Tortellini Chicken

I had a senior moment a few days ago. I could have sworn I shared this recipe here before. I wanted to print off the recipe for a friend and it wasn't there. Sometimes I wonder about my noggin. Tortellini Chicken is one of my families favorites and one that I share with others quite often, because even the pickiest eaters seems to love it. It has large chunks in it so it's a casserole that is easy to separate out if someone doesn't want the mushrooms they can just push them aside.

Here's the play by play, if you want to skip right to the printable it's at the end.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

2 cups Monterey Jack Cheese grated, or pre shredded from your grocer works super too!

Clean a 4 ounce package of White Button Mushrooms and set aside. If you are a mushroom lover, feel free to add more.

Boil and drain one 20 ounce package fresh Cheese Tortellini. I find it next to the cream cheese in my grocery store. If your family is apposed to the multi colored pasta, well then trade them in for a new more adventurous family! Or just buy the plain all white cheese tortellini, that would probably be easier.

Cut 3 chicken breasts into bite sized cubes.

Season 1/3 cup flour with 1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt.

Unless you have a very large frying pan, you will have to brown the chicken in shifts, so start by melting 2 tablespoons of butter. Dredge chicken pieces in flour and brown in butter.

Remove cooked pieces to a plate.....

Or if you are efficient, unlike myself, you can place the browned meat directly into your casserole dish. Add the additional 2 tablespoons of butter as needed and continue browning chicken pieces until finished.

Cover chicken with drained pasta and sprinkle 1 cup of shredded cheese over the top. Honestly you could put the tortellini in first and then the chicken and sprinkle the cheese in there somewhere. There is no wrong way to do it. Just make sure everything is spread out evenly, so when you serve it up each spoonful has a little bit of everything.

Now it's time to make the sauce:

With out cleaning the pan add 3/4 cup chopped sweet onion to the pan. The moisture from the onions will help loosen all the browned goodness from the chicken. Using a spatula, saute onions and loosen browned bits, when onions start to look translucent.....

add the can of chicken broth, bouillon, and sugar. Cook for 2 minutes at a low boil.

Add mushrooms, let cook for an additional 2 minutes.

Turn temperature to low. Sprinkle in the remaining Monterey Jack Cheese, and stir until melted and combined.

Remove pan from heat and stir in 1/2 cup sour cream.

It may take a minute or two to get sauce to become smooth. I use a slotted spoon, you could get out the big guns and use your whisk if you want.

Pour sauce over chicken, and pasta. Try to distribute the mushrooms evenly over the casserole.

Cover tightly with tin foil, and pop in your oven for 45 minutes.

Serve with Texas Toast or a crusty loaf!

If I share this meal with someone, I usually bring them a green salad with lots of veggie's too, but most of the time the work of a salad is taken for granted by my family so I don't even bother fixing a salad for them anymore......that's the truth the whole truth Pthhthththt!

Chicken Tortellini

printable recipe

4 tablespoons Butter

1 20 ounce package, fresh Cheese Tortellini

3 Chicken Breasts, boneless cut into bite sized cubes

1/3 cup Flour

1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt

3/4 cup Onion, chopped

1 tablespoon Chicken Bouillon granules (or 2 bouillon cubes)

1 8 ounce can Chicken Broth

1 teaspoon Sugar

2 cups Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded

4 ounces fresh white button Mushrooms (more if you like)

1/2 cup Sour Cream

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

1. Boil water in large pot, add tortellini, cook for 5 minutes. Drain and place tortellini’s in bottom of a lightly buttered 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle half of the Monterey Jack cheese over tortellini’s.

2. Toss chicken pieces in flour. Melt butter in large fry pan add floured chicken to sizzling butter. Lightly brown chicken in butter. Do chicken in shifts if needed. Removing chicken to a plate then adding more. Then transfer chicken pieces to baking dish. Evenly distributing them over noodles.

3. Add chopped onions to the same pan, cook until transparent. Add bouillon, chicken broth, sugar, cook for 2 minutes then add mushrooms to pan, and cook for 2 minutes more.

