Teriyaki Chicken & Rice Bowls {Crockpot}

This is an easy and healthy dinner to throw together for the family. I love a good crockpot recipe. I added some fresh broccoli florets to the sauce at the end but you could add any vegetable you'd like.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
salt & pepper
1 cup honey
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
4 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 6 Tbsp water
sesame seeds (optional)
stir-fry vegetables of choice (optional)
rice or noodles, cooked

Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper and put in the crockpot. Combine the next 7 ingredients in a small bowl and pour over the chicken. Cook on low for 3-4 hrs or on high for 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 hrs until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken from crockpot, leave sauce, and cut into bite size pieces. Dissolve the cornstarch in the water by stirring then add to crockpot sauce. Cover crockpot with lid and allow sauce to thicken on high for 10 min. Add any chopped up stir-fry vegetables of your choice to sauce and allow them to cook for 1/2 hour or until desired firmness. Add the chicken back to the sauce with the vegetables. Serve chicken with sauce and vegetables over a bowl of cooked rice or noodles. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Recipe Adapted From: Just Get Off Your Butt and Bake

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

These are really good. They are pretty easy to put together and baked not deep fried. They are a very popular item off of the Our Best Bites food blog. They make a frequent appearance on our dinner table. I like to dip them in sour cream or Cafe Rio's Cilantro Lime-Ranch Dressing.

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

by Chelsey W.

1/3 c (3oz) cream cheese

1/4 c green salsa

1 Tbsp fresh lime juice

1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder

3 Tbsp chopped cilantro

2 c cooked chicken, shredded

1 c pepper jack cheese, shredded

6 inch corn or flour tortillas, fresh so they don't crack

2 Tbsp vegetable oil, optional

Nonstick cooking spray

Kosher salt

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Heat cream cheese in microwave for 20-30 seconds so it's soft. Then add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, and garlic powder. Stir then add cilantro, cooked chicken, and cheese. Wrap 3-4 tortillas at a time in damp paper towels and microwave for 20-30 seconds so they are soft and pliable. Place 2-3 Tbsp of chicken mixture in tortilla keeping about 1/2 inch from the edges and then roll it up. Place seam side down on baking sheet in a single layer. Spray tops lightly with cooking spray or brush with oil. Sprinkle with a pinch of kosher salt on top. Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 min. until crisp and ends start to turn golden brown. Cool for 5-10 min and serve with sour cream, guacamole, salsa, or Cafe Rio's Cilantro-Lime Ranch Dressing.

Makes about 16 taquitos

Sweet & Sour Chicken

A woman in my neighborhood who is an excellent cook used to make this all the time while I was growing up. I finally asked her for the recipe so I could make it for my family. It is very yummy! It has a different flavor than traditional sweet and sour sauce found at a chinese food restaurant. It is easy to prepare but time consuming, because you have to bread and fry up the little pieces of chicken before baking them in the sauce in the oven. It sure makes a delicious meal when you're all done though :)

Sweet & Sour Chicken

by Chelsey W.

4 chicken breasts

garlic salt

cornstarch

2 eggs

oil (vegetable, canola, or olive)

Trim fat from chicken and cut up into bite size pieces. Sprinkle chicken with garlic salt. Dip chicken pieces in corn starch and then the beaten egg. Fry chicken until golden brown in small amount of oil. Place fried chicken in a single layer in a shallow baking dish. Cover chicken with the following sauce.

3/4 c sugar

1/2 c vinegar

1/4 c ketchup

1/4 c chicken broth

1 Tbsp soy sauce

Bring ingredients to a boil in a saucepan and then pour over the chicken. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or up to an hour if your chicken pieces are very large (you want your chicken cooked through). Stir every 15 min. Serve baked chicken over rice.

*I usually double the sauce ingredients and pour half onto chicken and keep half in saucepan for extra sauce to eat with the rice. Don't place doubled sauce on the chicken because it will become too soggy and you'll lose all the breading. Let the extra sauce just simmer for a while to cook it down and thicken a bit.

