Mexican Lasagna

Mexican Lasagna

 

Adapted from Mel’s Kitchen Café

 

Prep Time: 15 min / Cook time: 55 min

 

Ingredients

1 ½ lb. ground turkey

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

6-oz can tomato paste

1 Tbsp chili powder

2 tsp cumin

Dash cayenne pepper

1 tsp dried oregano

24-oz can tomato sauce

14.5-oz can diced tomatoes, drained

15-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 ½ cup frozen corn kernels, thawed

Salt & pepper, to taste

9-12 lasagna noodles (either no-boil, or cook and drain regular noodles)

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup sour cream

8-oz cream cheese

 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees; grease a 9X13-inch pan.

 

2. Brown ground turkey and onion over medium heat in a large skillet until cooked through.  Drain grease. Add garlic, tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, cayenne, oregano, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, black beans, and corn. Mix well, season with salt and pepper, and heat for about 5 minutes.

 

3. Cover bottom of prepare pan with a thin layer of the sauce mixture.  Layer 3-4 noodles over the sauce, spread 1/3^rd of the sauce mixture over the noodles, and then spread 1/3^rd of the sour cream and cream cheese across the sauce. Top with 1/3^rd of the cheeses. Repeat two more times until all ingredients are used.

 

4. Cover with tin foil, and bake at 350 for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake 10-15 minutes more, until lasagna is bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting into and serving.

 

Make Ahead Directions

Assemble lasagna up to 12 hours in advance. Let the meat/sauce mixture come to room temperature before assembling. Cover with tin foil and refrigerate. Bake as directed, adding an additional 5-10 minutes.

Taco Ranch Chicken Sandwiches

 Thanks to public transportation, I don't typically mind commuting in the snow, but today's commute was absolutely brutal.  The wind gusts were so strong that my umbrella flipped out on me, and the snow hurt as it hit my exposed skin! I keep telling myself this means there will be fresh snow on the ground when KK and I go skiing this weekend (first time in 2+ years) with friends at Gore Mountain.  With all this snow, I should also mention how very thankful I am for the Hunter Boots that I got for my birthday last year (thanks dad!!).  If this is what winters are going to be like from here on out, I need to find a pair of manly snow boots for KK - anyone have any brands they recommend?

I realize this isn’t necessarily one of the healthiest meals I’ve prepared for you, but it is certainly one of the more tasty ones.  KK decided we’d increase the amount of chicken from the original recipe to make each sandwich meatier and more filling.  When assembling the biscuit sandwiches, make sure to leave free a small edge so you have enough space to seal the sandwiches.  I didn’t properly seal one of mine, and some of the filling escaped while the biscuits were cooking.  You can get fancy while sealing the sandwiches by using a fork or even scissors to crimp around the edges, or you can go my route and just close them off with your fingers.  Because we increased the amount of chicken, I was unable to fit all of the filling into the sandwiches, so we just ate the leftover filling on the side.  To reheat any leftovers, cut each sandwich into fourths, microwave for 20 seconds, and then heat in the toaster oven to avoid soggy biscuits.  The dressing will stay fresh for several days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  I liked the combination of ranch dressing and taco seasoning so much that I might start adding it to regular salads as well!

 Taco Ranch Chicken Sandwiches

Adapted from Pillsbury

Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients

Cooking spray

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 lb. chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 small yellow onion, chopped

2 ½ Tbsp taco seasoning, divided

1 ½ cups ranch dressing

1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese

1 medium plum tomato, seeded and diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

16.3 oz. Pillsbury Grands! Homestyle Refrigerated Buttermilk Biscuits

1 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Lettuce, for serving

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375; lightly spray baking sheet with cooking spray.

2. Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Combine chicken, onion, and 1 teaspoon taco seasoning in the skillet.  Cook 5-8 minutes, stirring frequently until chicken is cooked through and onions are soft.  Remove skillet from heat and allow mixture to cool slightly.

3.  Combine ranch dressing and 2 tablespoons taco seasoning in a medium bowl.  Reserve 1 cup of the dressing for dipping in a small bowl.  Add cheese, tomato, garlic, and chicken mixture to the medium bowl.  Stir to coat the mixture with the remaining ranch dressing.