4. Add remaining cheese to to sauce, lightly stir with spatula until cheese is melted. Remove pan from heat and add sour cream and blend until smooth and creamy. Pour mushroom sauce over chicken and tortellini.

5. Cover dish with foil, bake for 45 minutes.

Enjoy!

Tamale Pie

Phew! Spring is here. Winter is gone. Hallelujah! Even though I've long for the green grass, blue skies, and warmer weather, I always have a sense of anxiety as Spring arrives, because with this season comes much activity. Four kids, four sports, plus two of my four are training for races they run in in the Spring. My day is relatively calm until school lets out then I begin the cycle of pick up drop, off, and car pools etc.

So when does dinner happen in all this hysteria?

When all activities are done for the night. Last night that meant dinner at 7pm. Another night it might mean we eat as early as 4:30 and then head out the door. It's all about making mealtime together a priority. That means being flexible.

Since the kids were babies, I have always been very strict about meal times. We attempt to all sit down to dinner together four nights a week. I decided that we had to make this a priority, because of Ken's whacko schedule. If Dad is home with us bonus, but if he is not then we still eat together, and someone else takes Dads place saying the mealtime prayer.

My kiddos LOVE tamales!! So I thought this would be the perfect alternative, since I have never attempted to make the real thing myself. We have a couple different friends that make them and we always are happy to take them off their hands. I am hoping to learn, how to make tamales, one of these days.

I found this recipe for Tamale Pie in Pam Anderson's Perfect One-Dish Dinners. This is one of my favorite cookbooks. All the recipes are easy and full of flavor, and this recipe in particular is SUPER quick to make! Perfect for a night full of track, soccer, softball, running club, meetings, and trampolining!

Tamale Pie~ from Pam Andersons

Perfect One-Dish Dinners Cookbook

Being the recipe rebel that I am I modified Pam's original recipe to the taste of my family. Pam and her daughters have a great website full of amazing recipes, you can find them at Three Many Cooks. But if you want the original recipe for tamale pie you might have to buy her book. I promise you won't be disappointed!

Tamale Pie

printable recipe

1 1/2 pounds ground Chicken or Chicken breast cut into very small pieces

salt

1 tablespoon +1 teaspoon Chili Powder, divided

1 1/2 teaspoons Cumin Powder, divided

1 16 ounce can Pinto Beans drained and partially mashed

1 16 ounce jar store-bought Salsa (2 cups) I used medium spice Pace chunky salsa.

1 can Green Chiles, undrained

1/2 cup fresh Cilantro, chopped and divided

1 cup Cornmeal

1 cup grated sharp Cheddar Cheese

1/2 cup grated Monterey Jack Cheese

Adjust oven wrack to upper middle position and turn broiler on.

1. In a 12 inch ovenproof skillet cook chicken over medium-high heat, salt to taste. Cook until chicken is no longer pink.

2. Stir in 1 tablespoon of chili powder and 1 teaspoon of cumin. Add drained beans partially mashed, chilies, salsa, and 1/4 cup cilantro. Cook to blend flavors for about 5 minutes.

3. In sauce pan, while meat mixture is cooking, bring 3 cups water, 1 cup corn meal, 1 teaspoon chili powder, and 1/2 teaspoon cumin to a bowl, stirring constantly with a whisk, so lumps do not form. Cook until thickens to mush.

4. Remove meat mixture from heat, sprinkle with monterey jack cheese, pour cornmeal mush over cheese, spread out with spatula to completely cover meat. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and remaining cilantro. Place pan under broiler for 5 minutes or until cheese melts and mush starts to form a crunch on top.

After removing from oven, let rest for 5 minutes, if you have time to wait! Serve with corn chips, pica de gallo, and sour cream.

My kiddos loved this meal and they let me know Tamale Pie has to be added to the list of regular dinners!

I hope in the business of your day you find time to belly up to the table with your family, and show them how much you love them with a home cooked meal.

Enjoy!

