Chicken & Veggie Shishkabobs

These are so easy and yummy! -They just might be our family's new favorite meal! I found the marinade recipe randomly online (I sadly don't remember where so as to give credit... allrecipes.com maybe? -I just googled shishkabobs) and we added what sounded good to us, made it and fell in love!

*Note: we have made these a few times now, both outside on the grill and on our little George Foreman grill... super easy! :)

Ingredients:

For the kabobs:
Chicken Breast, cubed (we use about 2-3 breasts)
Veggies, cut up into bite size pieces (we use various peppers, onions, grape tomatoes and etc)
skewers
For Marinade:
3/4 cup Soy Sauce
2/3 cup Veggie Oil
1/2 cup Lemon Juice
1/4 cup Worcestershire Sauce
1/4 cup Mustard
2 cloves Garlic (I just added Garlic Salt instead with the pepper)
Salt & Pepper
Directions:
*If using wooden skewers, remember to soak in water for at least 30 minutes before using.

Mix marinade together well in a med-large bowl (which you will let the chicken soak/marinade in) -we like to reserve some in a separate bowl on the side (about a cup or so) before adding the raw chicken for extra basting while cooking.

Place chicken pieces in to marinade, cover and allow to soak in the fridge for at least 1 hour (the longer the better).

Prepare skewers as desired for cooking, & then just cook until chicken is well done (basting the skewers more while cooking) & enjoy!

**We've been making either fruit smoothies or fruit bowls to go with them, so yummy!! :)

Tin Foil Artichoke Chicken & Rice

I originally found this recipe on KraftFoods.com, and it sounded good to me (-plus 'easy' is a bonus right?!) so we tried it out. The verdict? We all (even Addie!) really liked it! :) So here it is for easy access to make again in the future, and so that you guys can try it out too!

*the original recipe can be found at the Kraft link I shared (above), and this one below, as always, has my own little changes. -this is also a smaller version (I halved their recipe) but it made OODLES for us to have leftovers!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups instant white rice, uncooked

1 1/2 cups warm water

2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts (ours were the thick ones so we got like 2-3 servings of chicken in it)

1 can (13-3/4 oz.) artichoke hearts, drained, quartered (the original recipe calls for 1 can for the 6 chicken breasts, but we LOVE artichokes so I used the whole can on just our little bit of chicken)

2 large tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup KRAFT Zesty Italian Dressing

1/4 cup pesto
garlic salt, to taste

Directions:

Heat oven to 400°F.

Mix rice and water; spoon onto centers of 2 large sheets heavy-duty foil (I always double wrap our food when making tinfoil dinners since they tend to leak -and shape your foil into almost a 'bowl' shape before adding the rice as it would probably run off otherwise). Top with chicken, artichokes and tomatoes; drizzle with combined dressing and pesto. Add garlic salt.

Bring up foil sides. Double fold top and both ends to seal each packet, leaving room for heat circulation inside. Place on a cookie sheet, and bake 30 to 35 min. -or until chicken is done (165°F). Remove packets from oven; let stand 5 min. Cut slits in foil with sharp knife to release steam before opening.

Chicken & Veggie Stirfry

I love making this! Its so simple, pretty quick, and a good way to get in TONS of veggies! Dan laughs because I call this 'My Experimental Stir-fry Veggies with a Hint of Rice' ... its always different depending on what we have available at the time (hence 'experimental') and its like a whole pan full of veggies .... with a little rice. :) This is totally one of those meals you just make up as you go with what you have and what sounds good!

Ingredients:
Chicken breasts (we usually do 2-3)
Veggies, chopped (various peppers, peas, carrots, corn, squash, zucchini, water chestnuts, etc)
Rice (I go by looks since we keep our rice in a plastic container, but usually its about 2 cups)
Soy Sauce and/or Teriyaki Sauce
Salt & Pepper to taste *optional

Directions:
Cube and cook chicken well in a large frying pan. (Add a splash of Teriyaki if you like)
On another burner cook your rice. (we usually have the 'instant' kind around, so it only takes a minute or so)
Chop and add your veggie medley to the pan with the chicken. Saute until tender.
Add rice, some soy sauce, and mix well. I usually cook it all together for another minute or two after adding the rice.
Add soy sauce or seasoning as you like it and enjoy!
(makes about 6 servings)

Easy Enchiladas

We love these because they're SUPER easy, quick, and good!... Also great, because you can easily tweak it to whatever sounds good to you.

Ingredients:
1 lb. extra lean ground beef
2 (10 oz.) cans enchilada sauce
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (you can also do mozzarella too)
1 pkg. tortillas
1/2 chopped onion
1chopped tomato
olives
sour cream for topping
*can also switch this out with chicken or beans
*I slice olives in half (long-ways) and lay one piece cut-side-down in center of each enchilada, just because my favorite Mexican restaurant (La Casita in Springville, Utah) always does that. :)

Directions:
Heat oven to 400°F. Brown ground beef over medium-high heat until thoroughly cooked; drain. Stir in 3/4 cup enchilada sauce, onions, tomato and 1 cup cheese. Spoon enchilada filling onto tortillas, roll up and place seam-side down in lightly greased baking dish. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over top; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 15 to 20 minutes.
*I usually serve with Mexican rice (from a box) that Ive added salsa and/or tomatoes to.

Nappa Cabbage, Chicken & Ramen Salad

*Closest pic I could find to how this salad looks..... Mmmmm I LOVE this salad!