4. Separate dough into 8 biscuits.  Place 4 biscuits onto the prepared baking sheet; use fingers to press each biscuit into a 5-inch round.  Divide the chicken mixture evenly onto the center of each biscuits.  Press remaining 4 biscuits over top of the chicken mixture, pressing the top and bottom edges together firmly to seal the sandwiches.

5. Mix together Parmesan cheese and ⅛ teaspoon taco seasoning in a small bowl.  Rub mixture on top of biscuit sandwiches. 

6. Bake 16-20 minutes until sandwiches are deep golden brown, allowing time for inside of biscuits to cook.  Cool 3-5 minutes prior to serving.  Serve on a bed of lettuce, with dipping sauce on the side.

Mexican Stuffed Shells

Happy Super Bowl weekend! We've already had a busy weekend, and kickoff is still hours away! We celebrated a friend's birthday on Friday with dinner at Zack's and drinks at Cork City; discovered a fun wine/social networking app called ViVino; and I hosted my annual Wine, Cheese, and a Dirty Santa party with my girl friends.  I spent Saturday afternoon prepping for the party, so I promise I'll eventually have a recipe recap for you! Tonight we're watching the game at our friends' apartment in town.  With the game being played less than 7 miles from the apartment, going anywhere requiring the car would be a bad idea! Since we are so close to MetLife Stadium, Hoboken has some Super Bowl swag of it's own.  The picture below, courtesy of my old roommate who snapped it bright and early this morning, is of Super Bowl roman numerals on Hoboken's Pier A.  I'm not rooting for any team in particular tonight (better luck next year, Redskins!), so I'm most looking forward to tonight's commercials!

The original recipe called for adding a full cup of water to the sausage as it cooked.  I was tempted to skip that step, but ended up adding half the water to make sure we didn’t end up with a dry shell filling.  I used heaping teaspoons of chili powder, hot salsa, and hot enchilada sauce.  And guess what? This meal was rather spicy! If you can’t handle spicy foods, consider using less chili powder or more mild varieties of salsa and enchilada sauce.  Nevertheless, this meal was pretty good.  KK preferred this dish over the one I made a few weeks ago, most likely because he loves enchilada sauce.  I liked them both, and probably wouldn't be able to tell which shell was which if you gave both of them to me at the same time!

Mexican Stuffed Shells

Adapted from Barbara Bakes

Time: 1 hour

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

14-16 jumbo pasta shells

1 lb. ground chicken sausage

2 tsp chili powder

½ tsp cumin

½ tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

dash cayenne powder

½ cup water

4 oz. low fat cream cheese

1 ½ cup salsa

10-oz. can enchilada sauce

1-2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese

Sour cream, optional topping

Green onions, optional topping

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain, rinse with cool water, and set aside.

2. After pasta water boils, preheat oven to 350°.

3. In a large nonstick skillet, cook chicken sausage and spices over medium-high heat; use a spatula or wooden spoon to break up large pieces of sausage.   When sausage is almost cooked, add water and continue to cook until water is absorbed.  Reduce heat to low, add cream cheese, and stir until cheese melts.  Set aside to cool.

4.  Coat bottom of 9x13 baking dish with salsa.  Stuff each pasta shell with meat mixture, and place in prepared 9x13 pan open side up.  Spread enchilada sauce over stuffed shells.  Cover baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 25-30 minutes; salsa will be bubbling and shells will start to brown.  Uncover baking dish, sprinkle shells with cheese mixture; bake uncovered for 10-15 minutes or until cheese melts.  Serve warm.  If desired, top with sour cream, green onions, or more salsa.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

Happy New Year!! Most of the blogs I read posted their Most Viewed/Top posts of 2013, but I’ll save that for the end of January to celebrate my first blogiversary! So – how did everyone ring in the New Year? Instead of waiting hours to see the Times Square ball drop, without food/warmth/bathrooms, KK and I hosted a party at our place.  We ordered dinner from Grimaldis, and munched on homemade goodies like buffalo chicken dip, spice cupcakes, pumpkin bread, and brownie batter dip.  Since my friends were all eager to bake, I just provided the basics – wine, cheese and crackers, hummus, a veggie platter, and Archer Farms Butter Toffee Caramel Clusters courtesy of Target (YUM!).  We were having too much fun catching up that we weren’t prepared with our champagne toast and noisemakers when the ball dropped.  Whoops! Thankfully, KK rewound the DVR so we could properly ring in the New Year (just a few minutes late!).  Sadly, I had to return to work today, but it’s already Thursday so the weekend is just around the corner!!

