Tag: chicken

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

All credit for this recipe goes to my bff Angela ❤ When I moved into my first apartment and was cooking entirely on my own, I had my go to list of easy and tasty recipes. But after awhile I started getting a bit bored of making the same things all the time, and thus Angela to the rescue.

I actually have this recipe saved as a screenshot of a text message on my phone because that’s how easy it is. Just cook the chicken, mix the filling, fill your tortillas, and bake!

Some thoughts: there are a couple different ways you could make the chicken. Angela first suggested just boiling the chicken breasts, which is definitely easy (just boil until cooked through, an internal temp of at least 165°F). But I’ve actually started just throwing the chicken breasts in the crockpot with a jar of salsa. Cook on low for 6 hours and you’ve got super flavorful shredded chicken! That’s honestly so versatile, toss it in tacos or burritos or quesadillas or a burrito bowl.

You can also put pretty much anything in these enchiladas. I always add a can of beans and a jalapeño or two, but you could also add peppers and onions, more beans, corn, a different meat, no meat at all. The possibilities are endless.

Whenever I make these with my roommates, we pair it with some Mexican rice and a vegetable of some kind, like sliced cucumbers or bell peppers.

So enjoy this easy, simple enchilada recipe! That makes great leftovers for the whole week 🙂

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients

  • 2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (see above)
  • 1 jar salsa
  • 1 (8 oz) block cream cheese (or equivalent amount of plain yogurt)
  • 1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1-2 jalapeños
  • 10-12 small tortillas
  • 2 small cans enchilada sauce of choice (I prefer green!)
  • Shredded cheese of choice, for sprinkling on top

Instructions

  1. In a large sauté pan, combine the chicken, salsa, beans, jalapeños, and any other vegetable you want to add. Cook over medium-high heat and stir until warm and well combined.
  2. Add the cream cheese (or yogurt) and stir until creamy and well combined.
  3. Place a few spoonfuls of enchilada mixture in each tortilla, and roll up. Place tortillas in large casserole dish, seam side down.
  4. Pour enchilada sauce over the top and sprinkle with cheese.
  5. Bake at 400°F until sauce is bubbly and cheese is melted and golden.

Baked Cilantro Lime Chicken

I love cilantro lime, so when I saw this recipe on Budget Bytes I knew I had to try it. Since I was home for Christmas, I told my mom I would handle dinner one night and ended up making this delicious chicken along with black beans, corn, and some homemade Mexican rice (which I’ll share the recipe for soon!).

The whole spread!

This chicken couldn’t be easier. Just toss it in a ziploc bag with the marinade, leave for anywhere between 30 minutes and 8 hours (I went for the latter), and then bake!

The recipe is for chicken thighs, but you could definitely use breasts, or a mix of drumsticks and wings. Cook times will vary though, so just make sure it’s totally cooked before serving. Plus, this chicken makes for great leftovers: on its own, shredded in a quesadilla, chopped up in a Chipotle style bowl. The possibilities are endless!

So try out this super easy baked chicken for a hands off weeknight meal!

I actually tripled the recipe with breasts and thighs to feed my whole fam, just adjust the amount of marinade accordingly!

Baked Cilantro Lime Chicken

Ingredients

  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • freshly cracked pepper
  • 2 limes, divided
  • 1/2 bunch cilantro
  • 6 chicken thighs (1.5-1.75 lbs total)

Instructions

  1. Combine the olive oil, minced garlic, cumin, salt, and some freshly cracked pepper (about 10 cranks of a pepper mill) in a small bowl
  2. Zest one of the limes and then squeeze the juice. You’ll need 2-3 tbs juice, so if needed juice half of the second lime. Cut the remaining lime into wedges to garnish the chicken once cooked. Roughly chop the cilantro.
  3. Add 1 tsp of the lime zest, 2-3 tbs of the lime juice, and half the chopped cilantro to the marinade. Stir to combine. (The remaining cilantro will be added fresh after cooking the chicken.)
  4. Place the chicken thighs in a shallow dish or a large zip top bag. Add the marinade and toss the chicken to coat. Allow the chicken to marinate for 30 minutes or up to 8 hours (refrigerated), turning it once or twice as it marinates.
  5. Pre-heat the oven to 400°F and transfer the chicken to a casserole dish. Pour the marinade over the top. Add a pinch more salt and pepper.
  6. Bake the chicken for 40-50 minutes, basting once or twice throughout. Cooking time may vary based on size of meat; cook to an internal temperature of 160°F.
  7. For a crispy skin, broil for a few minutes once the meat is cooked through.
  8. Garnish the chicken with fresh slices of lime and more chopped cilantro leaves.

