Hi All-- I think most will agree that while trying to lose weight, one tends to eat chicken as a main dish more often than not... At least I do. So I was thinking, If we can post 101 different ideas on how to prepare chicken, we'll have a variety of ways to chose from... I know we have some creative minds out there...

I'll start

1. Chicken Fajita minus the tortilla

This is a great dish to satisfy your mexican craving.. (Recipe for 1 serving)

1 boneless skinless chicken breast
1/2 onion
1/2 green pepper
2 TBSP salsa (your choice of spice..mild medium hot)
1/4 cup Fat Free Shredded Cheddar Cheese
3 chives
1 dollop (2 tbsp) Fat Free Sour Cream


In a frying pan add chicken and about 1/2 C water. Boil water out, brown chicken add spices if desired. When chicken is done, cut into 1 inch size pieces. Add cut green pepper and onion, salsa and cook together for about 10 minutes on a simmer. Remove from heat. Sprinkle with Cheese let melt. Place on a (small) plate, add dollop of sour cream and garnish with chives.

SO YUMMY. All for about 300 calories!

YOUR TURN!

2. Chicken Roll-Ups (Fast and Easy!)
Makes 4 servings

4 pieces of chicken, 4 oz each, pounded into a roughly flat rectangle
3 laughing cow cheese wedges
2 tsp dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup arugula
1 bell pepper, cut into thin strips

In a small bowl, combine the laughing cow wedges and the mustard. Add salt and pepper to taste. Spread 1/4 of this mixture on one side of the pounded chicken breasts.

Layer 1/4 of the arugula on each piece of chicken, then stack 1/4 of the bell pepper strips at one of the ends of the piece. Roll the chicken, starting with the end that has the bell peppers, tightly, and place seam-side down on a glass baking dish.

350 degrees for 20-25 min, or until chicken is done...soooo good!

3. Lemon-thyme chicken:

In a large ziploc bag, marinate chicken pieces (I like breasts for this - the marinade helps them stay moist) in the following:

4 lemons - squeeze out juice, then throw squeezed halves into the bag as well.
2 shortish sprigs rosemary
3 sprigs thyme (note on both the rosemary and thyme - I usually roll these in my hands a bit to get the oils going)
6 cloves garlic, cracked and coarsely chopped.
1/2 cup fat free/low sodium chicken broth
1 tsp black pepper.

Toss in your chicken, let marinate at least 8 hours, up to 24 hours. This works on all chicken pieces (bone in, boneless, skin on, skinless, white meat, dark meat) and is AMAZING grilled. Perfect to bring to a BBQ!

Great idea! Here's my favorite chicken recipe - it's a slow-cooker one:

4. Salsa Chicken (originally from Weight Watchers, I think)

1 jar of salsa
4 or so boneless frozen chicken breasts

Put the chicken in a crock-pot, dump the salsa on top. Mix it up a little so the chicken is surrounded by salsa. Put it on low all day long, and when you come home you'll have dinner!

I serve it over brown rice or quinoa most of the time, but I also shred the chicken with the salsa and use it in tortillas, homemade nachos, etc.

I've also marinated the chicken first, with hot sauce and lime juice.

5. I make this for the family
you will need :
1 whole chicken
1 garlic bulb
1 bunch of basil , rosemary
spices : italian seasoning, salt, pepper
I mix the garlic(minced) with chopped basil, rosemary salt, pepper and italian seasoning, I add olive oil and this mixture is rubbed on chicken and under chicken skin. Sometimes I rub in some papirika( to give it more color),
I bake this for about 1 hr and 30 minutes or so, and tada you have baked italian chicken, I have never tasted it,but the family likes it. You can bake a whole chicken and then do different things with the leftovers.. salads, quesidillas, burritos, ect..
cheryl

I love this idea.

6. Boiled Chicken and soup

1 appox. 3 lb chicken 1/4'd and skinned
1 large onion, peeled
4 stalks celery
2 parsnips, peeled
4 large carrots, peeled, and cut into chunks
2 small sweet potatoes
1 bunch dill
1 chicken boullion cube
salt and pepper to taste
garlic powder and onion powder to taste - I use lots

Place chicken, onion, parsnips, and celery in an 8 quart pot. Fill almost all the way to the top with water. Bring to a boil. Use a large spoon to skim off the scum. Add the cube, salt, pepper, onion and garlic powders. Simmer covered for about an hour. After an hour, add the sweet potatoes, bring back to a boil. In another 20 minutes add the carrots and the dill. Cook another 15 minutes.

