Puff Pastry filled with Chicken, Artichokes and Cheese

ATTENTION EXCLUSIVE WINE LOVERS. Have you ever noticed that nachos or wings - typical Super Bowl fare - doesn’t pair that well with a glass of red or white?

I have, and so I usually drink beer or margaritas during the game, but if you only like wine, then this appetizer is for you.

Golden, buttery puff pastry is wrapped around chunks of artichokes and chicken tossed with creamy mayonnaise, cheese, a hint of salty bacon, and accented with Italian seasoning. It’s lovely.

 This also makes a quick dinner. If you serve this for dinner, I’d suggest serving grilled asparagus and salad on the side.

I served this twice last week and people loved it both times. Puff pastry is magical goodness. I can't believe how easy it is and how melt-in-your-mouth delicious it is. Cheers!

Puff Pastry filled with Chicken, Artichokes and Cheese 

1 puff pastry (Pepperidge Farm is my favorite)

1 cup drained artichokes

1 cup chopped boneless, skinless rotisserie chicken breast

1/3 cup shredded Asiago cheese (could substitute Parmesan if you can’t find Asiago)

2/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

½ cup mayonnaise

½ teaspoon Italian seasoning

2 tablespoons crumbled cooked bacon or real bacon pieces (optional)

Dash of garlic salt

Parchment paper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Drain artichokes, pat with a paper towel to dry and roughly chop artichokes. Stir together artichokes, chicken, cheeses, mayonnaise, bacon and Italian seasoning. Top with a dash of garlic salt.

Lay a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet, this will help prevent the puff pastry from sticking.

Unfold puff pastry and remove the paper. The pastry will naturally be divided in thirds and all you want to do is fill that middle third with the chicken mixture. So carefully spoon all the mixture down the center of the pastry and fold the sides up and over to seal. Dip your fingers in water and seal the edges so the cheese doesn’t bubble out.

Bake 18-22 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to rest 5 minutes before slicing. Enjoy with a glass of Sauvingnon Blanc or  Chardonnay; or any red from a Pinot to Cabernet. Cheers to drinking wine and eating food that pairs well with it during the Super Bowl.

Chicken Tortilla Soup (Fast and HEALTHY)

Woo Hoo, I did it! Revamped my delicious chicken tortilla soup and transformed it into a wonderful Rotisserie Chicken Queen soup. From start to finish, it took me 25 minutes!

My old version took about an hour and a half and this new version is spectacular! It has more ingredients than most of my recipes but it’s still easy.

If you enjoy the flavors or cumin, cilantro and corn, you should love this. 

And it freezes beautifully, so if you are single or travel a lot, you can easily freeze it.  There’s about six servings in a pot and I ran the ingredients through one of those calorie calculations, and it has 311 calories a bowl. It was rated B+, which is awesome, so it’s nutritious as well as delicious.

It has 12 percent of your daily recommended intake of iron, 48 percent vitamin C, and 20 percent vitamin A.

If you made my Mexican Lasagna, you probably have left over corn tortillas, so you can use them in this. For future reference, corn tortillas freeze well, too.

You’ll notice, I give directions as if I am there with you in the kitchen because I know where the pauses are in my recipe and it helps you move faster. You don’t have to de-bone the chicken before you start the soup. If you do, you will add a little extra time to the 25 minutes I said it takes. I try to be as efficient as possible with whatever I make. “Efficient” is a commonly used word in my home and is usually greeted with a mental eye-roll from my husband. I don’t blame him. I strive to be more efficient with everything I do.

This is one efficient, yummy venture. I hope you enjoy it.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 teaspoon canola oil

1 large yellow onion

1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

½ teaspoon cumin seed

1 large red bell pepper

*1 garlic clove or dash of dehydrated garlic (see my note)

32-ounces reduced sodium chicken broth (one of those boxes of broth)

1 can of corn, drained

½ a bunch of cilantro

4 corn tortillas

1 tablespoon cornmeal (if you don’t have any, just add 2 more tortillas)

1 ½ cups chunky salsa (your favorite brand)

Meat from 1 rotisserie chicken

Avocado to garnish (optional)

*If you want to save time and you’re not cooking with dehydrated garlic, you need to buy some. It’s awesome! I tried it when I visited the New Orleans School of Cooking and I was skeptical, but instantly won over. Now I only use fresh garlic if I am making a dressing or something that must have it. Dehydrated garlic saves me time, effort and I don’t have stinky hands. You can order it online, but I recently bought some from Big Lots, of all places. It was the Big Lots in Rolla, but you call your local store.  It was inexpensive, too.

