feta, sun-dried tomato, and herb stuffed chicken

this recipe came about from a base recipe and then adding things i found in my pantry. it turned out fantastic. again, i love feta. i usually top pasta with it, but i loved this recipe, which used it in chicken. it feels like authentic italian, and i dig it.

INGREDIENTS:
3-4 chicken breasts, split down the middle
tomato basil feta
4 tbsp melted butter
italian breadcrumbs

SIDENOTE:
i've mentioned this before on the blog, but if you don't have tomato basil feta, make your own. take regular feta, and add chopped up sun-dried tomatoes and dried basil. i actually prefer this method to the pre-flavored tomato and basil feta. you can even add a sprinkle of garlic salt. it gives it a great flavor.

DIRECTIONS:
1. preheat oven to 350.

2. lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.

3. spread 2 tablespoons of italian breadcrumbs in the bottom of the baking dish.

4. lay chicken breasts flat on a flat working surface, either a cutting board or a piece of wax paper. place a spoonful of feta mixture inside chicken breast. fold each breast in half.

 
5. arrange chicken in baking dish.

6. cover chicken with remaining breadcrumbs.

7. pour melted butter evenly over all the chicken.

8. bake 25-30 minutes or until juices run clear and chicken is no longer pink in the center.

end result:

beautiful presentation and great flavor. this is a great recipe to serve for company. it looks like a gourmet treat that you slaved over, but it's actually pretty simple. and by "pretty simple," i mean pretty and simple. :)

fin.

pesto chicken stuffed shells

earlier this year, my younger sister had a bit of a health scare and had to have a major surgery, which landed her in the hospital for about a week. luckily, she is doing great and is super healthy! (not to mention beautiful!) and the best part is that she's in no more pain! (YAY!) but while she was there, my parents got sick of eating hospital food... can't blame them for that... so i made these pesto chicken stuffed shells for dinner and took it to them. my family is comprised of some adventurous eaters and some supremely picky eaters. everyone that ate this loved it... i paired it with some steamed broccoli and dinner was done! check it out...

ingredients:
12-16 jumbo pasta shells
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan or Asiago for filling
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan or Asiago for topping
3 tablespoons prepared pesto (homemade or store bought)
1/2 cup to 3/4 cup alfredo sauce (the creamer you like your pastas, the more alfredo you should use)
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
2 cloves garlic, minced (or cheat, like i did, and use 2 tablespoons of already minced garlic)
a handful or two of italian seasoned breadcrumbs
salt and pepper to taste

p.s. i made my own pesto sauce from a seasoning packet, following directions on the back, and it turned out great. i love pesto, but i hadn't ever made it before... i usually buy it prepared, but i really prefer this method. give it a shot. and i had plenty of leftovers to use in pasta later. YUMMO!

i also boiled my own chicken and shredded it, so if you want to speed up the process, you can buy pre-cooked chicken, either shredded or cubed.

onto the recipe!

directions:
1. in a large pot over high heat, boil water and prepare pasta shells as directed on package until al dente. the pasta will finish cooking when the dish is baked.

2. drain the pasta shells and let cool.

3. in a large bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients (except the cheese for the topping). add alfredo sauce as desired until the filling is creamy.

4. fill the shells with the filling, and place each shell in a baking dish.

5. sprinkle the remaining cheese and breadcrumbs over the filled shells.

