Cinco de Mayo : Mexican Chicken Casserole

   Cinco de Mayo : Mexican Chicken Casserole 

• 1 ½ pounds  boneless and skinned chicken thigh   ( shredded) 
• 2 teaspoons  extra virgin olive oil 
• 1 large onion  
• 1 green bell pepper 
• 1 red bell pepper 
• 1 jalapeno
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 can tomato sauce (
• 1 ½ cups chicken stock
• 3 tablespoons jalapeno hot sauce 
• 18 (6-inch) corn tortillas
• 2 cups freshly grated Monterey Jack cheese (8 ounces)

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a 9×13-inch casserole dish with baking spray. 
• Cook chicken ,let cool and shred.  But you can use store bought rotisserie chicken 
• Heat the olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium high, then add the chopped  onion, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, and jalapeno. Saute until the veggies are tender, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomato sauce, chicken stock, and Tabasco Jalapeno sauce, then stir to combine. Let the sauce simmer for 12 minutes.
• Assemble the casserole: Spread a thin layer of the sauce on the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Arrange 6 tortillas on top so that they cover the sauce, overlapping as needed. Top with ⅓ of the chicken, ½ cup of the cheese, then ⅓ of the remaining sauce. Repeat the process twice more, sprinkling the last ½ cup of the cheese over the top.
• Cover then pan with foil, then bake for 35 minutes. Remove the foil, return the pan to the oven, then bake for 10 additional minutes, until the casserole is hot and bubbly and the cheese is melted. Let rest 5 minutes. Serve hot with desired toppings.

Crawfish Jambalaya

 

Happy National Crawfish day! 

Easy Cajun Jambalaya : 

2 T oil

2  skinless Chicken breast cut up in small pieces..

8 ounces of favorite sausage ( Hot or Mild)

Trinity : onion ,bell pepper and celery chopped up

4 C chicken broth

2 C un cooked Rice 

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp  red pepper

1 bay leaf 

2 tsp Worchester sauce

Salt and Pepper to taste 

Heat oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Saute chicken and sausage  until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic. Season with cayenne, onion powder, salt and pepper. Cook 5 minutes, or until onion is tender and translucent. Add rice, then stir in chicken stock and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer 20 minutes, or until rice is tender. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce and hot pepper sauce.

Jambalaya is a Creole rice dish of West African, French, and Spanish influence, consisting mainly of meat and vegetables mixed with rice. Traditionally, the meat includes sausage of some sort, often a smoked meat such as andouille, along with pork or chicken and seafood, such as crawfish or shrimp

Pork Chop and Rice casserole:

 

Tasty Tuesday Recipe : 

Easy Pork Chop and Rice casserole: 

• 1 (10.5 oz) can condensed cream of mushroom soup, NOT diluted
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 cup uncooked long grain white rice
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon dried chives
• ¼ teaspoon onion powder
• 4 thick cut pork chops (bone-in or boneless is fine)
• 1 (1 ounce) packet Lipton Onion Soup & Dip Mix (or other seasoning of choice, see notes below)
• Optional garnish: chopped fresh parsley or basil

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
• Whisk together the soup, broth, rice, garlic powder, dried chives, and onion powder. Transfer to the prepared dish.
• Pat the pork chops dry; place on top of the rice. Sprinkle onion soup mix over the pork chops, to taste. If you don’t like a strong onion flavor or if you don’t want the chops too salty, use just a portion of the seasoning (not the whole packet).
• Cover dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Check the pork chops at this point. If they are done (and have reached an internal temperature of 145°F), remove them from the dish, cover with foil, and set aside to rest. Give the rice a stir. The rice will not be tender yet, so cover the dish again and return to the oven for about 25-30 more minutes, or just until rice is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed. Fluff the rice with a fork and serve with the pork chops. Garnish with herbs, if desired.

Easy Baked Ziti

 October is National Italian American heritage month...

• 1/2 lb ground beef 
• 1/2 lb  ground sausage
• 12 oz of Penna pasta
• 1/2 C onion chopped
• 3 cloves minced Garlic
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 32 ounces Mariano sauce
• 1/2 C parmesan cheese 
• 1 1/2 C Mozzarella cheese 
• Fresh basil for topping

Pre Heat oven 350 - spray a 9x 13 casserole dish 

In a skillet brown meat with a little olive oil . Add rest of the ingredients and let cook while preparing the pasta.  Cook pasta- Drain and place in casserole dish. Add sauce to the pasta. Add parmesan cheese and stir. Top with Mozzarella cheese and  Cover. Bake for 20 minutes and then un cover for another 10 minutes. Let set and top with Basil to serve.  

Want to make it without Meat : try mushrooms, Zucchini  or other vegetables. Lisa