Chicken Pita

-Pre-cooked grilled chicken (half of a small package)

-Portabello mushrooms sliced (can omit)

-1 Tbl. Olive Oil (I use Extra Virgin)

-Sprinkle of garlic and italian seasoning (can omit)

-2 Whole wheat pita bread circles cut in half
-Veggies ex. baby spinach, bell pepper, green onion, grape tomatoes (what I used)
-Drizzle of dressing (I used ranch but you can use whatever you want)

Directions:
Heat up olive oil in a small skillet. Add mushrooms and chicken. Sprinkle with garlic and italian seasoning. Saute until chicken is browned.

Warm the pita bread for 15 seconds in the microwave. Cut it in half and fill half way with chosen veggies. Add 1/4 the chicken and mushrooms and drizzle with dressing. Repeat with the other three pita halves and serve.

Serves Two. (South Beach Phase two and three)

Mexican Chicken

1 bag pre-cooked southwestern chicken strips (a little over 1 pound)
1 can low sodium black beans rinsed
1 cup red enchalada sauce
2 cups shredded mild cheese (can sub any cheese)
3 green onions chopped for garnish (can omit)

Cook chicken in a pan until hot, add rinsed black beans to chicken, stir together and heat. (I used my spatula to chop the chicken after it was cooked)

 Add enchalada sauce to chicken and beans, mix until hot. Spray a 8x11 pan with pam. Add chicken mixture to the 8x11.

Add cheese to the top and bake at 350 for 10-20 minutes.

Serves 6 and is great eaten alone or with tortillas. South Beach all phases (phase one without tortillas).

*Pinterest Thumbs UP! (altered)

Chicken Pot Pie

Makes 2 whole pies
3 chicken breasts browned or boiled (you can use turkey, deer, or beef)
6 red potatoes peeled and diced
1 8oz. bag of fresh baby carrots
1 8oz bag of frozen peas
3 cups chicken broth (or beef broth)
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup all-purpse flour
1 teaspoon of salt (can omit)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper (can omit)
1 or 2 chicken or beef bullion cube (for potatoes)
2  9inch round cake pans (use butter flavored shortening to grease)
2 pie crusts that have both top and bottom layer. Thaw or fresh. (If you use our Easy Basic Pie Crust recipe make sure you do it twice to have enough to make two complete pies)
1 egg white (to baste crust)

Directions:
Start by preparing. Take your peas out of the freezer and set aside to thaw. Boil diced potatoes add a bullion cube to the water for extra flavor. Cook your meat using a little bit of garlic if you'd like. Be careful adding too much salt. Cook your carrots. Grease your cake pans with butter flavored shortening. Put your bottom layer pie crust in your pan and baste with egg whites (can omit). Pre heat oven to 400 degrees.
In a large pot melt your butter. Once melted, add flour, slat and pepper. Slowly wisk in broth. It will be kind of thin. Add drained cooked potatoes, carrots, peas and meat. Stir together. Add filling to waiting pie crust pan. There will be enough filling for TWO pies.

Add your top crust and pinch the layers together around the edge.

If you don't weave the top be sure to make slits in the top for vents. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.



Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta

3 cups uncooked, medium yolk-free egg noodles
1 tbsp light butter
1 (12 oz) package fresh broccoli florets (not pictured, we were out...)
cooking spray
2 cups chopped, cooked chicken breast
1 cup nonfat buttermilk
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
2 tbsp dry ranch dressing mix
6 tbsp real bacon pieces, such as Oscar Mayer.  (I cooked regular bacon.)
1/4 cup (1 oz) shredded parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp black pepper

Cook noodles according to package directions, omitting fat and salt.  Drain, add butter and stir to combine. Keep warm.
While noodles cook, microwave broccoli according to package directions. Heat a large skillet over med-high.  Coat with cooking spray and add chicken. Cook 2-3 minutes or until lightly browned.
Combine buttermilk, sourcream and dressing mix in a large bowl.  Whisk until smooth.  Add noodles, broccoli and chicken.  Toss to coat.  Sprinkle with bacon, cheese and pepper.

Makes 6 servings- 1 1/2 cups each.
From Weight Watchers (points value: 5)

Mexican Salad

• Lettuce, any kind
• chicken breast
• olive oil
• chili powder
• cumin
• garlic, fresh or powder
• avocado
• shredded pepper jack cheese
• black beans
• Ranch dressing
• taco sauce

Marinate chicken in olive oil and seasonings, no need to measure!  Grill chicken or saute in a pan until cooked through.  Slice.

Arrange lettuce on a plate. Top with warm chicken, avocado. cheese, beans, Ranch dressing and taco sauce (I use Taco Bell sauce).

