BBQ Chicken Salad

The name of the blog where I got this recipe kind of says it all! :) Here is the link - BBQ Chicken Salad.

Rusty and I love salads! Surprisingly, so does Rylan. We always seem to get in a salad rut, though, so I love finding new salad recipes to try, and I love it even more when they are, um, damn delicious. ;) This recipe is very easy! It was perfect to put together on a week night after work.

Ingredients:
*1 tblsp of olive oil
*2 chicken breasts, thinly sliced
*Salt & Pepper
*Romaine lettuce
*1 can of corn, drained
*1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
*diced tomatoes
*Tortilla strips
*Grated cheddar cheese
*Your favorite BBQ sauce
*Your favorite ranch dressing

One ingredient not listed above that I will add next time is avocado. I LOVE avocado slices on a salad, and they would've gone well this one.

Heat the olive oil over medium heat. While the oil is heating, lightly salt and pepper the thinly sliced chicken breasts. Once the oil is hot, add chicken to the pan and cook 3-5 minutes on each side, or until no longer pink. Remove chicken from pan and dice. Serve over romaine lettuce, and top with as much or as little of the remaining ingredients as you desire!

Chicken Lo Mein

This is another one pan recipe. While I do use a few other items, I love only having one pan to hand wash at the end of the night. Rusty and I recently discovered how much we really do like Asian food. The journey is slow, but we are branching out. This recipe for Chicken Lo Mein is a really good recipe that everyone in our house loves!

Ingredients:
*2 chicken breasts
*16 oz box of linguini or fettuccini
*4 medium carrots, peeled and cut in half length wise, and then cut into 2 inch pieces
*1 medium red bell pepper, cut into strips
*4 garlic cloves, minced
*1/4 cup of soy sauce
*1 tsp garlic powder
*1 tsp corn starch
*1 tblsp sugar
*1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
*4 cups of chicken or vegetable broth
*2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Cut the chicken breast into small pieces, and put into a large pot. Break pasta pieces in half, and place them on top of the chicken. Continue to add remaining ingredients, in the order listed above. Gently stir ingredients to allow spices added on top to disburse through pan. Cook over high heat, until the mixture comes to a rolling boil. Stir the ingredients well, cover, and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for about 15-18 minutes, stirring half way through cooking time. Most of the liquid will cook into the meal, so don't be surprised by the reduced amount of liquid. If you find your finished product to be too dry, it was probably cooked just a few minutes too long (I did this the first time... oops!!) Maybe add just a little bit of water, to thin it back out. Allow the dish to cool for just a couple of minutes prior to serving. Enjoy!

I usually add more vegetables than stated in the ingredients. I like to add snap peas or broccoli as well. It's up to your preferences!

TTFN!

Tortellini Pasta Salad

This recipe is a relatively easy and quick fix! Both of the boys liked it, as did I. It made a big enough portion to allow for plenty of leftovers, which was nice when I was looking for something last minute to take to work for lunch.

Here is the original recipe I used - Tortellini Salad.

Ingredients:
*20 oz package of refrigerated cheese tortellini
*1 cup of fresh mozzarella, cubed
*1 cup of pepperoni, chopped
*1 cup of cherry tomatoes, halved
*1/3 cup of fresh basil
*2/3 cup of Caesar salad or Italian dressing

Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. Rinse thoroughly with cold water, and drain. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Refrigerate until ready to eat. Enjoy!

I found this recipe because I had a package of pepperoni on hand to use up... I thought it was good, but I would rather have chicken with it. Next time we make this, I'm going to either cube up a baked chicken breast or use canned chicken breast. I'll report back and let you know the results!

TTFN

One Pan Chicken Alfredo

As soon as I saw that this dish only required one pan, I was sold! While I enjoy cooking, I hate dishes. The end. :) Before starting, make sure your one pan is plenty big for all of the deliciousness and that you have a lid to fit it. This is the blog I found this recipe on - No. 2 Pencil.

Ingredients:
*3 tblsp of olive oil
*2-3 chicken breasts (1 1/4 lb)
*2 cloves of garlic, minced
*2 cups chicken broth (I used low sodium)
*1 cup heavy cream (I used half and half)
*1/2 lb penne pasta (you can use any small bite sized pasta)
*2 cups fresh parmesan cheese
*Salt and pepper to taste
*Parsley, for garnish, if desired

Cut chicken breasts into small, bite size pieces, and lightly season with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in the pan over medium high heat. Add chicken and cook until it's mostly cooked. It will continue to cook, as the rest of the meal is made, so it does not have to be completely cooked at this point. Add garlic and sauté for one minute. Add chicken broth, cream and uncooked pasta to the pan - stir well. Bring the mixture to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the pasta is tender. Once the pasta is tender, remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the parmesan cheese, and season with additional salt and pepper, if desired.

