Category: PROTEINS

Chicken & Ham Pot Pies ~ Soups Salads Casseroles & More

2 tablespoons butter

1 large carrot, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced

1 medium large Vidalia onion, finely chopped

1 stalk celery, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced

2 teaspoons minced garlic, jar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface

1 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 cup chicken broth

1 rotisserie chicken, skin and bones removed, meat shredded

1/2 pound ham steak, cubed

Juice of 1 lemon

Sea salt and fresh ground pepper

1 recipe basic dough or 1-9 inch round Pillsbury pie dough

  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
  • In a large saucepan, heat butter over medium.
  • Add carrot, onion, celery and garlic. Cook until carrot is crisp-tender, 8 to 10 minutes.
  • Add flour and stir until flour is golden.
  • Gradually and alternately whisk in the milk and broth, stirring until smooth. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a simmer and thickens, 7 to 10 minutes.
  • Remove from heat. Stir in the chicken, ham, and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide filling among eight 8-ounce ramekins or ovenproof bowls.
  • On a floured surface, roll out the dough to 15-inches round. With a 3 1/2-inch floured biscuit cutter, cut out eight rounds and place one on each ramekin. Transfer ramekins to a rimmed baking sheet; bake until filling is bubbling and crusts are golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.
To Make ahead: Prepare, but do not top with dough. Let cool to room temperature. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, then aluminum foil. Store in the freezer 3-6 months maximum. Remove from freezer, top with dough and bake 45 minutes at 425 degrees until golden and bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes before eating.

Sweet and Spicy Bacon Wrapped Chicken – Monday Munchies


I found the recipe for this yummy bacon wrapped sweet and spicy chicken over at Full Bellies, Happy Kids. These make a terrific main dish, but they are also terrific for the appetizer buffet!


Here’s the recipe …

4 chicken breasts cut in thirds (12 pieces)
Bacon slices
Salt and pepper to taste
garlic powder
Chili powder
Brown sugar

Cut each breast into 3 pieces, season all the chicken with the spices, then wrap a bacon slice around each piece, roll in brown sugar and place into an oven proof dish. Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and bacon is nice and brown and crispy.

The only thing I did any different from the recipe was to turn them upside down right at the end and did a quick broil to get the bacon on the bottom nice and crisp too!


These are so yummy – definitely a family favorite here!

*Recipe previously posted at Menagerie

BBQ Chicken wraps ~Simple Saturday

Aren’t wraps one of the greatest, simplest inventions!? Pick your wrapper…pick your fillers…roll ’em all up and voile! Wraps are simple and satisfying and this wrap in particular is a favorite with the kiddos. Pick your favorite baked beans, your favorite BBQ sauce and you’re almost in business! This is a method, rather than a recipe…the one that I used this time. Amounts are subject to what you need and add or subtract ingredients to your tastes or what is in your cupboards. I actually really like this with some corn & shredded cheese thrown in too…but alas, we were out this time, so I went without.

BBQ Chicken Wraps
Chicken Breasts
BBQ Sauce
Baked Beans
Whole Wheat Tortillas
Romaine Lettuce
Ranch dressing

  • Preheat your broiler and sauce up your chicken. Broil until cooked through. Set aside for at least 5 minutes, then cut into slices or chunks.
  • Heat your beans through in microwave or on stove top.
  • I wash one head of romaine and then cut it into shreds and toss with Ranch Dressing.
  • Heat your tortillas to make them pliable…either in the microwave or over an open flame (which is the way we like them).
  • Pile in the lettuce, beans and chicken and wrap!
  • Then enjoy and think of your next combo.Do you have a favorite wrap combination you’d like to share with us? Have you made something simple this week? Please share with us here on Simple Saturdays…leave a comment and leave a link with Mr. Linky!! See you next week….

