Mexican Chicken and Veggie Lasagna

 Okay, I have not fallen off the face of the earth and I will still blog.  It is proving to be difficult to find the time with the husband being deployed and all. We are making it...  trudging through.  I feel like I could pull my hair out at any given moment come bedtime, but I think I am doing well, all things considered. 
This meal is SOOO good.  Kinda like my mexican casserole in flavor, but way healthier!  I may not even make my mexican casserole anymore!  This is packed with veggies that are hidden with delicious and complex flavors.

A few notes: Cheese is strictly a binder here, the glue, so feel free to omit.   Also, the veggies, use what you have on hand and like.  The only must haves in my opinion are onion, pepper and tomatoes.  My kids are not fans of half these veggies on their own and 2 of the 4 kids had seconds and the other two, while being suspiscious of it's looks, said, "Mmm! It tastes good.".  We ate it as leftovers, still great on day 2, older kids had seconds and thirds!  I would highly recommend the corn tortillas here and they add a lot of flavor and they serve as your "noodles".  Oh, and I want to eat huge portions of this. 

MEXICAN CHICKEN AND VEGGIE LASAGNA

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 LB boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 3 TBSP taco seasoning (I use homemade)
• 1 cup salsa
• 1 large sweet onion, diced
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1 cup matchstick carrots or carrot sticks
• 1 cup broccoli heads, diced
• 2 handfuls of baby spinach
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 1 cup corn (I use roasted from Trader Joes)
• 1 can black beans or black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
• 1 can diced roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• a lime
• 3 tbsp roughly chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish 
• corn tortillas (I used 12-15?)
• 6-8 oz. mexican cheese

DIRECTIONS:

Cook chicken in crock-pot with 2 TBSP taco seasoning.  When cooked, shred and return to crockpot with juices, and add 1 cup of salsa and mix.  Chop all veggies, matchstick carrots and broccoli in 1/4" pieces.  In a large skillet, place extra virgin olive oil, onion and pepper.  Cook for 2-3 minutes, add carrot sticks.  Cook 2-3 minutes, add broccoli.  Cook 2-3 minutes, or until all veggies are soft. Add 1 TBSP of taco seasonings to veggies.  Add spinach and garlic, cook until spinach wilts, then add corn, beans and fire-roasted tomatoes.  Juice 1/2 lime over the veggies and mix in chopped cilantro. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper.  Turn off heat and assemble lasagna.
Preheat oven to 350.  Spray 9x13 dish with cooking spray, and spread a layer of chopped veggies (about 1/3).  Cover with a layer corn tortillas.  Top with 1/2 the shredded chicken.  Top with a handful of shredded cheese. Top with a layer of corn tortillas.  Continue with veggies, then corn tortillas, remaining chicken, handful of cheese, corn tortillas, and finally veggies and another handful of cheese.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, until hot through and top is melty (yeah, it's a word) and browning. 
Juice lime over after baking and serve with more fresh chopped cilantro and sour cream or greek yogurt, if desired.

Southwest Egg Rolls with Cilantro Cream Sauce

 Back in the day when I didn't care about the difference between fried and baked food, I LOVED Chili's Southwestern egg rolls.  I mean, they were little bites of heaven to me.  Then I found our the difference between fried and baked and that ruined them for me forever.  I can't stomach fried foods, quite literally.   Don't agree with me.
So, I was one happy girl when I saw this baked version on pinterest.  And my, oh my, these egg rolls were delicious.  They were very popular in a sea of other foods I made for a party.  Delicious other foods.  Would be an awesome superbowl food and I could just eat them for dinner.  Love them with the cilantro dipping sauce.

SOUTHWESTERN EGG ROLLS

Yield: 10-12 Egg Rolls

adapted  from: mrshappyhomemaker

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for brushing
• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts – diced
• 1 medium-large onion, minced
• 1/2 red or orange pepper, diced
• 1 cup frozen corn (I used roasted frozen)
• 1 (14.5oz) can black beans, rinsed & drained
• 2.5 cups fresh baby spinach
• 1/2 jalapenos, seeded & minced
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 cups shredded cheddar or pepper jack cheese(I used cheddar)
• salt & pepper to taste
• 10 taco sized flour tortillas

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil on medium. Add in the chicken, season with salt & pepper to taste, & saute for 5 minutes. Stir in the diced onions and peppers & cook until the chicken is cooked through. Stir in the spices, jalapeno, black beans, corn, & baby spinach and cook until the spinach has wilted. Remove from the heat, and stir in the cheese.

