Stacked Chicken Enchiladas

The best I have ever had!
This Chicken Enchilada Casserole ("Stacked" Chicken Enchilada) comes from the Gimmesomeoven website.  AWESOME!
I made just a few changes to the recipe and will be marked with ** for you.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole (a.k.a. "Stacked" Chicken Enchiladas)

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Yield: About 8 servings

Ingredients

• 3 cups red enchilada sauce Click for Enchilada sauce recipe  **I used 1 3/4 cans of OldElpaso mild Enchilada Sauce**  Will make her homemade recipe next time but this still came out good with the canned sauce. 
• 16 corn tortillas, halved
• 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• **1 (16 ounce) bag of frozen sweet kernel corn, cooked**
• **1 package of FLAV-R-PAC Baja Roasted corn blend
• 6 scallions (green onions), thinly sliced
• 4 cups (about 1.5 pounds) shredded cooked chicken **I grilled my chicken breasts**
• 3 cups shredded Monterrey Jack or Mexican blend cheese
• 1 avocado, peeled, pitted and diced
• 1/2 cup loosely-packed chopped fresh cilantro (optional)  **I don't like cilantro so I just left it out.

Method

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Pour about 3/4 cup enchilada sauce in the baking dish, and spread until the bottom of the dish is coated. Top with a layer of about 8 tortilla halves so that the entire dish is covered. Sprinkle evenly with about 1 cup black beans, 1/2 cup corn (**used the Baja corn blend for this layer) and a fourth of the green onions. Then sprinkle with a heaping cup of the chicken, and about 3/4 cup shredded cheese.

Repeat with a second layer of tortillas, then sauce, then beans, corn (**used the sweet kernel corn for this layer**), green onions, chicken, and cheese. Then a final layer of tortillas, sauce, beans, corn, green onions, chicken and cheese. Then conclude with a final layer of tortillas and sauce (reserving about 3/4 cup of cheese to add partway through baking).

Cover the pan with aluminum foil, then bake for 20 minutes. Remove pan and remove aluminum foil. Sprinkle the top of the enchiladas evenly with the remaining 3/4 cup of cheese, then return to the oven (uncovered) and bake for 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Remove pan, and sprinkle with avocado, cilantro **Optional**, and remaining green onions. Serve warm.  I drizzled sour cream over each serving-Yum !  Even my 5 year old loves this :)

Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Pot Pie

2 sheets Frozen Puff Pastry (I used Pepperidge Farm brand) Thawed
1 egg, beaten
1 tblsp. water

2 cups cooked chicken, diced in to cubes
1/3 Cup Butter
2/3 Cup Flour
1 large carton Chicken broth
½ Cup Half & Half
1 small Onion, chopped fine
1 sm package Carrots (cooked and sliced)
1 Cup frozen peas (thawed and cooked)

While your pastry sheets are thawing you can make your filling:

In a medium sized saucepan make a roux with the flour and butter.
Add chicken broth a little at a time while stirring to make a thick gravy consistency then add in ½ cup of half and half to thin out the sauce a bit.
** Make sure you cook down the flour before adding the chicken broth or you will taste the flour in your sauce.

In a small pan sauté the onions til clear then add them to the roux. Add the remaining chicken, carrots & peas. This is now your sauce/gravy. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Place the sauce/gravy in a 2 quart casserole dish.
Take 1 sheet of the thawed puff pastry and place it horizontal on your dish then take the 2nd sheet and place that one vertical on your casserole. Trim off excess pastry and crimp edges with a fork.

Wisk 1 egg with a tablespoon of water in a small bowl then egg wash your puff pastry before placing it in the oven.

Bake at 400 degrees F for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Chicken with Farfalle, broccoli & cheese

Skillet Chicken with Farfalle pasta, Broccoli, & Parmesan Cheese

This serves 4-6. If you don't want to make as much, scale down the amounts in the recipe.**

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or 6 chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch squares

Table salt and ground black pepper

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, minced

4 medium cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

12 ounces UNCOOKED Farfalle or whatever kind of pasta you desire

4 1/4 cups water

2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

4-5 cups broccoli florets (I used 1 package of steam in the bag broccoli and cooked ½ the amount of time on package)

1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, rinsed and chopped coarse

3/4 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Season the chicken with salt and pepper.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking.

Add the chicken in a single layer and cook for 1 minute without stirring. Stir the chicken and continue to cook until most, but not all, of the pink color has disappeared and the chicken is lightly browned around the edges, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Transfer the chicken to a clean bowl and set aside.

Add the remaining tablespoon of oil, onion, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to the skillet. Return the skillet to medium-high heat and cook, stirring often, until the onion is softened, 2 to 5 minutes.

Stir in the garlic, oregano, and pepper flakes, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add the UNCOOKED pasta, 3 cups of the water, and the broth.

Bring to a boil over high heat and cook until the liquid is very thick and syrupy and almost completely absorbed, 12 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the broccoli, sun-dried tomatoes, and the remaining 1 1/4 cups water.

Cover, reduce the heat to medium, and cook until the broccoli turns bright green and is almost tender, 2-3 minutes.

Uncover and return the heat to medium-high. Stir in the cream, parmesan, and reserved chicken with any accumulated juices and continue to simmer, uncovered, until the sauce is thickened and the chicken is cooked and heated through, 1 to 2 minutes.

Off the heat, stir in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste.

This wonderful fast & easy recipe is from My Kitchen Chef

Spezzi

An old family recipe

Spezzi
By: Judy Giordano aka Mom
Sauce:
· 2 – 15oz cans Hunts tomato sauce
· 2 – Hot pickled cherry peppers (no seeds) + 1 Tablespoon of the juice
· 2 – Bay leaves (optional)
· Black pepper, parsley, basil and oregano to taste.
Place all of the above ingredients in a large sauce pan and simmer.
*While the above sauce is simmering make the chicken.
Chicken:
· Chicken wings (I use one family size package containing 12 – 16 wings)
· 1 clove garlic, chopped fine
· 1 small onion, chopped fine
· ½ cup white wine
Fry chicken wings in oil until browned on both sides then and all of them to the sauce that you have simmering.
In the same pan you used for the chicken sauté 1 small onion & 1 clove of garlic, cook until soft and light brown. Add ½ cup of white wine to deglaze the pan and add all of the pans ingredients to the sauce.
Cook the above for approx 35 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked and will be starting to fall off the bones. For a bold taste add in more of the cherry pepper juice (no seeds)
Serve over polenta or linguine.

When I want a very bold flavor I will increase the garlic, onion, cherry peppers, wine and cherry pepper juice. This is the kind of recipe that you can play around with easily to adjust the flavors.