Chicken Chili Nachos

This recipe is pretty fast to prepare when I find I have extra teenagers in the house and they're really hungry.  I try to always have the ingredients available so I can throw this snack together in no time.

I found this recipe in the January/February 2006 issue of Quick Cooking magazine and it was a hit from the first time I made it, getting nothing but 8's and 9's on the Melnarik rating scale.  Equal marks are given by the numerous teenagers who've feasted on these tasty nachos.

As I stated above, I like to always have all of the ingredients on hand for this dish, so sometimes I have precooked chicken instead of raw.  The method is the same except that instead of having to cook the chicken, I just cube it and heat it a bit in the pan before adding the rest of the ingredients.  I heat it because it's cold, having been in the refrigerator, and I find that the seasonings adhere to the meat better when it is warm.  As you can see from the picture above, I used precooked chicken this time.

Once I get the chicken going in the pan, I drain and rinse the kidney beans in a colander.

To the warmed (or cooked according to the recipe below) chicken I add the seasonings, tossing to combine.

Then I add the drained kidney beans, the chili beans with the sauce (I like to use the S&W brand chili beans with zesty sauce), and the tomatoes with green chilies, stirring to combine.

When combined, the juices are pretty thin, so I cook the mixture over medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until it reduces a bit and becomes much thicker.

When ready to serve, it's as easy as arranging some plain tortilla chips on a plate,

adding some of the chicken chili mixture,

and topping that with some shredded Mexican cheese blend.

My guys like the cheese completely melted, so we microwave each plate on high for about a minute to make them happy!  These nachos can be built on a large platter for a crowd.  Depending on the size of the platter, you may have to melt the cheese in the oven.  Just be careful because the platter will be hot, so use a hot mitt and protect the table you put it on!    Also, when and if there are leftovers, the chicken mixture is easily reheated for a quick lunch another day.  Enjoy!

Chicken Chili Nachos

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed

1 can (10 oz.) Rotel tomatoes

1 can (16 oz.) kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (15.5 oz.) chili beans in zesty sauce, undrained

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 package (13 ½ oz.) tortilla chips

1 ½ cups shredded Mexican cheese blend

Spray a large skillet with non-stick cooking spray.  Cook chicken in skillet over medium-high heat until no longer pink.  Add tomatoes, beans and seasonings, stirring to combine; cook for 10 minutes or until juices reduce and thicken.  Arrange tortilla chips on individual plates; sprinkle with chicken mixture, top with shredded cheese.  Microwave on high for 25 – 30 seconds to melt cheese.

Grilled Chicken Cordon Bleu

I have several recipes for Chicken Cordon Bleu, each one cooked differently.  This is one of my favorite ways of making this tasty dish during the warmer weather, when I tend to grill more frequently.  It doesn't take a long time to prepare these special chicken bundles and they don't take long to cook.  Also, they can be assembled up to 8 hours in advance and kept in the refrigerator until ready to grill them.  That comes in handy when entertaining or when attending a barbecue meal where each guest is to bring their own meat to grill plus a side dish or dessert!

I found this recipe years ago in a Taste of Home magazine in the tear out recipe section.  There is no date on the recipe, but it does indicate it was submitted to the magazine by Shawna McCutcheon from Homer City, Pennsylvania.  This dish gets 8's all around on the Melnarik rating scale.

The week that I was making this dish and taking pictures for this blog, chicken tenders were on sale at the market, so I used them instead of chicken breasts.  The only difference is that the bundles are smaller when using the tenders.  I apologize for not having pictures of the flattening process.  To do so, I placed each piece of chicken between 2 pieces of plastic wrap, and using a meat mallet, pounded each piece until it was 1/4-inch in thickness.  Above is the flattened chicken tender.

It gets really easy from here.  The recipe calls for 1 piece of deli ham.  For more flavor, instead of cutting it in half to fit the smaller size of the tender, I chose to fold the ham in half before placing it on the chicken.

I did choose, however, to cut the slice of cheese in half before adding it on top of the ham slice.

I then rolled it up, beginning with one of the narrow ends, and secured it with a wooden toothpick.  I repeated this process with each of the remaining chicken tenders.

After brushing each piece with olive oil, I rolled them in the seasoned bread crumbs.  At this point, the bundles could be refrigerated in an air tight container for up to 8 hours before grilling.

I then grilled them, covered, over medium-hot heat for 15 to 18 minutes, turning once during cooking.  This ensured they were cooked completely into the middle and that when cut, the juices would run clear.

When they come off the grill, they are a beautiful golden brown.  Guests get a nice surprise when they cut into these tasty bundles and they discover the ham and melted cheese.

When I prepare the bundles earlier in the day, I have more time to make a nice side dish as an accompaniment, plus the short cooking time is just enough to prepare a nice salad also.  Enjoy!

