Cheesy Chicken Southwest Pasta Casserole

When I first found this recipe, it was not very healthy. I went through the recipe and eliminated the butter and the cream. I also changed the pasta to whole wheat, which again makes the recipe healthier.

 I do admit that it still is not very healthy because of the bouillon cubes (which can be substituted for fat free broth,) the tortilla chips and the cheese (which can also be swapped out for fat free version.)

When I made this recipe, I was surprised by my family’s reaction. I was not expecting them to like this dish since I am not big fan of making casseroles. When I asked them after their first bites how they liked the dish, my daughter picked up her bowl, pulled in close to her, and said “mine.” The rest of the family had the same reaction, which meant by my son’s standards it was blog worthy.

Do not let the jalapeño's deter you from making this dish. There is a lot of spice but not heat from them. 

 This would make a great potluck dish!

 

Ingredients:

1 pound whole grain pasta such as rotini

1 ½  cups diced onion
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped
2 ½ cups corn, can be frozen, canned or fresh
1/4-1/3 cup all purpose flour {depending on how much liquid the veggies give off}
2 ½  cups chicken stock or 2 1/2 cups of boiling water with two bouillon cubes
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
salt & pepper, to taste
3 cups of Kraft Mexican Cheddar Jack Cheese, preferably Cream Cheese variety
4 cups chopped chicken, I used boneless skinless breast
2 to 3 cups crushed tortilla chips

 

Directions:

Cook pasta as recommended on the box. Drain and set aside.

 In large skillet, sauté onions, garlic, peppers, jalapenos and corn until tender, 7 minutes or so.

 Sprinkle in flour and stir. Cook 2 minutes, then pour in chicken stock. Increase heat to thicken sauce, then sprinkle in cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, ½ of the cheese, chicken and cooked pasta.

 Stir to combine and pour into 3 qt casserole dish.

Top with crushed tortilla chips and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Serve.

Crab Stir-Fry

 

This recipe uses my favorite type of crab, Dungeness. Growing up in Northern California, I used to love when crab came into season. The sweet light taste of crab makes my mouth water.

Now living on the other side of the country this type of crab is hard to come by and then you pay about $15.00 a pound for it. Paying that much for crab is there is only way to eat it, steamed and served with butter.

For this recipe, you can use other varieties such as Blue Crab from the East Coast or imitation crab.

 

This recipe only makes two servings.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce

1 tbsp Ginger Root

1 lb Dungeness Crab

4 stalk Young Green Onions (Tops Only)

2 tbsp Dry Sherry (Sherry)

3 oz Baby Bok Choy

1 tbsp Corn Starch

2 tsp Grape seed Oil

1 cup, cooked White Rice

 

Directions

Pick through crabmeat, removing any pieces of cartilage. Cut green onions on the diagonal into slices. Peel and sliver ginger root. Slice bok choy, including greens. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch with 1-tablespoon water to form slurry. Combine soy sauce and sherry in small bowl.

Cook rice according to directions and set aside. Add oil to heated wok or sauté pan. Add crabmeat and ginger root; stir-fry about 1 minute over medium heat. Add green onion and bok choy; stir-fry a minute more. Stir in sherry mixture and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, 2-3 minutes. Stir in cornstarch mixture to thicken and serve immediately over rice.

 

Watermelon Salsa

 

About the only good thing has come out of our wet summer in North Carolina is the watermelons. Since we have had so much rain, the melons are large, sweet and full of juice.

 At the farmers market, I have been picking the smallest melons and it is taking us almost two weeks to eat it them.  With the abundance of fruit, I have been able to try different recipes that use watermelon. My favorite has been watermelon salsa that I found over at Eating Well dot com.

The first time I made this my husband grumbled about why would I waste good watermelon. I made chicken tacos that night and served the watermelon salsa and tortilla chips. After about the sixth time of my husband dipping the chips into the salsa, I said, “Honey, I didn’t think you were going to eat any.”  The reply back was “I did not want to like this, but it is too good to stop eating.” I just love proving him wrong!

So what does it taste like? Hmmm… spicy jalapeños biting at sweet watermelon mix in the sharpness of red onion, while limejuice and cilantro dance around all of them.

 You know I don’t usually add salt to my recipes, for this one you do need to add it.  We ate this on hard and soft tacos, beef and chicken. My favorite is with salty tortilla chips since the salt brings out the sweet of the melon… yummy!

The only thing I did not like about was removing the seeds from the watermelon. You can cheat and but the pre-cut watermelon in the containers at the store.

If you have a little chopper, mini-food processor or even gloves, I would use them for the jalapenos so you don’t have to touch them.

Ingredients:

3 cups finely diced seedless watermelon

2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced

1/3 cup chopped cilantro

1/4 cup lime juice

1/4 cup minced red onion

1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Directions:

Place watermelon, jalapenos, cilantro, limejuice, salt and onion in a medium bowl; stir well to combine. Chill in refrigerator half hour before serving. We actually like it better the second day since the flavors will have a chance to marry.

Oh and one more thing, this is ZERO fat and only about 26 calories per 1/2 cup serving.

 

Italian Beef Sandwiches

I saw a sign recently that stated “Cooking on low is for Sissies” and it made me laugh. I am sure if I took a show of hands many of you, me included, would say you have cranked the temperature up to get a dish done faster.  There are times when you need to cook food slow and longer to get the most taste and best texture. That is one reason we all cling to our crock-pots.

Over my break, I found several new recipes to try. One of the favorites was Italian Beef. I came across Italian Beef while looking for a new way to cook a chuck roast. The flavors in this were amazing.  What I really enjoyed was how juicy and tender the meat was not just the first night, but when we had leftovers.

So what does it taste like? Mildly spicy, but not a lot of heat, add in Italian spices and herbs. The meat is served on Italian bread rolls topped with your choice of sweet peppers, whole pepperoncinis, or giardiniera. The flavors burst in your mouth and your taste buds will think you have thrown them a party! We eat ours like a French dip, the broth or gravy that is left over is too amazing to leave in the pot.

Ingredients:

1 beef chuck roast, 3-5 pounds

4 cup water

4 beef bouillon cubes

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1 envelope onion soup mix

1 envelope Italian salad dressing mix

1 garlic clove, minced

1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried basil

Directions:

In microwave able bowl combine water, bouillon cubes and soup mix. Cook on high for eight minutes or until the bouillon cubes have completely dissolved.  Stir in Italian salad dressing mix, garlic, basil and oregano. Set broth aside

In a 5 quart crock-pot add roast, vinegar and broth. Cook on low for 7-8 hours.

 Remove roast. Shred or chop meat. Spoon shredded meat onto each roll, top with either sweet peppers, whole pepperoncinis, or giardiniera Serve juices as a dipping sauce. Yield: 10 servings.