6. preheat oven to 350 degrees. bake shells uncovered for 30 minutes or until shells are bubbling hot and cheese melts.

you can make this recipe as a "make ahead meal" by preparing as directed but place the filled shells in a freezer proof oven dish. top with remaining 1/4 cup of cheese and breadcrumbs, cover, and freeze. when ready to prepare, defrost. then preheat the oven to 350 and bake shells uncovered for 35-40 minutes or until shells are bubbling hot and cheese melts.

typing this out made me hungry for these again. the compliments you will get for making these will blow your mind. especially for people who "don't like pesto". this recipe will change their mind!

fin.

another easy italian crockpot chicken recipe

for the crockpot divas out there, this recipe may already be a "go-to" or may even be one that you look at and go "uh, duh..." but for those of you still learning crockpot recipes (like myself), i'm going to share this.

i already blogged once before about italian crockpot chicken, but i think this recipe really gets it right. this has some minor tweaks from the old recipe, and the result was way better than before.

ingredients:
4-6 chicken breasts (i used 4 frozen breasts... i love when i don't have to thaw chicken!)
half a bottle of zesty italian dressing (i used a whole bottle, but half a bottle will do)
1 can cream of chicken soup
4 ounces of cream cheese
2 bouillon cubes and 3/4 cup of water (or 1 can of chicken broth... but i didn't have that, so i improvised with the bouillon cubes)
italian seasoning
thyme
basil leaves
salt and pepper (to taste)

i didn't measure the seasonings, but i probably put about a tablespoon each. you don't need a whole lot of salt and pepper because of the other seasonings, so just a bit of each will work.

directions:
1. put everything in the crockpot. once all in, give it a good (but easy) stir. you don't want to splash a bunch of liquid around!

2. set on low for 6-8 hours.

3. shred the chicken before serving. some of the cream cheese may not melt completely. if it doesn't, put the cream cheese and juice from the crockpot on the chicken and spread it after it has been shredded.

pairs great with pasta or rice! i already can't wait to make this again! i hope you enjoy it too :)

fin.

parmesan encrusted baked chicken tenders

this recipe is a saving grace for a quick and easy dinner on a weeknight. or anytime, really. with only four ingredients and minimal time, make this with some leftover or easy to make sides, and you've got dinner on the table in no time! not going to lie... this recipe has become a staple in casa de evatt recently! the hubs actually requests it quite often.

ingredients (there are only FOUR):

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (from 2 breasts) OR 8 chicken tenderloins (i used 4 breasts, making 8 halves, so the mayo mixture got used up quickly. if using more than 2 breasts, double the rest of the ingredients.)
italian seasoned dry bread crumbs

directions:
1. preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

2. if using chicken breasts, cut chicken breasts in halves. i fileted them. (they need to be thinner to soak up the mayonnaise mixture and to cook through without drying out.)

3. combine mayonnaise with parmesan cheese in medium bowl. (sorry this pic was after i had used most of it, because i forgot... i was a bad blogger!)

4. arrange chicken on a greased baking sheet.

5. coat each piece with mayonnaise mixture.

6. sprinkle (pretty heavily) with bread crumbs.

7. bake 20 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked.

my little sister came over for dinner when i made this, and she loved it so much that she asked my mom to make them again. my mom did, and she had a fantastic suggestion. if you want to cut down on calories, you could opt to use plain yogurt instead of mayo. she tried it, and she said they turned out great - very moist.

i paired this with slow cooker mac and cheese and zucchini, and it was scrumptious! (those recipes are coming soon...)

i don't know how this was as leftovers... it didn't make it that far! let me know what you pair this yummy, quick, and easy chicken dish with!

fin.

buffalo chicken dip

i had this at a friend's apartment when she hosted a party, and i was next to the dip bowl all night. this is a PERFECT game day dip or dip for a party or get-together. you can serve this with crackers or chips, but i wouldn't recommend any kind of thick crackers. something crispier definitely pairs better. chicken in a biscuit crackers come to mind. or tortilla chips.

i'm sorry if i'm typing pretty choppy. i'm devouring this right now.

i'm posting this today in honor of the SEC championship. i'm rooting for the georgia dawgs... but still showing some TENNESSEE PRIDE b/c this dip has an orange color. no matter what other team i root for, i always root for TENNESSEE first!

ok. enough of that. onto the recipe.

disclaimer. i am posting the "half version" of this recipe. double it if you are making it for a large group.

ingredients:
1 1/2-2 breasts of chicken or 3-4 chicken tenderloins, boiled then shredded (OR 1 (10 oz) can of chunk chicken, drained)
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup ranch dressing
red pepper sauce (i use Frank's Red Hot)
3/4 cup shredded mild Cheddar cheese

directions:
1. boil chicken until cooked through. take out of pot. let cool. hold chicken in place with one fork and shred with another. if you want to save time, you can use a can of chunk chicken, drained. since it cooks in with many other ingredients, you can't really tell a taste difference, but just use whatever you have on hand. i had chicken tenderloins, so that's what i used.