Directions:

First, chop onion and red bell pepper and set aside (use a food processor, if you have it).

Split a head of cilantro in half and cut the stems off one half. Then bunch up the leaves and slice those and set aside.

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. When hot, add onion, cumin, chili powder and cumin seed. Stir occasionally while it cooks for about 7 minutes. While that cooks, do the next steps but be sure to stir the onion so it doesn’t burn.

Pile tortillas on top of each other, slice them and then cut into small squares and set aside.

Tear the meat off your chicken. Discard the skin or save it for another use. Coarsely chop the chicken and set aside (if you have time; if not, you will get to that in a second).

When onion is tender, add all the ingredients from the bell pepper through the salsa. You do not want to add the chicken yet because it’s already cooked. Bring soup to a soft boil and cook 10 minutes. 

This is what it looks like before it boils

Finish chopping your chicken, if you haven’t already. 

When soup has cooked 10 minutes, drop chicken in and turn off the heat. The soup is piping hot and will quickly heat the meat. See how creamy the soup looks now? Transformed in 10 minutes.

Stir the soup and serve.

Optional: Serve with a slice of avocado, crumbled up tortilla chips, cheese or plain. The calories calculated were plain.

Nutritional Analysis

Good points

High in niacin

High in selenium

High in vitamin B6

High in vitamin C

Bad points

High in sodium

ENJOY!

Easy Enchilada Dip

This dip screams “Make me for the Super Bowl.”

Super Bowl Sunday is America's second largest food consumption day, after Thanksgiving. So there's a lot of competition for good food, but this dip will get attention.

If you’re not a good cook, this is the dip for you because it’s so easy!

You can use red or green enchilada sauce, whatever you prefer. Just be sure you use a sauce you like because it will heavily flavor the dip. 

I love cumin, so I personally would use cumin seed because when you bite into it, it explodes with flavor, but the ground cumin is probably better for a crowd.

If you don’t like cilantro, you can garnish this with chopped avocado, or buy premade guacamole and drop a pile of that in the center.  You can also add shredded iceberg lettuce in the middle.  Serve with tortilla chips for dipping.

Leftovers are good warmed in the microwave (but don’t reheat the entire dip, just scoop out what you need).

I love this dip and I hope you will, too.

Enchilada Dip

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

¾ teaspoon ground cumin (substitute cumin seed if you love cumin)

1 ½ cups refried beans

2 1/3 cups rotisserie chicken

10 ounces red or green enchilada sauce (this recipe works with either; just be sure you like the sauce)

½ cup drained corn

2 cups Mexican shredded cheese (or Taco style cheese)

Cilantro to garnish (optional)

Tortilla chips for serving

Directions:

Set cream cheese on the counter for 30 minutes to soften it and make it easier to spread. If you forget that step, it will still spread, but it’s a little harder.

While cream cheese softens, pull both breasts off the chicken and shred breast and thigh meat. Do not use any skin. Chop chicken, place in a bowl and cover with enchilada sauce and set aside.

Drain corn and set aside.

If you plan to garnish with cilantro, cut off the stems and chop cilantro. I like to use about half a cup and pile it in the center, that way anyone who doesn’t like it can avoid it. If you know everyone likes it, or don’t care, then chop as much as you want.

Preheat oven to 400.

Spread cream cheese into the bottom of a deep dish pie pan. Sprinkle with cumin.

Spread refried beans over that layer. Spread corn over beans. Then spread chicken over that. Top with shredded cheese and bake for 22-25 minutes.

When done, garnish with cilantro and serve with tortilla chips.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Are you looking for the perfect Super Bowl recipe? Here it is.
My Buffalo Chicken Pizza is the perfect blend of spicy sauce mix, creamy cheese, chewy pizza dough and heavenly cream cheese. Yes, I use cream cheese as the base and then top that with chicken breast tossed in wing sauce and cheese.
 I am a big believer that cream cheese makes the world better.
With only 5 ingredients, this is EASY and scrumptious.

One of the keys is to use Ott's hot sauce, it has amazing flavor and a perfect balance of heat for most people. If you can't find Ott's, then use your favorite wing sauce. I try to make this spicy, but not unbearable because people like all different heat levels and if you have a party, you never know what people like.

