Making Shredded Chicken the Easy Way

Keeping a supply of shredded chicken in your freezer is a great way to simplify your weeknight meals.  The recipes you can make with shredded chicken are endless.  I’ve always hated shredding chicken  until I recently learned a new way using my Kitchen Aid Mixer!

Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 (about

2 pounds) boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Salt and pepper

3/4 cup water or low-sodium chicken broth

DIRECTIONS: In a large 12-inch nonstick skillet with a lid, heat the olive oil over medium heat until hot. Pat the chicken dry and season with salt and pepper on both sides. Place the chicken top-side down in the hot skillet and let the chicken cook for 5 minutes until golden brown on top.

Flip the chicken, add the water or chicken broth, cover the skillet and let the chicken simmer gently over medium heat for 7-10 minutes until the chicken is cooked through (it will register 160 degrees on a thermometer). Don’t overcook or it might be dry.

While the chicken is simmering, add additional water 1/4 cup at a time if the liquid evaporates too quickly.

Remove the chicken from the skillet. Let it cool slightly before shredding. The cooked chicken will keep well-covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or can be frozen for up to 2 months.

Now the magic!

Place your cooked chicken (make sure it is warm, cold chicken won’t shred well) in the bowl of your Mixer and using the paddle attachment, beat on low speed and gradually increase the speed until chicken is shredded.

Blackened Pork Chops

Here is a great week night recipe that you can use for Pork, Chicken, or Fish.

Ingredients

• 4 -3/4 to 1” thick, boneless pork chops (about 2 pounds)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• Vegetable oil

Instructions

1. In a large skillet, add vegetable oil to a depth of 1/4 inch and place over medium heat while you prepare the chops.
2. In a pie plate or shallow bowl, combine all seasonings.
3. In a separate pie plate or shallow bowl, pour melted butter. Dredge each pork chops in butter on both sides, then press each side into seasoning mixture before placing in hot oil.
4. Repeat with remaining chops. Cook in oil until each side is dark and crusty, about 3-4 minutes, then turn and repeat with opposite side and continue cooking until pork is no longer pink in the center, another 4-5minutes.
5. Remove cooked pork chops and allow to drain on paper towel lined plate. Serve hot.

Crockpot Cube Steak and Gravy

This recipe turned out so ugly that I did not take a picture of it, but trust me when I say, it was soooo delicious.  I made this other night when Jessica and Ryan were down, and everyone declared it a winner!  Using cube steak is an extremely economical way to feed a family and the fact that you can cook it all day while gone to work makes it a winner in my book.  Nothing like coming home from a long day to smell dinner cooking the minute you walk in the door!

Cube steak   (I used a family size pack)

2 cans (10.75 ounce size) cream of mushroom soup

1 envelope onion soup mix

3/4  cup water

1 large onion, sliced

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a crock pot. Cook on low all day. Serve over rice or mashed potatoes or with your favorite side dishes.

Chicken Spaghetti with Rotel Tomatoes

I’ve posted a chicken spaghetti recipe before, but recently tried this one I found on Pinterest.  Everyone in the family really liked this one and I have to admit, it was a lot easier than my old recipe.  The Rotel gave it just the right amount of kick.

8 ounces angel hair pasta

2 cups chopped, grilled chicken

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 10-ounce can Rotel diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained

8 ounces sour cream

Sprinkling of Parmesan or Mexican-blend cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Boil pasta as package directs and drain. Mix all other ingredients (except cheese), add to cooked pasta and put in a 9″ x 13″ baking dish. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Sprinkle with your choice of cheese and return to oven to melt.

Family Pizza Night

Making homemade pizza as a family is a great way to enjoy a Friday evening at home and encourage healthy eating.  We love to make this homemade crust and then let each person add their own toppings.  We use lots of fresh vegis including spinach, tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, and jalapenos.  Don’t let the homemade crust intimidate you.  It’s really very easy!

Ingredients

1 cup warm water

1 tablespoon white sugar

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

1.  Stir water, sugar and yeast together until dissolved. Add the olive oil and the salt. Stir in the flour until well blended. Let dough rest for 10 minutes.