This cheesy soup was simply divine, and we even had all the ingredients already on hand! Usually, soups take awhile to simmer and come together, but this only takes ~20 minutes.  I recommend nuking the cream cheese in the microwave for 15 seconds to soften it up before blending together the sauce mixture.  This will help create the soup’s smooth consistency.  The original recipe lacked a bit of flavor, but that was quickly solved by added heaping teaspoons of cumin and chili powder.  Instead of seasoning the soup with salt while cooking, the chips added the right amount of saltiness at the end.  In fact, I continuously added crumbled tortilla chips to my bowl, making the crunchiness last throughout the entire meal!

Chicken Enchilada Soup

Adapted from Some the Wiser

Time: 20 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients

1 tsp canola oil

1 lb. chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature

10 oz. can enchilada sauce

15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 ½ cups frozen corn, thawed

10 oz. can diced tomatoes

¾ cup milk

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

Tortilla chips, for serving

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat.  Cook chicken and onions 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally until chicken is cooked through.  Add garlic and continue cooking for 1 minute.

2. Use a hand mixer or immersion blender to blend cream cheese and enchilada sauce together in a small bowl.  Mixture should be smooth.  Once chicken is cooked, pour cheese sauce mixture into the skillet.  Stir in beans, corn, diced tomatoes, milk, cumin, and chili powder.  Simmer over medium-low heat until heated through, about 7 minutes.  Serve warm, topped with crushed tortilla chips.

Crockpot Santa Fe Chicken

KK and I got into the Christmas spirit yesterday by partaking in a Twelve Pubs of Christmas bar crawl.  And, of course, we all wore ugly Christmas sweaters.  This is the third annual pub crawl organized by my Irish friend Dave, so he made sure we stuck to a strict schedule of 30 minutes per bar.  Dave's also perfected the art of selecting bars in close proximity to one another, so this year's route was in the Financial District:
1. The Dubliner: KK arrived promptly for the 6PM kickoff toast.
2. Becketts
3. Stone Street Tavern
4. The Growler: This is where I joined the fun!
5. Ulysses': A few of us moved here early to order and inhale a quick dinner!
6. Harry's
7. Mercantile Grill
8. Killarney Rose
9. The Full Shilling: KK and I opted to make this our last stop because we wanted to catch the last direct train back to Hoboken.

I'm sad we weren't able to stick it out until the end, but glad we avoided massive hangovers! Keeping the holiday festivities going, I'm heading to a cookie swap tonight.  My dough's been in the refrigerator for almost 2 hours, so it'll be time for me to get baking once I finish this post!

As the temperature drops, soups and slow cooker recipes are making their way back into the rotation.  I have a love-hate relationship with the slow cooker; I love it because it makes dinner so easy and simple, but I hate it for the same reasons because it eliminates the fun of preparing the meal.  And, like most slow cooker meals, this one was simple: simply toss everything into the slow cooker, cover, cook for several hours, then enjoy!  KK and I both topped our dishes with crushed tortilla chips - the crunchiness was a nice touch.  I also turned mine into a “Santa Fe salad” by adding a substantial amount of lettuce to my bowl.  This meal could also be served plain, over rice, or made into a wrap with tortillas or large pieces of lettuce.

Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken

Adapted from The Comfort of Cooking

Time: 5 hrs on low, or 9 hrs on high

Serves: 6

Ingredients

1 lb. chicken breasts (can be frozen)

14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes with mild green chilies, drained

15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 ½ cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 ½ cups frozen corn

1 large green pepper, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

½ tsp kosher salt

¼ tsp black pepper

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp cayenne pepper

Optional toppings: shredded cheese, sour cream, guacamole

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a slow cooker.  Nestle chicken into mixture and cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-6 hours.

2. 30 minutes prior to serving, shred with two forks.

