Wild Rice Stuffed Chicken Breasts

This turned out to be a little fussier than I would typically like for a weeknight dinner, but with a little extra time in the kitchen, I would definitely make this again - and it received rave reviews at my table!

• ¼ cup wild rice
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 10 pitted black olives, coarsely chopped
• 10 -12 sun dried tomato halves, coarsely chopped
• ¼ cup Italian parsley, chopped
• 1 clementine or Satsuma orange, peeled, sectioned, and coarsely chopped
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• salt
• pepper
• 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to ¼ inch thickness
• 2 Tbsp olive oil

Bring 2 cups water, salt, and rice to boil in saucepan.  Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 40 minutes or until rice is cooked and tender.  Drain and cool.  Mix olives, tomato, parsley, orange, and lemon juice together in small bowl.  Add cooled rice and toss to mix.  Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Pound chicken breasts between two sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap, until each breast is about ¼ inch thick.  Place ¼ cup of rice mixture on each breast. Roll chicken around rice, tucking in ends and securing with toothpicks.

Heat oil in heavy skillet.  Cook chicken until browned on each side, about 2 minutes per side.  Transfer browned chicken to baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and rice is hot.  Enjoy!

Mom's Baked Chicken Breasts.

This is less of a recipe and more of a preparation.  A really. easy. preparation.  It's one of those things I cook when I get home late and just. need. to. eat.  32 seconds of prep, 30 minutes of cooking. Really. Easy. Preparation.


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray cooking pan with olive oil cooking spray.  Rinse chicken breasts, pat dry and place in pan.


Dot each breast with up to 1/2 tsp margarine, cut in two to three pieces.  Season liberally with your choice of dried seasoning: paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, black pepper, parsley, oregano.  Any combination will be just fine.


Bake for 30 minutes. Serve with an equally easy-to-prepare side dish or two.

White Bean & Chicken Chili.

If you've tried my "regular" chili recipe, you know that I like my chili chunky. This white bean & chicken version is no different. And, like my more traditional recipe, this can be made in 30 to 40 minutes, start to finish.  I like my bowl of chili without added toppings, but the possibilities are endless: choose green onions, sour cream, cheese, salsa, lime juice or your own favorites.  My biggest eater - and true foodie at age 15 - loved his with sour cream and shredded cheese on top. He proclaimed that it tasted like "a warm burrito in a bowl."  The recipe below will feed a crowd, with leftovers.

• 1 T olive oil
• 2 pounds frozen chicken breast strips
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 large leeks, white & light green parts sliced
• 32 ounces chicken broth
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 3 cans cannellini beans, drained
• 3 cans diced tomatoes with mild chilis
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Heat oil in dutch oven.  Add frozen chicken strips and garlic and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, turning frequently.  Add leeks, chicken broth, salt & pepper. Bring to a simmer over medium high heat; simmer for 5-7 minutes. Using tongs and kitchen shears, lift chicken strips from broth and cut into bite-sized pieces, returning chicken to broth as it is cut. Add beans and tomatoes. Stir. Return to simmer and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. Stir in cilantro; cook 5 more minutes and serve.

Chicken Cutlets & Spinach with Raspberries.

After making those great pork cutlets a few days ago, I decided to apply the same technique to chicken - and it was just as much of a success!  This is an easy recipe (despite the long directions!) and is packed with flavor. It looks good too - worthy of a celebration table!

Just like with my pork cutlet recipe, the cutlets are a little fussy to prep, but cook quickly and evenly.  Three dipping/dredging bowls (or plates) ensure good coverage of the seasonings: the flour sticks to the chicken and gives the egg white something to hold to; the egg white provides a sticky base for the breadcrumbs; the breadcrumbs & seasonings, when cooked, give a crispy and flavorful outside.

Prepare 4 to 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts.  Trim all visible fat and flatten to 1/4 inch thickness using a meat tenderizer.  (To reduce splatter & mess, place chicken between two pieces of plastic wrap when flattening.) Cut chicken breasts in half, if smaller pieces are desired. Set chicken aside.

Set up three shallow bowls or plates for dredging & dipping:

# 1

• 1/2 c flour
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt

# 2

• 2 egg whites, lightly beaten
• 1/4 c water

# 3

• 3/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground sea salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp parsley
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning

Additional ingredients

• 3 T olive oil
• 2 bags baby spinach
• 1/2 c pine nuts
• 6 ounces fresh raspberries
• balsamic vinegar
• shredded parmesan cheese

Prepare chicken for cooking in three steps: 1) dip in flour mixture, coating on all sides; 2) dip in egg white mixture, allowing excess liquid to drip off; 3) dip in breadcrumbs, pressing mixture in all over chicken.  Repeat for all pieces of chicken.

Heat 1 T of oil in skillet over medium heat.  Cook half the chicken in each batch;  cook 3 minutes on each side, turning once.  Add 1 T of oil to pan between batches.

While second batch of chicken is cooking, heat 1 T oil in large stir fry pan.  Add spinach and saute for 3 minutes, turning frequently. Add pine nuts, continue to turn and cook 1 more minute.  Remove from heat.  Add raspberries and turn one more time.

Arrange spinach mixture on platter. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar.  Arrange chicken on top of spinach and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.  Enjoy!

Chicken with Lemon & Capers.

Mmmmm.  This is a no-fuss recipe that produces a  main dish that looks and tastes good!  Flavors were described as "intense," "bold," and "savory."  The dish could be prepared with fresh or frozen chicken breasts, depending on what you have available, and regular capers can easily substitute for the salted capers. I used frozen chicken breasts because they were in my freezer and I have this jar of amazing salted capers that I keep finding ways to use.  Serve with fresh bread or a simple pasta and a green salad.

• 6 boneless chicken breasts
• olive oil
• salt & pepper
• Italian seasoning
• 3-4 green onions, chopped
• 2-3 basil leaves, chopped
• 1 Tbsp salted capers, chopped
• 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line 9 x 13 baking pan with foil.  Place chicken breasts in lined pan. Drizzle olive oil over chicken. Generously season with salt & pepper and Italian seasoning.  Bake for 30 minutes.  While chicken is in the oven, prep remaining ingredients.  Slice lemon so there is one slice for each chicken breast and leave the remaining end of lemon as one piece (you will squeeze the juice from this later).  Cut each lemon slice in half.  After chicken has baked for 30 minutes, squeeze juice from uncut lemon over chicken.  Sprinkle onions, basil, and capers evenly across chicken. Place two half-slices of lemon on each chicken breast, and return pan to oven. Bake 20 more minutes or until chicken is fully cooked.

Note: Baking times are based on frozen chicken breasts; reduce baking time for fresh or thawed pieces.

Chicken Corn Vegetable Soup.

I set out to make chicken corn chowder, but without the heavy, creamy consistency. This recipe will go through several more iterations before it's exactly what I am after, but this is a very good start. The chief taste-tester in my kitchen had only positive reviews.

• 2 T butter
• 1/2 medium red onion, diced
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 64 ounces chicken broth
• 4 stalks celery, diced
• 2 cups frozen corn kernels
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 3 cups shredded cooked chicken
• 1 cup salsa
• 2 T heavy cream
• lime juice

Melt butter in stock pot or large soup pan.  Saute onion & red pepper until soft.  Add chicken broth and celery. Bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes.  Add corn, clilantro, and chicken. Simmer another 5 minutes.  Stir in salsa. Simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in cream. Serve with a splash of lime juice.