Ingredients:

Salad:

2 heads of Chinese Nappa Cabbage (shredded/chopped)

3-4 chicken breasts (boiled and chopped)

2 bunches of Scallions (chopped)

2 sm. cans of sliced water chestnuts (drained)

1 package slivered almonds (buy baked, or bake @ 400 degrees for 5-10 minutes)

2 package of chicken Raman Noodles (crushed)

Sesame seeds (bake with almonds) *I usually omit the sesame seeds anyway though

1 lg. cucumber (sliced)

Dressing:

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 packets of Ramen Noodle flavoring

1 Tbsp sugar

2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Directions:

Cook/boil and chop chicken breasts. Roast almonds and sesame seeds. Crush the two packages of dry Ramen noodles. Save the two seasoning packets for the dressing. Slice cucumber. Drain water chestnuts. In a separate bowl mix the salad oil, seasoned rice vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper and the two oriental flavor Ramen seasoning packets. ...Other recipes say to keep the dry crushed Ramen noodles, seeds, nuts, veggies and dressing separate until right before serving (to prevent 'sogginess'), but I like the salad better the longer its has time to soak in all the dressing and etc (it tastes stronger the next day). -So its up to you, but I just go ahead and add all salad ingredients together and mix well. Eat then, or serve chilled! :)

Chicken & Veggie Casserole w/Biscuits

*another one of my hybrid recipes, and stolen pictures :)

Ingredients:
2 cans (10 3/4 oz) Cream of Chicken Soup
1 can (10 3/4 oz) Cream of Celery Soup
1/4 cup milk
egg noodles (Ive never measured, I just guess on amounts) or rice
3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 half onion, chopped
1 bag (16 ounces) frozen vegetable combination (peas, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots), thawed
2-4 chicken breasts (I boiled first, and cube)
1 can flaky refrigerated biscuits
*some people add shredded cheese on top, I don't, but its up to you
**I also add random seasonings that sound good that day. The veggies vary depending on what we have (sometimes just peas... sometimes all...etc)

Directions:

Heat the oven to 400°F. Stir the soup, milk, cheese and black pepper in a 3-quart shallow baking dish. Stir in the vegetables and chicken.

Bake for 15 minutes or until the chicken mixture is hot and bubbling. Stir the chicken mixture.

Top the chicken mixture with the biscuits. Bake for 15 minutes or until the biscuits are golden brown. (the 15 minutes are what the can of biscuits calls for, but I find that's sometimes too long, so I do about 12 minutes)

Creamy Crock-pot Chicken & Rice

*this is the closest pic I could find to what my recipe looks like. Sometimes I make it 'plain' (given below) and sometimes I 'spice it up' by adding chopped onions, other mixed veggies, and etc... whatever just sounds good at the moment.

Ingredients:
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cups water
1 box rice (6 oz.)
4 large carrots, chopped
4-6 chicken breasts
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp black powder
4 oz cream cheese

Directions:
-In a crock-pot mix soup, water, rice, and carrots
-Add chicken making sure it's evenly coated
-Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or high 4-5 hours, or until done

Rosemary Skewered Chicken with Orange Glaze

** We just had a fresh salad with it. It turned out really good though, and was way easy. We will add it to our new little collection of favorites.

Ingredients:
Juice of 3 oranges
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes
6 large sprigs of rosemary about 10 to 12 inches long, with half the leaves removed
**We did the whole skewers with fresh rosemary, as well as just grilled chicken breast pieces seasoned with dried rosemary and etc... and it didn't make a noticeable difference either way, so you can omit the fresh sprigs of rosemary if you'd prefer.

Directions:
Preheat a grill or grill pan on medium high heat. (we used our 'Foreman')Place the orange juice into a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the orange juice has the consistency of a very thin syrup.
Add the Dijon, honey, garlic, and ginger and continue cooking over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes.
Remove from heat to allow flavors to meld and reserve.
Evenly divide the cubed chicken among the rosemary sprigs and skewer the chicken onto the exposed part of the rosemary sprigs.
Lightly brush the grill with oil and grill chicken for 1 to 2 minutes on each side or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165F on an instant read thermometer.
Remove skewers from the grill to a serving plate, drizzle with the orange sauce and serve immediately.

*(This recipe was on TV during The Biggest Loser's season 7 Superbowl episode)

Bruschetta 'n Cheese-Stuffed Chicken Breasts

This recipe is for 'Bruschetta 'n Cheese-Stuffed Chicken Breasts' that we really like. My friend Erin recommended it to me, and its from 'Kraft Foods' (<--see link for video and original recipe). Its WAY easy and pretty quick to do as well.

Ingredients:
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
1-1/4 cups Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese, divided
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (** we used dried)
1 pkg. (6 oz.) Stove Top Stuffing Mix for Chicken
8 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (2 lb.)
1/3 cup (Roasted Red Pepper) Italian with Parmesan Dressing (** we just used the Italian dressing we had at home)

**we also didn't use that many chicken breasts, so we had a bunch of 'stuffing mix' leftover... we just added it to the pan around the stuffed chickens, and sprinkled it all with cheese too... turned out really good, and made our house smell amazing!!)

Directions:
Heat oven to 350ºF.
Mix tomatoes, 1/2 cup cheese and basil in medium bowl. Add stuffing mix; stir just until moistened.
Place 2 chicken breasts in large freezer-weight resealable plastic bag. Pound with meat mallet or side of heavy can until chicken is 1/4 inch thick. Remove from bag; place, top-sides down, on cutting board. Repeat with remaining chicken.

Spread chicken with stuffing mixture. Starting at 1 narrow end, tightly roll up each breast.

Place, seam-sides down, in 13x9-inch baking dish. Drizzle with dressing.
Bake 40 min. or until chicken is done (165°F).

Sprinkle with remaining cheese; bake 5 min. or until melted.