Nacho-rific Stuffed Chicken

I found this awesome recipe on Food Network and decided to give it a try. I did deviate from it somewhat, with the cheese choices and taco sauce. It was quick and effortless, yet delicious, and I liked that the website gave healthy product recommendations for ingredients.


You'll need:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 1/3 inches thick)
1/2 cup refried beans
4 wedges Pepper Jack cheese (or cheese of choice)
1/4 cup shredded Mexican-blend cheese (or cheese of choice)
1 teaspoon dry taco seasoning mix
1/4 cup of your favorite salsa
Salt and pepper, to taste
About 16 Tortilla chips, crushed
Sour cream, optional
Toothpicks


Filling: combine beans, cheese wedges, and shredded cheese in bowl and set aside.


Directions:
Crush tortilla chips by hand in a sealable plastic bag and add taco seasoning, set aside.


Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray, set aside.


Place chicken breasts on a clean, dry surface, and season with salt and pepper.  Spoon filling onto the centers, dividing it evenly among all 4. Carefully roll each chicken breast up over the filling and secure with toothpicks (it's okay if some of the filling comes out the sides). Transfer to baking sheet. 


Cover each chicken breast with 1 tablespoon of salsa, coating evenly, and top with tortilla chip crumb mixture.


Cover baking sheet with foil and bake in oven for 20 minutes. Remove foil, and continue to cook for an additional 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.


Remove from oven and let cool. Top with sour cream, if desired.

Photo courtesy of Food Network.com

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Homemade Spanish Rice

I got this recipe from someone I used to know. It was his mothers recipe. I edited it a bit, using Rotel to make it spicy. If you prefer, you can substitute the Rotel for regular diced tomatoes.

Browned rice

You'll need:
1 cup long-grain white rice, uncooked
3 tbsp. vegetable oil
4 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 (10 oz) can Rotel
2 cubes of chicken bouillon
1/2 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoon ground black pepper
peas and diced carrots, if desired


In a blender, combine garlic, diced tomatoes, cumin, chicken bouillon, and pepper. Add water to make mixture a total of 2 1/2 cups. Blend until everything is thoroughly mixed and there aren't any chunks. Set aside for later use. 

Spanish rice half cooked

In a large saucepan, heat oil on medium to medium-high and add rice. Cook, stirring constantly, until puffed and golden. [see "Browned rice" photo on right for exact color.]


Add contents of the blender to saucepan, careful of the steam and any splatter, cover and let simmer on low for 12 minutes. Stir occasionally. Like regular rice, you want the liquid to cook out, but it's very important to monitor because you don't want it to burn. Let sit for 5 minutes, uncovered.

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Quesadilla Casserole

This is a McCormick® Recipe Inspirations that I altered, adding more of some of the ingredients. You can find this and other Recipe Inspiration pre-measured spices at your grocery store or on McCormick®'s website.

You'll need:

1 pound ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cans (4 oz each) tomato sauce

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can whole kernel corn, undrained

1 can (4 oz) chopped green chiles, undrained

2 tsp chili powder

2 tsp ground cumin

4 medium cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp oregano leaves

1 tablespoon red pepper (optional)

7 flour tortillas (8-inch each), cut/torn in half

4 cups shredded Mexican-blend cheese (or cheese of choice)

Brown ground beef with onions in large skillet, then drain. Put back into skillet and add tomato sauce, beans, corn, and green chiles. Stir in all of the spices except for the crushed red pepper, mixing well. Once mixture is brought to a boil, reduce heat to low and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Add red pepper to taste, if desired.

Spray 13x9x2-inch baking dish with no-stick cooking spray and add about 1/2 cup of the beef mixture to the bottom just to cover it. Top with 7 of the tortilla halves so that they cover corner to corner and one in the middle. Next, add half of the remaining beef mixture to dish, top with half of the cheese (2 cup), and cover again with tortilla halves. Repeat with remaining beef and cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until heated through.

Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

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