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

Week 24 Meal Plan

This week I am trying to use up a bunch of stuff in my freezer. Maceys is having a sale on chicken, so I want to clear out some room for what I buy. And, ok, I'm really craving popsicles.

Clearing out the freezer just seems like a good practice every now and again. So what are you waiting for? Go see what you need to eat up!


Wednesday
Frozen Pizza (I know, I know. I got a bunch for like $.17 once. It's high time to start eating them.)

Thursday - Trying Something New!
Bistro Chicken, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Green Salad

Friday
Creamy Italian Chicken, Broccoli, Cauliflower

Saturday
Go Out

Sunday
Roast Beef, Roasted Potatoes, Steamed Carrots

Monday
Sweet Pork Burritos, Rice and Beans, Corn

Tuesday
Leftovers

Week 24 Grocery List

This week I'll be shopping at Maceys, with a quick stop to Sunflower Farmers Market for a few items.

Ingredients for Week 24 Dinners
I will be purchasing:
7-10 red potatoes
1 head lettuce
3-4 potatoes
baby carrots
1 onion
broccoli
cauliflower


I will be using from my pantry (Brace yourselves. . .):
4 chicken breasts
2 lbs beef pot roast
2 lbs pork
about 6 slices Swiss cheese (or try Provalone)
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese
shredded cheese
frozen corn
1 lb fettucine noodles
8-10 tortillas
rice
1 (14 oz) can petite diced tomatoes
1 (10 oz) can Campbell's French onion soup
1 cup chicken broth
1 (10 oz) can cream of chicken soup
1 (10 oz) can green enchilada sauce
1 (14 oz) can black beans
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (14 oz) can refried beans
optional: 1 (6 oz) can diced green chiles
brown sugar
olive oil
1 pkg Lipton onion soup
1 envelope Italian dressing mix
minced onion
chili powder
cumin
Italian seasoning

Bistro Chicken, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Green Salad

This chicken recipe comes from This Week For Dinner, a beautiful and amazing blog I discovered recently after having started Let Me Plan Dinner. I know I'm not up to the likes of Jane Maynard as a blogger and a cook, but maybe one day!

I'll be serving the chicken with garlic mashed potatoes and green salad. Here is the recipe copied from Jane's blog:

Bistro Chicken
From Jen Schulte
- Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I usually do two, but the amount of sauce could handle probably 4-6 breasts)
- 1/2 cup chopped onions
- 14-oz can diced tomatoes (I get petite diced)
- Italian seasoning (or a few shakes of oregano, basil, parsley and garlic powder)
- 1 can Campbell’s French Onion soup
- Swiss cheese, sliced

I cut my chicken breasts into thirds and pound them thin before browning, but the recipe didn’t originally call for that. Brown the chicken breasts in a medium-high skillet in oil or butter. Remove and place in casserole dish.

Cook onions in skillet for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, Italian seasoning, french onion soup and cook together to reduce liquid for 5 minutes. Pour sauce over chicken in the casserole dish, top with Swiss cheese and bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

I like to serve with garlic mashed potatoes.

Addendum after comments have come in: the last few times I’ve made it I haven’t used the entire can of french onion soup. I put all the broth in, but I only put maybe half of the onions from the can in. for me, it’s the right balance. the first time I made it, though, I followed the recipe to a “t” and we still liked it, so feel free to modify or not according to your tastes!

Week 23 Meal Plan

How are you feeling about cooking in the summertime?

I'll admit I'm losing a little steam. I don't want to cook a new dinner every night; I want to be outside playing with my son in the park!

So instead of planning 6 meals a week, I've been planning 5 and eating leftovers an extra time. The good thing about having a stocked pantry is that I can always cook up something easy from my freezer or food storage if leftovers just aren't sounding good enough one night. If you really wanted to cut down on your cooking time, you could choose 3 or 4 meals a week, cook double portions of each, and eat leftovers half the time. Do you have any other great tips for cutting down on cooking time? Please share!


Wednesday
Chicken Fiesta Salad, Tortilla Chips

Thursday
Orange Chicken, Rice, Broccoli, Cauliflower

Friday
Roast Chicken, Stuffing, Corn on the Cob, Baby Carrots

Saturday
Go Out

Sunday
Neapolitan Baked Ziti, Green Salad, Peas

Monday
Something to use up the rest of the roast chicken. I'm considering:
Ramen Veggie Stirfry
White Chicken Chili
Honey Lime Enchiladas
Sweet Pork Burritos (substituting chicken for the pork, obviously)
I've got all the basic ingredients for these dishes on hand, so I don't need to pick up anything extra at the store except some vegetables to serve on the side.

Tuesday
Leftovers

Week 23 Grocery List-- with Prices!

I'll be shopping at Maceys today. I love shopping at Maceys!