Greek Pitas

• Chicken breast
• olive oil
• lemon juice
• oregano, dried
• salt and pepper
• kalamata olives
• feta cheese
• tomato
• lettuce
• prepared tzatziki sauce

Marinate the chicken in a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, salt and pepper.  No need to measure, just throw it together!

Grill chicken or saute in a pan until cooked through.  Slice.
Warm pitas in oven or microwave.  Fill pita with warm chicken olives, feta, lettuce and tomato. Top with tzatziki.

*humus is also yummy in the pita, especially if you are going vegetarian!

White Chicken Chili

This one is so yummy, you'll never know it's healthy!  Serve it with Lite Cornbread on the side or crumbled into the chili!

• 1 lb ground white meat chicken or turkey
• 5 green onions, plus more for ganish
• 1/2 yellow onion
• 2 small tomatoes (vine ripened are better)
• 1 can white beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp cornmeal
• 1/4 tsp lite salt
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped, plus more for garnish
• 1 cup skim milk
• olive oil

sour cream and shredded cheese for garnish.
**Freshly shredded always tastes and melts better.  If you have a food processor, it will shred a block in just a few seconds and you can store unused shredded cheese in a baggy or dish with a lid.

Heat olive oil in a large pot.  Add green onions and yellow onion.  Sauté 2-3 minutes.
Add chicken, tomato, garlic, chili powder, salt, cumin, cilantro and cook until chicken is browned.
Add broth, cornmeal and beans.  Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat.
Simmer 30 minutes or until chili reaches desired consistency.  Reduce heat to low and add milk. stir and cook a few minutes more.
Garnish with sour cream, cilantro, green onions and shredded cheese.

**for South Beach Diet, omit the cornmeal.

Del Taco Spicey Jack Quesadillas

These chicken quesadillas taste just like the Spicey Jack Quesadillas at Del Taco!  MMM!

3 regular size chicken breasts (2 large)
cumin
chile powder (I used ancho chili powder)
garlic
powder
lite salt
pepper jack cheese (sliced or grated)
1 small can diced, fire roasted green chilis
8 flour tortillas

Cut chicken into strips.  Coat chicken liberally with olive oil and spices (sorry, I don't measure!).
Heat a skillet over medium-high and cook chicken until cooked through.  Move chicken to a cutting board and let it rest for a couple minutes.  Slice chicken into chunks.
Heat a skillet or quesadilla press.  Place first tortilla onto press, top with cheese, chicken, green chilis and more cheese.  Cook until crisp on the outside and melted on the inside. If you're using a skillet, you will have to flip it to cook the other side.  

Buffalo Chicken Salad

If you like our Buffalo Chicken Sandwich but would like to cut the calories, this is the perfect salad! All the flavor of the sandwich with a fraction of the calories, fat and carbs!

• 4 chicken breasts
• 1 bottle of prepared buffalo sauce (I like Texas Pete's)
• 1 bag of baby spinach leaves
• 4 hard boiled eggs
• a handful of cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• Blue Cheese Sauce

Place chicken breast in a zip top bag with a 1/2 the bottle of buffalo sauce.  Marinate for 1-2 hours.  Grill on medium heat for about 5 minutes per side, or until done.

Divide spinach leaves among four plates.  Top each with 1 chopped egg and tomatoes.

Chop chicken and toss with additional buffalo sauce.  Add to salad.  Serve with a dollop of Blue Cheese Sauce.

*All phases of the South Beach Diet

Artichoke Chicken

This recipe got two thumbs way up from the hubby!  It is low fat and allowed on all phases of the South Beach Diet... but you'd never know! 

• 4 chicken breasts
• 1 cup olive oil
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp basil
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp rosemary
• 1 jar marinated artichoke hearts (I used Cara Mia)
• sliced muenster cheese

Combine olive oil and spices.  Marinate chicken for a couple of hours in oil mixture.  Grill chicken breasts for about 5 minutes on each side, or until done.

Chop the artichoke hearts and warm them, either in the microwave or in a saucepan.  

Top grilled chicken breast with warmed artichoke hearts and sliced cheese.  Heat in the microwave or oven until cheese melts.

Chicken Spiedini

• 3 large boneless chicken breasts, cut into strips
• 6 ounces Asiago cheese (or any good Italian cheese), cut into 2-inch cubes
• 1/2 cup high-quality olive oil
• 2 cups Italian bread crumbs
• 4 dried bay leaves
• 1 large white onion, sliced thickly lengthwise

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray a baking pan lightly with cooking spray. Wrap each chicken strips around each cheese cube and secure with a toothpick. Dip chicken in olive oil and then roll in bread crumbs. Place chicken in the baking pan. Top with bay leaves and sliced onions. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until chicken is fully cooked through, and cheese has melted, and bread crumbs are golden brown. Serve.

