Cheddar Chicken

Credit: Lori Frost {adapted from a recipe by Jane Walsh}

Ingredients:

• 20 buttery crackers {ie Club}, crushed to make about 3/4 cup
• 1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/4 t pepper
  
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 4 T butter, melted

Direction:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, combine the crackers, cheese, garlic, salt, and pepper.
2. Dip chicken breasts in the melted butter, then in the cracker mixture. Coat well. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet.
3. Top with all the remaining cracker mixture and drizzle with the remaining butter. Place in the oven for 25-30 minutes, until the chicken is golden and cooked through.

I served this with wild rice and corn. It was a hit! I loved how easy it was and how flavorful and juicy the chicken turned out.

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Credit: Lori Frost

Ingredients:

• 3 cans of cooked chicken breasts {like you find tuna in, except bigger!}
• 2 c seedless grapes, sliced
• 1 c mayonnaise
• 1 t salt
• 4 T sugar
• 1 1/2 t curry powder
• 1 c roasted almonds, sliced {or cashews... nuts are optional}
• Bread or croissants
  

Directions:

1. Open and drain the canned chicken. Empty into a large bowl and finely shred with a fork. This is an important step!
   
2. Add the sliced grapes to the chicken and mix around. Make sure this balance of chicken and grapes is enough for you... we like lots of grapes in ours.
3. In a smaller bowl, combine the mayonnaise, salt, sugar, and curry powder. Mix well and pour over the chicken mixture. Mix until well coated.
4. Place in the refrigerator for 30+ minutes to allow all of the flavors to blend together. {If you can't let it chill before eating, it'll still be delicious, so don't worry.}
5. When you're ready to eat, make each sandwich by taking the bread and generously spreading on chicken salad, then sprinkling the almond pieces on top, and placing the other piece of bread on top. :) Mmm...

*This is often served at wedding receptions, bridal and baby showers, etc. We love it ANYTIME, though.

Teriyaki Chicken and Rice

Credit: Chelsea Bennett

Ingredients:

• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1/2 c teriyaki sauce of coice
• 1/2 c gourmet sauce
• Rice, prepared

Directions:

1. Cook chicken in Pam sprayed frying pan. Once cooked, cut chicken into 1" slices.
2. Carefully wipe down your pan. Combine the sauces in the pan and add the sliced chicken.
3. Heat through and serve over individual rice bowls. Feel free to add steamed broccoli, mandarin oranges, and cashews to the mix!
   

Cream Cheese Chicken

Credit: Amber Wardell

Ingredients:

• 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, cubed
• 1 packet Food Seasons Italian dressing mix
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• Frozen broccoli {regular or steam-able}
• Rice
  

Directions:

1. Place chicken in crock pot.
   
2. Layer on top in this order: cubed cream cheese, 1/2 Italian dressing packet, cream of chicken soup, 1/2 Italian dressing packet.
3. Cover and cook 3-4 hours on low heat, mixing sauce about 2 hours into it {you'll be fine if you can't mix it around 2 hours into it... just go ahead and leave it cooking}. Before serving, divide chicken into smaller pieces and add broccoli.
4. Prepare rice and eat!!

Note: If you add broccoli, you can use the frozen kind by putting it in an hour before you're ready to eat. If you get the steam-able broccoli, just follow the directions on the package and mix in the steamed broccoli before serving.

Fancy Fettuccine Alfredo (fancier than my other recipe...)

