Chicken and Black Bean Green Enchilada Rice Bake

from Picky-Palate

2 cups white long grain rice

2 1/2 cups cooked, shredded chicken breast

One 15-ounce can mild green enchilada sauce

One 4-ounce can sliced black olives

One 15-ounce can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon McCormick Gourmet Roasted Ground Cumin

One 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Cook rice according to package directions.

3. Place chicken, enchilada sauce, olives, tomatoes, sour cream, salt, pepper and cumin into a large bowl, mixing to combine. Pour cooked rice into prepared baking dish and layer beans on top of rice. Pour chicken mixture over rice and top evenly with cheddar cheese. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until cheese is melted and rice is hot.

Makes 6 to 8 servings

Baked Chicken-Bacon Alfredo

Recipe by Our Best Bites

8 oz. penne or bowtie pasta

1 recipe Guiltless Alfredo Sauce (1 16-oz. jar would work in a pinch)

2 chicken breasts, grilled and chopped (about 2 c. chopped chicken)

6 oz. (1/2 package) cooked bacon, chopped

1 14-oz. jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

1/2 c. chopped green onions (about 1 decent-sized bunch)

1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350.

Prepare pasta according to package directions.

While pasta is cooking, prepare Guiltless Alfredo sauce. When pasta is done, drain and add to the sauce. Toss with chopped chicken, bacon, artichoke hearts, green onions, and 1/2 c. mozzarella. Season to taste.

Transfer mixture to an 8×8″ baking dish and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 c. mozzarella cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until heated through and cheese is bubbly.

Serve with a green salad and breadsticks or a loaf of garlic bread made with Garlic Bread Seasoning.


Guiltless Alfredo Sauce

2 C low-fat milk
1/3 C (3 oz) low fat cream cheese
2 T flour
1 t salt
1 T butter
3 garlic cloves
1 C grated Parmesan cheese

Toss the milk, cream cheese, flour, and salt in a blender.
Process until smooth and set aside.

In a non-stick sauce pan, melt butter on med-high heat and add garlic. Stand above the pan (but not close enough to scald your face) and inhale. Ahhh…butter and garlic. Okay, now get cooking again. Let the garlic saute for about 30 seconds, you don’t want to burn it.

Then add milk mixture to the pan. Stir constantly for about 3 or 4 minutes or until it just comes to a simmer. Keep stirring and let it cook for a few minutes more. It should be much thicker now.


When it’s nice and thickened remove the pan from the heat. Add the cheese, stir it up and then cover immediately. Let stand for at least 10 minutes before using. It will continue to thicken upon standing. Also, if you have leftovers in the fridge, the sauce will thicken almost into a solid. Just re-heat and add a little milk and it will be back to normal again.

"Berry Best" Muffins

Recipe from Cooking with Chopin, Living with Elmo

Makes 12 muffins

Streusel Topping:

1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1/3 cup flour

Zest from 1/2 a lemon, grated (about 2 teaspoons)

1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped (I LEFT OUT)

2 TBSP butter, softened

Muffins:

1 1/2 cup flour

3/4 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

Zest from 1/2 a lemon, grated (about 2 teaspoons)

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled slightly

1 large egg

1 cup berries (thawed frozen blueberries, raspberries, blackberries or a combo all all 3 would work good) -(I LEFT OUT)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

For Streusel Topping: mix brown sugar, flour and lemon zest together in a bowl. Stir in nuts and butter. Mix together until butter is evenly distributed and mixture is crumbly. Set aside.

For Muffins: combine flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Make an indention in the center. Add milk, butter and egg to the indention and mix until smooth. Fold in the berries.

Spoon into 12 greased or paper-lined muffin cups, filling each only 2/3 full. Top with 1 TBSP of struesel topping. Do not overfill the muffin cups or topping will run over into pan. Bake on middle rack in oven for 20-25 minutes (20 MIN WAS PERFECT FOR ME), until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Place on a rack and cool for 5 minutes, then remove muffins from tin and serve warm.

Note: These were delish! I even left out the berries so my kids didn't freak out. I'm not sure if I did something wrong with the streusel topping, because it wasn't really crumbly like it should have been but more like a carmely, crusty, goodness on top. It was YUMMY!

