Mexican Chicken Bake

I am totally stuck in a rut for dinner ideas.  Or at least I was until I remembered this recipe I had bookmarked a week or so ago.  So glad I remembered!  This was probably one of the best meals I have made in a long time.
I took the original recipe from here…Dandy Dishes
Of course I had to change some stuff around and make it all mine right?


Mexican Chicken Bake Serves 4
Ingredients:
3 chicken breasts (follow the simple recipe below for Salsa Chicken)
1 can pinto beans (drained and rinsed)
1 ½ tablespoons cumin
1 ½ tablespoons chili powder, or more if you really like it spicy
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
Juice of 1 lime
¼ cup sour cream
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

Optional garnishes:
Shredded lettuce
Diced cherry tomatoes
Sliced avocado
Cilantro leaves
Sour cream
Diections:
Preheat your oven to 375º. In a large bowl place the shredded chicken, spices, lime juice, sour cream, cilantro and salt and pepper to taste then mix well. Transfer to a lightly oiled baking dish and top with cheese. Pop into the preheated oven for 15 minutes then garnish the top with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, avocado slices and serve with a nice dollop of sour cream and your favorite hot sauce.
Salsa Chicken
Ingredients:
I jar of good quality salsa (or just you favorite!)
chicken (4 breast or 8 thighs-boneless skinless)
Directions:
Throw chicken and salsa into a crockpot on low and cook for 4-8 hrs depending on whether or not you had the foresight to thaw your chicken (yes, I throw frozen chicken in here).
Once the chicken is done.  You need to remove it from the crockpot and the sauce and shred it.  This chicken can now be used in tacos, nachos, or anything else that requires some nicely seasoned chicken!
***We ended up using this dish in tacos, as nachos and just like the picture is!  They loved them!!!
***You could also use a rotisserie chicken and shred that in place of the salsa chicken!

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Tuscan Vegetable Soup

I wanted a Tuscan Bean Soup. Google that.  Go ahead.  I bet you come up with about 500 soup recipes.  I was baffled so I sat on the floor with my ever increasing collection of cookbooks surrounding me and began my quest the old fashioned way…
Thank you Ellie Kreiger for your cookbook The Food You Crave

Tuscan Vegetable Soup (adapted from Ellie Kreiger’s The Food You Crave)

Ingredients

• 2 (15-ounce) can low-sodium canellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 large onion, diced (about 1 cup)
• 2 carrots, diced (about 1/2 cup)
• 2 stalks celery, diced, (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 small zucchini, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried)
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage leaves (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 32 ounces low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can no salt added diced tomatoes
• 2 cups chopped baby spinach leaves
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan, optional

Directions

In a small bowl mash half of the beans with a masher or the back of a spoon, and set aside.
Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, zucchini, garlic, thyme, sage, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, and cook stirring occasionally until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.
Add the broth and tomatoes with the juice and bring to a boil. Add the mashed and whole beans and the spinach leaves and cook until the spinach is wilted, about 3 minutes more.
Serve topped with Parmesan, if desired.
**This was a quick and delicious week night meal  I had some whole wheat macaroni left over in the fridge that I also threw in the pot.  A quick and versatile meal?  You know I’ll be making this again and again…

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My favorite quick, one pot meal…

We all need a go to meal.  Something that we have all the ingredients on hand at all times and is fast and easy to prepare right? 
This is mine.  It take me about 28 minutes from start to finish but longer if I use brown rice and guess what?  Everyone in the house will eat it!!!  That’s what truly makes this one pot dish a winner to me!
Bean and Rice Stew
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb ground turkey or beef
1 can drained and rinsed black beans
1 cup of frozen corn
2 1/2 cups water
1 cup uncooked rice (brown rice will increase the cooking time)
1 tsp Better than Bouillon beef flavored
Salt and Pepper to taste
Directions:
Heat Olive oil in a large, deep skillet.  cook onion and garlic til apaque and softened.  Cook the ground meat over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain excess fat. Stir in water, rice, beans and corn.   Season with beef bouillon and salt and black pepper. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until rice is cooked and water is absorbed.
***this recipe is super flexible.  Add to it what you want.  I have a friend who adds salsa to it to give it a different touch.  Use green peppers, add zucchini…really whatever you want to add.
****You can use brown rice with this.  It will increase your cooking time but what I have done before is to cook the rice in the morning and throw it in when everything else is cooked and just heat it through.

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