{Chipotle Chicken Quesadillas}

This was one of those totally spur of the moment, let’s throw in random-ish ingredients we have in the fridge, and see if it works–and this time, it totally did! Although, when you add this much cheese to anything can’t go too wrong. It was definitely a delicious twist on a standard Mexican food staple that we’ll have to add to the recipe box because it is a keeper! PS I definitely had to have a larger than usual salad on the side to justify this one!

On a side note, today is my last day of school before break–get prepared for an epic Christmas cookie baking week next week!

Chipotle Chicken Quesadillas

Serves 3

Ingredients:

3 flour tortillas

1 large chicken breast

1/2 onion, sliced

2 cups monterey jack cheese, packed

2 banana peppers, sliced

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 teaspoons paprika

Salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

Olive oil

Steps:

In a large frying pan, heat olive oil until warm. Add onions and peppers and cook until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Slice chicken breast into strips. Sprinkle with cayenne pepper, paprika, salt, and pepper, coating both sides evenly.

In the same frying pan you used to saute the onions and peppers, now add chicken and cook until done, about 5 minutes depending on the size of your strips. Remove from heat and chop into smaller pieces.

Assemble quesadillas by combining 1/3 of cheese, chicken, and peppers/onions into each tortilla. Cook until the cheese melts, about 3 minutes on each side.

Serve with chipotle sauce (see below), and enjoy!

Chipotle Sauce

Print recipe!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon vinegar

1 chipotle in adobo, minced

Salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

Steps:

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix thoroughly. Refrigerate for at least 10 minutes. Serve on top of or on the side of quesadillas.

Happy Friday!

{Frito Pie Not}

Happy Monday everyone! I’m sad to see the weekend go, but it’s my last week of school before Christmas–yippee! Plus, my CSA veggie delivery always makes for an exciting start to the week.

Today’s recipe was inspired by Food Network’s Diners, Drivers, and Dives, one of our favorite shows to watch and fantasize about all of the crazy good but horribly unhealthy looking food out there. The inspiration recipe? Frito Pie. Before you get too worried, this recipe does not actually contain any fritos, I promise! It doesn’t even contain any chips. What it does contain is a super delicious chicken, beans, fresh veggies, and Mexican chili mixture that the restaurant on the show used to top their frito pie with.

We decided to serve it with a side of rice, refried beans (shocker!), and a tortilla and tore the tortilla to grab bits of each side. It would also be great in a sandwich or as enchilada filling!

PS- We used a rotisserie chicken to speed up the process a bit, but you could also boil your own!

Mexican Chicken Chili 

Serves 4

Print recipe!

Ingredients:

1 rotisserie chicken, shredded

2 cups chicken broth

2 tablespoons tomato paste

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup crushed tomatoes

2 dried pasilla chiles, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt, to taste

Steps:

In a large frying pan, saute garlic in olive oil until browned.

Add 1/2 of chicken broth and both pasilla chiles and steep in liquid for 2-3 minutes.

Add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, chicken and remainder of chicken broth, and reduce until sauce is just a coating on the chicken, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add salt to taste.

Serve with warm rice, beans, and a tortilla (or however you like!) and enjoy!

{Quinoa with Chicken Sausage, Broccoli, and Goat Cheese}

Yep, more quinoa–I really can’t get enough of this stuff! This recipe is a combination of other meals I’ve shared before, like this dinner and this lunch, but it turned out so yummy, I think it deserves it’s own spot on the blog. As I’ve probably said many times before, I love quinoa because it’s so easy to make, adds great flavor, and can act as a great meat substitute in a meal. Of course, I added chicken sausage to it this time (as per Jeff’s request, of course), so I guess it wasn’t really serving as a substitute this time!

The melty, creamy goodness of the goat cheese is what makes this meal extra special. When combined with the quinoa mixture, it simply melts and melds with the dish so well that every bite has a hint of cheesy flavor. Plus, it makes for a great lunch the next day. You could even place it in pita bread or a tortilla, or serve it on top of lettuce for a quinoa salad if you want to mix it up a bit!

Quinoa with Chicken Sausage, Broccoli, and Goat Cheese Recipe

Serves 4

Print recipe!

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa, uncooked

2 cups broccoli, chopped

2 chicken sausages

1/4 onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup goat cheese

1/4 teaspoon cumin

Salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

Olive oil

Steps:

Cook quinoa according to package instructions. Remove from pot and place in large bowl

While the quinoa cooks, heat olive oil in a medium skillet. Add onions and garlic and cook for about 1-2 minutes.

Add chicken sausage to onions and garlic and cook until done, about 4 minutes on each side. Remove sausage from pan and cut into 1/2 inch rounds. Add to bowl with quinoa (with the onions and garlic).

Add broccoli, cumin, salt, and pepper to quinoa/sausage mixture and stir well.

Stir in goat cheese and combine, adding a bit more if necessary (the goat cheese may clump together in certain spots so be sure to mix well).

Enjoy!

I think I might have to make a dedicated quinoa recipes section, what do you think?

{Chicken Enchiladas with Red Sauce}

Be warned: this dish is not healthy nor does it contain many fresh ingredients. Unless you consider bagged cheese a fresh ingredient, then it has lots–I mean, just look at that picture! This is a result of what happens when I let Jeff have free reign over the kitchen and the menu. It was all could do not to cry a little…and then I took a bite. Hello, flavor!

For the filling, he had made a mix of chicken, corn, sauce, and chipotles in adobo which melded together to create a smokey hot chipotle flavor that was to die for. Chipotles in adobo, where have you been all my life? Going the traditional route does have its downsides (in addition to all that fat). I miss my refrieds! So, while this is a great recipe for all of you meat and cheese lovers out there, or all of you trying to butter up (pun intended) a meat and cheese lover, I think I’ll stick stick to my beloved beans. But it sure does taste good!

I did make a large salad to go on the side–calories and fat cancel each other out, right?

Side note: enchiladas are a great way to use up all of that extra turkey you’ll have lying around after tomorrow. Although you might want to try a lighter version after all of that eating I know I’m planning on doing!

Chicken Enchiladas with Red Sauce Recipe

Serves 4

Print recipe!

Ingredients:

4 tortillas

1 chicken breast

1/2 can (22oz) corn

1 can (16oz) red enchilada sauce

1 can (4oz) green chilis

1/2 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 chipotle in adobo sauce

1 block (16oz) medium cheddar cheese, grated

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

Salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

Olive oil

Steps:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Poach chicken until cooked all the way through, about 10-15 minutes. Remove chicken from water and pull with hands/knife.

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a frying pan. Add onions, cook until translucent.

Add garlic, chipotles, corn, chicken, and 1/4 of enchilada sauce to onions. Season with salt, pepper, cumin, and chili powder and reduce, covered, for about 5-10 minutes.

Place 1/4 chicken mixture with a little less than 1/4 cheese into each tortilla and place in 8×8 baking pan. Cover tortillas with the remaining enchilada sauce and cheese.

Bake enchiladas until cheese has melted, about 25-30 minutes.

Enjoy!