Chicken Enchilada Pasta

Instead of a rotisserie chicken I used cooked and shredded breasts. Thumbs up from everyone!

 

 

'Chicken Enchilada Pasta'

Source: Pearls, Handcuffs, and Happy Hour

Ingredients

1 rotisserie chicken, shredded

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 medium onion, diced

1 red pepper, diced

1 can diced green chiles (4 oz)

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin

2 cans green chili enchilada sauce (10 oz, each)

2/3 cups red enchilada sauce

2 cups shredded cheese (any kind)

1 cup sour cream

Penne pasta

Directions

1. Shred chicken (I recommend doing this earlier in the day, or even the day before to save time, as well as chopping the veggies).

2. Boil pasta according to package. Heat olive oil in a deep skillet and cook onions for 3-5 minutes. Add garlic and red pepper and cook for another 3-5 minutes.

3. Add cooked chicken, green chiles, cumin, chili powder, salt, and enchilada sauces. Let sauce simmer for about 8-10 minutes.

4. Add cheese and stir until the cheese is melted and heated through. Slowly add the sour cream, but DO NOT bring to a boil (so as not to curdle the sour cream). Stir until sour cream is well mixed and heated through.

5. Drain pasta and add to the skillet with the cheese sauce; mix well. Serve and garnish with desired toppings.

Topping Ideas

Avocado

Green Onions

Black Olives

Tomatoes

Sour Cream

Greek Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

This was so good!!! Instead of cooking my squash in the microwave, I poked holes in it with a skewer and cooked it whole at 375 for 1 hour. I then sliced it in half and scooped out the seeds. Much easier than trying to cut it in half raw!!! Stuffed Spaghetti Squash with Tomato, Olives and Chicken Ingredients 2 medium spaghetti squash, cut in half lengthwise 2 tsp olive oil 3/4 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch pieces (or 2 cups already cooked, shredded chicken) 14 ounce can diced tomatoes 1/2 cup pimento-stuffed green olives, drained and chopped (can substitute Kalamata olives) 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (in the winter I use 1 1/2 T dried basil) 1 tsp dried oregano 1 tsp. salt and freshly ground black pepper 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese Directions Arrange the spaghetti squash halves, cut side down, in the bottom of a shallow, microwave-safe bowl. Cover and microwave on high until flesh is tender, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until browned on all sides, 3-5 minutes (if using already cooked chicken, skip this step and add the chicken with the tomatoes and seasonings). Add the tomatoes, olives, basil and oregano, bring to a simmer, and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about another 5 minutes. Preheat the broiler. Flip the spaghetti squash over and, using a fork, pull the strands from it, making spaghetti-like pieces. Season the flesh with salt and pepper. Make a slight "hole" in the center of each squash half to make room for the filling, then spoon the filling into squash halves. Sprinkle the top of each with feta cheese. Transfer the stuffed squash to a baking sheet or roasting pan and place under the broiler. Broil until the cheese is golden brown, about 2 minutes, then serve. Prep Time: 5 min Cook Time: 15 min Serves: 4

Grilled Chipotle Lime Chicken

Ingredients: Servings: 4-6 Units: US | Metric 2 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, about 6 1 chipotle chile in adobo, minced 1/2 teaspoon adobo sauce, from the canned peppers 1/4 cup lime juice 1 garlic clove, minced 1/4 cup olive oil 2 tablespoons honey Directions: Preheat grill to moderate heat for gas or medium indirect heat for charcoal and AWAY from fire, lightly oil or spray COOL cooking rack for easy cleaning. Mix minced pepper, adobo, lime juice,garlic, oil and pour half into resealable bag. DO NOT add the honey. That comes later. Reserve the rest for basting. Season chicken with salt and pepper- sometimes we use season salt or lemon pepper for a twist. Add chicken to bag and allow to marinate for 15 minutes. No need to refrigerate for this short time. Remove chicken from marinade and place on preheated grill. Discard USED marinade. Grill chicken about 4-5 minutes then flip over and cook another 4-5 minutes. Now add the honey to RESERVED marinade and baste chicken. Immediately flip chicken and baste the unbasted side. Grill until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Remove from grill and pour any remaining RESERVED sauce on top. I served it with Spanish rice and retried beans.

