MEXICAN CHICKEN

I realized today that I haven't posted in a new recipe in a while. Sorry about that, but life has been crazy lately! So, here's a quick and easy recipe that is also good for you!

MEXICAN CHICKEN
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
20 oz. jar (2 cups) salsa
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
2 TBSP ground cumin
2 TBSP lemon juice
2 TBSP chili powder (I only use 1-1/2)
3 cloves crushed garlic
2 (15 oz) cans black beans, rinsed and drained (I used 1-1/2 cans when I made it – which was enough)

Cooking Day: Place chicken in gallon size Ziplock freezer bag. Mix together salsa, red bell pepper, cumin, lemon juice, chili powder, garlic and beans and add to bag. Freeze.

Serving Day: Thaw. You can either cook this on low 4 to 6 hours in your slow cooker, or place it in a 9x13 pan and bake at 400 degrees for an hour or so.

Serve with rice if desired. Would also be great topped with some Mexican cheese!

EASY BEEF TIPS

This recipe is so easy and so delicious -- sure to be a family favorite!

EASY BEEF TIPS
2 pounds lean chuck roast, cut into 1" pieces
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup 7-UP (or similar)

Cooking Day:
Place meat in labeled Ziplock freezer bag, then add remaining ingredients.

Serving Day:
Thaw and place mixture in slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Serve over noodles or rice.

WHITE CHICKEN CHILI

My apologies to those of you who heard me speak, as this one will be a repeat for you. But it's so good I just had to share it with everyone! That, and the fact that I don't have time this week to type up another recipe . . .

WHITE CHICKEN CHILI

1 to 1-1/2 pounds cooked boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
2 cups finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 - 4 ounce can chopped green chilies
2 - 14 ounce cans chicken broth
3 - 16 ounce cans white Northern beans (or 1 - 48 ounce jar)
2 teaspoons (heaping) cumin
2 teaspoons (level) oregano
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Dash hot sauce

Cooking Day:
In a large soup pot, sauté onions and garlic in olive oil until onions are translucent. Stir in chilies with liquid, chicken broth and beans. Add chicken. Stir in spices and seasonings. Place in freezer bag and freeze.

Note: I use the chicken cooked as directed below and the resulting chicken broth when I make this. I then SKIP sautéing the onions and garlic in olive oil, and just add the garlic to the mix. There is enough onion flavor for us in the cooked chicken and chicken broth. If you prefer to have a more intense onion flavor, then I would recommend sautéing the onions and garlic as directed.

Serving Day:
Thaw. Reheat and serve – tastes best if placed in slow cooker for approximately 6 hours.

TO COOK CHICKEN:
When I have recipes that call for cooked chicken, I cook my chicken overnight in the slow cooker. To do this, place as much chicken as you need (or a whole chicken) in the slow cooker and add the following:

1 or 2 sliced onions
2 tablespoons parsley
2 teaspoons Lawry’s salt
1 or 2 bay leaves

Cover with water and cook on low over night. Remove from slow cooker, cool and shred or cube chicken. Discard bay leaves.

Save the broth! I run it through a colander with a bowl underneath to get all the “gunk” out. If you don’t need the broth for the recipes you are making at the time, you can freeze it for later. I freeze it in a Rubbermaid container.

Note: 1 pound cooked boneless skinless chicken breasts = 2 3/4 cups

GOULASH

1 pound ground beef
1/2 pound sausage
1 large can tomato sauce (29 oz)
1 can corn (drained)
1 cup elbow macaroni
1 green pepper, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped

Brown meat and sausage together. Drain. Add bell pepper, onion, garlic and tomato sauce. Simmer for 1 hour. Cook macaroni al dente and add to meat mixture, then add the corn. Cool and freeze in freezer bag.

Serving Day: Defrost and heat. Serve with Parmesan cheese.This ain’t your mama’s bland boring Goulash either (sorry, mom!) -- it’s delicious, fills your tummy and warms your whole self up on a cold day!

UP NEXT WEEK – a fabulous recipe for BROILED SARDINES!! Ha, just kidding – does anybody really eat those things?!

ZESTY ITALIAN CASSEROLE

This is one of those recipes that is so incredibly bad for you that you just know it’s going to taste good! The other nice thing about this one is that you don’t have to remember to thaw it ahead of time – it cooks from frozen!

ZESTY ITALIAN CASSEROLE
8-10 servings

2 lb. ground Italian turkey sausage
¼ cup chopped onion
¼ cup Italian seasoning
2 cups canned tomato sauce
1-½ cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
½ cup sour cream
2 8 oz. cans crescent rolls or enough whole wheat dough to make one loaf of bread
2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese

Brown ground turkey sausage and onions. Drain excess fat. Stir in tomato sauce and seasoning. Remove from heat and spoon into ungreased 9x13 baking dish. Combine mozzarella cheese and sour cream. Spoon over meat sauce. Separate crescent rolls and place rectangles over cheese or spread bread dough across top of casserole. Melt butter and combine with Parmesan cheese. Spread over dough. Cover and freeze.

To serve, place into 325 degree oven WHILE FROZEN. Bake 1½ to 2 hours or until done and bread or roll dough is brown. Check often. If bread dough becomes too brown, cover to finish cooking.

MY TIPS/CHANGES:
1. I used Jimmy Dean Regular sausage and then just added a little extra Italian seasoning.
2. After I brown the sausage, I dump it into a colander in the sink and run hot water over it to rinse off a lot of the grease. Not that it helps much in this recipe because it’s already heart attack on a plate, but I do this whenever I brown meat and it just makes me feel better!
3. The Italian seasoning I buy in a big container from Gordon’s. Much cheaper that way! I buy many of my seasonings at Gordon’s.
4. I only used 1½ cans of crescent rolls. They covered the entire pan and that way I was able to use fewer cans.