Tinga

Adapted from Taste of Home

These are delicious and if you get the chicken going in the crock pot the morning of, super easy.  

Ingredients

• 3 cups shredded cooked chicken breast (I cooked mine in a the crock pot)
• 1-3 tsp. chipotle chile pepper (depending on how spicy you want it. I used 1 1/2 tsp)
• 2 cans (14.5 oz. each) petite diced tomatoes (I only used 1)
• 1 small onion quartered and thinly sliced
• 6 garlic cloves minced
• sour cream or plain greek yogurt (we prefer plain Greek yogurt these days)
• shredded cheese
• refried beans
• avocado, sliced
• lettuce
• 10 tostada shells

Directions

• Pour a little olive oil in skillet and saute onion and garlic for a few minutes until fragrant
• Add in chicken, tomatoes, and chipotle chile pepper. Cook over medium-high heat for 10 minutes or until heated through, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
• To serve, spread each tostada with a thin layer of refried beans and sour cream/plain yogurt. Top each tostada with chicken mixture, lettuce, cheese, avocado. 

Santa Fe Bean Wrap

From Mama's Blissful Bites

Mark and I both agreed this was an excellent wrap and healthy too. Bonus! Filling and delicious without the meat. If you use Greek yogurt instead of sour cream and add the brown rice it has plenty of protein and fiber.

Ingredients:

2/3 cup plain Greek yogurt (the actual recipe called for sour cream)

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (or less. Mark said it was too limey and I agree. Next time I'll do less)

1/2 – 3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1 – 2 tablespoon minced cilantro (I used 1 heaping Tbsp and it was plenty of cilantro for me)

1 shallot: chopped

1 can (15 oz) black beans: drained and rinsed

1/2 can (8oz.) of diced tomatoes with garlic and oregano: drained (aka Italian diced tomatoes)

hot sauce (optional) (didn't use it)

1 avocado: halved, seeded, peeled and diced

bunch of spinach leaves (I used romaine)

flour Tortillas

mozzarella or Cheddar Cheese for topping

I also added brown rice and I think it really gave it a good texture and taste. 

Directions:

Combine all ingredients up through hot sauce and mix to combine. Place in fridge to chill for about an hour. (I made mine at about 4 and put it in the fridge while the rice cooked and I prepared everything else). While it's chilling cut up avocado and lettuce and shred cheese. Place on a tortilla and wrap.

Ham and Cheese Stuffed Chicken

• From eatingwell.com
• We liked this, but felt that it needed more stuffing. Next time I will do more cheese and ham.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup grated Swiss, Monterey Jack or part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped ham
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, (1-1 1/4 pounds total)
• 1 egg white
• 1/2 cup plain dry breadcrumbs
• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 
  

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Use a baking sheet with sides and lightly coat it with cooking spray.
2. Mix cheese, ham, mustard and pepper in a small bowl.
3. Cut a horizontal slit along the thin, long edge of a chicken breast half, nearly through to the opposite side. Open up the breast and place one-fourth of the filling in the center. Close the breast over the filling, pressing the edges firmly together to seal. Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts and filling.
4. Lightly beat egg white with a fork in a medium bowl. Place breadcrumbs in a shallow glass dish. Hold each chicken breast half together and dip in egg white, then dredge in breadcrumbs. 
5. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts; cook until browned on one side, about 2 minutes. Place the chicken, browned-side up, on the prepared baking sheet. Bake about 20 minutes - until the chicken reads about 160-170 degrees.

Easy Chicken Parmesan Bake

From Food Wishes

Really easy and quick! This was good and made tons! Definitely the way to go if you want chicken parmesan without the hassle. 

Ingredients: 
2 tbsp olive oil 
2 cloves garlic, crushed 
hot red pepper flakes, to taste 
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts (approx. depending on how big the breasts are) 
2 cups marinara sauce 
1/4 cup chopped basil 
8 oz mozzarella, shredded 
4 oz Parmesan, grated 
1 (5-oz) package garlic croutons

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
In bottom of 9x13 casserole dish pour in olive oil, crush the garlic and spread it around, then sprinkle some pepper flakes on top. Place chicken breasts on top of oil. Pour marinara sauce on top of chicken and sprinkle on the chopped basil and half the mozzarella and half the paremsan. Next spread the croutons over the entire dish and cover again with the rest of the mozzarella and parmesan. 
Cover with foil and bake for about 35 minutes taking the foil off about half way through. (I didn't cover mine at all because it didn't say to in the original recipe and I ended up having to cover it about 20 min through because it was getting too brown on top and I didn't want it to burn. So the exact time of coverage vs non-coverage has not been perfected yet.) 
Make sure to check the temp of your chicken to make sure it's done. 

Open faced Turkey Pesto Sandwiches

I made this while mom was here. YUM!! We had it for lunch two days in a row.

Ciabatta bread (or something similar)
Mayo
Pesto (I use the recipe from mom's cookbook)
Turkey (a thicker slice is better. I used a natural brand from costco. It was honey roasted and the sweetness added the perfect flavor)
Tomatoes
Mozarella cheese

Preheat oven on broil setting. Slice bread. Spread on a bit of mayo, then a decent amount of pesto. Lay on the turkey, tomato, and mozarella slices. Place in the broiler for about 5 minutes (keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn). Devour!

Baked Ziti with Summer Veggies

From Rantings of an Amateur Chef
This was great! But a bit dry. Next time I will add some marinara sauce.

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces uncooked ziti (I used rigatoni and probably more than 4 oz)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cups chopped yellow squash (my squash measurements were approximate based on what I had. I think I ended up with 1 1/2 c yellow squash and 1 1/2 c zucchini)
• 1 cup chopped zucchini
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 cups chopped tomato (I've also used a can of diced tomatoes)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided (I used more cheese all around. I don't know my measurements. I just kept putting it in until it looked the right cheesiness to me)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/4 cup (2 ounces) part-skim ricotta cheese (same with this)
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• Cooking spray
• Marinara sauce (to taste)

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, drain.

2. Preheat oven to 400°.

3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan. Add squash, zucchini, and onion; sauté 5 minutes. Add tomato and garlic; sauté 3 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in pasta, mozzarella, herbs, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper.

4. Combine ricotta, remaining salt, and egg. Stir into pasta mixture. Spoon into an 8-inch (mine was probably bigger since I used more pasta) square glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until bubbly and browned.

Quickie Meatless Enchiladas

From Aggie's Kitchen

refried beans

tortillas 

can verde enchilada sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 med green peppers, chopped

1 onion, chopped 

1 tomato, seeded and chopped

1/2 cup frozen or canned corn

2 tsp cumin

salt and pepper

shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Spray a baking dish with non stick spray.

Saute peppers, onions, garlic, tomatoes, corn in a little olive oil until soft, about 8 minutes. While sauteeing veggies, season with cumin, salt and pepper to taste. Set aside to cool slightly.

Take tortilla and spread refried beans in the middle.  Sprinkle a shredded cheese over beans, then top with veggie mixture.  Carefully roll up and place seamside down into baking dish.  Any leftover veggie mixture can be sprinkled over prepared enchiladas in baking dish.  Pour desired amount of sauce over enchiladas.  Add desired amount of shredded cheese to top and bake in oven for about 25-30 minutes until sauce is bubbly and top is golden brown.