FRIED CORNBREAD from Delish

This is your basic cornbread recipe. It comes from Delish. It's pretty bland, even with my addition of cooked, shredded and chopped chicken and diced onion, but simple to make. They've got the milk measurement wrong, stating you should use 1/4 c. buttermilk for the whole recipe. I made half and it took 1/2 c. of regular milk. I got six that were about 3 1/4" in diameter. I'd make this again but would add some chili powder and cumin. I made chicken gravy for this too.

I give this 4 stars.

Edit- I made this again adding chili powder, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder and shredded cheddar cheese and it was so much better.

CREAMY CHICKEN PASTA from Sugar Spun Run

This comes from Sugar Spun Run. I made half and got two big servings and used one small boneless skinless chicken breast and it was plenty. I added thawed spinach just for color though the recipe didn't call for it. I didn't add spices to the raw chicken nor did I fry it. I baked it plain and shredded it up after it cooled. I added the spices to the sauce instead but couldn't taste them much so added more. I added a little flour to the sauce to thicken it more. I don't think the smoked paprika and Italian seasonings go together at all, or maybe it was the smoked paprika and Parmesan cheese that didn't go together. I like that the sauce is a blend of heavy cream and chicken broth.

I give this 4 stars and would leave out the smoked paprika.

CHICKEN AND RICE SOUP from Sugar Spun Run

This recipe comes from Sugar Spun Run. This soup tastes good but I'm giving it 3 stars because it calls for entirely too much rice and chicken. I used the same brand as shown in the photo on the website and it took 45 minutes. I let it sit for 20 minutes afterwards and it got so thick I had to add water to it which heavily diluted the flavor. I think this only needed half that amount, so 1/2 c. of rice. I had to add more smoked paprika too because I couldn't taste it at all after it sat for those 20 minutes. And the amount of chicken called for was too much and I ended up wasting most of a chicken breast. Adding cream to this was 100% pointless. All it did was turn my soup a pale chocolate milk color and it was so gross looking that I didn't want to eat it. I will make this again using less rice and chicken and no cream.

CHICKEN ORZO SOUP WITH SUN-DRIED TOMATOES

This comes from Eatwell101. It's basic and simple to make, like most soups. You'll need to chop up jarred sun-dried tomatoes and onion, that's all. I've never been fond of Italian seasoning so I made my own with a recipe I found online, but I'm not too fond of that one even though I made adjustments to it. I used a lot less sun-dried tomatoes than called for, just 3 T., and that's enough to taste. I used water in place of cream. Orzo cooks fully in just 10 minutes. This could have used a little more, up to 1/4 c. dry, as this is brothy, but that's fine with me. I also used just 1/8 t. pepper flakes and that was more than enough. Anymore and I wouldn't have been able to eat it because it would have been too hot. 

I give this 4 stars.

 

CREAMY CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP from Yummly

 

This comes from Yummly. It says it makes four servings but I got three using 21 oz. bowls, which is what I wanted. The amount of salt and pepper wasn't given but should have been for the salt. It used at least 1/4 t. fine salt. I don't think two cups of cooked noodles would have been enough for over 5 c. of liquid. I used almost 4 oz. of medium egg noodles and it was perfect. That's almost two cups UNCOOKED and they appeared to increase in volume by at least 50%. I used broth in place of 1 c. milk to cut calories. I don't like poultry seasoning so I used thyme and oregano and left out the bay leaf too. I also added about 1/2 c. frozen peas. I added 3/8 t. garlic powder too.

I give this three stars for several reasons. I like how my soup turned out and I cooked my pasta in the soup. The recipe tells you to cook them separately but why? Makes no sense at all.

INDIAN CHICKEN CURRY SOUP WITH COCONUT MILK

This recipe is from Paint the Kitchen Red. I can't review the recipe as written because I made changes. I left out the coconut milk, jalapeno (my curry powder had cayenne pepper in it), fresh garlic (I used garlic powder), ginger (my curry powder already had it in it), no cilantro, I pureed fire roasted tomatoes and used 3/4 c. in place of diced tomatoes, and I used frozen thawed and drained spinach in place of fresh. I used far less chicken, just two tenderloins baked in the oven, then shredded and added last, and added half a can of drained and rinsed great northern beans, added after the soup was finished, and 1/2 c. dry ditalini pasta. Seems like this soup would have been just liquid without those two additions. I got three servings and each serving is almost 300 calories.

I used homemade curry powder from Minimalist Baker. I left out cinnamon, dry mustard, cardamom, and pepper. I used a lot less cayenne too. I added a little paprika for color. Truthfully the soup didn't taste like much until I added a little smoked paprika to it, and garlic.

