dried onions and cook in oil.  As always, use powdered milk.  Make pie crusts or use a biscuit mix topping dropped on by spoonfuls.

Chicken Salad Croissants

from Amy

4 cups cooked, cubed chicken

2 T oil

2 T orange juice

2 T apple cider vinegar

1 t salt

Combine and let marinate in refrigerator at least 2 hours.

Add:

2 c chopped celery

1/2 c slivered almonds

1 t green onion, diced

1 1/2 c mayo

1/2 c Craisins (I've also used red grapes, halved)

Combine and refrigerate for 1 hour.  Makes 2 dozen cocktail croissants.

Chicken Pillows

from Shelly

8 oz cream cheese

3-4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (I do this by boiling for 20 or so min and shredding with 2 forks when cool enough to handle)

2 pkg crescent rolls

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 c sour cream

milk to dilute sauce 

1 cube butter, melted

enough crushed cornflakes to coat (2 cups should be enough)

Mix together shredded chicken and cream cheese in bowl.  Unroll each crescent roll and place a scoop of chicken mixture on each.  Bring ends of dough up and pinch together to form a packet.  Roll packet in butter then in cornflakes.  Bake at 350F for 20 min.

Combine soup, sour cream and milk to make sauce and heat through while chicken is cooking.

Chicken Roll-Ups

from Kathy:

Here's a rather imprecise recipe:

4-6 chicken breasts

pkg sliced ham (I use the one at Costco)

pkg sliced Swiss cheese (Costco again)

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 pint sour cream

Cut 1 breast into thin strips (5-7 strips at an angle almost horizontally).  Repeat for rest of chicken.  Layer each slice with ham and swiss.  Roll up, secure with toothpick and place seam side down in baking dish.

To make sauce:  Mix soup and sour cream in saucepan and heat through.

Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Thighs with Applesauce

from Amy

1 T balsamic vinegar

1/4 t salt

8 small skinless chicken thighs (~1 1/2 lb)

2 lb apples, cored and chopped coarsely - Rome Beauty, McIntosh, Gala

1/2 c apple cider or water

1/4 c dark raisins 

1/4 c sugar

1/4 t cinnamon

8 slices bacon

In medium bowl, w/fork, mix vinegar and salt.  Add chicken thighs and toss to coat; set aside.

In 3-qt saucepan, combine apples, cider, raisins, sugar and cinnamon; heat to boiling over high heat.  Reduce heat to low; simmer 15 min. or until apples are very tender.

Meanwhile, wrap 1 slice bacon around each thigh, securing with toothpick.  Heat nonstick 12" skillet over medium heat until hot.  Add thighs and cook 30 min or until bacon is browned and juices run clear when thickest part of thigh is pierced with knife, turning over thighs once.

With potato masher, coarsely mash apples.

To serve, discard toothpicks, spoon applesauce on four dinner plates; top each with 2 thighs.

To make it from the pantry only:  Use canned chicken - marinate with same sauce as in original.  Warm with bacon bits in skillet.  Use canned applesauce or make applesauce from dried apples and season as directed. 

from Everyday Food Storage's site:

To reconstitute apple slices use equal parts of dried apples to boiling water. 

For example:
2 cups dried apples 2 cups boiling water
Let: this set at least 5 minutes.If you put this mixture through the blender you will have applesauce. For variety add 3 tbsp. Cinnamon Heart Candy to the mixture before you let it set or try some Cinnamon (about 2-3 t.) and Sugar (about 3-4 T.) mixture in it.

Herbed Chicken Tenderloins

found on the back of our chicken bag when we were in college

1 lb frozen chicken (16 tenderloins)

1/4 melted margarine

1/2 t dried oregano

1/2 t dried rosemary leaves, crushed

1/2 t dried sage

1/4 t salt

1/4 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

In small bowl, combine margarine, oregano, rosemary, sage, salt and pepper.  Place frozen tenderloins in foil-lined baking pan.  Brush evenly with herb mixture.  Bake at 375F for 18-22 min till done.

To grill:  Place chicken on grill, brush with herb mixture.  Grill 5 minutes, turn, brush mixture on the other side of the chicken and grill 6 to 7 min until done.

Food Storage:  Use canned chicken, oil instead of margarine, and quickly saute until heated through.

Alfredo Chicken and Biscuits

from Lindsey

2 c chopped fresh broccoli

1 1/2 c sliced fresh carrots

1 c chopped onion

2 T olive oil

2 c cubed cooked chicken

10 oz Alfredo sauce

1 c biscuit/baking mix

1/3 c milk

1/4 t dill weed

In large skillet saute the broccoli, carrots and onion in oil until crisp-tender.  Stir in the chicken and alfredo; heat through.  Transfer to lightly greased 8" square baking dish.

In small bowl, combine the baking mix, milk and dill just until moistened.  Drop by rounded Tbsp onto chicken mixture.  Bake uncovered at 400F for 18-22 min or until bubbly and biscuits are golden brown.

To adapt into an all Food Storage recipe - Use canned veggies in place of fresh.

Chicken Salad

from the demonstrators at Costco in UT!

1/2 c mayo

1/4 t garlic powder

1/4 t onion powder

1/8 t dry mustard

1/2 c diced celery

2 T chopped green onion

1 - 12.5 oz can chicken, drained and cut into bite-sized pieces

Blend together mayo and spices.  Add celery, onion, chicken and stir to combine.  Cover and chill before serving.  Best if allowed to sit for hours to allow flavors to mingle.

Chicken Enchiladas

from the parking cop at Ephrata PD

8 - 6" tortillas  (we actually use most of a bag of 10" flour tortillas for this recipe)

1/2 c. chopped onion

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 t ground coriander

1/4 t pepper

2 T margarine

3 T all-purpose flour

1 - 8oz tub sour cream

2 c chicken broth

1 - 4oz can diced green chili peppers

1 c shredded Monterey Jack cheese (4 oz)

2 c cooked chicken, diced

sliced, pitted olives

chopped tomatoes

sliced green onions

In saucepan or skillet cook onion, garlic, coriander and pepper in margarine till onion is tender.  Stir flour into sour cream (I do this in the orig. container) - add to onion mixture.  Stir in broth and peppers all at once.  Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly.  Remove from heat.  Stir in 1/2 c. cheese.

For filling:  

Place chicken pieces in large bowl.  Stir 1/2 cup sauce into chicken.  Place 1/4 c. filling in each tortilla; roll up.  Lightly grease 9x13 pan.  Place tortillas in dish - seam side down.  Top with remaining sauce.  Cover and bake 35 min. at 350F.

Sprinkle with remaining cheese.  Bake uncovered 5 min. or until cheese melts.  Sprinkle with olives, tomatoes and green onions.

Let stand 10 min.  

Makes 4 servings.