Roasted Poblano Pepper Casserole

We planted one poblano pepper plant this year in the garden and it has been producing like nobody's business. It's one of the peppers that Daniel is unwilling to share with his co-workers so I've been freezing them as we harvest them. We picked yet another fresh batch the other day so after Daniel being out of town for the past several days only to be heading out again in the morning, I thought now was the time to do something with them. I searched high and low for a recipe that tickled my fancy but none came close to what I was looking for. This meant I just needed to create my own and create my own is what I did.

They were DELICIOUS!! Daniel didn't really say much about them until after he had finished his third helping. He said that it was a pretty good dinner which in Daniel code means they were amazing.

I hope everyone who gives these a try enjoys them as much as we did.

Roasted Poblano Pepper Casserole

Ingredients:
8-12 poblano peppers, roasted with the skin peeled off
12 oz. Queso Fresco cheese
1 C. Mexican blend shredded cheese

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce:
1 roasted red pepper
1 lg. shallot, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, finely diced
2 tbsp. butter

3 tbsp. heavy cream
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
 1/8 tsp. cumin powder

Chicken Filling:
 2 chicken breasts, salted and peppered to taste, browned and cooked through and then shredded.
1 C. frozen corn
1 C. black beans, drained and rinsed.
1 C. diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 C. diced green onions
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. cumin powder

Directions:

1.) Halve and seed poblano peppers. Lightly toss them with extra virgin olive oil and sea salt. Broil on high in oven until skin is browned and pulling away from pepper. Remove from oven and place them in a large ziploc bag until cooled. Once cooled peel skin off of peppers. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

2.) In a medium skillet over medium heat, add a tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Lightly salt and pepper chicken breasts on each side and add to a covered skillet. Cook until browned on each side and cooked through. 

3.) In a small skillet add 2 tbsp. butter and heat over medium low heat. Add diced shallots and garlic. Cook until softened.

4.) In a small food processor add roasted red pepper and softened shallots and garlic. Process until smooth. Add back to small pan and season with salt, pepper, cumin, and slowly mix in heavy cream. Allow to simmer over low heat.

5.) In medium bowl added shredded chicken, frozen corn, black beans, green onions and diced tomatoes. Season with salt, pepper, and cumin. Mix until thoroughly until fully incorporated.

6.) In a medium sized baking dish add a thin layer of the roasted pepper sauce on the bottom. Top with  8-10 poblano pepper halves. Top with chicken mixture and then top with 1/3 of the Queso Fresco cheese crumbled. Repeat layers. You'll have two regular layers plus an extra layer of the shredded chicken mixture. Top the last layer with remaining Queso Fresco cheese and the shredded Mexican cheese.

7.) Bake uncovered for 30-45 minutes or until browned on top and bubbly on the side. Allow to stand for a few minutes and then serve.

I know a few vegetarians and I would suggest substituting the chicken for cooked quinoa. My guess would be about two cups and it would be tasty cooked in vegetable broth and then mixed with some fresh cilantro.

Also, I apologize in advance if something is missing in the instructions or if something doesn't make sense. I typed this up with two screaming toddlers around me so my mind kept scattering elsewhere.

Grilled Chicken and Veggie Quinoa

Daniel is on a wellness committee at work and for each meeting they all bring in healthy dishes to share with each other. He requested a quinoa salad of some sort so I found him a good one for his meeting which left me with an extra cup of quinoa that needed to be cooked. I came up with this dish tonight trying to use it up and come up with something different. All four of us really enjoyed this dish and surprisingly, it is very filling. I can't wait to experiment more with quinoa.

Grilled Chicken and Vegetable Quinoa

Ingredients:
1 Cup uncooked quinoa
1 TBSP. chicken flavored broth and base seasoning
2 Cups of water
2 zuchini, sliced
1 yellow squash, peeled and sliced
2-4 red tomatoes
extra virgin olive oil
1 TBSP. minced garlic
2-3 medium chicken breasts
1/3 C grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1.) Slice zuchini and squash and coat evenly with extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper, and garlic. Grill until tender. Cut tomatoes in half and place on the grill until the skin starts to peel off.

2.) Salt and pepper chicken breasts and grill until cooked through.

3.) Bring two cups of water with chicken broth and base seasoning and quinoa to a boil. Then cover and reduce heat to medium low and cook 10 to 15 minutes or until water is absorbed.

