Chicken Quesadillas-Fresh Salsa Tuesday

Years ago when I was on the Preston School District Technology team, we would go to lunch at Main Street Grill. I always ordered the Chicken Quesadillas. Loved them! Years later I tried making them. . .this is where I arrived:

Chicken Quesadillas

Use the following in amounts to your liking:

1-2 cups Chicken (of course grilled or broiled is yummy, but I'm lazy and just use a can)

1 1/2 cups Mushroom

1/2 cup Green onion

Fajita seasoning to your liking. I've always used a packet, but didn't have any yesterday so I used this recipe. Very good. I only used about half of the recipe (same is true with the packet). I don't believe I will be buying the packet again.

1 tablespoon cornstarch

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon sugar

3/4 teaspoon crushed chicken bouillon cube

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon cumin

Saute mushrooms in about 1 TBSP butter until they cook down. Add chicken, seasoning and green onions. Mix well.

Layer tortilla, grated cheese, thin layer of chicken mixture, another layer of cheese and a tortilla. I do them with a folded tortilla so they are easier to turn. Cook until cheese melts.

Fresh Salsa 2

I like all salsas cut in small pieces, but the spicier it is, the smaller I like the pieces. This one I like chopped with a food processor. . . which makes this one quite quick!

3 tomatoes

1 red pepper

1/4 bunch cilantro

1 tsp garlic

2 jalapeños, one with seeds and membranes, one seeded

1/2 white onion

Salt to taste right before serving

lime juice to taste (maybe a TBSP)

Last night I only had one red pepper and I was saving it for another meal so I used a green one. My jalapeños must have been very spicy and so this was too kicky for my taste so I added about 1 TBSP vinegar to take the bite off the spice while it refrigerated. It also wasn't as sweet since I substituted out the red pepper so I added 1 tsp of sugar. Very yummy!

This meal would also have been way yummy with this rice, but I didn't think of that until just now. I'll try that next time I make these.

Cilantro-Lime Rice w/ Black Beans
2 cups uncooked rice
1 tsp butter
2 cloves garlic minced
2 tsp lime zest
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup water
Cook in rice cooker, in microwave or on the stove.
When cooked, mix together and add:
4 TBSP lime juice
4 tsp sugar

Stir in:
3 TBSP fresh chopped cilantro
2 cans of black beans, rinsed and drained

Sausage and Bean Soup--Monday Night

A few years ago when Deals to Meals was just starting out I subscribed for the free two week period. I knew it wouldn't fit my schedule to try to shop the deals they searched out for me---I really joined for the recipes using food storage items that they promised! Unfortunately most were just regular recipes but I printed them all out and filed them away. Last week I was going through them and decided on a few to try. It is actually one that maybe considered a food storage recipe.

Slow-Cook Tuscan Sausage and Bean Soup

(It says it is originally from a Weight Watchers Cookbook)

12 pkg. kielbasa, cut into 1/4 " rounds

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, chopped

1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

1/2 medium bunch kale, chopped (abt. 4 cups)

3 cups chicken broth

1 can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 can great Northern beans, rinsed and drained

1 can Italian seasoned diced tomatoes

1/2 cup water

1 tsp dried basil

Place all ingredients in slow cook. Stir combine. Cover and cook on low until the vegetables are tender, 4-6 hours.

It was pretty good. If I make it again, I will add the kielbasa near the end of cooking. It seemed to lose flavor over the cooking time. I will also use a different bean than kidney---just personal preference. Tweaks I made: I added more vegetables more than called for--I like them and they made the soup go farther. I used about 6 carrots, 3 stalks of celery and 1 1/2 onion. I omitted one of the cups of chicken broth--I like less broth in soups, omitted the kale--didn't have any and forgot to add the basil. I also cut the kielbasa into small pieces (as well as the veggies); I like lots of flavors in one spoonful plus it reduces fighting over pieces of meat!

I also served fresh pineapple and French bread with this. Most left the table happy and satisfied.

FHE treat: fresh blackberry shakes (blackberries, ice cream, blend together)

Thursday Night--Teriyaki Chicken

This is a family favorite. Here's the recipe:

Teriyaki Chicken
3 lbs. Chicken (whole, breasts or thighs)
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp dry ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4-1/2 tsp black pepper
3-4 shakes cayenne pepper

Stir all ingredients together except chicken. Mix well. Pour over chicken in baking dish. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Turn chicken about every hour or as needed to marinate all sides and pieces.

Bake for 45 minutes-1 hour at 350 or until 165 degrees. Serve over rice with a frozen veggie mix.

