Doritos Chicken and Cheese Casserole

I've been remiss again with blog posting. To be fair, I had decided to renew my interest in blogging during one of the most hectic times of the year. Not brilliant on my part. I was right in the middle of my school semester, barreling towards finals --and without catching a breath-- headed straight on into the holidays. Needless to say, I cooked a few new recipes and then went right back into survival mode (read: breakfast for dinner and mac n cheese from the blue box). At any rate, my kiddos and I are in the midst of winter break and I am finally catching my breath. I have Christmas all locked down...except for gift wrapping. Since I need to do that sans-children, I am left with getting odds and ends accomplished on my to-do list completed. Blog updates is one of those check boxes.

I don't remember exactly when we had this casserole, but I think it was the same week as the burgers from the previous post. I can see in the edges of the pic, I served it with rice and roasted broccoli. I remember we all loved it. I mean, really, what is not to love. Doritos, chicken, cheese...all rolled into casserole-y goodness. It was kid-friendly, to say the least. I will certainly put this on the list for a repeat dinner, provided I remember it and I am feeling like I want to cook an actual meal again someday (it is a rare occurrence these days). This recipe was very yummy and so easy, a chimp could put it together. If that is not a ringing endorsement, I don't know what is!

Doritos Chicken and Cheese Casserole
From: Pinterest- Pindelight.com

Ingredients:
3 cups cooked chicken, chopped (I used a rotisserie chicken)
1 cup sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can of corn, drained
1/4 cup minced onion
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 medium sized bag of nacho cheese Doritos, crushed


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.Lightly spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray. Spread the bottom of the pan with half of the Doritos . Reserve one cup of cheese. Mix together remaining ingredients in a large bow. Pour chicken mixture over the Doritos. Top casserole with the remaining cheese and Doritos. Bake 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Buffalo Chicken BLAT Wraps

It was t-ball night again, so I packed these wraps as a picnic dinner at the ballpark. I wrapped the lettuce leaves in a gallon sized zip top bag with some damp paper towel, and then packaged up the rest in a divided Tupperware. It was a delicious, portable dinner that was healthy and satisfying.

Buffalo Chicken BLAT Wraps
Adapted From: Iowa Girl Eats website

Ingredients:
1 (1 lb.) package of chicken tenders
2 Tbsp of Ranch Seasoning Mix (see below)
2 teaspoons of bacon fat
Buffalo Wing Sauce (I like Frank’s Hot Sauce)
4-5 slices bacon, chopped
2 tomatoes
1 avocado
a splash of lemon juice
a splash of lime juice
salt and pepper to taste
hearts of romaine

Ranch Seasoning Mix:
dried tarragon
lemon pepper seasoning
garlic powder
dried chives
dried parsley
salt and pepper, to taste

Combine 1 tsp of each spice in a small, air tight bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Store with spices for up to a month.

Directions:
Cook bacon in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat until crispy. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate and set aside.
Drain some of the remaining bacon fat off (keep about 1 tsp), and heat the rest in the same skillet over medium-high heat.

Season chicken with Ranch Seasoning Mix and toss to coat. Add chicken to hot skillet and cook for 3-4 minutes a side, or until no longer pink in the middle. Remove chicken to a plate and let cool for a few minutes. Chop into bite-sized pieces and mix with just enough buffalo wing sauce to coat chicken pieces.

Cut tomatoes in half, then thinly slice. Sprinkle some Ranch Seasoning Mix over tomatoes and set aside.

Slice avocado in half, pop out the seed, peel, and thinly slice. Season avocado slices with a splash of lemon juice, a splash of lime juice, salt and pepper. Set aside.

Cut core off of romaine hearts, then rinse and pat dry.

Assemble wraps by placing chicken, bacon, tomato, and avocado inside romaine lettuce leaves.

Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Chili

This recipe is so easy I think a chimp could put it together. Well, maybe that is overstating it a bit; BUT it is really easy...and delicious. This Pinterest find was another perfect remedy for a busy t-ball night at our house. I served it over tortilla chips (a la nachos), with some Greek yogurt (standing in for sour cream) and diced avocados for toppings. It was totally yummy! This would make for great burrito filling, or just as a stand alone chili, too.

Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Chili
Adapted From: Pinterest (not sure of original source)

Ingredients:
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14 oz.)can of Rotel original
1 (14 oz.)can of fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 (16 oz.) can of tomato sauce
1 small bag of frozen corn
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 tbsp of chili powder
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper to taste
(I also added a pinch of the following: garlic powder, cumin, coriander. This is totally optional)

Toppings:
Tortilla chips
shredded cheese of your choice (I used sharp cheddar)
diced avocados (marinated in lemon and lime juice, with a pinch of salt)
sour cream or Greek yogurt

Directions:
Add all ingredients into the slow cooker, with exception of toppings. Cook on high for 4-6 hours OR low for 8 hours. Shred chicken with forks once cook time is over. Serve over tortilla chips and toppings of your choice.

Slow Cooker Salsa-Cream Cheese Chicken

My son has mid-week t-ball games scheduled right in the middle of our normal dinnertime. I am beginning to understand that this is the norm for kids' organized sports, but it still annoys me to no end. I decided on game nights I would pull out the slow cooker and make something that was relatively easy to pack up and take to the ballpark. This is another recipe idea that I found floating around on Pinterest. (Actually there was no official recipe source; it just a random suggestion that I pinned on how to put this together.) I took the basic concept and then morphed it into something that worked for us and the ingredients I had on hand. It turned out to be really satisfying burrito filling and very portable once it was all wrapped up in tortillas.