4.) Allow vegetables to cool and then dice them up along with the cooked chicken breasts. Gently fold quinoa into the chicken and veggie mixture and sprinkle with 1/3 of grated Parmesan cheese. Salt and pepper to taste.

Cheesy Chicken and Corn Casserole

I had another one of those "what's for dinner" nights. I really hate it when I don't take the time to compose a weekly meal plan. It leaves me guessing every night what I'll be making for dinner and I hate stressing about it. I pulled together a couple of ingredients and hoped for the best.

I was pleasantly surprised at how well this turned out and the best part was that both girls went back for seconds. Daniel said it was just OK, but it didn't slow him up when he went back for seconds!

This made enough for all of us to have two servings a piece and we still have enough leftover that the girls and I will have lunch tomorrow. I can't wait to see how well it holds up reheated. If you're looking for something to comfort your soul on a chilly evening, this would be great!!

Cheesy Chicken and Corn Casserole
Source: Me

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, boiled and shredded
1 can cream of celery soup
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup shredded colby jack cheese
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. parsley
1 sm. onion finely diced
1/2 tsp. onion powder
8 oz egg noodles, boiled and drained
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:
1.) Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

2.) In a medium saucepan boil chicken breasts until cooked thoroughly. In a large pot bring water to a boil and add noodles and a couple of dashes of salt. Cook until al dente.

3.) In a large mixing bowl add cream of celery soup, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, parsley, frozen corn, and colby jack cheese. Gently mix together.

4.) Shred cooked chicken breasts and add to cream of celery mixture. Add cooked egg noodles and gently mix until evenly coated.

4.) Add to a prepared 2 1/2 quart baking dish and top with mozzarella cheese.  Bake uncovered for 25-28 minutes or until top is bubbly and golden.

Golden Fried Chicken Nuggets

You know that feeling of sheer panic when its time to start dinner and you have absolutely know idea what to make? I had one of those moments the other night and I hate it. I knew dinner would involve chicken because I had set some out earlier to thaw, but I truly didn't know what to do with it.

Typically I start dinner around 5 o'clock and on this particular day 4:50 rolled around and I was stumped. After standing in the middle of the kitchen for a minute or so and then carefully examining everything that was in the fridge, freezer, and cabinets I settled on homemade chicken nuggets, mock chipotle rice, and green beans. I didn't have high hopes for this meal, I just knew that it needed to be edible and fulfilling and surprisingly, this fit the bill. I always know when something is good when Daniel either compliments me on it, or says that it's good and he said that these nuggets were good after questioning me what was in the batter.

These will were great dipped in my favorite honey mustard, Daniel dipped his in spicy mustard, and the girls used a bit of ketchup and BBQ sauce. They were easy to make and went over well which means that they will be made again sometime in the future.

Golden Fried Chicken Nuggets

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 heaping tsp. garlic powder
1 heaping tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. salt
1 cup vegetable shortening
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
2 lg. chicken breast, cubed and cut into sm. pieces

Directions:
1.) In a small mixing bowl add and evenly mix all of your dried ingredients; flour, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, salt, and paprika. In a second small bowl mix together your eggs and milk.

2.) In a dutch oven, melt vegetable shortening over medium/high heat.

3.) Coat cubed chicken in egg mixture, drain any excess egg mixture and then dip into flour mixture. Shake off excess flour and gently place in melted shortening. If first piece of chicken starts to bubble around the edges that means your shortening is ready to go. Place an even layer of chicken in vegetable shortening and fry until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with a dash or two of salt. Repeat process until all chicken is fried. 

4.) Serve with your favorite dipping sauce and your favorite side dishes and enjoy!

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

Every now and then I come across a recipe that looks really good but then I compare it to other similar recipes and I end up getting nervous about making it.

This recipe is one of those that looked delicious but because I am used to making regular broccoli casserole with a jar of processed cheese, I automatically start comparing the two and wondering if they will taste the same.

I am here to say that I had no reason to be nervous. This dinner knocked our socks off and the best part was how simple it was to make. We all had multiple servings and the girls and I ate the leftovers for lunch the next couple of days.

