The big guy and I really enjoyed these for lunch today. I used the left over sauteed peppers, onions and chicken (with cumin, paprika, onion powder and fresh cilantro), from last nights dinner.  I took flour tortillas, spread on the chipotle mayo and added a little shredded cheddar cheese.  Roll them up, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.  Slice them up and ENJOY!!  

It may sound strange but finding creative ways to use 'left overs' is so much fun to me.  

Grilled Chipotle Chicken is a favorite of mine.

In a food processor combine 4 or 5 chipotle peppers with about a teaspoon of the adobe sauce.  Add 1 teaspoon cumin, salt, pepper, 1 teaspoon of paprika and about 1/2 a teaspoon of garlic powder.  Add about a Tablespoon of olive oil and combine.
Pour sauce all over preferred chicken pieces and let marinate at least 4 hours and then grill as normal.



Served with rice and a stuffed Big Jim pepper...a great dinner.
ENJOY!!

A Quick and Easy summer pasta dish.

Sliced cherry tomatoes, garlic, fresh thyme, fresh rosemary and parmessan cheese.

Cook mini rotini pasta and drain reserving 1 or 2 tablespoons of liquid. 
Sautee garlic and tomatoes in olive oil.  Add herbs and toss with pasta.

Sprinkle with parmessan cheese and Enjoy, I did.

And I have lunch for tomorrow at work.



Recipe for left over chicken #2



Every time I fire up the grill I try to cook enough meat for more than just that one meal.  Sunday night I made black beans and rice and when I grilled a steak and tilapia to go with it I threw a couple of boneless chicken breasts on for tonight.
So tonight I just made a pot of rice.
Heated up the black beans and spooned some over the rice.
Warmed up the chicken breasts in the oven while the cornbread was cooking then sliced it over the beans and rice.
Topped with a little fresh cilantro and it was a fantastic dinner.

ENJOY!!



Recipe for left over Chicken #1

We eat a lot of chicken.  Definitely at least once a week, but usually more.  There are just SO many wonderful things that you can do with left over chicken.  It makes perfect sense that if you are going to cook some chicken, whether you bake it, grill it, fry it, roast it, saute it, however you decide to cook it...make a little extra for another meal.

Starting with this post, I have decided to keep track and write down all the different options that I can come up with for Chicken.  Now I'm not going to go crazy with this and start eating chicken every day or soliciting for all the chicken recipes I can find.  I won't even guarantee a weekly post. This is just a record for myself and maybe a little inspiration for you.

Yesterday we grilled Balsamic Chicken strips and I grilled extra for tonight.  It was cheap, fast, easy and SO delish.  ANY type of cooked chicken works for these. 

Corn Tortilla Chips
Slice or cube Chicken 
Salsa
Cheddar Cheese
Layer and Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes until cheese is melted and chicken is warm.

Layer nacho chips with sliced chicken, salsa and cheese.

Bake at 350 for approx. 15 minutes.  Add sour cream and ENJOY!!

Happy Memorial Day

All the fixings for coleslaw.

Grilled Brats and Balsamic Chicken Strips

Coleslaw

Grilled Sweet Potato rounds off the dinner.

Cole Slaw Recipe

1/3 Cup Diced Carrots
2 Cups Chopped Green Cabbage
1 Cup Chopped Purple Cabbage

1 Cup Mayo
2 Tablespoons Sugar
3 Tablespoons Vinegar
Salt
Pepper

Mix all ingredients together and chill at least 2 hours before serving.

For the Balsamic Chicken Strips
I just marinated sliced boneless chicken breasts in Balsamic Vinegar, Garlic Powder and Pepper and then grilled. 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend filled with good food, family and friends.
A big THANK YOU to all of our service members and their families for the sacrifices they make.

Chicken Flautas

I had never made this before but I will again.  This is a simple recipe and a great way to use up left over chicken.
I followed the recipe in Food Networks May issue all except for the radishes that I forgot to pick up.  It was really good though and we didn't even miss them.  We did however miss the cilantro which I forgot to put on. 

1 avocado, halved and pitted
1/2 cup sour cream
1 lime
Salt
6 Radishes thinly sliced
3 Cups shredded chicken
1 1/2 cups fresh salsa
Corn tortillas
Vegetable Oil for frying
2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh cilantro

Scoop the avocado into processor/blender.  Add the sour cream and the juice of 1/2 lime and pulse until smooth.  Season with salt.

Squeeze the remaining 1/2 lime over the radishes in a small bowl and sprinkle with salt. 

Toss the chicken with 3/4 cup salsa.

Wrap the tortillas in paper towels and microwave until soft, about 45 minutes.  Or if you're like me and don't use a microwave, I heated them in the oven on 300 for about 2 or 3 minutes.  Spoon the chicken mixture down the middle of the tortillas.  Fold in the ends and roll up like a burrito and secure with toothpicks.

Heat 3/4 inch vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium high heat until approximately 375.  Fry the flautas, turning as needed, until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes.  Remove with tongs, set on paper towels and remove the toothpicks.  Serve with the avocado cream, radishes, cilantro, lime wedge and the remaining salsa.

I served with a little plain white rice.

ENJOY!!

Cold snowy weather calls for Soup.

It's been really cold here and we've had a lot of snow this year. Today we woke up to another 3 inches or so with more coming Sunday and Monday. That calls for my favorite Spicy Northern Bean and Chicken Soup and cornbread.

3 or 4 cups of chicken
(I either use left over roasted chicken or I saute three boneless chicken breasts)
6 cups of chicken broth
3 or 4 cups of Northern Beans
4.5 oz can of chopped green chiles
1 large onion chopped
1 whole jalapeno-stem cut off
dash of cayenne pepper flakes
dash of salt
dash of pepper
1 tablespoon cumin

In my large stock pot I sweat the onions on medium heat in a little olive oil.
Add stock, peppers and spices. Stir well.
Add chicken and beans. Stir well.
Bring flame (heat) down to low, cover and simmer.

Roasted Chicken

I can not remember which cooking show I saw the 'no string' method of tying up a chicken but I finally did remember to try it and it works wonderfully. I'll never string one up again.

All you do is just tuck the wings behind, which I knew, but then you cut small slits in the skin on the sides near the cavity, cross the legs and tuck the ends of them into the slits. So simple but I had never tried it before.

This rosemary, lemon and herb chicken made for a delicious Sunday dinner this past weekend.

A simple Sunday dinner

Oven baked spicy chicken wings, baked potatoes, salad and deviled eggs. A tasty meal that doesn't have you in the kitchen for long.
We enjoyed this yesterday while watching the playoffs. Sad that the Bears didn't win but the food was good.

Fajita Seasoning Mix

After checking the package of Fajita Seasoning that I normally buy and seeing many ingredients that I didn't want to ingest, I came up with my own and it is very good.



Mix together-

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic



Even if you're not eating meat, this is great on sauteed or grilled veggies.