Anyway, as you gear up for football this weekend, consider this recipe. It's lighter than wings. I like the flavor of wings, but hate the fattiness and skin. This is skinless chicken and is soooooooooooo much better. Try it and let me know what you think

Buffalo Chicken Pizza
1 ready made pizza crust or naan bread (Stonefire is my favorite)
1 1/3 cups chopped skinless rotisserie chicken (I like to use breast for this)
1/2 cup Ott's hot sauce, plus more for drizzling
8 ounces of cream cheese at room temperature
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Toss chicken with hot sauce, stir to coat and set aside.

Spread cream cheese evenly over your pizza crust. When covered, spread chicken out across the pizza.

Top with cheese and then a slight drizzle of more hot sauce.

Bake 15-20 minutes until cheese is melted to your desired consistency.

Note: Not every store carries Stonefire Pizza Dough, which also makes naan. It's usually kept next to the Naan. It's awesome though.

What do you want to see?

Next week, I am doing a Louisiana theme in honor of the upcoming Mardi Gras. I will have lots of lovely recipes because that is some of the best food in the world!
Anyway, do you have a chicken recipe you'd like revamped? Or a dish you love that you'd like to see me try with rotisserie chicken, like chicken marsala? I am taking requests. It may take a few weeks to get to it, but if I can make an easy version, I sure will.
Let me know

Check it out Juliana Goodwin - Cookbook - 1/26/15 - OzarksFirst.com

Juliana Goodwin - Cookbook - 1/26/15 - OzarksFirst.com

Chicken and Andouille Po’ Boy with Horseradish Slaw

This was one of my favorite inventions of 2014. 

This photo does not do the level of deliciousness justice. The chicken is hidden under the slaw and sausage is never sexy to photograph.

BUT, the recipe is FABULOUS!

If you like a little kick, and it's only a little, you have to try this!

I love Louisiana food. My husband is from there and we visit every year, but long before I met him, New Orleans was one of my favorite food cities. 

So last summer, I wanted to invent an easy Po’Boy, which is one of my favorite sandwiches.  

All my favorite Po  Boys are fried and I wanted something lighter, so I decided to mix lean chicken breast with spicy Andouille and top it with a spicy slaw. 

The horseradish slaw makes this dish!!! It’s fantastic. You will have leftovers of this slaw, so I often plan either a barbecue meal the next day or even a salmon sandwich. This slaw is great on pork, brisket or salmon. The slaw is best made 2 hours in advance to let the flavors marinate. If you don’t have that time, make one and a half times the dressing recipe for the slaw so there’s more sauce on it.

Andouille is a smoked, pork Cajun sausage and it’s traditionally spicy.  If you or your children don’t like a lot of spice, you could use Johnsonville New Orleans style Andouille, which is not very spicy; or even use kielbasa. If you do like a little kick and you’re in the Springfield area, try Circle B Ranch’s Andouille. Circle B. Ranch is a humanely raised certified hog farm in Seymour. I’ve been there and the hogs graze freely. I like that. You can find the product at Harter House or the Greater Springfield Farmers Market. One bite and you can tell there are not fillers, but it is spicy, so keep that in mind, if you’re sensitive to heat because the slaw has a little kick. You can find more information about Circle B Ranch and where to buy their pork: http://www.circlebranchpork.com

Chicken and Andouille Po’ Boy with Horseradish Slaw

1 (14-ounce) bag cole slaw mix (I like the tri-colored, but plain is fine)

½ cup mayonnaise

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

3-4  tablespoons Sandwich Pal Woeber’s horseradish sauce (if you substitute another horseradish, just taste as you go because sauces vary a lot in terms of heat.I like 4 tablespoons, but 3 may be your limit if you have kids)

1 tablespoon, plus 1 teaspoon sugar

Salt and pepper to taste

Assemble

6 hoagies or sausage rolls

6  Andouille sausages

2 breasts from the rotisserie chicken, sliced and skin removed

For the slaw: in a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, sugar and horseradish. Salt and pepper to taste and cover and refrigerate 2 hours.

Remove the chicken breasts from the rotisserie chicken and cut into slices.

Cook Andouille according to package directions. I often slice it in half just so it lays flat in the bun.

I like to heat my hoagie rolls or sausage buns (I prefer sausage buns), but that is up to you. If you do heat them, I would put them in a 400 degree oven, keep the bread closed, and toast for 3 minutes.

When done, place Andouille in hoagie, top with sliced chicken and then add a big pile of horseradish slaw.  Enjoy! This is a delectable sandwich.