Slow-Cooker Salsa-Cream Cheese Chicken
Adapted From: Pinterest

Ingredients:
1 block of cream cheese, softened
2-3 chicken breasts
1 jar of salsa
salt and pepper, to taste
1 tsp of cumin
1 tsp of coriander
1 tablespoon of chili powder
1 can of pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced

Directions:
Mix softened cream cheese and salsa together in a bowl and set aside.

Combine the rest of the ingredients in a slow cooker. Pour salsa mixture over top of the other ingredients. Cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 8 hours in your slow cooker. Once cook time is over, remove chicken breasts to a bowl and shred with two forks. Add shredded chicken back to the slow cooker and mix to combine. Serve cooked mixture over brown rice or as burrito filling with tortillas.

Italian Chicken Bake

I've been a blog-updating fool lately! It's funny because I will go weeks without trying anything new meal-wise (i.e. no new blog updates), and then all of a sudden, have a bunch of new recipes to post all at once. Granted, it's probably days/weeks in between when we actually have the meals and when I get all the updates finally on here. It's just odd that my blogging has been reduced to completing it in fits and starts. I guess it just depends on my mood or how busy we are, basically. Also, I've noticed that I will go weeks at a time without wanting to try any new recipes. I just want easy, stand-by dinners that I've done a million times and that I can put together from memory; I call it auto-pilot cooking. That's my standard when I'm overly extended or stressed out and discovering new meals is just one more thing to worry about or check off the to-do list. For now, life has settled into a rhythm and I'm up for trying new dinners and updating posts. Hooray!

This was a Pinterest find that wasn't actually a recipe, more like a photo and a loose guideline. The "recipe" didn't even have an official name or really a source, so I creatively dubbed it "Italian Chicken Bake". Really original, I know! I tweaked it from the original suggestion and made it my own. The result was really tasty and satisfying, so my version is a keeper. I think we had our chicken with some steamed mixed veggies and called it dinner.

Italian Chicken Bake

Ingredients:
cooking spray
1-2 tablespoons of olive oil (I really didn't measure)
1-2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar (again, I really didn't measure)
4-6 chicken breasts (depending on how many portions you'd like)
2 containers of cherry tomatoes, halved
1 red onion, sliced thin
1 container of sliced crimini or white button mushrooms
4-6 cloves of garilc, minced
1-2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup of water
salt and pepper, to taste
chopped fresh basil, for garnish

Directions:
Spray glass casserole dish with cooking spray and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Place chicken in dish and sprinkle with salt, pepper. and then drizzle with a little bit of olive oil.
Add chopped tomatoes, sliced mushrooms, sliced red onion, and minced garlic to the dish, covering the chicken.
Drizzle the balsamic vinegar and water over top of the veggies.
Sprinkle shredded cheese over top of chicken and veggies.
Bake for 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees.
Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes.
Sprinkle the fresh basil over the top, as a garnish.
Once plated, spoon a tablespoon or so of the pan juices over top of your serving of chicken/veggies.

Pesto Pasta with Chicken Sausage and Roasted Brussels Sprouts

My friend, Claire was telling me about this dinner that they had recently. Oddly, I'd not seen it before--even though she blogged about it a year ago and had it saved on Pinterest. I follow her boards fairly closely, and I don't know how I missed it! We were randomly talking about dinner ideas and she suggested this again. She sent me a link to the recipe from her blog, and I still didn't make it for a whole extra week. Yeesh. I don't know why I stalled, because I had both the Brussels Sprouts and chicken sausage on hand. Roasted Brussels sprouts are one of our favorite veggies and anything with pesto usually gets devoured around here. It is definitely a recipe that should have caught my attention!

Well, we finally got around to trying this meal and it was fantastic. Everyone loved it, including the kids. My son asked for the leftovers to go in his lunchbox to take to school the next day. I don't think he's ever done that before!!! I liked that it was super-delicious and basically a balanced meal in one with the pasta, veggies, and sausage. I doubled the amount of Brussels Sprouts and used a mild Italian chicken sausage. Also, I did save a cup of pasta water, which made the pesto more of a sauce consistancy and let me get away with using less than I probably would have normally. All in all, I highly recommend this one and I'm kicking myself for not finding it sooner!

Pesto Pasta with Chicken Sausage and Brussels Sprouts
Adapted From: Cooking Claire blog


Ingredients:
2 lb fresh Brussels sprouts, ends trimmed and sliced in half
3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly-ground black pepper
1 lb orecchiette pasta
5 mild Italian chicken sausage links
5 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
1/3 cup pesto (I used half of a fairly small jar)
Parmesan cheese, for serving
1 cup of cooked pasta water

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread brussels sprouts on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 Tbsp olive oil, salt, and pepper. Stir around until well combined. Roast for about 20-30 minutes, stirring once partway through, or until they are crispy on the outside and cooked on the inside. Remove from oven and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, turning occasionally, until nearly-browned, about 6-8 minutes. Remove from pan, slice, and add back into skillet to brown sliced sides. Add the garlic, and continue cooking for another 1-2 minutes until the garlic is fragrant and the sausage is browned.