Lemon Roasted Herb Shrimp

Lemon Roasted Herb Shrimp

Ingredients
1/3 cup olive oil
1 lemon, zested then half cut into thin slices and other half into wedges
3-4 fresh thyme sprigs, leaves removed
sea or kosher salt and fresh black pepper
spaghetti/pasta, couscous or rice for serving
2 tablespoons butter
1 pound fresh shrimp, medium-sized, deveined with tails off
5 cloves garlic, minced
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In an 8x8 glass baking pan combine olive oil, lemon zest and thyme. Olive oil should liberally cover the bottom of the pan, if it doesn't drizzle in a little more. Season with salt and pepper. Bake in oven for 10-12 minutes, checking every few minutes, if it looks like it is getting too brown remove and proceed to next step. Meanwhile cook pasta, drain and toss with a pat of butter or olive oil.
Remove pan from oven, add butter and move it around a little to melt, add shrimp, garlic and the thin sliced lemons (don't squeeze them), toss to coat with oil mixture. Bake for 8-10 more minutes or until shrimp turn pink and just start to curl, check often. Serve over pasta, couscous or rice tossed with additional extra-virgin olive oil and fresh-squeezed lemon with additional lemon wedges for serving.

Greek Potatoes

I made these to go with the Greek Salsa Chicken in my previous post.

Ingredients:
8 large potatoes, peeled, cut into large wedges (about 6-7 wedges per potato)
4 garlic cloves, minced (more garlic is a good thing, less garlic is a no-no for this recipe)
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup water
1 tablespoon oregano (get the Mediterranean, it's the best!)
1-1 1/2 lemon, juice of
sea salt
fresh coarse ground black pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 440°F A reviewer has suggested spraying the baking pan with Pam - that sounds like a great idea!
Put all the ingredients into a baking pan large enough to hold them.
Season generously with sea salt and black pepper.
The garlic will drop into the water/oil solution but its flavor will permeate the potatoes, and this way, it won't burn.
Bake for 40 minutes.
When a nice golden-brown crust has formed on the potatoes, give them a stir to bring the white underside up, season lightly with a bit more sea salt and pepper and just a light sprinkling of oregano.
Add 1/2 cup more water if pan appears to be getting dry, and pop back into oven to brown other side of potatoes.
This will take about another 40 minutes.
Do not be afraid of overcooking the potatoes- they will be delicious.

Greek Salsa Chicken

For the Salsa:

4 ounces crumbled feta cheese
1 cup halved grape or cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon freshly chopped oregano
For the Chicken:

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (7 ounces each)
pepper to taste
kosher salt to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 lemons, cut into wedges
Directions:

Preheat oven to 450°.
In a large bowl, combine feta, tomatoes, olives, parsley, lemon juice, 1/4 cup olive oil and oregano. Cover and chill in refrigerator.
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large roasting pan over medium-high heat. Season chicken with kosher salt and pepper. Sear chicken, about 1-2 minutes each side; remove from heat.
Squeeze lemon wedges over chicken to coat. Place the squeezed lemon wedges around the chicken breasts. Roast until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 160°, about 25-30 minutes. Transfer chicken and lemons to a large platter. Top with salsa.

Roasted Tomatoes with Shrimp and Feta

This was VERY good!!! I served it over angel hair pasta.

Ingredients
5 large tomatoes, cut into eighths
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic
kosher salt and black pepper
1 1/2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup Feta, crumbled
crusty bread, for serving
Directions
Heat oven to 450° F. Place the tomatoes in a large baking dish and spoon the olive oil and garlic over them.
Sprinkle with ¾ teaspoon each salt and pepper and toss. Roast on top rack of oven for 20 minutes.
Remove baking dish from oven and stir in the shrimp, parsley, and lemon juice. Sprinkle with the Feta.
Return the dish to oven until the shrimp are cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve warm with the bread.