Chicken Parm Pasta

I made this recipe for dinner last weekend and it was a total improvisation. I wanted something that wouldn’t take long to make on Sunday night, and we were a bit lacking in the produce department, so this is what happened. And guys it was so good. And made enough for leftovers for dinner a couple days later!

I know the one picture I got isn’t super great, but I promise this is worth it. A perfect and easy weeknight meal with just a few pantry/freezer staples 🙂

Chicken Parm Pasta

Cook time: 20 minutes

Serves: 2-3

Ingredients

  • 4 ounces of pasta (I used angel hair, but any shape works)
  • 1 chicken breast
  • Olive oil
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • 1 teaspoon basil
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • About 1 cup of canned crushed tomatoes (I keep leftovers crushed tomatoes in a tupperware in the fridge/freezer)
  • Balsamic vinegar
  • Parmesan cheese

Instructions

  1. Boil water and cook pasta until tender, according to package directions
  2. Cut the chicken breast into cubes, about one inch.
  3. In a saucepan over medium heat and in about 1 tablespoon of olive oil, cook the chicken until cooked through, about 7-10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
  4. Add the minced garlic and cook about 2 minutes. Then add the crushed tomatoes, the basil, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper to taste.
  5. Add a splash of balsamic vinegar and cook about 5-7 minutes.
  6. Finish with parmesan cheese and serve over the pasta

Spice Rubbed Lemon Chicken

A couple weeks ago I decided I wanted to make a lemon pepper chicken breast. So I bought some lemons and improvised and the dinner that I ended up with tasted AMAZING. And looked pretty fancy too 😉 This is definitely not a quick weekday dinner (although I made it on a Wednesday). But it’s perfect for a nice weekend dinner or a date night!

A note, the chicken breast I used was very large, so I used way more spices than this. So just make more of the rub if you need it depending on how much chicken you have.

I also neglected to use parchment paper or aluminum foil, and cleaning the pan was super difficult. So definitely make sure you line your pan!

I served this with my go to green beans as well as rice, but feel free to switch the sides up! Pasta or potatoes would be great too, and you could make a salad or any other vegetables you choose.

So here’s my lemon chicken!

Spice Rubbed Lemon Chicken

Serves: 2

Cook time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 large or 2 medium/small boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 3 lemons
  • 2 teaspoons of salt
  • 2 teaspoons of basil
  • 2 teaspoons of oregano
  • 2 teaspoons of black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon of olive oil

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 400°F. Then juice one lemon into a medium bowl, and mix in all the spices and the olive oil (add up to 2 teaspoons more if your chicken breast is very large).
  2. Slice the other 2 lemons and arrange in a mound on a sheet pan covered in aluminum foil or parchment paper.
  3. Place the chicken breasts atop the lemons slices (this helps keep the chicken moist) and then brush/pour on the spice mixture, making sure all of the chicken is covered.
  4. Place the chicken in the oven and bake until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken reads 160°F, about 25-35 minutes depending on the size of your chicken breast. It will continue cooking to 165°F on the pan once you take it out of the oven.
  5. Take the chicken out and let rest about 5-10 minutes, then slice and serve!

Easy Weeknight Chicken

Chicken is one of my favorite easy dinners, especially during the week. Between classes and research and band practices it can be really difficult to find the time to make things at home, cue spending too much money on takeout (or mooching off of freshmen with meal plans). And we can try to meal prep but sometimes you just run out of time. Which is exactly when I make a dish like this.

When I go grocery shopping, flash frozen chicken tenderloins are my go to. They’re small and frozen individually, so you can just keep a bag of them in the freezer. And you can cook them while they’re still frozen in about 15 minutes! Plus you can really easily double this recipe to make lunch for the next day, a win-win.

This past week I made this exact dinner, but you can make the chicken with pasta or rice, and with any vegetable you like. And I’m sure this chicken will resurface with other recipes later on, but here’s what I made most recently!

Easy Weeknight Chicken

Cook time: about 20 minutes

Serves: 1 (or double really easily!)

IMG_1075

Ingredients

2 individually frozen chicken tenderloins (the unbreaded ones)

Chicken grilling seasoning (this stuff is great because it’s easy and versatile, but you can also use salt and pepper and any other spices you have on hand)

1/2 a large potato, diced

1/2 a red bell pepper

Instructions

  1. In a pan over medium heat, sauté the chicken tenderloins in about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Season the top side with the chicken seasoning (or whatever spices you want to use)
  2. Add the diced potatoes to the pan and season with the chicken seasoning and about a teaspoon each of salt and pepper.
  3. After about 7 minutes, flip the chicken over and season the other side.
  4. Cook chicken until cooked through (about 7 more minutes) and stir the potatoes, allowing them to cook until soft and slightly browned.
  5. Slice the half a red pepper (I love them raw, what’s easier than that?)
  6. Serve the chicken and potatoes and peppers!
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