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**

My version of a Chicken Florentine pasta

So, I honestly had no intention of blogging this recipe, which is why theres a serious lack of pictures but it smelled so good in the middle of my cooking that I snapped a quick few and thought I should share it. It was absolutely delicous. I have 3 people and a tiny little man that will vouch for that, instead of just my husband, for once. 

This is my spin on a chicken florentine dish. I don't even have measurements for it all because, like I said I didnt plan on blogging this so, nothing was measured out, I have a bad habit of just eyeballing things. Especially because I was cooking for 5 people and not just 2. So bare with me.

What you need (for the most part anyway):

1 box of Penne pasta (like always any short pasta will do, im just using penne today)

1 (6oz) bag of baby spinach

2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 can diced tomatoes

10 garlic cloves peeled and minced

6-7 white mushrooms sliced

Salt

Black Pepper

Garlic powder

Grated Parmesan cheese 

1 cup of chicken broth

Make it:

Get your salted water boiling for your pasta. 

While you wait for the water to boil, you want to mince the garlic cloves, save about 1/2 tbsp of the garlic for later.

put about 2 table spoons of olive oil in a large nonstick skillet and heat the garlic on medium heat til it's wilted and you smell that nice garlicky smell. 

DO NOT BURN IT. 

You will have to start all over. It gets bitter and gross and not at all appealing.

OK, moving on. while the garlic is getting all yummy in the pan,

dice the chicken breast up into pretty good sized chunks, nothing too big.

Season the chicken with a little salt, a good amount of black pepper, 

and garlic powder and add it to the pan.

Turn the heat up a bit, and cook the chicken.

While the chicken is cooking, slice up the mushrooms.

When the chicken has those nice golden brown spots and it's cooked through, and theres all those browny bits at the bottom of the pan add in the mushrooms.

While the mushrooms are wilting, open up a can of diced tomatoes and drain 1/2 the liquid into a bowl, and the rest of the liquid with the tomatoes into the skillet.

Add a little salt (to help the tomatoes reduce), and lower the heat while the tomatoes do their thing.

By now, your water should be boiling, add in your box of pasta and cook it until its done. 

Don't worry about your stuff in the skillet, just keep it on medium-low heat.

While the pasta is cooking, add a cup of chicken broth to that bowl of liquid from the tomatoes. 

Add about 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and wisk it.

When it's all mixed, add it to the skillet and mix it in really well.

If it's too thick, add a little extra chicken broth, if its too runny add a little extra cornstarch.

In a seperate frying pan, add that 1/2 tbsp of garlic you saved and 1 tbs of olive oil. 

Heat it up and add in the bag of spinach. 

Cook the spinach until its wilted and still bright green.

Add about 1 tbs of grated parmesan cheese and mix it in well.

Toss the spinach into the skillet with the chicken and mix it all in evenly.

When the pasta is done (you really want it al dente for this dish) drain the water out of it really well and toss it into the skillet with the chicken, spinach, mushrooms and tomatoes.

The pasta should soak up all the liquid in the pan and just be glazed with the flavors.

Serve with grated parmesan cheese and try not to eat so much that you dont have any to snack on later... Please let me know if you try this and what you thought. 

Enjoy!!