Friday Food- A Quick One

When you don't have very much time but want a hot meal and you don't want a lot of dirty dishes to clean up afterward, how about trying a casserole. Here's a quick and yummy one - Chicken Tamale Casserole

Ingredients
1 cup of preshredded Mexican blend cheese
1/3 cup low fat milk
1 egg
1 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp ground rep pepper such as New Mexico chile
1 can cream-style corn (14 3/4 oz)
1 small box of corn muffin mix ( I use the Jiffy 8.5 oz size)
1 can chopped green chiles, drained (4oz)
1 can red enchilada sauce (10 oz)
2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
sour cream
cilantro
cooking spray

Prep:
1. preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. in a large bowl mix just until moist, 1/4 cup of the cheese with the next 7 ingredients (up to chiles). Pour into a 13 x 9 inch baking dish that has been coated with cooking spray.


3. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, Then pierce entire surface with fork.

4. Pour enchilada sauce over top. Top with chicken, sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup cheese.
5. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes . Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes.
Ready to serve with a dollop of sour cream and some cilantro sprinkled on top.

It's also possible to make this without chicken. You can substitute the chicken with black beans and that would be delicious too. You can serve this with a side salad and whaaaa lhaaa a yum fulfilling meal with leftovers for tomorrows lunch. My boys won't eat this so I usually make them chicken quesadillas while the adults enjoys this yummy dish.

Friday Food: A Chicken Favorite

There's a few go to recipes I have that are my favorites to make when I just can't pull it together to try something new. One of them is this Chicken Vesuvio, that I think is a nice wholesome family meal. I usually serve this with a nice loaf of artisan bread and an easy side. This time I made green beans sauteed with garlic. This dish is yummy and fairly easy. My kids will eat the chicken and potato, still working on getting them to eat the peas...one day hopefully.

Chicken Vesuvio

1 4 1/2-pound chicken, quartered, backbone removed
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 large russet potatoes (about 14 ounces each), peeled, each cut into 6 pieces)

6 large garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 teaspoon (or more) dried crushed red pepper
1/4 cup chicken stock or canned chicken broth
1/4 cup white wine

1 cup frozen green peas, thawed
Chopped fresh parsley (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
   
2. Sprinkle chicken with salt, pepper, oregano and garlic powder and set aside.
3. Heat oil in large ovenproof pot over high heat. Add potatoes and saute until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer potatoes to bowl.
   
   
4. Add chicken to same pot and saute until golden brown on all sides, about 10 minutes.
   Add garlic cloves and dried crushed red pepper and saute 2 minutes.
   
5. Return potatoes, stock and wine to pot. Return to medium-high heat and bring to boil.
   
   
6. Cover pot tightly; transfer to oven and bake until chicken is cooked through, about 25 minutes.
   
7. Add peas to pot; cover and bake 5 minutes longer.
   
8. Transfer chicken,potatoes to platter and pour sauce over.
   
9. Garnish with chopped parsley, if desired, and serve.

Enjoy!