Chicken & Asparagus Risotto

I will tell you that ever since I got hooked on the TV show "Hell's Kitchen" and heard Chef Gordon Ramsay berating people for their mushy risotto, it has been a dream of mine to try and make one. I am glad that I tried this recipe that I found on AllRecipes, it was fairly easy and was delicious.

Chicken & Asparagus Risotto
By: Katie
Serves 2

2 Cups Chicken Stock
1 Tbspn Olive Oil or Butter
1 Tbspn Minced Garlic
2 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, Cubed
2 tsp Olive Oil or Butter
1/2 Large Onion, Minced
1 C Arborio Rice
1/2 C White Wine
8 oz Fresh Asparagus, Finely Chopped
1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
1/2 tsp Dried Basil
1/2 C Grated Parmesan Cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste

1) Bring Chicken Stock to Boil in a Small Suacepan, then Keep Warm on Low Heat
2) Heat 1 tsp Olive Oil over medium heat in large Saucepan, Stir in Garlic and Cook 30 seconds until Fragrant. Add Cubed Chicken and Continue Cooking Until Firm and Lightly Browned - Set Aside.
3) Heat Remaining 2 tsp Olive Oil in the Saucepan and Cook until Onions are Translucent, About 1 Minute. Stir in the Rice and Cook Until Rice is Opaque, and the Onion begins to Brown
4) Stir in the Wine and Asparagus; Cook Stirring Constantly, Until the Wine Evaporates. Reduce the Heat to Medium and stir in 1/3 of the Hot Chicken Stock. Cook, Stirring Constantly, Until all the Liquid has Absorbed, 8-10 Minutes.
5) Stir in another 1/3 of the Chicken Stock and Continue Cooking Until Absorbed, 8-10 Minutes. Season the Risotto with Basil and Oregano. Pour in the Remaining Stock and Stir until Absorbed, 8-10 Minutes.
6) Season with Salt & Pepper to taste, then Stir in Parmesan Cheese and Chicken

Italian Cream Cheese Chicken

Someone sent me a couple of new crockpot recipes to try, and this one came out great. It is the perfect Monday recipe because it requires very little effort and comes out great. I will say that I wouldn't describe the flavor as "Italian", but it was great.

Italian Cream Cheese Chicken
Serves 4

4-6 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
1/2 C Water
2 Packages Dry Italian Salad Dressing Mix
1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 8oz Package Cream Cheese (Room Temperature)
1 16oz Package Frozen Broccoli Cuts

1) Place Chicken in Crock Pot
2) Combine Water and Italian Salad Dressing Mix and Pour Over Chicken
3) Cook on Low for 3-4 Hours, or 3-4 Hours on High if Chicken is Frozen
4) Mix Soup and Cream Cheese Together, Stir into Chicken
5) Cook an additional Hour or Two on Low
6) Serve over Rice or Pasta

Greek Chicken & Orzo

One of the best things about summer is Greek Fest. If you have never been to one, you should find your local Greekpalooza and try all the wonderful food that you will find there. Greek is one of my favorite kinds of food, and one thing I can never get enough of is Greek-style chicken. This dish takes a little longer than I'd like it to on a weeknight, but really has great flavor, and I can usually get 1-2 days of lunch out of the leftovers.

Greek Chicken
2 Tbspn Flour
1/2 tspn salt
1/4 tspn black pepper
1 tspn dried oregano
1/4 # crumbled feta cheese
1 Tbspn fresh lemon juice
2 Tbspn olive oil
1 1/2 C water
1 Cube Chicken Bouillon
6 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
2 Cups loosely packed, torn spinach leaves
1 Ripe Tomato, chopped

Directions:

1) On a large plate, combine flour, salt and pepper - set aside. In a small bowl, combine cheese, olive oil, lemon juice and oregano.

2) With a meat mallet (or soup can if needbe), pound each chicken breast to 1/2 thickness. Spread cheese mixture on each chicken leaving 1/2" border. Fold chicken breasts in 1/2 and secure with a toothpick. Roll chicken in flour

3) In large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Cook each chicken 1-2 minutes until golden brown on each side. In a small bowl, whisk together the water, the bouillon and the remaining flour - pour over the chicken in the pan. Add spinach and tomato to pan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 8-10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Discard toothpicks.

Greek Orzo

1/4 C olive oil
1/2 C fresh lemon juice
1/2 C pitted kalamata olives, chopped
2 ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tspn finely chopped oregano
1 (8 oz) package of crumbled feta cheese
1/2 # dried orzo pasta
1 C chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

1) Stir together olive oil, lemon juice, olives, tomatoes, red pepper, red onion, garlic, oregano, and feta cheese in a large bowl. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.

2) Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the orzo and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain and toss the tomato mixture. Sprinkle with chopped parsley to serve.

Steak Marinade

I found this recipe on All Recipes by Char Finamore when looking for a marinade to make London Broil. Because it is a tougher piece of meat, you should really let the meat marinade in this for 6 hours or more. Even though this marinade is generally used for London Broil, you could probably use this with any steak. The only thing that I changed about this,was that I used a little more garlic than the recipe called for - but that is true with most recipes that I use. Also, the original recipe calls for the meat to be grilled on medium-high heat for 5-8 minutes per side, though I chose to broil the meat and it came out perfect.

