Chicken Quesadillas

These make a great lunch or lighter supper.

Chicken Quesadillas
(From Taste of Home Magazine, Aug/Sept. 1999)

2-1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken
2/3 cup salsa
1/3 cup sliced green onions
3/4-1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried oregano
6 flour tortillas (8" size)
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 cups (8 oz) shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Sour cream & guacamole, optional

In a skillet, combine the first 6 ingredients. Cook, uncovered, over medium heat for 10 minutes or until heated through, stirring occasionally.

Brush one side of the tortillas with butter.

Spoon 1/3 cup chicken mixture over half of unbuttered side of each tortillas. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup cheese; fold plain side of tortilla over cheese.

Place on a lightly greased baking sheet.
Bake at 475 for 10 minutes or until crisp and golden brown.

Cut into wedges; serve with sour cream & guacamole, if desired.

Makes 6 servings.

Chicken Pot Pie

This recipe is one I've had laying around for years. I made it a lot when Livi was littler. It's quick, easy, budget friendly & really good. I found it originally on an ad for Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soup. I've seen numerous versions of it over the years, but I'm going to record it here anyway just for the sake of having  our family favorites in one place...

Chicken Pot Pie

Photo from Campbellskitchen.com

1 can (10-3/4 oz) cream of chicken soup
1 pkg (12 oz) frozen mixed vegetables (the recipe says "thawed" but I always just throw them in still frozen.)
1 cup cubed cooked chicken
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1 cup Bisquick All-Purpose Baking Mix

Preheat oven to 400.
In a 9" pie plate mix soup, vegetables & chicken.
Mix milk, egg, & Bisquick.
Pour over chicken mixture..
Bake 30-40 minutes or until golden.

Serves 4

Velveeta Chicken and Vegetable Stir-fry

I rarely find a Kraft Foods recipe that I like (sorry, Kraft). I love Kraft brand foods, but I generally find their recipes lacking. This recipe, however, is one of those rare finds. It is advertised as a "healthier" meal & the original recipe uses Velveeta Light. I usually use the Kroger brand version of "Velveeta" & therefore don't use a "light" version.

Velveeta Chicken & Vegetable Stir-Fry

Photo from KraftFoods.com

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1-1/4 lbs), cut up (You could also use the pre-cooked, frozen chicken breast strips)
2 Tblsp. Kraft Light Done Right House Italian Reduced Fat Dressing
3 cups fresh broccoli florets
1 medium red pepper, cut into strips
1 medium yellow squash, cut into slices
6 oz. of Velveeta cheese product, cut up
1 Tblsp. milk

Cook chicken in dressing in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat 5-7 minutes or until chicken is cooked through, stirring occasionally.

Add vegetable; stir. Reduce heat to medium; cover. Simmer 5 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Meanwhile, mix Velveeta & milk in a small microwavable bowl. Microwave on high 2-3 minutes or until Velveeta is melted, stirring after 2 minutes.

Place chicken mixture on serving plate & top with Velveeta sauce.

Makes (6) 1-cup servings.
**If you make this with Light Velveeta, the Light salad dressing & fat free milk, each serving only has 200 calories!!!

Crock Pot Chicken & Dumplings

Today's recipe is another great find on Pinterest...I just LOVE that site! 


This one comes originally from here and below is her picture of the finished product, because it is much prettier than any I took :)

 She has several other recipes that look worthy of trying (like Zesty Pasta Salad & Lone Star Steak House Cheese Fries - can't wait to try these!!!) so be sure & hop over there & take a looksie for yourself.


I love chicken-n-dumplins' (as we always called them), but I had never made them myself. I just figured they were one of those meals that only a grandma could do the right way :) I made these today & they are delicious, super easy to make & a fairly budget-friendly meal. 

Crock Pot Chicken & Dumplings

1 lb. boneless, skinless, chicken breasts (3-5)

2 Tablespoons of unsalted butter

2 cans (10.5 oz ea.) condensed cream of chicken soup

1 can (14 oz.) chicken broth

1 medium white onion, diced

4 large flaky refrigerator biscuits

(I also tossed in a little pepper & salt, but that's up to you & your family's personal preference.) 

