Chicken, Rice and Tomato Mini-Casserole

I made this casserole essentially because I had nothing else in the house but wanted something simple, easy, and warm. I also happened to have these nifty 1-cup casserole dishes I bought with a Christmas-gifted gift certificate to Archambault. This recipe makes 2 casseroles: one for now and one for another day. If you cook it after keeping it in the fridge, add about another 10 minutes to the lid-on cooking time.

Spicy Chicken and Orange-Ginger Stir-Fry

Okay, I admit it: I purchased a pre-made bottle of sauce rather han making my own. It was probably more expensive and less healthy. But it enticed me! It wasn't my fault!! I had a coupon!!! [insert more excuses here]!!!! I also had a recipe that called for it in a conveniently commercial calendar full of recipes calling for specific products. And, might I add, full of handy cupons for things I would normally be too cheap to buy. As it turned out, the meal was tasty and easy. Sometimes, it's okay to let the cupons win out. This makes 2 modest servings.

Buffalo Chicken Strips with Blue Cheese Salad

Please excuse the terrible quality of the pictures. I don't know what happened. Well, technically, I do know: I was in a hurry because my show was going to be on t.v. But then the show was cancelled because of some music awards thing. Oh boy was I angry!!

Anyway, everyone absolutely loved this. Except me. I'm not a fan of blue cheese, even though I decided to try it, so the salad wasn't really mt thing. Also, I need to get a hot sauce that isn't Tabasco. But the chicken was crispy and perfect, so I'll try this again.

Chicken and Vegetable Saute with Parmesan Rice

This recipe turned out really well, and I was also really excited about getting to use my new plate. Technically it's a small serving platter, but who wants to quibble about semantics? The point is the chicken and vegetables were simple but delicious, and the rice was creamy with just the right amount of cheese.

Chicken Caruso

Ah , comfort food! What makes a food comforting, you ask? Well, I think it varies from one person to another, but there are probably some common elements.

Cheese is something that comforts people, I think, especially milder cheeses. They aren't shocking. They're smooth-tasting. Cheese has protein so it makes you feel sated and a little indulgent. When cheese is warm it feels creamy. I think this feeling of smoothness is something common to many forms of comfort.

For many people, carbohydrates are comforting. They're metabolized more easily into sugars than plant foods, and they make you feel satisfied. Pasta is a common comfort food.

Bacon, of course, is deliciously high in fat. It's exactly what our primitive bodies crave, and a ready source of energy.

Many people's comfort foods are things that they ate as children. Maybe it was a special treat; maybe it was a Friday-night staple. But whatever it was, it's all tangled up with memories of being happy, and safe, and satisfied. The food taps into, or fills, a certain emotional need.

I wonder if there's ever been a study done on what qualities foods possess that make people feel comforted?

Anyway, we used to have this all the time at my house, and it falls into my category of comfort foods. It's also pretty easy to make. Go ahead and try it: you won't have regrets! (well, you might, but they won't be about the food)

Dr Pepper Chicken and Green Bean Stir-Fry with Fried Rice

This was pretty good, though I have to admit the sauce is a tiny bit surprising. You have to get used to it...even though it's good, there's something the tiniest bit odd about it. I made this stir-fry because I had leftover Dr Pepper glaze and didn't know what to do with it. A good cooking rule-of-thumb is 'when in doubt, stir fry!'

Spinach Chicken Roll

I was disappointed with this chicken. It seems like there was too much spinach filling, so I had trouble rolling it up. The cheese mostly leaked out and burned in the pan. That was sad. Anyway, this recipe clearly needs work.

Chili-Orange Slow Cooker Chicken

This chicken was so good! And it goes without saying that cooking it in the slow cooker made the house smell amazing. I completely recommend trying this, especially as the weather starts to get colder. It was my first time using a slow cooker (I got this one on sale at Wallmart) and I count it a good experience.

Spicy Coleslaw with Chicken and Cherry Tomatoes

I am a firm believer that coleslaw can be a meal unto itself, and not only a side-dish from St. Hubert Barbecue (though if you ever have occasion to pick up for me, I prefer traditional to creamy). Anyway, this one turned out nice, though it could have been spicier. Either way, it was lovely. If you can't find the reduced calorie coleslaw dressing, you can use regular. However, the difference is about 40 calories per tablespoon, so you might want to look for the light one.

Whole Wheat Pasta and Chicken with Garlic and Olive Oil

This is a simple, warm dish for a chilly Fall afternoon. The chicken was a tiny bit oily (because I heated it in the oil): I kind of like it that way, but if you don't, just add it to the pasta after you've mixed the pasta and sauce. If you do it that way, reduce the amount of oil by half a tablespoon and heat up the chicken somehow before putting it in.

Chicken and Vegetable Skewers

This was pretty good, but I was the tiniest bit disappointed in the basting mixture: the mushrooms picked up the flavor really well, but the peppers and chicken hardly tasted of it at all. Luckily, I had a super-powerful dipping sauce to go with it!

Pasta with Garlic Spinach, Chicken and Parmesan

After having made the garlicky Swiss chard a while ago, I wanted to try something similar with spinach. But I also wanted to have pasta and use up some leftover chicken, and this is what I came up with! It was delicious.

Sweet Lemon Chicken with Cheesy Noodles and Cherry Tomatoes

This chicken was pretty good: mild-tasting, not too sweet. It probably would be better over rice, though. If you make the whole chicken breast, you'll have leftovers you can use for something else.

Baked Deli Chicken Cups with Mushrooms and Cheese

These were really easy to make, although messy to eat and a little drippy. I'm going to experiment with ways to make that less the case. Either way, they were yummy!

Mozzarella and Marmalade Stuffed Chicken with Shallots and Balsamic Vinegar Reduction

This chicken turned out really, really well. It was a little sweet and a little cheesy and very chicken-y. Yum! The balsamic vinegar wasn't too strong but a little tangy, and the shallots were great. I'm definitely making this again soon!

Leftover-Chicken Parmesan

Have you ever had half a chicken breast left over after making chicken salad, and realized you'd rather chew off your own hand than have chicken salad yet again? Well, the hand-chewing thing may be a bit extreme, but everyone has had enough of chicken salad at some point. Anyway, make this instead! Any excuse to combine Parmesan cheese with tomato sauce is a good one.

Chopped Salad with Deli Chicken and Avocado

Words cannot describe how much I love avocado. I...I won't even try. Anyway, this salad was great! It combined the aforementioned avocado with a bunch of vegetable, a nice light dressing, and deli meat, which meant I didn't have to cook a things or even turn on the oven! A great summer meal.

Chicken Satay with Peanut Dipping Sauce

OMG, this was so good! If I'd known peanut sauce was this amazing I'd have tried this long ago! So good! I mean, it was good without the sauce too, but wow!

This post is also going to give you a little bit of extra instructions in addition to the usual 'mix this with that' routine. I'm going to give you some tips on how to keep your cooking area from becoming contaminated by peanuts. You see, I live with a brother who has a deadly peanut allergy, but there are some easy ways to keep safe when using peanut and peanut products so I'm going to include them here!

Chicken and Soba Noodle Stir Fry

For Asian food cuisine purists, what I did here is probably a major faux pas: mixing a Chinese-style stir-fry sauce with Japanese noodles. But whatever; it turned out good. You can find soba noodles in the Asian section of your supermarket. If you can only find them pre-packaged with flavoring, do what I did and throw out the packets.

Chicken and Baby Bok Choy Stir-Fry

I love stir-fry! It's so easy and delicious...the best of everything, really. This one turned out pretty well: fresh-tasting, only a little salty. I'd do this again for sure!