2. Pat dough into pan or on to a pizza stone using fingers dipped in olive oil. If desired sprinkle basil, thyme or other seasonings on crust. Top with your favorite pizza toppings and bake for 15 to 20 minutes in a preheated 425 degree oven.

One Pan Meal

This recipe has been spreading across Pinterest like wildfire and my curiosity was killing me.  Could it really be as easy and delicious as everyone was saying?  Well, like most Pinterest recipes, I was a little disappointed in the results and I should have known better than to cook chicken breast for one hour in an oven, but I wanted to prepare the recipe as written the first time.  The green beans and potatoes were delicious, but the chicken was so tough and tasteless, we could barely eat it!

I’ve made a few adjustments to the recipe and I think you will enjoy it when prepared my way!

1-1.5 lbs chicken breasts (I used tenders because it is all I had)

1 lb fresh green beans, trimmed and snapped

8 small new potatoes, quartered

1 pkg Italian Dressing Mix

1 stick of butter, melted (do NOT use margarine!)

1.  Lightly salt and pepper the chicken breasts

2.  Arrange chicken, potatoes, and green beans in a 9 x 13 pan

3.  Sprinkle with entire package of Italian Dressing Mix

4.  Pour melted butter over entire dish

5.  Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes.  I would check it at 30 minutes.  If vegis are not tender, give it a little more time.

 

 

 

Honey Glazed Chicken Thighs

This is an economical dish that is easy to prepare.  When I first read the ingredients for this recipe, I thought these were going to be very spicy.  I was pleasantly surprised to find they had a very mild taste and should be palatable to even picky eaters!

Ingredients:

1 pkg Chicken Thighs, excess fat and skin trimmed off

kosher salt

pepper

Spice Mix:

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp chili powder

2 tsp garlic powder

Honey Glaze

1/2 cup honey

1 Tbs Apple Cider Vinegar

Directions:

1.  Preheat broiler to high

2.  Trim off any excess fat or skin from the thighs and season with salt and pepper

3.  Mix spice mix together and set aside

4.  Mix glaze ingredients together and set aside

5.   Lay the chicken on a cookie sheet

6.  Rub the spice mix into both sides of the chicken

7.  Cook 10 minutes one one side, flip and cook another 10 minutes

8.  Take the chicken out and cover well with the glaze mixture.

9.  Broil for another 5 minutes or so until the honey starts to thicken up and glaze.  It may smoke a little but this is normal.

10.  Take chicken out of the oven and let rest a few minutes

Brisket Tacos

Making brisket tacos is an excellent way to use up your leftover brisket.  We will usually make a brisket and serve it with all the brisket trimmings such as coleslaw and baked beans on the weekend.  Then, during the week, I will take the brisket and shred it to serve as the foundation for the tacos.  Just whip up some fresh pico de gallo, slice some avocados, and you’ve got yourself a great weeknight meal in less than 20 minutes!

Ingredients:

Leftover Brisket (shredded)

Pico De Gallo (recipe follows)

1 Avacodo, sliced

8 corn tortillas (or flour)

Directions:

1.  Shred Brisket, set aside

2.  Prepare Pico

3.  Slice Avacado

4.  Assemble taco by laying out corn tortilla and topping it with brisket, then pico and then avacado

5.  Fold, eat, and enjoy!

Pico de Gallo

6 Campari or Roma Tomatoes, chopped

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped seeds and all

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Juice of 1/2 lime

1/2-1tsp Kosher Salt

Mix all pico ingredients together and serve immediately or allow to chill for 30 minutes for best results.

My Favorite Salmon

Here is another three ingredient recipe.  Well really, it is so simple, I’m not sure  you can call it a recipe.  I cannot describe how delicious Salmon tastes when cooked like this.  Everyone who I have served this too, says it is the best Salmon they have ever eaten!

