Valley Ridge Recipes (2024)

This has become a staple around here. Love it! Going to try baking them next.

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 large eggs
1/4 c coconut milk
1/2 c all purpose flour
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c vegetable oil, divided
1 cup sweet chili sauce (I bought mine at Costco, Thai Kitchen brand)

STEP 1: Cut off any extra fat globules from your chicken breasts. Cut each breast into 6 strips, diagonally to prevent the end strips from being really short.

STEP 2: Prepare your breading station by gathering three bowls. In the first bowl combine the flour and salt. In the second bowl, combine the eggs and coconut milk. Whisk together until well combined. In the third bowl, stir together the panko bread crumbs and shredded coconut.

STEP 3: Place 1/4 cup of vegetable oil in a large heavy duty skillet and heat over medium/high heat until it is just below smoking. You can test the heat by throwing in a little bit of flour. When it is hot enough, the flour will sizzle and create a lot of bubbles.

STEP 4: While the oil is heating, dredge the chicken strips. First, coat each strip in the flour and salt mixture. Then dip each into the eggs/coconut milk and finally coat each in panko and shredded coconut. I find it easiest to coat all of them in the flour then go back and then do the egg wash and panko/coconut for each before moving onto the next.

STEP 5: After breading the strips, the oil should be hot enough. Place about 6 strips in the pan at once. There should only be one layer in the pan and there should be about an inch between each strip. If you over crowd the pan it will get too cold and the strips will soak up a lot of oil instead of frying. Fry the strips for 2-3 minutes on each side or until they are golden brown and crispy. Place them on a plate with paper towel to drain and move on to the next batch. After a couple of batches you may need more oil so you can add the second 1/4 cup to the pan. Allow the oil to come up to temperature before frying the next batch (2-3 minutes). Because the strips are thin, they should be cooked through by the time both sides are browned. You can tell by the texture of the chicken; it should be stiff when pressed. If you cut your strips thicker, you will need to bake off the chicken after frying to make sure the insides are cooked through.

STEP 6: When all of the strips are done frying, serve immediately with sweet chili sauce to dip in. I garnished mine with a little bit of chopped cilantro.

I have to say, I LOVE Pinterest!! I'm finding the best recipes on there. Here's one I made last night.

BBQ Crock Pot Chicken

4-6 pieces boneless skinless chicken breasts (i threw them in frozen... even easier!)

1 bottle BBQ sauce (sweet baby ray's all the way!)

1/4 c vinegar

1 tsp. red pepper flakes (I didn't even have these, so I skipped it, and it was still delicious.)

1/4 c brown sugar

1/2 - 1 tsp. garlic powder

mix BBQ sauce with all ingredients listed under it. place chicken in crockpot. pour sauce over it and cook on low for 4-6 hours. you pretty much don't even have to stir it... how easy is that!?

I served it over rice. It is so yummy!!

Bowtie pasta, cooked

Grapes

Cashews

Mandarin Oranges

Pineapple (canned or fresh)

Green onion, chopped

Cubed, cooked chicken breast

Coleslaw dressing

Mix everything together. Add mandarin oranges last and fold them in. Add salt to taste. Garlic salt is also very good. As far as the amounts, use your judgment ;)

I tried this recipe last week and it was a huge success. This is one of my favorites to order at chinese restaurants, so I am excited that I can make my own at home now.

Dallin even added it to this month's menu, so he enjoyed it as well.

No pictures, but here is the link: http://gimmesomeoven.com/cashew-chicken/

Cashew Chicken Recipe (腰果鸡丁)
Ingredients:
Stir-fry Ingredients:

• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenderloins, cut into 1″ cubes
• 1/2 cup cashew nuts
• 1 green bell pepper, cut into about 1″ pieces
• 5 slices ginger, peeled and minced (about 2 tsp.)
• 1/2 yellow onion, cut into 1/2″ dice
• 2 scallions, diced (optional)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced

Marinade:

• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. corn starch
• 1/2 tsp. rice wine (or rice wine vinegar)

Sauce:

• 3 Tbsp. water
• 1 Tbsp. oyster sauce
• 1 tsp. soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp. rice wine (or rice wine vinegar)
• 1/8 tsp. sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/8 tsp. ground white pepper
• Salt to taste

Method:
Marinate the chicken meat with the baking soda for 15-20 minutes, and then rinse the chicken off thoroughly with water. (Please make sure that the chicken is properly rinsed clean of the baking soda.) Pat the chicken meat dry with paper towels. Then stir in the cornstarch and rice wine in with the chicken, and let marinate for another 15 minutes.

Mix the sauce together and set aside.

Heat up a wok or skillet with 1 tablespoon of cooking oil and stir-fry the chicken meat until the color turns white or half-cooked. Dish out and set aside.

Add another 1 tablespoon of cooking oil into the wok and add in the ginger, bell peppers and onions. Stir-fry until you smell the peppery aroma from the green peppers. Then add the chicken meat back in, along with the green onions, garlic, and cashews. Stir and let cook for another two minutes.
Add in the sauce and stir continuously until the chicken meat is cooked and well coated with the sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste if you’d like.