Further proof at how delicious it was is the fact I didn't snap a picture of it. I was starving by the time I had gotten it prepared and that first bite was so tasty that I couldn't stop long enough to grab my camera. I highly suggest going to the recipes source to view a great picture of the dish. I used the same exact baking dish so my picture could have been twins with hers.

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole
Source: Pearls, Handcuffs, and Happy Hour

Ingredients:
3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
2 cans of cream of chicken soup
1 cup of mayo
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup of shredded Colby and Monterrey cheese
1 bag of frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
1/2 a small onion, finely diced*
salt and pepper to taste
garlic powder to taste*

*= my little additions

Directions:
1.) Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

2.) Mix all ingredients together. Add to a lightly greased, 2 quart baking dish and bake for 30 minutes or until the top is a light golden color and bubbly around the edges.

3.) Serve over rice or your favorite pasta.

We served ours over rice and it was awesome. It was so awesome that I'm putting it back on our two week menu for the second time in a row. I'm going to try adding the cooked rice to the mixture and then baking and someday I'll make it again using spaghetti noodles added and baked in with the mixture.

Parmesan Chicken Salad

I love chicken salad sandwiches.

Have you ever had Bob Evan's chicken salad sandwiches?

They are my favorite and I look forward to them every summer since they are a seasonal item. Normally when I make chicken salad here at home I use grapes and celery along with mayo but last night I was in a dinner funk. I had been suffering with a bad sinus headache for the past twenty four hours and if it were just me, no dinner would have been made. I had to feed the husband and girls though so I knew I had to whip something up. I had two thawed chicken breasts out and since I was looking for something easy I decided to whip this up. It was so good. Daniel had two sandwiches, I had one, the girls had a couple of scoops each, and we still had some leftover. Addison made little lettuce wraps with her chicken salad.  I plan on making this again to keep on hand for quick lunches.

Parmesan Chicken Salad

Ingredients:
2 lg. chicken breast, boiled until cooked through, shredded
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. dried dill
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
Bread of your choice, we used french bread
sliced onion
sliced tomato
ice-burg lettuce
Swiss cheese
Dijon or brown mustard

Directions:
1.) Boil chicken breasts until cooked through.
2.) In a small mixing boil add mayo, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, dill, onion powder, and garlic powder and mix until fully incorporated.
3.) Slice your choice of bread and lightly toast.
4.) Shred chicken and mix with mayo mixture.
5.) Place two scoops of chicken salad on bottom half of bread. Top with choice of mustard, cheese, onion, tomato, and lettuce, followed by the top half of the bread.
6.) Enjoy with your favorite potato chip or in our case, with your favorite oven baked potato wedges.

Chicken Teriyaki

I'm trying so hard to try new recipes to help liven things up a bit. I feel like I'm always making the same things and not only does that get boring for those of us eating what I make, but it gets boring for this little blog. Personally, I liked this dish. It was different, and while its not something I will make a lot, it will get made again.

I used four chicken breasts that I cut up into cubes and used a few dashes of dried ginger instead of fresh in the sauce. I baked the chicken in the sauce at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for thirty minutes or so. This made a ton and since my chicken was still slightly frozen, it made the sauce a little thinner which made more. Daniel and I both had one helping, as did the girls, and I was able to freeze two more helpings for future meals.

It was quick, easy, and fairly cheap. And by the way, it calls for 1 tsp. of black pepper, not 1 tbsp. like I put in. I really am going to start wearing my glasses when I'm cooking. This is getting ridiculous.

Chicken Teriyaki
Source: allrecipes.com
*= my changes to the original dish

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups soy sauce
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 (20 oz.) can pineapple chunks in juice, drained, juice reserved
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
* 3 to 4 dashes of dried ginger, original recipe called for fresh ginger
* 4 chicken breasts, cubed
salt and ground black pepper to taste
2 cups of white rice, cooked according to package

Directions: 
1.) Preheat an oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. 

2.) Stir the soy sauce, sugar, 1 teaspoon of black pepper, cornstarch, and 1/2 cup of the reserved pineapple juice together in a saucepan until the sugar is completely dissolved; add the onion, garlic, and ginger. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. 

3.) Arrange the chicken cubes in a baking dish; season with salt and pepper. 

4.) Pour sauce over cubed chicken and then sprinkle the top with pineapple chunks. 


5.) Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until chicken is cooked thoroughly. 