Ingredients

Olive Oil

Tony Chachere Creole Seasoning

1.5 lbs of Salmon (will feed four so buy more or less depending on your needs)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Brush fish with olive oil

Sprinkle on Creole Seasoning to taste (not too much or it will be too salty)

Place in hot oven and cook for 15-20 minutes depending on how thick your cut of fish is.  Do not overcook or it will be tough.

Geoff’s Brisket

In honor of the Fourth of July, I thought I would share a recipe that the Hugheys have been making  for many years.  We serve this brisket whenever we have a large crowd to feed or just want to experience the wonderful leftovers!  This is about the easiest recipe you will ever make.  All you need is 2 ingredients and a large  pan.  Cook this all day in the oven and your house will smell amazing when you walk in from work!

Ingredients

1 large lightly trimmed brisket (about 10-12 lbs)

1 bottle of Claude’s Brisket Sauce (Found in BBQ sauce aisle)

Directions:

Marinate Brisket overnight according to the directions found on the bottle.  Place brisket fat side up in a large pan and pour sauce over the brisket.  Cover with lid or tightly with foil.  Cook for 1 hour at 350 and then lower the temperature to 250 and cook for another 8-10 hours.

Crockpot Beef Stroganoff

This recipe comes straight off Pinterest.  It has several things going for it.  It is unbelievable easy, it is quick to put together, and best of all it is delicious!

Ingredients

2 lbs stew meat

1 onion, diced

2 cans Golden Mushroom Soup

1/2 cup water

2 Tbs Worsteshire sauce

1 8 oz package of cream cheese.

Directions:

1.  Place stew meat into crockpot

2.  Throw in the onions on top

3.  Mix together the soup, water and worstechire sauce and pour over the meat and onions

4.  Bake on low all day or on high for about 4 hours

5.  During the last 30 minutes add the creams cheese until it is melted and creamy

6.  Serve over noodles, rice, or mashed potatoes

Panko Crusted Pork Medallions

Wow, this recipe is going into my bi-weekly rotation.  So easy to make and it came out perfect.  This recipe can be made with any kind of pork, but I used the pork tenderloin like it called for.  It really doesn’t get any better than this for weeknight cooking, easy, quick, healthy, and economical. 

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1  (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into 8 medallions (about 3/4″ thick)

1/2 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

salt

black pepper

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450°.

2. Salt and pepper the pork and then rub mustard evenly over pork medallions. Combine panko, thyme and parsley  in a large bowl. Dredge pork in panko mixture. Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add pork; sauté 2 minutes or until golden brown. Turn pork. Place skillet in oven; bake at 450° for 10 minutes or until pork reaches 145°. Let stand 3 minutes.

Serving Size:  2 medallions

Calories for:  210

Fat:  9.4 grams

Carbs:  5.1

 

Spicy Brisket Tacos

Here is a perfect weekend recipe.  Put it in the oven in the morning and forget about it.  You can spend your afternoon doing chores and running errands and when you get home, you will have a delicious, spicy meal waiting for you.  Just be sure and pick up some refried beans from your favorite Mexican restaurant before you get home!  This brisket is a little spicy so adjust the heat level if you are feeding kiddos.

The ingredients:

2-3 lbs. of brisket

1 tablespoon coarse salt

2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons cooking oil

1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped

2 cups beef stock or water

2 cups tomato sauce

2 teaspoons dried oregano

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 tablespoon ground ancho chili powder

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 1/2 tablespoons liquid smoke

12 warm tortillas

Cilantro, lime wedges, and chopped onion for garnish

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 325. Season the meat with salt and pepper all over..
2. In a dutch oven, heat oil over high heat.  Brown meat for about 2 minutes on each side.
3. Add tomato sauce, broth, and onion.  Cook covered for four hours in a 325 degree oven.  Check the meat.  If it is starting to get tender, it is time to add seasonings
4. Add seasonings and more water if the brisket is dry.  Cook the last hour uncovered so that the gravy will thicken up.
5. Shred the brisket with a fork.

6.  Serve on warmed tortillas with lime, cilantro, and onion.

Green Chili Chicken Enchilada Casserole

This casserole feeds a big crowd so I usually make it in 2 9″ square foil pans.  We eat one and freeze the other.  Even though the recipe doesn’t call for it, you can top it with chopped fresh tomatoes and green onion tops to make it look prettier.