Ingredients:
3 eggs
1 cup almond meal
1 cup coconut flour
1 tablespoon garlic powder
Black pepper to taste
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or breasts, legs, etc)
Coconut oil

Preheat oven to 350. Whisk eggs in one dish and in a separate dish mix dry ingredients. Dip chicken pieces one at a time into the egg, then roll in breading mixture until covered on both sides.
Place chicken in a glass baking dish that has been lightly greased with coconut oil (important if you want it to brown). Bake for 45-60 min or until juices run clear.

Serves 4-5

(I would 1/2 this recipe for my family of 4. It breads a lot of chicken.)

This recipe is courtesy of The Food Nanny. I like it because it's super simple, and there aren't too many ingredients. It's also healthy!

Baked Chicken & Potatoes Italiano

6 medium russet potatoes (about 2lbs), quartered lengthwise. (Peeling optional)

1 large white onion, thickly sliced

Olive or Canola Oil

6 chicken thighs

6 chicken drumsticks

2 Tbsp fresh rosemary leaves, or 2 tsp dried

Kosher Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Place the potato & onion pieces in a sheet pan or other large baking pan. Drizzle 2 Tbsp of the oil over them & stir to coat.

3. Remove the skin from the chicken pieces if desired. Rub oil over the chicken and place in pan between the potatoes & onions. Sprinkle w/ rosemary, salt, & pepper.

4. Bake for 30 minutes. Turn the potatoes & continue baking until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender, 15 to 25 more minutes. Transfer to large platter & serve immediately.

I know everyone has a recipe for taco soup. This is the one I use most just because it's so easy and Weight Watcher friendly.
1 can black beans rinsed and drained
1 can corn drained
1 small jar of salsa or about 3/4 jar of a larger bottle
1 can chicken broth
1-2 cups cooked and shredded chicken

Put it all together in a big pot and let it heat through on med. heat. If it starts to boil just turn it down to low until you are ready for serving.
I would suggest garnishing with sour cream, shredded cheese, and crushed tortilla chips on top.

Chicken or Turkey Lasagna

12 cooked lasagna noodles

16oz grated mozzarella cheese (the picture shows cheddar cheese, because I didn't have any mozarella. It was still yummy!)

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, boiled and shredded or chopped. (Or use turkey)

8oz Frozen broccoli or spinach (I used spinach this time)

White sauce:

7 C. Milk

1 C Margarine or butter

1 C Flour

Salt & Pepper to taste

To make white sauce, melt butter in sauce pan, and stir in flour with a whisk until smooth. Add milk and whisk constantly on medium heat until it thickens, (may take several minutes). Turn off heat and it will thicken more as it cools. Set aside 2 C white sauce and 1 C cheese for the top.

Spread a few Tbsp white sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 pan.

Mix the broccoli or spinach, cheese, and chicken with remaining white sauce.

Layer from the bottom: 4 noodles, mixture, 4 noodles, mixture, 4 noodles, mixture, leftover sauce, leftover cheese.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 1 hour. Take foil off for the last 10-15 minutes to brown the cheese.

**Warning, this recipe tends to overflow in a regular 9x13 pan, so maybe put a cookie sheet under you pan to catch the drippings, or separate into 2 smaller baking dishes!**

I really wish I could remember where I found this recipe. I might have even printed it off of this site! I just found it in my cookbook one day, and can't remember where I got it. Anyway, I made it for the first time last week, and it was really good!

5-6 chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces

3 Tbsp Olive Oil or Canola Oil

1/2 Pesto Packet (like taco seasoning packets)

2 Tbsp. Lemon juice

1 Cup milk

2 small yellow squash

2 small zucchini

2 Tomatoes

1/4 C. Parmessan

Salt & Pepper to taste

In a skillet, add in oil, and chicken. While chicken is browning, add in lemon juice, and cut the squash and zucchini into slices. When the chicken is brown on each side, (still pink in the middle), add in the squash & zucchini. Sprinkle pesto packet over everything in the skillet. Pour the milk on top, and mix around until everything is coated. Salt & pepper. Let cook at medium heat for about 10 minutes (until veggies are soft but not soggy). Add in sliced tomato and parmessan, stir. Remove from heat.

Serve over raviolis, or in my case, (I didn't have raviolis on hand), serve over pasta.

But here's another tip: Try it served over the Herb & Butter flavored Pasta Roni. I had some leftover from the kids dinner the next night, so I tried it. It was SO yummy!

4 chicken breasts, cut into strips
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup bread crumbs
2 heads romaine lettuce, chopped
2 tomatoes
croutons
cheddar cheese, grated
ranch dressing
craisins
2 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/3 cup Frank's Hot Sauce(Original. I found mine at Smith's)
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Dip chicken breasts into the sour cream and then into bread crumbs. Place on a sprayed/greased sheet pan. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes until the chicken is cooked and crispy.

