Chicken & Black Bean Enchilada Casserole

This is a great recipe I found on Pinterest.  It's borrowed from this blog.

Chicken & Black Bean Enchilada Casserole

2 cups diced or shredded chicken (I use a rotisserie chicken)
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1 15oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 4.5oz can diced green chili peppers, drained
1 10oz can red enchilada sauce
8 6-inch tortillas
2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
1 8oz container sour cream

Preheat oven to 375.  Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and spray with cooking spray.  Saute chicken with cumin and coriander until chicken is cooked through.  Transfer to a medium bowl.  Stir in the cilantro, black beans, and green chili peppers.

Spread half of th eenchilada sauce over the bottom of an 11x7 inch baking dish that has been prepped with cooking spray.  Place 4 tortillas over the sauce, overlapping if necessary.  Spoon half of the chicken mixture over the tortillas, and springkle with half of the cheese and half of the sour cream.

Spoon the remaining enchilada sauce over the cheese, and make another layer of tortillas.  Top with the remaining chicken mixture.

Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove th ecover, and sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top and dot with sour cream.  Continue cooking, uncovered, for an additional 10 minutes (until cheese melts).

Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

*I topped the casserole with diced tomatoes, avocado, and the rest of the cilantro.

Lime Chicken Tacos

This recipe is from Taste of Home via Pinterest. It's great because it only uses a few ingredients (pantry staples) and cooks in the crock-pot.  The chicken was very tender and moist.  It was not very limey, but not a disappointment.

Lime Chicken Tacos

1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
3 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 cup corn
1 cup chunky salsa

• Place the chicken in a 3-qt. slow cooker. Combine lime juice and chili powder; pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or until chicken is tender.
• Remove chicken; cool slightly. Shred meat with two forks and return to the slow cooker; heat through. Stir in corn and salsa.
• Cover and cook on low for 30 minutes or until heated through. Serve in tortillas with sour cream, cheese and lettuce if desired. Yield: 12 tacos.

***I did not add the corn.  We also had guacamole and black olives with our tacos!

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

We had some rainy and cold days last week- perfect for a dinner of soup and cornbread. This recipe is a great "clean-out-the-pantry" meal and can be easily adjusted to fit what's in yours! Both kids ate all of their helpings, and rumor has it my brother licked the bowl the next day at lunch!

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

1 small onion, chopped

1 c shredded carrots

5 c water

1 (6.2 oz) package fast-cooking long-grain and wild rice mix

1 (10 oz) package frozen chopped broccoli

2 c chopped cooked chicken

1 (8 oz) loaf Velveeta, cubed

1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of chicken soup

Saute onion and carrots in a lightly greased Dutch oven over medium heat for 5 minutes.

Add 5 c water, seasoning packet from rice, broccoli, and chicken. Bring to a boil, and stir in rice; reduce heat, cover, and cook 5 minutes.

Add cheese and soup; cook, stirring constantly, 5 min or until cheese melts.

Serve immediately.

Easy Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas

This was a great find in a magazine! I've made them twice and Chris always wants leftovers for lunch! Which, to be fair- the recipe only makes 6 enchiladas so you may need to double it to feed your crew. I've used both rotisserie chicken and left over grilled chicken- both worked well. These are great topped with tomatoes and avocados! {But, what isn't?!}


Easy Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas
from Campbell's Kitchen

1 can (10 3/4 ounce) cream of chicken soup
1/2 c sour cream
1 c salsa
2 tsp chili powder (I'm out of this so I replaced with cumin)
2 c chopped cooked chicken
1/2 c shredded Monterey Jack cheese (or whatever you have!)
6 flour tortillas

Heat oven to 350. Stir the soup, sour cream, salsa and chili powder in a medium bowl.
Stir 1 cup soup mixture, chicken and cheese in a large bowl.
Divide the chicken mixture among the tortillas. Roll up the tortillas and place seam-side up in a 2-quart shallow baking dish. Pour the remaining soup mixture over the filled tortillas. Cover the baking dish.
Bake for 40 minutes or until the enchiladas are hot and bubbling. Serve with your favorite toppings.