The pasta goes well with wine and garlic bread. ;) TTFN!!

Recipe #32: Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

The other day I was really craving something buffalo-y. I also wanted something that was relatively easy to make. Enter this recipe. Sorry, I don't have a picture. :(

Ingredients:
*1/4 cup cooked shredded chicken, warm
*1 tblsp hot sauce (like Frank's)
*1/2 tblsp ranch dressing (more or less, to taste)
*1 tblsp grated carrot (optional)
*1 tblsp sliced celery (optional)
*1 tblsp green or red onion, sliced (optional)
*1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
*sliced bread
*butter

Butter one side of each bread slice. Place buttered side down in pan, over medium-high heat. Spoon chicken mixture onto bread. Top with another slice of bread, butter side up. Carefully flip sandwich, when bottom slice of bread is cooked. Once both sides are golden brown, the sandwich is done!

Since I wanted easy, I did not use/shred a freshly cooked chicken breast. I used a 10 oz can of chicken, so the work was already done for me. That 10 oz can was about 1 cup of chicken, so I adapted the recipe accordingly. This ultimately made about 4 pretty full sandwiches. I thought it was the perfect amount to serve both dinner, and then have just a little bit left over. For the record, the chicken mixture also tasted great as a dip for pretzels. :)

Enjoy - TTFN!

Recipe #28: Caribbean Jerk Chicken with Fruit Salsa

This recipe came from DH's Grilling Collection Cookbook. It was fantastic! This is in our queue again to make very soon. I do have a picture of this one, but am having issues loading it right now. I will add it, once I can get my computer to cooperate!!

Ingredients:
*1 cup plus 2 tblsp of Lawry's Caribbean Jerk Marinade with Papaya juice, divided
*1 can tropical fruit salad (or your favorite fruits), drained
*4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (about 1 lb)

In a small bowl, combine the fruit and 2 tblsp of marinade. Mix well and refrigerate. In a large sealable plastic bag, combine chicken and 1 cup of marinade. Seal bag. Refrigerate the chicken for at least 30 minutes. When you're ready to cook the chicken, discard the marinade. Grill or broil chicken 10 to 15 minutes (turning halfway through), or until the chicken is no longer pink. Top chicken with fruit salsa.

In addition, I made some rice and served the chicken and fruit salsa over the rice. It was a nice way to round out the meal!

TTFN!

Recipe #24 - Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

This recipe is actually not too difficult. The worst part was shredding the chicken... but it was worth every minute. It's actually two different recipes combined. The first recipe is for the enchiladas, originally found here. The second recipe is for the sour cream sauce, originally found here. (The sour cream sauce recipe also has a recipe for the enchiladas, but the first one sounded better to me, so I combined the two!)

Ingredients (for both recipes):
*1.5 cups of cooked chicken breasts, shredded
*1 medium onion (optional)
*3/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese, divided
*3/4 cup of salsa **modified from the original recipe
*4 oz of reduced fat cream cheese
*8 tortillas
*1/4 cup of butter
*1/4 cup of flour
*1 15 oz can of chicken broth
*1 cup of sour cream
*1 4 oz can of chopped green chilies (optional)
*fresh cilantro (optional)

To prepare the chicken enchiladas:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a large skillet with non stick cooking spray. Add onion (if using one) and cook over medium heat for about 4-5 minutes, or until tender. Add chicken, 1/2 cup of cheese, salsa and cream cheese. Heat and stir until cheese is melted. Spoon 1/3 cup of chicken mixture into tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in a 9x13 baking dish.

To prepare the sour cream sauce:
Melt butter in a medium sauce pan. Stir the flour in to make a roux, stirring and cooking until bubbly. Gradually whisk in chicken broth, stirring frequently, until boiling. Remove from heat and add sour cream and green chilies (if used). Stir until smooth.

Pour the sour cream sauce over the rolled enchiladas. Top with remaining cheese, and fresh cilantro, if desired. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes, or until cheese on top is melted.

TTFN!