Spoon about 1/4 cup of filling into the center of each taco sized flour tortilla, and roll up like a burrito, folding in the top and bottom, then rolling tightly. Brush each side with a good coating of oil, and place in a baking dish. Bake for 25-35 minutes, flipping halfway through, until crispy.

Serve with Cilantro Cream Sauce, if desired.

NOTE: Next time I would cook these at a higher temp to get them crispier.  Also, even with brushing them with oil, they take a long time to crisp up.

CILANTRO CREAM SAUCE

Yield: About 2 cups

mrshappyhomemaker

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 (8oz) package cream cheese, softened
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 1 (7oz) can tomatillo sauce or salsa (same thing, different companies label them different)
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon celery salt
• 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
• 6 cloves garlic
• 2-4 jalapenos, seeded (or leave the seeds in for extra heat)
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro
• the juice of half a lime

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all the ingredients together in a food processor or blender. Puree until smooth. Transfer to a jar with a tight fitting seal, and refrigerate for up to 1-2 weeks.

White Chicken Chili (Crock Pot)

Still trying to get back on the blogging train.   Life has been busy.  I continue to try to find my house amidst legos, hot wheels and pirates.  Yes, the pirates seem to be looting and leaving a trail.  Sad, really.  Somewhere, under the mountain of legos, lies a clean house.  Just like somewhere under this haggard woman, lies a hot chick.

On to the food.

I love white chicken chili.  Particularly, I love Ruby Tuesday's white chicken chili.  I like the thickness it has.  I made a version a few months back, and never blogged it because it was a disappointment.  I took a bunch of recipes and kinda meshed them, but I was just not a huge fan.  This time, I went with my instincts and also with what was in my pantry.   This had a little kick, but the sour cream took enough of the edge off to make it so all my kids ate it.  My 7 year old had two big bowlfuls!  We all loved this!  Healthy and yummy!


WHITE CHICKEN CHILI (CROCK POT)

INGREDIENTS:

•  4 cups (32 oz box) chicken stock
• 3 cans white navy beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 large onions, diced
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 3 large chicken breasts, halved in thickness
• 1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup green verde salsa
• 1 TBSP corn meal (sprinkle over)
• salt and pepper 
• 2 TBSP fresh cilantro or 2 tsp. dried

DIRECTIONS:
 Place chicken, onion and carrots in the crock pot on high.  Let cook 2-3 hours, until chicken is cooked through.  Shred chicken.  Add broth, cornmeal, spices, and 1 can beans.  Mash the other 2 cans with a masher (or your hand, like me)  roughly (meaning does not need to be thorough), and add to crock pot.    Cover and simmer for one more hour.
Garnish with sour cream, Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese.

Chicken Fajita Pasta

We are on our own for the next few weeks as Mr. Delectable is playing army.  No disasters yet, but it has just been 24 hours.  Give me some time.  I made this dish a few days before he left.  Awhile back I had made an enchilada pasta that was delicious.  He like this one better.  The pasta choice was part of it, but he really enjoyed this dish.  And so did I and all the kids for that matter. 

This pasta was one I got in my head and had to make.  Like immediately.  It gave me my Mexican food fix, but with my Italian heritage working it's way in.  Gotta represent, ya know?  I looked on the web, as I had a specific idea in my head.  The pioneer woman and her never ending great recipes had one that I could readily adapt to my ideas.  If you want to see the step by step, how I cooked my chicken and pepper/onion mixture, click on the link.  I didn't add the tomatoes until the end, because I wanted the fresh raw tomato taste.  Warm, but raw.

Let me advise here...  do not skip the lime zest with the chicken.  It brightens the flavor and just melds so well... like peanut butter and jelly, chocolate and peanut butter, whipped cream and strawberries.... you get the message, right?   Like uber yum.  My son exclaimed (and I do say, it was an exclaimation!) "MMMM, MMM!  This chicken is so good and juicy!".  Yeah.  Good stuff.