Grilled Chicken Cordon Bleu

6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

6 slices Swiss cheese

6 thin slices deli ham

3 tablespoons olive oil

¾ cup seasoned bread crumbs

Place chicken between two pieces of plastic wrap.  Using a mallet or rolling pin, beat the chicken to flatten it to ¼-inch thickness.  Place one slice of cheese and one slice of ham on top of each flattened piece of chicken, cutting as needed to keep the cheese and ham from going beyond the area of the chicken.  Roll up each piece of chicken and secure with a toothpick or thin metal skewer.  Brush each piece with oil and roll in bread crumbs to coat evenly.  Grill, covered, over medium-hot heat for 15 – 18 minutes or until juices run clear.

Liza's Cucumber & Tomato Tea Sandwiches with Pesto Cream Cheese

One of the traditional sandwiches that is served at tea parties is the cucumber and cream cheese.  I'm not a huge fan of cucumber, so I don't go out of my way to choose this particular sandwich, but will eat it if served to me.  At my favorite tea room, Belladonna's, in Lancaster, CA they serve the cucumber sandwich, but with a pesto cream cheese spread.  In my opinion, it is so much better than the original with plain cream cheese, that I decided I needed to try to replicate it.  That's how this open-faced tea sandwich was conceived.

I was hosting a tea in my home and thought this was the perfect time to attempt this savory treat.  My neighbor, Hazel, offered to help me with the food preparation, so I gave her the spreadable cream cheese and some store-bought pesto to combine for the spread.  She insisted on assembling the sandwiches, so I also gave her the bread and cucumber.  When she returned, she had a platter with the sandwiches I had envisioned, but had added a slice of tomato on top.  Needless to say, these new treats were the hit of the tea party!  I knew she had done more than just mix together the cream cheese and pesto, so I asked her what she'd done.  She said she thought the spread needed a little something more, so she added Parmesan cheese and a bit of garlic powder.  She also thought the sandwiches could use a little more color, so she added the tomato slices.  Alas, a new tea sandwich was born!  The next time, I insisted on making the spread myself, so I could take pictures for this blog, plus exact measurements to share here.

In a small bowl, I place the cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, prepared pesto, and garlic powder.

Using a spoon, I mixed the ingredients together until completely combined.

Hazel came to help me just prior to this tea party, so I don't have individual pictures of each step.  I did, however, ask her to show the sandwiches in order of assembly on the front of the cutting board, so you can see how easy it is.  I like to use potato bread, so I can say this is a vegetarian sandwich!  After cutting the bread into circles using a cookie cutter slightly larger than the cucumber (I slipped the cucumber through the cookie cutter before peeling it to make sure it was the size I wanted).  On top of that, approximately 1 teaspoon of the pesto cream cheese spread gets added.  Then, after peeling and slicing the cucumber, a slice gets added.  This is followed by a slice of cherry tomato.  I try to use the center slices of the tomatoes, so they are a nice size.  I either discard the ends, or use them in something else.

That's all there is to it!  This has got to be the most simple tea sandwich I make, and yet it is now one of my favorites by flavor alone!  I have used the pesto cream cheese on foccacia bread before assembling a large sandwich for my guys and they loved it too!  I think it would be great if tossed in some hot pasta (I think I'll try that next time!).

Liza's Cucumber & Tomato Tea Sandwiches

with Pesto Cream Cheese

4 oz. spreadable cream cheese (from an 8 oz. container)

3 tablespoons prepared pesto

2 tablespoons fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Potato bread

1 cucumber

Cherry tomatoes

In a small bowl, combine cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, pesto and garlic powder.  Using a cookie cutter, cut bread slightly larger than the diameter of the cucumber.  Spread each piece of bread with pesto cream cheese. After peeling and slicing* the cucumber, add one slice to each sandwich.  After washing and slicing* the tomatoes, add one slice to the top of each sandwich.

*Once I have the bread cut, I know how many slices of cucumber and tomato I need.  Any remainder can be saved for another purpose.

Peach-Dijon Pork Chops

I try not to cook beef more than once per week, and we get tired of having chicken a lot, so I try to find really tasty ways of serving other types of meat.  These pork chops are moist and delicious and because they are grilled, they are perfect to serve on a hot summer day.  Also, they are completely ready to serve in less than 30 minutes!

This is another recipe I got from the marinades, rubs, and sauces recipe booklet I found near the checkout stand at the market.  Even though my husband isn't a big pork chop lover, he gives this recipe an 8 and my boys give it 9's on the Melnarik rating scale.

I apologize, my picture of making the sauce is missing.  Basically, in a small saucepan, I combined the peach preserves, Dijon mustard, soy sauce, and dried marjoram leaves, stirring to combine.  I cooked this mixture over low heat until the preserves were melted, stirring frequently.

When ready to grill, I added salt and pepper to both sides of the pork chops and placed them on a heated grill.  I covered them and cooked them over medium heat for 12 minutes, turning once during cooking.  

I then brushed the sauce on one side of the chops, covered them again and cooked for about 2 minutes.  I turned them over and repeated the process.

After removing them from the grill, I let them sit for about 5 minutes before serving so that the juice wouldn't all run out when they were cut.

What a tasty way to serve "the other white meat!"  Enjoy!

Peach-Dijon Pork Chops

½ cup peach preserves, large pieces cut up

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons soy sauce

¼ teaspoon dried marjoram leaves

4 (6 oz.) pork loin chops (3/4-inch thick)

¼ teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Heat grill.  In small saucepan, combine preserves, mustard, soy sauce and marjoram; mix well.  Cook over low heat until preserves are melted, stirring frequently.