I can't think of a more fitting day to post this warm, smooth, comforting soup. It's dark, cold and damp outside and this soup will warm you from the inside out.
I wish I could take credit for this brilliant, delicious Creamy, Chicken and Dumpling Soup, but I can't. My husband's cousin's wife made a version of this a few years ago. I don't remember the original recipe. but she used flour tortillas to make the dumplings, which I thought was brilliant.

I normally hate Chicken and Dumpling Soup, but this is creamy and absolutely delicious. Plus, it's SUPER EASY.

Creamy, Chicken and Dumpling Soup

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 medium onion

2 stalks celery

1 (15 ounce) can chicken broth

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 soup can filled with water

1 1/ 3 cups mixed frozen peas and carrot

2 cups chopped rotisserie chicken

3 (6-inch) flour tortillas

Chop onion and celery. Set aside.

Place tortillas on top of each other and use a knife or pizza cutter to cut into ½ inch rectangles or squares. Set aside.

 Heat oil in a medium-large pot over medium heat. When hot, add onions and celery and cook 5 minutes. Add chicken stock, soup and then fill the soup can with water and add to pot. Toss in frozen peas and carrots and bring to a boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Reduce to strong simmer and add chicken and tortillas. The tortillas serve as dumplings. Cook 8-10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve. Serve with a dinner roll so you can sop up all the wonderful soup.

P.S. I sometimes add shelled edamame or corn to this soup. You can see I had  little extra of each and tossed those in. I am always trying to add extra vegetables. My daughter loves this soup

Curried Chicken Salad
I make amazing curried chicken salad! I love it.
It's wonderful stuffed in pita pockets, scooped out on a pile of lettuce for a salad, stuffed in a whole wheat tortilla wrap or even served at a party as an appetizer in puff pastry cups or as a dip. It's versatile.

When I serve it as a salad, I like to add chopped green apples on the side and sometimes red bell pepper.

Curried Chicken Salad
1 rotisserie chicken
2/3 cup sliced green grapes
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1/3 cup chopped red onion
2 stalks celery
1/3 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 1/4 cups mayonnaise
1 cup Light Miracle Whip
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder (or to taste)
salt and pepper to taste


De-skin and de-bone your chicken. I save the skin and bones for stock. You can freeze them for that if you don't plan to make stock any time soon. Then tear all the meat off the bird and chop it. I use everything, down to the wings.

Place in a bowl. Take about 20 grapes and slice them in thirds. Add the grapes to the chicken. Chop cilantro, red onion and celery and add it. Top with shredded coconut and dried cranberries.

In another bowl, mix mayo and Light Miracle Whip. Stir in curry powder and add a little salt and pepper. I use 1 1/2 teaspoons but if you have a poor quality curry powder, you may need as much as a tablespoon. Taste as you go so you don't ruin it.


Then stir mayo mixture into chicken mixture. Cover and refrigerate an hour before serving to let the flavors marry.
This chicken salad is so creamy and delicious! If you have a better recipe, please post it. I want to try it.

If you haven't been to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, you really should go. Last week was my husband's birthday, so I surprised him with a trip there. I've been to 45 states, so I feel comfortable saying this is one of the most beautiful museums in America. There are iconic paintings like Norman Rockwell's Rosie the Riveter and modern artists, too. But the architecture will wow you as much as the paintings inside the building. There are walking and biking trails around the museum, and the restaurant, Eleven, was good. Here are some pictures from our lovely afternoon ...

Isn't this one wild? I took it as we drove away/ It was a gorgeous day.

One thing I love about this place is the use of natural light and nature. This is one of the hallways at the museum. It's actually a series of buildings, some connected by bridges. Arkansas is a stunning state and this place showcases that beauty.

We have typical Ozarks weather that day. One moment it was gorgeous, the next it was cloudy, and then it was pretty again. I love the gray tones and shadows in this photo. I didn't tone anything. All of these were shot on my iPhone. Gotta love modern technology.

The entrance to the museum. I love this silver tree. See, gorgeous weather one minute.

The restaurant has amazing natural light and good food. The menu is limited, but we both had an Ozark Harvest Salad and it was excellent. I am going to try to recreate the dressing.

Painting by Thomas Hart Benton. I love his stuff.

So many people take pictures of the building. It's awe inspiring.

As my husband would say "Trippy cloud formation."

That's all I had time to download. It was a wonderful day. And the museum is FREE, so you can take the entire family and enjoy a free day of entertainment. I am proud to have this in the Ozarks.

It's bleak outside, which puts me in the mood for soup. And I've shared a couple of decadent dishes lately, so I thought I'd post a delicious, healthy soup today:  Vegetable, Barley, Chicken Soup.

