Chicken Broccoli Alfredo Pizza

Posted on February 3, 2014 by admin

So, you know how the 70s are back in full force via fondue? Well, I had a fondue party errr. maybe it was a party where we ate fondue. Then I made some up again since the party was a “girls gathering” and Mr. J didn’t get any. So 2nd time around, I had leftovers. It seemed like something I should keep and use wisely since it is ohh so delicious (and the price of fancy cheese isn’t going down anytime soon). I split the leftovers into 2 containers and froze it.

Then it got to come alive again. I was thinking how it could be used again, and duhh. I had leftover steamed broccoli and leftover cheese fondue in the freezer. Pizza!

Ingredients:

pizza dough
1 1/2 cups broccoli (steamed, roasted, or raw, as you like it)
1 cup cheese fondue (or cheese sauce, or alfredo sauce) warmed slightly.
3 chicken tenders
8 oz shredded mozzarella

Directions:

Preheat the oven and pizza stone (if using one) to 400-degrees.
Cook the chicken and broccoli, if needed.
Spread the pizza dough onto at hot pan or pizza stone before poking a few holes into it.
Bake 10 minutes.
The Three Bite Rule
Spread or spoon the fondue onto the crust.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Broccoli Alfredo Pizza
Then sprinkle the mozzarella on top.
Next add broccoli florets and pieces of chicken.
Return to the oven and bake for 15 minutes.

The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Broccoli Alfredo Pizza
Remove from the oven and let sit for 3-5 minutes before slicing.

This was so good. I used breaded chicken tenders because they’re so quick and easy. They could cook while the pizza stone was preheating. The fondue acting as my “alfredo” sauce, and broccoli both were rescued & frozen after fondue.

The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Broccoli Alfredo Pizza
The touch of mustard from the fondue is really great here. The flavors are subtle, but decadently cheese, plus the juicy chicken, and the broccoli freshness…ahhh! It’s all you need.

Fondue is fun and the price of the cheeses definitely made me want to use the leftovers. This could have easily become pasta, or calzone (like I made eons ago), or into lasagna, or become cheesy garlic bread. The possibilities are endless for cheese sauce. I have one more leftover use ahead. Stay tuned! Have leftovers “left” you inspired to make something else lately?

Superbowl Snacks: Chicken Bacon Ranch Spring Rolls

Posted on January 29, 2014 by admin

These are the PERFECT appetizer. There’s crunch! There’s bacon! There’s freshness in the greens! There’s warmth with cool ranch! Soooo good! Chicken Bacon Ranch Spring Rolls are not “spring rolls” in any traditional sense, but are such a fun treat that I’m sure everyone would like. They’d be easy to prep and cook partially and then warm in the oven when the big game starts.

The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Bacon Ranch Spring Rolls

Ingredients:

2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 oz dry ranch mix (1 packet)
2 cups arugula
4 green onions
3 slices of bacon
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar
Wonton wrappers

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400-degrees.
In a large pan, fry the bacon until crisp, then remove to paper towels to drain. Leave the bacon drippings in the pan over low heat.
Warm the chicken in the bacon dripping pan.
Add in 3/4 of the dry ranch mix to the chicken, mix well, and then remove from the heat.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Bacon Ranch Spring Rolls
Chop the arugula, green onions, and bacon.

Mix in the chicken once it has cooled a bit also adding the cheese to the arugula and bacon. (if the mixture is too hot, the cheese will melt and get all stringy)

Sprinkle in the rest of the dry ranch mix, then stir well.
Lay out the wonton wrappers. Spoon about 3-4 tablespoons of filling onto the wrappers, across the middle at an angle.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Bacon Ranch Spring Rolls
Roll them up, folding the bottom point up across the filling. Fold the sides in towards the middle. Roll towards the far point, tucking the edges in as you roll away from you.

Lay the rolls on a sheet pan with the point facing the pan. Spray, drizzle, or brush with olive oil.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Bacon Ranch Spring Rolls
Then bake for 10 minutes.
Flip over and bake another 10 minutes to ensure all sides get crisped. Pan frying in oil is an alternative.

Serve with ranch dip or dressing.

I used some of a roasted chicken for this, which really made this app really easy to whip together. I grabbed a deli roasted chicken and used half for a chicken pot pie. Then I took the rest of the chicken off the bone and froze it, to bring it to life for this! I used the bones to make broth for the chicken pot pie with some leftover too. For this spring rolls I used all the filling and most of the wonton wrappers I had. I figured any we didn’t eat could easily freeze or reheat in the oven.

