Bacon Ranch Chicken Salad

Ingredients:
2 lbs chicken breast
1 tbsp liquid smoke (opitonal for cooking chicken in)
1 dry ranch seasoning packet
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 individual serving cups 0% plain Greek yogurt
1/4 to 1/2 c light mayo (depending on dry/creamy you like it)
1 c shredded sharp cheddar
10 slices turkey bacon

Directions:
1. Cook chicken with your preferred method. I put in the crockpot the day before with about a 1/2 c water and 1 tbsp of liquid smoke. Cook on high for 4 hours. Shred with forks. Cool in refrigerator over night.
2. Cook turkey bacon with your preferred method. I bake mine in the oven at 425° to get it nice and crispy. Line a baking sheet with foil and place wire baking rack on top. Place bacon on wire rack and bake for 20-25 minutes.
3. Place cooked turkey bacon in a food processor on high until crumbled into small pieces. Set aside.
4. In a small bowl mix together yogurt, mayo, ranch packet, garlic powder, and pepper. Pour over cooled shredded chicken. Add bacon pieces and cheddar cheese. Stir until chicken is well coated and ingredients are well mixed.

Serving Options:
Serve with crackers, on a croissant, in a pita pocket, or in a lettuce wrap

Chicken Noodle Casserole

Ingredients:
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 pint fat free half and half
1/4 c skim milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried minced onion
1 tsp Oregano
1 tsp Basil
2 c cooked chicken
1/2 c Italian cheese, shredded + about 1/4 c to sprinkle on top
1/4 c Parmesan cheese, shredded
16 oz. frozen mixed vegetables (I use peas, carrots, corn, and green beans)
8 oz. Whole grain egg noodles

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400°. Spray a baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
2. Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain.
3. While noodles are cooking, melt butter in a deep skillet on medium low heat. When butter is melted, add flour and whisk until flour is absorbed. Whisk in half and half and milk. Turn heat up to medium and whisk until sauce is thickened.
4. Add salt, pepper, garlic powder, minced onion, Oregano, and Basil to sauce. Stir cheeses into sauce until melted, add chicken and vegetables to sauce.
5. Combine sauce to noodles. Stir until noodles are coated. Pour into prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover and cook for 20 minutes.

Yields about 6 servings

BBQ Chicken Naan Pizza

Ingredients:
4 Naan bread flats
1 lb. chicken breast
16 oz. BBQ sauce (I use Sweet Baby Ray’s)
4 tbsp crushed pineapple
1 c shredded mozzarella
4 scallions, diced

Directions:
1. Place chicken in crock pot. Cover with BBQ sauce. Cook on high for 4 hours. At the end of the cook time, remove chicken from crock pot. Shred. Return to crock pot.
2. Preheat oven to 400°. Place naan flats on baking sheet. Top each flat with about 1/3 c BBQ chicken on bottom, 1 tbsp crushed pineapple, 1/4 c mozzarella cheese, and sprinkle with scallions.
3. Bake for 7-10 minutes. Slice each flat into quarters.

Yields 4 servings

 

Chicken Fried Rice

Ingredients:
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp sesame oil
8 oz. peas/carrots, (I use frozen)
2-3 small garlic cloves, minced
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 green onion, chopped
1 1/2 lbs chicken breast, cooked (I usually precook this in my slow cooker ahead of time)
3 c brown rice
soy sauce

Directions:
1. Heat oils in deep skillet on medium low heat. Add peas/carrots to heated oil. Heat 5-6 minutes or until heated through. Add garlic, salt, pepper, and green onion.
2. Move peas/carrots to one side of skillet. Add beaten egg to the other side and scramble. Once eggs are scrambled, mix into peas/carrots.
3. Add cooked chicken to egg/peas/carrots. Heat thoroughly.
4. In a large bowl, add cooked rice and vegetable/chicken mixture.
5. Serve in individual bowls topped with desired amount of soy sauce.

Yields about 6 servings

Pineapple BBQ Pita Pockets

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs chicken breast
1/2 c pineapple, cut into chunks
8 oz. barbecue sauce (I love Sweet Baby Ray’s Hickory & Brown Sugar or you can use a homemade sauce)
4 tbsp. red onion, chopped, raw
2 tbsp. chopped cilantro
Salt/Pepper, to taste
8 whole wheat Pita Pockets
Romaine Hearts

Directions:
1. Lay out chicken breasts. Season with salt and pepper. Coat generously with BBQ sauce.
2. Cook chicken in your preferred method (I love grilled chicken in this recipe, but you could also bake it at 350° for about 30 minutes)
3. Allow chicken to rest after cooking for about 10 minutes, then cube into bite-sized pieces in medium sized bowl.
4. Add pineapple, cilantro, and red onion to chicken in bowl.
5. Line each pita pocket with one Romaine leaf, then spoon 1/2 c BBQ chicken mixture into pita pocket.

Yields 8 servings, serving size 1/2 c
4 points on Weight Watchers Smart Point System for BBQ chicken mixture
*add additional points for pita pocket

I am in no way affiliated with Weight Watchers.

