Pineapple-Glazed Chicken Breasts

Makes 2 servings

• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons frozen (thawed) pineapple juice concentrate
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (5 oz each)
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 slices (1/2 inch thick) fresh pineapple, rind removed

1. Heat gas or charcoal grill. In small bowl, mix mustard and juice concentrate; reserve 2 tablespoons. Into remaining mixture, stir garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper; set aside.
2. When grill is heated, rub chicken breast halves with oil. Place chicken on gas grill over medium heat or on charcoal grill over medium coals; cover grill. Cook 5 minutes.
3. Add pineapple to grill; brush with rosemary mixture. Turn chicken; brush with rosemary mixture. Cover grill; cook 6 to 8 minutes longer, brushing chicken occasionally with rosemary mixture and turning chicken and pineapple once, until chicken is fork-tender and juices run clear. Discard any remaining rosemary mixture.
4. Place chicken on serving plates. Spoon reserved 2 tablespoons mustard mixture over chicken. Halve or quarter pineapple slices; serve with chicken.

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Golden Sautéed Chicken

Serves 4

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (5 oz each)
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp water
• 3 tbsp butter, divided
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• lemon slices for garnish

1. Place chicken breasts between 2 sheets of plastic wrap or waxed paper; pound to 1/4 inch thickness with a rolling pin or meat mallet. 
2. On a sheet of waxed paper, combine flour, salt and pepper.  In a large shallow bowl, beat together eggs and water. 
3. Dredge chicken breasts in flour mixture, one at a time, to coat lightly on both sides.  Dip chicken in egg mixture to coat on both sides; let excess drip back into bowl. 
4. In a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp oil over medium-high heat.  Add chicken to skillet, in batches if necessary, using remaining oil if needed.  Cook, turning once, until browned and cooked through, about 6 minutes.  Transfer to a plate; keep warm. 
5. Just before chicken is done, melt remaining butter in a small skillet.  When butter begins to foam, add lemon juice; swirl to mix.  Pour lemon butter over chicken.  Garnish with lemon slices.

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Speedy Chicken Roll-Ups

Serves 4

• 4 flour tortillas or Mandarin pancakes
• 2 tsp vegetable oil
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (4 oz each), cut into thin strips
• 1/2 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup hoisin sauce
• 2 tsp Chinese or regular mustard
• 1 tsp hot sesame oil
• 4 medium green onions, sliced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1. Preheat oven to 250°F.  Wrap tortillas together in foil.  Place tortillas in oven to warm. 
2. While tortillas are warming, in a large nonstick skillet or wok, heat oil over medium heat.  Add chicken, pepper, and garlic.  Stir-fry until chicken is no longer pink, about 10 minutes.  Add hoisin sauce, mustard, and sesame oil.  Cook, stirring, until heated through, about 2 minutes. 
3. Spoon chicken mixture evenly down center of tortillas.  Sprinkle green onions and cilantro over chicken.  Roll up tightly.  Place on plates.  Serve immediately. 

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Cashew Chicken

Serves 4

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (4 oz each)
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup fresh snow peas
• 1/2 cup roasted cashews
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced

1. Cut chicken into thin strips about 2 inches long and set aside.  Blend soy sauce, broth and cornstarch in a small bowl; set aside. 
2. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a wok or large heavy skillet over high heat.  Add chicken.  Stir-fry for 3 minutes or until no longer pink.  Remove from wok with slotted spoon. 
3. Add remaining oil to wok.  Add onion, garlic, cashews and snow peas and stir-fry for 3 minutes or until snow peas are crisp-tender.  Return chicken to wok.
4. Stir broth mixture to wok.  Stir-fry for 2 minutes or until sauce is clear and chicken is heated through.  Sprinkle with green onion slices.  Serve immediately. 

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Bahamas Coconut Chicken

Serves 6

• 6 bone-in chicken breasts (about 8 oz each)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 can (14 oz) unsweetened coconut milk
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp fresh basil leaves, crumbled, or 2 tsp dried basil
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• 2 tsp light soy sauce
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 3 tbsp raisins

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.  Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper. 
2. Arrange the chicken in a single layer in a shallow baking dish.  Roast until chicken is browned and cooked through, about 30 minutes. 
3. While chicken is roasting, in a large skillet, combine coconut milk, brown sugar, basil, curry powder, soy sauce and lemon juice.  Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring.  Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer, stirring for 10 minutes.  Whisk in heavy cream. 
4. Transfer chicken breasts to serving plates.  Spoon sauce over and sprinkle each serving with some raisins.

