Chicken recipes liven up family meals

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smcclanahan

Following the SEMO District Fair I have had many requests for the recipes from the Midwest Food and Poultry Recipe Contest. I am pleased to tell you that I have gotten all of the recipe entries from Midwest Food and Poultry and, with their permission, will be running all of the recipes in Recipe Swap. We'll start with the top three winners and then the remainder will follow at random over the next few weeks. Now you can be the judge of your favorite dishes.

The first-place winner was Pauline Nitsch of Sedgewickville, Mo. She chose to enter a cold salad recipe that earned her the $100 top prize.

Chicken Salad

2 cups cooked chicken, cubed

1 cup seedless grapes, halved

1 (10 ounce container) water chestnuts, sliced

1/2 cup celery, chopped

1 cup pineapple chunks, drained

For the dressing:

3/4 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing

1/2 tablespoon soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper

1/3 cup sour cream

1 (2 ounce) package slivered or sliced almonds

Combine all ingredients for the chicken salad and refrigerate until ready to add the dressing. Combine the first five ingredients of the dressing and add to the chicken salad, gently stirring until well combined. Mound onto serving plate and swirl, covering with sour cream. Cover outside with almonds. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

The second place winner was Elizabeth Aufdenberg of Burfordville, Mo.

Elizabeth had beautiful presentation with her whole, moist and flavorful chicken. The recipe calls for 1/2 can of beer, and when I asked what she did with the other half she just laughed.

Party Chicken

1 3 to 4 pound whole fryer

1/2 can beer, any brand

Seasoned salt

Wash chicken and pat dry. Sprinkle the seasoning salt inside and outside of bird and rub on. Empty beer can to leave it only about 1/2 full. Place the chicken bottom cavity on top of beer can so it's in a sitting position on the grill. Cook chicken on a hot gas grill for 1-1/2 hours until its juices run clear and pierces easily with a fork. Serves about 4 people.

Third place went to a familiar name to Recipe Swap, Joan Weeks of Cape Girardeau. Joan made a delicious tetrazzini. Her pasta was cooked to perfection. Even though the recipe calls for green peppers, I did eat my fair share. It was very good and earned her a place among the top three winners.

Chicken Tetrazzini

4 whole chicken breasts

1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced

1/4 cup butter

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon onion, grated

1/2 pound spaghetti

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup white wine

1 jar pimiento, chopped

1/2 cup green pepper, chopped

1/2 cup Swiss cheese, grated

Cook chicken in salted water until tender and allow to cool in broth. Remove meat from bones. Cook mushrooms in butter for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with lemon juice and salt, add onions. Cook spaghetti until just tender, drain. Melt butter. Blend in flour and seasonings. Add broth and cream. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thick. Add wine. Divide sauce into 2 parts. Add chicken to one part. Add spaghetti, mushrooms, pimiento, and green pepper to other part. Place spaghetti mixture in large shallow baking dish. Make a cavity in the center, pour chicken mixture in. Top with grated cheese, Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. Yields 8 servings.

Another chicken recipe comes from Gail Best of Cape Girardeau. She spices hers up with a little Tabasco sauce, and you can too with as much as you like.

Chili Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, about 1 pound

1 (14 1/2 ounce) can Italian stewed tomatoes

1 (15 ounce) can chili beans

4 slices Cheddar or American cheese

1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

Place chicken in an ungreased 11-by-7-inch-baking dish. Top with tomatoes and Tabasco. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Spoon chili over each chicken breast; bake 10 minutes longer. Top with cheese; return to the oven for 3 to 4 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Yield 4 servings.

Rosemary Ross of Chaffee, Mo., offers a low-fat appetizer to help watch those unwanted fat grams, but is not low in flavor.

Low-Fat Chicken Appetizer Balls

3 ounces cooked, diced chicken

1 tablespoon dry onion soup mix

3 ounces low-fat cream cheese

Mix all ingredients together. Roll into small balls and chill. Coat with any of your favorite ingredients like nuts, parsley or Parmesan cheese. Spear on toothpicks. Chill until ready to serve.

Rosemary also entered in the main dish category with her oven baked chicken with a nice tangy sauce.

Oven Baked Chicken

1 (3 pound) chicken, cut into serving pieces

1 cup oil

For the sauce:

1 cup ketchup

1/2 cup sherry

1/3 cup water

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Dash onion salt

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

Heat oil in large skillet. Add chicken. When chicken is browned, remove from heat and place on paper towel lined dish to drain. Place chicken in a 2-quart baking dish. Prepare the sauce by mixing together all ingredients and pour over chicken. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour. Serves about 8.

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Getting away from chicken for a few minutes, we turn to a soup recipe sent in by the area "soup queen." She was able to purchase the whole wheat pasta at a grocery market in Cape Girardeau. This soup also freezes well so making a large batch is great and then freeze in smaller containers for single servings.

Broccoli Soup with Pasta

1 cup 13 or 15 bean soup blend

1 medium onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 quarts chicken broth

1 package frozen chopped broccoli

1 cup whole grain pasta

Salt and pepper, to taste

Soak beans overnight. Drain. Combine with broth, onions, and garlic. Simmer until beans are tender. Add remaining ingredients and cook an additional 10 to 15 minutes. Yields 10 servings.

We have a recipe request this week from a Cape Girardeau cook who would like to make pear honey. This is not really honey, but is like a jam using pears. Where it ever got the name pear honey, I'm not sure. Maybe someone knows that, too.

I hope you enjoy the chicken recipes this week and the ones to follow in the weeks ahead. Special thanks to Midwest Food and Poultry for sharing the recipes with us.

Have a wonderful first week of fall and happy cooking.

Susan McClanahan is administrator at the Cape Girardeau Senior Center. Send recipes to her at smcclanahan@semissourian.com or by mail at P.O. Box 699; Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63702-0699. Recipes published have not been kitchen-tested by the Southeast Missourian staff.