The Many Dishes of Chicken

I have been known to purchase a whole roaster chicken and cook it up for my family, even though my family is not big "dark meat" chicken fans. However, I have found that one whole roaster chicken is just enough for one meal and there is not enough meat for a lunch leftover for hubby. So I watch sales for the bone in chicken breasts and get family pack packages more often than getting a whole roaster chicken because I can get more meals out of the same amount of chicken breasts than I can the whole roaster chicken.


I love getting these and putting them in the crockpot with some seasonings and letting them simmer for the day and adding a couple of sides for a simple meal that doesn't take much thought or standing in the kitchen for hours preparing a meal.

Aside from roasting chicken breasts in the crockpot all day, I use chicken for a lot of my meals! Ever get in rut with fixing chicken and are looking for something different to do, here is eight different ways that I fix chicken for my family:

1. Creamy Chicken
Dice up cooked chicken and use 2 cans of cream of chicken soup, add about 1 tsp. of each— poultry seasoning, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Serve over rice or egg noodles. I love doing this meal with leftover chicken because it makes for a quick fix on a busy day!

2. BQ Shredded Chicken
Place boneless chicken in the crockpot with some bq sauce let simmer all day and about lunch time take a couple of forks and pull the chicken apart to shred it. Let simmer til dinner time serve on hamburg buns.

3. Lemon Pepper Chicken
Got a grill?? Grill Lemon Pepper Chicken moisten the lemon pepper in some olive oil and brush it on the chicken while grilling. I use other seasonings too (like cajun, minced garlic or onion) along with the olive oil. This is something to do other than just brushing on plain ol’ BQ sauce. Also you can do this in the oven as well, place chicken in a shallow baking dish(I use my jelly roll pan) and brush on the seasoning in olive oil, cover with foil and bake @ 375° for 30-45 minutes or til chicken is done. Usually the last 5-10 minutes I take the foil off the chicken so that the chicken can brown some (but it is not necessary to do so)

4. Homemade Chicken Nuggets
Get a box of Shake N Bake or Baking Miracle from the store and follow the directions on the box to make chicken nuggets. I use the Baking Miracle. Serve with fries and a veggie for a quick dinner!

5. Oven Fried Chicken
I got this idea from my friend, Lisa and this is really good!!! I have changed it up a bit and instead of using the poultry seasoning and paprika all the time. I have used cajun seasoning or lemon pepper seasoning and it turns out awesome!

3 lbs chicken (I usually use boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but bone-in will work too!)
1/2c. flour
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. poultry seasoning
margarine slices

Combine together. Dip chicken pieces in this. Place pads of margarine on top of each piece of chicken. (This is the secret to it tasting so delicious.) Place in sprayed pan. Bake 400 for 1 hour.

6. Chicken Club Sandwiches
Cook some boneless chicken and bacon and serve on a hamburg bun. My boys (13,10,8) all have a whole sandwich. Sometimes the chicken breasts are thick so I slice them the long ways to make thin slices and then one breast makes two sandwiches! Makes the chicken go further too!




7. Saucy Pork Chops or Chicken

The original recipe calls for pork chops but I use the same sauce for pork chops or chicken!

6 pork chops or chicken
1 can cream of chicken soup
3 Tbsp. ketchup
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. onion, minced
1/2 cup of milk

Brown pork chops or chicken; remove any fat. Salt and pepper to taste; place in a 2 qt. casserole dish. Mix remaining ingredients together and pour over pork chops or chicken. Cover and cook at 350 degrees 1 hour.

Sonshine's notes: Sauce is really good over baked or mashed potatoes or rice. I use boneless/skinless chicken breasts and slice the chicken into 4-5 pieces after browning. This helps to "stretch" the servings out of the main course. Also I double the sauce recipe and put it into a 9x13 or bigger casserole dish when I do chicken. **This recipe is crockpot friendly too!! I put it together at lunch time and place it in the crockpot on high for 2 hours and then on low til dinner time. OR you can start it in the morning after breakfast on low for 5-6 hours.

8. Chicken Veggie Stew/Casserole
1 can cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1/2 cup milk
1 can of chicken broth
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. poultry seasoning
2-3 cups diced cooked chicken
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
2 cups frozen cut green beans, thawed
2 cups sliced or diced cooked potatoes
1 can green peas

In a large bowl, combine soup, milk, broth, thyme, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper. Stir in chicken, corn, peas, beans and potatoes. Pour into a greased 1 1/2 qt. baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 15 minutes or until heated through. Yield: 6 servings

Sonshine's notes: This recipe can be doubled and even tripled! This recipe works well in the crockpot on low for 4-6 hours! When I put it in the crockpot I don't grease it. I even have decreased the liquid(didn't use the chicken broth) and used as the filling to potpie!

This post is linked at:

• Ultimate Recipe Swap at Life as Mom!
  
• Recipe Swap at The Grocery Cart Challenge!
• Friday Feasts at Mom Trends!
  
• Food on Fridays at Ann Kroeker!
• Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum!