Mexican Casserole

Mexican casserole about to go into the oven
Originally uploaded by Beckerbuns

This is a great recipe to make with the kids. My 3 year old enjoyed helping me by dumping in the ingredients and stirring the food. :)

Mexican Casserole

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
3/4 pound cubed skinless, boneless chicken breast meat (I used two of those half-breast things)
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 can black beans, undrained
1 can recipe-ready diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can diced chiles, drained - can use spicy or mild (I used the latter because of the kids)
1 can Mexicorn, drained
1 C shredded cheese of your choice (Mexican blend, Monterey jack, cheddar, etc.)
1 small can sliced black olives, drained
1-1/2 C crushed plain tortilla chips (I used the low-guilt chips from Trader Joe's)
rice to serve it over (your choice)

Directions:
In a large skillet over medium high heat, saute chicken in preheated oil, adding in the onion and garlic. Drain any extra oil that remains. Add beans, tomatoes, chiles, and Mexicorn. Bring to boil; cover skillet and simmer over medium low heat for 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Transfer chicken mixture to a 9"x13" baking dish. Top with half of the cheese, the olives, and crushed tortilla chips.

Bake for 15 minutes. Add remaining cheese and bake until cheese is melted and bubbly (10-15 minutes).

Best served over rice; I used brown rice.

Chicken Enchiladas for the Slow Cooker

This is really more of a casserole than strict chicken enchiladas. It's still yummy! I doubled this recipe because I have the huge-sized Crock-Pot. This recipe is intended for the smaller, 3-quart Crock-Pot.

Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients:

2 10-3/4 ounce cans cream of chicken or mushroom soup (I used mushroom.)
4-1/2 ounce can diced green chilies
2-3 boneless, skinless whole chicken breasts, cut into pieces
2 C shredded cheddar cheese
5 6-inch flour tortillas (I used corn because they're lowfat and I like them better!)

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl, combine soups, chilies, and chicken.
2. Spray the interior of the cooker with nonstick cooking spray.
3. Spoon in 1/5 of the sauce on the bottom. Top with 1/5 of the cheese and then 1 tortilla (for the big slow cooker I used 3). Continue layering in that order, and with those amounts, 4 more times, ending with cheese on top.
4. Cover cooker and cook on Low 4 hours.

Chicken Soup with Lentils and Barley

Okay, I'll admit it on this one... I started making it and then realized that I had no barley. So I made it without barley and added another half cup of lentils instead. And it was fine!

Chicken Soup with Lentils and Barley

Ingredients:
1 C sliced leeks or chopped onion (I used the latter)
1/2 C chopped green or red sweet pepper (I used green)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbsp margarine or butter
2 14-1/2-ounce cans chicken broth
1-1/2 C water
1/2 C dry lentils, rinsed and drained
1/2 tsp dried basil, crushed
1/4 tsp dried oregano, crushed
1/4 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
1-1/2 C chopped cooked chicken or turkey (I poached chicken on the stove for this recipe)
1-1/2 C sliced carrots (3 medium)
1/2 C quick-cooking barley
1 14-1/2-ounce can tomatoes, cut up (I bought the ones that were already cut up)

Directions:
1. In a large saucepan cook leeks or onion, sweet pepper, and garlic in margarine or butter until tender. Carefully stir in broth, water, lentils, basil, oregano, rosemary, and 1/4 tsp pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

2. Stir in the chicken, carrots, and uncooked barley. Cover and simmer about 20 minutes more or just until carrots are tender. Add the undrained tomatoes; heat through. Makes about 8 cups (6 main-dish servings). (I doubled it.)

Cheesy Chicken Parmesan Over Pasta

I made this tonight. It was incredibly easy to make and very tasty. We didn't even have any leftovers!

Cheesy Chicken Parmesan Over Pasta

Breaded chicken breasts topped with savory tomatoes and melted cheese and served over hot pasta

Hands on: 15 minutes
Total: 35 minutes
Makes: 4 servings (1 chicken breast and 1 cup pasta each)

Ingredients:
4 frozen Banquet or Tyson breaded chicken breast patties
2 cans (14.5 ounces each) Hunts Diced Tomatoes with Basil, Garlic & Oregano, drained (I ran out of this so I used regular canned dice tomatoes and spiced them myself)
4 slices (2/3 oz. each) mozzarella cheese
8 ounces dry pasta, uncooked (I used rotini)
shredded Parmesan cheese, optional

Directions:
1. Bake chicken in preheated oven according to package directions.
2. Top each breast with 1/3 cup of the tomatoes; cover with 1 cheese slice. Continue baking 20 minutes, or until chicken is heated through and cheese is melted. Meanwhile, cook pasta in large saucepan according to package directions.
3. Drain pasta; return to saucepan. Add the remaining tomatoes; toss to coat. Place on large platter; top with chicken. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Creamy Chicken, Pasta & Mushroom Skillet

I made this last week. It was easy, and a hit with the kids!

Creamy Chicken, Pasta & Mushroom Skillet

Rigatoni pasta and chicken tossed in a tomato and mushroom sauce with peas

Hands on: 20 minutes
Total: 20 minutes
Makes: 6 servings (1-1/3 cups each)

Ingredients:

8 ounces dry rigatoni pasta, uncooked
1-1/4 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium onion, chopped (1 med = 1/2 cup)
1 can (14.5 ounces) Hunt's Petite Diced Tomatoes, undrained
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 cup frozen green peas, thawed
grated Parmesan cheese, optional

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, cook chicken and onions in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat 5 minutes, or until chicken pieces are no longer pink in centers.
2. Stir in undrained tomatoes and soup; cook 5 minutes, or until heaated through, stirring occasionally. Add peas; mix well.
3. Drain pasta; place in large serving bowl. Add tomato mixture; toss to coat. Sprinkle with cheese, if desired.

Arroz con Pollo y Frijoles

This is SUPER delicious, and really easy to make. My kids also loved it -- even my 2 year old and my 10 year old (the one who doesn't like tomatoes!). I was initially intimidated because I had never prepared chicken thighs before, but it was SO easy!

Arroz con Pollo y Frijoles

Hands on: 15 minutes
Total: 35 minutes
Makes: 6 servings

Ingredients:
2-1/2 pounds chicken thighs (I could only find 2.36 pounds at the store, but it was perfect)
2 teaspoons garlic salt
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
PAM Original No-Stick Cooking Spray
1 cup long-grain rice (I only had medium-grain and it worked fine)
2 cans (10 ounces each) Ro*Tel Original Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies, undrained
1 can (14 ounces) chicken broth
1 can (16 ounces) Rosarita No Fat Traditional Refried Beans
1/2 cup shredded Oaxaca, Chihuahua or Mexican blend cheese (1/2 cup = 2 ounces)

Directions:

1. Season chicken with garlic salt and pepper on both sides. Spray large skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat until hot. Place chicken, skin side down, in skillet. Cook 7 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remove chicken from skillet.
2. Add rice to skillet. Brown rice in pan drippings over medium heat about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add undrained tomatoes and broth; blend well. Place chicken on top of rice. Bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 20 minutes or until rice is tender and chicken is no longer pink. Remove chicken from skillet; keep warm. Drop beans by tablespoons onto rice; sprinkle with cheese. Heat an additional 5 minutes, or until beans are hot and cheese is melted. Serve with chicken.

Recipe from and copyright reserved by: conagrafoods.com