Recipe #21: Summertime Chicken Tacos

Here is where I originally found the recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/summertime-chicken-tacos-320869.

Once again, I failed to snap any pictures... sorry! :(

Ingredients:
*1/3 cup of olive oil
*1/4 cup of lime juice
*4 garlic cloves, minced
*1 tblsp minced fresh parsley or 1 tsp dried parsley flakes
*1 tsp ground cumin
*1 tsp dried oregano
*1/2 tsp salt (optional)
*1/4 tsp pepper
*4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

In a large, resealable plastic bag, combine the all ingredients and blend well. Add the chicken, turning to coat. Seal the bag and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight, turning occasionally. Drain and discard marinade. Grill chicken uncovered over medium heat until cooked through.

Serve in soft or crunchy taco shells with favorite taco toppings. (We actually served it over lettuce and had chicken taco salads!) I thought the chicken was wonderful - it stayed extremely moist and tender, and had wonderful flavor. The one thing I changed about the recipe was that I used fresh cilantro rather than parsley. I was worried how it might affect the flavor, but it wasn't that noticeable in my opinion!

We will definitely be doing this again! TTFN!

Recipe #18 - Bacon Wrapped Chicken Breasts

We actually tried this recipe about 3 or 4 weeks ago - I just have not had a minute to post the recipe! This is another find from Food.com. I've actually found a lot of really tasty recipes from their site lately. Here is the original recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/bacon-wrapped-smoked-gouda-stuffed-chicken-breasts-111169.

Ingredients:
*4 boneless chicken breasts
*4 slices of bacon
*3 to 4 oz of cheese
*1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
*1/2 tsp garlic powder
*1/2 tsp paprika
*1/2 tsp pepper

Flatten the chicken breasts to approximately 1/4" thick. Combine the cayenne pepper, garlic powder, paprika and pepper. Coat both sides of the chicken with the spices. Place small piece of cheese on the chicken and roll up firmly. Wrap each chicken breast with a piece of bacon. In a skillet, brown the bacon wrapped chicken over medium heat until bacon begins to crisp. Remove from skillet and bake for 20-25 minutes at 350.

The original recipe calls for smoked gouda cheese. I didn't have any on hand and used feta cheese the first time I made this. I thought it was good, but I want to try it with a different cheese next time. I had a hard time getting the chicken as flat as the recipe called for, which made it really thick when I rolled it up, and it needed to cook longer. The recipe was really good, though, and I'll definitely be trying it again!

TTFN!

Recipe #17 - Pepper Lime Chicken

Well hey there! It's been a while! :)

I originally got this recipe from Food.com: http://www.food.com/recipe/dump-pepper-lime-chicken-112931. It was very easy to make on a Sunday afternoon and throw in the fridge for a "quick" meal later in the week. It will definitely be made in my house again, and I'll probably make up a larger batch to freeze some additional meals.

Ingredients:
*1/2 tsp lime peel
*2 garlic cloves, minced
*1/4 cup lime juice
*1 tsp pepper
*1 tblsp olive oil
*1 tsp basil
*1/4 tsp salt
*4 chicken breasts

Combine all ingredients in a freezer bag. Add chicken to bag and coat well. Marinate the chicken over night in the fridge, or place in the freezer for later use. When you're ready to cook the chicken, bake for 25 to 30 minutes at 350.

The original recipe says to serve over rice, which I did not. I probably will next time, though! The best thing about this recipe was how tender the chicken was. It was wonderful!!

TTFN!

Recipe #14 - Chicken and Brown Rice Pilaf

My mom gets a Kraft Foods magazine every so often. I used to get it, but it randomly stopped. Oh well. It always has a lot of good looking recipes, and I'll honestly admit I've tried quite a few!! So far, I tried 2 from the recent magazine she let me borrow. The first one, yuck! This second one, yummy!! Here is the link to Kraft's website with the original recipe. I'm only going to show my modified recipe below!

Ingredients:
*3-4 slices of bacon, chopped
*4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 lb)
*1 bag of frozen broccoli
*water
*2 tblsp grated Parmesan cheese
*2 cups hot cooked long-grain brown rice

Prepare the rice according to the directions on the package. I haven't mastered making brown rice yet... it always seems dry. I'm working on it though. In a large skillet, cook chopped bacon, until crisp (about 6-7 minutes). Using a slotted spoon, scoop the bacon pieces out of the skillet, leaving the grease. Lay the bacon pieces on a paper towel covered plate, to drain excess grease.