From Paula Deen

Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

• chicken breasts, about 1 breast per person
• buffalo wing sauce (I like Texas Pete's)
• sliced cheese, such as pepper jack 
• sub rolls
• sour cream
• blue cheese
• green onions

Marinate chicken in some of the wing sauce fore a couple of hours.
Mix sour cream, blue cheese and green onions together, set aside.  Eyeball this one- depending on how much sauce you want and how strong you want the onion/cheese flavor depends on how much you put in.  You can't mess it up, just mix until it looks good!
Then grill chicken until cooked through.  You can also cook the chicken in a saute pan- just chop the chicken before cooking.
After grilled chicken has rested about 5 minutes, slice the chicken and toss it in additional wing sauce, set aside and cover with foil to keep warm.
Slice rolls in half, top with cheese slices and set under the broiled for a couple of minutes, until bread is toasted and cheese is melted.
To make your sandwich, pile chicken on a warm roll and smother with sour cream sauce. Yummmm!

Ancho Marinade

Recipe for the ancho chile marinade used at the Chipotle Mexican Grill Restaurant. Source: Chef Staci Raymond – Chipotle Mexican Grill, Phoenix, Arizona.  This is the perfect marinade for chicken or steak, everyone will wonder where you got the recipe.

• 2 ounces. dried ancho chilies 
• 1 teaspoons black pepper 
• 2 teaspoons cumin powder 
• 2 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped or 2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano 
• 6 cloves garlic 
• 1/2 red onion, quartered 
• 1/4 C. vegetable oil 
• 4 chicken breasts or meat of choice

Soak dried chilies in water overnight or until soft; remove seeds. Place ingredients, except meat, in a food processor; process until smooth. Spread mixture over the chicken; refrigerate at least 1 hour, up to 24 hours. 
Heat grill to 400 degrees, or if cooking inside, heat a small amount of oil in a skillet or grill pan over high heat. Season chicken with salt. Grill chicken breasts until cooked through.

Mrs. Rogers' Chicken

Mrs. Rogers' Chicken- AKA: Smothered Chicken Nuggets :)

• 4 chicken breasts
• 4-6 eggs
• 3-4 cups plain bred crumbs
• butter
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 lemon
• mushrooms (you can leave them off if you don't like them!)
• muenster cheese (this is a great cheese for picky eaters because it's really mild and melts beautifully.)

Cut raw chicken into bite size chunks.  (I like to cut chicken with kitchen shears.)  Soak in beaten egg over night or for a few hours.

Shake excess egg from the chicken and roll in plain bread crumbs to coat.  Heat a skillet over medium heat and melt butter.  Brown chicken in butter until all sides are browned, but not cooked through.  

Place chicken in a single layer in a 13x9 baking dish.  Top chicken with sliced mushrooms- remember that mushrooms shrink up when they cook, so go heavy if you like them!  Top mushrooms with slices of muenster cheese.  Then pour chicken broth and squeeze the juice of a lemon evenly over the dish.  (If your lemon isn't too juicy, you may need 1 1/2 lemons).  

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. 

Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas

• 3-4 Chicken breasts
• 1 large can Las Palmas Green Chili sauce
• 1 small can diced green chiles
• tortillas
• shredded mexican cheese
• chopped cilantro
• chopped onion
• chopped tomato

Cube and cook chicken.  Season with garlic, cumin, salt and pepper to taste.  Add sauce and chiles and let simmer at least 15 minutes.  Roll into burritos or enchiladas.  Top with sauce and cheese.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes for enchiladas.  Top with sour cream, cilantro, onion and tomato 

Ritzy Chicken

• 4 chicken breasts
• 2 cans cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 small jar pimento (optional)
• 3 tbsp poppy seeds (optional)
• 2 rolls Ritz Crackers, crushed
• 1 stick margarine or butter

Cut chicken into bite size pieces and cook through in a skillet.  (Do not add salt to the chicken)
Once chicken is cooked, mix chicken, soup, sour cream, pimento, 1 tbsp poppy seeds and 1 roll of the crushed crackers.  Spoon mixture into a 13x9 pan.
Mix remaining roll of crushed crackers with 2 tbsp poppy seeds and melted butter.  Sprinkle mixture over chicken.  Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas

• 4 chicken breasts, chopped
• green bell pepper, chopped
• white onion, chopped
• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 1 cup salsa, plus some
• tortillas
• shredded mexican cheese

Saute chicken chunks in olive oil or butter until no longer pink.  Add vegetables and continue cooking until they are tender.  Add 1 cup salsa and cream cheese.  Reduce heat and stir until cheese is melted and combined with salsa.
Fill and roll tortillas.  Place seem side down is a sprayed or lightly greased 13x9 pan.  Top with additional salsa.  Spread the salsa over the enchiladas until a thin, even layer covers all visible tortilla.  Top with shredded cheese and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.