Thursday night notes: We had family pictures and I didn't have a lot of time to put something in the crock pot nor would anyone be home to put this in the oven. So I used the crock pot. The chicken was more flavorful, but the sauce was lacking. But perhaps if my chicken had been thawed before I started, that would have made a difference with the sauce. I like the oven baked a little better, but I'll definitely use the crock pot again if I'm in a pinch.

Wednesday Morning: Pancakes

Pancakes are tricky. They shouldn't be, really, but they are for me. I made a recipe for quite a few years that I derived from a family cookbook. Then one day after a number of complaints from the kids, I also became dissatisfied and switched to a Betty Crocker recipe. A couple of years later, I made another switch. Interestingly, the current recipe has the same ingredients as the BC one, but the method is very different. One thing I've learned about quick breads is that methods are very important and most of them you should only stir until blended. They become tough if they are stirred more than needed. Right now, this is our current favorite.

One note, this recipe has you add vinegar to the milk to 'sour' it. This is just a substitute for buttermilk. I use it almost exclusively when a recipe calls for buttermilk. It is cheaper and that way you can make only what you need so it doesn't go bad in your fridge.

I also make my own syrup. For how easily I get sick of certain foods, maple syrup (and homemade Ranch dressing) are ones I never deviate from. While there are many, many kinds of syrup out there, I only like Maple--and homemade. It's fast and easy:

1 part water

2 parts sugar

Boil together until sugar is dissolved.

Maple flavoring to taste.

Crash Potatoes, Green Beans Tuesday

The menu tonight: Crash Potatoes, Honey Cashew Green Beans and Cantaloupe

Thanks to my friend Jenny Hansen, who pointed out this yummy recipe that has become a family favorite. I have long visited Pioneer Woman's cooking blog, but had missed this simple, yummy recipe. I love it because potatoes are so cheap and this one doesn't use a ton of fats to make the potatoes yummy. I don't often have small red potatoes on hand to make this. . . it works just fine with larger potatoes cut and then boiled (I leave the skin on--love that about this recipe too, cuts back in prep time!). I typically only use sea salt and pepper on these. Simple and yummy!

The green beans are a family favorite. I use a little less butter (by about half), throw in a few more nuts, add a little extra honey and add 1/4 tsp garlic salt. They are also Y.U.M. with 2 slices of crispy, crumbled bacon.

Fajitas and Fresh Salsa

This is another long time family favorite. I love this recipe because they are simple ingredients that I always have on hand.

Fajitas

1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce

1 TBSP cider vinegar

1 TBSP soy sauce

2 tsp chili powder

2 cloves garlic

10 dashes (or more) Tabasco sauce

a few shakes of cayenne pepper

4 chicken thighs or 3 breasts cut into strips

1 TBSP oil

1 onion sliced into thin wedges

1 green pepper sliced into wedges

1 red pepper sliced into wedges

Mix first 7 ingredients together and pour over chicken strips. Marinate 30 minutes at room temperature or refrigerate for several hours. Heat oil in skillet over high heat. Add chicken strips and saute for 5 minutes. Add onions and peppers. Saute for another 3 minutes. Serve on warm tortillas with taco toppings.

Fresh salsa:

4-5 tomatoes

1 green pepper

6-8 green onions

1/4 bunch cilantro

salt and pepper to taste

These amounts can be changed up as desired. Also add garlic, red pepper, jalapeño pepper or regular onion as desired. As is, this is a wonderful mild salsa. I'll share some others with more kick later.

French Dip Sandwiches

We're having a crowd for dinner tonight. French Dip is an easy option for a crowd. We love this recipe:

4 lb. Roast Beef (remove as much fat as possible)

1/2 cup soy sauce

1 beef bouillon cube

1 bay leaf

3 whole black peppercorns (or a big sprinkling of pepper)

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp garlic

Place roast in crock pot. Stir sauce ingredients together and pour over roast. Add enough water to almost cover roast. Cook on low for 10-12 hours (I almost always do overnight. . . )

Remove meat from broth and shred with fork. Put on French bread rolls (I use the recipe on this post, but make individual-sized loaves without any oil). Dip in remaining broth.

Tuesday Night's Dinner

Tonight for dinner we had Roasted Cauliflower, pineapple and baked fish (Pollock).

Dear Roasted Cauliflower, where have you been all my life? All my kids liked you and asked for 2nds. I thought you were quite tasty too. Please revisit my dinner table more often!

I wish I could sing the same praise for the baked fish. One child got out the BBQ sauce to cover up the nasty taste. I'm not sure if it was the recipe or the too-fishy-for-our-tastes Pollock. But that recipe made it's way to the recycling box.

The fresh pineapple was good and a needed touch to this meal even though our plates were covered with all one color. . . as you can tell this wasn't our greatest meal ever. Some meals are just like that.