Chicken breast and dinner?

Good question. I find myself asking that same question often :) Tonight, is chicken breast night again but I came up with a good idea. Tequila lime chicken. I'll grill the breasts and then slice up and pour a tequila lime sauce over the chicken and maybe some angel hair pasta. I'll probably cut up a few roma tomatoes and scallions and top with some fried corn tortillas. The sauce will consist of lime juice, melted butter, a bit of heavy cream, lots of fresh cilantro, 1/2 cup gold tequila, salt, pepper and maybe a little garlic. I'm just winging it really but it sounds good.

Over the weekend I made some buffalo chicken wraps. I sliced the breasts longways and dipped them in beaten egg and dredged in a mix of pulverized triscuits and panko bread crumbs. Fry in saute pan until done and toss in a buffalo sauce. I just used crystal hot sauce, butter and italian seasoning in a sauce pan. Toss in sauce and serve in tortilla wraps w/ lettuce , chopped tomato and a little ranch dressing (or blue cheese if you like) You could also add a little red onion and celery if you wish. :)

Here's a chicken breast recipe that we make all the time at home - it's quick and has a lot of flavor. I'm not sure if you're cooking just for yourself or for others as well, but this recipe can be cut in half really easily if need be:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, about 1-1/4 pounds

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1 tablespoon butter

3 tablespoons finely chopped shallots

2 sprigs fresh thyme or ¼ teaspoon dry

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

¼ cup dry white wine

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

½ cup fresh or canned chicken broth

2 teaspoons tomato paste

¼ cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard

2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

1. Sprinkle the chicken breasts with salt and pepper.

2. Melt the butter in a heavy nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add the breasts, skin side down. Cook until lightly browned, about 6 minutes. Turn the pieces and cook about 6 minutes more.

3. Remove the chicken pieces to a warm platter. Add the shallots and thyme to the skillet and cook briefly, stirring, until the shallot is wilted. Add the vinegar, wine and Worcestershire sauce and bring to a boil. Add the chicken broth and return to a boil. Stir in the tomato paste. Cook until reduced by half and add the cream. Bring to a full rolling boil and stir in the mustard. There should be about ¾ cup.

4. Spoon the sauce over the chicken pieces and garnish with parsley.

Makes 4 servings

I frequently use boneless skinless chicken to make foil pack meals. They are easy, delicious, and cleanup is a breeze. Some can even be made ahead and frozen for a quick dinner later in the week. My favorite one uses peas and mushrooms with stovetop stuffing, but there are several different varieties all which can be tweaked to your personal taste. I am sending the link to the recipies from the kraft site. They have the best ones I have tried so far. Good luck.

Chicken Breasts

INGREDIENTS

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

ground black pepper to taste

4 slices Swiss cheese

1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup

1/4 cup milk

1 cup dry bread crumbs

3 tablespoons butter, melted

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Place chicken breasts in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Season with ground black pepper to taste. Top each breast with a slice of cheese.

Mix together the soup and milk and pour mixture over chicken. Sprinkle bread crumbs on top and drizzle with melted butter/margarine. Bake covered in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 20 minutes or until golden brown.

If you like reubens, this is a good one.

Brown your chicken breast in a saute pan with some butter or oil, then transfer to a casserole dish.

Cover with a bag of fresh sauerkraut.

Spread that with with thousand island dressing on top.

Then top with swiss cheese.

Bake at 350 for about 20-30 min until everything is heated through and cheese is melted.

Slice breasts lengthwise to get 1/2 - 3/4 inch slices (each half breast will yield 2-3 slices). This enables quicker cooking

Marinate in lime juice , garlic and chili powder

Grill on high heat for about 4 minutes per side.

cut chicken breasts into small bite sized pieces

cook in skillet with sliced onion and sliced mushrooms

add one can cream of mushroom soup and a little milk

heat till bubbly

serve over rice or egg noodles

make a nice salad or fresh veggies on the side with bread and butter!

ranch chicken sandwiches-

cook chicken breasts, top with a couple slices of cooked bacon and a slice of provolone cheese till melted, slather on a bunch of ranch dressing on a good kaiser roll- YUM!

Spinach stuffed chicken breasts-

take chicken breasts and pound into 1/2 inch thickness

get raw spinach leaves (a few good sized hand fulls) and put in bowl and microwave about one minute till leaves are wilted

mix spinach, a couple spoon fulls of sour cream, minced garlic, and shredded pepper jack cheese together and spread onto chicken breasts- roll up and wrap with a slice of bacon and secure with toothpicks

bake in oven at 375 for 35 min- then turn on the broiler and place under broiler for a few minutes so bacon can get crispy- you will want to flip it on the bottom side also to get it crispier

Try marinating it in different salad dressing like balsamic vinagrette or spicy italian vinagrette. One of my favorites is sun-dried tomato vinagrette. I actually put the chicken breasts in a bread pan (glass) then pour about half the bottle of dressing on top, cover with tinfoil and bake about 45 min. at 350 degrees. Pour off the excess liquid and serve. It gets so tender and juicy. You could coat it in barbeque sauce first or if you have the brand Shake and Bake (or something like it) available in your area. It's preseasoned bread crumbs that you put in the plastic bag it comes with...Shake the chicken in it then bake it. Voila! lol

Take a packet of the Good Season's Italian dressing mix and mix with a cup of grated Parmesan cheese. Dredge chicken and bake like you normally would.

Brown chicken in skillet with olive oil. Remove from heat, add a can of cream of mushroom soup. Return to low to medium heat, cover, turn chicken often and baste with soup. Adds great flavor to chicken, and makes it's own gravy. Be sure to have mashed potatos and biscuits!