Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

This soup is always a hit! I take it often to people that are sick or need a meal brought in. When taking it to someone, I always pair it up with my hearty white bread.

It freezes VERY well, just remember to heat it slowly because it is cream based. If you reheat it in the microwave, just set it at a medium power setting.

Good luck!

Wild Rice Soup

1 large Onion
2 cups Carrots, diced
3 cups Celery, diced
½ cup Butter
2/3 cups Flour
6 cups Water
2 tablespoons McCormick chicken base (or 4 Bullion Cubes)
2 pkgs Rice-A-Roni Long Grain and Wild Rice
5 Chicken breasts (cooked and cubed)
2 cups Half and Half
½ teaspoon Salt
½ teaspoon Pepper

1. Chop vegetables and place in large soup pot. Melt butter and sauté vegetables until tender.

2. Add flour and stir until vegetables are coated. Let the flour cook for about 2-3 minutes until it has a golden blond color.

3. Slowly add water and stir vigorously until flour dissolves. Prepare Rice-A-Roni as directed on box, then add to the soup.

4. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer on low until well blended, usually about 1 hour.

Servings: 20
Yield: 20 cups

Homemade Chicken Things

We made Homemade Chicken Things last night and they were great! I highly recommend them. The entire family ate them and enjoyed it! Now, in this house, that's really saying something!

I changed the original recipe a bit. Here's what I did:

Homemade Chicken “Things”

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 cups milk

2 tablespoons vinegar

5 drops Tabasco sauce

3/4 cup complete (just add water) pancake mix
3/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Oil for frying

1. Trim chicken breasts and cut into desired size nuggets or fingers. I cut mine into 3/4 inch cubes.

2. Soak chicken pieces in milk mixed with vinegar and Tabasco for 3-4 hours.

3. In a large bowl whisk together pancake mix, water, salt & pepper. Add more water to thin if needed. (Note: You want the mix to be a little thinner than you would for making pancakes, but not very much.)

4. Heat oil in a fryer or in a medium-sized pot. Add chicken pieces to the batter and stir to coat completely.

4. When oil is hot, use a fork to transfer chicken from the batter to the oil. Don't put too many pieces in at once or it will lower the oil temperature and they will not cook as well.

5. Cook about 3 - 4 minutes per side, until batter is browned and chicken is completely cooked.

BBQ Bacon Chicken

This is a family favorite. It's so simple, you can serve it to almost anyone and they'll like it. But, it also works great for guests because it just tastes so good!

BBQ Bacon Chicken

4 strips cooked bacon, diced
2 chicken breasts
1/2 cup BBQ sauce
1/2 cup cheddar cheese grated

1. Place chicken in a baking dish.

2. Cover each breast with 2-3 tablespoons BBQ sauce

3. Crumble bacon and place on top of the chicken.

4. Top with cheese.

5. Bake covered for 35 minutes at 350.

6. Remove cover and bake 5 minutes more.

Spinach, Chicken and Pasta Salad

Another one of my favorite recipes from the Favorites Cookbook. I'll be the first to admit when you start eating this salad, you think, "Well, it's OK. Kinda average." Then something kicks in. You can't stop eating it. At family functions we always ask my husband's aunt to make this salad. After every one's been through the buffet line, most of the women gather around this salad, picking pieces out with their fingers. You just can't resist it.

Spinach, Chicken and Pasta Salad

16 oz bowtie pasta, cooked al dente
1 (10 oz) bag fresh spinach
1 (6 oz) bag craisins
3 (11 oz) cans Mandarin oranges, drained
2 (8 oz) cans sliced water chestnuts, drained
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1/4 cup sesame seeds, toasted
6 oz honey roasted peanuts
2 cups cooked chicken, cut into small pieces

Dressing:
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup bottled Teriyaki sauce
2/3 cup white wine vinegar
6 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

1. Cook pasta
2. Blend dressing ingredients together in a blender or food processor.
3. Mix dressing and cooked pasta in medium bowl and marinate for at least two hours(I do it overnight)
4. Combine rest of salad ingredients in a large salad bowl.
5. Add pasta/dressing combination and toss.
6. Serve immediately.

