Apricot Lemon Chicken

With a hint of both sweet and sour, this zesty, slow-cooker dish is a favorite with kids, especially when served with fluffy white rice and peas.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
2 pounds of boneless breast of chicken
1 lemon, quartered
1 teaspoon Kosher salt (or a 1/2 teaspoon of regular salt)
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/4 cup coarsely chopped dried apricots
1/4 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon thyme (or 3-4 four sprigs fresh thyme, if available)

1. Pull chicken breasts apart and place them in the bottom of a 4 1/2 quart (or similar) slow cooker. Squeeze the quartered lemons over the chicken meat, and drop the squeezed lemon quarters in the pot. Pour orange juice over the chicken.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and stir until well mixed. Cook on high for 4 hours.
3. Serves 6.

Saucy Apricot-Glazed Chicken

This is a slow-cooker rendition of the ever-popular chicken glazed with a mixture of apricot preserves, Russian dressing and dry onion soup mix that's usually baked in the oven. Serve over wild rice or white rice; or try basmati or jasmine rice, cooked on top of the stove.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
1 cup good-quality chunky apricot preserves
3/4 cup bottled Russian dressing
1 1.15-oz. envelope dry onion soup mix
12 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, trimmed of fat (about 3 1/2 to 4 lbs.)

1. In a medium bowl, mix together apricot preserves, dressing and dry onion soup mix until well blended. Arrange three of the chicken breast halves in the bottom of a 3 1/2-quart electric slow cooker. Spoon a fourth of the apricot mixture on top. Add three or more layers of chicken with the apricot mixture in between and on top. 2. Cover and cook on the High heat setting for 1 hour. Reduce the heat setting to Low and continue cooking, covered, 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or until the chicken is tender and white throughout; do not overcook or the chicken will toughen. Serve the sauce over the chicken. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

BBQ Chicken Mac

Mac & cheese
bbq sauce
left over chicken shredded into chunks

Cook the pasta according to directions. When you put the pasta in the boiling water add the chicken. Drain when pasta is cooked. Mix in the cheese packet according to directions except for the butter. When mixed throughly add bbq sauce to taste. Enjoy!! Taste's great with corn on the cob.

Chicken with Top Ramen

Lately we've been eating a lot of top ramen so I came up with some new ways to make them a bit more nutritous.

Crunchy Corn Flake Chicken (basically like Shake 'n Bake but with crushed cornflakes.)
1 lb chicken breasts
2 cups Corn flakes
1 egg beaten
seasonings (whatever you like, I used italian seasonings)

In a gallon freezer bag put seasongs and corn flakes. Dip chicken in egg. Then shake in the freezer bag. Put on a sprayed cookie sheet. Cook for 35 to 50 mins. The last 5 mins cook the ramen noodles. Using the seasoning pack from it is up to you. I use it to give some flavor to the noodles. When everthing is cooked I layer noodles, some kind of steamed veggie like carrots or green beans, and chicken.

Sesame Chicken Kabobs

2 pounds boneless chicken breasts cut into 1 inch pieces

Marinade:
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, grated
1 tsp. sesame oil

Other ingredients:
One third cup cornstarch
1 egg beaten
Bamboo or metal skewers
Two thirds cup sesame seeds
Corn oil or peanut oil for frying

Combine marinade ingredients and chicken and allow to marinate for several hours. Place chicken on bamboo skewers.
Coat chicken skewers with egg yolk and then with cornstarch and sesame seeds.
Heat oil in a skillet and fry until chicken is golden brown.

The Skinny: Use your favorite egg substitute. You can also broil the chicken in the oven rather than frying it to save on some calories.

