Baked Chicken Chimichangas

Ingredients:

8 ounces cream cheese
8 ounces monterey jack pepper cheese, shredded
1 1/2 tablespoons taco seasoning
1 lb cooked chicken, shredded
8 flour tortillas
cooking spray
shredded cheddar cheese
green onion (to garnish)
sour cream
salsa

Directions:

1. Stir together cream cheese, pepper jack cheese and taco seasoning.
2. Fold in chicken.
3. Divide among tortillas.
4. Tuck in sides and roll up each tortilla.
5. Lay seam side down in a sprayed 9" X 13" baking dish.
6. Spray tops of tortillas with cooking spray.
7. Bake @ 350 for 15 minutes.
8. Turn Chimi's over and bake an additional 15 minutes.
9. Serve with cheddar cheese, green onions, sour cream and salsa.

Greek Marinated Chicken

Greek Marinated Chicken

4.9 from 34 reviews

Greek Marinated Chicken

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Prep time

45 mins

Cook time

60 mins

Total time

1 hour 45 mins

Total Cost: $8.97

Cost Per Serving: $1.12

Serves: 8 pieces

Ingredients

• 1 cup plain yogurt 
• 2 Tbsp olive oil 
• 4 cloves garlic, minced 
• ½ Tbsp dried oregano 
• 1 medium lemon 
• ½ tsp salt 
• freshly cracked pepper 
• ¼ bunch fresh parsley 
• 3½ to 4 lbs chicken pieces 

Instructions

1. To make the marinade, combine the yogurt, olive oil, minced garlic, oregano, salt, and some freshly cracked pepper in a bowl. Use a fine holed cheese grater or a zester to scrape the thin layer of yellow zest from the lemon skin into the bowl. Also add the juice from half of the lemon (about 1-2 Tbsp). Stir until the ingredients are well combined. Roughly chop a big handful, or about ¼ bunch, of parsley and stir it into the marinade.
2. Add the chicken pieces and marinade to a gallon sized zip top bag. Remove as much air as possible, close the bag tightly, and massage the bag to mix the contents and make sure the chicken is well coated. Refrigerate the bag for 30 minutes.
3. After marinating for 30 minutes, either cook the chicken on a grill OR preheat the oven to 375 degrees in preparation to bake the chicken.
4. To bake the chicken, place the chicken pieces in a large casserole dish (9×13). Bake the chicken in the preheated 375 degree oven for 45-60 minutes, or until golden brown on top.

Notes

This recipe is extra garlicky. If you’re not into heavy garlic, try starting with two cloves instead of four.

Step by Step Photos

First prepare the marinade. Combine the yogurt, olive oil, oregano, minced garlic, salt, and some freshly cracked pepper in a bowl. Add the zest from one lemon and the juice from about half of it (1-2 Tbsp). Stir these ingredients until well combined.

Add a handful, or about 1/4 bunch, of roughly chopped parsley. This is your finished marinade (or a REALLY awesome dip!).

I used about 3.75 pounds of chicken pieces (drumsticks and thighs). You could easily half this recipe, if needed.

Add the chicken pieces and the marinade to a large, gallon-sized zip top bag and mix it around to make sure the chicken is well coated. Refrigerate the bag for 30 minutes.

After marinating, you can either grill the chicken or bake it. I don’t have an outdoor grill, so I decided to bake it. Place the chicken pieces in a large casserole dish. I ended up pouring the extra marinade over top, but later realized that this just made it take longer to brown, so I don’t suggest doing so. There is plenty of flavor in the marinade that you won’t need to add the extra.

Bake the chicken in a preheated 375 degree oven for 45-60  minutes, or until it is golden brown. It will smell SO good! Now eat!

Classic Cheesy Chicken and Rice Soup

 

Remember that cheesy chicken and rice soup I posted on Instagram Sunday…..well, I wasn’t planning on posting the recipe, but y’all were adamant about getting it 

Never fear, I’m always willing to share my recipes!!  You just won’t see a whole bunch of step by step photos for this one ok?

These photos of the soup are from the next day, so it looks thicker than usual which I love!  You can easily thin it out with  little splashes of milk.  We devoured this soup with no problem, can’t wait for you to try it!  It’s homemade, full of veggies, chicken and rice.  Yum!

