Baked Pesto Chicken - Pinterest #4

I forgot to post this Pinterest recipe in April...oops!  We had Baked Pesto Chicken for dinner at the end of April and it was tasty.  It was really simple to make, easier than I expected.  It was pretty soupy so next time I would make rice or pasta to serve with it.  Bill really liked it and I'm sure I'll make it again some day!

Pinterest Version

My Version

 

For the recipe, follow the link above (recipe title) to the website where it was originally posted.

Nacho Chicken Tostadas

I've been trying to eat up the food I have in my pantry before leaving the country.  (It's hard, because I hoard food.)  This month, I made myself look for a recipe that would use at least several things I already had, without having to buy much more.  That's how I found Nacho Chicken Tostadas.  This was a new recipe for me...and, unfortunately, I don't think it was a success.  But, it did use three canned goods from the panty, so I accomplished one goal.

First, the "tostadas" part didn't work.  I bought corn tortillas, but when I opened them to make them "tostada-esque" they were moldy.  Therefore, the recipe became Nacho Chicken Tostadas Burritos/Enchiladas.  I'll include the directions for making the tostada cups below, but I did not make them.  I know that if I had, I would have a lot more dirty dishes - so I guess I can be thankful for that!

Second, this recipe was NOT photogenic.  It was just ugly.  But, the flavor was OK, so it wasn't a total failure.  I think it would be better mixed with some brown rice or something...maybe I'll try that with the leftovers.  Oh well, I guess not every recipe I try will be a success, but I'll share it with you anyway.

The ingredients.

Mix soup, tomatoes, chilies, and chicken.  Kind of ugly looking, huh?

Chop bell pepper and cilantro for garnish.

This is where it should be put in the tostada cup, but you already know that didn't work.  So, I put it in a flour tortilla.

More like a burrito or enchilada.

It worked - but it was very messy!

Nacho Chicken Tostadas Burritos/Enchiladas:

1 can condensed nacho cheese soup (I used cheddar cheese because that's what I had, I think it worked fine)

2 1/2 cups cubed cooked chicken

1 can stewed tomatoes

1 can chopped green chilies, drained

10 tostada shells (directions below)

5 cups shredded lettuce

Chopped red/yellow peppers for garnish

Chopped cilantro/parsley for garnish

Directions:

-In 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, combine soup, chicken, tomatoes, and chilies.  Heat through.

-On each tostada shell, arrange 1/2 cup of the lettuce.  Top with 1/4 cup of the soup mixture.  

-Garnish with peppers and cilantro.

Tostada Cups:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Use 10 (8-inch) corn tortillas.  On baking sheet, place 5 balls of aluminum foil (about 4-inch in diameter).  Spray 10-inch nonstick skillet with vegetable cooking spray.  Over high heat, heat one corn tortilla 5 seconds on each side until tortilla is softened.  Drain on paper towels.  Immediately drape tortilla over foil ball on baking sheet.  Repeat with 4 additional tortillas.  Bake 5 minutes or until golden.  Remove from oven and cool on foil balls.  Turn tortilla cups over; remove foil balls.  Repeat with remaining tortillas.  (See what I mean about more dirty dishes...I'm almost glad I didn't make the tostada cups!)

Dirty Dishes.  Not bad, mostly because I didn't make the tostada cups!

Nacho Chicken Tostadas Burritos/Enchiladas

Taste: 2 out of 5

Dirty Dishes: 4 out of 5

Time/Effort: 3 out of 5

TOTAL: 9 out of 15

Week 37

September 11
Abby came over so Bill could look at her computer. Fun times! (The cat's eyes looks kind of crazy behind Abby!)

September 12
We bought a new shower head. Bill was kind enough to install it. Now we have to decide if we like it.

September 13
Sometimes, I think the animals are telling secrets about us. They're so sneaky.

September 14
I made chicken parmesan for dinner. Except, I used mozzarella. It was yummy - I didn't even get a picture before we devoured half of it. Thanks to Maggie for the recipe.

September 15
Another appointment with the orthodontist...that means more drugs for me. Braces are painful! Who ever said this was a good idea??

September 16
As we were driving home, we could see the storm coming...chasing us! Sometimes I really love the weather here - I love seeing the storms come and the weather change instantly!

September 17
As I started making dinner, I discovered we had NO WATER!! I was so discouraged, that we went to the Taco Bell drive-thru instead.