Chicken Fried Chicken with Peppered gravy, Family Favorite Mashed Potatoes and Sugared Carrots ~ Simply Delicious Sunday


CHICKEN FRIED CHICKEN
2 large boneless chicken breasts
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2-4 tablespoons butter(enough to keep chicken from burning~add as necessary)

  • Rinse and pat dry the chicken breasts.
  • In a shallow glass pan, pour buttermilk over chicken 1-2 hours prior to cooking.
  • Make sure to coat chicken well and turn at least once during soaking.
  • Drain, but do NOT rinse the buttermilk off.
  • In a medium sized fry pan melt the butter over medium heat. As butter melts and begins to very slightly sizzle, prepare breasts.
  • In a small ziploc bag mix together the flour, salt and pepper.
  • One at a time, put each chicken breast in bag and coat well with flour mix and then into sizzling butter.
  • Cook on one side until edges begin to bleed and then turn.
  • About 6 minutes each side depending on plumpness.
  • Keep chicken warm.

PEPPERED GRAVY
3 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons Wondra flour
1 1/4 cups whole milk
3/4 cup whipping cream
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Black pepper + (to taste)

  • Melt butter into bottom of pan you just cooked the chicken in.
  • Scrape up any of the chicken pieces and mix into new butter.
  • Add flour slowly, stirring until absorbed by butter and golden brown.
  • Slowly add first the milk and then the cream.
  • Stir constantly until thickens.
  • If necessary sprinkle in more Wondra until desired thickness is reached.
  • Serve over chicken and mashed potatoes.

FAMILY FAVORITE MASHED POTATOES
4 large Yukon potatoes, peeled & quartered
4 ounces Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
1 small bunch green onions, sliced thin
1/4 + buttermilk
4 tablespoons butter
salt & pepper to taste

  • Boil potatoes in salted water until fork tender.
  • Drain.
  • Mash all together salt and peppering to taste.

SUGARED CARROTS
1 small bag baby carrots, washed
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
4 tablespoons PURE maple syrup
2 tablespoons melted butter

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Blanche carrots in sugared water until just tender.
  • Drain.
  • Blend together brown sugar, maple syrup and butter.
  • Toss with carrots.
  • Bake 20 minutes.

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Turkey Taco Cups – Healthy Helpings

I made these on Saturday and they were really fun to eat. Little tortilla cups are a healthier alternative to store bought taco shells.

Turkey Taco Cups
Serves: 4
4 10 in (burrito-size) flour tortillas (I use Carb Balance Whole Wheat Tortillas w. 8 gms of fiber)
1 lb ground turkey (I make sure to use ground turkey breast as it is the leanest)
1 carrot shredded
1 pkg (1 oz) taco seasoning mix (the packs that I found were 1.5 oz, I only used part of a package, to suit my family’s taste)
1 c chopped lettuce
1/2 c shredded cheese
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
Sour Cream if desired

1. Heat over to 375F. Cut three 4 1/4 in circles out of each tortilla. (I did not have a cookie cutter of that size, but I did find a small round storage container that I was able to use.0 Place each circle into a muffin pan to shape into a cup. Bake 8 to 9 min until crisp. Cool.

2. Meanwhile cook turkey and carrot with taco seasoning. Divide turkey mixture, lettuce, cheese, and tomato among taco cups. (Part of what Tara likes about having tacos is assembling them herself, so instead of assembling all of the cups, I put the fixin’s on the table).

7UP TROPICAL PORK CHOPS ~ Simply Delicious Sunday

We don’t have a lot of rules here at ThE KrAzY kItChEn. We do ask that whatever meme you are participating in that you use good blog etiquette and link to us here at ThE KrAzY kItChEn. We have been experiencing, like so many others, SPAMMING and you can help us eliminate a good deal of it, by making it easier for us by using a meme badge if you like, and by linking back to us.

Here at Simply Delicious Sunday I’ve made a few badges for you to choose from. Some of you still have the even older ones and those are okay too if you like them. The most important part is to be sure and link to us. We really appreciate your help.