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Baked Chicken Romano

Serves 4

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (5 oz each)
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 1 pkg (10 oz) frozen broccoli, thawed
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds

For the sauce:

• 3 tbsp butter or margarine
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 1/4 cups chicken broth
• 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 cup grated Romano cheese, divided

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.  Grease a large, shallow baking dish.
2. Dredge chicken in flour.  In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat.  Add chicken; cook, turning once, until golden, about 10 minutes.  Stir in broth.  Reduce heat to medium-low.  Cover; simmer for 15 minutes. 
3. Meanwhile, for sauce, in a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.  Add garlic; sauté for 1 minute.  Reduce heat to low.  Whisk in broth and flour; cook, stirring, until thickened, about 5 minutes. 
4. Drain pan juices from chicken; combine with sauce.  Add 3/4 cup Romano; stir until melted and smooth, about 3 minutes. 
5. Arrange broccoli in prepared dish; pour half of sauce on top.  Place chicken over broccoli; top with remaining sauce.  Sprinkle with almonds.  Bake for 25 minutes.  Remove from oven; sprinkle with remaining Romano.  Bake for 5 minutes longer.

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Southwest Barbecue Chicken

Makes 8 servings

• 4 chicken breasts

Rub

• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tbsp ancho chili powder
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Saucing

• 1 cup favorite barbecue sauce

1. If desired, place the chicken pieces in a brine of 1 cup kosher salt dissolved in 1 gallon water.  Brine the pieces about 3 hours in the refrigerator. 
2. Rinse the chicken pieces well under cold water and pat dry.  In a small bowl, combine all the rub ingredients and mix well.  Sprinkle and rub about 2 tbsp of the rub all over both sides of the chicken pieces.  Place the chicken in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.  Remove 20 minutes before grilling.
3. Preheat the grill to medium-high heat.  Oil the grates well.  Place the chicken pieces skin side down on the grill first.  Grill about 10-12 minutes, watching carefully for flare-ups, until the pieces remove easily from the grill. 
4. Turn over and continue cooking until the chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes or more for larger, thicker chicken.
5. If desired, brush the chicken with your favorite barbecue sauce and continue cooking so the sauce sets in.  Remove from the grill and serve.

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Super-Simple Chicken Mole

Serving size unknown

• 3 chicken breasts with bones and skin, about 1 1/2 lb
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup flower
• 2 tbsp chile powder
• 1/4 cup canned enchilada sauce
• 1 tbsp creamy peanut butter (no sugar added)
• 1/4 cup grated dark chocolate
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• salt
• 2 cup cooked rice

1. Put the chicken in a medium saucepan with a tight-fitting lid and cover with water.  Crush the garlic cloves with the flat side of a knife and throw them into pot with a tsp of salt. 
2. Bring the chicken to a boil, uncovered, and cook for about 30 seconds.  Turn off heat, and cover the pot.  Let the chicken poach without heat for about 20 minutes, or until cooked through. 
3. Place the chicken in a bowl and keep the pot of broth handy.  When the chicken is cool enough to handle, peel off and discard the skin and remove the bones.  Shred the chicken into bite-size pieces.
4. Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan.  Over low heat, slowly whisk in the flour until you have a thin, pale-brown paste. 
5. Keep whisking; add the chile powder.  (The paste will solidify a bit.)  Slowly whisk in about 2 cups of the reserved chicken broth until you have a thickish gravy. 
6. Whisk in the enchilada sauce an remaining ingredients, keeping the heat very low, so it doesn’t boil.  Add the shredded chicken; salt to taste.  Heat through and serve over rice. 

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Buttery Garlic Chicken

Serves 4 

• 1 (3 lb) whole chicken
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1/4 tsp dried rosemary
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme

1. Preheat broiler.  Cut chicken into serving pieces.  Line a broiler pan with foil.  Place chicken on prepared pan. 
2. Combine butter, garlic, parsley, rosemary and thyme; mix well. 
3. Spread top of chicken pieces evenly with a small amount of butter-herb mixture. 
4. Broil chicken, turning and coating frequently with remaining butter-hear mixture, until juices run clear when thickest portion of meat is pierced with a knife, about 30 minutes.

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Sesame-Ginger Barbecued Chicken

Makes 6 servings

• 1/3 cup plum sauce or sweet-sour sauce
• 1/4 cup water
• 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sesame seed (toasted, if desired)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger or 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon Oriental chili sauce or several dashes bottled hot pepper sauce
• 6 small skinless, boneless chicken breast halves and/or thighs (about 1 1/2 pounds total)

1. For sauce, in a small saucepan combine all of the ingredients except the chicken. Bring to boiling over medium heat, stirring frequently; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 3 minutes. Set aside.
2. Rinse chicken; pat dry. Grill chicken on the lightly greased rack of an uncovered grill directly over medium heat for 12 to 15 minutes or until tender and no longer pink, turning once and brushing with sauce once or twice during the last 5 minutes of grilling.
3. In a small saucepan heat the remaining sauce until bubbly; pass with chicken.

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