thanks to Rachel Ray which is where I nicked this from it was an instant hit in the household!

• 1/2 pound mini penne (or any mini short-cut pasta, I did not find mini-penne and I used more than 1/2 pound but less than 1 lb)
  
• Salt & pepper
  
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  
• 1 pound ground turkey
  
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped (did not use did not miss)
  
• 1 medium onion, diced
  
• 3 medium carrots, diced
  
• 1 medium zucchini, diced
  
• 1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
  
• 1 cup chicken stock, divided
  
• 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
  
• 3 tablespoons butter
  
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  
• 1 cup milk
  
• 1 cup shredded provolone cheese (I used 5 oz asiago cheese instead)
  

Pre-heat the oven to 400°F.

Place a large pot filled with water over high heat and bring up to a boil to cook the pasta. Once boiling, add some salt and the pasta and cook until al dente, according to the package directions. Heads up: reserve a mug of starchy cooking water before draining the cooked pasta. Drain well and transfer the pasta back to the cooking pot.

While the water is coming up to a boil for the pasta, place a large skillet over high heat with three turns of the pan of EVOO, about 3 tablespoons. Once the EVOO starts to ripple, add the ground turkey and break it up into small pieces as it cooks using the back of a wooden spoon or a potato masher. Cook until the turkey is nice and brown, about 8-10 minutes.

Add the veggies and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste, 1/2 cup chicken stock, half of the reserved starchy cooking water, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper. Continue to cook for 10 more minutes, stirring every now and then.

While the veggies and turkey are cooking, place a medium size saucepot over medium heat with the butter. Once the butter melts, add the flour and cook for 1 minute, whisking constantly so that the flour doesn't burn. Whisk in the milk (eyeball it) and the rest of the starchy cooking water and chicken stock, bring up to a simmer and cook until thickened. Once thick, turn off the heat, add the cheese to the pot and stir until completely melted. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Cover the bottom of a large, ovensafe baking dish with the turkey and veggie mixture. Meanwhile, add the cheese sauce to the reserved pasta in the pasta pot. Stir to coat, then transfer the cheesy pasta to the baking dish. Spread it out to cover the turkey mixture evenly. Place in the oven and bake until the top is golden brown, about 10 minutes.

chicken florentine

a Paula Deen classic

2 boxed frozen spinach
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 cup mayo
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup white wine or chicken stock
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp curry powder
1 1/2 of cooked chicken shredded
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
salt & pepper to taste

-preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 13 x 9 casserole dish
-cook & drain spinach
-in a bowl mix the mayo, sour cream, the soups, cheddar cheese, wine, lemon juice, curry powder, salt & pepper
-spread chicken in casserole dish, cover with spinach then with soup mixture
-combine Parmesan cheese & bread crumbs then top casserole
-bake for about 30 minutes

Creamy Dijon Chicken

really delish, I got the basic recipe off of allrecipes.com but it has been tweaked to suit our tastes
1/4 cup butter
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1/4 cup all purpose flour with a dash or 2 of pepper
1 can beef consume
1 cup sour cream
dijon mustard about 1/4 cup more or less to taste-I might have used more I didn't measure
grated Parmesan cheese

-melt butter in skillet over medium heat.
-coat chicken breasts in flour and fry on both sides till browned
-pour in beef consume, reduce heat to low, cover & simmer for about 45 minutes
-preheat oven to 300 degrees.
-mix sour cream & dijon mustard stir into skillet and simmer another 10 minutes
-remove chicken to a shallow casserole dish, stir sauce till smooth then pour over chicken
-top with cheese and bake about 10 minutes

chicken stir-fry

way too easy to make. I got this one off a Campbell's soup when we were first married and it is always a quick weeknight meal to prepare!

1 lb chicken breasts skinless/boneless cut into thin strips or just into cubes
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 bag(16oz) frozen veggie combination thawed
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 can tomato soup

- heat 1 tbsp of oil & brown chicken(seasoned with salt & pepper) in skillet. remove from pan
-heat remaining oil in skillet stir -fry veggies over medium heat with ginger & garlic till tender crisp-maybe 1-2 minutes
-add soup, soy & vinegar. heat to boiling return chicken to skillet. heat through
-now the recipe says to serve over rice I can only assume at this point we were out of rice the first time I made it because we always serve it over spaghetti noddles

tex-mex chicken

1 lb boneless chicken breasts cut into strips
2 tbsp taco seasoning mix
2 tbsp flour
1 each green pepper & red pepper cut into strips
1 cup frozen corn
1 small jar chunky salsa
1 can beer-cheaper the better

-toss chicken with seasoning mix & flour in crock pot
-stir in remaining ingredients
-cook on low for 6-8 hours

another goodie from Kraft magazine.
I thought the recipe could use more fluid so I am adding beer to the mix next time or some chicken stock would work well too. I also think chicken thighs would work well.

saucy bbq chicken

2 tsp oil
1 1/2 lb chicken boneless breasts (about 4 breasts) cut in half or thirds
1 onion sliced
1 can peas drained-I prefer Leseur
1/3 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup bbq sauce-Rendezvous spicy is what we prefer it adds decent heat to a dish
1/3 cup kraft catalina dressing
-heat oil in non-stick skillet on medium heat
-add chicken & onions cook about 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked
-mix liquids add to pan with peas
-mix well, cover & reduce heat simmer about 5-10 minutes