This uses a surprisingly small amount of bacon so I warmed the chicken in the bacon drippings for some more bacon flavor and to get some moisture into the chicken. The chicken was already cooked but I wanted to warm it to better incorporate the ranch flavor.

suggested adaptations:
Chicken Bacon Ranch Spring Rolls – wontons + croissant dough or puff pastry = Chicken Bacon Ranch Rolls with less crunch but more doughiness
Chicken Bacon Ranch Spring Rolls – ranch + smokey dry rub + BBQ Sauce for dipping = Chicken Bacon BBQ Spring Rolls
Chicken Bacon Ranch Spring Rolls – arugula + spinach/cabbage/sprouts = Chicken Bacon Ranch Spring Rolls with more mild fresh flavor

Maple Dijon Chicken

Posted on January 13, 2014 by admin

I can’t believe I haven’t blogged this before. I actually have made it quite a few times. Very few foods repeat over here but this is a crowd pleaser and is a simple one to have up your sleeve. The ingredients are staples in my house and having a fool-proof chicken recipe is great if you want to mess around with your side dishes.

The Three Bite Rule - Maple Dijon Chicken
Anytime I mention simple ingredients all I can think of is Teresa Giudice sounding like a fool to her cookbook publishers when she keeps calling them ingredientses. If you can’t say it, then you shouldn’t get a book deal. Done. I mean, don’t get me wrong. I am hooked to the trash they say, but they can live on their millions from the show, not fake cookbooks others write and slap her photo on.

Anywho, it only takes a few flavorful ingredients to make this. I don’t recommend swapping out the thighs for breasts. It isn’t the same (I tried once). Trust me: people who think they don’t like chicken thighs will sing a different tune. They are so much more moist and they’re super cheap to buy. This recipe would be divine with the skin on it, but I wanted to spare us a few calories. Chicken thighs on the bone work fine too.

The Three Bite Rule - Maple Dijon Chicken

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
3 tbs dijon mustard
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tbs red wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
salt & pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375-degrees.
In a small bowl, whisk together mustard, syrup, and vinegar.
Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper.
Spray a baking pan with non-stick spray and spread the chicken out.
The Three Bite Rule - Maple Dijon Chicken
Pour the sauce over and flip each piece of chicken to coat it in the sauce.

Bake 20 minutes.
Flip the chicken over and brush more sauce over each piece of chicken
Increase the temperature to 400-degrees.

Bake 10 minutes and remove from oven.

So easy. I love the flavors here. It isn’t a super far stretch from honey mustard, but the taste is different. The vinegar keeps is bright and the maple is a perfect balance. It makes great leftovers!
The Three Bite Rule - Maple Dijon Chicken
Need a jump start? Dump the sauce ingredients into a jar, shake it up and pop it in the fridge. Now anyyyyone can throw this dinner together. The chicken could hang out in the baking dish with the sauce all day so all you have to do is get it in the oven.

suggested adaptations:
maple dijon chicken + fresh thyme/rosemary = super homemade tasting
maple dijon chicken + frozen chicken + crockpot (low for 4-6 hours) = easier dinner
maple dijon sauce + chicken tenders + skewers + grill = an alternative to BBQ sauce

Chicken Parmesan Calzone

Posted on December 18, 2013 by admin

I love the ease of calzones and this one is ideal to feed your hungry house guests or to keep your weeknights productive with simplicity or to be a hefty appetizer or a potluck star. I mean, I don’t know about you, but I haven’t finished wrapping Christmas presents and there are about a bejillion holiday movies on tv right now. Keeping wiggle room on weeknights is definitely what I need.

This is not a far cry from my Chicken Parmesan Pizza, but I want to save you from a lackluster Chicken Parm calzone if you were thinking of chicken and mozzarella. That’s not enough, but of course you weren’t thinking that. 😉 That’s almost enough for topping a Chicken Parmesan pizza but in a calzone it will be underwhelming and seem empty. Don’t forget to fill, fill, fill the calzone. It seems like wayyy less when you bake & slice it up.

