Chicken Quesadillas

I've been working over time and I'm a little tired. Last night I wanted something quick and easy but yummy and filling. Love quesadillas, and so do my kids. Yay! I'll write what I used and then in parenthesis write what you can use.

2 chicken breast
oil
1 can diced tomatoes, drained (or salsa if you have it on hand)
1 t minced garlic
1 t dried oregano
1 t cumin
2 t lemon juice, divided
1 T southwest seasoning (or make it up - paprika, chili powder, onion....)
butter
tortillas
2 C shredded cheese - I used mild cheddar

Cook chicken in oil on stove with half the garlic and 1 t oregano. Remove from heat, dice chicken into small pieces. Place chicken in a bowl. Add tomatoes, garlic, cumin, lemon juice and seasoning to bowl. Mix well. Butter one side of tortillas.
Place tortillas, we'll cook one at a time, on a hot skillet. Add enough mixture to cover half the tortilla. Cover with cheese. Let the tortilla cook for a few seconds before folding the empty side over the stuffed side of the tortilla. Let cook for a few minutes. Flip the tortilla over and cook until cheese is melted. I like my quesadillas crispy. Repeat steps with remaining ingredients.
Serve with sour cream and/or guacamole.

You could add the cheese to your chicken mixture and just plop it all down on the tortilla in one drop.

I'm thinking next time I'll add some cooked/steamed veggies to the chicken mix. Broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, whatever I have on hand.

Tater Tot Taco Casserole

First of all, a friend gave me this recipe, so whomever initially wrote it, thanks!

I love casseroles. My kids - they're hit or miss. Whose kids aren't? But this one incorporates all sorts of foods they love plus some healthy ones. It's a nice alternative to taco night. So is taco soup. YUM. If I haven't posted that one, let me know and I'll share that! Top this however you want on your plate: add black olives, peppers, sour cream, you name it! Just like a home made taco bar, but in casserole form. Don't like black beans? Substitute in pinto or chili beans. You can use fresh or frozen corn in lieu of can corn and any meat: pulled chicken, ground turkey, etc... Like Mexican cheese instead, use that. Be creative in what you like to use, here's the base recipe:

casserole dish, deep sided pan
1 lb ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 can of corn, drained
1 can of black beans, drained
1 can enchilada sauce - we used medium
1 pkg of frozen tater tots (I like tots, so I used the whole bag. You could use half a bag)
12 oz shredded cheddar cheese

Pull out the tots from the freezer and set them on the counter. Heat your oven to 350 deg. In a large pan with sides, brown meat and onions. Drain fat. Add garlic, taco seasoning, corn, and beans. Heat through. While the meat mixture is warming, pour half of the enchilada sauce in a rectangle casserole dish. Set dish aside. In the pan, or a large mixing bowl (<---- I used a bowl), combine meat mixture, tater tots and 3/4 of the cheese; pour into prepared dish. Top with remaining enchilada sauce. Bake for 30 minutes. Top casserole with remaining cheese and bake 10 more minutes.

I topped my portion with sour cream, so did my kids because it came out with some heat. I think that's about it. Enjoy!

Chicken Souvlaki

I love a good gyro or souvlaki, however most of the dishes I found to try over the years just weren't up to par. This one is pretty good. Not an exact match to my beloved tzatziki sauce, but pretty darn good. Hey, I woofed it down!

Serves 4

For the chicken souvlaki:
2 T olive oil
1 T lemon juice
1 1/2 t minced garlic
1 1/2 t fresh oregano
1/2 t paprika
1/2 t coarse salt
1/4 t black pepper
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs
4 pita bread
lettuce leaves
tomato slices
onion slices

Whisk together first 7 ingredients in a bowl. Add chicken thighs. Toss to coat and let marinade for at least 30 minutes (I let it sit for an hour, turning once). Pre-heat broiler to high. Place chicken on a baking sheet and broil for 4 minutes. Flip chicken over and broil for an additional 4 minutes or until chicken is cooked through, about 180 deg F. Cut chicken into bite-sized chunks.

You can either stuff your pita or fold it like a taco. Fill the bread with lettuce, tomato, onion and chicken. Top with tzatziki sauce to taste.