7UP TROPICAL GLAZED PORK CHOPS
4-6 large pork steaks, chops or loin
4 ounces 7UP
3/4 cup apricot pineapple preserves
1 cup brown sugar
8 ounces crushed pineapple juice
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
  • Whisk together the 7UP, pineapple, apricot preserves, red pepper flakes and brown sugar.
  • Generously salt and pepper the pork chops.
  • Spread a small layer of the glaze on the bottom of the roasting pan.
  • Lay the pork chops on top and spread the remaining glaze on top and along the sides.
  • Baste as necessary.
  • Bake 25-30 minutes or until meat thermometer reads 165-170 degrees.

This is also a great way to prepare chicken.

Quick Italian Chicken Strips with Fire Roasted Marinara Sauce ~ Simple Saturdays with girlichef

Hello everybody and thanks so much for joining me for my first Simple Saturday here at the KrAzY KiTcHeN! I’m taking over for Martha who has moved to Mondays. I decided to drop the word ‘supper’ from the Saturday theme just to leave the day a little more open to interpretation. Of course you are more than welcome to submit a simple supper…but you can also submit a simple breakfast, lunch, snack, drink…whatever!

Please forgive me as I get acquainted with my new home away from home and learn all of the little nooks & crannies…ummmm, Mr. Linky…of cooking with you on Saturdays! I think that I will be featuring a recipe and a picture or two weekly, with a link back to a longer post at my own place (if you click on recipe title). Feel free to pepper me with comments and suggestions… I thought I’d start this Saturday with a simple favorite around my house.

Quick Italian Chicken Strips w/ Fire-roasted Marinara Sauce
by girlichef (here)

For the Chicken Strips:
Chicken Breast Tenders (aka rib meat)- ~1 1/2 lbs
Bread Crumbs seasoned with Italian Seasoning & Parmesan
Eggs- 2
Water- splash
Flour- seasoned with salt & pepper

For the (quick) Fire-Roasted Marinara Sauce:
Fire-Roasted Tomatoes, 2- 14.5 oz cans (Hunt’s Brand…my fave canned tomaters)
Italian Seasoning
Garlic Powder
Dried, minced onion
Crushed Red Chiles (optional)
Sea Salt
Black Pepper

Start your quickie marinara first by pouring the cans of fire-roasted tomatoes into a pot and bringing gently to a simmer. Add the other ingredients to taste (as you like). Let simmer gently while you make your chicken strips.

Get out three bowls/plates and set up a breading station. Fill the first bowl with flour and season it with salt and pepper. Crack your eggs into the second bowl and whip them up with a splash or two of water. Fill the last bowl with your bread crumbs seasoned with Italian seasoning & Parmesan cheese.

Pat your (chicken) tenders dry. Dip them in flour & shake off excess. Dip in egg wash. Dip in breading. Place on a large, hot skillet with a light coating of oil (~1/8″ deep). Flip once golden on the first side. Remember, they’re small…they will cook all the way through by the time both sides are golden. Saute in batches and set aside on a warm plate to hold until they are all finished.

Stir up your quickie marinara and serve the chicken strips with your marinara…and some shaved Parmesan.

Simple Saturday meal that adults and kiddos alike love in our house. Please add a link to Mr. Linky to one of your favorite simple things to make on Saturdays (or any day for that matter) and then leave a comment to let us know you’re there!

Simple Supper Saturday – Italian Chicken

Welcome to Simple Supper Saturday! This week is my super easy baked Italian chicken …
Marinate chicken breasts in Italian dressing for a couple hours, drain marinade, dredge chicken lightly in Italian bread crumbs. Melt a couple tablespoons of butter in baking pan, place chicken in pan and bake for 30 minutes at 350 or until juices run clear and chicken is golden brown – turn chicken halfway through cooking time. Serve with some fresh veggies or salad and dinner rolls.

Oh and be sure to make enough chicken to have plenty leftover – Next week I’ll be posting an easy, yummy leftover chicken recipe that you won’t want to miss!

I can’t wait to see your simple supper ideas this week!