Classic Cheesy Chicken and Rice Soup

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

4 stalks of celery, chopped

3 large carrots, peeled and chopped

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

32 ounces plus 16 ounces reduced sodium chicken broth

2 cups shredded mild cheddar (I use Tillamook)

1 teaspoon hot sauce

3 cups cooked shredded chicken

3-4 cups cooked white rice

1/2 cup sour cream

Additional salt and pepper to taste

1. Place oil in large dutch oven over medium heat. When hot, add onion, celery and carrots, stirring and cooking for about 10 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for about 1 minute. Once veggies are tender, reduce heat to low.

2. In a separate large saucepan melt the butter over medium heat. Slowly whisk in the flour, salt and pepper until thick and bubbly. Slowly whisk in 32 ounces chicken broth. Increase heat slightly and keep whisking until broth gets thick and creamy, about 3-5 minutes. Once thick, reduce heat to low and add cheese, stirring until smooth then add hot sauce. Add cheese sauce to veggies then add cooked chicken and rice. Add remaining 16 ounces of chicken broth and sour cream to soup, stirring to combine. According to your preference you may want to add more broth or milk for a thinner soup. Stir, taste and season with additional salt and pepper according to your liking. Reduce heat to low and serve!

Makes 8 servings

Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Shells

Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Shells

 

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PREP TIME

15 mins

COOK TIME

35 mins

TOTAL TIME

50 mins

 

Recipe by: Fork Knife Swoon

Yield: 4 Servings

INGREDIENTS

• 16 jumbo pasta shells (Cook a couple of extra shells to allow for a few breaking while the pasta cooks.)
• 1-1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp fresh garlic, minced
• 4 cups (packed) fresh spinach leaves, roughly-chopped
• 12 oz skim-milk ricotta cheese
• 1 cup shredded skim-milk mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
• 1 large egg
• 1 tbsp fresh basil, finely chopped
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
• 1-1/4 cups marinara sauce

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cook the pasta al dente, according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil begins to shimmer, add the garlic and cook until it begins to brown, about a minute or two. Add the spinach and cook, stirring occasionally, until the leaves begin to wilt but are still bright green, about 3 to 4 minutes. The spinach should be reduced by half. Remove from the heat and let cool.
3. In a mixing bowl, stir together the spinach, ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, egg, basil and salt and pepper until thoroughly combined. Pour 1/2 cup of the marinara sauce into the bottom of a shallow 8-inch by 8-inch baking dish. Stuff each pasta shell with a generous amount of the spinach and ricotta mixture, and place in the baking dish.
4. Cover with the remaining sauce and bake covered with aluminum foil for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until the top begins to brown and the sauce begins the bubble, another 10-15 minutes. Serve warm with a dusting of Parmesan.

Olive Garden Breadsticks

Servings:Over 8
Difficulty: Easy
Cook Time:Over 120 min

Anyone who loves Olive Garden is probably also a big fan of the bottomless basket of warm, garlicky breadsticks served before each meal at the huge Italian casual chain. My guess is that the breadsticks are proofed, and then sent to each restaurant, where they are baked until golden brown, brushed with butter and sprinkled with garlic salt. Getting the bread just right for a good clone was tricky -- I tried several different amounts of yeast in all-purpose flour, but then finally settled on bread flour to give these breadsticks the same chewy bite as the originals. I discovered that the two-stage rising process is also a crucial step to making the perfect Top Secret Recipe for these very popular soft breadsticks.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon warm
water (105 to 115 degrees F)
16 ounces bread flour (3 cups)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
On top:
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

Cooking Directions

Dissolve the sugar and yeast in the warm water in a small bowl or measuring cup and let the mixture sit for 5 minutes, or until it becomes foamy on top.
Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl.
Use the paddle attachment on a stand mixer to mix the softened butter into the flour. If you don't have a stand mixer, use a mixing spoon to combine the butter with the flour.
When the yeast mixture is foamy, pour it into the flour mixture and use a dough hook on your mixture to combine the ingredients and knead the dough for approximately 10 minutes. If you don't have a stand mixer, combine the ingredients and then knead the dough by hand on a counter top for 10 minutes.
Place the dough in a covered container and let it sit for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until it doubles in size.
When the dough has doubled, measure out 2-ounce portions and roll the dough between your hands or on a counter top to form sticks that are 7 inches long. Place the dough on parchment paper-lined baking sheets, cover and set aside for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size once again.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Bake the breadsticks for 12 minutes, or until golden brown. When the breadsticks come out of the oven, immediately brush each one with melted butter and sprinkle with a little garlic salt.