Remove the dill and toss. You are now left with the most tender, tasty chicken and you should have about 4 quarts of chicken soup. I freeze the soup in containers. I first divide the carrots amongst the containers and shred some of the dark meat chicken into them as well. My kids and hubby eat the soup at another time. I get the chicken breast, sweet potatos and parsnips 2 x for lunch.

7. Lemon mushroom chicken

Saute a large diced onion in a non-stick pan with cooking spray. When browned, add a large can of mushrooms, brown further. Then add a few cloves of fresh crushed garlic. Push the onion/mushroom mixture off to the side. Take 4 boneless chicken breast that you have seasoned generously with garlic and onion powder. Brown on both sides. When browned, add the juice of one large lemon, about 1/4 cup of boiling water and some chopped parsley, fresh or dried. Simmer for about 5 minutes til cooked through.

Optional: You can add some wine to the mix as well.

8. Southern Oven Fried Chicken (old WW recipe)

1 Cup Corn flakes, crushed
1/3 Cup Flour
1 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Ground Red Pepper
2 Egg Whites, slightly beaten
1/4 Cup Skim Milk
2 lbs. Skinless Chicken cut into strips

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Spray cookie sheet with butter flavored cooking spray.
Mix corn flakes, flour, salt, & pepper in a bowl.
Mix egg whites and milk in small bowl.
Dip chicken into egg mixture and coat with corn flake mixture. Place on cookie sheet, and spray with more cooking spray.
Bake for 15 minutes then turn over strips (spray with more cooking spray)
Bake an additional 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Serves: 8
Per Serving: 138 Calories; 1 g Fat; 23 g Protein

9. Rotisserie Chicken Enchiladas

This is a recipe from Publix Apron Simple Meals program -- takes about 40 minutes to prepare & serve. It tastes just as good as a restaurant! I really love making these -- and everybody loves them, so for those of you with families that like mexican food, you'll probably like these! You can also make smaller ones with smaller tortillas if you're watching your carbs. Also, this says to use Rotisserie style chicken, but I'm sure you could easily substitute for chicken breasts if you'd rather!

Ingredients
cooking spray
10–12 sprigs fresh cilantro (rinsed)
1 small tomato (rinsed)
1 chilled Deli rotisserie chicken
3/4 cup refried beans
2 (10-ounce) cans enchilada sauce
6 (10-inch) flour tortillas
1 (2.25-ounce) can sliced black olives with jalapeño (drained) (I usually omit these!)
1 1/2 cups Mexican-blend cheese
aluminum foil

Steps
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat 9-inch square baking dish with cooking spray. [I tend to just layer the bottom of my baking dish with foil...I don't really have very good bakeware :P] Chop cilantro coarsely, place in medium bowl. Chop tomato finely; set aside.
2. Remove meat of chicken from bones (discard skin and bones) and chop coarsely; add to cilantro (wash hands). Stir in beans and 1 can of the enchilada sauce.
3. Spoon chicken mixture equally into center of tortillas. Roll tortillas around filling and place, seam side down, in baking dish. Pour remaining can of enchilada sauce over enchiladas.
4. Sprinkle tomatoes, olives, and then cheese evenly over enchiladas. Cover with foil and bake 15 minutes or until thoroughly heated and cheese is melted.

Serve. (Makes 6 servings.) CALORIES (per 1/6 recipe) 300kcal; FAT 15g; CHOL 45mg; SODIUM 960mg; CARB 27g; FIBER 2g; PROTEIN 13g;
VIT A 20%; VIT C 10%; CALC 25%; IRON 10%

I am a little skeptical with these calorie counts, but I gave up trying to calculate it myself so I just use their numbers, though sometimes I end up getting 7 enchiladas instead of 6. It's pretty hearty and great with some fat free sour cream & guacamole (if you have some more calories to "spend")

10. Mediterannean Chicken with Artichokes

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 2" pieces
2 T olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 medium onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips
4 cloves of garlic, pressed
1 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 cups balsamic vinegar
1 pkg frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and halved
1 14.5 oz can chicken broth, plus 1/4 cup water
1/2 cup crumbled Feta cheese

Heat half of olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Brown chicken, salting and peppering to taste. Remove chicken from skillet. Add remaining oil, onion, garlic, and bell pepper. Cook until onion is translucent. Add oregano and red pepper flakes, stir, and remove from skillet. Add vinegar to skillet and heat, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of skillet, and reducing vinegar until almost evaporated. Add artichoke hearts, broth, and water, then chicken and vegetables. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until chicken is cooked and sauce is thickened. Serve with crumbled Feta on top.