Credit: Kevinandamanda.com
(adapted slightly from their variation)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb cavatappi noodles
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 scant cup chicken broth
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup half and half
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus a tad more (usually less than 1 1/4 cups total)
• 2-3 cloves minced garlic
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper (just eyeball the pepper)
• 8 basil leaves, chiffonaded
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:

1. Add 1 tbsp of salt to a large pot of water and bring to boil. Boil noodles according to package.
2. Then, in a medium saucepan, heat chicken broth over medium high heat, bringing to a boil. Reduce heat to medium.
3. Stir in heavy cream, cornstarch, and garlic. Bring to a soft boil and stir for one minute. Reduce heat to low.
4. Add Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Let simmer for about 10 mins to melt cheese, let thicken, and incorporate flavors.
5. Just before serving, chop fresh herbs and stir into Alfredo sauce. Serve sauce over pasta and add chicken if desired! {We usually grill chicken for one meal and then use the extra grilled chicken for this meal... so good!}

Note: This meal is great for entertaining. It makes A LOT. We love serving it with chicken and fresh chopped tomatoes on top and then serving up some toasted, buttered artisan bread (rosemary or garlic bread are my faves).

Chicken Tacos

Credit: Amber Wardell

Ingredients:

• 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 2 cups salsa of choice
• Toppings {cheese, sour cream, etc.}
  

Directions:

1. Place chicken in crock pot.
2. Mix salsa and taco seasoning together and pour over chicken to cover.
3. Replace lid on crock pot and cook on low 4 hours. Check to see if you need to add any water during cooking.
4. Shred chicken and serve with flour tortillas {I prefer to buy the uncooked tortillas from Sam's or Costco and probably will for the rest of my life!} and any other toppings you'd like... cheese, sour cream, guacamole, lettuce, tomatoes, cilantro, etc.
   

BBQ Chicken

Credit: Lori Frost {modified from the Brandel Family}

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts {frozen or fresh-- either one will work!}
  
• 1 cup BBQ sauce of choice
• 1/2 can of jellied cranberry sauce

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken in a 9x13 pan. You can adjust the amount of chicken that you need as long as it will all fit nicely in the pan!
2. Mix together BBQ sauce and cranberry sauce until it's a fairly smooth consistency. {I use a small hand mixer/puree machine, but you could use a fork if you need to!}
   
3. Pour BBQ sauce mixture over the chicken to cover. If there's not enough, mix up a little more sauce. Luckily this recipe will be delicious no matter what. It's not science at all!
4. Bake uncovered for 1 hour. Voila!

**I also bake some potatoes at the same time. It makes a perfect meal! Just wash, scrub, poke, and wrap up some small- to medium-sized yellow potatoes in foil. Put them on the same rack as your 9x13 pan and bake for 60-75 minutes. You'll want to pop these in before you start on the chicken for it all to be done around the same time.

Prize Winning Banana Bread

Credit: Krumkake {at GroupRecipes.com}

Ingredients:

½ cup butter, softened
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 cup white sugar
½ cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1½ cups mashed ripe bananas (3 medium well-ripened bananas)
½ cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
additional brown sugar for top of batter

Directions:

Mix together butter, oil, sugars, and eggs. Don't worry about overmixing these ingredients-- get them all well blended!

Add mashed bananas, sour cream, and vanilla, stirring together well.
In separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir into batter, being careful not to overmix.

Pour into 1 greased large loaf pan until it is 2/3 full. If you run into the same situation I did, there will be extra batter! Find a smaller loaf pan to make a mini-loaf or opt to use 3 small loaf pans instead of 1 large loaf pan (3 of the 7 3/8 x 3 5/8 inch loaf pans should work). Get creative with your extra batter-- you could easily make muffins for those who aren't as patient and want to decrease their wait time for the main loaf of banana bread. :)

No matter what you choose to do, make sure to sprinkle additional brown sugar generously over the top of the batter, using your hand to gently pat some of it into the batter. Mmm... I hope your mouth is starting to water! It's so delicious.

Bake at 325 degrees: large loaf pan for about 1 hour, smaller loaves for about 45 minutes. Check the loaves early on with a toothpick and to make sure the top isn't getting too brown. If it's brown enough and you still have cook time remaining, cover it with foil {works like a charm...}.

Allow bread to cool in pans for 5-10 minutes, then run a sharp knife around the edges, tap the pan on the counter several times to release the bread from the bottom of the pan, and release loaf onto a wire rack to cool completely.