Before adding chicken to the skillet, make sure it's cut into small sections, or somewhat flattened, to allow it to cook a little faster. My chicken pieces were too plump, resulting in very crispy outsides. Add the chicken to the skillet, cooking about 6-8 minutes on each side, until its golden brown and cooked all the way through. Transfer chicken to a plate and cover to keep warm. Add broccoli to skillet, along with a small amount of water (enough to cover the bottom of the skillet). Cover. Cook until broccoli is tender. Add rice and bacon to skillet with broccoli. Mix well. Top rice mixture with bacon pieces and chicken, and ta da!



So the original recipe only uses two strips of bacon, but OH MY the bacon was my favorite part. That's why I increased it to 3-4 slices here. I'll be trying it that way next time. I don't know what about it made the rest of it WONDERFUL! We prefer broccoli, so that is why I used it, rather than the other veggies. Plus, it's what I had on hand. I will try it with snap peas, once, though.

This was a very yummy and relatively easy meal! I'll definitely make it again.

TTFN!

Recipe #11 - Campbell's Kitchen Chicken Noodle Casserole

We had this recipe tonight for dinner. It's very easy, uses basic ingredients and was very filling! I originally found the recipe on allrecipes.com. I saw that I printed it back in January of 2011. Not really sure why I waited so long to try it, because it was pretty good!!



Ingredients:
*1 can Campbell's condensed Cream of Chicken and Mushroom soup
*1/2 c of milk
*1/8 tsp black pepper
*1/3 c grated Parmesan cheese
*2 c cubed cooked chicken or turkey
*3 c cooked medium egg noodles

Let me go ahead and add this note - in my directions below, I'm going to tell how I deviated from the ingredients, rather than making a list of exceptions here.

First, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Since I have no idea how many cups of uncooked egg noodles eventually make 3 cooked cups of egg noodles, I measured out and added 3 cups of uncooked egg noodles to the boiling water. Let the noodles boil for 6-8 minutes, until tender. Drain and rinse with warm water.

To cook the chicken - mix soup and milk together in a saucepan and mix well to thin out soup. Once warm, add cut up raw chicken pieces. Top with pepper and stir well. Cook over medium-high heat for 8-10 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink when cut open. Reduce heat to medium, add 1/4 cup of water and mix well. Cook for 2-3 more minutes. Add cheese and cooked egg noodles. Mix together well.

To go with the meal, I steamed some broccoli. I'm sure peas would go well with this too. Another variation I'll try of this in the future is adding cheddar cheese instead of Parmesan cheese, just to see how it changes the flavor.

Good luck and happy cooking!

TTFN!

Recipe #9 - Chicken Avocado Melt

This recipe we just had tonight! It's really good, and pretty easy to make. I love avocados, and quite honestly, I thought they were what made the dish so good. Even Rusty ate the avocados!! :)

Ingredients:
*4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
*2/3 cup cornstarch
*2 tsp ground cumin
*2 tsp garlic powder
*2 tsp salt
*1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
*1 egg
*2 tblsp water
*1/2 cup cornmeal
*1/4 cup vegetable oil
*1 medium avocado, thinly sliced
*shredded cheese

Pound chicken breasts to 1/4 inch thickness, set aside on a large plate. Combine the cornstarch, cumin, garlic powder, salt and cayenne pepper in a shallow bowl. In another bowl, combine the egg and water and beat. Dip the chicken first in the egg, then into the cornstarch mixture, and back onto the plate. Coat with cornmeal.

**Note: If you don't have a skillet large enough for all of the chicken at once, you can do this next step in two batches.** In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken, until it's golden brown on both sides - about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Place the chicken into a greased 9x13 baking dish. Top each piece of chicken with the sliced avocado. Bake uncovered for 10-15 minutes, or until juices run clear. Sprinkle with cheese, and serve.

The original recipe (from The Best of Country Cooking 1998) calls for half of the amounts shown above for the cornstarch, cumin, garlic powder, salt and cayenne pepper. I ran out of the coating mixture and wasn't able to coat my chicken as much as I would've liked to. I'm OK with throwing out a little extra, just to make sure I have plenty to use. If you find this to be too much for your preference, these ingredients can be cut in half.

I loved how tender the chicken was. The coating wasn't crispy, like I thought it might be. I'm not sure why I expected it to be that way. My favorite bites were those topped with avocado. I thought just the chicken needed a little more flavor, but I'm hoping that having the extra coating (by doubling that part of the recipe next time) will help out.

Overall, this recipe was really good and will get made again in this house! :)

TTFN!

Recipe #5 - Pecan Chicken with Seasoned Potatoes

This one is a two-fer!! The chicken was ok - Rusty LOVED it! Plus, it was really easy. I LOVED the potatoes - they were my favorite part! Several years ago, my mom cleaned out a lot of her cookbooks and I ended up with them... This one is from the Best of Country Cooking, 2001. (I will add - one thing that kind of stinks about going through cookbooks that are 10+ years old is that they don't have a lot of our current day mentalities of "light" or healthy. I've had a pretty hard time of using old fashion cookbooks yet still finding a nice meal that isn't an overload on the calories.)



The Main Course - Pecan Chicken
Ingredients:
*1/3 c finely chopped pecans
*1/3 c dry bread crumbs
*1/2 tsp dried thyme
*1/2 tsp paprika
*1/2 tsp salt
*4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
*3 tblsp dijon mustard

Combine the pecans, bread crumbs, thyme, paprika and salt in a bowl. Coat chicken with mustard, then dip into pecan mixture. Place the coated chicken pieces in a greased baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 375 for 30-40 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink.

I wasn't sure how I would feel about the mustard flavor, but to be honest, it wasn't very strong. It gave it almost a sweet taste once it was done. The pecan mixture didn't stick very well to the chicken (not sure if I should've used more mustard??). After I coated the chickens and placed them in the baking dish, I dumped what was left of the pecan mixture on top of the chickens, just to give them a little thicker top coat.

Seasoned Potatoes
First of all, this recipe is only for 2 people. If you're cooking for more, you'll definitely need to increase the size. Second, I've NEVER used canned potatoes to cook with before, and I completely felt like I was cheating by using them. I will use them again though - they were so good!!

Ingredients:
*1 tblsp butter
*1 can (15 oz) small whole potatoes, drained
*1/4 tsp of any seasonings/spices you prefer

In a skillet, melt the butter of medium heat. Add the potatoes and sprinkle the seasonings over potatoes. I used just a little bit of garlic powder along with all purpose seasoning salt. Cook and stir for 15-18 minutes over low-medium heat until the potatoes are golden brown and soft. **Note - if the potatoes start to pop at all, lower the heat.**

Enjoy! TTFN

Recipe #4 - Special Lemony Chicken

The name is funny, huh? At least I thought it was. Anywho... I forgot to take a picture of this one, so I don't have anything to pin!! I even tried finding one online, but no such luck. I got this out of a cookbook I've had for a few years - it's called "Great American Favorite Brand Name Cookbook".

Over the past few weeks, I learned how much we (I) like pasta. It's so easy and versatile, plus Rylan will eat it. I'm really trying to find some non-pasta recipes, just to be different. It is tough since Rusty is such a picky eater. (It's not fair if I don't recognize that I can be picky, too - but Rusty is a LOT pickier than I am.) This was my first attempt at really branching out and trying something a little out of our "norm".

Ingredients:
*1/4 c unsifted flour
*1 tsp salt
*1/4 tsp pepper
*6 skinned boneless chicken breast halves
*1/4 c butter
*1/4 c lemon juice from concentrate
*8 oz freshly sliced mushrooms

In a plastic bag, combine the flour, salt and pepper. Add chicken, a few pieces at a time. Shake to coat. (That's always my favorite part... especially after a long day at work!!) In a large skillet, let the butter just melt. Add the chicken and cook until it's brown on both sides. Add the lemon juice and mushrooms. Cover and reduce the heat. Allow this to cook until mushrooms are tender and chicken is fully cooked (about 15 minutes).

I actually also tried a lemon rice recipe to serve the chicken over. I didn't like it. It was way too dry. The rice got pretty sticky - it reminded me of the rice I was served from a large ice cream looking scoop in elementary school... you know when the rice never moved after the server would plop it on your plate? Yeah... I think just some plain, buttered rice would be perfect for this dish!

Rusty and I don't eat mushrooms, so I didn't cook with any. As for the chicken, it was quite lemony. Special, though? No, not really. I'm not dying to make this recipe again anytime soon, but I certainly will keep it on hand for a random day that I want something different. One other plus - the chicken was SOOO tender and juicy. I'll definitely try cooking the chicken this way again, and try some fun marinades and spices for different flavors.

Good luck! TTFN!

Recipe #3 - Cheesy Chicken Rotini

So this week, I actually tried 2 new recipes! I didn't like the first one (but the boys really did!) so I tried again with a 2nd recipe. I'll post the other one, eventually, but wanted to start with this one because it was SOOO good!!

I got the original recipe from www.kraftfoods.com. It really was very easy, and quite delicious! It makes a very large portion, so I would probably only make half of the recipe in the future. (We only ate about half the first night, which made for yummy leftovers!)

Ingredients:
*2 large chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces
*2 cups of water
*3 cups rotini pasta, uncooked
*16 oz frozen veggies
*1 can (10oz) Rotel, undrained
*8oz of Velveeta (half of a small brick)

Variations:
*The original recipe calls for a broccoli, cauliflower and carrot blend. I used all broccoli, because that's what I prefer. I think use your favorite frozen vegetables. :)
*I used the original Rotel flavor. I really wanted to use Hot or Extra Hot, but I didn't think Rylan would eat it if it was too spicy. I bet some of the other Rotel flavors could give it a nice taste twist, too!
*Rather than leaving the Rotel chunky, I actually used a food processor to liquefy mine. The end result was a thinner, runnier sauce, rather than being thick, like Velveeta can often be.

One more note - if you're making the full recipe, use a very large skillet... maybe even a stock pot. (Make sure you have a lid to fit it!!) I found that my batch was almost overflowing from mine.

Spray the skillet or stock pot with a cooking spray, like Pam. Add chicken pieces. Cook over medium-high heat until the chicken is no longer pink (about 6-7 minutes). Add water to chicken. Once the water is boiling, add the pasta and stir well. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for about 12 minutes until pasta is tender. Add remaining ingredients and stir. Cook covered until Velveeta is completely melted (about 8-10 minutes) stirring every couple of minutes.

I served it with some crescent rolls, and it was good eatin'! :) TTFN!

Recipe #2 - Buffalo Chicken Bites

Last night, we tried new recipe #2 of the year... Buffalo Chicken Bites. Here is where I originally got the recipe from: http://sweetpeaskitchen.com/2011/09/24/buffalo-chicken-bites/. I did make a few adjustments, to better suit our preferences (and what I had). As a warning, this recipe is a little more labor intensive that I would've guessed... and it's pretty messy.

Ingredients (according to how I made them):
*4 cups of chicken, cooked and shredded (approx 2 large chicken breasts)
*2/3 c Frank's buffalo hot sauce (use less, for less "kick")
*4 2/3 reduced fat cream cheese, softened
*2 c sharp cheddar cheese, grated
*1 c all purpose flour
*4 eggs lightly beaten
*4 cups Corn Flakes, crushed

First, preheat the oven to 375. Bake the 2 large chicken breasts for approx 25 minutes (until no longer pink). Allow them to cool for approximately 10-15 minutes. Use two forks to separate/shred the chicken.

Line a large cookie sheet with either parchment paper or foil, and set it aside. Combine shredded chicken, hot sauce, cream cheese and cheddar cheese in a large bowl. Mix until all ingredients are well blended. (To help soften the cream cheese, I stuck it in the microwave for about 15-20 seconds, and it was perfect for mixing.) Put flour, eggs and corn flakes into their own separate bowls.

Get a spoonful of the chicken mixture and roll into about 1 to 2 inch balls. I recommend making all of the balls first, and setting them aside on plate or platter until all of them are made and ready to be coated. After forming the balls, dip each of them first into the flour, followed by the egg, and finally the crushed corn flakes. Set each coated ball onto the lined cookie sheet. **Note: For my batch yesterday, 4 cups of corn flakes was not enough, but that will really depend on your preference. I was hoping for a very crunchy final product, which I didn't quite achieve.** Preheat the oven to 350. Bake for 20-25 minutes (until golden brown). Serve with ranch or blue cheese (if you like).

A few personal notes:
1. Prep time: 60 minutes total - 15 minutes to shred chicken, 45 minutes to make the bites
Cook time: 50 minutes total - 25 minutes for chicken breasts, 25 minutes for final product

2. The recipe, as stated above, could easily serve 6-8 people (I think). I will make only half of it for a small group of 2-4.

3. In the future, I'll probably try the less healthy alternative of battering and deep frying these, just to achieve a little crunchier final product. If I do, I'll follow up with how they turned out. :)

Happy Cooking! TTFN