EASY CHICKEN CROQUETTES

These come from Food.com. I made half the recipe twice using one average size boneless, skinless chicken breast. I got six croquettes using a slightly heaping 1/4 c. ice cream scoop. I didn't add the suggested onion or celery because stuffing mix has all that in it already and usually too much of it. These are good, they taste just like whichever stuffing you use. I only use Stove Top low sodium chicken stuffing. These would probably be good with cream of potato soup in place of cream of chicken. I made chicken gravy for them using one tablespoon butter, one tablespoon flour, and 1/2 c. low sodium chicken broth added after the butter and flour mixture thickened, and a pinch of pepper.

I do think the bread in the stuffing needs to be broken up more so the patties hold together better, and make sure your chicken is chopped finely too. The second time I made these they didn't want to hold together because of the size of my chicken pieces.

I give these 5 stars. I'm not sure the egg is necessary in this.

FRENCH CREPES WITH BECHAMEL

This recipe comes from MC^2 Creative Living. I'm reviewing the crepes and bechamel only, not the filling. I used one large boneless skinless chicken breast, baked, shredded and chopped, mixed with cooked and chopped broccoli florets, about one teaspoon cooked onion, dash of garlic powder, salt and pepper. I filled each crepe (this mixture was enough for 4) with filling, topped it with a little Monterey Jack cheese and sauce, then rolled it up, covered the top in more sauce and cheese then baked them for 12 minutes. 

The crepes turned out great. I used 1/4 c. batter in a pan with a 7" bottom and each one took 2 minutes to cook over medium-high heat. It made 8. The sauce is basic and easy to make. I didn't use nearly as much salt as called for and it was thinner than I wanted it so next time I'll use less milk, at least a couple tablespoons worth.

I give the crepes 5 stars but the bechamel 4.5 stars because it's a little too thin.

CHICKEN IN SUN-DRIED TOMATO CREAM SAUCE from Creme De La Crumb

This comes from Creme De La Crumb. I used the sauce mainly as pasta sauce. I did bake one boneless skinless chicken breast, sliced it after it cooled some and spooned sauce over it and used the rest in pasta, tri-color rotini to be exact. The sauce is very good but I only used exactly half the sun-dried tomatoes and half of her homemade Italian seasonings, and just a pinch of salt, and it's perfect. I cooked a little onion in salted margarine so that combined with the salty Parmesan, I didn't need much more salt. The sauce didn't really thicken so I added one tablespoon of flour to the mixture to help it thicken. I'll add a little more next time. I got just over 1.5 c. sauce and used half and half and chicken broth.

I give this 4 stars and not 5 because it didn't need double the sun-dried tomatoes, that's just wasteful, and it needed flour to thicken it.

ONE-POT CREAMY PESTO CHICKEN PASTA II from Creme de la Crumb

This comes from Creme de la Crumb. It tasted great before I even added the pesto and cheese at the end. As usual I baked a boneless skinless chicken breast and shredded and added it to the finished pasta. I did use just HALF the salt and it was perfect. I used 1/8 t. red pepper flakes but it needed a pinch more. I only had half the amount of cream so I used a little extra chicken broth to make up the difference. I added double the cheese because I couldn't taste 1/4 c. and to be honest with you it didn't taste much different after doubling it.

I give this 5 stars. 

ONE-POT PASTA WITH CHICKEN

This comes from Spend With Pennies and it couldn't be better. I made half and used half of a 10 oz. box of thawed frozen spinach though that wasn't in the recipe. It sure gave it nice color. I also used her recipe for Italian seasoning and used about 1/4 t. more than the recipe called for. Instead of using diced tomatoes I pureed a can of fire roasted ones and used half. I like my pasta well done so my penne took almost 30 minutes to cook. I used just one boneless skinless chicken breast, which I baked in the oven and shredded and added to the pan after the pasta was finished. I didn't top this with cheese and put under the broiler.

I give this 5 stars.

ONE-POT CREAMY SUN-DRIED TOMATO PASTA

This comes from Budget Bytes. I just slightly less pasta, 7 oz./2 c. of penne, and a little less sun-dried tomatoes. I cooked some onion though onion's not in this recipe. I cooked some frozen broccoli in this and added a cooked and shredded boneless skinless chicken breast after the pasta had cooked. I omitted cream cheese and added a big pinch of salt and 1/4 t. pepper.

This is very good and I rate this an A.

CORN CAKES from Kitchen Trial and Error

These come from Kitchen Trial and Error and they're awful. Very very very dry and taste like nothing more than tortilla chips. I made half the recipe, left out the cheese because I used a Parmesan cheese sauce on them, and added 1/2 c. finely chopped chicken breast and I can't even taste it.

I grade these an F.

CHICKEN AND RICE SOUP from Creme de la Crumb

This simple recipe comes from Creme de la Crumb. I made half and I used mostly low sodium chicken broth and some water, omitting cream completely. I cooked my wild rice blend, 3/4 c. of it, with all the liquids, not separately with part of the broth and water. I cannot understand why the author did that. I used a heaping 1/2 c. of canned peas and about the same of frozen thawed carrots that I'd cut in half. I used 1/8 t. red pepper flakes and about a heaping 1/4 t. salt. The brand of rice I used only took 15 minutes to be completely tender.

