Oven-Fried Chicken Chimichangas

Made these for dinner last night and they were extra-yummy!  I did make a couple of changes, however.  I hate 'chopped' chicken in things like this - the texture just isn't right for me, so I put a chicken in the crock pot, sprinkled it with cumin, oregano, chili powder, salt and pepper, added a little water to the bottom and cooked it all day, shredding it when I got home.  For some reason, shredded doesn't bother me as much as the chopped.  And since my husband and older child would simply *die* on the spot if there were onions OR tomatoes in their food, I opted out of the picante sauce and instead tossed the chicken with homemade taco seasoning (which I just posted) and leftover broth from the cooking.  I had originally planned on pureeing the salsa, but was entirely too lazy to do so last night.  LOL

If you'd rather not butter the tops, I have no doubt you could brush with olive oil or even spray with butter flavored Pam if you really wanted to.  I made some homemade Rice-A-Roni (posted here) to go with it.  Very simple and tasty.

Oven-Fried Chicken Chimichangas

From: Campbell's Kitchen

Prep: 20 minutes
Bake: 25 minutes

Serves: 6

Here's a delicious way to enjoy chimichangas without all the mess from deep-frying...and guess what?  They actually taste better this way.

Ingredients:

2/3 cup Pace® Picante Sauce

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves, crushed

1 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese  (about 4 ounces)

2 green onions, chopped (about 1/4 cup)

6 (8-inch) flour tortillas

2 tablespoons butter, melted

Fresh cilantro leaves

Directions:

Stir the picante sauce, cumin, oregano, chicken, cheese and onions in a medium bowl.

Place about 1/2 cup of the chicken mixture in the center of each tortilla. Fold the opposite sides over the filling. Roll the tortillas up from the bottom and place them seam-side down on a baking sheet. Brush the tortilla rolls with butter.

Bake at 400°F. for 25 minutes or until they're golden brown. Serve with additional picante sauce. Garnish with cilantro.

Recipe Tips:

Tip: Substitute 2 cans (4.5 ounces each) Swanson® Premium White Chunk Chicken Breast in Water, drained, for the cooked chicken.

Nutrition Information

Nutritional Values per Serving

Using Pace Picante Sauce: :

Calories 341, Total Fat 17g, Saturated Fat 8g, Cholesterol 61mg, Sodium 672mg, Total Carbohydrate 28g, Dietary Fiber 3g, Protein 19g, Vitamin A 10%DV, Vitamin C 2%DV, Calcium 21%DV, Iron 14%DV

Taco Seasoning Mix

From the Make-A-Mix Cookbook published a bazillion years ago. LOL  Trust me... if you saw the photos in it, you'd understand.  Still a very valuable resource, however.

For my *special* blend, I add an additional teaspoon of ancho chili powder as well as upping the oregano and cumin to 1 teaspoon each. 

Taco Seasoning

Ingredients

2 teaspoons instant minced onion
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon crushed red peppers
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Instructions

Combine seasoning ingredients in a small bowl or container, package into small jar until ready for use.

To make tacos:

Brown ground beef and drain off fat. Add water and dry seasoning mixture. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 20-25 minutes. If mixture gets too thick before cooking is complete, add a small amount of water to thin. Serve on soft or hard taco shells topped with your favorite vegetables and sauce.

Creamy Herbed Chicken and Noodles

Last night’s dinner wasn’t too bad, although it seemed to be missing a bit of something. However, I’m going to post the recipe anyway. I might fiddle with it some more in the future and find that magical, missing element. We’ll see. I also doubled the recipe because one serving as it was written would not have filled Zan up by any means. So, even with it doubled, the main meal came to a little less than 600 calories. Not TOO bad for a dinner. If you don’t count the biscuits I made to go with it. LOL OH! And one change I will definitely make in the future – this would be so much better with shredded rotisserie chicken!

Creamy Herbed Chicken and Noodles

The 1500-Calorie-A-Day Cookbook, pg. 120

6 ounces dry no-yolk egg noodles

½ pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup (4 ounces) light cream cheese with herbs and garlic, such as Alouette

2 tablespoons fat-free milk

1 medium garlic clove, minced

3 medium green onions, chopped fine (1/3 cup)

1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

Cook the noodles according to package directions, omitting any salt or fat.

Meanwhile, heat a medium skillet over medium heat until hot, and coat the skillet with cooking spray. Cook the chicken 4 minutes or until no longer pink in the center, stirring frequently.

Drain the noodles, return them to the pot, and add the chicken and remaining ingredients, except the Parmesan cheese. Toss until the cream cheese has melted and the mixture is well blended. Sprinkle with the Parmesan.

