Honeyed Chicken Teriyaki

Oh my gosh, I'm not really sure why I haven't put these nuggets of goodness up here before. This is a recipe my dad used to make for Sunday dinners and it ranked in my top two favorite meals growing up. I compare just about every chicken piece recipe to this and nothing ever compares, but what really can compare with something so ingrained in my memory as delicious? You'll notice the pictures have less ingredients than what I call for-- I just cut it down to be made for two. See below for the full recipe. Here's what you'll need:

 Cut your chicken into about two inch squares. 

Before you get frying, you'll want to mix the ginger, garlic, honey and soy sauce together in a saucepan and keep that going on low-medium heat.

For the batter I use your basic egg and flour combination. I like to use shallow dishes (pie or cake tins) to easily transfer pieces from one to another. In one dish, stir eggs with a fork and in the other combine the flour, salt and pepper. Coat the chicken in the eggs, letting the excess egg drip off before transferring to the flour and coating there. While you're doing this you'll want to be heating a skillet with oil about a half inch high on medium heat. To see if it's ready I usually sprinkle a little flour in and see if it sizzles.

Transfer the floured  chicken to the oil when it is ready, turning until golden. The chicken just needs to be golden and not cooked through, as we bake it later. Depending on how much chicken you're using, you will need to do this in batches.

When the chicken is golden, use tongs to pick it up and let the oil drip off before transferring to the heated sauce mixture. Usually I'll put a couple in at a time and then replace some flour chicken in the oil to keep the process going.

Once they are coated, place them on a greased cookie sheet to bake. Now, my dad always used a broiling pan for this recipe but I've never owned one. Truly, it would be easier but I make do just fine without one. I'll usually put down a sheet of aluminum foil first. You'll bake at 250 degrees for 20 minutes. Brush with glaze half way through the cooking time.

I pretty much make a spinach salad every day out of sheer laziness but I usually serve this with rice and a vegetable. I'm weird and like to eat the rice and chicken apart but Bryan mixes them together and pours more sauce on it. I would possibly double the sauce because it's so good.

Ingredients:

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast
oil for frying
1 C. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 C. soy sauce
1/3 C. honey
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
1 tsp. grated fresh ginger

1. Cut your chicken into 2" squares.
2. Beat eggs in a shallow dish. In another shallow dish combine flour, salt and pepper.
3. Dip chicken in eggs and then coat with seasoned flour.
4. Pour 1/2" oil in a wide frying pan; place over medium-high heat.
5. When hot, add chicken, half at a time. Cook until golden brown, 4-5 minutes for small pieces and 6-8 for larger.
6. Meanwhile, heat soy sauce, honey, garlic and ginger in a saucepan over medium heat.
7. Lift chicken from oil and dip in honey mixture then place on broiling pan. 
8. Bake at 250 degrees for 20 minutes and brush with the glaze after 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Chicken Divan

Ah, Chicken Divan... when I was little I must admit that I threw a little bit of a fit when mom said this was for dinner. I guess I had a picky palate-- at least when it came to broccoli. I hadn't eaten it for a few years when my sister made it once while I was in college. I was so surprised! How could I not have liked this? How can anyone not like something smothered in cream of chicken soup and mayo and topped with cheese? Needless to say, I've been converted to Chicken Divan. 

Before we start you'll want to boil or bake your chicken breasts (I generally use this method) and chop them into little 1" by 1" squares.

You can see the full recipe below. All right, here's what you'll need:

Spray the bottom of a 9x13 pan with cooking spray and spread our your broccoli as the bottom layer. There is no need to have previously thawed the broccoli, just put it in frozen.

As your second layer, spread your chopped chicken over the broccoli. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika.

Now lets make the sauce! Combine all your cream of chicken soup, mayonnaise, curry powder and lemon juice in a medium bowl.

Spread that mixture over the chicken and broccoli.

Now, top it with your cheese. Mmmm, cheese.

Baked at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Voilà! This goes best served over rice!

Ingredients:

5 chicken breasts, thawed, cooked and chopped
2 (10 oz) or 1 large bag frozen broccoli
3 cans Cream of Chicken soup
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 tsp curry powder
2 tbsp lemon juice
salt
pepper
paprika
2 cups monterey jack cheese

1. Spray 9x13 pan with cooking spray and spread frozen broccoli on the bottom.
2. Cover broccoli with chopped chicken and sprinkle salt, pepper and paprika.
3. Combine soup, mayo, curry powder and lemon juice in a medium bowl.
4. Spread mixture over chicken and broccoli.
5. Top with cheese.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Serve over rice.

REVIEW: Basil Chicken in Coconut Curry Sauce

I did not make this recipe, I only reaped the benefits. Well, I suppose I helped mince the garlic and grate the ginger. We went to Bryan's mom's birthday party yesterday and his sister made this dinner for us. It was unbelievable. When she told me what blog she had found it on I immediately looked it up. I'm going to be looking for more delicious recipes from here in the future but I just wanted to share this first!

Basil Chicken in Coconut Curry Sauce

P.S. Sorry for my long absence. I will try to make up for it! Life sure can get hectic!

