Baked Chicken Taquitos

Here's another good recipe I found on Pinterest (it originated at savourthesensesblog.com).  These taquitos are more healthy than those you find most places as they are not fried, but baked in the oven.  I like to make as many as I have the chicken filling for and keep them in the refrigerator so my boys can heat them in the microwave when they need a meal on the go!

The original recipe called for 3 chicken breasts cooked and shredded, but I prefer the rotisserie chicken, which you can find at most markets as well as Costco.  I buy one almost every time I go to Costco; once it cools, I take the meat off the bones and put it in a freezer bag in the freezer and keep it in there for recipes like this.  I prefer the rotisserie chicken because the white and dark meat is mixed together (although it is primarily white meat) which, I think, gives more flavor to anything I use it in.  I said all of that to let you know that I substitute the chicken breasts for 3 1/2 cups of the shredded rotisserie chicken.

The chicken is placed in a large skillet over medium heat and the dry seasonings are added to that.  If my chicken is frozen, I defrost it in the microwave first.  I toss it quite a bit to get the seasonings evenly distributed.  You'll notice another healthy aspect to this recipe is that no fats are used in the skillet.  This helps the seasonings adhere to the chicken without adding extra calories as it heats the chicken.   

Then the chicken broth is added along with the green onions and the roasted red peppers.  I have only found the red peppers in strips, so they need to be rough chopped before adding them to the skillet.  Stir to combine the ingredients and cooked until the chicken broth is completely cooked off (about 5 minutes).

While that's cooking down, I heat the tortillas in the microwave.  Once the meat is ready, I put some cheese on the tortilla and top it with the chicken mixture.  I know this looks like it's huge - it's probably twice as big as a taquito you would purchase in a restaurant, but smaller than a burrito.  I use the fajita size tortillas because it takes less time to make them big and I always have this size of tortilla in the kitchen so my boys can make quesadillas anytime they're hungry.  When taking them to a potluck, I use the taco size tortillas and use less filling.

They get rolled as tightly as possible and put seam side down on a baking pan.  I love, love, love, the Reynold's Non-Stick Aluminum Foil, as nothing EVER sticks to it, and again I'm not using any kind of oil.  So, of course, I have that in the pan on which I bake the taquitos.  They go in the oven for a total of 15 minutes, flipping them after 10 minutes.

They come out of the oven crispy and hot, in fact they are so hot, we have to let them sit for a few minutes before we can even eat them.  The recipe says to serve them with guacamole and sour cream, but we find them so tasty, that we eat them plain.  I will warn you that they are a bit on the spicy side, so if you don't like too much heat, you'll want to reduce the amount of cayenne and black peppers you use.  I cut the amount in half when taking these treats to potlucks.  When taking them on the road, I bake them ahead of time and keep them hot in a crock pot.

These taquitos are easy to make, quite filling, and oh so tasty!  Enjoy!

Baked Chicken Taquitos

•                3 ½ cups chicken from a rotisserie chicken

•                1 tbsp cumin

•                1 tsp cayenne pepper

•                1/2 tbsp ground black pepper

•                1/2 tsp salt

•                1/2 cup chicken broth

•                6 green onions (chopped)

•                1 cup roasted red pepper, from a jar (rough chopped)

•                1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese

•                12 flour fajita size tortillas

Directions:

1.            Preheat the oven to 425°F. Heat a large skillet to medium heat add the chicken and season with the cumin, cayenne pepper, black pepper and salt.

2.            Once the chicken is evenly coated in seasonings, add the chicken broth, green onions, and roasted red pepper. Cook until the chicken broth is fully cooked off (about 5 minutes).

3.            Heat the tortillas in a paper towel in the microwave until soft (about 15 seconds).

4.            Fill each tortilla with approximately 1/3 cup of cheese and about 1/3 cup of chicken mixture, roll up and place fold-side down on a greased baking sheet.

5.            Bake the taquitos at 425°F until golden (about 15 minutes), flipping after 10 minutes.

Serve with guacamole and salsa.

Yields 10 Taquitos

Sausage Tortellini Soup

This soup is definitely a favorite in my house.  When I first tried this recipe, which I cut out of a magazine, it was an immediate hit, getting 9s all around on the Melnarik rating scale!  I have made this soup for several large functions and have found it to be one of the most requested recipes.  

After having temperatures in the 90s last week, today was a chilly, cloudy day that was perfect for making soup for dinner.  I chose this soup, not only because it's a favorite, but also a healthy one as I use Jennie-O  Hot Italian Turkey Sausage instead of the regular Italian sausage the recipe called for.  Jennie-O makes a Sweet Italian Turkey Sausage, but I find the hot one doesn't really add any heat, just more flavor.  I've never had anyone complain about the heat level on this soup.

