Chicken Dinners

The grocery store had buy 1 package of chicken breasts, get the other free. So, here are two really great chicken recipes. Both require 3 cups of cooked chicken. You can cook the chicken for both one night (when you aren't running to practices or meetings or games). Use half that night and half the other.

 The first recipe is from Paula Deen, so you know it is going to be delicious (and probably include lots of cream cheese, sour cream, or butter). It is mini Chicken Empanadas.
Your ingredients:
3 cups chopped, cooked chicken
8 oz shredded CoJack cheese (typically the size of the pre-shredded stuff at the store)
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 package of refrigerated pie crust (I use Pillsbury and it comes two to a pack.)
Water

 All the ingredients, minus the chicken, ready to be mixed. You see all that cheese? That means it is going to be AWESOME.
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
Lightly grease a baking sheet. In your bowl combine chicken, shredded cheese, cream cheese, red bell pepper, jalapeno, ground cumin, salt, and pepper. Unroll your piecrusts and use your rolling pin to spread them out into 15 inches. Cut out your rounds. I use an upside down ice cream bowl. Brush the edge of each circle with water. Arrange a big teaspoon of your chicken mixture on one side of the round. Fold the other side of the round over the top and press the edges together with fork tongs. Put your empanadas on a baking sheet and cook for 15 minutes.

If they don't look absolutely delicious, it's because my photographer (me) is horrible.

The next recipe is a little more involved, but still not that big of a fuss.

It's a variation on Chicken Tetrazzini.

Your ingredients:

8 oz. thin spaghetti

2 tbsp butter

4 oz. fresh, sliced mushrooms

3 oz. chopped prosciutto

3 cups chopped, cooked chicken

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

10 3/4 oz. can of cream of mushroom soup

10 oz. refrigerated Alfredo sauce

1/2 chicken broth

1/4 cup Marsala

1 cup shredded Parmesan

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Cook pasta in boiling water for 8 minutes. While that is cooking, melt your butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add your mushrooms and prosciutto to the skillet and cook for about 5 minutes. Stir together mushrooms, prosciutto, chicken, peas, cream of mushroom soup, Alfredo sauce, chicken broth, Marsala and half your cheese. Stir in your pasta (after it's drained). Pour everything into a greased 11x7 inch baking dish and cover with the remaining cheese. Bake for 35 minutes. It should be bubbling when you take it out.