Yakitori Noodle Bowls

This one comes from Rachael Ray (big surprise!). It calls for soba noodles, which can be found in the Asian foods aisle, but I bet you anything it would taste really good on linguine or thin spaghetti too. I liked the soba noodles, and I have a TON left over (as well as the tamari, sesame seed oil and sherry) , so I'll make it again. I will cook the noodles less this time though than I did before. They got a bit mushy for me. I also think I might make this up ahead of time and cook the noodles as-needed. Otherwise, this was really tasty and I liked it a lot!

Salt
1 pound soba noodles
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenders, cut into bite-size pieces
2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated or finely minced
Freshly ground black pepper
2 bunches scallions, trimmed of roots and cut into
2-inch pieces on an angle
1/3 cup dry sherry (eyeball it)
1/3 cup tamari (eyeball it)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

Place a large pot of water over high heat for the noodles. Once boiling, add some salt and the noodles and cook according to package directions. Drain thoroughly.While the water is coming up to a boil, place a large skillet over medium-high heat with 2 turns of the pan of vegetable oil, about 2 tablespoons. Toss the chicken with the grated ginger and season with some pepper. Add the chicken to the hot skillet, spread it out in an even layer and let it brown up a couple of minutes.Shake and stir the skillet to turn the chicken pieces then add the scallions, sherry, tamari, sugar and sesame oil, bring up to a bubble and simmer one minute.Add the drained noodles to the skillet and toss to combine. To serve, transfer to serving bowls and sprinkle with some of the toasted sesame seeds.

Crispy Chicken with Proscuitto and Mozzarella

We got a recipe from a friend, and I've altered it to our tastes, and my inability to find boneless chicken breasts with the skin on. If you find that, go ahead and use it. But I just use plain boneless, skinless chicken breasts. I also used all chicken broth instead of Merlot, as I'm not a Merlot drinker.

4 thin slices prosciutto
8 large basil leaves, chopped fine
4 sticks mozzarella string cheese (or 1/2 C grated mozzarella)
4 boneless chicken breast halves with skin
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1/2 C Merlot
2 C chicken broth
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour

Arrange prosciutto slices on work surface. Top each slice with 1/4 of the basil. Break the string cheese in half and place on top of the basil. If you're using shredded cheese, mix with the chopped basil and place 1/4 of the basil and cheese mixture on the prosciutto. Starting with short end, roll up each prosciutto slice. Remove small flap of meat from underneath each breast (these are tenders) and reserve for another use. Put chicken breast halves on cutting board skin side up and beginning at thicker end of breast half, horizontally insert a thin sharp knife three fourths of the way through the center of each. Open cut to create a 1" wide pocket in each half. Fit a prosciutto roll into each pocket and secure with a toothpick. Sprinkle skin with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large skillet over moderately high heat. Add chicken, skin side down, and cook 6 minutes or until skin is crispy. Turn heat down to moderate, cover pan and continue to cook skin side down until chicken is just cooked through, about 6 minutes. Transfer chicken to a platter, arranging them skin side up, and cover loosely. To make sauce, add garlic to skillet and cook over moderate heat for 2 minutes. Add wine and simmer, scraping up brown bits, until reduced to a few tablespoons. Add broth and simmer until reduced by half. Mix butter and flour together well in a small bowl with a fork. Add a little bit of the hot liquid to the bowl and whisk butter flour mixture back into the skillet, along with any juices that accumulate on chicken platter. Bring sauce to a boil and simmer 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove tooth pick and slice chicken crosswise. Arrange on plates and spoon some of sauce over each portion.

Chicken Pot Pie Packets

I got the recipe for this from a friend. So easy and really yummy. Easy, if you don't realize after you have them sealed that you forgot the chicken. Yep, had to unwrap them and start over. It was worth it! (I even forgot to include the chicken in the recipe as I was trying to remember it to type it here!)

2 C leftover cooked chicken, cubed (I used chicken breasts, but rotisserie chicken would be great too)

2 8oz pkgs cream cheese, softened

1 small onion, minced

1 C frozen vegetables (I used peas and carrots, use whatever you like!)

2 pkgs refrigerated crescent rolls

2 Tbsp butter, melted

1/4 C seasoned bread crumbs

Mix together the chicken, cream cheese, onion and frozen vegetables.

Unwrap the crescent rolls. Seal 2 crescents together to make a rectangle. Put about 1/2 cup cream cheese mixture into center. Pull one corner over filling and seal into a triangle. If this doesn't work (it didn't for me), just put the mixture towards one end, pull the other end over and seal into a square-ish shape. Shape doesn't matter, the filling does! Continue until you have 6 little packets of goodness! Brush with melted butter and sprinkle on breadcrumbs.

Bake in a 375 degree oven 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Enjoy!

