Hunt's Simple Meals For Busy Days- Festive Skillet Chicken

This recipe is from Hunt's Simple Meals For Busy Days. This is a great little cookbook with 65 recipes that you would actually make, no unusual ingredients, just foods you are likely to have on hand. Of course they all call for Hunt's tomato products.

Festive Skillet Chicken

2-1/2 to 3 pounds meaty chicken pieces
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
2 tablespoon oil
1 14-1/2 oz. can Hunt's Choice-Cut Diced Tomatoes
1 4 oz. can diced green chili peppers, drained
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup sliced ripe olives
2 tablespoons snipped fresh cilantro
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
2 to 3 cups hot cooked rice
Rinse chicken; pat dry with paper towels. Combine flour, the 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, and the chili powder in a paper or plastic bag. Shake chicken, a few pieces at a time, in flour mixture until well coated. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook chicken in the hot oil about 10 minutes or until chicken is lightly browned, turning to brown evenly. Drain off fat.
Meanwhile, combine undrained tomatoes, chili peppers, green pepper, onion, olives cilantro, and the 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder in a small mixing bowl, mix well. Pour tomato mixture over chicken in skillet. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, about 40 minutes or until chicken is tender and no longer pink. Serve over hot cooked rice. Serves 6 to 8.

Pillsbury's Picnics & Potlucks- Spring Chicken Tortellini Casserole

This recipe is from the Pillsbury booklet Picnics & Potlucks 2003. It calls for prepackaged cooked chicken but you could quickly and easily saute your own while waiting for the water to boil for the tortellini. Fresh asparagus could also easily be used. I think my parents would like this and I'll make it for them next week.

Spring Chicken Tortellini Casserole
1 (19-oz.) package frozen cheese filled tortellini
1 (9 oz.) package Green Giant Frozen Asparagus Cuts
1 tablespoons margarine or butter
1/4 cup Italian style bread crumbs
1 (9 oz.) package frozen diced cooked chicken breast, heated as directed on package
1 ( 16 oz.) jar Alfredo pasta sauce (reduced-fat OK)
2 tablespoons shredded fresh Parmesan cheese
Bring 4 quarts water to a boil in Dutch oven. Add tortellini; return to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Add asparagus; simmer 3 minutes or until tortellini are tender. Drain.
Meanwhile, melt margarine in small nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add bread crumbs; stir to coat. Cook 1 to 2 minutes or until golden brown, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
Place cooked tortellini and asparagus in 2-quart serving bowl or casserole. Gently stir in chicken and Alfredo sauce. Top with bread crumbs; sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese. Serve immediately. Serves 6

Pillbury's Great Fast Meals- Spinach Chicken Bonnets

This chicken recipe sounds to me like it would be very good. It is from a Pillsbury booklet Great Fast Meals. Each main dish has a menu selection. This chicken recipe has a rhubarb dessert so I will post that too.
There are several choices for the chicken given: 2 (2 1/2 oz.) packages thin chicken slices, four slices of leftover chicken or four flattened and sauteed chicken breasts.

Spinach Chicken Bonnets

1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons oil
10 oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed to drain
1/3 cup ricotta cheese
2 eggs
1/8 teaspoon pepper
4 slices of chicken
1 (4x4) slices mozzarella cheese
Heat oven to 375 degrees. In medium skillet, saute onion in oil; remove from heat. Stir in spinach, ricotta cheese, eggs and pepper. Divide chicken slices into 4 equal servings; place in ungreased 8 or 9-inch square pan. Top each serving with 1/4 of spinach mixture. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until set. Top each bonnet with 1 slice mozzarella cheese. Bake for an additional minute or until cheese is melted. 4 servings.

Cherry-Rhubarb Crisp
1 cup diced fresh or frozen rhubarb
21-oz. can cherry fruit pie filling
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/3 cup butter
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Arrange rhubarb in 8-inch square pan; top with pie filling. In medium bowl, combine all remaining ingredients until crumbly; sprinkle over filling. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 to 35 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. 6 servings.

Favorite Recipes of Home Economic Teachers- New Holiday Cookbook

This recipe is from the Valentine's section of New Holiday Cookbook, Favorite Recipes of Home Economics Teachers. There a lots and lots of home economist recipe books and I think the recipes tend to be good because like a community cookbook the contributor is giving their name with the recipe. It makes sense that they would only choose a recipe they knew was good.