Place chicken in crock pot & top with butter. Add cream of chicken soup, chicken broth & diced onions. (I used frozen diced onions - maybe 1/2 - 3/4 cup & added a little extra chicken broth about halfway through cooking that I will add at the beginning next time - maybe an additional 1/2-1 cup). Cook on high for 4-6 hours. 

Remove chicken from crock pot & use a fork to shred. Return chicken to crock pot. Cut each uncooked biscuit into 9 pieces & stir into the chicken mixture. Continue to cook on high for at least 30 minutes (I let mine cook longer). 

I love using my crock pot & I'm super excited that not only have I found another "keeper" crock pot recipe, but I've found a superb chicken-n-dumplins' recipe as well! 

Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Soup

Livi & I love broccoli cheese soup so when Toby brought a recipe home from a lady he works with for a soup with cheese, broccoli & chicken I couldn't wait to try it. Unfortunately, it was not all it was cracked up to be & I was really disappointed. 


After thinking about it for a little while, I decided to change up the recipe & see what I could come up with. The result: my own version of Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Soup. It's creamy & thick like a chowder, super easy to make & tastes wonderful!  


Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Soup

2 cans of cooked chicken breast, drained & broken into smaller pieces
1-1/2 bags of frozen broccoli
2 cans of cheddar cheese soup
3-4 cups of milk - enough to make it soup like; use more for thinner soup & less for more chowder-like soup
1/2 cup of onions (more or less depending on your family's preference for onions)
salt & pepper to taste
8 oz. cream cheese, softened & cubed


Mix everything but the cream cheese & heat over low-med. heat until warm. Stir in cream cheese & stir until melted (this may take several minutes)


Serve with crumbled bacon & shredded cheese. 
Makes about 4-5 servings. 

Salsa Chicken

Today's recipe comes from my cousin, Sheena, and was pronounced quite possibly the "best chicken you've ever made, mom" by LiviGirl. I have to agree. This will be a family favorite from now on. Not only is it DELICIOUS, but it's super simple to make as well. 


(*I took some pics of the finished dish, but this is one of those dishes that just doesn't look that pretty even though it tastes amazing.  I didn't want to scare anyone off by what it looks like, so I decided against using the pic.)

Sheena's Salsa Chicken

1/2 oz taco seasoning mix (half of the reg. 1 oz. pkg)

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 1lb total)

1 cup salsa

1 cup shredded cheddar (I used Kroger Mexican shredded cheese)

1 Tbsp. sour cream, optional

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place taco seasoning mix & chicken in a ziplock bag & shake to coat, then place chicken in baking dish. Pour salsa over the top.

Cover with foil & bake for 20 min or until chicken is tender & cooked through.

Remove foil, sprinkle chicken with cheese & continue baking until cheese is melted, another 3-5 min. Top with sour cream.

Enjoy!

This recipe makes 4 servings & only costs approx. $1.72 to make. I would highly recommend doubling it, because you're gonna want seconds (& leftovers)...it's THAT good! 

Big "Thank You" to Sheena for giving our same ol' same ol' chicken a spicin' up! 

Aloha Pizza

I first had this recipe at a friend's Pampered Chef party.  It is a Pampered Chef recipe, originally, but I'm going to give you the simple cook version ('cause this gal isn't going to stand & hand grate her cheese or mess with chopping up a fresh pineapple :) 

Aloha Chicken


2 green onions with tops (optional - I didn't use these), chopped
2 packages (13.8 oz. ea.) refrigerated pizza crust - I only used 1 package & it fit my large bar pan just fine
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 garlic clove, pressed (we had the pressed garlic at the party, but I just sprinkled garlic powder on my crust & it tasted the same to me)
1/2 cup barbecue sauce, divided
2 cups (8 oz) mozarella cheese, shredded (or grated if you're ambitious)
2 cups diced cooked chicken (I used the frozen, pre-cooked strips, just defrosted them & chopped them up into cubes)
1 medium pineapple (I used 2 cups of canned pineapple tidbits, drained well)
1/2 medium red bell pepper, chopped.