I love this soup because it’s packed with vegetables and feels nourishing. 

 There are a couple ways you can shave a little prep time off. Buy a bag of cole slaw mix instead of chopping your cabbage; buy pre-cut mushrooms; precut carrots; and use dehydrated garlic instead of fresh.

This soup has a lot of ingredients, but don’t let that deter you from trying it. It’s a simple soup that on the table in 30 minutes and it’s healthy so you can feel good about feeding it to your family.  It’s packed with vegetables and we know we all need more vegetables. The barley adds bulk and fiber and helps thicken the soup.  It’s important to use quick cooking variety of barley because it only cook 15 minutes before you serve it.

The Italian seasoning and rosemary season this beautifully.

The chicken goes in at the very end, so again to save yourself prep time, chop the chicken while the soup is boiling. The same apples to the zucchini. While the first four ingredients cook down, then you can chop the zucchini.  Ok,let’s get started.

Vegetable, Barley, Chicken Soup

1 large yellow onion

2 carrots

 1 ½ cups chopped white cabbage

2 stalks celery

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

¼ teaspoon dried rosemary

1 pint sliced baby portobella mushrooms

1 zucchini

2 bay leaves

1 garlic clove, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

7 cups chicken stock

2/3 cup quick cooking barley

2 ½ cups chopped, skinless rotisserie chicken

Directions:

Chop saute onion, cabbage, carrots and celery and set aside. Cut zucchini into fourths horizontally, and then slice those pieces. Slice mushrooms and set aside.

In a large stock pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. When hot, add onion, cabbage, carrots and celery and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add Italian seasoning and rosemary, mushrooms, zucchini, salt and pepper and cook another 3 minutes. Add bay leaves, garlic, stock and barley and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium and cook 12-15 minutes. While the soup cooks, chop your chicken.

Drop in chopped chicken and heat through. Serve. 

I didn’t make this chocolate, caramel, date piece of HEAVEN, but I can tell you where to get it. This dessert is worth every calorie. It’s called  Trot on Over Here and it’s sticky pudding cake flavored with coffee and medjool dates topped with chocolate sauce, caramel and maple bacon brittle ice cream. The ice cream was scrumptious!!! This smooth buttery, caramel ice cream had lovely chunks of maple bacon brittle adding perfect contrast to the texture.

The fried mint on the side did nothing for it and actually distracted from it. I pushed it aside.

This treat was voted Best Bacon Dish in the South by Southern Living Magazine.

It’s available at the Tusk and Trotter in downtown Bentonville, Ark. http://www.tuskandtrotter.com/

We stopped Sunday for brunch there and  had a good meal. The main courses (Eggs Benedict and eggs gratin) were just ok, but the appetizer of risotto balls was fantastic. Creamy risotto, was mixed with ground meat, homemade sausage, herbs and cheese and then rolled in balls and fried. FAB-U-LOUS. Don't these look good?

We had a nice mimosa. I did not like the Bloody Mary because it was thin, but my husband prefers thin mixes so he liked it. They have an array of Bloody Mary's to choose from from pickles to bacon to ghost pepper. That's just personal taste. 

The Pomme Frites covered in Herbs de Provence were also fantastic. They had a sticky sauce on them and I didn't think I’d like it, but I did.

But the dessert was the highlight! And they have a biscuit covered with “chocolate gravy” and served whipped cream and strawberry ice cream. That’s on my list next time. I was stuffed! Next time, I will order the risotto balls, a salad and go for two desserts. I am not kidding. I don't eat a lot of dessert, but when I do, I go all out! 

Here is the interior of the restaurant.

We took a day trip to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and had brunch in Bentonville. Both are worth the trip. I will post photos from the museum later. It’s awe inspiring. Have a delicious day!

It's such a stunning day outside. I had not planned to share this recipe until it warmed up because this doesn't seem like salad weather- but today it is.  This is a wonderful main course or side salad for several people.

Barbecue Ranch Chicken Salad
This restaurant quality salad is amazing and serves two as a main course or up to six as a side dish. The Cheesecake Factory serves an amazing salad like this, which was my inspiration for this recipe.

