Pollo Fundido

I went to lunch last Saturday with several friends, Robin, Mom and ShaNiel after attending a women's conference.  We went to lunch at Garcia's and I ordered my typical Pollo Fundido...it is my favorite thing there.  I had been craving it all week and found a recipe online that claimed to taste really good. 

Well Jay and I made it Wednesday night for dinner and it was delicious.  I think it is my favorite thing we have made so far.  It wasn't the exact same as Garcia's...for example the jalapeno cream cheese sauce was thinner, but it really thicken up as it cooked in the oven.  It took both Jay and I working together about 30 minutes to make it (after the chicken was boiled) and then another 15 to cook in the oven.

Ingredients:
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/2 green pepper, finely diced
1/2 large onion, finely diced
15 -20 small flour tortillas (we only used 10)
2 cups shredded monterey jack and cheddar cheese blend, divided

Sauce
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
2 cups sour cream
1 (4 ounce) can diced jalapenos
1 cup half-and-half
2 garlic cloves

oil, for frying


Directions:

1. Boil chicken in water (or broth) until cooked through.

2. Let cool enough to handle, and then shred. Place in large mixing bowl.

3. Saute green pepper and onion in a small amount of butter or oil until pepper is tender and onion is translucent.

4. Add to chicken in bowl.

5. If you have a deep fryer, fill it up and turn it on. If not, heat up 2 inches of oil in a large fry pan over medium-high heat.

6. While the oil is heating, make sauce. Combine cream cheese, sour cream, jalapenos, half and half, and garlic cloves together in a blender. Blend on high speed until smooth.

7. Add half of the sauce mix to the chicken mixture.

8. Add 1/2 cup of cheese to chicken mixture, and stir to combine all together.

9. Place approximately 1/2 cup of chicken mixture on a tortilla and roll up "burrito style". Repeat for remaining mixture.

10. Fry "burritos" in oil until golden brown, turning once if frying in a fry pan.

11. Remove to paper towels to drain.

12. Preheat oven to 325°F.

13. Place chicken "burritos" in a large glass pan (9x13 is recommended).

14. Pour remaining sauce over the top (you can reserve about 3/4 cup, if desired, for serving on the side).

15. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

16. Place in oven for approximately 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Crock Pot Chicken Bowtie Pasta

I have had this recipe in my binder for a long time, so I have no clue where I got it from.

Combine the following in a crockpot:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I always cook with thighs instead of breasts)

1 jar four cheese alfredo sauce

1 can cream of chicken soup

3/4 pkg real bacon pieces (I couldn't find a pkg, so I bought a jar of real bacon pieces in the salad dressing section instead)

1 pkg fresh sliced mushroom (looking at the picture, I think I forgot those!)

1/2 pkg dry Italian Dressing mix

1 cup cubed swiss cheese

1/4 stick of butter, melted

Salt and pepper

Cook on low 6-7 hours, shredding the chicken breasts about 1 hour before finished cooking.

Serve over bow tie pasta (as you can see we didn't have bow tie, so we used shell instead)

This was really good and made the house smell so yummy all day.  It was really good leftovers the next day too.  I just stored the chicken mixture seperate from the pasta in the refridgerator.

Crock Pot Pesto Chicken

Recipe adapted from A Year of Slow Cooking

The recipe originally had you make your own pesto, but I have fallen in love with this pesto (pictured below) so I thought I would just buy it instead.  It is in the refrigerated section, (at WinCo it is on the top shelf near the salsa by the tortellini).  At my house any time the kids hear us say pesto, they say "pesto is the besto".  This is so yummy on hoagie sandwiches too.  It really is the besto!

4 chicken thighs

sliced mozzarella cheese (I just layered one or two slices on each thigh)

Pesto

In the bottom of a large slow cooker, arrange your chicken pieces. Mine were still frozen. Layer on slices of mozzarella cheese. Pour pesto evenly on top.  Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours, or on high for 4-5. If your chicken is frozen it will take a bit longer.

This was so good.  It had a lot of flavor to it.  We just served it with dutch oven style potatoes (cooked in a frying pan this time of year). 

Enchiladas

I have been making these enchiladas for a couple of years.  I made up the recipe on night when I didn't know what to cook and didn't have much food on hand, because I hated going to the grocery store with (back then) 3 kids.  Now we tote 4 kids along with us every Saturday and manage just fine...live and learn I guess.

1 pkg soften cream cheese
1 can refried beans
1-2 cups cubed chicken (I sometimes use the canned chicken if I am in a big hurry)
1/2 cup rice (I don't always put this in, I only use it if I have left overs from the night before)
2 cans enchillada sauce
1 cup grated cheese
Flour tortillas

Mix together cream cheese, refried beans, chicken and rice.  Spoon the mixture into flour tortillas then roll them up.  I usually have enough chicken mixture to make about 10-12 tortilla rolls.  Place them all seam down in a 9x13 pan.  Pour enchillada sauce on top (I usually only use about 1 1/2 cans, but if Bridger is helping he insists we pour it all on...either way it turns out just fine).  Then top with grated cheese and bake in the oven at 350 for 25 minutes.
This freezes well too, you just have to increase your baking time.   Don't put the grated cheese on if you are freezing it, I would just pull it out of the oven about 15 minutes before it was done and sprinkle with cheese and then put back in the oven.  Sorry I don't remember how long to bake it if you freeze it.

They are really quick to make (especially if you don't have to cook the chicken).

This is Bridger's favorite dinner, and everyone else must like it too, because we rarely have leftovers--but if we do they are so yummy the next day.

