Wild Rice-Stuffed Green Peppers

1/3 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp butter or margarine, melted
1 ½ cups beef broth
¾ cup long-grain, brown, and wild rice blend
1/3 cup sliced celery
¼ cup finely chopped carrot
1 (14 ½ oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
½ cup chopped zucchini
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
¼ tsp dried basil
1/8 to ¼ tsp ground thyme
2 large green peppers, stem ends sliced off
1 to 2 Tbsp tomato juice (optional)
¼ cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese


Sauté onion and garlic in butter in a large saucepan until tender. Add broth, rice, celery, and carrot. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 25 minutes or until rice is almost done. Remove from heat; stir in tomatoes and next 5 ingredients.

Place peppers in a saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil; cook 3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain; stuff with rice mixture. Place peppers in a 1 ½-quart greased casserole; spoon any extra rice around peppers. Cover with foil; bake at 350o for 25 minutes or until tender, basting with tomato juice after 15 minutes if mixture seems dry. When almost done, remove foil, and top with Parmesan; bake 5 more minutes. Yeild: 2 servings.

Primavera Pizza

Asparagus tips, broccoli florets, yellow summer squash sliced
½ cup olive oil
2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese
2 cups shredded white cheddar cheese
1 cup sliced Roma tomatoes
6 green onions, chopped
Salt & pepper
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3 Tbsp minced fresh tarragon

Separately steam or blanch vegetables until crisp tender, immediately in ice water to halt cooking and retain bright color. Drain well and reserve.

Shape pizza dough. Brush dough with olive oil and top with cheeses, leaving a ½ inch border around the edges. Arrange the veggies and tomatoes on top of the cheese. Sprinkle with green onions and season to taste with salt and pepper. Drizzle evenly with olive oil.

Bake in preheated 400o oven for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven to a cutting board and sprinkle with parmesan cheese and tarragon. Slice and serve immediately.

One Dish Chicken Dinner

Jan Wolsey

4 chicken breast halves, skin removed
8 small potatoes (about 1 pound)
4 medium carrots (I use about a cup of baby carrots)
2 cups chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 pound fresh green beans or 1 can green beans (optional)

Wash potatoes but do not peel. Cut in half and place cut side up in greased (cooking spray) 9x13 baking dish. Cut carrots in half crosswise, then lengthwise. Scatter among potatoes. Pour broth over vegetables. Place chicken on top. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover with foil. Bake at 350 (325 if using glass) for 60 minutes. Remove foil. Baste chicken with broth. Add beans to dish. Bake 15 minutes or until beans are heated through.

Black Bean Soup

Jill Hobbs

1 1/2 cups water
2 cubes beef bouillon
2 cans black beans
1 cup salsa
1 tsp cumin

Blend beans in blender. Simmer all ingredients for 10 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips.

Tip for kids: This stuff smells and tastes wonderful but LOOKS horrible. I got my kids to eat it by telling them to close their eyes while I gave them a taste. Every one of them liked it but I am positive that none of them would have tried it had they seen it before they ate it.

Stir Fry

Chicken
Olive oil
Garlic cloves
teriyaki
soy sauce
vegetables (carrots, broccoli, sugar snap peas, yellow squash, cauliflower, etc.)
cooked rice

Cube thawed chicken. Cook in saucepan with a touch of olive oil. When chicken is browned, stir in 2 cloves minced garlic. Cook chicken well. Add 1 Tbsp teriyaki and a dash of soy sauce. While chicken is cooking, partially cook carrots, broccoli, sugar snap peas, yellow squash, cauliflower (they don't need to be fully cooked). Add vegetables to chicken mixture. Add 2 Tbsp teriyaki and another dash of soy. Saute vegetables with chicken until liquid is evaporated. Pour over rice or add cooked rice to mixture.

Lemon Chicken

As you can probably see from the picture, I use quite a bit of lemon pepper. I like the "kick" factor. If you don't like "kick" use less lemon pepper.

Warning: This lemon chicken is VERY lemony. I would only recommend it if you are a big fan of lemon!

Chicken breasts (as many as there are people eating)
Lemon pepper
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup water
Olive oil
cooked rice

Dice chicken (raw). Place enough olive oil in fry pan to lightly coat bottom. Add chicken. Sprinkle lemon pepper on chicken. Cook over medium high heat until outsides are almost all browned. Add lemon juice (the more juice you add, the more lemony it will taste) and sprinkle a little more lemon pepper. Cook until lemon juice boils out and chicken is done. Serve over rice.

Malibu Chicken

(scroll down for healthy alternative)

Breaded chicken breasts
Thinly sliced ham
Sliced Mozzarella or Swiss

Dip:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup mustard
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp onion powder


Bake chicken breasts. Top with ham and cheese during last 5 minutes of cooking. Serve with dip.

Healthy alternative:
Use plain chicken breasts baked or grilled on an indoor grill. Replace sauce with French's Honey Mustard.

Cheesy Broccoli-Potato Soup

2 cups chicken broth
⅓ cup chopped onion
1 package (10 oz) frozen chopped broccoli
1 ⅓ cups instant potatoes (dry)
2 cups cut-up cooked chicken
2 cups shredded Swiss cheese (8 oz) (you can actually use any type of cheese, I have substituted whatever I have around - mozzarella, cheddar, colby/jack)
2 cups milk
½ tsp salt

Heat broth, onion and frozen broccoli to boiling in 3-quart saucepan. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in potatoes until well blended; stir in remaining ingredients. Heat over low heat about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until hot and cheese is melted. Makes 6 servings, about 1 ⅓ cups each.

Honey Glazed Chicken Breasts

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
½ cup orange juice
½ cup honey
2 Tbsp lemon juice
¼ tsp salt

Grease 9x13 pan. Place chicken in pan. Mix remaining ingredients; pour over chicken. Cover and bake at 375 20 minutes; turn chicken. Bake uncovered 20 to 30 minutes longer or until juice of chicken is no longer pink when centers of thickest pieces are cut. Makes 6 servings.

Crouton Chicken Nuggets

Cut up pieces of chicken breast
Croutons (½ box) crushed
½ cup flour
2 eggs
1 Tbsp water

Cut chicken into 1 inch square pieces. Dip in flour, then in mixture of eggs and water. Roll in croutons. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes.

Amy's Chicken

This recipe is super easy, super yummy, and it's even good for you!

Ingredients

1 cup crushed corn flakes
3-4 chicken breasts
Butter spray (can use melted butter but it isn't as healthy)

Cover the chicken breasts with butter spray (or melted butter). Roll in corn flakes until covered. Bake for 30 minutes at 350.