**I was told if you want a simple version of this recipe you can skip the part where you bread and fry up the chicken and simply put the whole chicken breasts in the crockpot, pour the sauce on top, and cook them for a few hours until chicken falls apart.Then serve over rice.

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

I've seen similar recipes like this one on many food blogs and I even tried a couple after reading the rave reviews only to be disappointed. I just didn't see what was so great about the dish until trying this recipe. My sister-in-law AnneMarie made these for us for dinner and I loved them. I know a recipe is good when I find myself craving it on many occasions.

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

1/3 cup honey

1/4 cup lime juice (about 2 large limes)

2 teaspoons to 1 Tablespoon chili powder

2 large cloves of garlic, finely minced or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts (2 large breasts), cooked and shredded

12 white corn tortillas

2 cups of Mexican cheese blend, shredded

1 14-oz can of green enchilada sauce

1/2 to 3/4 cup of heavy cream

1 Tablespoon of chopped cilantro, to garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Place the cooked and shredded chicken in a medium sized bowl. Set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, lime juice, chili powder and garlic. Pour this mixture over the chicken and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to marinate while you prepare the tortillas, 30 minutes or up to 1 hour, in the refrigerator.

Heat a large griddle till a drop of water skitters across (about 350 degrees F). Spray the surface with non-stick cooking spray or a oil it with a little bit of canola oil in between each round of tortillas. Heat tortillas about 20 seconds on each side till warm and flexible and some golden brown spots have appeared. Remove the tortillas from the griddle and keep them between a couple of paper towels until ready to use.

Spray the sides and bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish lightly with cooking spray.
In a medium bowl combine the enchilada sauce and the heavy cream. Spread about 1/2 cup of the mixture in the bottom of the baking dish.
Add a large spoonful (about 2 tablespoons) of the chicken mixture to the center of each tortilla in a line. Cover the chicken with a large tablespoon of cheese, then roll the tortilla up placing enchilada seam side down in dish. Make two rows of six enchiladas.

Add the remaining marinade mixture to the enchilada sauce and cream mixture. Pour this mixture over the top of all the enchiladas. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Bake the enchiladas for 30 to 35 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbly and starting to brown on top. Serve with sour cream.

Chicken & Gravy

This chicken & gravy is easy to make and sure to be a family favorite.

Chicken & Gravy
by Chelsey W.

4 chicken breasts
1 Family size can of cream of mushroom soup
1 cup whipping cream
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp paprika

Mix together the seasonings and sprinkle over chicken in a large casserole dish. In a mixing bowl stir together cream of mushroom soup and cream and pour over chicken. Cover and Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour. Uncover, stir and allow to thicken for 10 min. Serve over mashed potatoes.

Recipe adapted from Or So She Says...

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

This is the best chicken noodle soup ever! Basically because it is made with homemade noodles and store boughten ones just don't compare. Every Halloween my mom made this soup for us. As kids we loved it, not just because the soup is great but because we got to unroll the noodles. The homemade noodles are pretty simple to make, you just make the dough, roll it out flat, then roll it up like a cinnamon roll, slice, and unroll. I have great memories with my mother in the kitchen making this each year. Your kids will love to join in too!

This recipe doesn't have exact amounts. You make it according to how many people you're serving and the size of pot you're using. The best soup is made by using a whole chicken and boiling it and using its broth. That's how mom makes it. However, if you're like me and don't want to pick the meat off the bone then you can use chicken breasts or buy a rotisserie chicken already cooked. It still makes good soup but you do have to add a lot of bouillon to make a good broth.

