2 jars of good roasted garlic alfredo sauce.

This is a great crowd pleaser. Everyone seems to love it. Just substitute chicken broth for the white wine. Can be prepared a day or two in advance. Just do;t over cook it. So if serving a day or two later , just warm it through.

Chicken Marbella - Serves 10-12

9 pounds chicken - either whole birds quartered or a combo of thighs and breasts (If using breasts be sure not to overcook)
1 head garlic peeled and chopped
1/4 cup dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup pitted prunes
1/2 cup pitted Spanish olives
1/2 cup capers and a bit of the juice
6 Bay leaves
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white wine
1/4 cup Italian parsley, chopped

Combine chicken garlic, oregano,salt,vinegar, oil, prunes, olives. capers and bay leaves. Marinate & refrigerate overnight.

Arrange chicken in a single layer in one or two large baking dishes. Spoon marinade over evenly. Sprinkle chicken evenly with brown sugar and pour white wine around them.

Bake in a for 50 minutes to 1 hour at 350. Do not over cook.

Transfer chicken and prunes etc to a serving platter. Moisten with a few spoonfuls of the sauce. Sprinkle with chopped parsley. Pass the remaining sauce in a sauceboat.

If preparing a few days in advance refrigerate cooked chicken in the sauce and allow to come to room temp before reheating, just until warmed through.

If serving cold allow to come to room temp before serving.

Here is another that goes over well. Lots of different recipes around for it but I've had good luck with this one. Just omit the mushrooms. Or you can do one batch with mushrooms and one without.

This can be made the day ahead and just reheated. For a progressive I would cut the breasts in half and double the recipe. Or triple the recipe if you want a full breast for each person.

Chicken Cacciatore

8 Chicken breasts or a combo of breasts and thighs
1 1/2 T Olive Oil
1 1/4 c Onions,Chopped
8 oz Mushrooms,rinsed, drained , and quartered
1 1/2 t Garlic,Minced
1 t Dried Oregano
2 T Parsley,Chopped
2 c Tomato Sauce
1/2 c chicken broth
1/2 c Kalamata Olives, pitted and quartered (optional)

Rinse the chicken and pat dry. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Pour 1 tbsp oil into a 10-12" nonstick pan over med-high heat. When hot,add the chicken and brown well(work in batches if it won't all fit). As chicken pieces are browned, transfer to a foil pan (8-9" square). In the
same pan, add the remaining oil and the onions, mushrooms, garlic, oregano and parsley. Stir often over med-high heat until vegetables are limp (12-15 minutes). Stir in the tomato sauce and chicken broth. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring often; reduce heat, cover and simmer
about 20 minutes to blend flavors. Add olives to sauce, remove from heat and pour over the chicken in the pan. Seal pan with foil and bake, covered, in a 375°f oven for 1 to 1 1/4 hours.

Marcia, Marcia, Marcia - sorry its been so long since you've been here, just had to say it. Hi and Merry Christmas.

Scott's Chicken Lasagne

9 Lasagna Noodles

1/4 cup butter/margarine
8 oz/3 cups sliced fresh mushrooms (leave em out, or sub some other veg)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk
2 whole chicken breasts or equivalent, stewed and cubed
1 cup of the liquid you cooked the chicken in
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
15 oz. carton ricotta cheese
2 eggs
3 cups chopped fresh broccoli
8 oz/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cook lasagne noodles, drain and rinse in hot water.

In large saucepan, melt butter, add mushrooms, garlic salt and lemon juice. Saute mushrooms unitl tender, about 5 minutes. Add flour; blend well. Add milk and chicken juice; cook over medium high heat until mixture thickens and boils, stirring constantly. Stir in chicken and 1/3 cup parsley.

Heat oven to 325. Mix Ricotta and parmesan cheese with beaten eggs. Layer 1/3 each noodles, ricotta mixture, mozzarella, sauce and broccoli (for the top layer I do the broccoli then the mozzarella on top). Sprinkle with remaining parsley. Bake for 45 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand 10-15 mnutes before serving.

Debbie 814's Chicken Riggies

1 stick butter, melted
1 onion minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
20 oz. jar of sweet peppers (sliced with seeds removed)
3 sliced hot cherry peppers (packed in jar with oil)

Saute above ingredients.

Add:

1 cup parmigiano cheese
2 lbs. boneless chicken breast, cubed
1 can chicken broth
1 can tomato sauce (15 oz)

Cook for 1 hour.

Pour over 1 1/2 boxes of cooked Rigatoni pasta. Serve with fresh Italian bread.

Oh 2 more...
This is a recipe I make alot. I actually started just layering it like lasagna instead of filling and rolling each one.
Three Cheese Enchiladas

I also make my Enchilada sauce from Scratch now..If you want that recipe, just let me know and I'll type it up.