3. Serve warm, and garnish with your favorite toppings.

Taco Stuffed Shells

Where has the time gone? Last week flew by – probably because I had most of the week off from work, and it was spent relaxing with family in Hilton Head.  I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and a successful Black Friday! With a Verizon contract renewal, KK and my dad got a free Samsung Galaxy S4 from Best Buy.  I wasn’t in the market for any new electronics, but I was especially excited to snag the last bag of Gingerbread M&M’s which are sold exclusively at WalMart! I also scored a new purse from the Coach outlet; unfortunately, I won’t get my hands on it until Christmas when Santa puts it under the tree.  Speaking of the tree, we drove from Hilton Head to Northern Virginia on Saturday and spent the day at my dad’s house before heading back to Hoboken.  Since we had some time to kill, I decided it was time to decorate the Christmas tree! Isn’t she a beauty!? It’s hard to believe that Christmas is just over 3 weeks away, but I’m certainly looking forward to spending more time with family in the weeks to come!

Since I’ve made taco seasoning before, KK had me whip up another batch of it for this meal.  He also decided that we’d give homemade taco sauce a try as well.  We found a recipe on The Make Your Own Zone, combined all the ingredients in a lidded bowl, spiced it up with an additional heaping ½ teaspoon chili powder, refrigerated it (covered) for a few hours to let the flavors blend together, and then nuked it in the microwave for 30 seconds when I was ready to use it.  It was delicious.  We'll probably never buy canned taco sauce again.  Ok - that's clearly an exaggeration, but now we have the option to make our own in a pinch, rather than running out to the store if we don't have any in stock! I used about 1½ cups of cheese to top the shells; we probably could've done with a little less cheese, but KK convinced me to finish the open package rather than leave such a small amount unused.  We were, after all, on our way out of town for Thanksgiving! My usual complaint about stuffed shells is the lack of sauce and often times they come out of the oven looking very dry.  However, that wasn’t the case with these stuffed shells! There was a nice layer of salsa and taco sauce on the bottom of the pan which KK and I used to top off our shells.  With that being said, we’ll probably need to add salsa when we reheat the leftovers, but that’s to be expected as the shells will absorb the excess liquid in the refrigerator. 

Taco Stuffed Shells

Adapted from Gonna Want Seconds

Time: 1 hour

Serves: 4

Ingredients

14-18 large pasta shells

1 lb. ground turkey

¼ cup (1 package) taco seasoning

4-oz. cream cheese

Cooking spray

1 cup salsa

1 - 1 ½ cups taco sauce

1-2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese

Sour cream, optional topping

Directions:

1. Boil water in a large pot and cook shells according to package directions.  Preheat oven to 350° when pasta water boils.  Once pasta is done, drain and rinse with cold water.

2. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over high heat.  Add ground turkey and taco seasoning to the skillet, and cook until turkey is no longer pink, about 5-8 minutes.  Stir in cream cheese; remove mixture from heat once cheese is completely melted.  Set aside and cool.

3. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray; coat bottom of the dish with salsa.  Stuff each shell with the meat mixture, and place shells open-side up in the prepared dish.  Cover shells with taco sauce.

4. Cover baking dish with tin foil and bake for 20-25 minutes; sauce will be bubbling.  Cover shells with shredded cheese and bake uncovered for an additional 5-10 minutes, until cheese melts.  If desired, serve with sour cream or additional salsa.

Creamy Chicken Taquitos

I must admit that I'd been avoiding this recipe for quite some time, but we were running out of recipes to cook before vacation so I had to bite the bullet and give it a try.  Why, you ask, was I avoiding it? I have another recipe for Chicken and Cheese Taquitos, and it just wasn't one of my favorites.  The original recipe was on the dry side, so I assumed this recipe would be the same.  WRONG! Annie's creamy version of taquitos was a home run in Apt. 3D!  The tortilla outside was nice and crispy, and the filling was the right amount of creamy.  It's hard to explain, but the crispy/creamy juxtaposition was just perfect.  I opted to top mine with salsa, and KK chose sour cream - either works.  Feel free to use smaller tortillas, and adjust the quantity of filling for each taquito accordingly.  If you're a busy bee, without much time to cook on a regular weeknight, you can assemble the taquitos on the weekend and freeze them.  When you're ready to eat them, just add a few additional minutes to the original bake time to ensure the filling is warmed through.  If the tops of the taquitos start to burn, cover them with tinfoil, and move the oven rack to its lowest position for the last few minutes of cook time.