Chicken Noodle Soup
by Chelsey W.

chicken breasts or whole chicken
chicken broth
chicken bouillon (I like the granules best)
celery
carrots
onion
noodles (use recipe below)
If you are buying noodles then buy "Country Pasta" it's the only alternative I'd use

Put chicken breasts in the bottom of the a pot and boil with enough water to cover chicken breasts. Fully cook chicken and then remove from water. Cut chicken into bite size chunks, cover, and set aside. Peel and slice carrots, onion, and celery. Make the noodles and leave them on the counter to dry. Add chicken broth to the water used to boil the chicken. Then add more water to fill your pot. Remember to leave enough room for the veggies, chicken, and noodles. I use a big stock pot. Add carrots, onions, and celery to the broth and boil until slightly tender. During this time flavor your broth with plenty of chicken bouillon. I used an entire jar of the granules for my large stock pot. Good soup has lots of flavor. Add a little pepper. When veggies are slightly tender and the broth is tasty then add noodles and chicken. If the noodles have not dried for very long then add the separately to the pot so they don't stick together. When the noodles are cooked Enjoy!

Noodles: (double this if using a large stock pot)
6 eggs
3 c flour
2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
4 Tbsp oil
Mix until stiff. Roll dough out on a floured surface with a rolling pin (like sugar cookies). Dough should be thin. Then roll it up like a cinnamon roll. You will probably need to sprinkle some extra flour on it so it doesn't stick. Slice the noodles about 1/2 inch. Then let the kids unroll them keeping them separated on the counter. Let them dry on the counter or if you don't then add them separately to the soup so they don't stick together.

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

I made some chicken enchiladas that are tasty and easy to make. I'll admit I'm a little weird when it comes to enchiladas because I don't really like tortillas covered in sauce because I think they get soggy. So I like to fry the tortillas in a little oil for a second on each side so they stay a little more crunchy. I guess it's similar to a chimichanga. These taste a lot better than they look in the picture. In fact the chicken filling is so good made with cream cheese that I could eat it all by itself. You can choose whatever type of enchilada sauce you like to put on the top. I like a mild red sauce but you can use green, medium, or hot depending on what you like.

Easy Chicken Enchiladas
by Chelsey W.


4 large chicken breasts
6-8 oz cream cheese
4 oz can green chilies (optional)
10 flour tortillas
2 c shredded cheese (I used cheddar)
1 19oz can or 2 10oz cans enchilada sauce


Fully cook chicken breasts and cut up into bite size pieces. Season with salt, pepper, and a little onion powder. Over low heat stir in about 6 oz of cream cheese with the chicken then taste. You can add all 8 oz if you want. After the cream cheese has melted and coated chicken stir in green chilies (optional).  Fry tortillas in a little oil for just a few seconds on each side if you want crispy enchiladas. In a 9x13 pan pour about 5 oz of enchilada sauce in the bottom. Then spoon chicken filling in the center of the tortillas and sprinkle cheese over the filling. Then fold them closed placing around ten in the pan. Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce on the top and sprinkle with cheese. Bake covered at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until sauce bubbles and cheese has melted. Serve with sour cream, lettuce, or other favorite toppings.

Bajio Chicken {Crockpot}

I found this recipe and was excited because I wanted a good chicken recipe like this one to use in chicken salads, burritos, tacos, and quesadillas. Sweet pork salads are really popular and found at many restaurants. I actually don't care for the sweet pork and usually choose the chicken instead. This is a copycat recipe from the restaurant Bajio made by Your Homebased Mom. I don't think Bajio's chicken is sweet like this is but it's good and is super easy to make. You can then use the chicken for whatever you want. I made some tacos and they were yummy! I've adapted this a little to how I like it. You can add more brown sugar if you want it sweeter or more salsa and green chilies if you want it spicier. This makes a lot of tacos, around ten for us.