This was on kraft's website and I must admit to tweaking it some-the original recipe called for adding 1 lb cut & cooked red potatoes to the mix I bought a bag of frozen Ore-Ida roasted potatoes, baked them and served them on the side

poppyseed chicken

a recipe of my Mom's that the boys don't like but I do

2 cups(or 1 lb) cubed cooked chicken(I generally make sure it has been seasoned with salt & pepper)
8 oz sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cups Ritz cracker crumbs crumbled
1 tbsp poppy seeds
1/4 lb butter melted
pepper to taste

-put chicken in a casserole dish
-mix sour cream & soup mix pour over chicken
-mix crumbs and poppy seeds with butter & sprinkle over chicken
bake at 350 for about 40 minutes

Chicken & Pasta

taken form the can label of some tomato product many years ago

6 oz bow tie pasta
1 lb chicken breasts cut into cubes or strips
1 tbsp olive oil
1 can 15 oz tomato sauce
1 an 14.5 oz diced tomatoes-Italian herbs preferably
1 can sweet peas drained
1/4 cup shipping cream

-cook pasta & drain
-cook chicken in oil in a large skillet over medium high heat about 4-5 minutes
-stir in tomato sauce, undrained tomatoes & peas. bring to a boil reduce and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes uncovered.
-slowly stir in cream
-serve over hot pasta with garlic bread and a salad

Tex-Mex Chicken

1 lb boneless chicken breasts cooked & cubed
1 15 oz can pinto bean drained
1 1/2 cups salsa
1 can chicken broth
2 cups minute rice(uncooked)
8 oz velveeta cheese cube
pepper
hot sauce

-combine pinto beans, salsa & chicken broth bring to a boil
-add rice, velveeta & chicken pepper and dash of hot sauce to taste. reduce heat, cover & simmer for 5-7 minutes
serve with tortilla chips

smothered chicken

6 boneless thin chicken breast(or 4 regular ones pound thin)
1 jar chicken gravy
1 box stuffing-I went with chicken flavored
1 1/2 cups hot water
pepper to taste

-coat frying pan with PAM cook breats about 3-4 minutes per side
-add gravy cook another 5 minutes
-combine hot water with stuffing and spoon over chicken
-cover and cook another 5 minutes

quick and easy throw in a vegeatble and dinner is done!

jerk chicken

Easy crock pot recipe-
-2 packs of boneless, skinless chicken thighs
it was just under 4lbs of chicken I wait & stock up on boneless/skinless when they are on sale you can buy regular and take the skin off just as easily
-jerk seasoning I like the generic Target brand
-1 onion coarsely chopped
-1 green pepper coarsely chopped
-1 can chicken broth
-1 bottle bbq sauce we like Rendezvous hot bbq sauce which I can only find at Target. The boys like things spicy and this has been the only hot/spicy sauce I have tried that actually kicks up the spicy factor

Put the chicken in the crock pot, shake jerk seasoning over chicken-according to taste-I am liberal with the stuff
Cover with onion & pepper
mix bbq sauce & broth together in bowl & then pour over chicken
cover & slow cook for 8 hours.
great with mac & cheese and green beans

pesto chicken

4 chicken boneless chicken breasts
2-3 plum tomato sliced
1/3-1/2 cup pesto
mozzarella
preheat oven to 400
-spray shallow baking dish with Pam
-coat the chicken with pesto place in dish and bake uncovered for about 25 minutes
-remove from oven place tomato slice on top of chicken and cover with mozzarella
-bake for another 5-10 minutes

great with alfredo and string beans or a salad

lemon chicken

4 thin sliced boneless chicken breasts
salt & pepper
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 lemon juice-use fresh I used almost 2 lemons which was more than 1/4 cup
3/4 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp flour

-mix flour, salt & pepper in a baggie, shake chicken in flour mixture
-heat 1 tbsp butter with 1 tbsp oil in a large skillet
-cook chicken breast about 4 minutes on each side transfer to a plate
-add lemon juice broth and 1 tbsp flour to pan bring to boil stirring and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of pan with a wooden spoon. Boil about 5 minutes
-return chicken to pan and warm
-serve with broccoli and one of the Knorr pasta mixes from Lipton I think

chicken & pears

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts-about 1 lb.
2 Bosc pears, unpeeled, cored & cut into 8 wedges
1 cup chicken broth
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp cornstarch
1tbsp olive oil plus 1 tsp olive oil
sat & pepper to taste

-heat 1 tbsp olive oil on medium heat until hot
-add chicken and cook about 12 minutes turning at least once
-transfer chicken to plate
-add remaining oil to pan and cook pear wedges 3-4 minutes until lightly browned & tender
-mix broth, vinegar & cornstarch then add to skillet with pears. heat to boiling then boil for 1 minute.
-return chicken to plate and heat through.

got this one from a magazine-don't remember which one at this point but it was fantastic with rice and a salad. I used an dash or tow of pepper but honestly did not add any salt as the broth added enough salty flavor flavor to the dish.