Creamy Chicken Taquitos

Adapted from Annie's Eats
Time: 35 minutes
Serves: 3-4

Ingredients
1 lb. chicken, shredded or cut into cubes
1 small onion, chopped
Cooking spray
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
¼ cup salsa
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 tsp chili powder
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp. onion powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup shredded Mexican cheese
5-6 burrito-sized tortillas
Salsa and sour cream, optional topping

Directions
1. In a large nonstick skillet, cook chicken and onions until chicken is no longer pink.  Plate and set aside.

2. Preheat the oven to 425; line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly coat with cooking spray.

3. In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, salsa, lime juice, spices, garlic, chicken and onion mixture, and shredded cheese.  Stir together until thoroughly combined.

4. If tortillas are not pliable, heat tortillas in microwave for 20 seconds.  Spoon about ¼ cup of the filling mixture on one edge of the tortilla.  Roll tortilla tightly around the filling, and place seam-side down on the prepared baking sheet.  Repeat with the remaining tortillas and filling.  Spray tops of taquitos lightly with cooking spray.

5. Bake 15-20 minutes, until crisp and slightly browned.  Serve with sour cream and salsa, if desired.

Enchilada Zucchini Boats

One year ago today, while KK and I were fortunate enough to be on a beach in Thailand, Hoboken and the rest of the Eastern seaboard were hit by Hurricane Sandy.  Thankfully, we were able to keep in touch with family and friends through email and social media sites (I joined Twitter so I could see pictures of Hoboken).  A friend moved our car, otherwise it would've been totaled by the 3-4 feet of water our apartment's garage took on.  And finally - thankfully our heat and power were restored by the time we arrived home, but much of the city was still in the dark.  According to Hoboken's mayor, nearly 80% of Hoboken had flooded, many shops and bars failed to reopen, and the PATH train was down for months (many of you probably saw this picture of the train station I use everyday).  It's amazing to see how the city's residents came together and rebuilt after the storm's devastation, and it's even more reassuring to hear that that Hoboken officials are still working to improve the city's infrastructure to lessen the impact of future flooding.  Hoboken's been my home for 12 years, and I think KK and I will be here for a few more, so I'm happy to see the city bouncing back to life!

Now - onto the food! I should warn you that these zucchini boats take awhile to prepare.  It's not that they were difficult to make, but they just took longer than a normal weeknight meal.  This recipe works best if you already have extra shredded chicken, otherwise you'll have to add additional cook time.  Luckily, KK had enough foresight in his menu planning to have me prepare extra chicken when I made the Chicken Chili Tacos (we actually had these boats the same week as the tacos, but my posting schedule has been wacky recently).  To hollow out the zucchini boats, I simply used a regular spoon from the kitchen drawer.  If you're feeling fancy (and if you have one), feel free to use a melon baller for that step.  The rest of the steps were straightforward and easy to follow.  Use as much or as little cheese as you like when topping the boats.  Since the primary ingredients of this meal are vegetables, we opted not to serve dinner with a side salad.  I did, however, get a little innovative with the leftovers - I chopped up one of the leftover boats and used it as salad topper for lunch later during the week!

Enchilada Zucchini Boats
Adapted from Skinny Taste
Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients
4 medium zucchinis
1 tsp olive oil

1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 green bell pepper, diced

½ lb. chicken breast, cooked and shredded

1 tsp cumin

½ tsp dried oregano

½ tsp chipotle chili powder
3 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp tomato paste
10-oz. can enchilada sauce
Salt and pepper, to taste

¾ c shredded Mexican cheese
Salsa and sour cream, optional toppings

Directions
1. Bring a large pot of water to boil.  When water boils, preheat oven to 400.

2. Meanwhile, cut zucchini in half lengthwise.  Using a small spoon, scoop out flesh, leaving 1/4" thick zucchini "boats."  Save insides of zucchini for later use.  Drop the zucchini halves in pot of boiling water.  Cook for 1 minute, and remove.

3. Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Cook onion, garlic and bell pepper for 3 minutes, until onions become translucent.  Add insides of zucchini, season with salt and pepper, and cook 4 minutes.  Add the cumin, oregano, chili powder, water, and tomato paste; cook for 4 minutes.  Finally, add chicken, stir thoroughly, and cook for 3 more minutes.