Week 36

September 4
We were at the grocery store and on our way out of the parking lot we noticed a long row of cars parked against the "no parking" signs (the "E" with the line thru it means no parking). We thought it was ironic that so many cars would park where they weren't supposed to, so we stopped to take a picture. As we photographed the offenders, the little parking lot cop (on his bike) whistled at us and asked what we were doing. We pointed to the cars parked illegally and he just shrugged his shoulders and again asked us what we were doing. It didn't occur to him that the cars were doing anything wrong!!! We laughed and drove on. Parking in this country is comical!

September 5
Happy Labor Day! I love any excuse to have a day off of work. To celebrate, we grilled chicken, which was delicious, and had broccoli and fresh made lemonade. It was a good day!

September 6
I'm helping with the women's retreat by doing data entry. To keep all the papers organized, Abby gave me a nifty file. Nifty, except it's PINK. She just had to give me a pink one and now I have to carry it around! I don't like pink!

September 7
Our smoke detector had a rough day! I guess I need to clean my oven because when I turned it on...the detector went off. I didn't burn anything, it was barely cooked, but the detector went off several times. We're rethinking our decision to replace the batteries in the detectors! Hmmm...maybe no batteries are better than beeping detectors?!?

September 8
I had to drop off my ice-cream maker with Abby so she could use it for her cooking class. That gave me an excuse to visit with Abby and Jen. And, I shared my Peruvian candy with them. I'm so thankful for great friends!

September 9
We went back to Crepes & Waffles again. We enjoyed it so much last week that we wanted to try it again. They really have a great selection so we might have to go back several times before we find our favorites. This time, Bill ordered a bread bowl that came filled with chicken curry. It was a lot of food and he said it was really good. He ate it all! We might go back next weekend too!!

September 10
Here I am again! We are happy to have college football back on TV. We were able to watch Oregon play again and this time they won! Go Ducks! Or as Bill likes to say: "Vamos Patos"!

Week 25

June 19
We went shopping at Pricesmart and we took a couple guys who are new to Panama. It was a good outing - we all bought some good stuff. Then we ate lunch at the food court...tasty fried chicken and pizza!

June 20
Bill gave me a punch bowl for our anniversary. The 3rd anniversary is crystal. I love it and can't wait to use it.

June 21
I recently started playing my computer game. It's not new, I've just been waiting to play it for several years...I'm not sure why I was waiting. It's a fun game, but I've discovered I'm not a very patient person so sometimes I cheat!

June 22
Bill doing his homework with the dog. They were cuddling on the floor and it was really cute!

June 23
I'm sick again! I've been sick more here in the last 1.5 years than in any of the other places I've lived. Thankfully, NyQuil makes me feel better.

June 24
We had delicious kebabs for dinner. Chicken, onions, and peppers grilled to perfection. It really was a wonderful meal.

June 25
This is the "spare change" can that I've filled up for church. The youth group collects the cans to raise money for their missions trip. Time to turn my can in.

Dinner

Last night I made dinner. I don't always cook, especially when we eat a big lunch at the cafeteria, but I did last night. I had chicken that was begging to be cooked, but I didn't feel like working very hard on anything...so, I made Bruschetta Chicken Bake. I got the recipe off a box of stuffing a long time ago and I kept it because it really is tasty and easy. (It involves stuffing so it can't be bad, right?) I thought I'd share a recipe tonight since I haven't done that for a while. If you want something easy, this is it!

Bruschetta Chicken Bake
1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 pkg. (6 oz.) chicken flavored Stove Top stuffing mix
1/2 cup hot water
2 cloves garlic, minced
1.5 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1 tsp. dried basil
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place tomatoes with their liquid in medium bowl. Add stuffing mix, hot water, and the garlic; stir just until stuffing mix is moistened. Set aside. Place chicken in 9x13-inch baking dish (I was too lazy to cut the chicken into bite-size pieces so I just put in the chicken breasts whole); sprinkle with the basil and cheese (I also added salt and pepper). Top with the stuffing mixture. Bake 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

There you have it...last night's dinner. And we'll probably eat the leftovers tonight. Sorry I don't have a picture, we ate it too quickly last night and I forgot about photographic evidence. Let me know if you try it and if you like it!

Quesadillas

Tonight we had chicken quesadillas, spanish rice and corn. It was super yummy. The quesadillas were better than I've ever made before. Everything was very tasty!

Day 2

Tonight's menu: Sweet & Sour Chicken and mixed vegetables. It was pretty good. We both ate way too much so there was no room for dessert. Good thing I didn't make dessert!