Ingredients for Week 23 Dinners
I will be purchasing:
1 head lettuce ($1.49)
1 bunch green onions ($.50)
1 tomato ($.22)
1 orange($.51)
broccoli($.87)
cauliflower ($.41)
1 onion ($.49)
4-5 leaves basil (I'm using them from my garden. You could probably use dried if you wanted)
corn on the cob ($.80)
baby carrots ($1.29)
milk ($1.98)
mozzarella (8 oz shredded $1.50)
1 (11 oz) can Mexican-style corn ($.79)
extra veggies for Monday's meal ($1.28)

In total, I spent $12.61 on this week's dinners. Here is the approximate breakdown:

Chicken Fiesta Salad, Tortilla Chips $2.75
Orange Chicken, Rice, Broccoli, Cauliflower $2.04
Roast Chicken, Stuffing, Corn on the Cob, Baby Carrots $2.09
Neapolitan Baked Ziti, Green Salad, Peas $3.97
Ramen Veggie Stirfry or something else on Monday $1.28

I will be using from my pantry:
1 whole chicken
4-5 chicken breasts
cheese
Parmesan cheese
sour cream
6 garlic cloves
ginger
1 lb ziti pasta
rice
tortilla chips
1 box stuffing or other instant side dish
1 (28 oz) can whole tomatoes (or crushed or diced)
1 (15 0z) can black beans
1 (14 oz) can chicken broth
salsa
lemon juice
rice vinegar
soy sauce
oil
butter
flour
cornstarch
1 (1.27 oz) pkg fajita seasoning
red pepper flakes
bay leaf
nutmeg
rosemary
salt and pepper

I will be stocking up on:
chicken breasts (2.91 lbs @ $1.59/lb = $4.63)
2 Western Family salad dressing ($.78 each = $1.56)
6 Western Family enchilada sauce ($.68 each = $4.08)
4 Betty Crocker berry muffin mix pouches ($.48 each = $1.92)
15 string cheese ($.20 each = $3.00)

Chicken Fiesta Salad, Tortilla Chips

I got this salad recipe from my sister-in-law Robin. I love how it uses all these yummy ingredients from my pantry but feels so much more summery as a salad.

2 chicken breasts
1 (1.27 oz) pkg fajita seasoning, divided
1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (11 oz) can Mexican-style corn, drained
3/4 c salsa
1 head lettuce, chopped or 1 (10 oz) bag mixed salad greens
3 green onions, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
shredded cheese, if desired
sour cream, if desired
additional salsa, if desired
tortilla chips


Cut chicken into thin strips. Rub chicken with half the fajita seasoning, then saute in cooking spray until cooked through. Set aside. In medium saucepan, mix beans, corn and salsa. Slowly add the remaining fajita seasoning to taste. Heat over medium heat until warm. Prepare salad by tossing the lettuce, green onions and tomato. Top salad with chicken and dress with bean/corn mixture. Serve with cheese, sour cream and salsa. Serve with tortilla chips

Orange Chicken, Rice, Broccoli, Cauliflower

This orange chicken recipe is adapted from AllRecipes.

Asian Orange Chicken
1 1/2 c water
1/4 c lemon juice
1/3 c rice vinegar
2 1/2 T soy sauce
2 T orange juice
1 T orange zest
1/4 c brown sugar
1/2 t minced ginger
1/2 t minced garlic
2 T chopped green onion
1/4 t red pepper flakes
2-3 chicken breasts, cut into chunks
1 T oil
3 T cornstarch

In a saucepan over medium heat, bring to boil the first 11 ingredients (water through red pepper flakes). Remove from heat and cool. In a resealable plastic bag, add 1 cup sauce and the chicken. Seal bag and refrigerate 2 hours to overnight. Reserve the rest of the sauce in a container and refrigerate until ready to use. When ready to cook, heat the oil in a large skillet. Cook the chicken, discarding marinade from the plastic bag. Once the chicken is cooked, add the reserved sauce. Cook over medium heat for a few minutes. Mix together cornstarch with 2 T water; stir into sauce. Simmer about 5 minutes, or until thickened. Serve chicken and sauce over cooked rice.


Rice and Veggies
1 c rice
broccoli florets
cauliflower florets

Cook rice according to package directions.

Steam broccoli and cauliflower until tender. Season with salt and pepper.

Neapolitan Baked Ziti, Green Salad, Peas

This Neapolitan Baked Ziti recipe is adapted from Rachael Ray. It's a big hit around our house. Unfortunately, it doesn't photograph well.

If you're looking for a one-pot meal, this is NOT it! You may feel like you're running a three ring circus during the prep phase, but once you get the pan in the oven, you'll have a nice amount of time to do the dishes, throw together your sides, set the table, and bask in the delicious aroma filling your kitchen!

1 lb ziti pasta
1 T olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 28-oz can whole tomatoes (I've now decided I prefer using crushed tomatoes- much simpler.)
4 to 5 leaves basil, torn (or shake in some dry basil)
salt and pepper to taste
2 T butter
2 T flour
1 3/4 C milk
1 bay leaf
dash nutmeg
1/2 c shredded mozzarella
1/4 c Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400. Boil a large pot of water and cook the ziti just shy of al dente. Drain thoroughly.

While the pasta cooks, start the red sauce. Place a medium saucepan over medium-high heat with the olive oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are tender, about 3-4 minutes. Add the tomatoes and smash them into small pieces with a potato masher or back of a spoon. Add the basil and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a bubble and simmer 15 minutes.

Once the red sauce is simmering, start the white sauce. Place a medium saucepan over medium heat and melt the butter. Add the flour, stir to combine and cook for about a minute. Whisk in the milk, add the bay leaf, and season with some salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Bring to a bubble, then turn the heat down to low and gently simmer, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and discard.

Combine the cooked ziti with the red sauce in the pasta pot, then transfer it to a greased 7x11 baking dish. Top with the white sauce. Sprinkle with the mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes.