Chicken Parmesan Mini Pizzas

I found this recipe in this Southern Living publication. I made them for an actual meal, but they would really be great for an appetizer.

Chicken Parmesan Mini Pizzas

1/2 pound fried chicken fingers (I used Publix)
Ragú Pizza Quick Sauce
1 loaf French bread
fresh basil, sliced and chopped
Italian cheese ( I used Sargento Artisan Parmesan and Romano)
melted butter

Slice chicken into small pieces.

Brush bread with melted butter and lightly toast at 350° for about 5 minutes.

Spread a small amount of sauce onto the bread. Top with chicken and basil.

Top with cheese and bake for an additional 10 minutes.

I served mine with a salad. These are delicious and very easy!

Baked Chicken "That Makes its Own Gravy"

This recipe comes from a book that was given to me by a sweet friend many years ago. The book is a compilation of recipes taken from the backs of boxes, bottles, cans, and jars, such as Campbells, Kellogg's, Tabasco, and Pepperidge Farm There are some really great recipes in this book. Many, such as the recipe I am posting, are nostalgic as well. If you are interested in buying this book, you can check it out on this quick link to Amazon.



This particular recipe came off of the Carnation Evaporated Milk can, circa 1964, and it comes with my personal disclaimer: The chicken does not "make its own gravy." At no time did any of the chicken in this dish make or even assist in the gravy making. I did it all on my own. It does convert from a creamy to a more gravy-like consistency during the baking time, however. I changed a few ingredients from the original, such as cheddar instead of American (gag) cheese.

Baked Chicken that Makes Its Own Gravy

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup melted butter
1 small can Carnation (I actually used Pet!) Evaporated Milk
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 carton fresh mushrooms
1 small onion, chopped and sauteéd in butter

Coat chicken with flour. Arrange in a single layer in melted butter in a large baking pan. Bake uncovered at 425° for 30 minutes.Turn chicken and bake until brown, about 15-20 minutes longer. Remove from oven and reduce temperature to 325°. Pour off any excess fat. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over chicken. Cover with foil and bake for about 15-20 more minutes.
Yield: 6 servings

Coat each chicken breast with flour. I also added a little salt and pepper.


Combine gravy ingredients. Don't expect any help from the chicken.

Okay, so these pictures do not do this fabulous recipe any justice. The chicken was tender and the gravy was delicious. I highly recommend this for company or for just a family dinner.

I hope you try it!

Chicken Spaghetti

Today I was in the mood for chicken spaghetti but didn't have any particular recipe to follow. I have eaten chicken spaghetti many times but have never actually made it. So I perused the web and did my own adaptation from a combination of several recipes. I also wanted to use ingredients I already had. The Rotel tomatoes will give it a kick. You can certainly use regular canned tomatoes if you would rather. Other additions that would be good are green bell pepper, mushrooms, and black olives. You can easily tailor make it to your own preference.

Chicken Spaghetti

3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
8 oz spaghetti (I used whole wheat)
1 small onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 tbsp butter
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can Rotel tomatoes, drained well
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp Worchestershire Sauce
1 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

1. Cook spaghetti in boiling water until cooked al dente.
2. Meanwhile, sauté onion and celery in butter until tender. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine chicken, cream of chicken soup, tomatoes, sour cream, Worchestershire, and parmesan cheese. Add drained spaghetti, onion, and celery. Pour into a greased baking dish and sprinkle with cheddar cheese.
4. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Yield: about 6 servings


Chop onion and celery and sauté in butter until tender.

Stir together chicken, sour cream, soup, Worchestershire, tomatoes, and parmesan cheese. (I would use a larger bowl than this. It will give more room for the spaghetti).

Cook spaghetti until done, then drain and add to the chicken mixture.

Pour into a greased baking dish:

Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

The result is creamy and delicious.

Braised and Barbequed Chicken

I saw this recipe on fellow blogger Barbara's blog and thought it looked delicious. Barbara uses chicken thighs, but suggested bone-in chicken breasts for those who prefer white meat. There were no bone-in chicken breasts at the grocery store, so I opted for boneless skinless and it was still moist and delicious. I highly recommend this recipe. It has a nice tangy Asian flavor.

Melt-In-Your-Mouth Braised and Barbequed Chicken

2 tbsp oil
8 - 12 chicken thighs (or 4 breasts)
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp minced ginger (I used fresh)
3 tbsp cider vinegar
3 tbsp ketchup
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4-8 servings cooked rice
1/4 cup chopped green onions (optional)

Heat oil in a large skillet.
Braise chicken for 6 minutes, turning once.
Combine fruit juice in a large bowl.
Stir together cornstarch and 1 tbsp juice; reserve.
Stir soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, vinegar, ketchup, garlic, and red pepper into juice.
Pour over chicken.
Bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 35 minutes, turning after 20 minutes.
Uncover chicken and stir in cornstarch mox.
Cook 5 minutes, stirring until sauce thickens. Spoon rice onto plate. Top with chicken and sauce. Sprinkle with onions, if desired.