For the Tzatziki Sauce:
1 C Greek Yogurt (full fat is fine)
1/4 C diced seedless, peeled cucumber (about half a cucumber)
1 T minced garlic
1/2 t olive oil
1 t lemon juice
1/4 t coarse salt
pinch black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Stir to combine.

Kielbasa Bundles

Hello foodie friends. Yes, it has been a while. Here is something I made for lunch today with the family. It was fun having the kids help out when they could.

1/2 lb fully cooked kielbasa or Polish Sausage, chopped (I used Polska Kielbasa, 14 oz)
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 C green pepper, chopped (I used 1/4 green pepper, little over 1/4 C)
1 garlic clove, minced
1 T butter
1/3 C barbecue sauce (I had Hickory Smoked on hand)
2 tubes (8 oz each) refrigerated crescent rolls
4 slices American cheese slices, halved
1 egg white
1 T water
Sesame Seeds

Pre-heat oven to 350 Deg.

In a large skillet (try deep dish), cook sausage for 5 minutes over medium heat. Drain any fat. Add onion, green pepper, garlic, and butter. Cook until vegetables are tender, about another 5 minutes. Stir in barbecue sauce and heat through.

While the vegetables are cooking; unroll crescent dough and separate into four rectangles; seal perforations. Place a cheese slice on half of each rectangle; top with 2 T sausage mixture. Fold dough over filling and pinch sides. Tuck any remaining dough underneath. Beat egg white and water together in a small bowl; brush over dough. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. Yield: 8 bundles.

Taco Soup

My neighbor gave me this recpie of her's (among with others which I will share later). Thank you, Maggie!

1 lb ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 t minced garlic
2 cans navy beans, undrained
1 can sweet corn, undrained
2 cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can diced green chilies
2 packages taco seasoning
sour cream ~dallop per bowl
1 C shredded cheese (your choice)
Tortilla Chips

Brown beef, onion and garlic in large pot. Drain any fat. Add all other items to pot. Bring to boil and simmer 20 minutes or until heated through.

Serve soup in bowls, top with sour cream and cheese if desired (I recommend). We used the tortilla chips as our spoons. Kids LOVED this dish. They thought it was so much fun eating soup with chips.

I used cheddar cheese, you can use mexican blend cheese if you like. After you brown your meat, you can toss everything (except sour cream and cheese) in a slow cooker and let that go, on low, for a few hours in the afternoon.

Cuban Chicken?

So, I used Cuban seasoning......would one call it Cuban Chicken? If you try the dish, let me know what I should call it! Inspiration from this dish came from Mario Batali, although I only used half of his recipe and changed it from Mediterranean to Cuban...yeah, I do that.

I made the meat part of this last night and put it in the fridge. It takes about an hour and a half to make the meat, so I thought I would do it ahead of time and warm it the next day. Today I made the rice and threw the chicken/stock into a pot over medium heat while the rice cooked. It warmed it up to a nice temperature and the dish was delicious! I will write out what I did and at the end let you know some suggestions that I will try next time. Don't get me wrong, I think the dish is fine as is, but dishes always have room for tweaking and changing to one's liking.

4-6 chicken thighs (boneless if you want), skinless
flour
1/4 C oil (plus a little extra)
1 Lg red onion, you may dice or slice thinly
10 shakes of McCormick Cuban Seasoning ~ okay maybe 2 t?
1 carrot, diced
4 C chicken stock
1C rice, cooked to package directions


Directions:

Dredge chicken in flour. In a deep dish pan (a pan with a lid) heat oil over med-high heat until smoking. Add chicken and brown on both sides, transfer to a plate. Repeat with any remaining thighs.

Turn heat to low. Add onions (and additional oil if necessary) to the dish. Cook for about 8-10 minutes or until soft. Add carrot and chicken stock, bring to a boil. Return chicken to dish and cover tightly. Bring temperature to Low and cook for 1 hour. Remove the lid and cook for 10 minutes.

Place rice on plate, top with chicken and sauce. Serve.

That all being said........


Mario's dish called for 1/2 t saffron threads to be added to onions, 1 C small green olives to be added to the carrot, and only add 3 C chicken stock. Also 6 servings of couscous instead of rice. Once you take the chicken out of the pot at the end, add 1/4 C fresh mint leaves. Stir leaves in sauce, then top over chicken.