Makes 12-13 breadsticks

Slow Cooker Coke Chicken

This works with pork chops, boneless breasts, ribs, and even roast. I ask that you first try it with a fryer if at all possible, though. There is a magic that takes place when you cook a fryer like this that just doesn’t happen with other cuts of meat, even boneless skinless breasts. The fryer, after slow cooking all day in this amazing blend of flavors, becomes completely permeated with the flavor and literally falls off of the bone. Every shred of chicken, even the inside meat, is tinted the color of your sauce, proving that it has completely saturated the bird.

The flavor is so amazing! I like to serve this with stewed potatoes in butter sauce and a simple dinner roll. The chicken steals the show.

*Yes, you can make this with another carbonated beverage, it just needs to be carbonated and have sugar in it.

Honestly, I’m embarrassed to post this because it is so simple. You’ll need: A whole fryer, Coca Cola, BBQ Sauce, An Onion, And A Lemon. I Like Capitalizing Today!

Peel your onion and cut onion and lemon into quarters. That’s all, just make yourself four wedges and you’re done!

Put chicken little in the crock pot. Raise your hand if you’re happy they finally quit putting the neck and all that mess up inside the bird? ~Raises hand and WAVES it energetically~

Toss that lemon and onion onto Chicken Little.

Pour whole bottle of BBQ Sauce over it.

Pour whole can of Coke over it.

Put the lid on and cook on low all day long or high for 3 to 4 hours. This is great to put on in the morning before you go to work. Your house will smell phenomenal when you come home.

For the record, I spelled phenomenal correctly the first time with no help from spell check! Go me!

Chicken Little! All cooked up and ready for your plates!

Slow Cooker Coke Chicken

Ingredients

• 1 Fryer
• 1 Lemon
• 1 Onion
• 1 Bottle BBQ Sauce
• 1 Can Coca Cola

Instructions

1. Peel onion and cut into quarters. Cut lemon into Quarters. Place fryer in crock pot. Toss in onion quarters and lemon quarters. Pour in entire bottle of BBQ Sauce and entire can of Coke. Cover and cook on low all day or high 3 to four hours.

Sweet Potatoes - Ruth Chris Style

These are so good and are the only way to go as far as sweet potatoes go. They’re creamy with a brown sugar pecan crust. These could easily be dessert maybe even with a scoop of ice cream. You can make these up to a couple of days in advance and then bake the crust for 10 minutes before serving.

Just boil, bake, or even microwave your sweet potatoes.

Cream them together with some eggs, sugar, and butter.

Top with a brown sugar pecan crust…yum.

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Sweet Potatoes – Ruth’s Chris Style

Yield: 12 servings

Ingredients

Crust:
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
Sweet Potato Mixture:
• 3 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes (see Note)
• 1 cup sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 eggs, well beaten
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
• (splash of milk if needed)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a medium-size casserole dish with nonstick spray.
2. For the crust: Combine brown sugar, flour, nuts and butter in mixing bowl. Set aside.
3. Combine sweet potatoes, sugar, salt, vanilla, eggs and butter in a large mixing bowl in the order listed. Beat thoroughly with a hand mixer for about 3-4 minutes to increase the fluffiness of the sweet potato mixture. Add a splash of milk if needed and mix.
4. Pour mixture into the baking dish. Bake for 25 minutes. At this point, dish can be covered and refrigerated for a couple of days.
5. Sprinkle the surface of the sweet potato mixture evenly with the crust mixture and return to oven for 10 minutes. Allow to set at least 30 minutes before serving.
6. The brown sugar and pecan crust should be slightly browned and crunchy. Makes 12 servings.

Notes

Note: To cook sweet potatoes first wash and dry them carefully then you can either: 1) Bake them at 400 degrees for 50-60 minutes 2) Boil them for 30 minutes or 3) Pierce them with a fork and microwave them for about 15-20 minutes.