4 servings
Nutrition per serving: 266 calories, 12 g fat, 31 g protein, 7 g carbohydrate

11. Chicken Florentine

(serves 2)

2 chicken breast cut in half
10 oz bag of frozen chopped spinach, cooked and well drained
4 to 5 fresh minced garlic cloves
1/2 cup of heavy cream or half and half ( I use fat free H&H and it's just as good)
1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese
Small amount of oil for frying

Pour small amount of oil in bottom of heavy pan and fry chicken breast until golden brown on both sides. Remove from pan and add minced garlic. Cook for about a minute and add spinach, cream and parmesan. Mix well and lay chicken breast on top of creamed spinach and cover pan. Cook on low for additional 15 to 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Eat and enjoy.

12. SAPF's Chili Chicken

chili powder
chicken breasts

Rub chicken breasts with chili powder. Bake until juices run clear.

I like to serve with brown rice that is also seasoned with chili powder.

Ok, I must admit that when I first glanced at this thread I thought the title was "101 ways to make children"... I thought "wow, there are that many?!" :blush: Anyhow, moving on...

13. Crock Pot Sour Cream Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, frozen
1 pint sour cream (I use low fat)
1 can cream of mushroom soup (I use the 98% ff stuff)
1 package Lipton onion soup mix
nonstick cooking spray

Spray your crockpot with cooking spray, otherwise you end up with glue on the bottom. Place chicken breasts in the crock pot. Mix sour cream, soup and soup mix and pour over chicken. Cook on low 6 hours. I serve it over brown rice.

This is a really onion-y recipe, so if you don't want that much onion flavor cut the soup mix to desired amount.

14. Chicken breasts with roasted tomatillo sauce (great when you can get fresh tomatillos....mmmmmmmm). This recipe is all about the sauce, which is smoky, a little spicy, and tangy. You can also mix this, along with some sauteed onions, garlic, and chopped tomato, into brown rice for mexican rice to serve alongside. Grilled zucchini makes a great side.

Roasted Tomatillo Sauce:
1 lb tomatillos, peeled and washed
6 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole
1 canned chipotle in adobo sauce
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
Chicken broth, to thin

Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray. Place the peeled tomatillos n the sheet, toss to coat, and place in a 350 degree oven.

Roast 25 minutes, then add the garlic cloves to the pan and roast 15 minutes longer. Remove and cool.

In a food processor or blender, puree the roasted tomatillos and garlic, plus all other ingredients. If it seems too thick, add a splash of chicken broth until you get a sauce-like consistency.

Grill some chicken breasts (maybe sprinkled with a little chili powder and lime), and top with the sauce.

15. Baked Chicken Parmesan

4 pieces of chicken breast, 4 oz each, pounded thin
1/2 cup panko (japanese) breadcrumbs
1/4 cup regular italian style breadcrumbs
1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
2 tbsp whole wheat flour
1/2 cup egg substitute
cooking spray and salt/pepper
1/2 cup grated part skim mozzarella cheese
1 1/3 cups homemade or bottled tomato sauce (no added fat preferred, to keep cal counts down)

Pound your chicken breast pieces to about 1/2 inch thickness. In a large, flat dish, combine both types of breadcrumbs, the flour, and the grated parmesan cheese. In a separate dish, mix the egg substitute with salt and pepper.

Dip the chicken pieces in the egg substitute and shake off the excess. Dredge to cover in the breadcrumb mixture. Place on a baking sheet with a rack (a broiler pan works well for this - i recommend lining with aluminum foil to make cleanup easier). Spray the top of each chicken piece with cooking spray.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes, or until breading is just beginning to brown. Top each piece with 1/4 of the mozzarella cheese and return to oven 10 minutes, until chicken is cooked through, breading is browned, and cheese is bubbly. Remove from oven and serve topped with 1/3 cup of the fat free spaghetti sauce.

The chicken and sauce is 294 cals, 8 fat, 21 carb, 34 protein, and 2 fiber.

I love this served on top of a 3/4 portion of whole wheat spaghetti, with some peppers and yellow onion sliced into strips and cooked tender in a bit of chicken broth - the whole meal is about 450 calories and its SO satisfying.