What I would change to my dish......


I added another C of chicken stock because I wasn't sure if 3 was enough. The dish was DELICIOUS, but if you wanted less salt, try low sodium chicken broth instead of regular broth/stock ~ or homemade stock. I would also add more carrots and possibly celery or another vegetable. I'm sure the green olives would taste nice. I may add some fresh garlic to the onions and saute them together. I will use the McCormick Cuban seasoning again. I like that! I would have used couscous if I had any in my pantry. I think that's it.

Kid's Review:


Scott loved it! My 4 year old gobbled it up within minutes. My 2 year old is not eating much of anything right now, so I wouldn't put too much on him. And my husband hasn't had dinner yet......

Pork with Peaches and Pecan Sauce

First of all, thank you Campbells for this recipe! You can find it on the back of the Golden Mushroom condensed soup can. This recipe is flavorful and my kids ate it up!

1 T olive oil
1 lb pork tenderloin (I used 2 thick boneless pork chops, butterflied and cut into slices)
1 garlic cloves, minced
3 green onions, sliced (separate 2 and 1)
1 can Campbell's Condensed Golden Mushroom Soup
1 can (about 15 oz) sliced peaches. Drain juice and set aside (you will use juice and peaches separately)
3 T (low sodium) soy sauce
2 T (Local) honey - I'm a local user ;)
1/4 C pecan halves, toasted and broken into pieces

1 C cooked rice

Heat oil in deep sided skillet over med-high heat. Add pork and cook until well browned on both sides. (Pretty much cooked) Remove pork from skillet and set aside.

Add onion (2) and garlic to skillet cook for 1 minute - don't let it burn though. Stir in soup, peach juice, soy sauce and honey. Heat to a boil. Cook 5 minutes or until soup mixture is slightly reduced.

Return pork to skillet and heat to a boil. Stir in peaches. Reduce heat to low and cook until pork is cooked through. Stir in pecans.

Serve next to or on top a bed of rice. Sprinkle/Garnish with remaining green onion.

It's all in the cap

I love stuffed mushrooms. Fill it with almost anything. Here's three ways to enjoy stuffed mushrooms at your next event. To clean a mushroom cap - take a damp paper towel or washcloth (not soaked!). Lightly wipe off dirt. That's it. If you get too much water on them..... well, that's not the mushroom you want. (Thank you Publix magazine)

Spring Veggie

1/2 C bread crumbs

1/2 C shredded carrots

1/4 C sliced green onions

1/3 C grated Parmesan cheese

1/3 C sour cream

Combine all ingredients. Spoon into about 24 large caps. Place them on a baking dish. Lightly drizzle with olive oil. Bake at 425 for about 18 minutes or until golden brown.

Bacon Cheddar

1/2 bread crumbs

4 slices cooked, crumbled bacon

3/4 C shredded cheddar cheese

1/3 C sour cream

2 minced garlic cloved (2 t)

Combine all ingredients. Spoon into about 24 large caps. Also bake at 425 for about 18 minutes or until lightly brown and heated through.

Cheese Herb

1/4 C pesto (buy it if you don't want to make it)

1/4 C bread crumbs

1/4 C shredded Parmesan cheese

1/4 C toasted pine nuts

Brie slices, extra pesto, extra pine nuts

Combine all ingredients. Spoon into about 24 large caps. Top each cap with a thin slice of Brie, a small dab of pesto, and 2-3 pine nuts. Bake this one at 425 for about 9 minutes or until cheese is melted and heated through.

PF Chang's Mongolian Beef......with sides

I have only eaten one appetizer at PF Changs, but I hope to go back for more food soon! I found this recipe on their website and it is so good! I served it up with some fried rice (with egg and veggies), but you could serve the meat with white rice, fried broccoli with sesame seeds, noodles, whatever! You will find most of these ingredients down your ethnic isle.

