Seasoned Flour

Happiness is a cast-iron skillet full of chicken, bubbling and frying away. So, if you have 3 of them going, it must be happiness beyond all reasoning....well, anyway, I fried some chicken (lots) and made seasoned flour to coat it.
1 cup flour
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic salt
dash of paprika

Chicken Parmasen

I guess technically I should call this Chicken "Mozzarella", as the chicken pieces are topped with mozzarella instead of Parmesan, but you could sub it around so that it was the other way if you wanted to. This was wonderful, and I will make this again.

Chicken Tenders
Flour
Egg
Italian Style Bread Crumbs
Margarine
Spaghetti
Spaghetti Sauce

1. Dredge chicken pieces in flour.
2. In a medium sized bowl, beat egg with a little water. Dip each of the chicken pieces in the egg, then coat the chicken pieces with bread crumbs.
3. Melt a little margarine in a skillet. When the margarine is melted, add the chicken pieces. Allow to brown fully before turning and browning other side.
4. Transfer chicken pieces to a baking pan. Top each piece with a generous amount of spaghetti sauce. Bake in oven at 375 degrees about 15 - 20 minutes. Toward the end of the time in the oven, top with mozzarella cheese.
5. Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Add spaghetti sauce and stir until heated through.
6. Serve chicken with pasta.

Chicken Pita Pockets

I have recently discovered Kraft's Sun Dried Tomato Vinaigrette. It is wonderful on salads, used as a marinade, and as a dressing in salads. The bottle touts that it is free of preservatives etc., and has only 60 calories in 2 Tablespoons, so it is guilt free as well as flavorful. I used the dressing in the chicken salad for these pita pockets, but you could sub any of your favorite dressings in its place.
2 pita pockets
3 oz chicken, chopped
2 Tablespoons Kraft Sun Dried Tomato Vinaigrette
finely chopped broccoli
shredded carrot
finely chopped onion
salt and pepper

Combine chicken, broccoli, carrot, onion and vinaigrette in a bowl. Mix well and season with salt and pepper to taste. Let mixture chill for a few hours. When ready to enjoy, stuff chicken salad into warmed pita pockets.

Lime Chicken with Spaghetti

This came together rather quickly, and was delicious! I think the next time I make it, I will toss in some steamed broccoli or cauliflower.

2 (or more) green onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon oil
6 oz chicken, cubed
Juice of 1 lime
2 Tablespoons minced parsley (or more)
½ teaspoon seasoning salt
¼ teaspoon lemon/ pepper seasoning
4 oz spaghetti

In a large skillet, saute onions& garlic in oil until tender.
Stir in the chicken and cook for a few minutes. Add lime juice, parsley, seasoned salt and lemon-pepper. Saute for 15-20 min or until chicken juices run clear and chicken is thoroughly cooked.
Meanwhile, cook spaghetti according to package directions; drain. Add to chicken mixture& toss.

Makes 2 servings

Curry Chicken

This recipe came in handy tonight as I had some broccoli in the fridge that needed to be used. I've not done much with curry, so it was a nice and tasty change of pace.
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 Tablespoon reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
2 teaspoons canola oil, divided
1 cup sliced fresh carrots
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups fresh broccoli florets
4 green onions, thinly sliced

1. In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch, curry and red pepper flakes. Stir in broth and soy sauce until smooth; set aside. In a large nonstick skillet or wok coated with nonstick cooking spray, stir-fry chicken in 1 teaspoon oil for 5-6 minutes or until no longer pink. Remove and keep warm.
2. In the same pan, stir-fry carrots and garlic in remaining oil for 1 minute. Stir in broccoli; cook 2 minutes longer. Add onions; cook 1-2 minutes longer.
3. Stir broth mixture and stir into vegetables. Bring to a boil, cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Return chicken to pan; heat through.

Yield: 4 servings
Calories: 1 cup equals 194 calories
Butterbur's Notes: I used cauliflower with the broccoli, and used left-over cooked chicken

This recipe comes from The Taste of Home Cookbook.

Butterbur's Chicken Stock!

Today I pulled apart what was left of the roast chicken from the other night. Most of it I loaded up into packages for the freezer, and when I was finished I was left with bones and scraps. I decided to try making chicken stock in the crockpot. This idea gives me a warm fuzzy feeling, as I am getting lots of use from one chicken. This is what I added to my crockpot:

• chicken bones, scraps etc. from the roasted chicken
• broccoli stems (the really thick, heavy part of fresh broccoli- I always end up wasting this, so I hope that it will work)
• carrots (hunks)
• onion (hunks)
• garlic cloves (chopped)
• fresh chives
• fresh oregano
• salt and pepper
• celery seed
• bay leaf

I then put the crockpot on low and let the chicken stock simmer for a very long time. After it cooked into happy chicken goodness, I strained the liquid a couple of times and put it in the fridge. Once I skim the fat from the top tomorrow, I'm planning on freezing it into 1/2 cup increments for future use. Yay chicken stock! Yours humbly, Butterbur.

Butterbur's Broccoli Chicken Wrap

What to do with leftover roast chicken? Hmmmm....tortillas.....
1 serving

1 wedge of Laughing Cow Swiss Cheese
1 Tablespoon chopped onion
1 Tablespoon chopped green pepper
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 Tablespoon fresh chives
Large piece of broccoli (fresh)
3 oz roast chicken
salt and pepper

1. Combine cheese, onion, green pepper, garlic and chives in a bowl. Mash together to make a paste. Salt and pepper to taste.
2. Cut broccoli so that you have have the florets to work with. Chop into tiny pieces. Add to the cheese mixture and mash together until combined. I like to go heavy on the broccoli, so that the mixture in the bowl is mostly broccoli coated with the cheese.
3. Spread the mixture in the middle of the tortilla. Top with sliced roast chicken. Season with a little more salt and pepper.
4. Wrap the mixture with the tortilla, then chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour to allow the flavors to combine.
5. Enjoy.

Butterbur's Roast Chicken

Mmmmm.....chicken.......

1 whole chicken
a few garlic cloves
salt
pepper

1. Place chicken in roasting pan.
2. Pierce chicken in several places. Work cloves of garlic into the pierced spots of the chicken.
3. Salt and pepper the chicken.
4. Roast in a 400 degree oven for about an hour and a half to two hours. Make sure that the juices run clear and that the meat does not have a pinkish tint before you eat.

Mmmmmm.....chicken.....