Recipe:
3 large chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
3/ 4 c salsa
1 T cumin
1/2 c brown sugar (more if you want it sweeter)
4 oz can of green chilies
6 oz (1/2 can) Sprite

Put all the ingredients in a crock pot and cook for about 5 hrs until chicken is done. Remove the chicken and shred it, then return it to the crock pot for another hour. I tasted the sauce and decided to add more sprite and salsa. You can add more brown sugar too, just make it to your taste. After the final hour you can leave it juicy or thicken the juice a little by mixing together some cornstarch and water in a bowl and then pouring a little in. Serve as a burrito, salad, taco, or quesadilla. It goes great with rice and beans or whatever other Mexican food toppings you enjoy.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

I love the sweet and sour sauce from a local Chinese restaurant in my area called ABC Mandarin and have been in search for a copycat recipe. I've made several different sweet and sour sauces now and haven't quite found it, but this one was really good. I found this recipe on Blog Chef and made a few slight changes. I like using brown sugar in sweet and sour sauce and this one called for white sugar. I made the sauce as directed but felt it was a little more sour than sweet so I added about 1/4 c brown sugar and I thought it was better. Next time I'll try using just brown sugar and none of the white. Then I changed the preparation process a little. I wanted the flavor from the onion and green pepper to get in the sauce so I let it simmer together. The end result was delicious. I also used a tip from Real Mom Kitchen and made it with popcorn chicken which made this a simple meal to prepare. If you want to bread and fry your chicken I 'm sure it would be even better.

Recipe:

cooked rice

chicken (use deep fried recipe or popcorn chicken)

2 onions cut into 1" chunks

1 green pepper cut into 1" chunks

1 can pineapple chunks (reserve juice)

sweet and sour sauce

1/2 c vinegar

1/3 c sugar (original recipe)

(I added 1/4 brown sugar and will only use brown sugar in future)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 c orange juice

1/4 c pineapple juice

1/4 c ketchup

2 Tbsp cornstarch with 1/8 c pineapple juice (thickener)

I added some red food coloring

Deep fried chicken breasts

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1" cubes

(you can use less chicken if you buy huge chicken breasts like I do)

flour

4 egg yolks

2 Tbsp soy sauce

oil

Mix egg yolk and soy sauce with a little water. Roll chicken in flour, egg, and then flour again. Deep fry in oil 2-3 min., drain on paper towels.

This is how I made it. First start cooking your rice. I then fried my popcorn chicken in a little oil and drained the excess when it was done. Meanwhile, I mixed together all sauce ingredients in a sauce pan and brought it to a boil. I let it simmer 5-10 minutes while I cut up vegetables and fried the chicken. Mix together the cornstarch and juice and then thicken the sweet and sour sauce with it. I added a little red food coloring to make it look better. In a very large frying pan or wok stir fry the vegetables with a little oil for a couple minutes. You want the vegetables to be crisp. Add the pineapple chunks. Add in the sauce and let it simmer with the vegetables for around 15 min. for good flavor. Serve rice, with the chicken on top, and then the sauce with veggies over it all.

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

This is my favorite casserole. It's so good I could eat it every week and not get sick of it. I always requested this for my birthday dinner growing up. I know there are a lot of versions of this casserole out there but this one is the best. The sauce has great flavor. The curry powder really compliments the broccoli and cheese. The toast on top gives it some crunch. If you like chicken, broccoli, and cheese you'll love this too!

Recipe:

3 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless) around 1 1/2 - 2 lbs

2 pkgs (around 13 oz each) frozen broccoli florets

or about 5 c fresh broccoli florets

2 slices of bread

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 c mayonnaise

1/2 c chicken stock or I often substitute milk with a little chicken bouillon in it

1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp curry powder

1 1/4 c grated cheddar cheese, divided

Fully cook chicken, season, and cut into bite size pieces. Boil broccoli until tender but don't overcook you don't want it mushy, drain. Make sauce in a sauce pan or microwavable bowl. Sauce includes: cream of chicken soup, mayo, chicken stock, lemon juice, curry powder, and 3/4 c cheese. Mix and cook on stove top or in the microwave until cheese melts. In a casserole dish layer broccoli then chicken, then sauce. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 c cheese on the top. Lightly toast bread then butter it and tare it into pieces the size of croutons and sprinkle the bread on the top of the cheese. Bake uncovered at 375 degrees for 25 minutes.

