• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 3 carrots, cut and peeled, in 1/4″ thick slices
• 3/4 lb red potatoes, washed, quartered lengthwise, and cut into 1/2″ thick slices
• 3 large celery ribs, cut to 1/2 ” thick slices
• 2/5 cups cubed or shredded cooked chicken (about 1 lb)
• 6 tbsp butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 6 tbsp flour
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
• 1/4 dried thyme

Bring broth to a boil in 4 qt heavy saucepan. Add carrots, potatoes, and celery and simmer until tender, about 15 min. With a slotted spoon, remove vegetables and put aside. Reserve 3.5 cups broth for sauce. Put the cooked chicken in with the vegetables.

Melt butter in a large heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring, about 3 min to make a roux. Add the reserved 3.5 cups broth in a slow steady stream, whisking constantly. Bring to a slow boil, whisking. Reduce heat and simmer, stir in nutmeg, parsley, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste.

Add chicken and vegetables to the sauce over low heat or no heat. Fold together to coat evenly, stirring gently until just combined. Serve with cheddar biscuits, baked alone first and dropped over the chicken later.

• 4 or 5 boneless skinless chicken breasts, fat trimmed off
• 1.5 cup spiedie sauce or other marinade, 0.5 cup reserved
• pinch of salt, coarse ground pepper
• 0.5 cup frozen spinach, cooked, drained and pressed
• 0.25 cup bread crumbs or crushed cereal
• buns, condiments, and toppings

Marinate the chicken.  Put the breasts and a few tablespoons of marinade in the food processor and process until evenly chopped.   In a bowl, toss the processed chicken with the bread crumbs and spices.  Work in the drained spinach with your hands, and a few more tablespoons of marinade.  Shape into patties.

Grill or pan cook the patties.  In a pan, heat 1 tbsp olive oil until hot.  Sear the patties on med-high heat until browned on both sides.  Turn the heat to medium low and add the 0.5 cup reserved marinade.  Cook the burgers in the marinate, turning occasionally, until cooked through, 10 minutes.  Serve on bulkie rolls with butter and garlic salt, lettuce and mayonnaise.   (Serves 4)

• 2.5 cups dry pinto beans
• water
• 1 large onion, chopped fine
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 can of diced tomatoes with green chilis
• 2 large bone-in chicken breasts, skin cut off
• 1 cup of corn
• 2 cubes chicken or veg bullion
• 2 teaspoons crushed garlic
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 cup yellow corn
• sour cream and chopped scallions (garnish)

Rinse beans well and put in a stockpot, cover with several inches of water.  Soak beans for 4-8 hours in the fridge.  After soaking, discard the water and return the beans to the pot.  Add 6 cups of water, onions, green pepper, and bullion.  Bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce the heat to low – cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes.

Add the raw chicken to the pot, and the garlic, chili powder, and cumin.  Cook for 30-35 minutes more, or until the chicken is tender and meat pulls easily away from the bone.  Remove the chicken and set aside.  Add the undrained can of tomatoes and corn and cook for an additional 20-30 minutes, or until the beans are soft.

Remove the meat from the chicken and tear into shreds.  Add the shreds to the pot and raise the heat slightly to return the soup to a low boil.  After a quick boil, reduce to low and simmer 5 more minutes or until everything is blended.  Serve hot, topping with sour cream and scallions.

4 chicken breasts, cooked and cut/ripped into small pieces
1 onion, diced finely
2 small square packages frozen veggies of your choice
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
2 cups chicken broth
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 cups cream or half and half (or whole milk, but it won’t be as thick)

Melt the butter in a large, deep saucepan. Add the flour and work to a paste. Salt and pepper generously, and add the broth. Bring to a boil. Add lemon juice.

Turn heat down to low, add in the cream, stirring continuously. Add in the cut chicken and frozen vegetables. Add one can of water chestnuts, drained. Heat through till thickened, taking care not to boil the cream.

Serve over biscuits or brown rice.

This freezes and reheats very well. When cooking to stock a freezer for a friend, I always include some version of this. It is an excellent recipe to make in large batches and it goes well from freezer to table.

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in 1 inch chunks
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 box of whole grain seasoned rice (such as pilaf) or 2 heaping cups of wild rice
1 can of fat free lentil soup, or 1 cup cooked lentils and 3/4 cup chicken broth

Cut chicken into small pieces, pan fry in the oil and soy sauce quickly over high heat. Set aside on paper towels to drain any oil.

Prepare rice according to any package directions, or in a rice cooker. In a saucepan, combine cooked rice with soup (or lentils and broth). Add in chicken pieces and bring to a boil. Simmer until liquid is reduced and a rice stew remains.

This recipe has virtually no fat or sugar, and between the lentils and chicken is a double source of protein! All in all it’s hard to go wrong.

My husband and I are both big fans of honey mustard, and we’ve been hooked on a singular brand for quite a while now. Since moving to Boston, I stock up on this honey mustard whenever I’m in New York, and my mother will often send five or six bottles in a package for me. So we’ve been into this honey mustard for quite some time. Sadly, the KC Masterpiece Dip ‘n Top Honey Dijon has now been discontinued. This was a big blow for us and we didn’t know what to do. So last weekend we did a honey mustard tasting of all the prevalent brands on the market. We used corn flake chicken as our dipping piece, because it’s his favorite.

The winner for now is the Ken’s Steakhouse. It is at least creamy enough. But in our opinion, they are all sad substitutes for the real thing.

To make cornflake chicken (I think this may be loosely based on a Cooks Country recipe?): crush 3 cups of cornflakes in the food processor until coarse crumbs form. Wash and dry chicken breasts or tenders. Pound if desired. Dip them once in beaten egg, once in peppered flour, and then dredge in cornflakes, or shake in a plastic bag. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or so.