.
Directions:
1 head of romaine lettuce
2/3 cup of canned corn, drained
2/3 cup black beans, drained
1 1/4 cups chopped chicken
2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
3 slices of bacon or 1/3 cup real bacon pieces
1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
French's Fried Onion rings (like you use for the green bean casserole at Thanksgiving)

Dressing:
1/2 cup Ranch dressing
1 1/2 tablespoons barbecue sauce
1 tablespoon salsa
Get a large serving bowl for this recipe. For the photo, I made this look pretty by stacking the ingredients, but you will need to toss this together with the dressing before you serve it.
Chop lettuce and place in bowl. Add corn, black beans, chicken, tomatoes, bacon and cheese,
Mix ingredients for the dressing together then pour dressing over salad and thoroughly toss to distribute ingredients and the dressing. Allow to rest for 5 minutes and then serve.

Southwest Chicken Egg Rolls
This is one of my all-time favorite indulgent recipes! This is my take on a restaurant favorite, and these are just as good. They would be perfect for a Super Bowl party or entertaining in general. A margarita pairs beautifully with these. Your guests or family will be impressed when you serve these delightful bites.

Directions
1/2 cup canned corn, drained
1/2 cup black beans, drained
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons chunky salsa (a chunky salsa is a MUST)
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1/2 cup  Campbell's Fiesta Nacho Cheese Soup
2 cups diced rotisserie chicken, skin removed
3/4 teaspoon cumin seed
3 tablespoons chives
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro (optional)
Egg roll wrappers
Canola or peanut oil
Stir together the first eight ingredients. Add cilantro, if desired. Fill the egg rolls, following  the directions on the back of the egg roll wrapper package on how to roll the egg rolls. Only make about 10 and then start heating the oil. You can make the rest while the oil heats.
Add oil to a large frying pan and heat over medium heat. Do not heat the oil too fast or it will brown the egg rolls.
When they are all assembled, test oil. If it bubbles when you add an egg roll, add egg rolls and fry 2-3 minutes per side or until golden brown.
Drain on paper towels.
Serve with a dipping sauce of equal parts Ranch dressing and Salsa.

Quick Posole

If you have 15 minutes, then you can have dinner on the table. That’s right, from start to finish, this soup will only take you 15 minutes.  Here’s another piece of good news: this flavorful soup boasts only 220 calories a bowl.

Posole is a stew popular in Colombia and Mexico that is slow cooked and contains hominy. While Posole is traditionally slow cooked, I don’t have time for that so I came up with this snappy version. It’s actually inspired by a slow cooker pork posole one of my girlfriend’s makes.

 It’s flavored with broth, green enchilada sauce, cilantro, cumin, salsa and then a squeeze of lime. The shredded chicken is so tender in this dish.

It’s not my best soup, but it’s very good, especially when you consider how quick it comes together.  So pop a beer and dinner will be done before you can even finish your brew (well, I guess that depends on what type of day you’ve had).

I assume everyone has a food processor, but if you don’t, then add a couple extra minutes to the cooking time (and then go buy yourself one). I have a cheap one that I paid $10 for at Walgreens or Walmart in 2000. I am not kidding. So there’s no need to save up for a good one; this has served me well. I always use it to chop onions. You only need to chop an onion and cilantro for this dish, so there’ s not a lot of chopping anyway.

Quick Posole

Makes 4 servings

1 teaspoon canola oil

1 yellow onion

1 bunch cilantro

½ teaspoon cumin seed

¾ teaspoon ground cumin

1 (15-ounce) can reduced sodium chicken broth

1 (10-ounce) can green enchilada sauce

2 cups water

1 can yellow hominy

2/3 cup salsa (red or green will work; I prefer red)

2 cups skinless, shredded rotisserie chicken

1 lime for serving

Chop onion and cilantro set aside. When chopping cilantro, I just keep it as a bunch, chop the stems off where the leaves end and then chop that part, including stems. Some people take the time to pick off leaves, but not me. That takes forever. Stems are fine in the soup.

In a medium pot, heat oil and add onion and cumin and cook 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Add cilantro, broth, enchilada sauce, water, hominy, salsa and cook 5 minutes. While that cooks, shred your chicken and then add it to the pot and cook 5 more minutes.

Note: the easiest way to shred is pull of the skin, pull the chicken off the bone and shred it by hand. I always save the skin and bones for stock. You can freeze that if you won’t have time to make it this week. I find two birds boiled together makes a better stock anyway.

Serve with a lime wedge. If you want add more vegetables, you can serve this with chopped avocado and tomatoes.

Nutritional Information: Calories: 220; 24 g protein; 19 carbs; 1,175 mg sodium.