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Once the pasta is cooked, drain the water (reserving 1/4 cup pasta water), and then toss together the pasta, pesto, cooked sausage and garlic, and brussels sprouts. Add in some of the reserved pasta water if needed for extra moisture.

Serve warm, and sprinkle with freshly-grated Parmesan cheese.

Honey Sesame Chicken

It's a rainy day and my kiddos and I are snuggled up on the couch watching a Mickey Mouse movie. Since the movie is more suited for the 3-year-old set, I figured I'd do some multitasking and get some blogging done at the same time. Sorry, Mickey.

I really have no earthly idea when we had this dinner; I think it may have been back in January. I remember it was really tasty and easy, as it was done in the slow cooker. Other than that, I've got nothing. I really need to get recipe updates on here closer to when we actually have the meal. I've noticed that if I don't my mommy-brain kicks in and I don't have any remnant details of the dinner stored in my recent (or not-so-recent) memory. Not to mention, trying to identify and track down a recipe from an old photo is a pain in the buttocks. Thankfully, this one is from my friend Claire's blog so it's was bit easier to track down. It looks like this was originally adapted from a blog found through Pinterest, but I pretty much just followed what Claire did and copied her version.

Honey Sesame Chicken
From: Cooking Claire blog


Ingredients:
1 to 1.5 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
3/4 cup of honey
1/2 cup of low sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
Cornstarch
Sesame seeds

Directions:
Place the chicken breasts in the crockpot insert and sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides.
In a medium sized bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, ketchup, oil, garlic powder, onion powder, and red pepper flakes. Stir to combine well. Pour over the chicken in the crockpot.

Cook on low for 3-4 hours or high for 1 1/2-2 1/2 hours.

When done, remove chicken and cut into chunks. Prior to putting the chicken back in the stockpot, combine some cornstarch in water and whisk it into the crockpot to thicken up the sauce a bit. Throw the chicken back in and stir around to recoat the chicken in the sauce.
Serve hot over a bed of white rice or quinoa (optional) and sprinkle some sesame seeds on top.

Baked Chicken, Cheese, & Spinach Taquitos

My kiddos are currently occupied with a Hello, Kitty dvd so I thought I'd jump on here and update some recipes. It seems whenever my kids notice that I'm using the laptop their busy little fingers try to "type" on the keyboard when I'm working on something. At least with a cartoon distraction I can get caught up on some blogging and escape the attention of my "helpers".

Anyway, this was a recent Friday night dinner that worked out fairly well. Friday night's are tough at my house because my husband works late every week. I *try* to hold dinner until he gets home (I really dislike not having a family dinner together), but the kids get super-crazy/restless/hungry and morph into beasts before I can get everyone around the table. So, I *try* to pick something relatively easy and feed the kids ahead of time, if possible. This tactic doesn't work out all that well either, since I am less efficient at dinner preparation when the husband isn't here to help corral the kids while I cook. Dinner is always later than usual no matter which way I *try* to get ahead of the curve. I've pretty much given up on having a structured meal on this day, and it's still unpleasant no matter what. I guess Friday is just not meant to be a fun, family-dinner night for us.

So, with these challenges in mind, I made these taquitos last Friday evening and called it good. Since they are not very messy and I didn't bother making a side dish, I didn't hold to a hard and fast "sit down and eat" rule. I told my bunch that we were having an "indoor picnic" and I let the kids wander between the kitchen and tv room, eating their taquitos. This strategy really seemed to cut down on the Friday night chaos. The husband and I also just grabbed and ate our taquitos once he got home, not really bothering to have a formal dinner together. I must confess, this was a lot less stressful than our normal struggle. Going forward, I think I will decree Friday night an "indoor picnic night", and make a similar finger-friendly food, such as these taquitos, to avoid issue. Problem solved!

Baked Chicken, Cheese, & Spinach Taquitos

Ingredients:
1 onion, diced
3 cups cooked shredded chicken (I used 2-3 chicken breasts)
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup plain Greek non fat yogurt
1/2 cup salsa
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 bag baby spinach
coarse salt and fresh black pepper, to taste
9 - 10 (6-inch) tortillas
cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Spray skillet with cooking spray and saute onions until translucent. Add spinach to pan and wilt thoroughly. Remove spinach and onions to a bowl to let cool. Add cooked, shredded chicken. Add cream cheese, yogurt, salsa, and cheddar cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set filling aside.

Spray baking rack on a large sheet pan and coat with cooking spray. Please 1-2 tablespoons of chicken filling inside a tortilla and roll. Place filled tortilla seam-side down on baking rack. Repeat with remaining filling and tortillas. Spray tops of tortillas with cooking spray. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until tortillas are crisp and filling is warm and melted throughout.

Quesadilla Casserole

This is the last of my new recipe updates! Hooray!!! That means I'm caught up, since this was our dinner for last night.

I had to adapt the quantities of this recipe and add a couple things to accommodate my larger family, but I am happy to report that this meal turned out great! We loved it, and once again, it was a crowd-pleaser. Before I was a mom, I never would have cared if my dinners were suitable for kids. Obviously, I didn't have kids, so it never occured to me that was something that people had to consider at mealtimes. Now days, I pretty much base my recipe selection on that factor alone. One of first questions I ask myself about a potential dinner idea is this: "are the kids gonna like this one?" (Also, I ask myself: "Is it healthy, tasty, and is the husband gonna like it?" I must admit, the kid question does come first though.)