When ready to grill, sprinkle both sides of pork chops with salt and pepper.  Place chops on gas grill over medium heat or on charcoal grill 4 to 6 inches from medium coals; cover grill.  Cook 12 to 15 minutes or until pork is no loner pink in center, turning once and brushing with preserves mixture during last 2 minutes of cooking time.

To serve, bring any remaining preserves mixture to a boil.  Serve with pork chops.

Salted Peanut Chews

I know the trend right now is to make things with salted caramel.  I personally love the combination of salty and sweet.  These bars satisfy that need when my tastebuds cry out for it.  They aren't quite as salty as the salted caramel goodies I've tried, but they're pretty addictive for me.  I hadn't made these in some time and decided to resurrect the recipe for our recent beach trip, as I used to make them all the time for our annual seaside trip and thought the 20th anniversary would be the perfect time to do so.

I found this recipe years ago in one of those small recipe magazines found near the checkout stand in the grocery store.  I can't even find the original recipe to give credit for where it came from; all I have is the paper I typed to share the recipe with friends.  Like me, my youngest son thinks these bars are addicting and overall the guys rate these bars 7's and 8's.

After preheating the oven to 350°F, I began by combining the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a large mixing bowl.

Then I added the softened butter, beating to thoroughly combine.

Next, I add the wet ingredients, including two egg yolks.  Helpful Hint:  I always drop any egg I'm about to use in a short glass of water to make sure it is fresh.  If it sinks, it is perfectly fresh.  If it floats, throw it out immediately!  Try not to break it, as it would smell foul!  The reason the bad eggs float is because as they spoil, the air pocket just inside the shell becomes a gas, which is lighter than air and causes the egg to float.

Now I want to show you the fastest and most amazing way to separate eggs!  I found a video showing this method on Pinterest and couldn't believe my eyes.  I've captured the process here in still shots for you.  First, I cracked a fresh egg into a saucer.  Then, taking an empty, clean water bottle, I squeezed the sides of the bottle as I neared the yolk.

As I touched the yolk gently with the lip of the bottle, I released the squeeze on the bottle and the yolk began to travel inside the bottle!

Once the yolk was fully inside the bottle, I lifted it away from the white and had a perfect separated egg.  I keep washing the same small water bottle, as it is my new egg separator!

I simply squeezed the bottle again over the mixing bowl to release the egg yolk and repeated the process for the second egg.  It only takes a matter of seconds to separate an egg.  I also added the vanilla here and beat the ingredients together.

The result is a moist, crumbly mixture.

Using my clean hands, I pressed this crust mixture into my 9- x 13-inch baking dish and put it in the oven for 15 minutes.

As you can see, the crust became a pretty golden brown and raised a little bit.

Once out of the oven I added the marshmallows.  My marshmallows got a little sticky because of the hot weather, which makes it harder to make an even layer, but I did the best I could.  I placed the dish back in the oven for another 2 minutes.

The marshmallows puffed up and almost completely covered the crust in this step.  When the peanut mixture is added, it helps move the marshmallow around, so each bar has some marshmallow.

I apologize, my pictures of the next step are missing.  Basically, in a large saucepan, I combined the corn syrup, butter, vanilla, and peanut butter chips.  I cooked this mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly until the chips were melted and the mixture was smooth.  I then removed the pan from the heat and added the peanuts and rice cereal.  This is a stiff mixture to stir, but everything needs to be combined thoroughly.  I then used a soup spoon to drop this mixture as evenly as possible over the marshmallows.  I then refrigerated the dish for 1 hour until firm, then cut them into 1- by 2-inch bars.

To me, this is just the right combination of salty and sweet.  Enjoy!

Salted Peanut Chews

CRUST                                                                     TOPPING

  1 ½   cups all-purpose flour                                   2/3   cup corn syrup

   2/3   cup firmly packed brown sugar                   1/4   cup butter

   1/2   teaspoon baking powder                                  2   teaspoons vanilla

   1/2   teaspoon salt                                                      1   (10 oz.) pkg. peanut butter chips

   1/4   teaspoon baking soda                                       2   cups crisp rice cereal

   1/2   cup butter, softened                                          2   cups salted peanuts

       1   teaspoon vanilla

       2   egg yolks

       3   cups miniature marshmallows

Heat oven to 350°F.  Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off.  In a large bowl, combine all crust ingredients except marshmallows at low speed until crumbly.  Press firmly in bottom of ungreased 9- x 13-inch baking pan.

Bake at 350°F for 12 to 15 minutes or until light golden brown.  Remove from oven; immediately sprinkle evenly with marshmallows.  Return to oven; bake an additional 1 to 2 minutes or until marshmallows just begin to puff.  Cool while preparing topping.

In large saucepan, combine all topping ingredients except cereal and peanuts.  Heat just until chips are melted and mixture is smooth, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat; stir in cereal and peanuts; combine thoroughly.  Immediately spoon warm topping over marshmallow; spread to cover.  Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm.  Cut into bars.