Rolled Chicken Breasts

6 chicken breasts, boned and skinned
Salt to taste
1 6-oz. package Swiss cheese
6 thin slices ham
Flour
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon instant chicken bouillon
1 3-oz. can sliced mushrooms
1/3 cup sauterne
Toasted almonds
Place chicken breasts, boned side up, on cutting board. Pound chicken lightly with wooden mallet to make 1/4-inch thick cutlets. Sprinkle with salt. Place cheese slice and ham slice on each piece of chicken; tuck in sides and roll up, pressing to seal well. Coat with 1/4 cup flour. Heat butter in skillet; brown chicken in butter. Remove to 11x7x1 1.2 -inch baking pan. Combine 1/2 cup water, bouillon, mushrooms and sauterne in same skillet; heat, stirring to remove crusty bits from skillet. Pour over chicken; cover. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes or until tender; transfer to warm serving platter. Blend 2 tablespoons flour with 1/2 cup water; stir into liquid in baking pan. Cook stirring, until thickened. Pour small amount over chicken; garnish with almonds. Pour remaining gravy into sauce boat; serve with chicken Yield 6 servings. Viki Ann Sommers Roosevelt Jr HS, Coffeyville, Kansas.

This is an easy punch recipe from the same chapter:

Valentine Fruit Punch

1 package cherry Kool-aid
1 package strawberry Kool-aid
2 cups sugar
3 quarts water
1 6-oz. can frozen orange juice concentrate
1 6-oz can frozen lemonade concentrate
1 quart ginger ale
Mix Kool-aid, sugar and water. Add orange juice and lemonade; mix until thawed. Add ginger ale just before serving. Yield: 25 servings of 3/4 cup. Mrs Dorothy Smith Virginia HS, Virginia, Illinois.

Louisiana Creole & Cajun- Chicken Rochambeau

Yesterday I bought a little cookbooklet Louisiana Creole & Cajun by Margaret Maring. It is an American Cooking Guild book. Today is Mardi Gras so it is appropriate to post a recipe from it. This recipe doesn't really seem Creole or Cajun, but I like the name. The scan above is from the booklet.
I visited New Orleans about twenty years ago and have always wanted to go back. It almost seemed like a foreign country compared to where I live. Everything was so different and the seafood was so reasonable. Even though I live on the coast seafood as always been expensive.

Chicken Rochambeau

2 tablespoons butter
1 cup finely chopped green onions with tops
1-2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoons flour
1 cups chicken stock, heated
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
1/2 cup dry red wine, Burgundy or Claret
1 tablespoon Worcestershire
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper or to taste
Salt to taste
4 chicken breast, boned
1 tablespoons flour seasoned with salt and pepper
6 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons oil
4 slices Canadian bacon
4 Holland rusks or toasted English muffin
1 recipe standard Bearnaise Sauce (may be prepared ahead)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large heavy saucepan over medium heat, melt the 2 tablespoons butter until it foams. Add the green onions and the garlic and cook until they are soft but not brown. Add the flour and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat and whisk in the hot chicken stock and return to heat and cook until mixture begins to thicken. Add the mushrooms and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the wine, Worcestershire, cayenne and salt. Cook for 2-3 more minutes and taste for seasoning.
Wash and dry the chicken breasts; coat with the seasoned flour. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter and oil. Add floured chicken and saute until golden brown on all sides. Place in a shallow oven-proof dish and bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes until done.
To assemble and serve: Broil the Canadian bacon until hot. Arrange Holland rusks on serving plates. Warm the mushroom sauce. Place a slice of Canadian bacon on each Holland rusk, cover with the mushroom sauce. Place chicken breasts over the sauce and spoon 2-3 tablespoon Bearnaise sauce over all. Pass extra Bearnaise sauce at the table. 4 servings

365 Favorite Brand Name Casseroles & One-Dish Meals

365 Favorite Brand Name Casseroles & One-Dish Meals is a nice large hardcover with yummy photos. It has lots of chicken recipes and several featuring RICE-A-RONI. It seems like I always have several boxes of it in my cupboard. Just the other day I tried the Spanish Brown Rice version and it was good. It will take me a while to get use to the texture of brown rice but I know it is better for you so I am going to try to eat it more often. These recipes call for the white rice version, but one uses reduced salt.