6.) Serve over rice.

Southwest Chicken

I've been trying really hard lately trying to come up with new meal ideas for us. Meal ideas that also correspond with the local sales at the grocery store. I did my major shopping trip today and Addison and I hit up two different grocery stores trying to save money.

I love finding new recipes on Pinterest and this recipe I'm about to share with you comes from there. When I do big grocery trips I normally don't feel like doing long and complicated meals afterwards. This recipe fit perfectly tonight for dinner since it was so easy to pull together. I had it done and ready to plate within ten minutes which is right up my alley.

Daniel and I both liked it, however it was a bit to spicy for the girls. If you don't do spicy then I suggest using just a regular can of diced tomatoes instead of the diced tomatoes with chilies.

Southwest Chicken
Source: pinterest.com

Ingredients:
1 lb. chicken tenders, cut into cubes
*2 tbsp. butter or margarine
*black pepper
*garlic salt
1 can of diced tomatoes with chilies
1 package of taco seasoning
2 cups of rice
1 1/2 cups of water
1 1/2 cups of shredded mild cheddar.

* = my additions

Directions:
1.) In a large skillet, brown cubed chicken in two tablespoons of butter or margarine. Season with black pepper and garlic salt.
2.) Add un-drained can of diced tomatoes and chilies. Sprinkle with taco seasoning and stir until mixed thoroughly.
3.) Add water, bring to a boil. Add rice and stir. Take off of heat and cover. Allow to sit for five minutes.
4.) Add shredded cheese and stir until combined and melted.

Since the girls didn't care to much for this meal I made them some broccoli and cheese along with some cottage cheese. I could feed them this at every meal and I can't go wrong. Apparently their fingers are the only utensils they need and Addison enjoyed helping herself to Cadence's.

Excuse the bangs in their eyes. We're trying to let a portion of their bangs grow out and they would prefer to not have hair pretties in. The hair in the eyes drives me insane!!!

Katie's Pesto Pasta

You know what happens when your unemployment runs out and your husband only gets paid twice a month?

You run out of groceries in the days before your husbands next pay day that's what happens!

Well, you don't run completely out of food, you just become limited on what you can actually make.

There are a few items that you can always count on me being stocked up on. Pasta and chicken just happen to be two of those items. I threw this recipe together after seeing a similar recipe on allrecipes.com. It was surprisingly good, both Daniel and I had seconds. I've never used pesto before and after a mis-communication between Daniel and I last fall, he brought me home three jars of the stuff. I requested three jars of brushcetta, still not sure why he then brought home pesto but all is good. I contemplated adding some cream cheese to the pesto sauce, but I was afraid it wouldn't turn out so I left it out. If someone is brave enough to add the cream cheese please let me know how it turns out!

Pesto Pasta~

Source: Me

Ingredients:

1 lb. rigatoni pasta, cooked and drained

2 md. chicken breast, cubed and cooked

2 tbsp. butter

1 roasted red pepper, finely chopped

1 roma tomato, finely chopped

1- 8.1 oz jar of Classico pesto sauce

salt

pepper

Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1.) In a large pot, fill 3/4 way full of water. Bring to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente.

2.) In a small skillet, add pesto sauce, roasted red pepper, and roma tomato. Cook on medium heat and allow to simmer. Stirring occasionally.

3.) In a large skillet, add butter and cubed chicken. Sprinkle chicken with a few pinches of salt and a pinch or so of black pepper. Cook on medium-high heat until cooked thoroughly and lightly browned on each side.

4.) Drain pasta and return to stove. Add cooked pesto sauce mixture and cooked chicken. Mix until pasta and chicken is coated with pesto sauce mixture.

5.) Sprinkle each serving with Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!!

Sorry about the quality of my photo. I was a couple of bites into my meal before I realized I needed to take a picture. Instead of getting up, getting my camera, and then stopping long enough to get a good picture...I decided to make things easier on myself and just take the photo with my phone.

Once again this meal surprised me. I didn't know what to expect with the pesto sauce but it was really good. Even Daniel said it was good. I would also like to mention for those that may have missed it. The dijon marsala pork tenderloin that I made a couple of weeks ago that Daniel said was delicious, must have been. He actually brought it up at our lunch yesterday with his mom and brother. Looks like I'll be adding it to my menu for one day in the next two weeks.