Ingredients:

pizza dough
1 1/2 cups tomato sauce (Pastene Kitchen Ready Tomatoes)
5 chicken tenders breaded and cooked through, and cut into chunks
1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
1 cup mozzarella, shredded
1 cup Parmesan

Directions:

Preheat the oven, and pizza stone if using one, to 400 degrees.
Spread the pizza dough onto the pizza stone or pizza pan, off center so the filling can be on the “bottom” and the “top” can fold over. When the dough goes onto a hot pan it cooks a bit to hold the form.
Layer chicken chunks, mozzarella, ricotta spoonfuls, Parmesan, and tomato drizzles.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Parm Calzone
Keep layering and making sure there’s filling all the way to the edges. Fill more than it seems like it needs.

Keep filling, and filling, and filling.
Fold the top over and pinch the edges together.
Gently “squish” the fillings to the edges to pat it down a bit.
Slice some vents into the top, spacing them out and keeping any unplanned vents.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Parm Calzone
Bake 30 minutes. Optional: Brush with olive oil or eggwash for a shiny top midway through.
Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes before slicing.

This is an easy one that is ohh so comforting. It is very simple but hits some flavors everyone likes, plus calzones are great as leftovers. I put tomato sauce into this calzone, but I normally just serve it on the side. I also would love slices of fresh mozzarella in here but I was trying to keep it pretty simple.

I made a few pizzas and a few calzones for guests. This one was a good crowd-pleaser amongst some other flavors. The chicken parmesan calzone helped the menu since I could prep it and partially cook it in advance. I paired this guy with a bruschetta pizza, a BBQ chicken pizza, and a pepperoni pizza for the kiddies. Something for everyone!

Chicken Marsala

Posted on December 4, 2013 by admin

Chicken marsala is actually easier than I thought it would be. Somehow I was thinking it would be a lot of steps. I’m not sure why. I guess since it is kind of a “restaurant food” to me I thought it would be more involved. This would be a great Christmas Eve meal or holiday dinner party meal. Early December is a great time to give a new item a dry-run if you want practice. It is honestly easier than it seems. Check it out at the bottom. It’s super cheap to make too.

The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Marsala
I served it over some egg noodles and it was a super easy dinner plus, the sauce was really great even as leftovers.

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts (or chicken tenders)
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt & pepper
2 tbs vegetable oil
2 slices of prosciutto, chopped
4 tbs butter
8 oz. mushrooms, halved, quartered, or sliced (I used button, but baby portabella would be good too)
2 tbs garlic, chopped
1 cup Marsala wine
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 pound wide egg noodles

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 300-degrees.
Lay the chicken on plastic wrap with another piece of plastic wrap on top. Pound the chicken out with a meat mallet (or a heavy skillet, can of soup, or something equally heavy) until even in thickness.
Mix flour, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in a flat dish with sides, like a baking dish or flat bowl.
Heat a large pan to medium-hich heat with the vegetable oil.
Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture on both sides and shake off the excess.
Pan fry the chicken for about 5 minutes per side, in batches if it doesn’t all fit in the pan. Or use a meat thermometer to get the chicken to about 160 degrees (it will cook a bit more later so it will get to 165 by the end).
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Marsala
Remove the cooked chicken and set inside the oven to keep warm.
Boil water for pasta if serving over egg noodles.
In the same pan, without the chicken, reduce the heat to medium and cook the prosciutto for about 2 minutes.
Add in the butter and button mushrooms, cooking for about 5 minutes until the liquid has reduced.
Pour in the marsala wine, 2 tbs butter, garlic and chicken broth. Let the wine cook the alcohol out for about 5 minutes at a low boil.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Marsala
Add the egg noodles into the boiling water pot.
Add the chicken back into the pan and cook for another 3 minutes, flipping once.
chick_marsala_pan_590_390
Serve over egg noodles & enjoy!

I really love the wine and garlicky flavors in this. It is a light but flavorful sauce and it is a great variation to some of my recent dinners.

I forgot prosciutto but it makes it even better. It’s super cheap to get just a few slices at the deli counter if you don’t mind waiting for it. I usually am not using a whole package whenever I add it to something so I’ve frozen a few slices for occasions such as this where it’ll be cooked. I forgot to check for some this time. Oops.

This would be a nice dinner for guests. You could have the chopping and the chicken cooked in advance then just the sauce would need to come together.

Cost breakdown:

chicken: 3-4 breast pieces $2.99
mushrooms: $2.00
2 slices prosciutto: $3.00
marsala wine: grocery stores here have it without alcohol for $3.00 per bottle or it’s closer to $7 at liquor stores.
garlic: $0.25
egg noodles: $0.75
total: $11.99 for 4 servings, or $2.99 per person. Take that restaurants!