I give this 5 stars. It's good and I've got no complaints.

CREAMY CHICKEN WILD RICE SOUP

This comes from She Wears Many Hats. I made half and omitted rosemary, mushrooms and cream. I used slightly less thyme, thankfully, two 14.5 oz. cans of low sodium chicken broth and one can of water. I think it could have used even less thyme than I used. The flour didn't thicken this much so it needs more or none at all. I used a four rice blend that included wild rice and it only took 15 minutes to cook. I used a little less chicken.

I grade this an A+.

CHICKEN AND BROCCOLI STUFFED SHELLS from Tastes Better From Scratch

This comes from Tastes Better From Scratch. I used just 1/4 of the shells, which was 10 shells/3 oz., one large 8.4 oz. boneless skinless chicken breast (1.5 c.) that I baked in the oven, and 3 oz. of broccoli, which I cooked with the pasta. I only had enough filling for 9 shells. I made the full amount of sauce and had about 1 c. left over. I used some of that for a different recipe. I did cook about 2 t. onion in the butter. I didn't want to add egg yolks to my sauce so I used 2 T. flour instead, which I stirred into the butter/onion mixture. I used garlic powder too instead of real garlic. Since the filling is fully cooked when it goes into the oven, I baked it in a 2.5 qt. pan for about 15 minutes at 400 degrees F then turned on the broiler and cooked it another minute or two just to brown the cheese.

I grade this an A. I do recommend you cook the pasta and broccoli the day/night before just to save time when it comes time to make the sauce, cook the chicken and stuff the shells.

ONE-POT SUN-DRIED TOMATO PASTA from goodcook

This comes from goodcook, maker of bakeware and cutlery. It's very good. I made 2 oz. less but needed more than the full amount of liquids. I did cook mine fully, not to al dente, so it makes sense that I'd need more liquid. I cooked this covered though the recipe didn't say to. There wasn't enough liquids in this to cook uncovered as a lot of liquids would have evaporated, so I ended up using close to 1 c. extra milk. It took almost 30 minutes to cook. I added thawed and drained spinach at the end in place of fresh leaves.

When I went to make this I realized it's basically the same as the 12 Tomatoes Chicken Florentine recipe that I'd made in December.

I grade this an A. 

DUMP AND BAKE CHICKEN PARMESAN from 12 Tomatoes and Happy Go Lucky Blog

This comes from 12 Tomatoes, which they got from Happy Go Lucky Blog. I have to grade this recipe a C just because the amounts of liquid and bake time was way off. I made half and needed an additional 1/2-3/4 c. of water and 22 minutes bake time, so this took 62 minutes in a 9"x2" square stoneware dish. I learned that the hard way when I made this for the first time about 1 1/2 weeks before the second attempt and had to keep opening the oven, letting all the heat out, to add more water. So this time I started with more water, and extra seasonings.

The flavor of this is good but that will depend on which store-bought pasta sauce you use. The topping uses both mozzarella and Parmesan cheese but far more mozzarell. I left out the breadcrumbs. This needs at least equal parts of each cheese since mozzarella is practically flavorless and Parmesan is full of flavor. I added, for half the recipe, 1/8 t. each dried oregano and basil just to give it a little more flavor since the sauce gets watered down, literally. I'm not sure what the purpose was in covering this with foil for just 20 minutes. The liquids are barely warm at that point. I was going to do this on the stove top and wish I had since it's easier to monitor things. Before baking this I baked a boneless skinless chicken breast and shredded it while the pasta baked. After about 54 minutes, when the pasta was almost finished, I added it to the dish, then topped the pasta with cheese. So what should have taken up to 45 minutes according to the recipe took me 62. If you read the comments at Happy Go Lucky Blog you'll see many people agree that there wasn't enough liquid and they had to add more. 

I grade this a C. I would make this again but on the stove and will transfer it to the oven to melt the cheese. 

ONE-POT CREAMY CAJUN CHICKEN PASTA

This was another successful one-pot meal. This one's from Budget Bytes. Things I did differently- I baked and shredded just one large 8.2 oz. boneless skinless chicken breast and added it last instead of cooking it with the pasta, I pureed the fire-roasted tomatoes before adding to the pot because I cannot abide chunks of tomato, and I left out the cream cheese. She said you could use cream in place of the cream cheese so I did, 1/2 c. added at the end. I only used a pinch of cayenne pepper and I left out the black pepper. My Barilla penne took 22 minutes to cook. I added a little frozen and thawed spinach at the end just for looks, really. I added some Parmesan cheese but I couldn't really taste it so I'll omit it next time. I liked her Cajun spice mixture though it doesn't taste anything like store-bought ones I've had.

I grade this an A. I think I'll use just 6 oz. of pasta next time but use the same amount of chicken broth, cream, and tomatoes.