I am happy to report this was kid-approved; and the adults loved it, too!

Quesadilla Casserole
Adapted From: Clean Eating Magazine website

Ingredients:
cooking spray or olive oil
3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 whole-wheat tortillas, cut into 1/2-inch strips
2 cups frozen corn, thawed
1 15-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed well
1 15-oz can of pinto beans, drained and rinsed well
1/2 cup low-sodium, all-natural barbecue sauce (no more than 7 to 10 g carbs and 1 g fat per 2-tbsp serving)
1 cup shredded low-fat cheese (I used part-skim mozzarella), divided

Directions:
Preheat oven to broiler.

Coat chicken with cooking spray (or a small quantity of olive oil) and garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Broil until cooked through, about 7-10 minutes depending on the thickness of your chicken breasts. You may need to flip them once during the cooking process, halfway through. Once chicken is cooked, removed from oven to cool (enough to handle) and set aside. Reset oven to 425 degrees.

Meanwhile, place tortilla strips on a large baking sheet. Coat with cooking spray, toss and spread in a single layer. Bake for 10-15 minutes at 425 degrees, until crispy, tossing halfway through; set aside to cool.

Go back to the chicken, and cut into a large dice or cube. Remove to a large rectangular casserole dish; including any juices from the cutting board.

Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.

In the same casserole dish, combine chicken, corn, beans and barbecue sauce. Spread mixture in an even layer. Transfer dish to oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, top with 1/2 cup of cheese, tortilla strips and then the other 1/2 cup of cheese. Bake for 5 to 10 more minutes until brown and bubbly and cheese is melted. Serve immediately.

Avocado Chicken Salad

I made this for lunches a couple weeks back and it was tasty. I usually never bother with a structured lunch for me, but end up grabbing leftovers or eating some of the kids chicken nuggets or something. This time, I planned ahead and made this chicken salad to have for a few days. It was really delicious; but with the avocado, it didn't keep fresh for very long. I would suggest making this in small quantities and only saving for a day or two max. Other than that, I was happy to have a different, healthier version of chicken salad on hand for a little bit. I made a sandwich with it the first day, and served it over some salad greens on the second day. As I said, it was super-tasty; however, I won't make the mistake of making a huge batch of it again.

*Sorry there are not any measurements*

Avocado Chicken Salad
From: Becoming Betty website via Pinterest (copy and pasted)

Ingredients:
chicken, cooked and shredded
avocado
mayo, just a little
green onion, sliced
cilantro
lime juice to taste
salt/pepper to taste

Directions (from the original website):
I just asked what was in it and then made it to my liking. I probably had 2 cups of chicken and then just threw the rest in until it tasted good. I only used 1 avocado but if you really love avocados, you could use more. I loved the lime juice, so I kept adding more of it little by little. You definitely need a little salt, but the pepper is just if you want to. I used a lot of cilantro and a moderate amount of green onion. Probably 2-3 of them. You can serve this in pitas or just eat it with chips. We loved it and it was really good leftover, too.

Italian Chicken

I know I've mentioned before how much I LOVE Pinterest for a recipe resource, but it bears repeating. These days, I'm getting most of my new dinner ideas from there. The nice thing is that most of the regular websites I follow for recipes are updated on Pinterest. It just makes life so much easier when it comes to menu planning!

As you can guess, this is yet another Pinterest find. My family loved it, and it was something "new" to do with chicken breasts. I remember this being a little soupy when it came out of the oven, but that may have been user-error. I also remember not following the directions precisely and winging the quantities for this recipe. I have an aversion to measuring stuff. I had to drain a little of the liquid off before serving, but other than that, this was really great. My kids and husband loved it (even the artichokes) and it made for great leftovers; which is important at my house. I don't remember what we had as side items for this dinner, but I'm sure it was salad or vegetables or something.

Italian Chicken
From: Cookbook Recipes website via Pinterest

Ingredients:
4-5 tomatoes, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 can or package of frozen artichoke hearts
pinch of sugar
1-2 TBSP flour
boneless skinless chicken breasts (I think I used 5 total)

Directions:
1. Core and chop about 4-5 tomatoes.

2. Thinly slice two cloves of garlic.

3. Drain a small jar of artichoke hearts or use a bag of frozen.

4. Place all ingredients in a bowl and pour in a few tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, a generous amount of S&P, a teaspoon of sugar, a couple tablespoons of flour.

5. Place the tomato mixture in with the boneless skinless chicken breasts {that are generously seasoned with S&P}. Place in a 350 degree oven and bake until the chicken is almost done.

6. Take the almost done chicken out of the oven and sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the top. Place the chicken under the broiler for a few minutes {keep an eye on it!} until the cheese is golden brown and the vegetables are caramelized.

7. When you pull the chicken out of the oven, sprinkle some fresh basil on top and the heat of the dish will wilt the basil.

Cheesy Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole

The husband stayed home from work today and is upstairs entertaining the kids, so I've finally carved out some time to get onto my blog and update some recipes we've tried recently. I have several to post, so I think I'll start with the most recent one first and work my way backwards.

