Chicken Cacciatore Quesadillas, Green Salad, Corn

Obviously, to make this meal you need to have made Chicken Cacciatore previously. Haven't done that? Then check out the recipe here.

This interesting combination of Italian and Mexican flavors came together when my family was on vacation and we were trying desperately to come up with something good for lunch. Some people were making quesadillas, others were eating leftover chicken cacciatore, and by some happy accident the two were put together. Some picky sisters of mine were quite skeptical about the unorthodox combination, but everyone was won over on their first bite. Feel free to vary the mixture by including leftover rice, extra sauce, or different beans.


Chicken Cacciatore Quesadillas
1 to 2 chicken breasts cooked in chicken cacciatore sauce
1 (14.5 oz) can Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained (optional)
8 tortillas
1 c grated cheese (I like Colby Jack)
salsa
sour cream

Remove chicken breasts from sauce (saving sauce) and shred in a small bowl. Add white beans if desired. Slowly add sauce until chicken/beans are coated and moist, but not too saucy to be runny. Heat a large pan to medium heat. Place one tortilla and top with 1/4 cup cheese and 1/4 of the chicken mixture. Top with a second tortilla. Heat until the first tortilla is golden brown. Flip and heat until second tortilla is golden brown and cheese is melted. Remove to a plate and cut into wedges. Repeat to make 3 more quesadillas. Serve quesadillas passing salsa and sour cream at the table.


I'll be serving these quesadillas with:
green salad
corn

Turkey Tetrazzini, Green Beans, Steamed Carrots

This Turkey Tetrazzini is adapted from Taste of Home magazine.

8 oz spaghetti
1 small onion, chopped
2 T butter
1/4 lb mushrooms, sliced
1 red pepper, chopped
2 rounded T flour
1/4 t salt
2 c milk
1 t chicken bouillon
2 c cooked turkey, cubed
1/3 c grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 t parsley flakes
optional: 1 T butter and 1/2 c dry bread crumbs

1 can green beans

1/3 lb baby carrots


Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a heavy pot, saute onion in butter until tender. Add mushrooms and red pepper; saute 4-5 minutes longer. Stir in flour and salt until blended. Gradually whisk in milk and bouillon. Bring to a boil; cook and stir 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in turkey and Parmesan cheese; heat through. Remove from heat. Drain spaghetti; add to turkey mixture and mix well. Transfer to a greased 11x7 baking dish. (Optional: Melt 1 T butter and toss with bread crumbs. Sprinkle over casserole.) Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 30-35 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley.

Microwave green beans. Season with salt and pepper.

Place carrots in a microwave safe bowl. Cover halfway with water. Microwave for 1 1/2 minutes. Stir. Microwave for 1 1/2 minutes more. Test for doneness with a fork. Continue microwaving at 1 minute intervals until tender. Drain water. Toss carrots with salt, pepper, 1 t butter, and a pinch of sugar.

*Oh wow, we did NOT love this dish. Part of it, I admit, is my own fault. I'm pretty sure I grossly overestimated 8 oz of spaghetti, so we ended up with a very dry pasta dish. I ended up making an additional sauce (1 T butter, 1 T flour, 1 C milk, 1/3 C Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, minced onion) that I served at the table. However, even with the appropriate amount of pasta, I can't imagine this dish being any better than mediocre. The flavor was lacking something; you could easily add some garlic, basil, and pepper. I would also skip the breadcrumbs (I tried half with and half without as an experiment), but in place of them sprinkle extra Parmesan cheese on top. I would also cover the dish with foil for the first half of baking time. Does anyone else have a better Turkey Tetrazzini recipe?