7 Easy Chicken Recipes

Simplify dinner with these quick and easy chicken recipes that will get you in and out of the kitchen in no time. Click on the titles or photos below for recipes.

7.  Crispy Chicken Wraps

A delicious crispy chicken wrap that can be on the table in less than 15 minutes.

6. Baked Chicken & Roasted Red Pepper Taquitos

A healthier and tastier taquito!

5. Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Shells

4. Chicken Bacon Wild Rice Soup

3. Tennessee White Chicken Chili

Easy white chicken chili is a lighter alternative to ground beef and tomato chili. Ready to expand your chili repertoire?

2. Chicken Gyros

1. Chicken Enchilada Lasagna

Mom’s Baked Chicken & Spinach Pasta

Ingredients:

1 lb. pasta (I used whole wheat shells)

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 lbs.), diced

1/4 cup olive oil

8 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. salt

5 cups fresh spinach, chopped

1/4 cup white wine

2 cups mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°. Set a large pot of water to boil. Once it comes to a rolling boil, salt it and cook the pasta until just al dente. Drain.

While the pasta is cooking, set a large skillet over medium heat. Once it’s hot, heat the olive oil then add the chicken. Brown the chicken on all sides – about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and simmer with the chicken until it’s fragrant and begins to turn golden – about 3 minutes.

Add the salt. spinach and white wine to the skillet and cook for an additional 3 – 5 minutes, or until the spinach begins to wilt. Toss the contents of the skillet with the pasta and place in a casserole dish. Cover with cheese and bake for 25 minutes.

Makes about 8 servings.

Spinach & Chicken Tortilla Bake, Plus an Update

Weather: 60°F, cloudy & windy.

What I'm listening to: the leaves of trees rustling in the wind.

Bath Time! (Ellie)

First things first. Ellie fell asleep on the potty this morning. First time she's ever done that. It was the cutest thing and even though we were in a hurry, I took a minute to laugh and be in the moment.  It's important to be in the now.

I did some grocery shopping this morning. With list in hand & lots of coupons, I set out on my usual journey of acquiring all the ingredients for all the new recipes I'm trying this week. Stay tuned, they will be revealed throughout the week.  Also, starting next week, we will be featuring lots of ghoulish grub in preparation for Halloween.  I asked Ellie what she wanted to be for Halloween this year. You know what she tells me, she says, "I want to go as you, Momma." She melts my heart.  We did finally settle on her costume for this year though. She's going as a busy bumble bee.  As for Mom, well, I'm going as a mermaid. Ellie says it would be fun having a mermaid as a mom.  

Another thing I wanted to mention to all of you: I am a HUGE fan of Etsy.  I've been a member for about 2 years & could not be happier with the items I purchase.  One of those items I purchased last week from a shop called Long Leaf Soaps.  Their Black Raspberry Vanilla Sugar Scrub Cubes are heavenly. I use one cube in the shower about twice a week and am enveloped in it's aroma as I exfoliate.  My review of this shop is that they serve up quality products at decent prices.  I am very pleased with my purchase. Check out their other items, too. 

So, back to what this blog is all about.  Do you know what I made for dinner last night? Of course you don't. I didn't tell you yet. My hubby isn't exactly keen on spinach, but when it was blanketed in between layers of chicken, cheese, salsa verde, & tortillas, he didn't complain.  Actually, he raved about it. Planning on adding this to our dinner rotation.  It was pretty easy and the flavors meld so perfectly.  

Spinach & Chicken Tortilla Bake

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

4 chicken cutlets (about 1 pound)

Salt and pepper

1 1/2 cups store-bought salsa verde

3/4 cup ricotta cheese

4 large (8″) flour tortillas

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

3 cups baby spinach (about 1/4 pound)

2 cups shredded pepper jack cheese

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450°. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, add to the pan and cook, turning once, until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Let cool, then shred the meat.

Whisk together the salsa verde and ricotta; season with salt and pepper. In a greased 9-inch square baking dish, layer one-third of the salsa mixture, tortillas, chicken, onion, spinach and pepper jack; repeat twice. Bake until golden-brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Yield:  4 servings

Effortless Slow Cooker Beef Stew

Let's face it; summer is over. The kids are back in school, football season has begun. The days are getting shorter and the temperatures are beginning to cool.  Pretty soon our wood stove will be pumping heat throughout our cozy home. Ugh, I love it. We have this large stone fireplace in our living room surrounded by the two most comfortable micro-suede armchairs ever.  Nothing feels as much like home as sitting in front of the fire, room dimly lit, covered up in a fleece blanket, eating a bowl of this hearty and very easy beef stew after a long day.  The best part is, this beef stew recipe uses a Crock Pot, so it's effortless. Set it & forget it! 