Thai Chicken in Sweet Chilli Sauce

At the beginning of 2011 I vowed I was going to dust off my many cookbooks and put them to good use. I have done just that. I love cookbooks. I buy them, I read them, like novels, but then I tuck them neatly on a shelf and for the most part don't use them. I still could be better but, hey I've got a lot of good recipes of my own...that are in my head, and that is always my first knee jerk instinct is to use a recipe I know.

I have to say breaking out my cookbooks hasn't been too hard. Being the recipe rebel that I am I nearly always change something. Mainly because I didn't have the suggesting ingredient, or I am too tired to listen to my kids whine about black olives.

We love Asian food. So Steamy Kitchen's recipes have been a wonderful addition to my repertoire of go~to dinners for my family. You can check out her website or be old fashioned like me and purchase her cookbook.

Because we are a family of 6 hearty eaters I have adjusted this recipe to accommodate our appetites and my pantry! It's so easy. Literally 30 minutes (or less) start to finish, if you are a fast prepper!

Thai Chicken in Sweet Chilli Sauce

adapted from Steamy Kitchen's Cookbook

printable recipe

Serves: 6

4 boneless Chicken, sliced into thin pieces (I use thigh or breast meat)

1 tablespoon Cooking Oil

1 teaspoon Cornstarch

1 tablespoon Soy Sauce

1/4 cup Onion sliced thin

1 Lime zested, and juiced

2 cloves of Garlic minced

1 Red Bell Pepper julienned

1 Yellow Pepper julienned

2 tablespoons Fish Sauce

6 tablespoons Soy Sauce

3/4 cup Sweet Chilli Sauce

1 small handful Sweet Italian Basil, chiffonade

1. In a large bowl whisk together 1 tablespoon soy sauce and 1 teaspoon cornstarch. Add chicken and toss to coat well. Marinate for 10 minutes at room temperature. In large measuring cup measure out 3/4 cup of sweet chilli sauce add fish sauce, lime juice, and soy sauce combine and set aside for end of recipe.

2. In large frying pan heat oil on medium~high, when oil is hot, add chicken slices in one layer and cook for 2 minutes on each side. Remove chicken to a plate, and add chicken remaining until all chicken has been cooked.

3. Lower heat and add garlic, and lime zest to pan, saute for 30 seconds, add peppers and onions continue to cook moving around until peppers start to become tender. Add chicken back to pan along with basil, toss to combine. Pour sweet chilli sauce combo over chicken and peppers, toss to coat. Cook for an additional 1-2 minutes. Sauce should thicken slightly. Serve over rice.

You can find many other family friendly recipes at Quit Eating Out's Saturday recipe Swap.

Have fantabulous weekend!

Quick & Easy Chicken NOODLE Soup

I have had my littlest kiddo home from school sick this week. The stomach flu, YUCK! I mistakenly told someone that my kiddos had been unusually healthy this winter. I totally jinxed myself. Trying to find something that sounded good to my little one and that everyone else would enjoy for dinner was challenging. Chicken Soup!

She sipped the broth and ate some of the noodles. There were enough leftovers to feed her for lunch the last couple days. Today she had been up and around and everything has stayed down. Hallelujah! And she announce a few minutes ago that she was bored. That's always a good sign that we're ready to go back to school.

Has your family stayed healthy this winter?

Quick and Easy Chicken Noodle Soup

Printable recipe

1 tablespoon Olive Oil

1/4 cup finely diced Onion

2 Garlic cloves, minced

2 ribs Celery, sliced thin

2 Chicken Breasts, sliced into thin strips

1 teaspoon Seasoning Salt

64 ounces Chicken Stock

2 cups Carrots sliced thin

1/2 pound Extra Wide Egg Noodles

(prep time 10 minutes, cook time 20 minutes, serves 6-8)

Heat olive oil in a pan, saute' onions, garlic, celery, and chicken over medium heat. Cook until chicken is just cooked through and no longer pink.

While chicken is cooking fill a sauce pan with water, lightly salt and bring to a rolling boil, add noodles and cook for 5 minutes. Do not over cook noodles, drain in colander and set aside.

Add sliced carrots to pot.

Now add 1/2 of the chicken stock.

