Chicken Salad Sandwiches

I have a husband who refuses to eat mayonnaise or anything that looks, feels, tastes, or smells like it. His restriction rules out things like fry sauce, yellow sauce, and actually pretty much any kind of sandwich, burger, or wrap sauce on the planet. One time early in our marriage, very early mind you, I sneakily added one teaspoon of mayonnaise into a southwestern wrap spread. He took one bite and I ended up eating about 6 wraps by myself over the next few days. And so that is how this recipe came to be. I love chicken salad sandwiches. These ones have no mayo. Cream cheese is the substitute. Works wonders. I aim to please my man, especially if he's subjected to eating girly food like this for dinner every once in a while. Not that he's complaining.

Ingredients:

1 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup milk

1/4 teaspoon salt

dash of pepper

1 1/2 cups cooked chicken, chopped (Season 2 breasts with salt and pepper and cook them in a slow cooker for a few hours.)

1/4 cup green onions, diced

10 grapes, sliced lengthwise in thirds

1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted (optional)

Directions:

Combine cream cheese, milk, salt, and pepper and mix until smooth and creamy. Add remaining ingredients and mix lightly. Serve with green leaf lettuce on rolls or in cream puffs.

Poppy Seed Chicken

About ten years ago a friend shared this recipe with me. We made it for a Relief Society dinner we were in charge of together. I remember we were so worried about having enough food that we made a bunch of side dishes to go with it. We had rice, peach jello, rolls, and salad as well as dessert. I remember we added the peach jello at the last minute to make sure we had everything covered. I think we, or rather I, stressed myself out a bit much on that one. Now I serve it over rice and have vegetable on the side. I precooked the chicken and put this dinner together in eight minutes the other night. It's one of Olivia's favorites. She always requests it for her birthday dinner.

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed

1 large family-sized can cream of mushroom soup

1 1/2 cup sour cream

1 tube Ritz crackers, crushed

6 tablespoons butter, melted

1 tablespoon poppy seeds

Directions:

Mix chicken, soup, and sour cream. Spread in a 9 x 11 inch pan. Mix crackers, butter, and poppy seeds. Sprinkle on top of chicken mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for about 3o minutes or until bubbled and brown on top. Serve over rice.

*I sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper and cook in the crock pot on high for a couple of hours. Also, you can crush the crackers right in their package. It can be made ahead of time and refrigerated until ready to cook.

Chicken Florentine Casserole

I adapted this from one of my sister Hannah's recipes. She is so creative with her chicken. Me, not so much. I usually throw it in the crock pot with some barbecue sauce or roast it, dice it up, and use it in something -- not as a main dish. Hannah's chicken recipes amaze me. You actually have to WORK with the chicken. And I don't really like to touch slimy uncooked chicken. But she has me stuffing, smashing, rolling, pinning, dicing and smothering chicken in savory sauce that's good enough to eat alone. Don't worry, you don't have to do all of that in this recipe. Trust me. This one is good. Real good.

Ingredients:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup butter

3 teaspoons minced garlic

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

1/2 cup half-and-half

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

8 oz fresh spinach

4 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced

2/3 cup bacon, crumbled

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the chicken breast halves on a baking sheet; sprinkle with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Bake 20 to 30 minutes, until no longer pink and juices run clear. Remove from heat, and set aside. Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stirring constantly, mix in the garlic, lemon juice, cream of mushroom soup, Italian seasoning, half-and-half, and Parmesan cheese.

Arrange the spinach over the bottom of a 9x11 inch baking dish. Cover the spinach with the mushrooms. Pour half the mixture from the saucepan over the mushrooms. Arrange chicken breasts in the dish, and cover with the remaining sauce mixture. Sprinkle with bacon bits, and top with mozzarella cheese. Bake 20 to 25 minutes in the 400 degrees oven, until bubbly and lightly browned. Serve over pasta.

Feta-Stuffed Chicken Breasts

I bought the ingredients for this recipe before I went on my summer vacation but never had a chance to make it. And then, while I was visiting with family, my sister Hannah bought the ingredients to make it for everyone. And we never got around to it. And it is too bad, because this is so so good. I got home and saw my sun-dried tomatoes sitting in my pantry and decided for once and for all to give it a go. And now Olivia has requested it for her birthday dinner next month. I'm excited.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon snipped dried tomatoes (not oil-packed)

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (1 to 1-1/2 pounds total)

1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (1 ounce)

2 tablespoons softened fat-free cream cheese (1 ounce)

2 teaspoons snipped fresh basil or 1/2 teaspoon dried basil, crushed

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon olive oil or cooking oil

Fresh basil sprigs (optional)

Directions:

Place tomatoes in a small bowl. Pour enough boiling water over the tomatoes to cover. Let stand for 10 minutes. Drain and pat dry; set aside. Meanwhile, using a sharp knife, cut a pocket in each chicken breast by cutting horizontally through the thickest portion to, but not through, the opposite side. Set aside. In a small bowl, combine feta, cream cheese, the snipped or dried basil, and tomatoes. Spoon about 1 rounded tablespoon into each pocket. If necessary, secure openings with wooden toothpicks. Sprinkle chicken with pepper.

In a large nonstick skillet (or grill), cook chicken in hot oil over medium-high heat for 12 to 14 minutes or until tender and no longer pink, turning once (reduce heat to medium if chicken browns too quickly). Serve warm. If desired, garnish with basil sprigs. Makes 4 servings.