Braise chicken for 6 minutes...

...turning once:


Combine fruit juice in a large bowl. Stir soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, vinegar, ketchup, garlic, and red pepper into juice:

Pour over chicken. Bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 35 minutes, turning after 20 minutes:

Uncover chicken and stir in cornstarch mix:

Serve over rice:

I hope all of you who try this recipe enjoy it as much as we did. Thank you Barbara!

Oven Roasted Chicken

Gil and I had to run errands last night and I figured that we would be gone for about an hour. I wanted to roast some chicken breasts while we were gone, so I combined a couple of my favorite spices with oil and vinegar for a marinade and brushed it on the chicken. I set the oven at 250 so they wouldn't burn. I also put some rice on in my rice cooker.

Oven Roasted Chicken
3 chicken breasts
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Combine ingredients and brush all over each chicken breast. Bake at 250 for about an hour.


It makes a small amount of marinade, but it is plenty for 3 chicken breasts:

Brush onto chicken. I lined the pan with foil for easier clean-up:

I put 1 cup of rice in 1-1/2 cups water with 2 tablespoons of butter in a rice cooker. Then I covered it and turned it on. It will turn off when the rice is ready.

Gil stir fried some cabbage when we got home. It took about 6 or 7 minutes. He seasoned it with Cavender's Greek Seasoning, salt, and pepper:

The chicken was very moist, juicy, and flavorful.

This was a healthy and delicious meal which we prepared with very little effort.

Panko and Parmesan Crusted Chicken

Panko is a type of breadcrumb used in Japanese cooking. Panko is different from traditional American bread crumbs in that it is lighter and ends up with a crispier texture after baking.
I wanted to experiment with it and I found this brand at the grocery store:

I decided to try combining the panko with parmesan cheese to create an oven baked chicken dish and this is the result.

Panko and Parmesan Crusted Chicken

chicken breasts
2 cups buttermilk
2 cups panko breadcrumbs
2 cups parmesan cheese (the dry Kraft kind- not freshly grated)
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp paprika

Pound the chicken with a mallet to tenderize, if desired. Place in a baking dish and pour buttermilk over the chicken for at least 30 minutes.

In a large shallow dish, stir together the dry ingredients. (Exact portions are not necessary, and basil, thyme, or rosemary could be substituted for or added to the oregano). Sprinkle each chicken breast with salt and pepper, and dredge into the dry mixture, using your hands to thoroughly coat both sides.

Bake in a greased baking dish at 400 for about 45 minutes, or until golden brown.


Soak the chicken in buttermilk:

Prepare the dry mixture on a large shallow dish:

Dredge the chicken in the mixture:

Bake until golden brown:

It was absolutely delicious. And really simple to do. The combination of the panko and parmesan was unbeatable. I served it with steamed baby green beans and new potatoes with butter and dill.

Next time I will use smaller pieces of chicken so that we can have more crust, because that was our favorite part.

Chicken and Dumplings

I have been making this for many years and it is a favorite of Amby and Zac's. Per his request, I made it for Zac's birthday dinner and decided I would post it. It has been in my head all this time, so I will try to communicate it so that it actually makes sense.

I make the dumplings out of bisquick and buttermilk, but you can make them from canned biscuit dough. It is easier and cuts down on the mess, but, to me, they just aren't as good. I do not think this "recipe" has any redeeming nutritional value, but it is very high in yumminess and comfort.


Chicken and Dumplings

4 chicken breasts
2 cans cream of chicken soup
flour or cornstarch for thickening
3 cups of Bisquick
1 cup buttermilk
salt & pepper to taste

Cook chicken in 8 cups of boiling water until tender. Remove chicken from pot and allow to cool.
Strain water and return water to pot. Stir in chicken soup. Heat to boiling. In a small bowl, add about 1/2 cup flour or cornstarch to about 1-1/2 cups water and stir thoroughly until smooth. Add this to soup so that it becomes thick. Repeat if necessary to achieve the desired thickness.

In a medium bowl, stir bisquick and buttermilk together until stiff. Drop one spoonful at a time into the boiling soup mixture. This makes alot of dumplings, by the way. When the pot becomes full of dumplings, push the new dumplings underneath the first layer you dropped in that are still cooking. Boil for about 15 minutes, uncovered. They will puff up while they cook. Shred chicken and add to pot. Heat through. (Note: Some of the dumplings will dissipate into the soup. That is why the dumpling mixture needs to be as thick as possible.)


The bisquick and buttermilk mixture should look like this:
Drop by scant spoonfuls into boiling soup mixture and cook for about 15 minutes:


For Wonder Boy's birthday dinner, I served this with fried okra, field peas, and sliced tomatoes. We finished feeling agonizingly full, yet imperturbably comforted.