Alice Springs Chicken

This is a recipe from Outback Steakhouse. I first had it (homemade) my junior year of college, spring break, DC. Oh, good memories! Anyhow, it's delicious and beautiful- great for guests, but also for a special treat for the family on a regular old night! This is definitely family approved!

Alice Springs Chicken

Grilled chicken breasts
Honey Mustard sauce (recipe below)
Bacon- crisp
Sliced mushrooms (optional, always optional!)
Colby jack cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Place hot-off-of-the-grill chicken in a 13x9 dish. Coat with honey mustard sauce. Top with mushrooms, slices of bacon, and cheese. Heat in oven until cheese is melted. Use extra honey mustard sauce for dipping.
*Can top with chives.

Honey Mustard sauce
1/2 cup honey mustard dressing
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup light karo
1/4 cup mayonnaise

Mix together and enjoy!

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

My aunt sent me this recipe- it's from Southern Living. My uncle has decided it's his favorite soup. Chris really liked it (especially as leftovers!). It makes a ton- would be great to take to another family with a loaf of french bread.

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

1 Tbsp butter
1 onion, chopped
3 c cooked chicken
3 14.5-oz can chicken broth
1 can cream of chicken
1 can cream of mushroom
8-oz spaghetti noodles, broken into 2-inch pieces
7 ribs celery, diced
6 medium carrots, shredded or diced
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp lemon rind
2 c milk
2 c cheddar cheese

In Dutch oven or large stock pot, melt butter. Add onion, saute.
Stir in chicken and next 9 ingredients. Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Stir in milk. Return to simmer until incorporated.
Serve with cheese.

Chicken Dijon - sorta

While browsing my January 2010 Southern Living this recipe caught my attention. I had all the ingredients and the picture looked lovely. Ok, well. It looked nothing like the picture, but oh my! It is delicious. It's sorta like the recipe because I had to make some changes. And, honestly, I'm not sure SL got the right servings. The original recipe called for 6 boneless/skinless chicken breasts. Well, I used 3 and not sure it could take more. Anyhow, just wanted to give clarity.

Chicken Dijon - a la Miss Kitty Cooks

3 chicken breasts
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 Tbsp butter
1 medium-sized red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
1 medium-sized sweet onion, cubed (I didn't have this, so I added a small can of chopped mushrooms instead)
1 (14 1/2-oz) can chicken broth
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp dijon mustard (I didn't have this, so I used horseradish mustard instead)

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.
Melt butter in a large skillet over med-high heat; add chicken, and cook 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Remove chicken from skillet; add bell pepper and onion, and cook, stirring often, 4 to 5 minutes or until vegetables get tender. Return chicken to skillet. (I cubed the chicken. And, at this point, it will not be cooked all the way through!)
Whisk together broth and next 2 ingredients, and pour over chicken.
Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until chicken is done.

The magazine mentioned serving it with mashed potatoes. I think wild rice would be good with it. I served it with scalloped potatoes (recipe is on blog). I also think it would make a fantastic filling to a grilled sandwich, kinda Quizno's style. Enjoy!

Creamy Poblano Chicken with Cornbread Waffles

This is a keeper! Chris and my company thoroughly enjoyed them...even my son and nephews! This recipe is from my new Southern Living Christmas Cookbook that my aunt surprised me with!

Creamy Poblano Chicken

3 Tbsp butter
1 large sweet onion, chopped
2 poblano peppers, seeded and diced
3 garlic cloves, diced
8 skinned and boned chicken breast halves; cut into bite sized pieces
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
8-oz sour cream
8-oz shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

Melt butter in a Dutch oven. Add onion, chili pepper, and garlic; saute 5 minutes. Add chicken, salt, and pepper; cook, stirring often, 8 to 10 minutes or until chicken is done. Stir in soup and sour cream until smooth. Add cheese, and cook 7 to 8 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve over Cornbread Waffles.

*I only used 1 can of cream of mushroom.

