Cream of Potato and Chicken Soup

4 chicken thighs
2 quarts water
8 medium potatoes, peeled and diced into
2 tsp minced garlic
1 large onion, diced
1 tsp salt or more to taste
1 1/2 c. half & half
1 1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. mashed potato flakes
3 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp chili powder
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Boil the chicken, onion and garlic in the water and salt for ~2 hours.  After the chicken's boiled, remove it and let the pieces cool.  While cooling, put the chopped potatoes, spices, in the broth and cook on medium for 10 minutes.

While the potatoes cook, heat the half & half in the microwave until hot.  In a separate bowl, mix together the mashed potato flakes and flour.  Mix in the half & half, gradually adding in soup broth and stirring until the mashed potatoes are loose and soupy.  They should be slightly lumpy. 

Remove chicken meat from the bones, chop up the meat, discard bones and cartilage.  Add meat to soup.  Stir the mashed potatoes into the soup, add the cheese and the milk.  Adjust salt levels to taste.

Chicken & Sausage Meatballs

These are great meatballs.  Good recipe when you've got raw chicken on hand instead of beef/pork. 

1 pound ground chicken
1 lb Italian sausage
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg, whisked
6 tablespoons unseasoned whole-wheat bread crumbs
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Hungarian or hot paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano leaves, about 1 small sprig
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves, about 5 sprigs
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 lemon, zested
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Put the chicken, sausage, garlic, egg, and spices, sugar into a food processor.  Pulse until well-shredded.  Mix in bowl with bread crumbs, worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, lemon zest. 

In a frying pan, melt a tbsp of butter and add the olive oil.  Turn heat to medium and make meatballs roughly the size of golfballs and fill the frying pan.  They take about 3 minutes per side to fry.  fry on both sides and set aside when done. 

Southwestern Chicken Pot Pie

This recipe may make more than anticipated.  We made it once and it was great, but I recall we had excess filling and it made a pretty large, deep-dish pie.  We have an old pie/casserole dish that's about 4 inches deep and 9 inches wide.  Makes fantastic pot pies that are very thick.

Ingredients

1 recipe pie crust of your choice
1 lb of chicken, cooked and diced into bite-sized pieces
1/2 c uncooked white rice
1 15 oz black beans, drained, rinsed
1 1/2 c. frozen corn kernels
1 green or poblano pepper, diced
1 or 2 jalapeno peppers, minced fine (optional)
1 c. sliced ripe black olives
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 c. sour cream
1 c. salsa
2 c. shredded cheese (colby, Monterey Jack; cheddar or a blend)
1 egg, beaten

Preparations

If using a prepared crust, lay it out in the pie pan.  Use a deep-dish pie plate.  If using another crust recipe, make the crust first and put dough in the refrigerator while prepping the other ingredients.

First, put the rice on to cook.  This will take about 20 minutes.  While the rice is simmering, cook the chicken if its not cooked already.  Do so in a tbsp of bacon grease or butter, add the peppers and spices.  In a large mixing bowl, add the corn, beans, olives and the cooked rice, once it's done.  Add the beaten egg and the chicken & peppers mix to this when the chicken's done and Mix together.  

Try to make two layers of filling.  Layer roughly 1.5 inches of the veggie-chicken filling on the bottom of the pie crust.  Then spread half of the sour cream on top, then half of the salsa and half of the shredded cheese.  Repeat with another layer of filling, sour cream, salsa, cheese.  Top the pie with a layer of crust and seal the edges. 

Bake at 325°F for 1 hour.  Should be golden-brown crust with bubbling hot interior and all veggies cooked.

Greek Chicken and Pasta

1 (16 ounce) package pasta (choose favorite)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp bell pepper paste
1 1/2 lbs chicken, cut into bite-size pieces
1 (14 ounce) can marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
2 large tomato, chopped
1 large eggplant, peeled, and diced
1 14 oz. can black olives, chopped in half
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 tsp dill weed
salt and pepper to taste

crumbled feta cheese

 If using bone-in chicken, roast it first and then let it cool enough to remove meat from bones.  Then chop into bite sized pieces.  If using boneless, chop into pieces.

Prepare onion, eggplant, tomato and olives.

Saute the onion and the eggplant in olive oil.  Add the pepper paste and garlic and stir to evenly distribute.

While that sautes, cook the pasta in water.

Saute until onions start to turn translucent and add the chicken.  Cook until the chicken is cooked.  Add the artichokes, tomatoes, olives and seasonings. 

Drain pasta when cooked, and add everything together, tossing until thoroughly incorporated.  Serve with feta cheese crumbled on top.