Unfortunately, this is the only one I forgot to take a pic of this time. I will say that it really didn't *look* like much once plated, but man-o-man, was it fantastic to eat. I'm not sure why either...it tasted similar to other casseroles we've had, but for some reason, this one was extra yummy. The boy had thirds!!! Thirds!!! The husband had some of the leftovers for breakfast this morning. Actually, he had some for lunch, too. It made a ton, and I don't think we have any leftover anymore after breakfast and lunches today.

At any rate, I pretty much followed the original recipe, with the exception of the rice used. I didn't use white rice at all. I did a combo of black rice, brown rice, and a Trader Joe's wild rice pilaf blend. Yum. Yum. Yum. I served our casserole with a side salad and we all ooh'ed and ahhh'ed over our dinners.

Cheesy Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole
From: Picky Palate website via Pinterest

Ingredients:
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely diced
3 stalks celery, finely diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
2 Tablespoons fresh minced garlic
2 Cups shredded, cooked chicken breast (I cubed our chicken)
2 Cups steamed white rice
16 oz prepared wild rice (I used a black, brown, brown-pilaf combo)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
_____

Cheese Sauce

4 Tablespoons butter
1/4 Cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 Cups chicken broth
2 Cups shredded cheddar cheese
Top with 1 1/2 Cups shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat oil into a medium dutch oven or pot over medium heat. Saute onion, celery and carrots until softened, about 10 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in chicken, both rices, salt, pepper and garlic salt. Reduce heat to low.

2. To prepare cheese sauce melt butter into a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Whisk in flour, salt and pepper then slowly pour in chicken broth whisking continuously. Whisk until thick and nearly boiling then stir in cheese until melted. Pour cheese sauce into rice mixture then transfer to a 9×13 inch baking dish. Top with additional cheddar cheese and bake for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is melted through. Serve.

Chicken with Mustard Cream Sauce

This is the other PW recipe I mentioned in my last post. While I was looking for potato recipes, I stumbled upon this yummy, easy chicken dish. At first glance, I was nervous about the amount of mustard that it took to make the sauce. I like mustard, but if it was overly-mustardy, I knew I would hear some grumbling from the husband and kiddos. Luckily, the grainy mustard I bought had a touch of sweetness to it, so the sauce was perfectly balanced and not too mustard-ish at all. Everyone loved the sauce (and chicken, as well) and there were no complaints. Best of all, this dish really was not complicated or time-consuming. I was expecting it to be a lot more involved than it was, but instead, it came together very quickly. I served our chicken and sauce with roasted cauliflower and a green salad. I had guilt that the sauce was kinda decadent, so I doubled up on the veggie side dishes to even out the nutritional value some.

Chicken with Mustard Cream Sauce
From: The Pioneer Woman Cooks! website

Ingredients:
4 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Butter
3 whole Garlic Cloves, Minced
1 cup Brandy (or White Wine If Preferred)
1 Tablespoon (heaping) Dijon Mustard
1 Tablespoon (heaping) Grainy Mustard
1/4 cup (to 1/2) Heavy Cream
1/4 cup (to 1/2) Chicken Broth
Salt And Pepper, to taste

Directions:

*Amount of cream and broth has slightly decreased; add more as needed.

Cut the chicken breasts in half lengthwise so that you have eight smaller, thinner chicken cutlets. Salt and pepper both sides.

Heat oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook cutlets on both sides until nice and golden brown and cooked through. Remove chicken from the skillet and keep on a plate.

Reduce the heat to medium. Add the garlic to the pan and saute it for a minute, stirring to make sure it won't burn. Next pour in the brandy (or wine if using) being careful if cooking over an open flame. Then just let the booze bubble up and cook until it's reduced by half.

Throw in the mustards and stir to combine, then pour in the cream. Stir in chicken broth, adding more if the sauce seems too thick. Taste sauce and adjust whatever you think it needs. Add chicken breasts back to the pan, nestling them into the sauce. Allow sauce to cook for another few minutes, shaking the pan if needed to move things around.

Serve chicken with a green salad, spooning the sauce over the top.

Honey Sesame Chicken and Quinoa

I had grilled chicken breasts slated for dinner last night, but when I got around to prepping/marinating the chicken I realized I didn't really feel like having grilled chicken. Normally I love grilled chicken, but for some reason it just seemed like a mundane meal to have yesterday. Not only that, but my chicken was still partially frozen at 3pm. I remembered reading that my friend, Claire did this recipe in the slow cooker and she used frozen chicken breasts. Also, I remembered that it didn't take that long to cook (a couple of hours versus all day). Thankfully, I had all the ingredients in my pantry and I even had some additional veggies to add to the party. Score! It ended up turning out perfectly. The chicken and sauce were delicious (Claire was right...the chicken didn't dry out at all), and the quinoa was a perfect compliment. Yum! Hubby and kiddos all happily munched this down and it really didn't take all that much effort on my part. I love it when that happens!

Honey Sesame Chicken and Quinoa
From: Cooking Claire blog

Ingredients:
1 to 1.5 pounds of chicken breasts (this was 2 very large pieces of chicken for me)
Salt and pepper
3/4 cup of honey
1/2 cup of low sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
Cornstarch
Sesame seeds
1 bag of frozen broccoli, steamed in the microwave
quinoa (see below)

For Quinoa:
2 cups of quinoa, rinsed
4 cups of water
1/2 red onion, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
olive oil


Directions:
Place the chicken breasts in the slow cooker insert and sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides.
In a medium sized bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, ketchup, oil, garlic powder, onion powder, and red pepper flakes. Stir to combine well. Pour over the chicken in the slow cooker.

