Carolyn's Lemon Chicken & Rice (Danny's Favorite)

Next to pizza, this is probably my husband's favorite food. This recipe comes from his mother, Carolyn, who is an amazing cook. When we got married, of course I had to find out how to make this dish. And while I could never make it exactly the way she does, I've gotten the thumbs up from my husband that my attempts are delicious as well. This is good news, because I don't think Danny could have survived without his favorite meal!

Carolyn's Lemon Chicken & Rice

Ingredients (for two or three people):

2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup lemon juice 

1/2 T chicken bouillon or 2 cubes chicken bouillon dissolved in 1 1/2 cups water

1/2 t. dried basil

1 T. cornstarch dissolved in a little cold water

enough cooked rice for whoever is coming to dinner

Directions:

1. Cut chicken into bite sized pieces and lightly brown on the stove.

2. Take the chicken out of the pan.

3. Add about 1/2 cup lemon juice to the pan.

4. Add chicken bouillon mixture as well.

5. Then add dried basil and let the pan simmer for about 5-10 minutes. Sometimes I add other spices as well, if I am feeling creative, but basil is the one spice that goes perfectly. *Taste your sauce after simmering. If it has a weak lemon taste, you need to reduce it more (or add more lemon juice if you don't want to wait). It should have a strong lemon flavor.*

6. Stir while adding the cornstarch thickening mixture to the pan, and let the sauce thicken a bit.

7. Add your chicken back to the sauce, and it's ready to eat!

8.Serve over rice and enjoy! 

I've also made this dish in the crockpot by simply adding all the ingredients except the cornstarch and letting it cook until the chicken is done. Then I add the cornstarch in with the sauce and the chicken. It's not as good as the stovetop version, but it worked.

Husband's Reaction: Oh, he always licks his plate clean with this lemon chicken. The sauce is his favorite part. He could drink it plain, which is kinda gross, but that's how much he loves it. Thanks to his mom for sharing her recipe so I can make it for him whenever he wants!

Crock Pot Salsa Chicken from Erica

Salsa Chicken from Erica's blog, Messerly Moments.

This girl's blog is so much fun to keep up on. She posts way more than recipes, inspires me to try to keep up on my blog better, and seems to always be having a party of one kind or another. Her blog inspired me to try this Salsa Chicken recipe a while ago, and I finally got around to it yesterday. So easy and yummy. Try it.

3 frozen chicken breasts
1 can drained diced tomatoes, corn, and black beans
1/2 diced onion
any seasonings you like (I used salt, pepper, taco seasoning, crushed red pepper flakes, red pepper flakes, and chili powder)

Cook in crock pot on low for 8 hours, sprinkle cheese over top and serve with sour cream and tortilla chips!

Of course, I didn't follow the recipe exactly (do I ever?) and added some green onion and lots of spices. I served mine with rice and no sour cream (cuz we were out). I also used thawed chicken thighs and cooked mine on high for 3 hours and then low for one hour. It worked!

The next day I made a salad out of the leftover salsa mixture (the chicken was sadly all gone), rice, lettuce, and tortilla chip crumbs. It was a nice little lunch and a good way to use up the leftovers!

Husband's Reaction: He started dancing in his chair! How embarrassing, sweetie. :)

Crock Pot Chicken Tostadas

This recipe kind of comes from a crockpot cookbook I have...but I changed it so much you wouldn't recognize it. So! I'm just putting my own version in here.

This chicken can be used in regular tacos too. Or over rice. Or any other way you use shredded chicken. It's good because it tastes a little citrus-y and taco-y. MMMmmm.

My husband's friend showed up for dinner, so he got to be in the picture too.

1/2 medium onion (chopped)
1 small can diced green chilies
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 packet Taco Seasoning
1/8 cup lemon (or lime) juice + 1/2 cup water (just eyeball it and mix them in your 1/4 cup measuring cup)
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Dash Paprika
Dash Chili Powder

1-Combine chopped onion, green chilies, and garlic in bottom of crock pot.
2-Lay chicken breasts on top.
3-Pour water/lemon juice mixture over chicken.
4-Sprinkle Taco Seasoning, Paprika, and Chili powder over chicken.

Set crock pot on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 2-2 1/2 hours.

When done, remove chicken from liquid. Use 2 forks to shred chicken. Use a slotted spoon or strainer to get the onion and chilies out of the liquid. Add to the chicken. Add about 1/4-1/2 cup of the liquid to the chicken to give it some flavor and keep it moist.

Your meat is ready!

Now, gather the rest of the ingredients you want to use on your tostadas. We had tostadas, refried beans, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, sour cream, and avocado slices. Pile on your favorite ingredients (including the wonderful chicken you just made, of course) and eat!

There's the chicken poking out at the bottom! See it???? Yes.

Husband's Reaction: "This is a dream meal."
Husband's Friend's Reaction: "You can write on your blog that I just said 'so good!' every two minutes."

Italian Chicken and Potatoes from Nikki S.

Italian Chicken and Potatoes


I can't believe I haven't posted this recipe yet! It's one of the easiest to make, and one of my favorites to eat. I've made it probably 3 times since I started this blog, but I just never got around to taking a picture of the finished product so I could post it. Well, today's the day!


I got this recipe from a Young Women's activity where we swapped favorite recipes and put them into books. This one came from Nikki S. (she's married now, so I guess she's Nikki C. now). I don't know if she even remembers bringing this recipe, but I've used it so many times. So, thank you, Nikki, for sharing!

4-6 red potatoes

4 chicken tenders or as much chicken as desired, cut into strips

1/3 cup parmesan cheese-grated

1 Tb Italian seasoning

1 bottle Italian dressing

In a casserole dish place cut potatoes and chicken.  Sprinkle Italian seasoning and dressing over mixture.   Spread cheese across the top.  Cover and bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes.  (Brown potatoes can be used, but will need to be cooked longer).

I usually use half a bottle of Italian dressing and add a little water to keep the dish moist. I also don't usually cover it while it cooks, but this can make it more brown on top than you might like. It's better with red potatoes, but the brown ones work too. I usually just cut them into smaller pieces. 


This recipe is simple and can be altered to feed fewer or more people. You could even use different seasonings, make your own dressing to pour on top, etc. I've said it before, but I LOVE recipes that are easy to mix up and make your own. This one is definitely that way!


*Can also be made in the crock pot. Just dump it all in and cook as long as your crock pot needs to get the chicken all the way cooked.


Husband's Reaction: HE LICKED HIS PLATE CLEAN!!! . . AND THEN HE LICKED MINE TOO! haha silly husband.