Buffalo Chicken Ranch Tortilla Roll Ups

Ingredients:
8 oz. Buffalo Wing Sauce (I use Frank’s Red Hot)
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 dry ranch packet
8 oz. 1/3 less fat original cream cheese
1 c reduced fat (2%) shredded cheese
6-8 large tortillas

Directions:
1. Add chicken, buffalo wing sauce, and ranch packet to slow cooker. Cook on HIGH for 4 hours (cook time will vary with different slow cooker models).
2. Remove chicken from slow cooker onto plate. Shred using two forks. Set chicken aside.
3. Whisk cream cheese into buffalo sauce that is in the slow cooker. Once it is completely melted and mixed well, add chicken back into sauce.
4. Turn off slow cooker. Put buffalo chicken mixture into a dish to chill in the refrigerator for about 30-45 minutes.
5. Once chicken mixture is chilled (I zapped mine in my food processer a few times to make it easier to spread before adding the cheese), stir in shredded cheese to buffalo chicken mixture.
6. Lay tortillas out flat on counter. Spoon buffalo chicken mixture onto tortilla and spread into an even layer.
7. Beginning at one end, roll up tortilla. Slice into bite-sized pieces. Repeat process until all of the buffalo chicken mixture is gone (I used 7 tortillas).
8. Store in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Yields about 42 roll ups (will vary depending on how much chicken mixture you put in each tortilla and how big you cut your roll ups)

Arroz con Pollo

Ingredients:
1 c brown rice, dry (I use Rice Select Organic Texmati Brown Rice)
2 1/4 c water
1/2 tsp salt
1 lb chicken tenderloins (or 6-8 chicken tenderloins)
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
slow cooker queso

Directions:
1. Prepare rice by adding water, rice and salt to large pot over high heat. Bring to a boil, stir once. Cover and reduce heat. Allow to simmer for 40-45 minutes. Fluff with fork.
2. While rice is cooking, heat grill to 350°. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Cook chicken on grill until no longer pink in the middle.
3. Transfer cooked rice to a serving dish, place cooked chicken on top of rice, and top with queso.

Yields about 6 servings

 

Spicy Black Bean Taco Chili

Sorry I didn’t get a picture of this recipe.  It was so delicious, by the time I went back to take picture it was gone! I will be making this again in the near future, so picture to come when I make it again 🙂 Enjoy!

Ingredients:
for the chicken-
1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cumin, ground
1/2 tsp oregano
1/8 tsp cayenne, ground

for the chili-
1 1/2 c frozen corn
1 can black beans, drained, rinsed
1 can mild Rotel
1 small yellow onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 c chicken stock
1/2 tbsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cumin, ground
1/4 tsp oregano
dash cayenne pepper

optional toppings-
shredded cheese
tortilla chips

Directions:
1. Prep the chicken by adding chicken, extra virgin olive oil, and seasonings for chicken into a large Zip Lock bag. Seal and toss until chicken is coated well (I usually freeze my chicken at this point until I’m ready to use it. I add it to the crockpot frozen, but you can add it right after prepping if you want to make the chili right away).
2. Add corn, black beans, Rotel, onion, garlic, chicken stock, prepared chicken breast, and seasonings to crockpot.
3. Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or HIGH for 4-6 hours. With about 30 minutes of cook time left, use tongs to remove chicken breasts onto a plate. Shred chicken with two forks and add back to crockpot after all chicken is shredded. Allow to cook remaining 30 minutes.
4. Serve in bowls topped with shredded cheese and tortilla chips.

Yields about 8-10 servings, serving size 1 c

Recipe modified from www.bakedbyrachel.com

Shortcut Chicken Dumplings

Ingredients:

1 batch homemade crescent rolls (you could also use store bought if you wish)

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 c milk

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 chicken breasts, cooked, shredded (you could also use a rotisserie chicken)

1 1/2 c shredded cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Spray a glass baking dish with non-stick cook spray. Set aside.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together cream of chicken, milk, and pepper until well combined. Pour into prepared baking dish.

3. Lay out triangles of crescent dough. Divide chicken equally among triangles. Place chicken on large end of crescent dough. Add shredded cheese on top of chicken.

4. Starting at the big end of the triangles roll crescent dough so that chicken and cheese is inside the dough.

5. Place each “dumpling” in prepared dish with cream of chicken mixture. Bake 10-13 minutes or until crescent dough is golden brown.

6. With about 5 minutes of cook time remaining, spoon cream of chicken mixture over dumplings. Return to oven to finish cooking.

Yields 8 servings, serving size 1 chicken dumpling

Honey-Lime Chicken | enchiladas

Ingredients:
for the chicken-
1.5 lbs chicken breast
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c lime juice
1/3 c honey

For the enchiladas-
6 large tortillas
3 c pepper jack cheese, shredded
16 oz. bottle salsa verde
Homemade guacamole (optional)
Sour cream (optional)
Fresh cilantro (optional)

Directions:
1. Place chicken breasts in bottom of crockpot.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, Cajun seasoning, black pepper, cayenne, chili powder, paprika, salt, lime juice, and honey. Pour over chicken breast. Cover with lid. Cook on high for 4-6 hours, cook times vary based on your slow cooker.
3. With 30 min of cook time remaining, remove chicken onto plate. Shred with two forks. Place chicken back into crockpot for remaining 30 minutes to soak up juices.
**You can use this chicken for anything you’d like. Below, I’ll share an enchilada option with you.

4. Preheat oven to 350. Spray a glass baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Pour about 1 c of the salsa verde into bottom of baking dish. Set aside.
5. Lay tortillas out on counter top. Fill each tortilla evenly with shredded honey-lime chicken. Top each with about 1/4 c pepper jack cheese. Roll tortillas and place seam side down in prepared baking dish. Repeat for remaining tortillas.
6. Stir together remaining salsa verde and any honey-lime drippings left from chicken. Pour over enchiladas in baking dish. Top with remaining pepper jack cheese.
7. Bake for 30 min. Top with sour cream, guacamole, and cilantro.

Yields 6-8 servings, serving size 1 enchilada or 1/2 c honey-lime chicken