Chicken, Bacon, and Avocado Quesadilla's

This is another Pinterest recipe but it actually comes from Kevin and Amanda's blog but I must have missed it when it was posted.  I love avocado's and chicken and bacon and cheese so these sounded perfect to me!  They ended up being superb!  The butter that you cook the tortilla's in added such a nice flavor to the quesadilla's and I felt a little healthy about them since they had the avocado's in them.  Like anything that you cook immediately before serving, they were a little stressful putting them together in the skillet but with my "helper" Charlotte we got them taken care of and enjoyed them for dinner.  I highly recommend this recipe if you're looking for something that's pretty easy (30 min start to finish) and is really good.  Charlotte even enjoyed eating them until she realized that she was eating avocado's and started saying "I can't like a-cado!"

Sidenote: I took some shortcuts from Amanda's recipe so this is my version.  Her version is linked on the post though if you want to be a real cook and do it all her way!

Chicken, Bacon, and Avocado Quesadilla's

Makes 4 quesadillas from 10" tortillas - 1 quesadilla per tortilla

1 package pre cooked chicken

8 strips bacon (we do the microwave kind)

1 avocado

Cheddar Cheese

4 Tortilla's

Butter

1. Cut chicken into bite size pieces.

2. Cook bacon until crumbly and crumble it.

3. Cut avocado into squares.

4. Warm chicken in skillet for a few minutes -- it's precooked so you're just getting it warm.  Put it back in the bowl you were holding it in originally.

5. Put 1/2 tablespoon of butter in the skillet.  Once it melts most of the way and gets foamy put the tortilla in the skillet and get it coated with butter.

6. Arrange chicken, bacon, avocado, and cheese on half of the tortilla.

7. Use tongs to fold the tortilla in half.

8. Cook about 1 1/2 minutes per side until both sides are golden brown and the cheese is melted.  (I use a cake spatula and a regular spatula to turn my quesadilla's over so as not to tear them up.)

9. Remove quesadilla onto plate or pan and stick in the oven (either off or on very low) to maintain the warmth of the quesadilla.

10. Repeat steps 5-9 starting with putting more butter in the skillet until all of your quesadilla's are made.

Crock Pot Chicken and Rice

This is my first recipe from Pinterest!  It sounded very easy and good so I tried it as my first recipe.  It turned out very good and was so easy that I'm sure we'll make it all the time!

Crock Pot Chicken and Rice

2-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

8 oz cream cheese (let it sit out to soften)

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 packet Italian Dressing Seasoning

Rice

1. Stir the cream cheese, cream of chicken, and seasoning together in the crockpot.

2. Add chicken and spoon mixture so that it covers the chicken.

3. Cook on low for 4-6 hours (I cooked for 4.5 because that was when I was happening to put it in.  Make sure and check it about an hour before dinner to make sure that the chicken is done but that's plenty of time for thawed chicken to cook in the crock pot.)

4. Make rice before dinner.

5. Serve chicken mixture over rice.

Sweet and Sour Pork

I'm always on the look our for slow cooker recipes so when I see them in a magazine I tear them out.  Therefore, I currently have a drawer full of recipes and no time or energy to try them! But I've been trying to try more recipes out and came across this recipe for Sweet and Sour Pork so I gave it a try.  It is a pretty easy meal to throw together and came out really well.  Even Charlotte liked it!  When she tried some she looked at us surprised and said, "This is tasty!" Hope it's a hit at your house too!

Sweet and Sour Pork

Makes 6 servings

2 T vegetable oil

2 lbs pork shoulder for stew, cut into 2 x 1 inch pieces

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 large onion, peeled and sliced

1 large green pepper, cored and seeds removed, sliced

1 can (4 oz) mushroom pieces, drained

1 can (14.5 oz) tomato sauce

3 T packed brown sugar

2 T rice vinegar

2 T soy sauce

1/2 lb egg noodles, cooked

- Coat slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray.

- Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Season pork with salt and pepper and add to skillet.  Saute 3 minutes per side.

- Add pork to slow cooker and layer in onion, green pepper, and mushrooms.  In a small bowl, combine tomato sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, and soy sauce.  Pour over pork and vegetables.

- Cover and cook on High for 6 hours or Low for 8 hours.  Serve over cooked egg noodles.

Shortcut Corn

I don't know about you but I'm pretty bad at making sides to go with meals.  I would much rather just make one casserole or something that we eat basically as our whole meal and add a salad or fruit and veggies with it.  But, I will make this corn to go with dinner because it's so easy and I almost always have corn in my pantry.  There's a good chance that you've been cooking your canned corn like this forever but I hadn't and so when I tried it out it was a miraculous discovery.  And one of the best parts is that Charlotte will eat corn when it's cooked like this so I can eat least get one veggie in her! But be forewarned, I'm guessing that this recipe is really not great for you what with the salt and margarine, but it sure is good!

Shortcut Corn

Serves 4

1 small can Shoepeg Corn

1 small can Yellow Corn

Salt

Pepper

2-3 tablespoons margarine

- Pour both cans of corn into a baking dish.

- Stir corn together until it's evenly mixed.

- Generously salt and pepper the corn and remix.  

- Cut margarine into 4 or 5 pats of butter and spread them throughout the corn (i.e. spoon out corn, put the margarine in, and put corn back on top of butter.

- Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until bubbly.

Salsa Chicken

Does anyone else have a recipe folder on their email like I do?  Mine has emails all the way back since we got married and I've only cooked maybe a third of them.  So when I'm tired of cooking what feels like the same old, same old, I go search that folder to find something that I want to make.  

Recently I found this Salsa Chicken recipe.  I haven't made it before since it asks you to marinate the chicken in the salsa for at least two hours or overnight and I rarely have my act together enough time to do that.  But now that C is taking an afternoon nap I prefer to get dinner ready during her nap so that when it's time to cook all I have to do is stick it in the oven.  So I found that this recipe worked for me where I am right now.  

It ended up being a pretty light recipe that didn't take an inordinate amount of time of prep work although all the chopping did eat up some of nap time.  Be prepared that this is not a tomato based salsa recipe, it's a green pepper salsa recipe so if you're looking for a traditional salsa dish this is not one to try.  But it was very good and pretty easy.

Salsa Chicken

From Dinner by Design

• 11/2 cups diced green pepper (about 2 medium)
• 1 1/2 cups chopped cilantro (about 1 bunch)
• 1 cup diced onion
• 3 Tbl chopped garlic
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 Tbl red wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients, except chicken. Reserve 1 1/2 cups salsa (to serve with chicken), cover and refrigerate. Place chicken in a large resealable bag. Add remaining salsa to the chicken. Seal bag and marinate at least 2 hours or overnight.

Drain and discard chicken marinade. Grill chicken over medium-high heat for 10-15 minutes, when a thermometer reads 170°, turning once. OR bake chicken at 400° on a broiler pan for 20-25 min. Serve chicken topped with reserved salsa.

Miss Nicole's Chicken Quesadilla's

As I think I mentioned last week, my friends Nicole and Kristina are doing a feature on Nicole's blog showcasing what their menu's look like each week.  I've already gotten a lot of ideas from these posts so make sure and check them out if you're on the lookout for a new recipe to cook!

Last week I made Nicole's Chicken Quesadilla's and they were so good and easy that I know this will be a recipe that we come back to again and again!  Thanks Nicole for sharing!  

Miss Nicole's Chicken Quesadilla's

1 lb uncooked chicken tenders or breasts

Lawry's Mesquite Marinade

Flour Tortillas

Shredded Cheese

Sour Cream

Hot sauce (we didn't use)

1. Cut chicken into small strips like for fajitas.  Mine were between 1 and 2 inches long and were pretty skinny but just chop them into smaller pieces, size doesn't really matter.

2. Put cut up chicken into bowl and let it marinate for 30 minutes or longer until you're ready to cook.

3. Throw chicken and marinade into skillet and saute chicken until cooked through (takes maybe 5 or 10 minutes).

4. In the meantime, warm your tortilla's up and get everything out to make the quesadilla's.

5. When chicken is cooked make quesadilla's up however you like and enjoy!

*Note: This made enough for us to give Charlotte chicken to eat and make four large quesadilla's.  If you are serving more than just a small family, you should increase the amount of chicken that you use.

Salmon and Citrus Rice Bowl

Now that I'm out of the first trimester I can stand going to Publix again and smelling the seafood department. I can also stand eating fish again (on some occasions). Because of this I really wanted to cook a salmon dish because it's so healthy and I hadn't eaten it for a while. This Martha Stewart recipe had been sitting in my recipe drawer for a whlie so I thought I'd try it since I figured Charlotte loves rice and oranges so she'd at least eat some of it. The dish was good if a little bland. I'll probably add some soy sauce to the rice and maybe some salt and pepper to the peas next time. But it was a very good recipe that I'll definitely make again!

Salmon and Citrus Rice Bowl
Serves 4

4 navel oranges
1/4 ounce (1 inch piece) fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced, plus 1 teaspoon finely grated
1 dried bay leaf
1 teaspoon coriander seeds, crushed
1 tablespoon brown-rice vinegar
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 pound skinless salmon fillets
1 cup uncooked brown rice
5 ounces (1 1/2 cupes) sugar snap peas, cut into 1/2 inch slices

1. Cut away peel and pith from 2 oranges. Cut between orange membranes, and let fruit and juice fall into a bowl. Squeeze juice into bowl and discard membranes. Cut segments into small pieces, and place in a separate bowl. Juice remaining 2 oranges and add juice to bowl (for a total of 1 cup).
2. Bring orange juice, sliced ginger, bay leaf, and coriander to a boil in a small saucepan. Cook until mixture is reduced to 2/3 cup, about 6 minutes. Let cool completely. Straing, and whisk in vinegar, soy sauce, honey, and oil.
3. Combine 3 tablespoons juice mixture and salmon in a resealable plastic bag, turning to coat. Refrigerate salmon and remaining juice mixture for at least 1 1/2 hours (or up to 3 hours).
4. Cook rice according to package instructions.
5. Preheat broiler. Remove salmon from marinade, and pat dry with paper towels. Discard marinade. Place fillets on a baking sheet, and broil until cooked to desired doneness, about 5 minutes for medium. Transfer to a dish. Let salmon cool slightly, and flake into bite sized pieces.
6. Divide rice among four bowls. Top with salmon, peas, and orange segments. Drizzle each serving with 1 1/2 tablespoons of the reserved juice mixture.