Bring to a boil.

Cook until carrots are tender, about 8-10 minutes.

Add the remainder of the chicken stock and the noodles. Cook on low for 5 minutes longer. Serve with a French Baguette.

This soup is great for anytime you need a hearty dinner quick.

Hope you enjoy!

Mmmm Mmmm Good!

Chicken Fontinella revisited

I shared this recipe back in July. I think it's worth sharing again. It's easy to prepare. It's cheesy, creamy, flavor is comforting. The spinach adds much needed vitamin C and iron this time of year. Now don't write this one off because it's full of spinach....."my kids will never eat that!". Do they need to know? Well, I realize they will see it in there...just make them take one bite. My vegetable hater...child #3 even tolerates this meal. (I think he secretly loves it, but his pride keeps him from admitting it!)

I needed to bring a meal to a family in our church that just had a baby, I decided on this dish. One, because it's great leftover. Two, because it's healthy for the nursing mama's. Three, it freezes well so if they already have lots of meals, they could stick it in the freezer and pull it out when they need it. Four, because my kiddos love it so I figure other people would hopefully enjoy it too!

One dish, easy bring them salad and a crusty loaf from the bakery and this meal is complete. I also made some Pumpkin Spice Donut Muffins for a breakfast treat.

Did I say it's easy to double and triple the recipe? You will need a gargantuan bowl, but if you have one you could make a couple of these one to give, one for the freezer, and one for dinner tonight!

Here's what you will need. Chances are you have it all in your pantry. If you don't have the Fontinella cheese, the italian variety of shredded cheese works just as well.

Chicken Fontinella
printable recipe

2 box Uncle Ben's original recipe long grain wild rice (not the fast cook)
4 cups of water
6 oz ham steak cubed
1 lb. of chicken breast or ground chicken
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 cup fontinella cheese grated
1/2 cup mozzarella
1/4 cup Parmesan
1 stick of butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup milk
2 cups of spinach washed and chopped finely

Here is the original post if you want to see the step by step with directions.

Remember it's nice to share!

Chicken Pot Pie...so yummy in my tummy!

It's time to share and mingle and swap. I hope that I don't mess something up in some way. Not linking it correctly or not quite getting the rules right or something. So hopefully I did this right.

Welcome to Saturday Swap hosted by Kim at Quit Eating Out. Thanks Kim!

I thought keeping in the theme of my "food of love" week, I would share one of my families favorite comfort foods, Chicken Pot Pie.

It's chocked full of juicy chicken and vegetables. I have made Chicken Pot Pie for.....well...forever. My family has always enjoyed it, but they never really begged for it. Until my mom came to stay with the kids this Fall, while Ken and I attempted to "getaway". (That's a whole nother post people.) She had made Chicken Pot Pie for the kids. I had some of the leftovers. Admittedly, they were pretty scrumptious. But my kids wouldn't stop talking about it.....

"When are you going to make "Grandma's" Chicken Pot Pie? Will you pleeeease make Grandma's Chicken Pot Pie?"

So I made the Pot Pie......

"This isn't Grandma's Chicken Pot Pie", they all said in unison after the first bite.

What the HECK!

So I called my mom. "What's in your Chicken Pot Pie that has the kids so mesmerized?", I asked. This is the woman that taught me the basics of cooking. Pretty much all the comfort foods have come straight from my Mama's teachin'.

Well apparently, somewhere along the way....I forgot the lesson in canned soups. You see I was making my Chicken Pot Pie with a bechemel sauce and....well my mom was opening two cans of soup and calling it a day, and guess what hers wins. It's better. Go figure. I had turned a simple recipe into something complicated.

Because, well because....um I became a canned soup snob. Sorry. I said it. I'm a canned soup snob. I used to use it alot, but then I dumped it like yesterdays trash. I'm not saying that I am totally going back...I'm just saying that maybe in some cases it is actually pretty delicious in a recipe. And a heck of alot easier.

