Monterrey Chicken Quesadillas

I have made these quesadillas a bunch of times and easy time Hubby is impressed with them. Since I had some left over chicken from the bbq chicken sandwiches, I decided to make these quesadillas.  Once again, Hubby raved about them. 

The boys ate plain cheese or cheese with bacon bits quesadillas instead of these delicious quesadillas.  Oh well, it's their loss!

Monterrey Chicken Quesadilla

adapted from Cooking During Stolen Moments

Stars of the recipe:

• 8 tortillas


• 1/2 lb. shredded chicken (rotisserie, roasted, or crock pot chicken)


• 1/2 c. barbecue sauce


• 2 c. shredded cheese (Cheddar or Monterrey Jack)


• 1/2 c. bacon bits

Steps:

1. Warm up a skillet or griddle pan over medium heat.


2. In a small bowl, mix the chicken and barbecue sauce.  (Or use left over chicken from bbq chicken sandwiches.)


3. Spray the warmed skillet or griddle pan with cooking spray.


4. Place a tortilla in the skillet or griddle pan.


5. Sprinkle (in this order) cheese, chicken, bacon bits, and then more cheese onto the tortilla.


6. Top with a second tortilla.


7. Cook until browned (2 to 3 minutes - However may take longer.)


8. Flip over and then cook until the other side is browned.


9. Place on a plate and enjoy with ranch dressing.  My favorite ranch dressing is Bolthouse Farms' Classic Ranch.

Here's what it looks like after you sprinkle on the goodies but before you add the second tortilla.

BBQ chicken sandwiches

On Saturday, I got a rotisserie chicken at Sam's Club.  We ate it for dinner on Saturday evening.  Since we had some left over, I needed  to figure out what I could make with it.  I decided to make BBQ chicken sandwiches.  

It's an easy meal that Hubby really liked.  

BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

Stars of the recipe:

• Left over rotisserie chicken or crockpot chicken


• 1/2 bottle of favorite bbq sauce - (I used Garland Jack's Country Honey Barbecue sauce.  It has no high fructose corn syrup :).)


• Optional:  Diced onions

Steps:

1. Shred up the left over chicken and onions if using them.  Place in a medium sized pot.


2. Cover the chicken with the bbq sauce.


3. Cook over medium heat until the chicken is warmed up.


4. Enjoy on a bun with cheese and maybe some lettuce!

My husband loves Chinese food and had been craving some when I had planned to make stir fry.  So he was excited when I told him that was for dinner.  

Since I don't have much time to cook dinner before I need to have it on the table, I cut the pieces smaller especially the broccoli.  My husband does not like broccoli but ate it when I cut it into smaller pieces.

During dinner, the Wee One made chopsticks out of two spoons so he could scoop up the food better.  It as so funny!  (I wish I got a picture of how he was eating dinner.)

This meal can be adapted to your likes.

Pork (or Chicken) Stir Fry

Stars of the recipe: 

• 1 lb. pork chops or chicken, chopped into smaller pieces


• 3 c. vegetables, diced into smaller pieces (Examples:  celery, carrots (peeled first), onions, peas (do not dice), broccoli) - Use your imagination and clean out your vegetable drawers


• 1/4 c. soy sauce (I used low sodium.)


• 2 Tbsp. ground ginger


• 1 Tbsp. granulated garlic or 2 Tbsp. minced garlic


• 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Steps:

1. Heat up 1 Tbsp. of oil in a saute pan on medium heat.


2. Once the oil is heated up, add the pork or chicken.  Cook the pork or chicken until no longer pink.  (5 to 10 minutes)


3. Once the pork or chicken is cooked, remove from the pan.  Tent a piece of foil over it to keep it warm.


4. Add another 1 Tbsp. of oil to pan.  Add the diced veggies except for the peas.  Cook until softened. (5ish minutes)


5. Place the pork or chicken back in the pan with the veggies.  Add the peas, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic.  Cook for a few minutes longer.


6. Serve over rice.


7. Enjoy with a fortune cookie!

One of my favorite blogs is Eat at Home. I've been following Tiffany's blog for the past 2 years. Each week she provides free weekly menus featuring recipes she has posted. The majority of her recipes are fuss free or little fuss recipes. The recipes are also delicious.

I got this recipe from the blog. She named it Skillet Chicken with Peppers and Tomatoes. I renamed it Italian chicken because my boys would have told me they didn't like it because it had peppers and tomatoes. When they did their daily ritual of asking me what was for supper, I told them Italian chicken.

I was lucky to find thin chicken breasts on sale when I did my weekly shopping. They were in a family pack for $10 and some change. I was going to be able to use the pack for 3 meals. That is a deal! Even though I told the Imaginative One that I spent a lot on the chicken and he needed to eat all of his serving. LOL!

The chicken needs to marinate overnight so plan ahead.