 

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

1 cup canned chopped green chiles, drained

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup fat-free sour cream

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2  (10 1/2-ounce) cans condensed 98% fat-free cream of chicken soup, undiluted (such as Campbell’s)

1  garlic clove, minced

Cooking spray

18  (6-inch) corn tortillas

4 cups shredded cooked chicken breast (about 1 – 1.5 lbs)

2 cups (8 ounces) finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine the first 9 ingredients in a large saucepan, stirring with a whisk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

Spread 1 cup soup mixture in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 6 tortillas over the soup mixture, and top with 1 cup chicken and 1/2 cup cheese. Repeat layers, ending with the cheese. Spread remaining soup mixture over cheese. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Related articles

• Green Beef Enchilada Casserole (hungryhugheys.wordpress.com)

World’s Easiest Pot Roast

This is a foolproof way of making a perfect pot roast in your crockpot. You can make this recipe before church on Sunday  and it will be ready when you get home if you cook it on high.  Or you can cook it all day while you are gone to work if you cook it on low.  Either way, the result is delicious!!!!!

Ingredients

2 (10.75 ounce) cans  condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix

1 1/4 cups water

4 pounds pot roast

Directions

1. In a slow cooker, mix cream of mushroom soup, dry onion soup mix and water. Place pot roast in slow cooker and coat with soup mixture.    (I usually brown my roast before placing it in the crockpot, but you don’t have too)

2.  Cook on High setting for 3 to 4 hours, or on Low setting for 8 to 9 hours.

Pecan Crusted Salmon

Ever since I ate the Pecan Crusted Trout at Roaring Fork, I’ve been using pecans to crust all kinds of things.  Some dishes have turned out better than others, but this one was a winner!  When Geoff bit into this salmon, he said, “Wow, that is good!”  I found this recipe at Kalyn’s Kitchen.  If you would like a great resource for South Beach friendly recipes, you should visit her blog.  She is very passionate about the South Beach Way of Living and I’m sure you’ll find many delicious recipes there!

Ingredients:

1 lb salmon

Creole Seasoning (or any other seasoning rub you like)

4 T finely chopped pecans

1 T Dijon mustard

1 tsp. mayo
Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425

Sprinkle salmon with whatever seasoning you are using

Finely chop the pecans with a meat mallet or a rolling pin.

Mix together the Dijon mustard and mayo in a small bowl and spread it over the surface of the salmon, until it’s completely covered.

Sprinkle the pecans over the fish, pressing them down so they stick.

Roast the salmon for 10-12 minutes, or until it feels barely firm to the touch when it’s pressed with your finger.  (I had to cook a little longer because my salmon fillet was really thick on one end)

Tex-Mex Carne Guisada

The best thing about this recipe (apart from the wonderful taste) is that after you brown the meat and get it all mixed up, you can just place it in the oven and forget about it for 1-2 hours.  This is a great weekend meal served with warm tortillas and maybe some beans and rice.

2 – 2.5 lbs of beef chuck roast or bottom round cut into 1 inch pieces (or use stew meat)

kosher salt and coarse ground pepper

2 tbs oil

1 cup diced onion

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 large jalapeno, seeded and diced

6 Tbs flour

1 1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1 large, good quality tomato, diced (I use about 5-6 of the small campari tomatoes)

1 1/2 cups hot water

1.  Heat oven to 325

2.  Heat oil in a dutch oven, salt and pepper the meat  and then brown

3.  Add onion, bell pepper, garlic, and jalapeno and cook for 2-3 additional minutes

4.  Add flour, cumin, and chili powder.  Cook about 1 minute and then slowly add the water and tomatoes

5.  Cover and bake 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally and add additional water if necessary.

6.  You will know when the guisada is done because the meat will flake easily and the gravy will be thick.

7.  Serve with warm tortillas

Pecan Crusted Tilapia with Lemon Caper Sauce

Geoff and I recently ate at the Roaring Fork and I had a Pecan Crusted Trout with a caper sauce that was really fantastic.  I’ve been on the lookout for a recipe ever since.  I found a recipe for pecan crusted trout from Cooking Light and found the lemon caper sauce here.  We used Tilipia because it is so much more economical and it came out wonderful.