Miner Marinade

This marinade is awesome! I got this recipe from Real Mom Kitchen who got it from On My Menu. I've been looking for a great steak marinade and have tried several but none of them were this great. I love the flavor of it and how tender and juicy it makes the steak. It's supposed to be good on chicken too. I'll definitely try that in the future. This marinade works great on less expensive cuts of meat. I bought petite sirloin steaks for $1.99 per lb and you would never know it wasn't expensive steak.

Recipe:

3/4 c oil

1/2 c soy sauce

2 Tbsp worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1/4 c vinegar

1 tsp parsley flakes

2 cloves garlic, minced

Mix all ingredients together. Let meat marinade in the fridge for at least a couple hours. Grill.

Chinese Chicken Salad

This is one of my very most favorite salads ever! The looks of it don't do it justice, but the flavor and dressing is delicious and this recipe is requested often. I got this recipe from my Aunt Mindy who makes it for all my families bridal/baby showers. I make it a lot for potlucks and there's never leftovers.

Recipe:

1 Large head or 2 normal heads of cabbage

or 2 pkgs of coleslaw

3 chicken breasts

2 pkgs chicken flavor ramen noodles

1 c slivered almonds

green onions chopped finely (optional)

1/2 c sesame seeds (optional)

dressing (recipe below)

Cut up cabbage, shredded like coleslaw. Boil chicken until fully cooked then cool in fridge until ready to shred. Toast almonds, ramen, and sesame seeds until golden brown. Watch them closely in the oven because they will burn quickly. (I broil them on a cookie sheet with the door slightly opened) set aside. Chop green onions and combine them with cabbage and shredded chicken in a large salad bowl. Make the dressing and keep it and salad in fridge until ready to serve. Just before serving combine the salad with the toasted items and stir dressing because it separates then pour it over the top, stir to coat everything. Don't wait to long before eating this salad because it will go soggy and the noodles eventually go soft and you want it to be crunchy.

I listed the green onions and sesame seeds as optional because I often leave them out and it tastes fine.

Dressing:

7 Tbsp sugar

1 c oil

2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

8 Tbsp seasoned rice vinegar

2 tsp Accent (found by other seasonings at store)

2 packets from chicken flavor ramen noodles

Mix together, refrigerate and pour over salad right before serving. It will separate so just stir it again.

Cheesy Chicken & Rice Bake

When I'm making a grocery list I often ask my husband, "what would you like for a dinner?" He always replies the same, "chicken and rice," which is this Campbells soup recipe. It's fine with me because I love it too and it is probably one of the simplest dinners to prepare out there. You don't have to precook the chicken or rice, you just throw it in a casserole dish and bake it. It has great flavor and we eat it regularly.

The recipe came off of the cream of chicken Campbells soup label a few years back. Now the soup label has this same recipe on it with a different name because they added veggies to it. We are bad and don't care for the veggies in it but you can add one cup of frozen vegetables in it if you'd like.

This recipe only serves enough for 3 or 4 servings. Between my husband and I and our two little boys it's gone. So I've tried doubling it for more people and for some reason it did not work out. The rice was hard and it was all watery and weird even with extra cooking time. I think it has something to do with needing to be in a shallow baking dish. So now if I want more I make it in two separate shallow baking dishes and bake it together and that seems to work fine. So I thought I'd give a heads up to anyone with a large family. Doubling it might work if your baking dish is very large and shallow.

Recipe:

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 1/3 c water

3/4 c uncooked regular long-grain white rice

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp pepper

2 large chicken breasts, halved

1 c shredded cheddar cheese

Mix soup, water, rice, onion powder, and pepper in a 2 qt shallow baking dish. Top with chicken. Cover. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 min. or until chicken is no longer pink and rice is done. Uncover. Stir rice and sprinkle the top with cheese. Cover again and then serve once the cheese melts.

Chicken Fajitas

This is one of our most frequently made suppers. We love it, never get sick of it, it's healthy, and simple to make. Oh and did I mention the flavor is awesome! I actually like these more than a lot of restaurants.