Ingredients:

2 lbs beef stew meat

4 potatoes, chopped

½ yellow onion, chopped

1 14.5 can diced tomatoes

1 cup celery, chopped

1 cup carrots, chopped

1 TBS basil

1 TBS oregano

½ TBS paprika

2 TBS minced garlic

½ TBS salt

1 tsp pepper

3 cubes of beef bouillon

1 TBS Worcestershire sauce

4-5 cups water

Directions:

1. Brown stew meat in a large nonstick pan over high heat.

2. Add all ingredients to the crock pot and stir a bit to mix.

3. Cook stew in the crock pot for 7-8 hours on low.

Cookies & Cream Cupcakes

(Recipe makes 30 cupcakes)

Cookies and cream has long been one of my favorite flavors. As an expert on the topic, this is how I rate this cupcake recipe.

Taste: The combination of cookies and cream is a near perfect pair.

Texture: The Oreo cookie on the bottom of each cupcake and the Oreo bits suspended inside creamy sweet cream cheese goodness are the best part of this treat.

Ease: Easy!

Appearance: Cute, unique. May cause mouth to water.

Expense: Less than $5 for me.

Pros: These kept well in the fridge for several days.

Cons: This recipe reminded me of how much I like Oreos. Uh oh.

Would I make this again? Yes, most definitely.

Ingredients:

42 cream-filled sandwich cookies, such as Oreos, 30 left whole, and 12 coarsely chopped

2 pounds (4 8-oz packages) cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

4 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten

1 cup sour cream

Pinch of salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 275°F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Place 1 whole cookie in the bottom of each lined cup.

With an electric mixer on medium high speed, beat cream cheese until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Gradually add sugar, and beat until combined. Beat in vanilla.

Drizzle in eggs, a bit at a time, beating to combine and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in sour cream and salt. Stir in chopped cookies by hand.

Divide batter evenly among cookie-lined cups, filling each almost to the top. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until filling is set, about 22 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Refrigerate at least 4 hours (or up to overnight). Remove from tins just before serving.

Hot Spinach & Artichoke Dip

I love football season. Being a foodie, my favorite thing about football season besides the game, is the food. Who woulda' guessed? It's a time for hearty, satisfying eats. It's a time when we unavoidably gain a few extra pounds to stay warm in winter. At my home, we are big football fans. And even bigger tailgating fans. My hubby reunites with his buddies from college and reminisces over beers.  Myself & Ellie (my daughter) serve up tempting tailgating dishes to family & friends...and hot chocolate, too! This Hot Spinach & Artichoke Dip

always goes too fast. It's definitely a sports fan crowd-pleaser! Incredibly easy dip to make.

Ingredients

• 1/2 (10 ounce) package frozen spinach, thawed, drained and coarsely chopped
• 1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and coarsely chopped
• 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 clove garlic, grated
• 1/2 teaspoon chili sauce (optional)
• 1/4 cup grated parmigiano reggiano (parmesan), grated
• 1/4 cup mozzarella, shredded

Directions

Mix everything and pour it into a baking dish.

Bake in a preheated 350F oven until the sides are bubbling and the cheese cheese has melted and turned golden brown on top, about 20-30 minutes.

Hamburger Cookies

Do not be fooled.  These are in fact cookies that look like hamburgers.  Oh yes, believe it.  They are real.  They are adorable.  And most importantly, they are delicious. Simple to assemble, using Nilla Wafers & peppermint patties.  My daughter & my niece had a lot of fun with this cookie "recipe." 

Ingredients:

48 Nilla Wafer Cookies

24 mini peppermint patties

1/4-1/2 cup shredded coconut

1 can vanilla frosting

1/2-1 Tbsp sesame seeds

Red, Yellow, and Green food coloring

Directions:

Spoon out half of the frosting into one bowl and the rest in another.  Drop the red food coloring in the first bowl and mix.  Continue to drop the coloring until the desired color is reached.  Repeat with the yellow coloring in the second bowl.

Pour the shredded coconut into a third bowl.  Drop the green food coloring and mix.  Continue to drop the coloring until the desired color is reached.

Lay out all of the Nilla Wafers, curved side down, on a cutting board or large plate.  Using a knife, dab a bit of frosting (does not matter if it's the red or yellow) on 24 of the Wafers.  This helps to secure the peppermint pattie.   

Unwrap the 24 peppermint patties and place on top of each Wafer with the dab of frosting.  Carefully spread a bit of red frosting on half of each pattie.  Repeat with the yellow frosting on the other half.  Take the coconut and sprinkle on top of each pattie.  Place the remaining Wafers on top of the patties.

Now you can dab a tiny bit of water on the top of each Wafer and then sprinkle with sesame seeds.  Let stand for about 30 minutes to an hour in order for the cookie to stick together.     

(makes 24 cookies)