So here's what you'll need for my Mom's Chicken Pot Pie:

My Mom's Chicken Pot Pie

printable recipe (see printable for my Southwest version of Chicken Pot Pie)

4-5 large Chicken Breast baked, and shredded or 1 whole roasted Chicken shredded

1 10 ounce can of Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 10 ounce can of Cream of Chicken Soup

1/2 cup Milk

2 tablespoons Butter

1 cup Onion, diced

5 Stalks Celery, chopped (including the leafy middle)

1/2 teaspoon Lawry's Seasoning Salt

2 cups Carrots, cut into chunks

Optional: Feel free to add any vegi's you like peas, corn, green beans. I prefer to use frozen vegi's. Limit the total cups of vegi's to 4-5 cups for recipe.

1 egg +1 tablespoon water for egg wash
4 pie crusts

This recipe yields two 9" pies or six individual pies.

I used the "healthy" version, my mom did not, I couldn't tell a difference in the taste.

Saute onions and celery with butter, until tender.

Plop the contents from your cans of soup in there with a 1/2 can of milk.

I baked my chicken breasts in a baking dish for 40 minutes in a 350 degree oven. I drizzled a little olive oil in the pan and sprinkled them with Lawry's season salt. You could buy a roaster chicken in the Deli, or you could choose to boil your chicken. In the end you will need approximately 5-6 cups of shredded chicken.

Cut it up, shred it, dice it. However you like. This is your pie, make it like you like! Add it in with onion, celery, soup mixture.

Vegetables, make it your own. If you don't like carrots, but you like corn then just add corn. My mom actually uses a bag of the mixed vegetables (peas, corn, carrots, and bean variety). But my kids think peas are the Enemy, so I only put corn and carrots in my pies.

I partially cook my carrots in the microwave, in a glass bowl with a little water, drain water off before adding them. No need to cook frozen vegetables before hand.

I prefer frozen vegi's over canned. And you will want to put about 4-5 cups total of vegi's in your pie. Or I guess if you are completely ANTI vegi then more chicken and leave out the vegi's. It is your pie. (wink)

Mix in vegetables and let filling cool. Now it's time for the Crust!

If you want to make your own crust. Rock on!

Or if you are not in to the making of Pie Crust, I will not hold it against you in any way. My cousin, who's husband is a chef at my favorite restaurant in town, told me she uses Pillsbury refrigerator crust! GASP!

Well alrighty then...I hope that I am not giving you guilt in any way if you are doing the same.

Here is my Pie Crust recipe printable, or you could try Pate Brisee, which is basically a fancy name for pie crust made with butter. Which is always lovely! If you want to see the whole Pie Crust making process then go here.

If you'r making individual pies, cut around pie tin.

Then give that little circular crust a roll, to make it just big enough for the bottom crust.

Flop it in there, and fill with your Chicken Pot Pie filling......oh man I'm hungry writing about this right now.

Cut out another round of pastry and lay it on top...buh-bye yummy filling.

Crimp the edges.

If you like the look and ease of a rustic crust. You can cut your bottom crust out a little bigger, and just flap it over, like so.

In a small dish whisk 1 egg and a 1 tablespoon of water together for the egg wash. This makes your crusts look purdy.

Hey....just wondering if you have ever tried to whisk with one hand and and take a picture with the other? No?! Well try this....rub your tummy with your left hand and pat your head with your right. OK now you know what I'm talkin' bout....

Well now that we have mastered that, give your pies a nice brush with the egg wash, and pop them in a 375 degree oven for 45 minutes.

Pies make me happy.

Awwww...look at that little guy. He looks like he's tryin' to say something.

Wonder what he's tryin to say....hmmm hopefully it's Bon Apetite!

Here are a couple 9" pies. If you like to make dinners ahead to FREEZE. These pies freeze beautifully. Make sure you cover them tightly in plastic wrap and then a layer of foil . Take them right out of freezer, remove wrapping, and into a 375 degree oven bake for 1 hour 15 minutes.

There so easy. I hope your family loves them. Thanks for checking out Saturday Swap....hope to see you again next Saturday!

OH don't forget NEXT week is my WEEK of GIVEAWAYS!!!!

Luv YA,