2. heat chicken and hot sauce in a skillet over medium heat, until heated through. the recipe calls for about a third cup of hot sauce. i find that the hot sauce is overwhelming with that much, so i just sprinkled the top of the chicken with hot sauce as desired and cooked on medium until the chicken had saturated the hot sauce.

3. stir in cream cheese and ranch dressing. cook, stirring until well blended and warm. 

4. mix in half of the shredded cheese. (i may have used a little more cheese than the recipe calls for, but that shouldn't really shock anyone...)

5. transfer the mixture to a slow cooker. (i found my little dipper to be quite appropriate, and this is the first time i got to use it! YAY!)

6. sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top, cover, and cook. if using a regular crockpot, put it on the low setting until hot and bubbly. 

 serve with chips, crackers, and/or celery sticks! 


HAPPY SEC CHAMPIONSHIP DAY! GO DAWGS!


fin.

slow cooker chicken and dumplins

my mom's chicken and dumplins is a family favorite. i ask for her to make either that or her homemade lasagna every year for my birthday. i blame her for my obsession with cooking... and for being a chubby child. but, back to the point, if she were to ever show up to a family reunion or holiday without chicken and dumplins, she wouldn't be allowed in. thankfully, she's never been bold enough to dare. i wouldn't want to see what would happen if she did. but i attempted this slow cooker version of mom's classic. admittedly, this is not even in the same ballpark of good as my mom's dumplins. and it will never be. it takes HOURS to make mom's chicken and dumplins. she mades her dumplins from scratch and has many special secrets to her dumplins recipe. BUT these are pretty good. if i had never had my mom's dumplins, i would say these were probably the best i've ever had. but i'm fortunate enough to have a super cook for a mom. after all, her maiden name is cookston. if she wasn't a good cook, it would be a disgrace to the family name.

and as a sidenote, they are dumplins. not dumplings. this is a southern dish, and we say it using southern words. i.e., DUMPLIN. don't correct me on that. because i'm right.

ingredients:
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 cans cream of chicken
1 can chicken broth
1 large chopped onion (i used 1 1/2, but my husband LOVES onion)
1 (16 1/2 oz can) homestyle biscuits
salt and pepper to taste (although i didn't use any)

directions:
1. mix chicken, soup, and onion in crockpot.

2. cook on HIGH for 4 1/2 hours. if you place your chicken in frozen, it may take some extra time. the test is when the chicken is fall apart, fork tender.

2. open up your can of biscuits. i prefer thinner dumplins, so i took each biscuit and flattened it out. if i had a rolling pin, i would have used it and added a little flour to the dough to keep it from sticking, but i didn't have a rolling pin... and i didn't want to be super messy, so i just took each biscuit and flattened it out using my hands.

 i had help...

3. tear each biscuit into pieces. if you flatten out the biscuit, you can usually get around 10-14 pieces per biscuit.

4. throw each piece into the pot. cook for about 1 hour on HIGH. stir often to keep dumplins from sticking.

once it's finished, you're going to have everybody coming to the kitchen, because they'll smell it from a room away. want proof of that? here ya go...

 and the finished product!

not to throw my husband under the bus, but he actually told me he thinks he likes my dumplins better than my mom's. i'm not that naive. he's just trying to rack up good hubs points. and if my mom reads this, he may be in the doghouse with her... but he's in the big house with me, so it all works out fine.

fin.