Smith Chicken Enchiladas

Remember that post, not too long ago where I mentioned that Bryan and I grew up with different enchilada recipes that we both loved? Well, here is the recipe that I grew up with! I know this recipe like the back of my hand, I've made it so many times.See below for full recipe. You'll need:

You can find green chilies in the Hispanic food aisle. Canned chicken must be drained before use. Mix only one can of the Cream of Chicken soup, both cans of chicken, sour cream and green chilies together.

I have a little trick to make it easier to roll corn tortillas without frying them. About five at a time, put them on a little plate with a damp paper towel over them and heat in the microwave for 15-30 seconds.

I fill and roll the tortillas as each batch of five comes out of the microwave so they don't harden again. Spoon about a tablespoon of the chicken mixture onto the tortilla and roll. You will probably use 13-16 tortillas, depending on how tightly packed each roll is.

Place tightly next to each other in 9 x 13 casserole dish. After filling all of them, there should still be chicken mixture left over. There will be a little corner that I usually split a tortilla in half and put half the amount of mixture in, as pictured above. 

Mix the remaining can of Cream of Chicken soup with the rest of the chicken mixture.

Spread across the rolled tortillas.

Use the whole bag of Mexican mix cheese and cover the the enchiladas. Chop your green onions and sprinkle them over the top as well and then sprinkle the sliced black olives (these are my favorite part!).

Ta da!

We usually cut them like squares rather than serving by enchiladas. Because of this, Bryan calls it "Enchilada Casserole."

Ingredients:

2 cans Cream of Chicken soup

8 oz. sour cream

1 sm. can green chilies

2 cans diced chicken

1 pkg. small corn tortillas

1 bag (2 cups)  Mexican mix cheese

1 bunch green onions

1 sm. can sliced black olives

1. Mix one can Cream of Chicken soup, both cans chicken, sour cream and green chilies in a medium to large bowl.
2. Soften tortillas using the above method or frying.
3. Spoon about a tablespoon of mixture into each tortilla and roll.
4. Place tortilla rolls side by side, tightly in 9 x 13 casserole dish.
5. Mix second can of Cream of Chicken soup with remaining mixture and spread over the tortillas.
6. Spread cheese over top, followed by chopped green onions and sliced black olives.
7. Cook at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Whitney Chicken Enchiladas

One thing Bryan and I had in common growing up was a love for chicken enchiladas. In both cases, it was our most requested meal-- especially for birthdays. I remember writing my favorite meal for something in elementary school and calling it, "Chicken Chiladas." However, our family had two different enchilada recipes that are different only a few ingredients and steps. This is the recipe Bryan grew up loving. True to form, he requested it for his birthday this year. One thing to note when reviewing these pictures is that I doubled the recipe for our dinner party. See the full recipe below. Here's what you'll need:

(These tortillas are very much not round because they are homemade.)

You may use canned chicken, rotisserie chicken or shredded chicken that has been baked. I baked mine and shredded them with a very handy tip I learned from Pinterest. Put your chicken in your KitchenAid with the paddle attachment and turn it on for 20-30 seconds. You will soon have perfectly shredded chicken! I would not have believed it had I not tried it. Anyway, add your green onions to the shredded chicken.

In a separate bowl, mix together sour cream, cream of chicken soup, green chilies and green taco sauce.

You may notice the green taco sauce is full here. I accidentally left that out for the filling process and added it later when I topped the enchiladas with the remaining sauce. As a result, your soup mixture may look more green than mine. It was still good, by the way. I usually buy my cheese in blocks and shred it myself so you can see I've done that already.

On each tortilla, put some chicken, cheese and a tablespoon or so of the soup mixture.

You can pack them tighter than this, I was filling up several casserole dishes and had extra space. Whether tight or loose, it still tastes just as good.

Top with remaining soup mixture and the rest of the cheese. I forgot to take a picture after it had cooked because I made it the night before and cooked it when I got home from work. Sorry! Just imagine the cheese all melted.

Make sure you cover this with aluminum foil and bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

Ingredients:

10-12 lg. flour tortillas
About 1 C. shredded chicken
1/2 a bunch of green onions, chopped
1 can cream of chicken soup
8 oz . sour cream
1 can diced green chilies
1/2 a small bottle of green taco sauce
4 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded
4 oz. monterey jack cheese, shredded

1. Combine shredded chicken and green onions.
2. Combine cream of chicken soup, sour cream, taco sauce and green chilies. Mix well.
3. On each tortilla place some chicken, cheese and a tablespoon of soup mixture.
4. Roll up and place side by side in a 9x13" casserole dish.
5. Pour leftover soup mixture over top.
6. Top with remaining cheese.
7. Cover with aluminum foil and cook at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

REVIEW: Crispy Coconut Chicken Fingers

If you've never been to Our Best Bites you must go! All of their recipes are so delicious. I always trust that my recipes will turn out well and taste great whenever I make anything from them. This is one of our absolute favorite dishes from them.

Crispy Coconut Chicken Fingers

Almost anything with the word 'coconut' in it is definitely worth a try. We love these chicken fingers! They have just the right amount of spices to give it a little zing and the perfect amount of sweetness as well. We make these fairly regularly-- definitely a family favorite.