Chicken with Chile-Cheese Rice

This is originally a recipe from Janae. I adjusted the recipe a little bit from the original just to make it work a little better for 2 people. So, with all of the peppers, be prepared for a little heat with this dish. Cancy seemed to really like it & it comes together pretty quickly. It makes for a nice little weeknight dinner.

Chicken with Chile-Cheese Rice

Olive Oil Spray
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut crosswise into 1/2-in.-wide strips
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno chile, seeded and finely chopped
1/2 cup long-grain white rice
1 cup chicken broth
1 can (7 oz.) whole green chiles, drained and chopped
1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese

1 cup cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped

Added (to season the chicken):
1 tsp chili pepper
1 tsp garlic salt
juice of 1 lime

Heat olive oil spray in a large frying pan (with sides at least 2 in. high) over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt, pepper, chili pepper, garlic salt, and lime juice and cook, stirring often, until lightly browned but not cooked through, about 5 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.

Add onion, garlic, and jalapenos to pan, reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring frequently, until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add rice and cook, stirring, 1 minute more, then pour in broth and bring to a boil. Boil rice 5 minutes, then reduce heat to a simmer, cover pan, and cook 15 minutes.

Return chicken to pan and cook until rice is tender, liquid is absorbed, and chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes.

 

Remove pan from heat and stir in chiles, cheese, and cilantro. Serve immediately.

 

Cheddar stuffed cilantro jalapeno turkey burgers with cilantro cream -- mucho spicy!

This recipe has been in my Google reader for quite some time. This comes from “Bitchin’ in the Kitchen”. These burgers were delicious. Plus, I can think of a bunch of different uses for the sauce. I’ve done something similar in the past on top of fish.

Anyway, if summer is running out on you or you just want to use your grill, then try this out. I promise you will not be disappointed.

Cheddar stuffed cilantro jalapeno turkey burgers with cilantro cream --mucho spicy!

Burgers:
1 lb ground turkey
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 Jalapeno, seeded & finely chopped
1 C fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp cumin
salt and pepper
8 cubes Colby cheese

Cilantro Cream Sauce:
1 Jalapeno, seeded & chopped
1 C sour cream
zest and juice of 1 lime
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/2 C fresh cilantro

Process all ingredients for cilantro cream sauce in blender or food processor. Cover, and refrigerate.

 

Mix all ingredients for burgers, except Colby cheese, in a bowl. Form into 4 burger patties. Place 2 cheese cubes on each burger and fold over and reform into patties. Grill until done then top with cilantro cream sauce before serving.

 

 

Chicken with Mushroom-Pecan Cream Sauce

This has been in my Google Reader for awhile now. It is originally from cooking light, but I found it on Maryanna’s blog. It sounded like it would be delicious for tonight. I’ve been craving something to remind me of Fall (yes, even with Austin’s 95 degree day today). And, we’ve been playing at the Dog Park this afternoon & so this looked easy but tasty.



Chicken with Mushroom-Pecan Cream Sauce

3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans, toasted
1 cup water
1 and 1/4 tsp salt, divided
6 (4-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Cooking Spray
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
1 (8-ounce) package pre-sliced mushrooms
4 cups hot cooked egg noodles
Chopped parsley (optional)

Place pecans in a food processor; process until smooth (about 1 minute), scraping sides of bowl once. With processor on, add water and 3/4 tsp salt; process until smooth, scraping sides of bowl once.

Sprinkle chicken with remaining 1/2 tsp salt and pepper.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chicken; sauté 3 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.

Add shallots and mushrooms to pan; sauté 3 minutes or until the mushrooms are tender. Stir in pecan cream; bring to a boil. Cook 1 and 1/2 minutes. Place 2/3 cup noodles on each of 6 plates. Top each serving with 1 chicken breast half and 1/3 cup sauce. Garnish with parsley, if desired.

Green Bean Casserole

It doesn’t get much easier/traditional/Fall inspiring than this. I’ve been craving Fall for a few days now. I wish Texas would get that crisp cool smell & feel sooner than late October. Anyway, to bring at least the taste of Fall, here is your mother’s green casserole.

Green Bean Casserole

2 (15 ounce) cans cut green beans, drained

3/4 cup milk

1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 (2.8 ounce) can French fried onions

A handful of shredded cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium casserole dish mix together green beans, milk, cream of mushroom soup, shredded cheese, and 1/2 of the can of onions.

Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until heated through and bubbly. Sprinkle remaining onions over the top, and return to the oven for 5 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

 

 

Super Quick & Easy Salsa

We are having a lazy, boring, stay @ home, do nothing day today and decided to have an afternoon snack. I was craving salsa and we didn’t have any in the fridge so I decided to throw some things together and make my own. This is a good experiment. We added 2 little hot Thai chili peppers to ours. However, I left it out of the ingredients because it’s sort of a kick in the head. But, it will definitely clear your sinuses. Go ahead, make it your own.

Super Quick & Easy Salsa

 

1/2 white onion

2 jalapenos, seeded

3 cloves of garlic

2 cans of Rotel (we used 1 Hot & 1 Original)

1/4 -1/2 Cup cilantro, chopped

1 lime

Salt, pepper, Cumin

 

In a food processor, pulse onions, jalapenos, and garlic. Take out & put into a separate bowl. Pulse Rotel in food processor as well. Add to bowl.

 

Stir in cilantro, squeeze in juice of 1 lime, and add salt, pepper, & cumin to taste.

 

Let refrigerate for at least 1/12 hour before serving.