4. Cover bottom of a glass 9x13 baking dish with ¼ cup enchilada sauce.  Using a spoon, fill each boat with about ⅓ cup chicken mixture.

5. Top filled zucchini boats with remaining enchilada sauce and shredded cheese.  Cover baking dish with foil and bake for 35 minutes.  Cheese will be melted and zucchini will be cooked.  If desired, serve topped with additional salsa and sour cream.

Chicken Chili Tacos

Who’s getting excited for fall TV shows to premiere?? Although I’ll be sad to see some of the summer shows like Graceland, Suits, and The Bridge come to an end, KK and I spent Friday night clearing out the DVR in anticipation of the premieres starting to air over the next two weeks.  I finished watching In Time Saturday morning, dropped my bike off for a tune up, and then KK and I headed to PA for his cousin’s kid’s 1st birthday party.  KK’s cousin lives in an apartment complex that has a clubhouse available for private parties, so the main event was hosted there.  The party was circus themed – complete with cotton candy, popcorn, animal crackers (in lieu of actual animals), games, and a big top tent.  Ayden, the birthday boy, was dressed to the nines in a sharp suit vest! Sadly, the goodie bags were only for the children guests, but KK’s cousin did send our car home with a few extra cupcakes for the road :)

My crockpot hasn't seen the light of day for several months because summer isn't exactly the time to have the slow cooker going all day.  Given that the slow cooker was one of my favorite gifts received at my bridal shower, I was excited when KK told me we were trying a new slow cooker recipe Friday night.  This meal did not disappoint and it will feed an entire army.  After 9.5 hours on low, my chicken was so tender that it began to shred as I stirred the crockpot mixture.  If your chicken doesn't shred as easily, remove it from the crockpot and shred it on a plate or cutting board using two forks.  The chili looked watery well so I added 4 oz. cream cheese to thicken the mixture up a bit.  Based on comments from the original recipe, I also cranked up the heat to high and cooked the chili uncovered for the last 30 minutes.  The chili was still too liquid-y after 10 hours of cooking, but KK and I were hungry, so we forged on.  Despite being quite messy, the tacos were still delicious.  I'm looking forward to the leftovers I brought into work for lunch today.  Instead of dealing with taco shells at work, I plan on warming the chili and having it over lettuce as a chicken chili salad! The instructions below represent a decreased amount of liquid ingredients in the chili.  One final comment - I heated the taco shells in the oven for 7 minutes at 325 degrees to get them extra crispy!

Chicken Chili Tacos
Adapted from Katherine in the Kitchen
Time: 10 minutes + 6-10 hours crockpot cooking
Serves: 8

Ingredients
1 medium onion, chopped 
16-oz can black beans, drained
16-oz can kidney beans, drained
2 8-oz cans tomato sauce
2 14.5-oz cans diced tomatoes, drained
4-oz. can diced green chiles, drained (optional)
10-oz package frozen corn
1 packet taco seasoning 
1 Tbsp cumin 
1 Tbsp chili powder
1.5 lb. frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts 
1 package hard taco shells
Shredded cheese, sour cream and guacamole, for topping (optional)

Directions
1. Combine onion, beans, tomato sauce, drained diced tomatoes, green chilies (optional), corn, taco seasoning, cumin, and chili powder in a large slow cooker.  Place chicken on top and cover.  Cook on low for 10 hours, or high for 6 hours.

2. 30 minutes prior to serving, shred chicken using two forks.  Return chicken to slow cooker, stir to combine, cover, and cook for 30 additional minutes.

3. Serve in taco shells.  If desired, top with Mexican blend cheese, sour cream, and/or guacamole.

Chicken & White Bean Enchiladas

With just two more days until Jess & Ben's wedding, the anticipation and excitement in Apt. 3D is through the roof! I've also been baking like a crazy woman today: Firecracker Cookies (bride's pick) for the rehearsal dinner, and my mom's famous Lemon Squares (groom's pick) for the wedding's dessert table. With baking now complete, I've got a few hours of real work to get through before heading out for mani-pedis with the bridesmaids and bride! We'll head down to Princeton bright and early tomorrow morning for venue setup, check into the hotel, and then head to the rehearsal/BBQ at the groom's parents' house.  Hopefully we're able to get some beauty sleep tomorrow night so we're rested up for Saturday's wedding festivities.  Check back Sunday for a wedding recap!