Lemon-Garlic Chicken & Rice

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 teaspoon paprika
Salt and pepper (optional)
2 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 package (6.9 oz.) RICE-A-RONI Chicken flavor
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup chopped red or green bell pepper
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
Sprinkle chicken with paprika, salt and pepper. In large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add chicken and garlic; cook chicken 2 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove chicken from skillet; set aside, reserving drippings. Keep warm.
In same skillet, saute rice-vermicelli mix in reserved drippings over medium heat until golden brown. Stir in 2 1/4 cups water, lemon juice and seasoning packet contents. Top rice with chicken; bring to a boil over high heat. Cover; reduce heat. Simmer 10 minutes; Stir in red pepper and lemon peel. Cover; continue to simmer 10 minutes or until liquid is absorbed, rice is tender and chicken is done. Makes 4 servings.

Orange Ginger Chicken & Rice

1 package (6.9 oz.) RICE-A-RONI with 1/3 Less Salt Chicken Flavor
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup orange juice
3/4 pound skinless, boneless, chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
Dash crushed red pepper flakes
3 cups broccoli flowerets, or 1 1/2 cups short, thin carrot strips
In large skillet, saute rice-vermicelli mix and butter over medium heat, stirring frequently, until rice is golden. Stir in 1 1/2 cups water, orange juice, ginger,red pepper flakes and contents of seasoning packet; bring to a boil over high heat. Cover; reduce heat. Simmer 10 minutes. Stir in broccoli. Cover, continue to simmer 5 to 10 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender. Makes 4 servings
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Globe Mini Mag- Slimming Soups

These recipes are from a Globe Mini Mag- Slimming Soups. Those are the little 3x5 inch magazines you see at the checkout counter. This booklet has a lot of quick and easy homemade soups. Only a few start with a canned soup base.

Vegetable Cheese Soup

"Amazingly, this soup has only 1 gram of fat and 71 calories per serving."

1 package frozen mixed vegetables (thawed)
1 small onion, diced
1 tablespoons flour
1 cup water
1 cup skim milk
1 teaspoon chicken-flavored bouillon granules
1/4 cup shredded low-fat processed American cheese
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
Spices, to taste: salt, black pepper, Italian seasoning
In a saucepan, combine vegetables and onion. Combine flour, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper stirring well; add to vegetables and stir to coat. Combine water and milk; add bouillon granules, stirring until granules dissolve. Add to vegetable mixture, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly (5 minutes) or until mixture is thick and bubbly. Reduce heat to low, add cheese and mustard, stirring to blend. Serve immediately. Serves 6.

Red Rice Soup

This soup has only 2 grams fat.

4 cups vegetable stock
6 plum tomatoes, diced
1 cup jasmine or basmati rice
1 green pepper, diced
3 tablespoon sesame oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
In a 2-quart saucepan, combine 2 cups stock and diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil and add rice and green pepper. Stir to combine. Return to boil and reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. While rice is cooking, add sesame oil to a large stock pot. When hot, add onion, garlic, chili powder, cumin and coriander. Cook over medium heat until onions are transparent and spices are aromatic. Add remaining vegetable stock and cilantro. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer. Add cooked rice to stock mixture. Stir to combine and simmer gently for 5 minutes to combine flavors.

Oriental Cooking by Kikkoman- Chinese-Style Pot Roast Chicken

I found this recipe the other day and thought it would be ideal for a cold weather meal. It is fairly simple to make and sounds flavorful. It is from Oriental Cooking by Kikkoman one of the Favorite All Time Recipes series. These are the small spiral bound books sometimes found at the checkout counter.

Chinese-Style Pot Roast Chicken

3 pounds frying chicken pieces
1/4 cup Kikkoman Soy Sauce
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon dry sherry
1 clove garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, cut diagonally into 1/4-inch slices
2 green onions and tops, cut into 1-inch lenghts
3/4 cup water
1 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons Kikkoman Soy Sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
Rinse chicken pieces and pat dry with paper towel. Rub chicken thoroughly with 1/4 cup soy sauce; let stand 15 minutes. Heat oil in Dutch oven or large skillet over medium heat; add chicken and brown slowly in hot oil. Add sherry and garlic; cover and simmer 30 minutes, or until tender. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm. Add celery and green onions to pan; cook 1 to 2 minutes. Combine water, cornstarch, 2 tablespoons soy sauce and sugar; stir into pan and cook until thickened. Serve sauce and vegetables over chicken