Recipe Time: Chicken Tacos

I thought I would share a recipe I tried out this week - it's a chicken taco recipe that I found in October's issue of FamilyFun. It turned out pretty good. I think next time, I will make a little more and use the left-over chicken for enchilada soup.

Ingredients:
1 T oil (I used olive oil, the recipe calls for vegetable oil)
1/2 cup minced onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Serrano chili, minced (I used jalapenos and a chili)
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 t cumin
1/2 t salt
3 1/2 cups shredded, cooked chicken
12 flour tortillas

Heat the oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and chili and saute until the onion has softened, about 6 minutes. Add the tomato sauce, cumin, and salt and continue to cook for one more minute. Add the chicken and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes. Taste, and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Serve in warm tortillas with toppings of your choice.

Recipe- Pepperoni & Cheese Stuffed Chicken

I haven't been posting any recipes lately - 1) because I'm lazy and haven't felt like typing them up and 2) we've been doing a lot of old stand-bys and grilling lately. The grilling keeps me from heating up the house with the stove/oven.

I tried this recipe Friday night and it turned out great. I found it here.

Pepperoni & Cheese Stuffed Chicken

Ingredients:
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
Sliced Pepperoni
Cheese
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Italian Seasoning (I didn't have Italian seasoning so I used rosemary, oregano, & thyme)
Salt & Pepper
Toothpicks

Directions:
Between wax paper pound out the chicken breasts until thin. Layer the sliced pepperoni- however much you would like. Layer the cheese (I used provolone because that's what we had) - however much you would like. Roll the chicken up and secure it with toothpicks, seam-side down.
Place in oven safe dish- drizzle with EVOO and sprinkle with S&P and Italian Season to your liking.
Bake on 325 for about 30 minutes or until done

I think a pesto-marinara dipping sauce would go great with this. Rachael Ray made one that I've been meaning to try. You can find it here.

New Chicken Recipe!!!

I tried a new chicken recipe that I found in Kraft Food & Family Magazine... thanks, Teresa, for sharing the info for this with me... if you want to subscribe to this recipe filled magazine, click here.

Chicken Nacho Bake

4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves

1/2 cup salsa

1/4 cup sour cream

1/2 cup crushed tortilla chips

1/2 cup shredded cheese (Mexican style, cheddar, whatever you like)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. The breasts should be split in half so they are flatter and thinner... this makes them cook quickly and keeps that toppings on. Slice 3 cuts on top of each chicken breast half with a sharp knife and place on a foil lined baking sheet.

Here's what the breast halves look like with the slices.

Top each chicken breast evenly with salsa, sour cream, and tortilla chips. (One breast doesn't have the full toppings because it was Cayson's) Bake 20 minutes. Remove from oven; sprinkle with cheese. Bank an additional 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Note: I didn't mess with measuring out the ingredients. I just spooned the ingredients on until it looked good to me. We loved this recipe! It is kind of like reverse nachos... with the chicken on the bottom and the chips on top! I served it with some Mexican rice and it was yum-o!

I thought I'd post a picture of what I deal with when trying to make dinner... a clingy boy and toys spread across the floor... it makes things a little more difficult. :)

Chicken Taco Soup

I've made this Chicken Taco Soup by Rachael Ray twice and Dusty & I both love it! We found a salsa that has great flavor and tastes wonderful in it - Mrs. Renfro's Smoky Roasted Salsa. You can use your favorite salsa in this. It's also a great left-over meal. Actually, we are having the left-overs tomorrow night - great for a cold day! It's easy and healthy! So, here it is...

Chicken Taco Soup

2 T EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
1 med. onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups salsa verde
2 cups rotisserie chicken, shredded (I chop mine)
Salt and black pepper
1 quart chicken stock

Toppings:
Cilantro, chopped
Shredded cheese
Crumbled corn or flour chips
Diced tomatoes

1. In a medium-size sauce pot over medium-high heat, add 2 turns of EVOO, and 2 tablespoons. Add the onion and garlic, and cook until softened, about 5-6 minutes.

2. Add the salsa, rotisserie chicken, and chicken stock. Bring up to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper and cook for about 10 minutes to allow the flavors to meld.

3. Serve soup and top with diced tomatoes, shredded cheese, crumbled corn or flour chips, and cilantro.

What's for dinner?

I have a friend who has a food blog and posts all the recipes that she tries or likes. I thought that might be kind of fun to do here. Since staying at home, I've become a recipe researcher. I'm always looking for something new to keep me out of the dinner rut. The recipes that we love, I usually share with my mom, sister, & Michelle. So, I thought I'd start posting them here too.

Last night I made one of our new favorites - Easy Mozzarella Honey Mustard Chicken

4 chicken breast halves
1/2 cup honey
3/4 cup Dijon mustard
1 T lemon juice
lemon pepper to taste
4 slice of bacon, cut in half
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 375. Mix the honey, mustard, & lemon juice in a bowl. Place breasts in a cooking dish and cover with the sauce. Sprinkle with lemon pepper. Bake chicken for 25 minutes in the preheated oven. Top each breast half with 2 bacon half slices and sprinkle evenly with the cheese. Continue baking 5 minutes, then turn the oven to broil for another 5 minutes or until juices run clear, bacon is crisp, and cheese is bubbly.
I serve this over a bed of rice and it is delish!

I'd love feedback from anyone on the recipe thing. If you like this idea to include, let me know and I'll continue to post some recipes every week.