Cook on low for 3-4 hours or high for 1 1/2-2 1/2 hours.

When done, remove chicken and cut into chunks. Prior to putting the chicken back in the stockpot, combine some cornstarch in water and whisk it into the slow cooker to thicken up the sauce a bit. Throw the chicken back in and stir around to re-coat the chicken in the sauce. Add the steamed broccoli and sesame seeds, stir to combine.

Serve hot over a bed of quinoa (or rice) and sprinkle some more sesame seeds on top, if desired.

For quinoa:
Rinse quinoa according to package directions. Get as much of the water out as possible and let drain on a kitchen towel while still in the strainer. Set aside.

Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a large sauce pan over medium high heat. When oil is hot, add sliced peppers and onions. Saute until soft and onions are translucent. Add quinoa and toast for an additional 1-2 minutes. Add water and simmer quinoa according to packaged directions (about 20-25 minutes or until all the water is absorbed). Add salt to taste. Add bed of quinoa to plates and serve it with chicken, sauce, and broccoli (see above) over top.

NOTE: This is a lot of quinoa. I have 5 people to feed and I wanted leftovers for lunches the next day. If you are not feeding a smallish army, then you can safely cut the quinoa and water amounts in half.

Creamy Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Casserole

This is a concoction that I kinda came up with off-the-cuff last night for dinner. My original intent was to make enchiladas, but alas, my corn tortillas were not cooperating with me. I was trying to eliminate as many steps in the enchilada prepping process that I could, so I didn't "soften" my corn tortillas by either flash frying for a couple of seconds or steaming in the microwave until pliable. Eh, I thought, why bother?!?!!! Well, I learned exactly why I should've bothered when my non-soft, non-pliable tortillas freaking fell apart when I was trying to roll them. Thankfully, a package of corn tortillas carries plenty to spare, so I quickly switched gears and just did a layered "lasagna" type of enchilada casserole instead. Crisis averted!

Again, the stars aligned and this casserole of sorts was exactly the flavor profile that I was looking for. Yummy roasted chicken nestled in a creamy green chile sauce with cheese sprinkled throughout. It. was. awesome. Kids and adults inhaled this meal; served with a smile and a side salad, of course. Yum!

(Sorry, no photo.)

Creamy Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Ingredients:

Sauce:
2 Tablespoons of butter
1 medium can of green chiles
2 Tablespoons AP flour
1 large can of green chile enchilada sauce
4 ounces of softened cream cheese, diced
1/2 cup of half and half (you could substitute milk)
salt and pepper to taste

Chicken:
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2-4 chicken breasts
1 tablespoon of Ancho or regular chile powder
2 tablespoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons coriander
salt and pepper to taste (1/2 to 1 tsp each)

Enchiladas:
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken breasts
1/2 onion diced
1 medium can of green chiles
8 ounces shredded pepper jack cheese, divided
4 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese
corn tortillas

Directions:

For the sauce:
Melt butter in a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add in green chiles and saute for 1-2 minutes. Sprinkle in flour and combine with green chiles. Cook for 1-2 minutes until raw flour is cooked and paste is formed. Whisk in green enchilada sauce until it starts to thicken. Add in pieces of cubed cream cheese and continue to whisk until cream cheese is melted. Turn heat down to medium. Whisk in half and half and let simmer for 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

For the chicken:
Combine chile powder, garlic powder, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper in a small bowl.

On a large baking sheet, drizzle olive oil over the chicken. Sprinkle a generous amount of spice mixture over the top of each breast. Using a pair of tongs, roll the chicken around on the sheet pan to coat both sides of each breast. Broil on high for 8-10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. (I place my oven rack on the second to the closest notch on the top so the sheet pan can be fairly close to the heat without the oil catching on fire.) Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes or until the chicken can be handled.

Shred the cooked chicken with your fingers into a large bowl. Add any pan juices to the mixture from the sheet pan. Add can of green chiles and diced onions. Combine with a spoon and set aside until you are ready to assemble.

For the casserole:
(NOTE: At this point, you can roll these into actual enchiladas if you would like.)

Spray 9 x 13 glass casserole dish with cooking spray. Spoon 1/2 cup of green sauce into the bottom of the dish (use more if needed to coat the bottom of the dish). Add layer of 6 corn tortillas, overlapping if needed. Spread 1/2 of the chicken mixture on top of the tortillas. Sprinkle 4 ounces of the shredded pepper jack cheese. Add another layer of 6 overlapping tortillas. Pour another 1/2 cup of sauce over tortilla layer. Spread 1/2 the chicken mixture over the top. Place final layer of 6 overlapping corn tortillas on the chicken. Pour remaining sauce over the top of the final tortilla layers. If needed, run a knife along the edge of the casserole dish so the sauce can run down the sides of the casserole. Sprinkle remaining pepper jack cheese and all of the cheddar cheese over the sauce layer.

Bake on the bottom rack of a 400 degree oven for 20-30 minutes or until the cheese is browned and bubbly. (I turned on my broiler again for a minute or so to brown the cheese layer to my liking.) Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before cutting into squares and serving.