Orange Chicken

This recipe is also from My Kitchen Cafe, but the awesome plating picture is from Jay.   

I would say this is my most favorite dinner I have cooked....EVER!  It was so yummy!  It took about 30-40 minutes to fix, but most of that was making the sauce while the chicken was in the oven.  All of the kids loved it and Jay thought it was also one of the best things I had ever cooked. 

If you like Panda Express's Orange Chicken, then you have to give this one a try.

I have also be insturcted by Bridger and Jay that next time I make this I need to make more...they didn't get seconds, and the 5-6 peices of chicken they got weren't quite enough.  So next time I think I will make 1 1/2 times as much chicken...but I think I could still get away with the same amount of sauce...we will see.

 

Orange Chicken

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2" cubes

1/2 cup flour

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons oil or butter

1 1/2 cups water

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice

1/3 cup rice vinegar

2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

1/2 tablespoon orange zest

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon finely minced ginger

1 teaspoon minced garlic

2 tablespoons green onion

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 cup water

Heat oven to 350. In a shallow dish combine the flour, garlic powder and pepper. Dip each piece of chicken in flour mixture and coat evenly.

Pour oil (or melt butter and pour) in a shallow baking dish, large enough to accommodate chicken in a single layer. Arrange chicken in pan and bake uncovered for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan combine water, fresh orange juice, rice vinegar, soy sauce, orange zest and whisk over medium heat for a few minutes. Then stir in brown sugar, ginger, garlic, and green onion and let it come to a boil. Combine cornstarch with water and let it dissolve and add it to the sauce until thickened.

After chicken has baked the 30 minutes, turn each piece over and pour 1/2 sauce mixture evenly over chicken. Bake another 30 to 40 minutes basting frequently.

Serve chicken over rice with extra sauce on the side.

Chicken Tortellini Bake

Chicken Tortellini Bake

recipe from My Kitchen Cafe

16 ounce package of cheese tortellini (my advice is to use the fresh, not frozen, variety - the kind you find in the refrigerated section of the grocery store b/c they taste better and it cuts down on boiling time since the noodles aren't completely dry)

1 tablespoon oil

2 cups (about 2 chicken breasts) chicken cut up into bite size pieces

3 green onions finely chopped, white and green parts

2 tablespoons flour

8 ounces (1 cup) chicken broth

8 ounces sliced fresh mushrooms

3/4 cup sour cream (I used reduced fat with good results)

8 oz (2 cups) shredded Monterey jack cheese (to be honest, any combination of cheeses, like cheddar, mozzarella or monterey jack would be good)

Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook tortellini for 2-3 minutes (this is if you use the "fresh" tortellini from the refrigerated section - and to be completely honest, next time I'm going to try not boiling it at all and letting it cook while it bakes in the oven). Drain and set aside.  (I skipped this step and it was fine)

Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Brown the chicken for 1-2 minutes and add the fresh mushrooms and green onions, cooking until chicken is done and mushrooms are golden brown. Sprinkle flour over mixture and stir to combine. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Add chicken broth and stir until thickened. Mix in sour cream until mixture is creamy and slightly thickened.

Spray a 9X13 pan with cooking spray. Pour tortellini in bottom of 9X13 pan. Sprinkle half the cheese over tortellini. Put cooked chicken/sauce mixture on top and sprinkle remaining cheese over the top.

Bake covered with tin foil at 350 for 30 minutes, uncover and bake for additional 15 minutes until bubbly and golden brown around the edges.

We had this for dinner tonight and it was really good.  I would add some salt next time to season it a bit more, but it was really good.  I actually messed up at the grocery store and bought raviolli on accident, but it was still really good.  We just toasted some garlic bread to go with it.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Recipe from My Kitchen Cafe

Chicken:

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Salt and pepper

1 cup cornstarch

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup canola oil

Cut boneless chicken breasts into chunks. Season with salt and pepper. Dip chicken in cornstarch and then in egg. Fry in a little oil until brown but not cooked through. Place in a single layer in a baking dish. Mix sauce ingredients (below) together and pour over chicken.

Sauce:

¾ cup sugar

4 tablespoons ketchup

½ cup vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon garlic salt


Bake for one hour at 325 degrees. Turn chicken every 15 minutes. If you like extra sauce, make another batch of sauce and bring it to a boil on the stovetop. Stir constantly and let cook over medium heat until thickened and reduced - about 6-8 minutes.  If making the extra sauce, then I would also add some cornstarch to thicken it. 
 
We made this last night and we didn't have any left overs.  So I would say that everyone liked it!  The chicken tasted  a lot like Canton's, and it was really yummy.  We made extra sauce on the stove top and it didn't thicken (after boiling for over 15 minutes), so that I why I suggested you add some corn starch.   Other than the runny sauce (which was still) good, this dinner turned out great.

Slow Cooker Southwest Chicken Stacks

Slow Cooker Southwest Chicken Stacks

2 cups frozen corn
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 large frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 pound)
1 1/2 cups salsa

1 bag of Fritos chips

Lightly grease the bottom and sides of the slow cooker. Pour frozen corn into the bottom of the slow cooker and place the frozen chicken breasts on top. Cover with beans and salsa. Cover slow cooker and cook on low for 6 hours. Remove chicken from slow cooker and shred with forks. Return to the slow cooker and stir until the chicken, corn, beans and salsa are combined.

Serve on a bed of chips and top with additional garnishes: lettuce, tomato, avocado, sour cream, cheese, etc.

Recipe Source: from My Kitchen Cafe