Healthy Helpings – Smothered Chicken with Pierogies

Smothered Chicken with Pierogies
4 servings – 7 WWpoints each serving

1 dozen Mrs T’s Frozen Potato & Cheddar Cheese pierogies (I used a box of the mini sized, I think this makes it easier to serve if you want to give equal portions of pierogies to each person. There are 28 small ones compared to 12 big ones!)
1 can (10 3/4 oz) low fat cream of chicken soup
1 can (4 oz) sliced mushrooms, drained (I used 8 oz fresh and sauteed)
1 c frozen peas
2 cups cubed or shredded cooked chicken

Preheat oven to 350. Spray 2 qt casserole with cooking spray. Thaw pierogies in boiling water for 5 minutes, drain and place in casserole dish.

In large saucepan, combine soup, mushrooms, peas and chicken. Cook, stirring, about 5 min or until heated through. Pour over pierogies. Bake 15 minutes.

(My great nephew joined us for dinner unexpectedly the night I prepared this, and he gave it two thumbs up… he didn’t think he liked mushrooms, but in this dish he said they were good!)

The Original Country Bob’s All Purpose Sauce Product Review & Giveaway

Earlier this week I was contacted by a nice man from Country Bob’s All Purpose Sauce and asked if I would be interested in doing a product review. I said I’d love to. In just 2 days time a box was on my stoop with bottles of sauce and recipe brochures. I had this little niggling in my brain though. I could not figure out why the name of this sauce sounded so familiar. I tried to find the sauce locally and failed until I finally found it at a Walmart store 30 miles away. You have to remember I live rurally for the moment. That is when it occurred to me where I had heard the name before. I had won a cookbook awhile back over at Forgetfulone, but was never able to prepare any of the recipes because I couldn’t find the sauce.

As you can see from all the slips of paper sticking out of the top of the book I had marked a multitude of recipes to try and now I finally can. I found 2 meatloaf recipes, 1 from the brochure which is extremely similar to hubby’s favorite one that I have made for years and years and a sour cream recipe from the book that I decided to try. In the end the recipe I made was a combination of both recipes and hubby all but licked his plate. He kept telling me to find out where to get more of this sauce. He even put it on his mashed potatoes and thought that was just scrumptious. Normally he would use ketchup on his meatloaf, but tonight he used Country Bob’s All Purpose Sauce. He decided Country Bob’s All Purpose Sauce is our new ketchup.

I will be trying a few more recipes this week and will do a follow up for you. Head on over to tHe KrAzY KiTcHeN to enter the giveaway.


The true test came when I made dessert with the sauce. It was the most unusual group of ingredients I had ever mixed together. I have to admit I had my doubts that we were going to like this recipe, but I also thought it would be a good test of the versatility of an all purpose sauce.
All I can say is that I was sooooooooooooooooo pleasantly surprised by the flavor. Hubby can’t say anything, he’s too busy licking the bowl. You have to try Country Bob’s All Purpose Sauce and start with this fudge recipe.
Justify Full

One of the greatest things about this recipe besides the awesome flavor is the consistency. How many times have you made fudge and weren’t sure it would set up okay or it turned out dry? That will never happen with this recipe. This recipe is truly foolproof.

COUNTRY BOB’S INCREDIBLE FUDGE
12 ounces Velveeta cheese*
2 sticks butter
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
2 tablespoons Country Bob’s All Purpose Sauce
2 pounds powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans (optional)**

  • In a microwave safe bowl combine the Velveeta, butter, Country Bob’s All Purpose Sauce and chocolate. Microwave on high 2-4 minutes, stirring every minute until mixture is smooth and well blended.
  • Pour the powdered sugar into a large mixing bowl. Add the chocolate mixture gradaully while beating with an electric mixture until well blended.
  • Beat in the vanilla.
  • Stir in the nuts.
  • Pour into a greased 9×13 pan.
  • Cover and chill until firm.
  • Store in the refrigerator.

*When I made a second batch of this recipe. it worked better cubed before microwaving
**I exchanged this for Heath Bar bits and loved it

COUNTRY BOB’S SOUR CREAM MEATLOAF ala TAMY
3 pounds ground beef
1 bunch green onions, sliced thin
1/2 cup + Country Bob’s All Purpose Sauce
1 sleeve crushed saltines
3/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon white pepper

  • Mix all together.
  • Pour additional sauce over the top.
  • Bake 1 1/2 hours.
  • Pour off any excess moisture.
  • Let stand 5-10 minutes.
  • Serve.