Calories 290; total fat 6g (saturated fat 4g); protein 22g; carbohydrates 36g; fiber 2g; cholesterol 55mg; sodium 530 mg; vitamin A 2%; vitamin C 4%; calcium 15%; iron 10%

Time Shaver Tip: To save time, you can use about 1 ¼ cups cooked chicken in place of the raw chicken, using either leftovers from a rotisserie chicken or the frozen chopped variety.

Crazy Lady’s Note: You could easily add all sorts of vegetables to this making it more filling and a one-dish meal.

Taco Soup

This was tonight’s dinner.  Very flavorful and filling.  The only changes I made were to use Velveeta (I mixed it right in at the end, stirring until it melted) and topped it with a spoonful of sour cream and some tortilla strips.

 

Taco Soup

Prep Time: 5 min

Total Time: 25 min

Makes: 12 servings, 1 cup each

What You Need!

1 lb. Extra lean ground beef

1   onion, chopped

3 cans (15.5 oz. Each) mild chili beans, undrained

1 can  (14.5 oz.) whole tomatoes, undrained

1 can (14.25 oz.) corn, undrained

1 can  (8 oz.) tomato sauce

1 pkg. (1-1/4 oz.) TACO BELL® HOME ORIGINALS® Taco Seasoning Mix

1-1/2 cups  water

1-1/2 cups KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Make It!

BROWN meat with onions in large saucepan; drain.

ADD all remaining ingredients except cheese; stir, breaking up tomatoes. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 5 min., stirring occasionally.

SERVE topped with the cheese.

Recipe courtesy of Kraft Foods.

Butterscotch White Chocolate Cookies

Butterscotch White Chocolate Cookies

3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2-1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1-1/2 cups butterscotch chips
1-1/2 cups white chocolate chips
1/3 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F). Lightly grease and flour baking sheets; set aside. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter, brown and granulated sugars. Cream until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until blended, scraping down the sides of the bowl.

Sift or stir together the flour, salt and baking soda. Add to the butter mixture, beating until blended. Stir in the butterscotch and chocolate chips and the pecans with a heavy wooden spoon.

Drop the dough by tablespoons onto prepared baking sheets, about 1 dozen per sheet. Bake cookies, one sheet at a time, 10 minutes. Let cool on sheets 2 minutes before transferring to cooling racks.

Makes about 4 dozen.

East-West Barbecued Chicken

Review:  This chicken was absolutely delicious!  A bit spicy, a bit sweet and all around yummy.

East-West Barbecued Chicken

Recipe #367070

I am always looking for different recipes, but also ones that I can use up "its and bits" from my fridge. This recipe accomplishes both very well!!
by Abby Girl

35 min | 15 min prep

SERVES 4

chicken pieces
salt & freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup chili sauce
1/4 cup hoisin sauce

Place chicken in zip lock bag. Season with salt and pepper.
Place mustard in small bowl. Whisk in orange juice, oil and pepper flakes. Pour over chicken, turning chicken to coat. Let stand 20 minutes.

Combine chili sauce and hoisin sauce in small bowl.

Prepare barbecue medium-high. Grill chicken until just cooked through, about 10 minutes per side.

Brush one side with chili-sauce mixture and grill until beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Brush second side with sauce and grill until beginning to brown. Serve hot.

© 2009 Recipezaar. All Rights Reserved. http://www.recipezaar.com

Lighter Penne à La Vodka

Review: This was a quick and easy vodka sauce that turned out very tasty.  A tablespoon of crushed red pepper was a bit much for my family, but they all still ate it anyway.

Lighter Penne à La Vodka

Bethenny Frankel Recipe #375293

Bethenny Frankel is from The Real Housewives of New York City. She is also a natural food chef and cooks for many celebrities. I love pasta, especially when it doesn't have all the guilt attached. Enjoy!
by Nif

25 min | 10 min prep

SERVES 4

1 teaspoon salt
2 cups bottled marinara sauce, preferably no-sugar-added
1 1/2 cups low-fat milk or plain soymilk
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 lb whole-grain penne
1/4 cup vodka (inexpensive)
1/4 cup parmigiano-reggiano cheese, grated
1 tablespoon fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped, for garnish

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add salt when simmering.

Warm marinara in a saucepan over medium heat. Slowly add milk, stirring until combined. Bring to a simmer, then lower heat; simmer until sauce reduces slightly. Add crushed red pepper.

Add penne to boiling water. Cook until almost done; add vodka to marinara mixture, and raise heat slightly. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water.

In a large bowl, toss pasta with sauce and Parmigiano-Reggiano, adding some reserved water to thin sauce, if needed. Garnish with parsley, and serve.

© 2009 Recipezaar. All Rights Reserved. http://www.recipezaar.com