This has nothing to do with chicken, but if you're in Missouri, this is a cool attraction: The National Churchill Museum is in Fulton, Mo. The story of how it came to be as almost as interesting as the museum. I wrote about it for the Joplin Globe last week. You can see it here:
http://www.joplinglobe.com/opinion/columns/from-love-letters-to-gas-masks-winston-churchill-museum-links/article_1eab03ad-d5ec-510a-ab6d-1bd6f64ba410.html

Chicken, Corn Chowder (light version)

 The sky is gray and it looks like it's going to snow. I think it's a perfect day for my Chicken, Corn Chowder. This light version uses milk instead of heavy cream, so it's healthier. It comes together quickly so it's great for a weeknight, too. John and Bella love this soup. I hope you enjoy it.

 Chicken, Corn Chowder (Light version)

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 large yellow onion

3 stalks celery

1 heaping tablespoon flour

1 large Russet potato

¼ teaspoon salt

2 cups chicken stock

1 bay leaf

2 cups whole milk

1 can creamed corn

1 can corn

2 cups chopped rotisserie chicken breast

Salt and pepper to taste

Chop onion, celery, potato and set aside.  I don’t peel the potato.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in large pot over medium heat. When hot, add onions and celery and cook 2 minutes. Then add flour and cook 5 minutes. Add potato, salt, stock and bay leaf and bring to a boil for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to strong simmer and add milk and corn and cook about 12 minutes or until potatoes are just tender. Add chicken at the last minute just to heat through.

The vegetables should still be slightly crunchy. There's a lot less fat than traditional chowder, but it's still packed with flavor.    It’s an excellent soup and easy to make.

If you make it and like it, please share.

This morning, as my daughter sleeps, I'm typing up last night's wonderful recipe and I am thinking about dehydrated garlic.

I was introduced to dehydrated garlic three years ago at the New Orleans School of Cooking. I hardly ever buy the fresh stuff now. I was totally skeptical when I saw it, but it re-hydrates just like real garlic and I no longer have stinky fingers from chopping. Plus, it saves me so much time.

Now if I dish requires fresh garlic, like salad or tapenade, I still chop fresh garlic. But on a daily basis, I reach for my dehydrated garlic. If you've never tried it, I recommend it! All you do is drop it in a soup or sauce and it turns into regular garlic.

It's not easy to find, but if you see it, try it. I order mine online to save myself time. I don't want to drive around town hunting any specific ingredient.

Anyway, I will post a lovely Chicken, Corn and Potato Chowder tomorrow. I hope you have a wonderful day.

Does this look delicious? Oh man, it is! This is one of my most requested recipes. My Mexican Lasagna is incredible!

 It's layers of black beans, chicken, bell peppers,
 salsa and cumin with cheese and corn tortillas.

 

Mexican Lasagna

1 package soft yellow corn tortillas (you will not use them all)

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 very large yellow onion

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 ½ teaspoons cumin seed

1 green bell pepper

1 red bell pepper

1 can seasoned black beans, drained

4 cups chopped skinless rotisserie chicken (1 whole chicken or 2 if just use breast meat)

2 ¾ cups chunky salsa or picante sauce (that’s more than a regular size jar, so buy a big jar or two regular ones)

Dash of garlic salt

 ½ cup cilantro (optional)

3 1/2- 4 cups of shredded cheddar, Monterey Jack cheese blend (or Mexican- cheese blend)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Note: This calls for 4 cups of rotisserie chicken, which is the whole chicken. If you don’t like dark meat and want only white, you will need to buy two chickens and just use the breast off both.  

This makes a large batch (13” x 9” pan), but the recipe can easily be halved. This is an economical dish when entertaining and absolutely delicious. This lasagna explodes with flavor.  

Helpful hint: If you’re watching your weight, you can use less cheese in this dish by skipping the middle layer of cheese.  This has such powerful flavors, you really won’t miss it too much (and if you don’t try it that way, you won’t even know what you’re missing).

Directions:

Put onion through a food processor and chop bell peppers and set aside.

If you plan to use cilantro, gather the leaves in a bunch and cut off stems at the base of where the leaves start. Chop the leaves and set aside.

Chop your chicken and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. When oil is hot, add onion, cumin powder and cumin seed and cook 6 minutes.  Then add chopped bell peppers and cook 2 minutes. Stir in beans, chicken, salsa, dash of garlic salt and cook 2 minutes.  If you plan to add cilantro, stir it in now. Turn off heat and let mixture rest.

Spray a 13” x 9" pan with cooking spray. Line the bottom with corn tortillas, overlapping in spots so that the bottom is covered. I tear tortillas into desired sizes to make them fit. You will not use the entire package, you just want enough to make layers.