Ingredients:
3 Cloves Garlic, Minced
1/2 C Soy Sauce
2 Tbspn Vegetable Oil
2 Tbspn Ketchup
1 tspn Dried Oregano
1 tspn Ground Black Pepper
2 # Flank Steak

Directions:

1) In a small bowl mix together: garlic, soy sauce, oil, ketchup, oregano, and black pepper. Pierce the meat with a fork on both sides

2) Place the meat and marinade in a large resealable plastic bag and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.

3) Cook

Pork Chops with Mushroom Gravy

I love pork chops, but my husband isn't the biggest fan. I knew that this one would be a hit with him because he loves gravy and loves mushrooms. I added a little bit of garlic and Worcestershire sauce to the sauce because I was worried it might be too bland; it was perfect. My husband also felt like there should have been more mushrooms, so next time I will probably add some fresh sliced mushrooms to the sauce. I also used thinner, tenderized pork chops which probably would work the best.

Pork Chops with Mushroom Gravy
By: KMSTAT (AllRecipes)

1/2 C Dry Bread Crumbs
2 Tbspn Parmesan Cheese
4 Pork Chops
1 Tbspn Vegetable Oil
1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/2 C Milk

1) Combine Bread Crumbs and Parmesan Cheese in a plastic bag. Add the chops two at a time and shake to coat.

2) Heat oil in skillet over medium heat, and cook chops until brown on both sides. Remove pork chops from the skillet and reduce the heat.

3) Blend soup and milk in the skillet. Add more milk if you would like a thinner gravy. Bring to a gentle boil. When soup is boiling, add chops to skillet. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until chops are cooked through.

Chicken Parmesan

March is officially comfort food month for me. It is the worst month here in the Midwest because one day you will have a sunny, 40 degree weather day and the next day it will be snowing and 15 degrees. I am usually freezing all through March because I am tired of wearing a coat and I feel like if I just stop wearing it that maybe mother nature will cooperate and give us some warm weather. So when this doesn't happen, I turn to food - what else is new? One of my favorite "warm you up" things to eat is chicken parmesan, so I went looking for a good recipe. I was surprised to find that a lot of the recipes out there don't include a tomato sauce which I thought was imperative to the chicken parmesan recipe so I went with one that did incorporate a marinara sauce. I did change a few things about this recipe, but not much. I did not put the sauce in the baking dish and cook the chicken in it because I would assume that this would make the chicken soggy. Instead what I did was that I cooked the chicken by itself in the baking dish and made some angel hair pasta on the side. I topped the angel hair with the chicken and then poured the tomato sauce over all of it. I also didn't have monterey jack cheese on hand, so I used provolone. Delish!




Tomato Chicken Parmesan
By: vero_cn81 (Allrecipes)

2 Eggs, Beaten
1 C Grated Parmesan Cheese
7 oz Seasoned Bread Crumbs
3 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts Cut in Half Lengthwise
1 Tbspn Vegetable Oil
12 Oz Pasta Sauce
6 Slices of Monterey Jack Cheese

1) Preheat oven to 375

2) Pour beaten eggs into a shallow dish. In another shallow dish, mix together the bread crumbs and parmesan cheese. Dip the chicken breasts into the egg and then the bread crumbs to coat.

3) In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add coated chicken and saute for 8-10 minutes on each side, or until chicken is cooked.

4) Pour tomato sauce into a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish. Add chicken, then place a slice of cheese over each piece of chicken. Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is completely melted.

Mexican Chicken Casserole

I love making chicken enchiladas, but I don't make them a whole lot because I find it a pain to wrap all of the filling in the tortillas and I think that mine always come out drier than I would like. I found this recipe in Cooking Light and thought that it might be a good substitute. I didn't LOVE this recipe - I felt like it still lacked a sauce, but when I topped it with sour cream and guacamole it made it much better. It tasted good and packed some spice and the chicken wasn't dry, so I loved those things about it. I think that if I made this again, I wouldn't use as many tortillas - if any. I think maybe instead I would make some of my cilantro lime rice and serve it with that.



Mexican Chicken Casserole

1 C Fat Free Chicken Broth
2 4.5 oz Cans of Green Chilies
1 2/3 pounds of Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast
2 tsp Olive Oil
1 C Chopped Onion
1 C Evaporated Skim Milk
1 C Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
1/4 C Light Cream Cheese
10oz Enchilada Sauce (I used a Medium Salsa Verde)
12 6 inch Corn Tortillas
Cooking Spray
1/2 C Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1 Ounce Crushed Tortilla Chips (about 6-10 chips)

1) Combine broth and 1 can of the chilies in a skillet; bring to a boil. Add chicken and reduce heat. Simmer for 15 minutes or until the chicken is done.

2) Remove chicken from cooking liquid and set liquid aside. Shred chicken with two forks and set aside.

3) Preheat oven to 350

4) Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 can of chilies and onion; saute for 3 minutes. Add reserved cooking liquid, evaporated milk, monterey jack cheese, cream cheese and enchilada sauce. Stir well and add shredded chicken. Cook 2 minutes, remove from heat.

5) Place 4 tortillas at the bottom of a 2 quart casserole coated with cooking spray. Spoon two cups of the chicken mixture over the tortillas. Repeat layers twice, ending with the chicken mixture. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and chips. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.