MUSTARD CHICKEN WITH GREENS

Makes 4 servings
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: less than 20 minutes

4 (5- to 6-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup flour
3 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1 pint grape tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
3/4 cup fat-free chicken broth
3 tablespoons grainy Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons fat-free or reduced-fat sour cream
Snipped chives for garnish if desired
1 bunch watercress or 4 cups baby spinach leaves

Flatten chicken to an even thickness (about 1/2 inch). Put flour in a large plastic bag; add chicken and shake to coat, removing excess flour. Set aside. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet on medium-high. Add tomatoes; cook 3 or 4 minutes or until some begin to soften. Add garlic; cook 30 seconds. Remove to bowl.
Meanwhile, heat remaining oil in the same skillet on medium. Cook chicken 5 to 6 minutes per side or until no longer pink (160 degrees). Remove to plate; cover. Add broth to skillet, stirring to dissolve browned bits. Whisk in mustard and sour cream. Simmer until slightly thickened; add chives. Place chicken on watercress or spinach leaves; spoon sauce over chicken. Serve with tomatoes.

Per serving: 279 calories, 37 grams protein, 7 grams fat (21 percent calories from fat), 1 gram saturated fat, 17 grams carbohydrate, 84 milligrams cholesterol, 421 milligrams sodium, 2 grams fiber.

Skillet Chicken Enchilada

Prep Time:20 min
Total Time:20 min
Makes:5 servings, two enchiladas each

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1-1/4 cups KRAFT Mexican Style Shredded Four Cheese, divided
3/4 cup TACO BELL® HOME ORIGINALS® Thick 'N Chunky Salsa, divided
10 TACO BELL® HOME ORIGINALS® Flour Tortillas, warmed
1 cup shredded lettuce
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream

SPRAY large skillet with cooking spray. Add chicken; cook and stir on medium-high heat 4 to 5 min. or until cooked through. Reduce heat to medium-low.
ADD 1 cup of the cheese and 1/2 cup of the salsa; cook until cheese is melted and mixture is heated through, stirring frequently.
SPOON 1/4 cup of the chicken mixture down center of each tortilla; roll up. Place, seam-sides down, on serving platter. Top with the remaining 1/4 cup cheese, the lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream and remaining 1/4 cup salsa.

Nutritional Information:
Calories 470 Total fat 19 g Saturated fat 10 g Cholesterol 95 mg Sodium 780 mg Carbohydrate 42 g Dietary fiber 3 g Sugars 4 g Protein 32 g Vitamin A 15 %DV Vitamin C 10 %DV Calcium 30 %DV Iron 15 %DV

Healthy Living Information:Good source of vitamin A or CGenerally Nutritious

**My girls actually loved it! I loved it because I wasn't in the kitchen forever making it. (Taken from http://www.kraftfoods.com/)**

Shortcut Chicken Manicotti

Prep Time:10 min
Total Time:1 hr
Makes:4 servings, three stuffed manicotti each

1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup
1-1/2 cups water
1/4 lb. (4 oz.) VELVEETA Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product, cut up
2 cups frozen broccoli florets
12 manicotti pasta, uncooked
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch strips
1/4 cup KRAFT 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese

PREHEAT oven to 400ºF. Mix soup, water and VELVEETA in microwaveable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 3 min. or until VELVEETA is melted and mixture is well blended, stirring after 2 min. Pour one-third of the soup mixture onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish; set aside. Add broccoli to remaining soup mixture.
STUFF pasta with chicken strips; place in baking dish. Cover completely with remaining soup mixture. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil.
BAKE 45 to 50 min. or until pasta is tender and chicken is cooked through.

**Note: I found it pretty bland and ended up adding sauteed onions. The soup mixture doesn't quite cover all of the manicotti so I doubled it.**

Chicken Wraps

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts (6 to 8 ounces each)
salt and pepper
1 T. olive oil
1 c. sour cream or yogurt
1 t. mustard
2 plum tomatoes, chopped
4 9-inch round wheat tortillas
4 lettuce leaves (any kind)

Lightly season chicken with slat and pepper. Saute in olive oil for ten minutes or until done. Remove from heat and let cool. Slice chicken pieces lengthwise into long thin pieces. In a mixing bowl, combine sour cream (or yogurt), mustard and tomato. Warm the tortillas slightly, one at a time, in the saute pan, and arrange them on a work surface. Spread the sour cream mixture (the sauce) on the tortillas. Arrange the slices of chicken on the sauce and lay a lettuce leaf on top. Roll up the tortillas from one side. Tuck the ends in to seal them up. When ready to serve cut them in half at a slight angle.

Makes 4 wraps