Chinese Chicken Wonton Salad

Ohhh baby! I love this salad! Ever had the Cheesecake Factory's version??? This one is definitely as tasty.

This recipe comes from one of the three cookbooks every woman should own.

Chinese Chicken Wonton Salad

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 package wontons, cut into thirds
1 head iceberg lettuce, torn into pieces
1 (11 oz) can mandarin oranges, drained
1 (8 oz) can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 (4 oz) package slivered almonds, toasted
1/4 cup sesame seeds, toasted
1 bunch green onions, chopped

Dressing:

4 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/2 cup vegetable oil

1. Boil chicken breasts until cooked and slice into small pieces.
2. Fry wontons in vegetable oil until crispy and cool on paper towels.
3. In a large salad bowl, mix together chicken and wontons with lettuce, oranges, water chestnuts, almonds, green onions and sesame seeds.
4. Toss with dressing and serve immediately.

TIP: I often make all the ingredients, but leave them in separate containers -- do not mix with the dressing until just before eating. Each item will stay fresh and crispy for a few days and I can make the salad for a week's worth of lunches.

Crock-pot Chicken Cacciatore

I usually cut the following recipe in half for my small family and we still have enough for eating dinner twice. I just vaccum seal the second half for another night.

Crock-pot Chicken Cacciatore

6 chicken breast halves (skinless, boneless)
1 jar spaghetti sauce (28 ounce)
2 green bell peppers, seeded and cubed
1 onion, finely diced
2 TBSP minced garlic
1 TBSP butter

Put the chicken in the slow cooker.

Top with the spaghetti sauce, green bell peppers, mushrooms, onion, and garlic.

Cover, and cook on Low for 7 to 9 hours.

Serve over angel hair pasta.

Chicken in a Pot

This one is a classic, but just in case you haven't seen it:

Chicken in a Pot

1 lb Frozen Chicken Breasts
1 packet Italian Salad Dressing mix
8 oz Cream Cheese
1 cans cream of chicken soup or cream of mushroom

Put chicken breast in crock pot and sprinkle with packet of dressing.

Cook for 5-6 hours on low or until chicken is cooked through.

Take chicken out and cut into pieces. Return Chicken to the pot.

Add remaining ingredients.

Cook for another hour stirring several times throughout.

Serve over rice or pasta.

Freezes well.

Garlic Parmesean Chicken

We had this for dinner tonight -- yummy! It's a definite repeat. Don't be afraid of the buttermilk soak -- it makes it tasty!

Garlic Parmesan Chicken

6 chicken breasts

2 cups milk

2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 packet dry Italian dressing(I used Garlic & Herb by Good Seasons)

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

3 tablespoons butter

1. Mix vinegar and milk. This will make buttermilk.

2. Soak chicken in milk for 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.

3. Combine Parmesan cheese and Italian dressing, set aside.

4. Melt butter.

5. Remove chicken from milk, dip in melted butter.

6. Dip chicken in dressing mixture

7. Place in greased baking dish. Top with any remaining dressing and butter.

8. Cook at 400 for 20 to 25 minutes, or until chicken reaches 165 degrees.

Goes great with Alfredo and a garden salad.

Tenderizing Chicken

I've been interested in the tenderizing of chicken and done some research into the subject. Almost every recipe for fried chicken requires soaking in buttermilk from 30 minutes up to 24 hours. Why???

Well, there are proteins in dairy products that break down the cell walls of the chicken. That is what makes it more tender. Each of the milk products give a slightly different taste to the chicken. You could use milk, buttermilk, sour cream, or yogurt for the same effect.

What if you want a tasty tender piece of chicken, or to tenderize an entire chicken and don't want to spend the money on that much buttermilk???

A cold, salted water bath for 20 minutes will do the same thing. This is commonly known as a "brine." You've probably done it to your turkey's each Thanksgiving without having any idea why. Tender and juicy -- that's the reason.