This is a quick, easy chicken recipe that will please just about anyone. Recipe and photo courtesy of plainchicken.com.

• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder
• 2 lb chicken tenders
• 1/4 cup butter, divided
• 2 cups heavy cream

Combine salt, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper.  Sprinkle over both sides of chicken tenders. In large saute pan, melt half of the butter over medium-high heat.  Cook the chicken tenders until done, about 8 minutes. Pour the cream and remaining butter into the skillet.  Lower heat and simmer until the sauce thickens, about 5-7 minutes.  Serve chicken and sauce over pasta or mashed potatoes, if desired.

This recipe is a dead ringer for the one you get at Chili’s. That is always my favorite meal there, so I was excited to find this recipe. Courtesy of sixsistersstuff.com.

• 8 oz penne pasta, cooked and drained
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 4 teaspoons cajun seasoning
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 3 cups half and half
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded

Cook penne pasta according to directions on the box.  Drain pasta and set aside.  Place chicken breasts in a resealable plastic bag and sprinkle in cajun seasoning.  Reseal bag and shake thoroughly until chicken is evenly coated.  In a large skillet, saute chicken breasts in 2 tablespoons of butter, over medium heat, turning occasionally until cooked through.  In a separate skillet, combine half and half, 2 tablespoons butter, lemon pepper, salt, black pepper and garlic powder over medium heat, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat when cream mixture starts to bubble.  Pour cream sauce over cooked noodles.  Slice chicken breasts into strips.  Serve pasta on serving plates, top with chicken breast strips, and sprinkle on diced tomatoes and Parmesan cheese.

My friend Tracie introduced me to this recipe.  It’s not something my kiddos eat, but my husband and I like it quite a bit. I call it my “fancy” recipe. Since it’s just the two of us I halve this recipe but I’ll post it in it’s entirety. Photo and recipe courtesy of allrecipes.com.

• 5 portabello mushrooms
• 1 lb sausage (I like half mild half spicy)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon garlic, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup cream cheese, softened
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove the stems from the mushrooms. Arrange the caps, bottoms up, on a medium baking sheet.  Chop the stems and set aside. Brown the sausage, then add the chopped mushroom stems, minced garlic, crushed garlic, cayenne, black pepper and bread crumbs.  Slowly cook and stir 507 minutes, or until the bread crumbs start to brown.  Remove from heat, allow to cool a bit while you mix together the cream cheese and parmesan.  Add it to the meat mixture, then stuff the mushroom caps.  I like to use big cookie scoop, or ice cream scoop.  Bake for 20 minutes, or until stuffing is lightly browned.