Preheat oven to 400.  
Unroll pizza crust & place in bottom of large bar pan.
Place into oven for approx. 10 min. (This will help the pizza dough finish cooking without over cooking the toppings)


Remove pan from oven & add the following:
Combine the olive oil & garlic (if using fresh) & brush onto pizza crust  OR brush olive oil onto pizza crust & then sprinkle with garlic powder


Spread half of the BBQ sauce over pizza


Sprinkle cheese & chicken onto pizza


Put back into oven for 20-25 minutes, or until crust is golden brown


Remove from oven & add chopped red pepper, pineapple


Put the remaining BBQ sauce in a small baggie & cut tip off the end.  Use this to drizzle BBQ sauce across entire pizza.


If using chopped green onions, add them last. 


Enjoy!
I have to say, I HATE pineapple on pizza and yet, I LOVE this pizza.  I think it must have to do with the fact it has BBQ sauce instead of a tomato based sauce. I'm not sure. All I know is it is awesome! 

Sunday Chicken & Stuffing

My goal at the beginning of this project was to post at least once a month.  Although, I think I've managed to do that, I had hoped to post more often, but I've been so busy enjoying real life with the gal that this blog was created for, Miss Liv, that I've kind of let my blog commitment slide. So, I thought I'd take a little time today & post 3 or 4 recipes that our family likes.  I don't have pics for all of them, but as I make them again I'll try & remember to take pics & come back later to post them. In the meantime...ENJOY :) 

Sunday Chicken & Stuffing

I found this recipe in Quick Cooking magazine back in 1999.  It had actually been sent in by a fellow Hoosier :) The recipe is super simple & yet it tastes like you've worked for hours on it. 

1 package (6oz) of instant chicken stuffing mix

6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted

1/3 cup milk

1 TBSP dried parsley

Prepare stuffing according to package directions; spoon down the center of a greased 13 x 9 x 2 baking dish. 

Place chicken around stuffing.  Combine milk, soup, & parsley; pour over chicken.

Cover & bake @ 400 for 20 minutes.  Uncover & bake 10-15 min. longer or until chicken juices run clear. 

Serves 4-6. 

Nacho Chicken

Tonight's blog will be brought you in the style of Ms. Cris and let me tell you,  I now have a new appreciation for her blogs about recipes.  It's not that easy to cook & take pictures at the same time! :) 


I found this recipe several years ago in a magazine called Quick Cooking.  (The magazine is technically still around, but it's called something different now & not near as good as the original.)  In our house no one mentions Nacho Chicken without someone saying, "It's not your chicken" (say it real fast with a slight Spanish accent & you'll get it ;) It's became a running joke & when any of us mentions Nacho Chicken we automatically wait to see who says it 1st - LOL!  


This recipe is super simple to make and can be adjusted to suit your family's "spicy/hot" meter by simply adding the mild, original or hot tomatoes & green chiles.  Personally, I left out the onion because with the green chiles it is just too strong for us.  But I've had it with the onion & it's good that way too (if your broods' bellies can handle it). 

The ingredients are fairly simple:

(I would like to say that I normally use the Kroger brand of cream of chicken soup, but they were out of stock.  Since that is also Kroger "velveeta", this is an almost entirely "Ruler/Kroger" meal making it VERY affordable.  If Kroger feels compelled to give me free groceries for my numerous shout-outs & continued loyalty to them...well, call me Mr. Kroger rep :) 

In a large bowl combine: 

4 cups of cooked cubed chicken 

(I used 4 cans of cooked chicken - 1 is hiding in the above pic - but if you are one to freeze ahead like the Freezer Queen, Ms. Cris :), you could definitely use some you already had cooked up or just cook some up that you buy at the store.  Me:  I'm all about easy & I didn't have any frozen to use :) 

1 pound of processed American cheese, cubed

2 cans of condensed cream of chicken soup (10 3/4 oz. ea.), undiluted

1 can (10 oz.) tomatoes & green chiles, UNdrained

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1/4 tsp of pepper

1 bag (12-15 oz.) nacho cheese tortilla chips, crushed

(Reserve 1 cup of crushed chips)

Mix everything together & place in a 13 x 9 x 2 baking dish.

Sprinkle with reserved chips.

Cook uncovered at 350 for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted & edges are bubbly. 

And, there you have it!  Nacho Chicken...

I serve it with some kind of vegetable (whatever I have on hand) & we always get at least 2-3 meals out of the dish.