Contributed by Tim Brugger, Catalogs.com Top 10 Guru

It’s safe to say eating is one of the more enjoyable pastimes around.

Sitting down to good home cooked meal, the aroma still wafting from in from the kitchen; now that’s heaven. What makes skillet recipes so wonderful, in addition to tasting so darn good, is they’re often some of the easiest meals to make.

So let’s get the salivating started with these Top 10 Skillet Chicken Recipes:

10. Gorgonzola and Prune Stuffed Chicken

Thankfully, at least for a lot of people (including myself), any dried fruit and flavorful cheese will work for this stuffed skillet chicken recipe. Somehow, the idea of prunes and gorgonzola; I don’t know, it just has the makings of a gastrointestinal nightmare just waiting to happen.

9. Chicken Tequila Fettuccini

Oh my. Now, this recipe only calls for 3 tablespoons of tequila, which would infer plenty left over for the chef; a double bonus! Here’s the scoop, in a saucepan sauté some cilantro, garlic and jalapenos in some butter, then add some chicken stock, tequila and lime juice. Once you have yourself a tequila paste-like substance, throw it over some chicken breast along with some red, green and yellow bell peppers. Now it’s time to lay this wonderful concoction over a bed of fettuccini and dig in.

8. Italian Chicken Skillet

Since we already have some pasta, we may as well do some Italian. The recipe calls for shell pasta, but I’m guessing some left over fettuccini will work just fine. As you might imagine, you fry up the chicken in olive oil and garlic (Viva Italia!) for about 5-8 minutes, and then drench it in red wine and bring to a boil. Go easy on the wine though, after all that tequila in Skillet Chicken Recipes item #9 it’s important to at least make it to dinner.

7. Chicken and Vegetable Skillet

A potential problem with this one on our list; it’s bordering on healthy. But to its credit, this recipe is about as easy as it gets. In a couple tablespoons of oil fry up some chicken breasts for about 10 minutes. Now here comes the good part; take the chicken out and set aside, then throw in all the veggies your little heart desires. The recipe suggests asparagus (always a winner with chicken), summer squash, onion and sweet peppers.

6. Chicken Under a Brick

This is one of the oddest chicken skillet recipes I’ve ever seen, which is why is simply had to be on our list. The ingredients are as follows – some Dijon mustard, olive oil, herbes de province, chicken cut in strips with skin on, 3 lemons and here’s the odd part, 2 bricks (yes, those kind of bricks) wrapped in aluminum foil. After mixing the first three ingredients, they get slipped under the chicken skin to sit over night. The next day, you fry the chicken, skin side down, for 10 minutes with the bricks sitting on top (huh?). Then you put the whole concoction in 400 degree oven for an hour. None of this explains the use of bricks, but you can see why it had to make the list.

5. Moroccan Chicken and Couscous

Most anything with cumen is a winner in my book, and most Moroccan dishes seem to have cumen, so there you go. Toss all that tasty chicken on top of a couscous bed with some squash, diced tomatoes, garlic and onion, and it’s go time. It’s a little high in the sodium content for the health conscious, but every now and again can’t be too bad, can it?

4. Chicken and Spiced Apples

If you’ve ever layered your pork chop with some applesauce, you’ll appreciate the culinary delight of this chicken skillet recipe. Sautéed, cinnamon-laden apples resting on some slightly zesty (lovin’ the use of a tablespoon of lemon juice right about now) skinless, skillet fried chicken breast has a certain lyrically quality to it. Not to mention the aroma this meal emits; keep the windows closed or you’ll have the whole neighborhood pounding on your door.

3. Asian Peanut Chicken

As with chicken skillet recipes item #7, this one has simplicity going forward it, in addition to be down right delectable. All it takes is coating the chicken strips with some dried peanut sauce mix, frying it in oil for about 6 or 7 minutes until it’s golden brown. Then, once the chicken is removed from the pan you mix in a cup of water and the rest of the peanut sauce. After it boils for a few minutes, pour it over the chicken and voila, Asian Peanut Chicken.

2. Chicken Piccata

Chicken, white wine, capers and shallots, with just a hint of lemon only because you feel like it, now you’ve got yourself a winner. Or, in this case, close to a winner. Either way, you and your guests, should you decide to share, will love this Italian classic. Slapping a couple of sautéed yellow squash on the serving platter won’t hurt a thing either.

1. Buttermilk Fried Chicken

Was there ever a doubt with all the chicken skillet recipes out there which would top our list? Down home, Paula Dean drawl-like buttermilk fried chicken is as good as it gets, period. It’s best not to share, let alone think about, the fat and cholesterol content of this classic, it would only depress you. But here’s a tip that may help; eat it cold, that way it feels less oily.