I was pressed for time when cooking this evening as my oldest son, Jimmy, had to eat before the rest of us because he had a class to go to.  There wasn't enough time to take pictures of each step, so I opted to give you one picture like you would find in a recipe book.

The turkey sausage comes in links, so the first step is to remove them and break them up in a Dutch oven or soup pot.  As the sausage begins to cook, I prepare the vegetables, chopping the carrots, onion, and bell pepper and mincing the garlic.  As each vegetable is chopped, I add it to the sausage, stirring and breaking up the chunks each time.  My guys have decided that they don't like zucchini, and won't eat it, so I don't tell them that one of their favorite soups contains zucchini!  The way I slip it to them is by grating it before adding it.  I figure it's less recognizable that way.  If any of them have noticed it, they haven't mentioned it to me.

My cooking teacher, who was Italian by the way, told me in 7th grade that dried spices needed to be added to the meat while cooking.  This way it adheres better to the meat and as it hits the heat of the pan it becomes more aromatic.  I don't know if there is any scientific proof of that or if Alton Brown would agree, but I've always done it this way, even if a recipe called for the seasoning to be added later.  So, the rosemary gets added to the sausage and veggie mixture in the pot before adding the liquids.  Once the sausage is cooked and the vegetables are tender, I add the chicken broth and tomato sauce, turn down the heat and let everything simmer.  The last thing added is the tortellini, as it doesn't take long to cook.

This has got to be one of the most flavorful soups I make, and it's perfect for a cold day!  Enjoy!

Sausage Tortellini Soup 

1 pkg. Jenni-O Hot Turkey Sausage, casings removed

2 carrots, cleaned and diced

1 onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 med. zucchini, shredded

2 (32 oz.) boxes chicken broth*

1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce

1 teaspoon dried, crushed rosemary

1 (20 oz.) pkg. refrigerated 3-cheese tortellini

In a Dutch oven, combine the sausage, carrots, onion, bell pepper, and garlic; cook over medium heat until sausage is browned and crumbles.  Add rosemary and zucchini; cook until tender.

Stir in chicken broth and tomato sauce; bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 25 minutes.  Add tortellini; simmer 5 minutes, or until tender.  Serve immediately.

Yield:  10 – 12 servings

* I use the organic chicken broth sold at Costco

Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread

Let me begin by telling you that I love cinnamon rolls!  Not all cinnamon rolls are created equal; some are good and some are not so good.  This doesn't stop me from collecting recipes for cinnamon rolls or those using cinnamon rolls.  This recipe I found on Pinterest (it originated at bakemore.com) and I'll be forever grateful that I found it and tried it.  The first time I made this cinnamon roll decadence, it was for the ladies in my discussion group at a Bible study I attend every Thursday.  I think every single one of them asked for a copy of the recipe, which I gladly handed out the next week.  Now to have my family try it.

I probably should have mentioned before that I try at least one new recipe each week.  In order to determine whether or not a recipe should be kept and made again, I ask my guys to rate it on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the best ever.  They, however, never give anything a 10 as they think there is always room for improvement, so in my house, 9 is the new 10!  This offering got one 8 and two 9s on the Melnarik rating scale.  I believe in giving 10s, and that's what I give this recipe.

This recipe takes a bit of preparation.  I began by putting the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and mixing thoroughly.

Then, I opened the Grands cinnamon rolls and placed them on a cutting board.  Next, I cut each roll into quarters.

Each quarter got rolled in the cinnamon sugar mixture and placed in a greased bundt pan.  (The buns rise during baking, so make sure to use a pan where there's room to spare once all of the cinnamon roll pieces are in the pan.)

I used a 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup to melt the butter in the microwave.  This allows plenty of room for stirring in the brown sugar and it makes it easy to pour in the next step!



After putting one-half of the rolls in the bundt pan, I poured about one-third of this mixture over the rolls.  This gave all of the rolls the ooey-gooey, buttery goodness.  Then I added the remainder of the rolls.






Finally, the last of the butter/brown sugar mixture was poured on.  About 20 minutes into the baking time, I  covered the pan loosely with foil to prevent the top rolls from getting too crusty.

The aroma in the kitchen was intoxicating and this is how wonderful the cinnamon roll pull apart bread looked when I inverted it onto my serving platter.  But there was one more step to add to the decadence of this breakfast treat!  If you remember, the containers that the cinnamon rolls came in had icing in them . . .

I waited about 5 minutes before adding the icing to the top and letting the hot cinnamon roll goodness melt it down the sides.  If you don't wait for it too cool a little bit, you'll have a pool of icing on the platter instead of mostly on the rolls.  This has got to be one of my favorite ways to feast on cinnamon rolls!  Enjoy!

Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread

½ cup granulated sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

½ cup butter, melted

½ cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 – 17.5 oz. cans Pillsbury Grands Cinnamon Rolls

Preheat oven to 350°.  In a shallow bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon; set aside.  Combine butter and brown sugar and stir until smooth; set aside.  (I melt my butter in a 2-cup measuring cup in the microwave and then add the brown sugar to the butter.  This way it’s easy to pour over the rolls in the pan.)  Remove cinnamon rolls from cans and cut into quarters.  Roll each piece in cinnamon sugar and place in a greased bundt pan.  After placing half of the rolls in the pan, re-stir the brown sugar/butter mixture if necessary and pour about 1/3 of the mixture over rolls.  Continue adding the pieces, which have been rolled in the cinnamon sugar, into the bundt pan.  Pour the remaining butter/brown sugar mixture over the rolls.  Bake for 40 – 45 minutes or until the rolls are firm or “springy” when pressed.  To prevent over-browning of the rolls at the top of the pan, loosely place foil over the top of the pan after approximately 20 minutes.  Invert onto a large plate or platter.  Let stand for 5 min. before adding the icing.  Only add the icing to the top as the heat melts it and it runs down the sides on it’s own.  Enjoy!

Liza's Stuffed Quesadillas

For several years now, my oldest son's schedule (school and church) has caused me to have to come up with several dinner options that can be eaten by him at least an hour before the rest of the family.  My repertoire includes meal-type salads, sandwiches, soups, and things like this recipe I call Stuffed Quesadillas (because they are so thick).  Once I've combined the "stuffing" mixture, it can be kept in Tupperware in the refrigerator for several days (if it lasts that long) for a quick snack.  I try to always have the ingredients available in case I'm feeding extra teenagers without much notice.  I always have boneless, skinless chicken breasts in the freezer, which can be boiled (keeps the meat moist) and chopped in no time, or I use already-cooked chicken breast strips, which are available in most stores now.  You're not going to believe how simple this is to put together.

I begin by chopping my cooked chicken breast into small pieces and put them in a medium-size bowl.

Then, I toss in some rinsed and drained black beans.

Next, I add the salsa.  This can be any salsa or picante sauce of your choice.  The heat level is up to you, too.  Cha Chi's Pico de Gallo salsa (medium heat) is the favorite of my family.

Last in is the corn.  I've used both frozen and canned corn in this recipe.  When using frozen corn, it's best to defrost it in the microwave, otherwise it may add a cold element to an otherwise hot quesadilla.  You may have noticed the tool that I used to toss the ingredients; I call it a spoontula because it acts like a spoon for stirring, but it's also a spatula which scrapes the sides of the bowl well when combining ingredients.  This type of product can be found most places that sell kitchen tools, but mine is from Pampered Chef.  I'm putting in a plug for theirs because I feel it's the best one available. They call a Mix 'N Scraper and it now comes in three sizes.  What I like most about it is that it never stains and it's heat resistant to over 500 degrees, so I can use it in a saucepan when melting chocolate, etc.  This tool is a necessity in my kitchen, next to a good set of knives.

On a medium-low heated griddle or frying pan, I place a fajita-size tortilla.  Most of the time I use flour tortillas, but just found these whole wheat tortillas recently, so I decided to use them for the first time.  I then add the grated cheese.  Most of my family members prefer medium cheddar in this one, but I treat myself to sharp cheddar as it is my preference.

Then I spoon the chicken mixture onto one-half of the tortilla.  When I first started making these, I would put the "stuffing" over the entire tortilla, add more cheese and another tortilla.  However, because there was so much stuffing, it was so hard to flip to get the cheese melted on the top tortilla without a lot of the chicken mixture falling out.  It didn't take me too long to figure out how to solve that problem by making a half quesadilla each time!

I usually cover it with a saucepan lid so that it steams as well as getting heated from below.  I think it makes the cheese melt faster, which is what you need to wait for.  While waiting, I usually start building the next quesadillas on a cutting board so they're ready to put on the griddle when there is available space.

 Once the cheese is completely melted, using a large spatula, I flip the cheese side over the stuffing side.

Then I flip the whole thing over to the other side for about 10 seconds, just to make sure the stuffing is imbedded in the melted cheese on that side also.  This helps prevent everything from falling out while eating it.

I put it on a plate and it's ready to eat.  Yes, it looks like a large soft taco, and that's the easiest way to eat it.  My husband and I find one of these quesadillas quite filling, but if, like me, you have teenage boys in the house, they may require more!  Enjoy!

Liza's Stuffed Quesadillas

2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast

1 cup black beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup salsa

1 cup corn

6 cups shredded medium cheddar cheese

6 fajita size tortillas

Place chopped chicken breast pieces in a medium size bowl.  Toss in beans, salsa and corn.  Place tortilla on a griddle or pan over medium-low heat.  Add 1 cup of shredded cheese, covering tortilla almost to the edge.  Add 1/2 to 3/4 cup of chicken mixture to one-half of the tortilla.  Once the cheese melts, flip the cheese side over the chicken side and flip the whole thing over for about 10 seconds to make sure the chicken mixture adheres to both sides.  Plate and serve hot.

Easter Celebration Eggs and Peanut Butter Cup Trifle

 The Tuesday before Easter, my mom had open-heart surgery.  We knew she'd likely still be in the hospital on Easter, so I offered to have lunch at my house, then we'd all go to see mom.  My cousin, who grew up down the street from us, and her family flew from Virginia to be here for the week.  There were 18 of us in all.  My aunt contributed the Honey Baked ham and my niece, Jessica, brought scalloped potatoes in a crock pot.  I put together a simple salad and a side dish of Broccoli Supreme.  I also decided to try something I saw on Pinterest, colored deviled eggs.

Also on Pinterest, I had seen an alternative method to hard boil the eggs and decided to try that also.  This method had me cooking the eggs in the oven as opposed to in a pot on top of the stove.  Apparently Alton Brown says this is the best way to cook them.  He puts them directly on the rack in the oven and cooks them at 325 degrees for 30 minutes.  Immediately they go into ice water for 10 minutes before peeling.  Someone else suggested putting the eggs in a mini muffin tin, so I did that as it seemed to be an easier way to get them in and out of the oven.  The advantage to cooking them in the oven is that the house didn't get that cooking egg smell.  However, the egg shells got brown spots and some of those spots were also on the egg whites.  The frustrating thing, and I assume the method of cooking was in part a reason for this, was that they were extremely hard to peel.  After that, the rest of the process was easy!

I cut the eggs in half the long way and put the yolks in a small bowl.  The egg whites were divided among four glasses where I had colored water.  To each glass of water,  I added 5 drops of food color;  one each in red, blue, yellow and green.  I left the whites in the water for approximately 5 minutes.  The longer they are left in the dyed water, the darker the color becomes.  (I suggest you check them frequently to get the shade you want.)  Then I removed them and place them upside-down to drain/dry.  In the meantime, using a potato masher, I broke up the yolks, adding some mayonnaise, yellow mustard and sweet pickle relish.  I apologize for not having amounts, I just put them together by taste.  I placed the colored whites on my egg platter and pipped in the filling.  My husband said we couldn't call these eggs deviled on Easter, so we started calling them Celebration Eggs.  With the pretty colors, they look more like a celebration!  My cousin was thrilled to learn how easy it was to dye the eggs as she will be hosting a shower soon and will use this method to match the colors of the theme.

For dessert, I made the Lemon Cheesecake Tarts (I shared the recipe for before - see Valentine's Tea).  I chose to add this picture to show you how different they can look, depending on the fruit you choose to put on top.  In this case, I used a quarter slice of kiwi and a raspberry on each one.  I also added a dollop of mint jelly.  This is a pretty combination to use at Christmas.

The big hit in the dessert category was this Peanut Butter Cup Trifle.  This recipe was also found on Pinterest, but it originated at the-girl-who-ate-everything.com.  It uses a store-bought brownie mix for a 9x13-inch dish and 20 regular size Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.  You really don't want to scrimp on this  ingredient!  I found the Mini Reese's at Target and thought they would look best on the top.  This is super easy to make and assemble.  The thing that takes a long time is waiting for the brownies to cool, so give yourself plenty of time.  This can be prepared the day before as mine was.  I added the Cool Whip and mini Reese's just before serving.  It was a major hit.  Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Cup Trifle

1 (9x13) pan of baked brownies, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 (5.1 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding

3 cups milk

½ cup creamy peanut butter

2 tsp vanilla

1 (8 ounce) container thawed Cool Whip, divided

20 peanut butter cups, crumbled (do not buy bite sized; you could get away with less...but why?)

6-8 peanut butter cups to garnish.

Combine pudding and milk. Beat for 2 minutes. Add peanut butter and vanilla, beat until smooth. Gently fold in 2 cups Cool Whip.

Layer in trifle dish ½ the brownies, ½ the crumbled peanut butter cups, ½ the pudding mixture. Repeat. Top with cool whip and peanut butter cups. Chill at least four hours until serving.