Oven Fried Chicken

I know, I know -- I've been on a chicken roll lately. But this is some really good stuff, and easy to freeze -- lighter on the calories than regular fried chicken, too --

CRISPY COUNTRY CHICKEN

About 1 cup Miracle Whip salad dressing

1 zipper-top bag full of crushed cornflakes

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

chicken pieces, enough for your family

Add the parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to the cornflakes so everything is in the zipper-top bag.

Take your chicken pieces, and brush with Miracle Whip. Use your hands or a clean paintbrush.

Drop the "painted" piece of chicken into the bag of cornflake mixture and coat.

Place coated chicken pieces into a 13" x 9" baking dish, or on a cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown, about 45-60 minutes.

Jen's notes:

1. I usually use boneless chicken breast or breast tenders for this recipe, since I always have them on hand.

2. You can roll your pieces in a bowl of the cornflake mix if that's easier for you.

3. Mayonnaise also works for this recipe. It makes the chicken very juicy inside.

4. Feel free to add other seasonings to the cornflake mixture as you like --

rating: 4 stars. Everybody likes this unless we've had nothing but chicken all week.

Chicken Crescents

Barbie requests these specifically once in awhile, and if Rose doesn't get one, she's seriously upset. These are a favourite --

CHICKEN CRESCENTS

1 package cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons butter, softened

2 cups cooked chicken, shredded or cubed

1/4 teaspoon salt

fresh ground pepper to taste

2 tablespoons milk

1 tablespoon chopped onion or minced dried onion flakes

1 tablespoon pimento

1 package of refrigerator crescent rolls

Preheat the oven to 350.

Beat together the cream cheese, butter, chicken, salt, pepper, milk, onion, and pimento to form a pasty filling.

Unroll the crescent roll dough and divide into four squares. Pinch the perforations together. Place a fourth of the chicken filling into each square of dough. Pinch the corners together so that it encloses the chicken mixture.

Bake 20 minutes on an ungreased cookie sheet, or until dough is golden. Serves 4.

Jen's notes:

1. I always use at least two and sometimes three cans of dough for this recipe.

2. I usually use far more than two cups of chicken, too. This is a great recipe for whatever cooked chicken you have leftover from another recipe, no matter how it's flavoured.

3. You can omit the pimento if you don't have it around.

4. I generally add about a tablespoon of shredded cheddar cheese on top of the filling before pinching up the dough corners.

rating: five stars. A Wesner Family fav.

Calcutta Curry

When I was homeschooling everyone back in the mid-90's, we were part of a coop. We'd meet once a week and learn, chat, etc. One week there was a missionary coming to speak from India. So we were supposed to bring Indian food -- and I found out the night before! Fortunately I had this sitting in my freezer; when I made it I was totally unaware I was making "Indian" food -- but everyone loved it!

CALCUTTA CURRY

vegetable oil

1 lb. boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 medium red pepper, cut into strips (about 1 cup)

1 1/2 tsp. curry powder

1/4 tsp ground ginger, or use fresh grated ginger if you like

1/4 - 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper

1/8 tsp. garlic powder

1 can Campbell's Cream of Asparagus soup

2/3 cup milk

2 Tbsps. chopped fresh cilantro or parsley

hot cooked rice

1/4 cup flaked coconut

1/4 cup chopped peanuts or cashews

Over medium-high heat, stir-fry the chicken in the vegetable oil until golden.

Reduce heat to medium and remove the chicken from the skillet or wok. In the remaining oil, stir-fry the red bell pepper, curry powder, ginger, crushed red pepper, and garlic powder until the bell pepper is tender-crisp, about 2 minutes.

Stir in the soup, milk, and 1 Tbsp. cilantro (or parsley). Heat to boiling. Return chicken to the mixture, and reduce heat to low. Cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve over rice, and sprinkle with coconut and nuts.

Jen's Notes:

1. I always use more than 1 lb. of chicken, and the sauce is still enough.

2. You can substitute green pepper for the red and it still works.

3. You can also substitute fresh garlic and dried parsley, or just omit the cilantro/parsley all together. That will work fine too.

4. I always use cashews because I always have them on hand. But any nut you really like will work.

rating: 3 stars. Everyone likes it a lot.

Cranberry Chicken

There are many variations of this dish -- but this is my favourite:

CRANBERRY CHICKEN

1 chicken, cut up, or chicken breasts, or whatever chicken pieces you like that will fit in a 9x13

pan

1 package onion soup mix

1 small bottle Kraft Catalina salad dressing

1 can whole berry or jellied cranberry sauce

Place the chicken in the bottom of a 9x13" pan.

Mix the sauce ingredients together, and pour over the chicken.

Bake for at least 1 hour 15 minutes at 325 degrees.

Serve with hot, cooked rice.

Jen's Notes:

1. If you're in a hurry, you can nuke the chicken first before baking. But it's necessary to bake this slowly at a lower temperature, because there's so much sugar in the sauce and it will burn quickly if you try to bake it faster at a higher temperature.

2. This freezes well whether you bake it first or not. But when you thaw it, keep it at the 325 degree temp to bake -- again, so it won't burn. Or you can bake it first before freezing, then nuke it to thaw.

3. You can use a generic Catalina or Russian dressing, but the Kraft works the best.

rating: 4 stars. A sweet favourite.

Chicken Enchiladas

CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

1 can condensed Cream of Chicken or Cream of Celery soup
1/2 cup sour cream
2 Tbsps. butter or margarine
1/2 cup chopped onion, or equivalent of minced dried onion
1 tsp. chili powder
2 cups cooked chicken, shredded or diced into small pieces
1-4 oz. can chopped or diced green chilis or jalapenos
8 flour tortillas
1 cup cheese, cheddar or monterey jack or combination

Preheat your oven to 375. Spray a 9x13" pan with nonstick spray.

In a small bowl, stir together the soup and sour cream until smooth. Set aside.

Make your filling:
In a large saucepan or medium skillet over medium heat, melt the margarine or butter. Add in the onion and chili powder and cook until onion is tender, stirring often. Add in the chilis and combine. Add in the chicken, and stir to season. Add in 2 tablespoons (or two good dollops) of the soup and sour cream mixture to make a pasty, gooey filling. Remove from heat.

Take a 1/4 cup measure and fill each tortilla in the center. Roll up and place in 9x13 pan. Be more generous with your filling if necessary to use each tortilla.

When the 9x13" pan is full of stuffed tortillas, spread the remaining soup and sour cream mixture over the top of the enchiladas. Sprinkle the cheese over the soup mixture. Cover with foil, and bake about 15-20 minutes or until the cheese melts and everything is heated through

Serves about 4 with leftovers.

Jen's notes:

1. I always use more tortillas than just 8. Usually I have at least 12 in a pan. This is one of those recipes you can do by just using what you have, rather than paying a lot of attention to the amounts of the ingredients.
2. You can save some calories by just sprinkling less cheese over the top and using fat-free sour cream.
3. This works great with whatever chicken you might have leftover from another dish.

rating: 5 STARS! A FAV!