Dinners 1 and 2
Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
3 small red bell peppers or 2 large
1 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs balsamic vinegar
1 cup chicken stock
2-3 garlic cloves
1/2-1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped (optional)
1/2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
S & P TT (which means salt and pepper to taste)
4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
4-6 Tbs goat cheese (1 Tbs per chicken breast)
8-12 asparagus spears (if large, half lengthwise)
1. Preheat oven to 400. Roast bell peppers on baking sheet 20 minutes. Then turn and roast another 30. Remove bell peppers and place under an inverted glass bowl to steam for about 10 minutes. With a paring knife, scrape off browned skin, then halve, remove stems and seeds. Slice 1 bell pepper into strips, reserve strips and set aside.
2. Place remaining roasted peppers into a blender with oil, vinegar, broth, garlic and jalapeno. Blend until smooth. Pour roasted pepper sauce into saucepan over medium-low heat. Add Italian seasoning, s&p and cook 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, lay chicken on a cutting board. Using a chef’s knife and with the palm of 1 hand holding the chicken, cut each breast almost in half horizontally, so it opens like a book. Lay chicken breasts open and spread 1 Tbs goat cheese onto half of each breast. Add 2-3 asparagus spears to each, then half of reserved bell pepper strips. Close chicken by folding top half back over, sandwiching filling.
4. Carefully transfer stuffed chicken to casserole dish. Pour about ½ cup sauce over chicken and bake 35-40 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Pour additional warmed sauce over stuffed chicken breasts before serving. Make enough so you will have at least 2 left over.
Chicken, Asparagus and Rice Casserole
2 cooked chicken breasts from above
3 cups cooked brown or white rice
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 can of water
1 cup grated Colby jack or cheddar cheese
1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease an 8x8 glass baking dish.
2. Pour the cooked rice into the baking dish. Stir in the cream soup and 1/2 can of water.
3. Dice the chicken breasts and sprinkle on top of creamy rice.
4. Top with cheese.
5. Bake 35-40 minutes until hot and bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
Dinners 3 and 4
Slow Cooker Barbecue Chicken found on allrecipes website
6 frozen or fresh skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 (12 ounce) bottle barbecue sauce
1/2 cup Italian salad dressing
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1. Place chicken in a slow cooker. Pour in the barbecue sauce, Italian salad dressing, brown sugar, and
Worcestershire sauce. Give it a few stirs.
2. Cover, and cook 3 to 4 hours on High or 6 to 8 hours on Low.
3. Remove chicken to a cutting board or large bowl and shred with 2 forks pulling meat into shreds.
4. Return chicken to crock pot to coat with the sauce.
5. Serve this on buns or rolls of your choice, baked potatoes, or on top of brown rice. The only other thing you'd need to make it complete is a salad!
Barbecue Chicken Quesadillas
2 tsp olive oil
1 red onion, diced
4 cups baby spinach, roughly chopped
salt and pepper
1/2 cup diced pineapple
3/4 cup corn kernels
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 cup slow cooker barbecue chicken from above
8 whole wheat tortillas, soft taco size
8 Tbs reduced fat or regular Monterrey Jack cheese
1. Preheat oven to 200. Warm a skillet over medium heat. Pour in 2 tsp olive oil. Saute onion until tender, 5-7 minutes. Add spinach and cook, stirring until wilted; 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and remove from heat.
2. In a large bowl combine cooked onion and spinach, diced pineapple, corn kernels, cilantro and shredded chicken. Stir until combined.
3. Place 4 tortillas out on counter. Sprinkle each one with 1 Tbs jack cheese, 1/2 cup filling and then one more Tbs of cheese. Place the other 4 tortillas on top to make 4 whole quesadillas.
4. You can cook these 3 ways. In a large non-stick skillet one at a time over medium heat until browned on both sides; about 4-5 minutes each side. Pop them in the oven on a cookie sheet to keep warm until they're all done. OR, if you have a counter top grill or panini press, heat it to medium and put the quesadillas on 1 or 2 at a time, if its big enough. Grill about 4-5 minutes. Pop them in the oven to keep warm until they're all done. OR, you can literally put them on the real grill outside flipping after 3 minutes a side.I think its rather messy and they can burn very quickly, but it does give them a great flavor.
5. Cut each whole quesadilla into fours. Serve with sour cream or salsa if desired and a can of refried beans.
More ideas...
Make the most of leftovers with a little extra planning and you can cook once but eat twice with a lot of dinners.
Next time you cook or grill chicken breasts, cook a few extra. You can used cooked and sliced chicken in a number of recipes like chicken pot pie, chicken salad sandwiches, quesadillas, chicken wraps or chicken tortilla soup.
Next time you make a roast, cook 2. You can use that meat to make bbq sandwiches, shepherds pie, shredded beef tacos, quesadillas or beef stew. Try making these shredded beef enchiladas except skip the cooking part of the meat if you're using leftover roast.
Stuffed baked potatoes are a hit in my house. You just need 1 cup of either cooked chicken or beef. A loaded baked potato dinner menu with recipes can be found here. I've made these several times, but used leftover diced chicken instead of beef. There are even directions at the bottom on how to make this dinner meatless.
What are your leftover ideas?
No comments:
Post a Comment