Recipe:

chicken breasts (one breast for each person)

green, red, or yellow bell peppers (one pepper for every three chicken breasts)

large onion (add more than one if making a lot)

salt and pepper

tortillas

shredded cheese

salsa

sour cream

Cut chicken into strips and cook in a little water or oil, in a large frying pan until fully cooked. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cut the bell peppers and onions into strips then add to chicken when it's cooked. Cover frying pan and let the peppers and onions steam in low heat. You may need to add more water and stir occasionally so it doesn't burn. Once peppers and onions have softened serve on tortillas with salsa, sour cream, and cheese.

Chicken Tortellini Skillet

This simple supper was very easy to make with few ingredients. My very picky eating three year old scarfed this down. I couldn't believe how much he ate...he just kept asking for more. So there you have it, it's good! I like using the fresh tortellini from the refrigerated section of the grocery store best.

Recipe:

4 c cheese tortellini

1 lb chicken, cubed (I used two large breasts)

16 oz jar or 2-3 c spaghetti sauce (I'm a Prego fan)

1 c mozzarella cheese 

Cook tortellini according to package directions. Cook chicken in a little oil or water in a large frying pan. Drain tortellini and add to cooked chicken. Stir in spaghetti sauce and sprinkle with cheese. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook 5 min until cheese is melted. Serves 4-5 people.

Chicken Fried Rice

This recipe came from Nicea on Good Things Utah. It is a family favorite of hers and she had so many viewers who liked it she made it a second time on the show. I decided I'd better try it. I made it according to her directions but felt it needed more flavor. So this is her recipe that I've altered a bit to fit my taste. The result was delicious! I recommend investing in a rice cooker if you don't have one. I bought a nice, big one at Costco and use it all the time. It makes rice perfectly, is easy to use and clean up.

Recipe:

3 chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces

6 scrambled eggs

2 carrots grated finely

1/2 onion finely chopped

1/2 c melted butter or margarine

2 tsp garlic powder

5-6 c cooked white rice

soy sauce

Lawry's seasoning salt

Put the chicken pieces in a ziploc bag then coat with soy sauce. Let the chicken marinade an hour in the fridge. If there's no time to marinade just add soy sauce while cooking chicken. Cook rice. In a very large frying pan or I like to use my electric frying pan cook chicken in a little olive oil. Add in carrots and onions and saute until soft. Push meat and veggies to the side and scramble the eggs. Add cooked rice and stir everything together. Pour melted butter over the top and sprinkle on garlic salt. Coat rice with more soy sauce. Stir then add seasoning salt to taste. Let the rice fry a little bit then serve.

Chicken Alfredo

One of my favorite places to go eat at is the Olive Garden. I usually think "I should try something new" but I always end up getting the chicken alfredo because I LOVE IT! After several attempts of making my own perfect alfredo sauce this is the one I will make from now on and it's so easy. However, I will not make it often because it's pretty darn fattening. But I'm sure the Olive Garden's is too. One tip that I've finally figured out that is essential to making good alfredo sauce is using a good quality parmesan cheese. The parmesan blend from Walmart never turned out good. I like to cook broccoli and add it as a vegetable side. Enjoy!

Chicken Alfredo

by Chelsey W.

1/2 cup REAL butter (no alternatives)

2 Tbsp flour

2 cups whipping cream
1 cup milk (not skim)

2-3 cups grated parmesan cheese
(use good quality parmesan, freshly grated is best because it melts better)

1 lb. fettucine or penne pasta

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 tsp garlic powder (I usually use more to taste)

3-4 chicken breasts

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, cook chicken breasts and season how desired. (I cut chicken into bite size pieces) To make the sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan and whisk in flour. Add the cream and heat through. Add in the parmesan cheese and stir mixture over low heat until cheese melts. Don't let the cheese sauce boil it causes it to go grainy. Put in the seasonings. When seasoning I do it to taste sometimes I add in more garlic or cheese. Serve the sauce over the pasta and top with the chicken. Yum! Makes about 6 servings.