What's for Dinner? Chicken!

Sometimes I wish I was a little more creative in the kitchen, whipping up my own amazing recipes that others would blog about! But the reality is, right now I don't have time to experiment with ingredients and I just need something that is going to make the hubs and teens happy! OK, so not just happy, but something that is not overly unhealthy, greasy, or filled with processed ingredients. I'm no, "Everything has to be organic, let's go to the farmer's market" kind of cook. However, I do want to know what I'm eating and what my family is eating. I look at labels and we try our best to get things that don't have high-fructose anything in it. I mean, why would food items like bread need things like that in them?!

So, today I'm going to share with you a few of my favorite go to chicken recipes that I like to make for dinner, plus a few new ideas I would like to try to give our meals a little variety! 

Lately my go to chicken recipe has been one that I saw on a Hellmann's Mayo commercial! At first, I was a little hesitant because my older step-daughter isn't a fan of cheese. But I figured, it's mixed in and baked on so it might not be the consistency of the cheese she dislikes! I give you, Hellmann's Parmesan Crusted Chicken recipe...

{Hellmann's}

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup Hellmann's® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 1-1/4 lbs.)
• 4 tsp. Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs

DIRECTIONS

1. "Preheat oven to 425°.
2. Combine Hellmann's® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise with cheese in medium bowl. Arrange chicken on baking sheet. Evenly top with Mayonnaise mixture, then sprinkle with bread crumbs.
3. Bake until chicken is thoroughly cooked, about 20 minutes."

Recipe from Hellmann's

I adjusted our cooking time to about 33 minutes for our oven and cut four chicken breasts in half, the ones we buy from Costco are pretty large! If you want a really delicious side for this dish, once in a while I'll make Fettuccine Alfredo with it, it's a wonderful compliment to the Parmesan topping on the chicken. 

Some of you that are reading this may be saying to yourselves, "Mayo, how is that healthy?", am I right? Well, everything in moderation and mayo actually isn't as unhealthy as you think, here is a list of the first few ingredients: SOYBEAN OIL, WATER, WHOLE EGGS AND EGG YOLKS, VINEGAR, SALT, SUGAR, LEMON JUICE. So, what could be so unhealthy about soybean oil, water, and eggs? Yes, egg yolks are high in cholesterol and fat, but according to a post on Fit Sugar, the egg yolks also contain many of the good parts we get from our eggs as well. OK, now don't run to your kitchen and load up on all the mayo you have been missing out on, like I said, everything in moderation! 

Another favorite recipe that I love making with chicken is a crockpot chicken chili recipe I discovered from Monica on East Coast Creative...

I took these photos on my phone, so I apologize for their quality! Though, I'm not really the best at taking indoor photos. I'm more of an outdoor photo girl! 

Any how, back to the amazing crockpot chili recipe that is perfect for any cold night...so why am I talking about it in Spring? Well, sometimes there are chilly nights during this time of year when we're still eating soups and drinking hot tea to stay warm, right? So, if you are looking for an easy, go to, put every ingredient in the crockpot and walk away until it's done recipe, this is the one! 

Ingredients: 

• 1 large can diced tomatoes
• 1 small can black beans
• 1 small can tomato paste
• 1 package boneless skinless chicken tenderloins or thighs (these two cuts get the most tender and fall apart)
• 1 packet McCormick chili seasoning

Directions: 

1. "Dump all the ingredients into your crockpot (don’t drain anything) and cook on high for about 4 hours or on low for 6-8. 
2. Once the time is up, shred the chicken using two forks, stir, and serve!"

Recipe from East Coast Creative

I could eat this for days! It's so easy to make and everyone loves it. I've even made it for one of my best friends and her family when they came to visit, and it passed with flying colors! Plus, the ingredients are all good for you; tomatoes, beans, chicken, nothing to hate on there! The only thing that I wasn't crazy about was the high sodium content in the chili seasoning, but I just discovered that McCormick also has a 30% less sodium packet as well, score! 

To switch up my Parmesan Crusted Chicken recipe a bit, I would love to try this recipe from Buns in My Oven that is pretty much the same idea but adds dry ranch dressing seasoning to it and cheddar cheese instead of Parmesan...yum!

{Buns in My Oven}

Or for those nights when I'm craving Chinese Take Out, Chinese Orange Chicken...

{Damn Delicious} 

Can you really go wrong with homemade Chinese food, I think not! Oh, how I want this right now...it's a good thing I already ate dinner tonight! 

So, what's for dinner at your house? What are your go to chicken recipes? 

Thanks for stopping by, have a great day!