Some might call it lazy, but I call it resourceful – I opted to use store-bought salsa verde instead of making my own for this recipe.  We had just enough salsa verde leftover from the Corn & Goat Cheese Quesadillas, and it just had to be used! After cooking my chicken, I threw it into a bowl, let it cool a little, and then used my hand mixer to shred the chicken.  The hand mixer method is quick and easy, and I don’t think it adds too much time to cleanup, but you’d have to ask KK for verification.  Better yet – this recipe would be perfect for any leftover cooked chicken you have sitting in the fridge! Either bring your leftover chicken to room temperature naturally or nuke it in the microwave for a minute so you don’t end up with cold enchilada filling once they’re cooked! KK thought it would take me awhile to roll each enchilada, but it only took a few minutes.  I eyeballed the filling quantities instead of measuring the filling for each, and ended up with 7 enchiladas.  Since we were out of salsa verde, KK topped his enchiladas with sour cream while I chose to top mine with traditional red salsa.

Chicken & White Bean Enchiladas

Adapted from Skinny Taste

Time: 50 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients

1 Tsp + 1 tsp olive oil
½ lb. chicken breast

1 small onion, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

4.5-oz can chopped green chiles

15.5-oz can cannellini beans

1 chicken bouillon cube

1 tsp cumin

1 cup salsa verde

½ cup light sour cream

¾ cup Mexican blend cheese

6-8 medium-sized tortillas

Additional sour cream, salsa verde or red salsa for topping

Directions

1. Heat 1 Tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Cut chicken into large chunks, and cook in the skillet until no longer pink inside.  Set aside to cool in a medium bowl.  When chicken has cooled, shred using two forks.

2. Meanwhile, heat 1 teaspoon olive oil on low in a medium saucepan.  Add onions and garlic; sauté 2-3 minutes or until soft.  Stir in green chiles, beans and their juices, bouillon cube, and cumin.  Cover and simmer on low for 15 minutes.  Remove cover, add shredded chicken and cook an additional 5 minutes, or until liquid boils down.

3. Preheat oven to 375°.

4. In a small bowl, combine salsa verde and sour cream.

5. Using ¼ cup salsa mixture, coat the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.  Fill each tortilla with ~⅓ cup chicken filling, roll tortilla into an enchilada shape, and place seam-side down in the prepared baking dish.  Continue until all filling is used.

6. Spread remaining salsa mix on top of the enchiladas.  Top with cheese.  Cover with aluminum foil and bake 25 minutes, until cheese has melted and edges begin to crisp.  Serve hot, topped with additional salsa and/or sour cream.

Oven-Baked Chimichangas

Well the weekend of no plans turned into quite a busy one! KK met his cousin at Pilsner Haus, Hoboken's biergarten, while I stayed home to relax on Friday night.  We spent the majority of Saturday in Brooklyn.  We walked half of the Brooklyn Bridge (the Brooklyn side) for the  surprise engagement of two of my friends! After the big question (with the answer being YES, of course!), we hung out at a friend's apartment, BBQ'd on the roof with panoramic views of downtown NYC, and celebrated the engagement with a few champagne toasts.  After dinner, we headed out to Ceol and met up with some of my coworker friends for some karaoke.  I spared everyone, but KK definitely did a duet with one of our friends! On Sunday, we went to Anthony David's for a BYOChampagne brunch, and then fulfilled some bridesmaid duties with a little wedding arts and crafts! I'm feeling slightly exhausted right now, but it was an amazingly fun weekend!

Oven-baked chimis.  This was one of KK's favorite NYC-friendly meals.  The dish's spice comes from the chipotle peppers, so there's no need to have additional herbs in the pantry.  The rest of the dish's ingredients were the basic essentials KK used to keep on hand - rice, beans, and tortillas.  Perfect! If you have extra filling, you can either make additional chimis or just eat the rice and bean mixture on the side as a snack while the chimis are in the oven.  Make sure to coat the chimis with oil before baking them.  It may seem like a superfluous step, but the oil makes the outside of the tortillas nice and crispy.  Serve with salsa, sour cream, or guacamole if you have it on hand.

