Southwest Chicken Bake

So, I think I've mentioned before that I normally come up 

with most of these little concoctions when I have nothing in 

the house. 

That was sort of the case today. I had taken chicken out for dinner, but, I didn't want to make the same old stuff. I decided on a chicken casserole 

because, I hadn't made it in a while and it was quick. 

Needless to say, it didn't take long for me to veto that idea.

So, off I went, in search of something to make. I looked up some chicken casseroles and saw the same thing over and over. Then I saw some sort of chili Mac recipe and thought it looked super delicious. The problem with that recipe was obviously that it was intended for ground beef and I had chicken. So I checked out a few more recipes, some with chicken, some without and I started building my own recipe.

Ok, now, I'm gonna go ahead and be honest, I eyeballed every.single.thing in this recipe. I literallyhave no exact measurements aside from 1 box of pasta shells and 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts. So, unless you have a big family, a 

huge appetite (or a man with one), you might wanna 

invite some friends for dinner......

Alright, put on some boots, and saddle up (I'm trying to talk like a cowboy...it's not working), & let's make some grub. First, you're gonna need a few things...I'll list them below (I'm gonna do my best to estimate the measurements).

Ingredients:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into small chunks)

1 box of shell pasta

1 can of cream of chicken & mushroom soup

1 can of bushes "Cocina Latina frijoles negros machacados" (these beans have bacon in them...

THAT is why i choose these beans specifically)

1 can of fire roasted tomatoes

1 chipotle pepper (I removed half the seeds and kept half the seeds in, the more seeds the spicier it'll be)

1/4 of a white onion (chopped fine)

3 cloves of garlic (minced)

1 packet of taco seasoning

2.5 cups of shredded cheddar or shredded Mexican blend cheese

1&1/2 cups of milk

2 tablespoons of flour

2 tablespoons of butter

Salt

Olive oil

Instructions:

Alright....let's see if I can remember this.

So, pour about a tablespoon or 2 in the bottom of the skillet of your choice. Turn the heat on 

medium low and add the minced garlic & onion. You just wanna make the garlic & onion sweat in the pan, so stir frequently and watch to make sure the garlic doesn't burn. Burnt garlic will get bitter, and that's not a pleasant experience for your taste buds.

While the garlic and onions are doing their thing, boil the water for your pasta. Make sure you salt the water first and once the water is boiling add your pasta in. By now, your onions & garlic 

should be ready to add some flavorful love to your chicken. So add the diced chicken into the 

pan with the onions and garlic. Mix it all up and let the chicken cook. Once the chicken is white and no more pink is visible, add the taco seasoning and a cup of water stir it up and let it cook til the water evaporates.

By now your pasta should be ready, go ahead and drain it. Leave the pasta in the colander so it 

dries a little, It will help the cheese stick to the pasta better.

Your chicken should still be doing it's thing, go ahead and give it a little stir, sing it a song, show it you care (about how delicious it's going to be) and then leave it alone so you can go about your merry business and assemble this sauce.

Ok. So first, you need to make a rue (ruex? roo? ru? not the one from winnie the pooh...Whatever, you get the point...) to do that just take the butter, melt it in a pot (I should specify, you should 

use a medium sized pot for this). Add the flour little by little to the butter stirring as you add it. 

Once the flour has been added add in 1&1/2 cups of cheese & stir until it's been blended & 

melted in completely. Then add in the milk & cream of chicken & mushroom soup. Mix, mix, mix. Thennnnnn, add in the fire roasted tomatoes and your chopped up chipotle pepper and mix, mix, mix some more. (You might wanna check on your chicken at this point & turn it off if all the liquid is gone.) go ahead & add the beans to the cheese sauce and mix it up all nice like. 

Add the drained pasta to the chicken & mix that up together. Once it's nicely coated, pour your 

cheesey, beany, tomatoey sauce on top of it and mix it all up again. Add in a little of the 

remaining cheese here just for kicks, transfer to a baking dish/casserole pan and top with the 

remaining cheese.

Place it under the broiler for about 5 minutes or until the cheese gets bubbly & starts to turn 

brown...like this....

Let it cool for a few minutes before serving (that cheese is lava hot, liquid magma). Then...Stuff.your.face

As always.....Let me know if you like it.

Honey Garlic Chicken

While on my endless hunt for new recipes to try, I came across this one for Honey Garlic Chicken. I bought the few ingredients I didn't have on hand already (blackberry jam, because...ewww. Who actually likes that?) and was just dying to try it.

By the time I got home though, I realized, it was already after 3:00pm and the recipe said it should be in the slow cooker on low for 4 to 5 hours, which meant we wouldn't be eating til at least 7:30pm, and that was too late. In light of that realization, I soldiered on, and decided, I would follow the exact same recipe but i'd cook the chicken in the oven instead.
Not only did it work just as good in less than half the time, but it was FABULOUS. My husband liked it so much he couldn't wait to take it for left overs to work the next day. It was sweet without being TOO sweet and it had a perfect amount of spice to give it just a little kick. I'm not sure if it was the fact that I was starving or if I was just way too over zealous about trying this, but, I completely forgot the sesame seeds. Because you're shredding the chicken and pairing it with rice and a vegetable, it's very easy to stretch this meal. I've used this chicken in tortillas and made little garlic chicken tacos, i've put it on potato rolls like a pulled pork sandwich, theres a bevy of ways to serve this chicken once it's done. Such a GREAT recipe.