Baked Chicken & Pasta Casserole

I was at work today (yes, after 2 years of being a stay-at-home mom, I'm now a full-time working mom!) wondering what's for dinner tonight (it's not a terribly challenging job!), and I came across this one on my "other" blog. I got the original recipe from Everyday Pasta by Giada De Laurentiis. I had almost everything on-hand, so I decided to make it. I just needed to pick up the mozzarella and parsley. Probably could have used the cheddar I have in the house, but I'm never opposed to buying more cheese! The verdict? Super easy and delicious. Best thing I've made in quite a while, and I can't wait for tomorrow so I can have the leftovers!

• 1 cup pastina pasta (or any small pasta...I used shells because it's what I had)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup cubed chicken breast (1-inch cubes)
• 1/2 cup diced onion (about 1/2 a small onion)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs (I used Panko, because I had it on hand)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 1 tablespoon butter, plus more for buttering the baking dish

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until just tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Drain pasta into a large mixing bowl.

Meanwhile, put the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes. Add the onions and garlic, stirring to combine, and cook until the onions are soft and the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes more. Put the chicken mixture into the bowl with the cooked pasta. Add the canned tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Place the mixture in a buttered 8 by 8 by 2-inch baking dish. In a small bowl mix together the bread crumbs and the Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle over the top of the pasta mixture. Dot the top with small bits of butter. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Chicken Parmigiana and Pasta

I was looking for something quick (because I had little time) and with chicken (since I had some in the fridge) so I looked to Giada's recipe for Chicken Parmigiana and Pasta. Sounded good, so I looked quickly through the recipe before I went to the store for dry nonfat milk to make homemade hamburger buns. Who knew I'd have to buy a box that makes 8 quarts of milk? I only needed 1/3 cup. I passed and bought buns instead. While I was there, I was thinking of the recipe I was going to make, and I didn't remember seeing any tomato sauce in it. I bought a jar of spaghetti sauce anyway, just in case. Because how do you have Chicken Parmigiana without tomato sauce?

Anyway, when I got home I looked at the recipe again and the "dressing" was a balsamic vinaigrette. Not really what I was looking for, so I used the spaghetti sauce instead. Super easy and really yummy.

1 1/2 lb chicken tenders (I cut up chicken breasts into chunks)

1 C buttermilk

3/4 C Italian seasoned breadcrumbs (I used panko - it's what I had - and added Italian seasoning)

1 1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese

1lb whole wheat penne

1 jar spaghetti sauce of your choice (I used Classico Marinara)

Preheat oven to 500. Line a heavy duty sheet pan with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.

Place the chicken in a bowl with the buttermilk and set aside; let marinate for 15-30 minutes.

Mix Parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs in a pie plate.

Cook pasta according to package directions, until al dente; drain

Preheat oven to 500. Line a heavy duty sheet pan with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.

Remove the chicken from the buttermilk, letting the excess drain off. Dredge chicken in breadcrumb mixture, pressing to make sure it sticks. Line chicken up on prepared cookie sheet; top with 1 tablespoon olive oil.

Bake chicken approximately 12 minutes or until cooked through. Add chicken to cooked pasta and toss with spaghetti sauce.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

I tried another of Sandra Lee's recipes last night, and I LOVED IT! It's pretty darn easy, so to challenge myself I plan on making the dough next time.

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 pound chicken tenders

2/3 cup barbecue sauce (recommended: Bullseye Original)

Flour, for dusting surface

1 (13.8-ounce) package pizza dough (recommended: Pillsbury Classic)

3/4 cup shredded Gouda

1 cup shredded mozzarella

3/4 cup shredded Parmesan

1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced

3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken tenders and saute until golden brown, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat. When chicken is cool enough to handle, dice chicken to yield a little over 1 cup. In a small bowl, toss chicken with 2 tablespoons barbecue sauce. Set aside.

On a floured surface, roll out dough and place on a greased sheet pan. Shape to fill the sheet pan, about a 15 by 10-inch rectangle. Spread remaining barbecue sauce evenly over pizza dough. Sprinkle Gouda, mozzarella, Parmesan, onions, and chicken over top. Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese bubbles. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and cut into pieces.

I didn't add the cilantro, and instead of taking the time to cook the chicken and THEN cut it, I just cut it up so it would have shorter cooking time. Worked out well, and I have some yummy leftover chicken. I also just pressed the dough into a greased sheet pan instead of laying it out onto a floured surface. Worked well for me! Because I forgot to mix the bbq sauce with the chicken before topping the pizza, I just drizzled some on last-minute.

We are going out of town this weekend, so I don't think I'll be doing much cooking. However, I think this would be a great time to make something our friends would enjoy. Hmm, let's figure this out. I'll keep *you* posted...whoever *you* are!