12 oz sliced Beef Tenderloin (I used Publix - meat for fajitas or stir-fry)

1 T Soy Bean Oil (I used regular veg oil b/c I could not find this one)

1/2 t Garlic

2 fl oz Soy Sauce

2 T Sugar

1 t Rice Wine

2 oz Green Onion sticks - 3" long, Green only (I used 1 bunch from Publix)

1/2 t Sesame Oil

Heat Soy Bean Oil in large skillet over med-high heat. Add beef and cook for about a minute on each side. Beef should be light brown around the edges and grey in the middle. (I don't think it has to be fully cooked, but make sure it's at least med-med well)

Add garlic, toss. Add Rice Wine, Soy Sauce, and Sugar. Mix well, bring to a boil. Cook and reduce the sauce around the beef until all the sauce has caramelized onto the beef. It helps if you mix every now and then to keep the sauce coated on the beef. Your pan should be "dry" - no flowing sauce.

Add the green onion. Toss about 3 times to mix then remove from heat. Add Sesame Oil and toss to coat. Serve.

** Caramelizing your meat is the secret!!!

Kid food on a stick

I am going to try my best! I made this up last night.

Cheeseburger Meatballs

1 lb ground beef (meat)

1/3 C bread crumbs

1/3 C shredded cheese ~ eyeball it. You want enough in the mixture, but not too much to where oils from the cheese is pouring out (I used mozzarella last night)

1 t parsley

1 egg

**note** you can add any flavoring to these meatballs. W-Sauce, spices, Montreal Steak flavoring - whatever you typically add to your burgers when you grill them.

Garlic Toast

Either bake at 350 deg for about 25 min or until cooked or skewer them and cook them on the gill.

Either serve garlic toast or take a baguette, slice it length-wise. Cut into cubes. Spread butter and garlic salt on bread. Toast or skewer and grill until butter is melted.

Dilly Cheesy Veggies

2 C vegetables, cooked and drained

1/4 C velveeta (yes, I cheated. You can make homemade cheese sauce too)

1 t Dill mix (dill, onion powder, garlic powder)

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl over medium heat until cheese is melted. Serve.

Another fun item to make instead of the garlic toast: Cheeseburger noodles.

1/2 box any type of noodles: fun shapes are best for kids

ketchup

mustard

cheese

Cook pasta as directed on box. Drain. Mix in ketchup, mustard and cheese until cheese is all melted. Serve with meatballs on top (if you want, you can omit the cheese from the meatballs if you're adding cheese to the pasta)

Yes, I realize this whole thing is full of cheese. I must have been in a cheesy mood!

Chicken and Sausage White Chili

1 med onion, coarsely chopped

1-2 poblano peppers, seeded and coarsely chopped

1 t minced garlic

1 T oil

3 chicken sausage links (any flavor) casings removed and chopped

1 lb ground turkey

2 cans navy beans, drained

2 C chicken broth

1 t ground cumin

1 t chili powder

1/2 t dried oregano

1/4 t pepper

1 C milk

1 C shredded cheddar cheese

In a saucepan brown turkey and chicken. Set aside. Preheat a stockpot to med-high with oil. Add onion, poblano peppers, and garlic. Saute for 3 minutes or until soft. Add meat. Stir in cumin, chili powder, pepper and oregano, mix well. Add chicken broth and beans. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes. Add milk, cook 2-3 minutes to blend flavors.

Serve into bowls and top with cheese.

Corn Casserole

This dish goes great with Cilantro Chicken, posted 09/19/11 (I believe). It's a different taste, but the flavors just explode in your mouth! You can add spice to your liking (ex: hot sauce).

3 1/2-4 C corn (fresh, frozen, or drained canned)

1/2 pkg bacon (about 8 slices)

2 T diced garlic

1 med onion, chopped

2 T flour

1 t each: salt and pepper

1 C sour cream

Cook bacon on frying pan. Dry bacon on a paper towel. Crumble all the bacon except for 2-4 slices. Saute onion and garlic in bacon drippings until onions are soft. Add salt, pepper and flour. When it starts to bubble cook 1 minute longer, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. (at this point you can either mix in the pan or transfer to a bowl if you are using a small frying pan) Mix in sour cream. *This is where I would add any heat. Mix hot sauce, chili powder, or whatever you like into your sour cream Before you mix it into your onion mix.* Next, mix in bacon crumbles and corn. Transfer to a 1.5 qt baking dish. Top with bacon slices. Bake at 350 deg for 20-25 minutes or until heated through.