Cowboy Quesadillas

Recipe by Our Best Bites

1/2 C white rice
1/3 C black beans
1 cup diced cooked chicken
1/3 C fresh frozen corn kernels (no need to thaw)
2/3 C diced tomato
3 Tbs sliced green onion
1 1/2 C shredded cheese (any type or combo you like)
1/4 C bbq sauce
6 small tortillas (fajita size, about 6")

Dipping Sauce
equal parts bbq sauce and ranch dressing (here's our favorite)

Combine rice, beans, chicken, corn, tomato, green onion and shredded cheese. Add bbq sauce and stir to combine. Place about 1/3 C of mixture on half of each tortilla and fold over to close.

Heat a skillet to medium heat on the stove top. When hot, spray lightly with cooking spray, or drizzle with canola or olive oil. Place quesadillas in pan and cook for 2-4 minutes or until golden brown and slightly crisp. Flip and repeat on opposite side. Cool for a few minutes and then serve with BBQ-Ranch dipping sauce.

Mustard Marinated Chicken Breasts by Jackie

from Freezer Friendz (link on my sidebar)
Ingredients:
1/4 c. Dijon Mustard
1/4 c. Soy Sauce (lower sodium)
1/4 c. Lemon Juice
1/2 tsp. Thyme
3/4 tsp. Basil
1/2 tsp. Parsley
1/8 tsp. Sage
6 Chicken Breasts

Assembly:
Mix mustard, soy sauce & lemon juice and pour over chicken.
Sprinkle spices over meat. Freeze in Ziploc freezer bag or let marinade for several hours in fridge.

Serving Day:
Thaw. Grill or bake @ 350 for 25 minutes or until chicken is done.

**Also great for marinating beef.

Mexican Dinner Dip - by Mags

This is from Freezer Friendz (link on my side bar)

This works well as a dinner or as an appetizer for a party!

Ingredients:

• Deep square aluminum pan OR deep round Corning Wear dish OR shallow 9x13 pan.
  
• 1 lb. of ground beef
• 1 pkg. taco seasoning
• 1 bag shredded cheddar
• 1 can refried beans
• 8-10 oz. of your favorite salsa
  
• sour cream
• large bag of your favorite taco chips (I like "Scoops!")
  
• Optional: chopped tomatoes and shredded lettuce
• Optional: substitute taco shells for the taco chips

Procedure:

1. I used a deep square pan for a thicker dip. You can also use a 9x13" pan for a shallow dip -- either works fine!
2. Grease your pan!
3. Spread out the refried beans to be the bottom layer.
4. Brown and drain the ground beef. Add in taco seasoning and water according to taco pkg. directions.
5. Spread out the ground beef on top of your refried beans.
6. Spread the salsa out on top of the ground beef.
   
7. Spread out whole bag of cheddar cheese on top of beef.

To Bake Immediately: Bake at 350 for 10 minutes covered with aluminum foil. Then bake for 10 minutes uncovered until cheese is melted.

To Freeze for later: Cover with a couple layers of plastic wrap and foil, and freeze. On cooking day, thaw first, (remove any plastic wrap!), then bake at 350: 10 minutes covered with foil and 10 minutes uncovered until cheese is melted.

Add globs of sour cream on top of dip - or you can have people add this to their own plates. Scoop out big spoonfuls of the meal (be sure to get all of the layers!), and use your taco chips to dip!

You can also add chopped tomatoes, onions, or shredded lettuce to make taco salads. You could scoop up the mixture into taco shells for a fancy taco as well!

This is one of my favorites from growing up - my younger brother was in to cooking in junior high - this was his recipe! Enjoy!

Chicken Potpie

This is my recipe with directions from Taste of Home magazine on how to cook from frozen. This does take longer to cook than most of our dishes, but it DOES NOT need to be defrosted first.

Ingredients:

2 c. shredded cooked chicken

1 can cream of potato soup

1 can cream of chicken or celery1

can mixed vegetables, drained

1/2 c. milk

1/4 t. thyme

1/2 t. pepper

1 refrigerated pie crust

1 egg, slightly beaten

Assembly:Mix 1st 7 ingredients together and pour into a deep dish pie pan. Roll out pastry to fit top. Brush bottom with egg. Place over filling, egg side down. Cut slits and flute edges. Brush top with egg. Cover and bake or freeze.

To bake that day: Cover and bake at 400 for 35-40 minutes or until brown.

To bake from frozen: Cover edges with foil: place on a baking sheet. Bake at 425 for 30 min. Reduce heat to 350; remove foil and bake 50-55 minutes longer or until golden.