Crispy French Onion Chicken (Freezer-Friendly)

My MOMS Club hosted a "Make and Take" dinner event, where our collective group met at a member's house and prepped this meal. Then, all we had to do was go home and throw our individual dinners into the freezer until it was ready for use. (I slated my meal for the same week that we made it; so really mine was just placed in the fridge since it was only a couple of days later.) My friend, Kelly "hosted" the first meeting and organized us to bring all of the ingredients needed for this dish and then showed us how to prep it. It was all really simple!

Then, as Kelly promised, this chicken was pretty darn delicious. My whole family loved it, and my son had thirds!!! I served my chicken with some steamed (from frozen) mixed veggies and a brown rice pilaf. Shazam! It was so easy to put together since the major, initial prepping step was already completed and we had a fantastic dinner that everyone enjoyed.

I love the idea of having a few go-to meals ready to just thaw and use stocked away, so I hope this "make and take" dinner idea takes off in our group. I'd really love to continue to do this, and normal "freezer cooking" overwhelms me. (It's just too involved, man!) This was on a small enough scale to where it was a perfect amount for one easy dinner. I may even attempt a freezer meal or two on my own.

Crispy French Onion Chicken (Freezer-Friendly)
From: My friend, Kelly (original source unknown)

Ingredients:

(Combine in a quart sized bag)-

Butter Sauce:
2 tablespoons of butter
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

(In a separate quart sized bag)-
4 chicken breasts

(In another quart sized bag) -
1 1/2 cups French fried onions

Directions:

For Freezer:
Place each of the three filled quart sized bags in a gallon sized zip top bag with a printed copy of the cooking instructions. Thaw as instructed below when ready to use.

Cooking Instructions:
Thaw full gallon bag of ingredients in the fridge.

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray sheet tray with non-stick cooking spray.
2) Melt butter sauce in a medium sauce pan, over medium heat until warmed through and then remove from heat and set aside.
3)Place half of the French onions in a layer on the sheet tray. (Make sure to crush the onions up a bit first.)
4) Using tongs, dip each piece of chicken in butter mixture, lay chicken on top of onions. Pour remaining sauce onto chicken evenly. Top with remaining (crushed) French fried onions.
5) Bake uncovered, for 20-25 minutes (or until the internal temp. at 165 degrees F).

Chicken Alfredo Roll Ups

My friend, Claire recently made this dinner and said it was delicious. Well, Claire has an excellent track record with recommending recipes, so I was totally on board. She included the caveat that the homemade sauce recipe had to be made, since it was freakin' fantastic. Of course, I trust Claire--especially when food is involved--so I made both the roll ups and the accompanying sauce. Let me tell you, the sauce was drinkable. Seriously, sooooo fantastic! Really, make the sauce. It would be a crime to skip it for a store-bought version. (Yes, it is THAT good!) The Alfredo rolls were also quite awesome, but the sauce really took it to the next level of yum.

Chicken Alfredo Roll Ups
Adapted from: The Recipe Critic blog

Ingredients:


9-12 lasagna noodles (I used whole wheat)
2 ½ cups Alfredo sauce (RECOMMENDED: homemade recipe below)
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
oregano
garlic salt
3 cups shredded Mozzarella, or cheese of your choice

Directions:
Spray an 8x8 pan with non-stick spray and pour ½ cup alfredo sauce, or just enough to cover the bottom of the pan. Boil 8-10 cups water in a large pan, cook lasagne noodles until al dente. (I usually cook 1 or 2 extra just because lasagna noodles always seem to break on me when I am stirring them.)
Now this is the important part! Drain and rinse the noodles with cold water to prevent them from sticking to each other. Then, lay out each noodle individually and blot dry with a paper towel.

Spread about 2 Tbs. Alfredo sauce over each noodle. (if there is too much sauce you will have a big mess on your hands!) Sprinkle oregano and garlic salt on top of sauce. Take 1/9 of the shredded chicken and spread it out evenly over each noodle. Add approx. 3 Tbs. cheese. To roll up, start at one end and roll the noodle over the toppings. You will need to lift the noodle a little to prevent squishing out the inside ingredients while rolling.

Place the roll-ups in the pan, one by one, seam-side down so they don't come undone. Once they are all in the pan, pour the remaining Alfredo sauce over the top. Top with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until the cheese is completely melted on top.

Serves 3, 3 roll-ups each

****************************

The Best Garlic Alfredo Sauce

Ingredients:
½ cup butter
2 ounces cream cheese
2 cups heavy cream (or substitute half and half)
2 teaspoon garlic powder
½ tsp. fresh minced garlic
salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ tsp dried oregano
⅔ cup Parmesan cheese

Directions:
In a medium to large saucepan melt the butter over medium heat. Add fresh minced garlic and cook for 1 minute, or until fragrant. Add the cream cheese and whisk to smooth and melted. Whisk in the heavy cream.
Season with the garlic powder, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and whisk frequently until sauce thickens, around 15 minutes. Stir in the cheese and when melted, remove from heat and serve.

