Well, I'm definately going to save this thread, lots of good ideas here and I'll probably be roasting a chicken again. BF and I both don't do this very often as singles, (particularly mostly-vegetarian me) and we can't handle all the leftovers, but together . . . I had a lot of fun making a new chicken soup today! I invented a recipe and it is FANTASTIC. And the perfect soup for sping. I took all the ingredients of that ubiquitous restaurant spinach artichoke dip (sans tons of fat) and made it into a yummy soup. Here's how I did it if you want to do something similar. This is great for those on restricted diets. First, I boiled the chicken carcass in half water and half vegetable broth. Then, I put it in the fridge and waited until the fat congealed and then I skimmed that. Then I strained out the broth. Then, I picked all the little bits of meat off the bones and threw them in the pot. I could hear BF saying, "waste of time" but I was channeling my Bubbe, she of the hands continually bathed in chicken fat! There was a bit of bouquet garni seasoning already on the chicken. Then I added some small pieces of chicken, mostly white meat, that I had in the fridge. The rest was dead easy. I added a cup, maybe cup and a quarter of chopped, well-drained marinated artichoke hearts that I had languishing in the fridge, about the same amount of frozen chopped spinach, about 1 TBLSP chives (I can't have onions), 3/4 of a red pepper, chopped and sauteed in EVOO. About 1/2 tsp. oregano for seasoning. I didn't add garlic but I could have. I boiled this for 20 min. To "whiten" it I wasn't very systematic, I used up the bits and bobs of white stuff I had in the fridge--about 1 TBLSP of lite sour cream, about 1/3 cup of 1% milk, and about 1/3 cup of neufatchel cheese. You could use cream if you like, or real cream cheese. The sour cream wasn't necessary, I just had it to use up. Top with grated parmesean and serve with whole grain pita chips. DELICIOUS!

These are also called Chicken Bundles and they are yummy! Savory Crescent Chicken Squares Recipe #12572 These are very good. You can also make them smaller using the "triangle" instead of the "square" and have as an appetizer instead of the main course. by Lali 30 min : 5 min prep SERVES 4 -8 * 1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened * 3 tablespoons butter, melted * 2 cups cooked cubed boneless chicken or 2 (5 ounce) cans boneless chicken * 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper, to taste * 2 tablespoons milk * 1 tablespoon chopped onion * 1/4 cup chopped olive (optional) * 1 (8 ounce) can refrigerated crescent dinner rolls * 3/4 cup crushed crouton Blend cream cheese with 2 Tbsp butter until smooth. Add next six ingredients and mix well. Spoon 1/2 C meat mixture onto 2"triangles" of dough. (don't separate, so you actually have a "square") Pull 4 corners to the top, center of mixture and twist slightly and seal edges by pinching. Brush tops with remaining butter and sprinkle with croutons Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 20-25 minutes in a 350* oven until golden brown. Source: RecipeZaar.com

I would braise them on med-low heat in chicken stock, white wine, butter, minced onion or shallot, minced chives or scallion, herbs of your choice, salt, white pepper, and add some heavy cream for a quickie sauce. If no heavy cream, use half & half mixed with a little flour. (Added to the wine, half & half alone has a small risk of curdling, whole milk a larger risk, low fat milk will curdle. The flour helps prevent curdling, but you then have to cook it longer, so I prefer heavy cream.) If no stock, then I wouldn't say no to a boullion cube. (Or, if you want to play around, put two of the tenders in your blender, with a cup or two of water and a bit of onion, celery, carrot - in other words, the stuff you'd put in a chicken stock - and liquefy it, then transfer that to a pot, heat, and simmer while adding more water as needed, plus salt and seasonings until it approximates a hearty chicken broth.) The problem with tenders is they are thin, lean, boneless and overcook so easily. So I'd do this braise backwards. First get the wine, butter, stock, and minced stuff to a simmer, add the cream, adjust salt and pepper, and then when the flavor and consistency is as you like, last add the chicken and cook it, which will only take a short time.