 

Bark-B-Q biscuits

It’s been awhile since I’ve made treats for Chile. I woke up pretty early today though and was in the mood to bake. So I grabbed my doggy cookbook that came with a cute little bone shaped cookie cutter. This makes a lot so we’ll be sharing some with her BFF Mia. Chile sat & stared at these while they were cooling and when she finally tasted one, I’m pretty sure she approves. Enjoy!!

Bark-B-Q biscuits

2 Cups whole wheat flour

1/2 Cup oatmeal

1/4 Cup wheat germ

1/2 Cup tomato paste

3 Tbsp vegetable oil

3/4 Cup water

1 Tbsp honey

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix oil, water, honey, & tomato paste. Add to dry ingredients.

Roll out dough to 1/4" thick, cut with a cookie cutter & place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes 2 375 degrees.

**I thought a little glaze on the top would be nice so before baking I mixed up 1 egg white, a little barbeque sauce, & a splash of Worcestershire. I brushed this on the top of everything before I put it in the oven.

Grilled Steak with Mustard Cream Sauce

Cancy wanted to have steak tonight & it was nice out so we decided to grill. Wanting something a little different for our steaks tonight, I came across this sauce on Melissa’s blog. It was the perfect flavor with the steaks. This is definitely one we’ll be using again.

 

Grilled Steak with Mustard Cream Sauce

 

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 petite Sirloins

Table salt and ground black pepper

1 small shallot , minced

1 1/2 tablespoons dry white wine

1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth

3 tablespoons heavy cream

1 1/2 tablespoons whole-grain dijon mustard

Rub steak with olive oil & then season both sides with salt and pepper. Grill to your desired “doneness” and then tent with foil for about 15 minutes to rest.

While steak is resting, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet. Add shallot; cook, stirring frequently, until beginning to brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Add wine and increase heat to medium-high; simmer rapidly, scraping up browned bits on pan bottom, until liquid is reduced to glaze, about 30 seconds; add broth and simmer until reduced to 2 tablespoons, about 3 minutes. Add cream and any meat juices; cook until heated through, about 1 minute. Stir in mustard; season to taste with salt and pepper.

 

Using sharp knife, slice steak about 1/4 inch thick against grain on bias. Arrange on platter or on individual plates, and spoon sauce over steak; serve immediately.

 

Marinated Grilled Zucchini

We needed an easy side for our steaks tonight and had some Zucchini in the fridge. It was nice, light side to have with our steaks. I hope ya’ll like it.

Marinated Grilled Zucchini

 

1 medium zucchini, sliced about 1/4 inch thick

1/2 a bottle of fat free Italian dressing

1/4 Cup of grated parmesan

 

Slice zucchini and pour into dish to marinate with the Italian dressing for about 15 minutes. Lay a piece of foil on a section of your grill. Set slices on foil, turning about 1/2 way through. When you turn them, pour remaining marinade on top. These should cook along whatever else you are grilling. They take about 10-15 minutes. Toss in a bowl with grated parmesan before serving.

Hatch Green Chile-Chicken Casserole

In Texas, for a few weeks every August, you seem to find Hatch chiles everywhere. We’ve tried Hatch chile chips. A Hatch chile cheese ball, Hatch chile salsa, you name it. Last week, my grocery store was roasting fresh Hatch chiles out in front of the store and selling the roasted peppers by the pound. I had to try ‘em out.

 

After looking at them in our fridge for a couple days, I decided to dig through the internet to find a great recipe to use them in. I didn’t have to look far. I found this casserole on “Culinary Capers with the Christmases.” I adapted her recipe a little bit to make less and to use my Hatch chiles. Both Cancy & I thought it turned out really well. I hope you like it.

Green Chile-Chicken Casserole

 

3/4 C low sodium chicken broth

1 C chopped roasted Hatch green chiles

1/2 C fat-free sour cream

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 (10 1/2-ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted

1 garlic clove, minced

8 (6-inch) corn tortillas

1/2 lbs shredded cooked chicken breast

1 C shredded cheese (We used a Mexican Queso Fesco)

 

Preheat oven to 350°.

 

Combine the first 8 ingredients in a large saucepan. Whisk together. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

 

Spread 1/2 of the soup mixture in a 8x8 -inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 4 tortillas over the soup mixture. Spread 1/2 of the chicken over tortillas. Top with 1/2 of the cheese.

 

Repeat layer once more, ending with the cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

 

Cuban Sandwich

I haven’t had a Cuban sandwich in years. I found some roast pork at the grocery store the other day and tried to remember what was in the last Cuban sandwich I had. It was a short list of ingredients & looked online when I got home to make sure I had everything. This site had the recipe the closest to what I remembered it tasting like, so we went from there.

We had this with baked sweet potato fries and it made for a very filling dinner. Enjoy!!

 

Cuban sandwich

 

Cuban bread or French bread

Butter, softened

1/2 pound ham, sliced (Use a good quality ham.)

1/2 pound roasted pork

1/4 pound Swiss cheese, sliced

Sliced dill pickles (we buy the dill "Sandwich Stackers")

Yellow mustard

Preheat a large fry pan. Cut the bread into sections about 6 inches long. Cut these in half and spread butter on both halves (inside). Make each sandwich with the ingredients in this order: pickles, roasted pork, ham, and cheese. Be generous!

Place the sandwich on the hot fry pan sprayed with a little "Pam". Place a heavy iron skillet or bacon press on top of the sandwich to flatten. (You really want to smash the sandwich, compressing the bread to about 1/3 its original size!) Grill the sandwiches for two to three minutes on each side, until the cheese is melted and the bread is golden. Slice the sandwich in half diagonally and serve.