Italian Chicken

Based on a recipe from Eat at Home

Stars of the recipe:

Chicken marinade:

• Chicken tenders or chicken breasts thinly pounded (pounded between two pieces of wax paper - take all of frustrations out on the chicken)


• 1/2 bottle of Italian dressing


• 1/4 c. of soy sauce

Italian Chicken:

• 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil


• 3 to 4 pieces of marinated chicken


• 1-2 Tbsp. minced garlic


• 1/2 package of frozen onion and pepper mix


• 1 15 oz. can of crushed tomateos


• 1/2 box of penne pasta

Steps:

1. Cook the penne pasta, drain, and set aside. (This can be done while the chicken is cooking.)


2. Put the olive oil in the skillet. Heat it on med. heat.


3. Place the chicken in the skillet. Cook on both sides until browned. (Discard the left over marinade.)


4. Add the garlic and onion and pepper mix to the skillet. Cook for a few minutes.


5. Add the can of crushed tomatoes.


6. Simmer over med. low heat for 10 minutes.


7. Serve with the penne pasta.


8. Enjoy!

Paprika Chicken

We had this for dinner on Monday.  When I asked Hubby if he liked it, he told me that it was rude to talk with their mouth full.  I take it that he liked it a lot.

Paprika Chicken

Stars of the recipe:

• 3 lbs chicken thighs, bone in, skin on


• 2 onions, chopped


• 1 garlic clove, minced


• 1 tomato, chopped (You can also use diced tomatoes in the can.)


• oil as needed


• 1 green pepper, chopped


• 1 3/4 c. chicken broth, divided


• 2 Tbsp. paprika


• 1 C. sour cream

Steps:

1. In a large pot, saute the onion, garlic, and green pepper in oil until soft, add the paprika and mix well.


2. Add the chicken, tomato, and 1 cup of the chicken broth.


3. Bring to a boil then turn down to low to simmer.


4. Cover and cook for 30 minutes or until chicken is tender and cooked through.


5. Add remaining chicken broth and sour cream, stir to mix and serve immediately over rice or egg noodles.

 

Healthy Chicken Nuggets (Baked not fried)

I found this recipe on Mel's Kitchen Cafe blog. Since the Wee One loves chicken nuggets, I decided to make a bunch of these and then freeze them for an easy meal.

Stars of the recipe:

• 2 to 3 thick slices of whole wheat bread (You want 1 c. of crumbs.)
• 1/2 tsp. basil
• 1/2 tsp. oreano
• 1/4 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 c. panko crumbs
• 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 2 egg whites
• 1 Tbsp. water
• 4 lrg. (2 lbs) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch sized pieces.  (Either have the chicken partially frozen and then cut it.  Or use kitchen shears to help you cut up the chicken.  Just make sure you really clean the kitchen shears afterwards.)

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a large. rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.
2. In a food processor, place the slices of whole wheat bread and pulse until crumbs form. Add the basil, oregano and Parmesan cheese and pulse until combined. Pour the bread crumbs into a shallow dish (like a pie plate) and mix in the panko crumbs.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, egg whites and water until well combined. Pat the chicken cubes dry with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper. Toss the chicken cubes in the egg white/olive oil mixture before taking a few of them at a time and rolling them in the bread crumb mixture to coat evenly.
4. Place the coated chicken nuggets on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 8 minutes. Using a pair of tongs, carefully flip the nuggets over (taking care not to remove the breading) and bake for 5 minutes longer, or until cooked through (the exact time will depend on the size of the chicken pieces).  

Happy eating, Traci

Spanish style chicken noodle soup

I've been making this soup for the past few years.  I saw Rachael Ray cooking it up on her cooking show and decided I wanted to try it.  During the Lent season, I've made it to share with the members of my former church when we've had soup Wednesdays.  They always loved it.  In fact, during this past Lent season, I sent home leftovers with a couple people.

The thing I love about this soup is that instead of regular egg noodles, you use orzo pasta which is sort of like rice but is in reality pasta.  I also like that it has black beans in it.

Stars of the recipe:

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 3 celery ribs, chopped
• 2 medium-size carrots, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 to 2 tablespoons (about a palmful) chili powder
• 1 bay leaf, use fresh if available
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 quarts (6 cups) chicken stock
• 1 pound chicken tenders or chicken cutlets, cut into bite-size pieces
• 2 14-ounce cans diced tomatoes or 1 28-ounce diced tomatoes 
• 1 cup corn, frozen or fresh
• 1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed
• 1/2 pound orzo pasta

Steps:

1. Put all of the ingredients except for orzo pasta in the crock pot.
2. Cook on low for 8 hours.
3. A half hour before serving, put the orzo pasta in the soup so that it can cook.
4. Enjoy!

This post has been linked up to Colleen's Kitchen Recipe Swap, Delicious Dishes, and Tempt my tummy.