Cornbread Waffles

1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups white shoepeg corn
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup butter, melted

Stir together first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Stir together egg and next 3 ingredients. Add to cornmeal mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.
Bake waffles in a preheated, oiled waffle iron just until crispy.
Yields 12 (4-inch) waffles

*I used yellow corn verses white

Thai Chicken Pizza

This pizza is delicious! A very different taste that will please your palete! Lots of flavors...plum sauace, peanut butter, lime! I made this for company last night and they all liked it. It was great paired with a green salad! The credit for this recipe is given to Ashley over at her blog.

Thai Chicken Pizza

Plum Sauce (I used 1/2 jar per pizza)
Package of mozzarella cheese
1 1/2 lbs cooked chicken (I cooked mine in olive oil, salt, and pepper), cubed or shredded
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
2 Tablespoons of reduced sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon of hot sauce
2 Tablespoons of montreal steak seasoning
1 teaspoon of honey
1 teaspoon of lime juice
2 Tablespoons of peanut butter

Take your crust and brush with olive oil. Add the plum sauce & 1/2 bag of mozzarella cheese. Bake on 425 for 10 minutes. Take out and cool.

In pan heat the olive oil, soy sauce, hot sauce, seasoning, honey, lime juice, and peanut butter on low. Then poor in your chicken and mix. Once covered poor onto pizza and then cover with more mozzarella cheese. Place back into over until cheese is melted.

Here are my alterations:

-I used Pillsbury pizza crust, baked it for 13 minutes versus 10.

-I doubled the sauce mixture that coats the chicken (otherwise it was too dry looking!)

-I would only use 1 Tablespoon of the montreal steak seasoning, it is very powerful

-I would add chopped peanuts (for the crunch factor!)

Oven Fried Chicken

Thanks Paula Deen for this tasty recipe! I didn't cook the chicken directly on the oven racks...but, it was still yummy! Plus, I'm a sucker for Panko bread crumbs!!!

Oven Fried Chicken

2 cups Panko bread crumbs
1 cup grated Parmesan
4 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 Tablespoons freshly minced thyme leaves
Kosher salt and black pepper
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 Tablespoons water
2 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/4 inch thickness

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Place a cooling rack over pan and spray rack with nonstick cooking spray.
In a shallow dish, combine bread crumbs, cheese, 2 Tablespoons olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper, to taste. In a separate shallow dish combine mustard, water, salt and pepper, to taste, and remaining olive oil. Coat each chicken breast with mustard mixture; dredge each in bread crumb mixture. Place on prepared rack in pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until chicken is golden brown.
Serve immediately.

Chicken Salad

I've been using this recipe for the past 4 years! I got it from Anna, a college roommate. Honestly, it is our family's favorite thing to eat. I used to have the quantities, but now, I make it from memory. Basically, I work it until I get the consistency that I like.

1 rotisserie chicken, pulled apart
grapes, quartered
2 small packages of slivered almonds
rosemary, to taste
mayonnaise

Mix all ingredients until desired consistency.
Serve with crackers or as a sandwich.

Pesto

I have wanted to make homemade pesto for a long time now, and I'm not going to lie. This recipe is A-MAZING! It will not disappoint! I got the recipe from Chef Curtis Stone.

Pesto
1 1/2 bunches fresh basil leaves
4 oz toasted pine nuts (I didn't toast mine)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Grind the basil, nuts, and cheese with morter and pestil, or food processor, until smooth paste forms.
Slowly add olive oil. Continue to blend until incorporated.

With pasta
Add to any type of pasta. Note: if the pasta is hot, it will melt the parmesan cheese in the pesto. Add fresh tomatoes for a great burst of flavor and color.

With tilapia
Season 4 filets with salt and pepper on both sides.
Heate a large saute pan over med-high heat. Add 1 T olive oil and cook fish 1 to 2 minutes on flesh side. Flip over and spoon the pesto generously over the filets.
Transfer the pan to the broiler. Broil for 2 to 3 minutes or until the fish is cooked through. Remove fish and allow to rest on a plate before serving.

With chicken
Dredge chicken breasts in an egg and water wash. Coat with panko bread crumbs. Cook in skillet over medium-high heat. Dice and add on top of pesto pasta.

***You can also use the pesto for brushetta.