Ingredients:
4 large bone-in, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup blackberry jam
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 Tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup diced onion
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
Sliced scallions, for garnish
Sesame seeds, for garnish

Directions: 

Arrange the chicken breasts in a glass baking dish so that they aren't over lapping.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the honey, soy sauce, blackberry jam, hoisin, olive oil, garlic, onion and crushed red pepper flakes, and then pour the sauce over the chicken. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and place in 375 degree oven for 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the baking dish (reserving the liquids) and place it on a cutting board. Once it's cool enough to handle, Remove the bones then use two forks to shred the chicken into smaller pieces. Place the shredded chicken in a large bowl.

In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch with 3 tablespoons of cold water to make a slurry.

Transfer the liquids from the slow cooker into a small saucepan set over medium-high heat and whisk in the slurry. Bring the sauce to a boil and cook it until it reduces and has thickened slightly, about 3 minutes. Pour the sauce over the chicken, tossing to combine. Serve the chicken topped with sliced scallions and sesame seeds.

**If you would like the slow cooker directions for this recipe, please see the original recipe**

Cous Cous! The food so nice they named it twice...

Todays second recipe is a Tex Mex Cous Cous Salad. It is a cold salad, and perfect for a light lunch, or even a little snack. It's packed with crisp veggies and lots of flavor. I found this recipe online a couple years ago and just adjusted it to suit my tastes better. I apologize for the picture. I took this picture of it when I made it a for lunch a few months back and since I wasn't making a fresh batch today I had to use the old picture.

What you need:

 1 cup uncooked couscous
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 of a large onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (or cilantro)
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained
salt and pepper

Directions:
Bring chicken broth to a boil in a sauce pan and stir in the couscous.
Cover the pot and remove it from heat and let the cous cous sit, covered for 5 minutes.
While the cous cous is resting, In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar and cumin.
Add the green onions, red & yellow pepper, corn and beans to the dressing.
Remove the lid from the cous cous, and Fluff the couscous well with a fork, breaking up any big clumps and transfer to the bowl containing the vegetable & dressing mixture.
Mix everything well, making sure it's all coated evenly.
Season with salt and pepper and garnish with Parsley (if you're feelin fancy, I always feel fancy...)

Sour Cream & Beef Pasta Skillet

A few days ago, my very best friend asked for a recipe that she could use ground beef for. She had recently bought a bunch of it and wasn't sure what to make. I could have suggested the usual go to suspects, meatloaf, tacos, burgers, but as I was about to suggest them, I realized there aren't quiet enough things to really make with ground beef and it's something we usually have on hand.

I really love skillet meals (you'll learn that quick). They are quick, easy, usually inexpensive and very easy to stretch especially when you are on a budget. I'm not generally one for many vegetables, I just don't like them. There are some I will eat, mostly green things, oddly enough the ones I used in todays recipe, are actually ones I do not like. I found a way to cook them in a way I would eat them though, so, if your cooking for a picky eater (or you are one), this could be a good dish to try!

Alright, here we go.

What you'll need:

3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium carrot, minced
10 white mushrooms , stems removed & sliced
1/2 a large onion , minced
1 pound ground beef (i prefer 80/20 but you can use your preference)
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 cups water
1 14-ounce can  beef broth
2 cups of mini penne pasta (you can use whatever short pasta is your favorite, anything goes)
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sour cream

Directions: 

Add the ground beef to a large skillet, and brown it until it's no longer pink. If you're using 80/20 the meat should have enough natural fat that you don't need to help it, but if you are using a leaner ground beef add a little bit of olive oil to the skillet before you toss in the ground beef so it won't be too dry. 

While the meat is browning, you want to mince as best you can, the carrot, onion, and garlic. 

Then you want to remove the stems and slice up the mushrooms.

When the meat has finished browning, add the vegetables to the meat in the skillet.

 

 Mix it all in so everything gets distributed evenly.

Add in the,salt, pepper & thyme (no parsley, sage, or rosemary, though...see what i did there?)

Mix that all in nicely and evenly and then, add in the pasta, water,  

3/4 of the can of beef broth and the worcestershire sauce. 

Bring it to a boil, cover it, and then turn the heat down to medium. 

Stir it occasionally.

While the pasta is cooking, measure out the flour,  and in a 

 separate bowl,  combine the flour with the remaining 1/4 can of the broth. 

Wisk until there are no lumps.

When the pasta is cooked to your preferred firmness (im more of an al dente girl, myself) add in the broth and flour mixture, and 1/2 cup of sour cream. 

Mix it all in so it's all coated in that sour creamy goodness and serve.

You can add some parsley or chives if you're feelin' fancy.

I felt fancy.

next up.....tex mex cous cous salad.