Busy Mom Chicken Recipes from Christine and Pine Nut Parmesan Chicken from Me

A while back, one of our friends who is following the blog asked for easy, kid-friendly chicken recipes. Since then, I have realized that I just don't make chicken very often. I usually go the easy route and buy a rotisserie chicken at Wegman's. But, I know lots of people have chicken breasts in the fridge/freezer and cook it on a weekly basis. So, I asked my younger sister for some her tried and true recipes. Thanks, Christine/Tina! ---- and I think it would be great if others would send in their chicken recipes too. Barb --My busy mom chicken recipes are not culinary feats! But they are easy and the kids have always loved them. 1. CHICKEN EASY PARMESAN. Take Boneless chicken breasts dip in Ranch Dressing or Creamy Italian Dressing. Then dip in grated Parmesan(Or I use the 3 cheese mixture- but it does have to be the good kind). Sometimes I mix bread crumbs in with the Parmesan but not always. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes to an hour depending on how long I really had to get the breasts defrosted! I like the cheese to get brown on the chicken. Sometimes I turn up the oven to 400 at the end or Broil for a minute. Serve with Pasta. 2. PICANTE CHICKEN. Take boneless chicken breasts and put in a glass baking pan. Dump a jar of Salsa on top.(I very what kinds I buy and use). Bake at 350 for 30 minutes then add grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese(or something you like) on top. Bake another 20-30 minutes. Again, depending on how defrosted the breasts are. Serve with rice. Attached is the PECAN CRUSTED CHICKEN recipe. Pecan Topped Honey Chicken from one of Christine's cookbooks 4 boneless chicken breasts(about a pound) 3 T. Grey Poupon Honey Mustard 1 t. lemon or lime juice 1/4 t. ground cumin 1/2 c. pecans, chopped 1 T. plain dry bread crumbs 2 t. butter, melted Rinse chicken, pat dry. Mix mustard, lemon or lime juice and cumin together. Brush over both side of chicken. Place in a shallow roasting pan. Mix pecans, bread crumbs, and butter together and pat on top of chicken. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until chicken is done. Hope this helps your friend. Thanks again, Christine/Tina, for taking the time to send in your recipes. Pine Nut Parmesan Chicken I wanted to make Christine's Pecan Chicken recipe, but didn't have the ingredients, so here's what I did instead. Toasted pine nuts in the toaster oven, while I tried to figure out how much coating to make for 6 chicken breasts. Chopped the nuts after they cooled. Toasting the pine nuts ahead of time is an important step --to bring out their oil and flavor. Combined the chopped nuts with lots of fresh basil, Parmesan cheese and Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs which we happened to have. I always have buttermilk on hand, but yogurt or even milk would work for this step. Dipped the chicken in the buttermilk.Then coated each side with the pine nut Parmesan bread crumb mixture. Lined them up on a cooling rack placed on a baking sheet. This tricks avoids soggy bottoms. I used to hate to clean the rack, until I found this Teflon-coated one which cleans easily in the dishwasher.

Baked them at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. I roasted the rest of the meal at the same time.

Here's how they came out. The buttermilk kept the chicken moist inside and the coating was nicely browned. I thought the bread crumbs were bland, so I'd probably go heavier on the cheese next time. Otherwise, this pine nut Parmesan chicken was pretty good, I must say.

And, I think it would have tasted better with a side of spaghetti with sauce and a salad with Italian dressing than what I served.