CHICKEN FAJITA PASTA 

inspired by: thepioneerwoman

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, Cut Into Cubes
• zest of one lime (save lime for end)
• 3 teaspoons Cajun Spice Mix, More To Taste
• 1 pound whole grain linguini
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 3 Tablespoons Butter
• 1 whole yellow Bell Pepper, Seeded And Sliced
• 1 whole Red Bell Pepper, Seeded And Sliced
• 1 Large sweet Onion, Sliced
• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 2 vine ripened Tomatoes, Diced
• 1 TBSP flour
• 2 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
• 1/2 cup White Wine
• 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste
• Salt To Taste
•  4 TBSP Chopped Fresh Cilantro, or to taste

Garnish: 

• avocado
• cheddar cheese
• light sour cream (Greek yogurt did not work for substitute here)

DIRECTIONS:

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain when pasta is still al dente; do not overcook!
Sprinkle 1 1/2 teaspoons Cajun spice, and lime zest over chicken pieces. Toss around to coat. Chill for 20 minutes while you chop veggies.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a heavy skillet (iron skillet works great!) over high heat. Add half the chicken in a single layer; do not stir. Allow chicken to brown on one side, about 2-3 minutes, depending on size of chicken cubes. Flip to the other side and cook an additional 2-3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a clean plate.
Repeat with remaining chicken (adding oil and butter if needed). Remove chicken, leaving pan on high heat.
Add remaining olive oil and butter. When heated, add peppers, onions.. Sprinkle on remaining Cajun spice, and add salt if needed. Cook over very high heat for 4-5 minutes, stirring gently and trying to get the vegetables as dark/black as possible. Add garlic and cook for an additional 30 seconds. Remove all vegetables from the pan.
Add 1 TBSP butter to the pan and 1 TBSP flour. With the pan over high heat, pour in the wine and chicken broth. Cook on high for 3 to 5 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze and whisking in flour butter mixture. Reduce heat to medium-low,  and pour in cream, stirring/whisking constantly. Cook sauce over medium-low heat for a few minutes, until cream starts to thicken the mixture. Taste and add freshly ground black pepper, and/or salt to taste. 
Finally, add chicken and vegetables to sauce, to include the diced tomatoes, making sure to include all the juices that have drained onto the plate. Stir and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until mixture is bubbly and hot. Add drained fettuccine and toss to combine.
Top with chopped fresh cilantro, fresh squeeze of lime juice, sour cream, cheese, avocado and chow down!

Easy (skinny) Baked Chicken

I know I have not blogged much lately.  I intend to get better.  I really do.  Then I don't.  I think I am getting overwhelmed and maybe going through a mini depression because my husband is soon to deploy.  I think I need to get a thing of Ben and Jerry's ice cream and use a king sized candy bar for a spoon.  But then the guilt over eating it would prove too much, and I would slip further into a depression.  Why, oh why, can't chocolate have the caloric value of celery?  I often wonder if food will be calorie free in heaven. 
Wow, yeah, reading the above paragraph confirms.  I need help. 

This chicken is a variation on one my mom used to make while I was growing up.  Super simple, so flavorful and moist.  I used greek mayo to try to cut the calories and fat and it was outstanding.  It turns a beautiful golden brown while baking and the crumbs even get a little crispy.  Love this chicken.  And about 5 minutes to get it in the oven.  Who doesn't love that?  Last night, this chicken brought a little light into my pity party.  But now, it's gone.  Poor me.  ;-)
EASY (skinny) BAKED CHICKEN

INGREDIENTS:

• 1.5-2 lbs chicken breast, boneless skinless (about 4 good sized chicken breasts)
• 1 cup Greek nonfat yogurt or light mayo
• 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375.  Line baking sheet with foil, and spray with nonstick cooking spray.  In a bowl place yogurt.  In another bowl, place bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and garlic powder.  Mix well.  Smear chicken with a generous layer of Greek yogurt.   Cover the yogurt covered chicken with the bread crumb mixture thoroughly, making sure it completely covered.  Place on cookie sheet.  Bake at 375 for 35-45 minutes, until golden in color and cooked through.  Some of the juiced will escape like in the below picture and mix with the yogurt.  Looks funky, but that stuff is even yummy.