Take half your chicken mixture and spread it evenly over the first layer of tortillas.  Top that mixture with about 40 percent of your cheese. You want a little extra cheese on top. Then repeat and make another layer or tortillas over the mixture. Make sure it’s all covered, even if you overlap tortillas. Then top that with the rest of the chicken mixture. Cover chicken with remaining cheese.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cheese bubbles. Slice and serve. I hope you enjoy this; I absolutely love it.

Another option is to make the filling and serve it over rice (completely omitting the cheese), or grill it with minimal cheese in a yellow corn tortilla making a quesadilla. Other than the cheese, there is not a lot of fat in this dish because I always use skinless chicken.

I’ve also used the filling and mixed it with quinoa to make a lower fat version for lunch.

Sliced, black Spanish olives are also nice on this dish. 

I love just about any version of this.
As always, if you try this and like it, please share or leave a comment. Have a wonderful, delicious day!

Hello,
I have a hankering for pizza lately. I think it's this cold weather, it's comfort food. This is an excellent pizza that you can make for lunch or dinner or even as an appetizer for a party. This comes together quickly and is easy, so it's great for a weeknight dinner.


Chicken, Bacon Pizza with Sundried Tomatoes
1 ready made pizza dough (Stonefire is my favorite brand)
Pizza sauce, desired amount
1 cup chopped, skinless rotisserie chicken
1/3 cup real bacon pieces (store bought it what I used)
1/4 cup chopped sundried tomatoes
1 1/3 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese (or desired amount)
Fresh basil to garnish


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Spread pizza sauce over dough. Top with chicken, bacon and sundried tomatoes.
Top with cheese and bake for 15 to 18 minutes.
Remove and garnish with slices of fresh basil.



My nephew doesn't like any pizza other than cheese and he ate four slices of this, so that was a huge compliment. My dad loved it, too, but he loves bacon.

This pizza is easy, great for a quick dinner or parties. Serve with or without fresh basil.  Delicious!

Today is the day. I'm finally launching this blog. I've had this idea for more than a year and I've been plugging away at my recipes, but so many things came up, I kept putting this off. No more.
 So, if you're interested, each week I will post three new recipes using rotisserie chicken. While I am a big supporter of the local food movement, I also have eaten more grocery store chicken than ever before (in the past two years).
So if you're looking for quick dinner inspiration and recipes, then check back frequently. I will share a recipe for Chicken, Corn Chowder and Chicken Marsala -- all using rotisserie chicken.
Here's a SCRUMPTIOUS recipe to get started:

Creamy, Gumbo Dip

This dip is incredible, even though the picture is awful. Sometimes the food is great, but the photo isn't.

 My inspiration for this was Gumbo and artichoke dip. Those are two absolutely delectable dishes and I decided to combine the concepts. It has the chicken and Andouille sausage and the “trinity” and then the gooey cheese and heavenly cream cheese found in so many dips. I use Cajun seasoning, but be SURE to taste the seasoning before you add it to this dip because so many brands are appallingly salty. I use “Joe’s Stuff” which I discovered at the New Orleans School of Cooking. We order it online. Which, by the way, if you put in an order, it’s worth getting the dehydrated garlic and Bloody Mary mix. The mix is expensive, but the best I’ve ever had. My second favorite mix is Zing Zang, if that gives you any reference.

Anyway, use Cajun seasoning sparingly or you could ruin this. This fantastic and perfect for a football party, cold night or Sunday afternoon. Enjoy. If you like it, please share!

 Creamy, Gumbo Dip

3/4 cup minced Andouille sausage

1 teaspoon canola oil

1 large stalk of celery, chopped

1/2 cup chopped red onion

¼ cup chopped red bell pepper

¼ cup chopped green bell pepper

1/8 teaspoon salt

4 ounces cream cheese

¼ teaspoon Cajun seasoning

2/3 cup mayonnaise

¾ cup chopped, skinless rotisserie chicken breast

1 1/3 cups shredded Monterey Jack, cheddar blend

Green onions to garnish

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Chop all ingredients and set aside.

Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. When hot, add Andouille sausage and oil. Then add celery and onion and cook for 3 minutes. Add bell peppers and salt and cook another 2 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately stir in cream cheese and Cajun seasoning. Then stir in mayonnaise, chicken and half the cheese. Spread mixture into a deep dish pie pan and cover with remaining cheese. Garnish with green onions.

Bake 15-20 minutes until it bubbles on top. Serve with tortilla chips or French bread slices. It’s amazing!