Pecan-Crusted Tilapia

All-purpose flour for dusting fish

1 egg, beaten to blend

¼ cup finely ground pecans

¼ cup Panko bread crumbs, unflavored

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 (6-ounce) tilapia fillets

1 – 2 tablespoons canola oil
Salt and pepper the fish, coat lightly with flour and dip in a beaten egg. Combine the pecans and bread crumbs and dredge fish in nut mixture. Heat the canola oil over medium heat in a non-stick skillet large enough to accommodate the fish. Do not crowd the fish and, if necessary, cook in batches. Place the fish in the pan and cook, turning once, until fish flakes easily with a fork. Remove the fish, cover and keep warm. Serves four. If desired, drizzle the Butter Caper sauce over fish. 

Optional Butter Caper Sauce
1/4 cup dry white wine

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

2 tablespoons capers, drained

2 lemon wedges

 1.  Pour white wine into the skillet, and allow to boil as you dissolve the cooked bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the lemon juice, and allow to come to a boil, cook for a few minutes until reduced by half.

2.   Sprinkle the cubed butter into the boiling sauce. Swirl and shake the pan vigorously to dissolve the butter, thus thickening the sauce. The butter must never come to rest, or the sauce will separate and become oily. Once the butter has completely incorporated, remove from heat and stir in capers.

Broiled Buffalo Wings with Blue Cheese Dip

Geoff and I love Buffalo Wings.  When I learned how easy they were to make, and how diet friendly they are for South Beach, I began to make them quite frequently.  We have these often during the football season while we watch our favorite games.

2 1/2 lbs chicken wings

3/4 cup Frank’s Red Hot (get the heat level you prefer, but we like ours hot!)

3 large ribs celery, cut into sticks

1 recipe blue cheese dip (recipe follows)

Preheat broiler to high

1.  Place the wings on a broiler pan (make sure it is about 5 to 6 inches from the flame)and broil until the skin begins to blister and brown, about 10 minutes.  Turn the wings over and broil 10 minutes more.

4.  Transfer the wings to a large bowl and coat with Franks Hot Wing Sauce

Dip

1/4 cup plain Greek style non-fat yogurt

2 tbs mayonnaise

1 tsp white wine vinegar

1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese

salt to taste

In a small bowl, stir together the yogurt, mayo, vinegar, and blue cheese.  Mash any large chunks of blue cheese with the back of a spoon to integrate the cheese into the dip.  Serve at room temp.

1/4 of the wings + 1/4 of the dip = 260 calories, 5 grams of carbs, and 14 grams of fat.

Chicken Parmesan

Geoff and I made this dish at least once a week last year while we were on the
South Beach diet.  We served it with a side of broccoli and no pasta.  We still make it frequently because it is a perfect weeknight meal that will be ready in less than 30 minutes.

1/2 cup Progresso Italian Bread Crumbs

1/4 up graded parmesan cheese

1 pkg chicken breast (about 1.5 lbs)

1 cup buttermilk

3 Tbs oil

2 cups of your favorite pasta sauce

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

8 ounces of spaghetti, freshlycooked and drained

1.  Place chicken breasts into a ziploc bag and pound to flatten to an even thickness.  Cut the breasts in half.

2.  Mix bread crumbs and grated parmesan cheese.  Dip chicken in buttermilk, then bread crumbs to coat.

3.  Heat oil in a medium-size skillet.  Add chicken and cook over medium heat 10 minutes or until browned.  Remove from skillet; pour off fat.

3.  Add pasta sauce.  Bring to a boil, add chicken, reduce heat, cover and simmer 5 minutes until chicken is no longer pink in midddle.

4.  Top chicken with mozarella cheese.  Cover and heat until melted.  Serve with spaghetti (or broccoli!)