Another popular chicken recipe here..Is to use jumbo shells.
Make a filling of 1 brick softened cream cheese (you can use light, as in the Enchiladas), add 2 t of Italian seasoning, 2 cups of mozzarella or pizza blend or italian blend cheese. Toss in cubed cooked chicken and par cooked or frozen chopped broccoli. Mix well. Par cook jumbo shells. Fill each shell with some of the mix. Pour over the above "alfredo sauce" or jarred..toss some extra cheese over the top..Cover and bake. Makes 1 9x13. Uncover, sprinkle liberally with Parm..heat until Parm melts.

Here is a link that might be useful: Make Ahead Chicken

See? You guys came through! I never doubted that for a minute! You are THE BEST!! Not sure yet (Marbella sounds intriguing) - - decisions, decisions... I am trying hard not to stress and won't, thanks to you! *smooch* Thanks!!

Easy Chicken and Noodle Casserole

Ingredients:

4 to 6 chicken breast halves, bone in
2 ribs celery with tops
½ teaspoon dried thyme
3-4 whole leaves with stems parsley
1 medium onion, halved

1 pound wide egg noodles

8 ounces butter, divided
8 ounces mushrooms, finely chopped
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
reserved chicken broth

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup dry sherry
16 ounces shredded/grated Gruyere cheese, divided
paprika

Directions:

Cook chicken with celery, celery tops, thyme, parsley and onion in enough water to cover, about 30 minutes on simmer. (Do not overcook.) Remove from heat to let cool. When meat is cool enough to handle, remove skin and bones. Cut meat into bite-size pieces; reserve broth.

Cook noodles in salted water for 5 minutes.

On medium heat, melt half the butter and add mushroom pieces; cook for 3 minutes. Add the remaining butter, dust with the flour and stir well to cook until the flour smell is out.

Add enough chicken broth to make a thick sauce. Start with one cup.

Add Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper, sherry and half of the cheese. Cook until thickened again.

Place a layer of noodles in a buttered 13x9x2-inch baking dish. Add a layer of chicken and a layer of sauce. Repeat layers ending with the chicken. Sprinkle remaining cheese evenly over the top and then sprinkle with paprika.

Bake casserole in a preheated 350° oven for 15 minutes.

Joe

You could double this one easily, and you can omit the sherry, it won't affect the overall dish. You could prep everything ahead and just assemble and bake it later. Very easy and very good!

Chicken Divan

1 head broccoli, cooked and cut into florets
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons sherry
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
3-4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cooked and sliced
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 c slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt butter or margarine in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir in flour; add chicken broth and stir until thick. Then stir in 1/4 c parmesan, cream, sherry or wine, salt and ground black pepper. Stir until cheese melts and mixture is thickened. Remove from heat.

Place broccoli crosswise in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Pour 1/2 of the cream sauce over the broccoli and top with chicken slices, pour remaining sauce over the chicken slices. Sprinkle top with 1/2 c parmesan and slivered almonds.

Bake 30 minutes at 350F, then broil 5-8 minutes to brown top. Serve hot over rice or orzo pasta.

Linda

fried chicken?

From "Low Country, Up Scale":

Secret Ingredient Fried Chicken

Ingredients:

1 whole (3 ½ lbs or less) chicken cut up into parts for frying
2 cups buttermilk
1 Tbs salt
¼ cup liquid hot sauce
2 cups flour
1 Tbs curry powder
½ tsp pepper
2 tsp salt
½ tsp cayenne

Enough oil to half fill a large cast iron skillet or Dutch oven. For this recipe, I like a mix of 3 parts shortening to 1 part peanut oil.

Directions:

Combine the buttermilk, salt and hot sauce. Add the chicken pieces to the mix and toss well to coat.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 4-5 hours, preferably overnight but not longer than 24 hours. Shake occasionally.

Mix together flour, curry powder, salt, pepper and cayenne and place in a large shakable container or bag.

Take the chicken out of the buttermilk, allow it to drain and toss it in the flour mixture until completely coated.

Place the chicken, covered, in the refrigerator for about an hour. This will help the flour to adhere and promote a better crust.

Heat the oil in the cast iron skillet over medium high heat.

If you have a deep frying or candy thermometer, keep the fat at about 350° F for the whole cooking time.

Heat the oil to about 375° (it will reduce in temperature when you add the chicken) and then add as much chicken as will fit in the pan without overcrowding.

Cook the chicken until nicely dark brown on the first side -- about 15 minutes -- before turning it over for another 10 minutes or so.

Use an instant-read thermometer to check the chicken a little before this point, and take it out when the internal temp is 165° F.

Alternatively, just cut into the chicken and when it is white to the bone, it is done.

Pull from pan and allow to drain before serving.

Joe

"...no mushrooms or alcohol...".

You can do the chicken and noodle casserole without the mushrooms and the sherry. It will be fine.

Joe

I second the Chicken Marbella suggestion. We love it and I have never served it to anyone who didn't enjoy it. It's also very pretty and festive looking. You could substitute orange juice for the wine; that would work well with the olives and prunes. It does reheat well - important since you are doing other entertaining. It's a dish that has a great return for a small effort.

Lee

These are all great ideas! I knew this was the right place to come for an answer. Instead of having no idea, I now have another problem... which ONE to pick!

Thanks so much! And Merry Christmas (again!)!!