Makes 2 1/2 cups

Chicken Swiss Bundles

Life has gotten crazy, so I haven't been doing any creative cooking lately. I've been sticking to quick and easy; such as breakfast for dinner, bean burritos, and ordering take-out. I think this is the only new recipe I've tried within the past couple of weeks, and luckily, it was really tasty and pretty easy to put together. I didn't take a photo, but the website that originally posted this meal has detailed photos already (just click on the link if you're curious on how it looks). I think we had salad with these bundles, and I seem to remember everyone in my family really gobbling up our dinner.

Chicken Swiss Bundles
From: Pearls, Handcuffs, and Happy Hour

Ingredients:
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 1/2 tsp. butter
1 garlic clove, minced
2 chicken breasts, cooked & cubed
1/2 cup sweet roasted red pepper, chopped
1 tbsp. honey mustard salad dressing
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. Italian seasoning
2 cups shredded Swiss cheese (I used sliced cheese, in pieces)
12 frozen bread dough dinner rolls, thawed
2 tbsp. butter, melted

Directions:
Thaw rolls and press each roll into a 5 inch circle on a greased baking sheet. In a large skillet, saute onion & mushrooms in 1 1/2 tsp. of butter until tender. Then toss in the garlic and saute for a minute longer. Add chicken, peppers, mustard, and dry seasonings. Stir to mix well and heat through. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese. Place the chicken mix in the center of the dough circles. (No exact measurement for this, but not TOO much. Make sure you leave room around the edges!!!) Take the remaining dough circles, place on top of the chicken mix, and press the edges with a fork to seal. Then brush the tops of each bundle with melted butter. Bake at 350 for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

I don't remember the main ingredient being crack in this dip, but it sure seemed like it was. I made this for a football gathering at a friends house and it got devoured! Then, I hid the few leftovers in the back of my fridge so I could snack on it the next day (tee-hee). (Sorry, husband!!!) This dip is awesome. Seriously, awesome. Try it.

Buffalo Chicken Dip
Adapted From: Cooking Claire blog

Ingredients:
4 green onions, white and green diced finely
2 celery stalks, diced finely
2-3 cups shredded cooked chicken
8 oz cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup ranch dressing
3/4 cup Frank's hot sauce
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine first four ingredients and spread in 8x12 baking dish. Top with shredded cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and dip is bubbly. Serve with tortilla chips and/or celery sticks, or just eat with a freaking spoon.

[Sorry, no photo.]

Pesto Chicken Salad

I've been sick with an awful head cold, so I haven't been able to (a) go grocery shopping in over a week, (b) cook anything new and exciting, & (c) update the few recipes I did try over the past couple weeks on the blog here. I'm going to have to go back and see if I can track down photos, but I have three posts I can remember making recently that need to be cataloged. I guess I'll start with the most recent one first (the one for our dinner this evening) and then back track.

Sooooo, as I mentioned, I am really, ridiculously low on groceries. We even ran out of coffee for goodness sake! That hardly ever happens!!! I think this has been the emptiest my stores have been ever. All I have in the pantry is some dried beans and other snack-y type food for the boy's lunch box treats. My fridge and freezer are also in a similar, sorry state. Sadly, I'm not going to have time to get to the store for at least another day, so I needed to forage for something for us to eat tonight. My first thought was breakfast for dinner. Then I realized that's not gonna happen, since I only have a few, hard-boiled eggs left in the deli drawer. (I think my family would riot if I gave them hard-boiled eggs for dinner.) My next thought was Nutella straight outta the jar for everyone...but then I wouldn't be nominated mother of the year :::snort:::.

(Although, Nutella sounds like a perfectly reasonable dinner idea.)

Me: "Hey kids, grab a spoon...it's Nutella time. Pass the jar this way!"
Family: "Yay, mommy is the coolest mom ever!!!!! Daddy should buy her diamonds!"

(Anyway...that was a total tangent.)

I did have a store-bought partially-devoured roasted chicken leftover, along with one cooked/grilled chicken thigh from last night's meal. The thighs and legs were in tact on the whole chicken, and the separate grilled thigh was a decent size. My bff, Claire mentioned that she was making a pesto chicken salad for dinner one night this week. I thought that would be a pretty clever use for my sparse chicken meat, and I was pleasantly surprised to find a frozen container of store-bought pesto in the waaaaay back of my freezer. Woot! (I didn't know I had it, and I'm happy I went exploring in there. Now I'm in business!!!) I scrounged together a few small celery stalks from the center of the bunch, a half an onion (of the very last onion in the house), and scraped out the final bits of mayo and plain yogurt from their containers. I don't know if I'm going to serve my pesto chicken salad with a singular sliced tomato over salad greens (fingers crossed they are not wilted and gross) or if I'm going to make the hubs stop on the way home for a loaf of bread to tide us over and make sandwiches. Either way, I'm able to pull a meal together with hardly any ingredients and I don't need to serve dried beans or hard-boiled eggs for dinner. Whew! Crisis averted!

Pesto Chicken Salad

Ingredients:
2 cups of cooked, diced chicken (I didn't measure)
1/2 diced onion
1-2 celery stalks, diced finely
1/2 cup of mayo
1/3 cup of Greek non-fat plain yogurt
1 (6 oz.) container of store-bought pesto
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Combine all ingredients into a large bowl and stir to mix thoroughly. Refrigerate until ready to use. Serve on salad greens or as a sandwich with sliced tomatoes on toasted bread.

NOTE: This was easy, inexpensive, and very yummy.