Oven-Baked Chimichangas
Adapted from Mel's Kitchen
Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients
3/4 cup brown or white rice
3 Tbsp vegetable oil, divided
1 lb. chopped chicken
1 onion, chopped fine
16-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 tsp minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
1 cup shredded Mexican cheese 
Salt and pepper, to taste
6 large burrito-size flour tortillas
Salsa and sour cream, for serving

Directions
1.  Place rimmed baking sheet in the oven and preheat to 450.  Cook rice according to package directions.

2. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon oil over in a large skillet over medium heat.  Cook chicken until no longer pink inside.  Plate and set aside.

3.  Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in the same skillet, and cook onion until softened, about 3 minutes.  Stir in the beans, rice, chicken and chipotle.  Cook until the mixture is heated through, about 3-5 minutes. Remove skillet from heat, stir in cheese, and season with salt and pepper.

4. Place tortillas on a plate and cover with a damp paper towel.  Microwave until warm, about 30 seconds.  Top each tortilla with a scoop of the chicken mixture, leaving a 1-2 in. border around the edges.  Fold in the sides and roll up the tortillas into tight wraps.

5. Remove prepared baking sheet from oven and carefully cover with tinfoil.  Brush tortillas with remaining oil; place seam-side down on the baking sheet.  Bake until chimichangas are golden brown, about 7-10 minutes.  Serve topped with salsa and/or sour cream.

Corn & Goat Cheese Quesadillas

When this publishes, we'll be rafting down the Delaware River, so keep your fingers crossed for good weekend weather in Pond Eddy, NY! 

Rewinding for a second: I don't think I've mentioned it before, but KK and I met at work in 2005, but we didn't start dating until he left the company in 2009.  We have a joint group of coworker friends that we hang out with a good bit.  This weekend is our 6th annual camping/rafting trip with these coworker friends, and it's something we all look forward to every year! Two of the usual couples couldn't make it this year - one's wife just had a baby, and another coworker is due in September - but we're forging on without them! Before leaving, I marinated chicken for Chipotle Chicken Kabobs and pork for Cinnamon-Spiced Pork Skewers (recipe forthcoming) for Friday night's dinner.  We'll either cook them directly over the campfire or on a charcoal grill.  I'll let you know how they turn out!

Remember that third ear of free corn I mentioned the other day? Well here it is! I husked the cork, cut off the kernels, browned them up a bit over the stove, and made these quesadillas! Despite the fact that he has a slight aversion to goat cheese, KK's been nice enough to include it in the menu rotation every now and again because it is one of my favorite cheeses.  Instead of waiting for your goat cheese to come to room temperature, throw it into a microwave-safe bowl and heat it for about 10 seconds.  After briefly heating it, it should be very easy to combine the cheese and corn.  With the 8-inch tortillas, I made 2.5 quesadillas.  If you don't have 8-inch tortillas (the original recipe called for 6-inch), use whatever size you have and use your judgement when dividing the cheese into servings/quesadillas.  KK was excited to switch from traditional red salsa (Chi Chi's always seems to be on sale) to salsa verde when we snagged this jar of Rosa Mexicano Salsa Verde de Habanero on super sale for $1.25.  The salsa verde was a nice change of pace, but be warned if you get the same kind because the habanero peppers make it HOT!!! And finally - cleanup was a breeze since the corn and quesadillas were cooked in the same skillet!

Corn & Goat Cheese Quesadillas
Adapted from myrecipes.com
Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 2

Ingredients
1 ear corn, kernels removed
5-oz. goat cheese, softened
4 to 6 8-inch whole wheat tortillas
2 Tbsp salsa verde, plus more for serving
Cooking spray
Red salsa and sour cream, for serving

Directions 
1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Sauté corn 3-5 minutes, until browned.

2. Combine corn, goat cheese, and 2 Tbsp salsa verge in a small bowl; stir until combined.

3. Spread desired quantity of cheese mixture onto two tortillas, leaving 1/4 inch bare around the edges; cover with remaining tortillas.  If additional cheese mixture remains, make another quesadilla.

4. Reheat skillet over medium-high, and coat with cooking spray.  Cook one quesadilla at a time, about 1-2 minutes per side.  Recoat pan with cooking spray before each quesadilla.  Cut into wedges and serve with additional salsa verde, red salsa, and/or sour cream.