This recipe is taken from a glycemic index weight loss diet ! But it does use spinach and cheese again. SPINACH & PEPPER STUFFED CHICKEN BREASTS Serves 4 2 TBS olive oil 2 chopped onions 1 clove garlic chopped finely 4 cups (125 grams) chopped spinach leaves 1 TBS chopped fresh leaves of mint 1/4 teasp herbes de Provençe 1/2 teasp sea salt 1/2 teasp freshly ground black pepper 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts 4 oz (125 grams) each 2 oz (50 grams) light Boursin cheese 1 TBS freshly grated parmesan 1 red pepper, seeded, quartered and roasted 1/2 cup (4 oz or 120 ml) white wine 1/2 cup (4 oz or 120 ml) chicken stock 2 x 15 ounce tins of chopped tomatoes 1/4 teasp crumbled strands of saffron 1/2 cup large-flake slow cooking porridge oats 1. Prepare red peppers and put into toaster oven or grill to roast. Chop spinach and set aside. 2. Heat 1 TBS of the oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat and cook half the onion and all the minced garlic for about 5 minutes. Add the spinach and cook a further 2 minutes or until wilted. Stir in the mint, herbes de Provençe and 1/4 teasp each of the salt and pepper. Remove from pan and put all into a bowl to cool. 3. Place the chicken breasts on a cutting board between two sheets of cling film and beat with a mallet or rolling pin until they have spread and are about 1/4 inch (5 mm) thick. (Here I trimmed the edges of each one to make more of a tidy rectangle and put the cut bits into a ziplock in the freezer.) 4. With a fork, mix the two cheeses into the spinach mixture to combine. Spread the filling mixture over the chicken breasts, nearly to the edges. Cut the red pepper into strips and lay them across the filling. 5. Starting at the short end, carefully roll up the breasts and place them seam-side down on a large platter or cutting board. Sprinkle them with the rest of the salt and pepper. 6. Heat the remaining 1 TBS olive oil in a large nonstick frying pan over a medium heat. Cook the remaining onion about 5 minutes, then add the wine, chicken stock, tomatoes, saffron and a little more seasoning. Simmer on low heat, covered for about 8 minutes, then add the oats and stir. 7. Place the rolled chicken breasts on top of the sauce in the pan and continue to simmer, covered, for 20 - 25 minutes or until the chicken is completely cooked through. 8. To serve - place the chicken on a plate and spoon sauce around and over the top. Serve whole if rolls are small, or even better - slice them thickly with a sharp knife to display the colourful filling. Source: Adapted from Rick Gallop's GI Diet Green-Light Cookbook This dish could stand a bit of heat for those who would prefer a few pepper flakes or the addition of a mildly hot pepper. I halved the recipe, doing only two large breasts for the two of us, but used one whole red pepper, halving the rest of the ingredients except the oil for cooking. ********************************************* And why not stuff fish into something like a small red pepper rather than the other way around. Here's a well-known Spanish tapa of cod fish which is often served as a first or even a main course light meal. are small, sweet and slightly piquant Spanish peppers which are sold tinned, skinned and ready for stuffing. (PIMIENTOS DE PIQUILLO RELLENOS DE PESCADO.) 2 tins piquillo peppers, each 185 grams/ (6 1/2 oz)..about 15 small peppers (I used 1 tin of 390 grams=18 peppers) 200 grams/7 oz cod or any cooked white fish 3 cloves garlic chopped 1 TBS onion, minced 2 TBS olive oil 1 1/2 TBS flour 200 ml/7 fl oz (3/4 cup + 1 TBS) milk salt & pepper to taste grating of nutmeg 150 ml/1/4 pint (2/3 cup) cream pinch of cayenne 1 teasp vinegar Allow 6 - 10 for stuffing and reserve the remainder for the sauce. Shred or flake the codfish or cooked white fish, discarding any skin or bone. In a saucepan, sauté the chopped garlic and onion in the oil until softened. Add the fish, then the flour and cook for two minutes. Then whisk in the milk. Season with salt and pepper and nutmeg. Cook, stirring constantly, until the fish mixture is thickened. Remove from heat. Stuff the piquillo peppers with the fish mixture and place them in an oiled baking dish. Bake in a medium-hot oven for 5 minutes. (Alternately the peppers may be dusted with flour, then dipped in beaten egg and fried in olive oil, turning them to brown on all sides.) Meanwhile, purée the remaining peppers in a blender with the cream, cayenne and vinegar. Spoon the sauce onto 6 dishes (if serving 1 pepper to 6 persons as a tapa - we had 3 each) and place 1 or 2 of the stuffed peppers on each plate. Serves 6 as a tapa, 2 or 3 as a first course. Source: 'Tapas and More Great Dishes From Spain' Janet Mendel 1997 SharonCb