While the chicken is baking, prepare salad and make the dressing.

To make the dressing, combine the 2 1/2 cups brown sugar, 1/3 cup Franks Hot Sauce, and 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar in a pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. Let boil for one minute, but no longer! If you boil too long it will turn hard.

When the chicken is done dip into sticky sauce and place on a plate. To serve, place sliced strips on top of salad with any additional toppings (cheese, croutons, tomatoes, craisins, etc.) and drench in ranch dressing. Save the additional sticky dressing as an extra topping for the salad...it adds a little more tang!

*Oh, I reserved a few pieces of chicken and didn't dip it in the sauce. I wasn't sure if it would be too spicy for the little ones!

Instead of copying and pasting and posting the recipe just go to this link for what we had for dinner tonight.

http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2011/04/kicked-up-ramen-noodles-kung-pao-style.html

Let me just say, this is the fourth night of dinners in a row that all five of my family members ate everything without a tiny bit of complaining. They are either just really hungry or I've been on my game this week.

Greek Souvlaki has the best Gyros ever! I've had the lamb kind, but I prefer the chicken. A few weeks ago, I saw some pitas at Costco for really cheap and had a craving for a gyro. I decided to buy the pitas and search for a good gyro recipe. I found this one on the Taste of Home website (

http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Chicken-Gyros). The chicken tastes exactly like the one at Greek Souvlaki. I left the onions out because I'm not a fan of onions and I always have them take them off anyway. Note: I doubled this recipe for my family.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoon minced garlic, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch strips
• 1/2 cup chopped peeled cucumber
• 1/3 cup plain yogurt
• 1/4 teaspoon dill weed
• 2 whole pita breads
• 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced

Directions

• In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the lemon juice, oil, 1/2 teaspoon garlic, mustard and oregano; add chicken. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for at least 1 hour. In a small bowl, combine the cucumber, yogurt, dill and remaining garlic; cover and refrigerate until serving.
• Drain and discard marinade. In a large nonstick skillet, saute the chicken for 7-8 minutes or until juices run clear. Spoon onto each pita bread. Top with yogurt mixture and onion; fold in half. Yield: 2 servings.

The yogurt sauce wasn't my favorite. It had chucks of cucumbers and I thought it might be good, but it wasn't really. I think my favorite part of a gyro is a fresh pita and yummy sauce. The pitas at Costco aren't as yummy as the fresh kind, but they worked. The next time I make this, I'm going to try this recipe for the suace.

Tzatziki Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 cup plain yogurt (if you can find the extra-thick Greek yogurt it's best)
• 4 garlic cloves; roasted and finely chopped (see below)
• 1/2 lemon; juiced
• 2 tsp. finely chopped mint
• 1/4 cup finely chopped cucumber without seeds
• Salt to taste

Preparation:

1. Place whole, un-peeled garlic gloves in a small, un-oiled skillet over medium low heat and cook for about two minutes per side - until lightly browned. Peel and chop finely.

2. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.

Note: The sauce is better if you allow it to sit in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before using.

A friend from High School posted this recipe to her blog. Now, before I list the ingredients and directions I need to put on record that I am a picky eater. One of the things I do not like is uncooked tomatoes. I also have never been a fan of white chili, mainly because I don't like white beans. My husband is not a picky eater, but he has never liked white chili and was skeptical and slightly disappointed when I told him that this dish was on the menu. With that said, we both LOVED this chili. After this picture was taken, we both crushed up some tortilla chips and added it in. YUM.

In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and vinegar and bring to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. In a dressing container, combine lemon juice and seasonings. Add vinegar mixture and then add oil. shake to combine. Dressing will keep up to a week n the refrigerator. Add only enough to coat the tomatoes and cilantro.

I have a chopper that I use to chop up my veggies. You will need 3 mushrooms, I use 1/2 of the medium bag of carrots, 3 celery stocks, and 2 cans of water chestnuts.

You will need 1 can of chicken broth to a pot. Add celery, water chestnuts, carrots and mushrooms. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes or until most of the broth is gone.

Meanwhile cook 2 breasts of chicken and then dice. Also make your 2 cups of rice. Once your chicken, rice and veggies are done. Combine them together. Add Soy Sauce and Peanut Sauce to taste. The peanut sauce is spicy so depending on your level of spiciness.

1/2 Cup butter

1/2 Cup Louisiana Hot Sauce

2 pkg Dry Italian Dressing

2 TBSP Lemon juice

4 lb bag of chicken wings and thighs

I like my wings to be extra crispy. I just deep fried my wings one time and when I bit into it. It was still raw. It totally grossed me out so I bake my chicken on a cookie sheet at 400 degrees until they are a light brown. Then I deep fry them to get the crispiness. Add the ingredients above in a sauce pan on low heat. Dip chicken in sauce. I usually let it sit in the sauce for about 5 minutes then put them on a plate to eat.