Simple Supper Saturday

I always shoot for very simple suppers on week nights and had to make my menu plan super easy this week since I’ve been working ten hour days. On Sunday I made an large (bulk) eye round roast beef with a minced garlic and herb rub. I made all the yummy sides for Sunday – homemade country mashed potatoes, fresh green beans and dinner rolls. For the first leftover meal on Monday I sliced it very thin and served warm and piled high on “everything” bagels with chips and coleslaw. The second easy leftover night is the dinner I’m featuring here today …


This is a beef stew I made simply by cutting the rest of the leftover roast beef into bite sized chunks, plus 6 cubed potatoes, baby carrots, and a package of mushrooms cut into halves. I added the pan drippings from the roast (fat skimmed from the top), 4-5 cups of water, a packet of beef stew seasoning and thickened with a little cornstarch dissolved in cold water – simmered until the veggies were done (about 30-40 minutes) and then served in big shallow bowls over Pepperidge Farms puff pastry cups.

It was delicious, quick, easy, made a very pretty presentation, and it was a big hit with the whole family!

Coffee BBQ Chicken, Vegetable Yam Mash & Cherry Green Beans

Many of you know that we are sitting and waiting for our investment house to sell so we can move home. One of the things I DON’T want to do is move food cross country so I have been taking my recipe experiment nights and trying to use what we have on hand and use up ALL stock (packages and bottles that are space hogs and breakable especially). The result? I have actually developed some great new recipes that I don’t mind sharing and we will eat again and again. This week we have Coffee BBQ Chicken, Vegetable Yam Mash & Cherry Green Beans. I hope you enjoy them.

COFFEE BBQ CHICKEN
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or 3 pounds of chicken wings
1/2 cup STRONG coffee
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup minced green onion
2 teaspoons minced garlic, jar
1/8 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/8 cup apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon chili powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons brown sugar
Juice of 1 lime*
honey
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Juice of 1 orange*
1 7up
dash apple cider vinegar
dash Worcestershire sauce
salt & pepper

  • Pierce each piece of chicken a few times with a fork.
  • Whisk together the 7up, Juice of 1 orange, dash of apple cider vinegar and dash of Worcestershire sauce.
  • In an airtight container place chicken pieces side by side. Salt and pepper generously.
  • Pour the 7up mixture over top and marinade for several hours or overnight.
  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  • In a small saucepan whisk together the first 11 ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes to meld flavors.
  • Add honey to thicken.
  • In a shallow baking dish place chicken pieces side by side. Pour BBQ sauce over top to cover and bake for 1 hour or until tender.

*I saved the pulp from each to simmer in the BBQ sauce.

VEGETABLE YAM MASH
1 large yam*, peeled and quartered
1 large russet potato*, peeled and quartered
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 package KNORR vegetable recipe mix

  • Melt the butter and blend with the sour cream.
  • Add in the vegetable mix and blend well. Set aside while you prepare the yam and potato. This can also be done the day before and refrigerated until needed.
  • In boiling, salted water cook yam and potato until tender.
  • Add yam and potato to the sour cream mix and mash together until well blended.

*any combination of the two would work well

CHERRY GREEN BEANS
1 cup green beans, trimmed and cut into bite sized pieces
1 large bunch green onions, sliced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cherries
1 lime, juiced
2 teaspoons minced garlic, jar
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar

  • Melt butter. Saute’ green beans until tender.
  • Salt and pepper to taste.
  • Add garlic and onions and cook until translucent.
  • Whisk together the soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, lime juice and sugar until sugar is dissolved.
  • Pour over the bean mixture and simmer 2-3 minutes.
  • Add cherries and heat through.

Enjoy! See you next Sunday for another Simply Delicious Sunday. Don’t forget to visit the other participants, and to comment on their blogs.