I love some of the recipes for this week and am excited to share them with you! The Red and White Pasta Bake was new one for me and will definitely become a family regular. The Enchilada Casserole is a quick meal that is easy to "dump and add" extra ingredients into. My husband is a fan of the BBQ Chicken Pizza and I like it because it gives a different twist on the regular pizza meal.
I have a new time saving discovery!!! The other day I was looking for rice at the grocery store and came across these pre-cooked rice plastic bags that all you have to do is microwave for 90 seconds and you have great rice. They have several varieties to choose from. I know it may cost more for convenience foods but sometimes (okay, really most of the time) I don't have the patience for cooking rice to have as a side dish.
This week involves using from previous meals so please read carefully in the recipe as I've tried to mention which ingredients are leftovers. For example, the hamburger buns for the chicken sandwiches become the bruschetta bread on Friday!
Have a wonderful week and please let me know how your meals turn out!
Monday: Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Sandwiches, Wild
Wednesday: Enchilada Casserole (from Gooseberry Patch - Meals in Minutes) and Quick Salsa
(use leftovers from Monday)
Friday: Tomato Bruschetta (from realsimple.com using leftover hamburger buns) and leftover Pasta Bake
Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Sandwiches, Wild Rice, and Salad
4-6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (I used tenderloins)
1 (18oz.) bottle of barbecue sauce
1/2 cup prepared Italian salad dressing
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 T Worcestershire sauce
Hamburger Buns
Lettuce for Salad (plus additional toppings/veggies)
Wild Rice (I found a bag of 90 sec microwave rice in the pasta/rice aisle and it was actually really good - I think it was Uncle Ben's brand)
Place chicken in crock pot. In a bowl mix 2/3 bottle of the BBQ sauce, Italian salad dressing, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce. Pour over chicken. Cover and cook for 3-4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low (I cooked on low about 7 hours.). Remove chicken from crock pot. Pour juices from crock pot into a large bowl. Shred chicken (I diced instead to make the pizza making later this week a little easier) and place back in crock pot. Add remaining 1/3 bottle of BBQ sauce to chicken. Then add some of the liquid removed from the crock pot to make the chicken the wetness you like.
Red and White Pasta Bake and Bread Sticks
4 cups penne noodles
1 (15oz) jar Alfredo sauce (I used Ragu)
1 (24oz) jar Marinara sauce (I used Ragu)
2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Refrigerated Bread Sticks
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook and drain pasta according to package directions.
3. Mix the two sauces together in a large mixing bowl.
4. Add mozzarella cheese and combine. Add drained pasta.
5. Pour into a 9x13 casserole dish and bake about 20-25 minutes until hot and bubbly.
6. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top and bake another 5 minutes. (I also added some basil to mine before serving.)
While the pasta baked in the oven I cooked our bread sticks according the package directions in our toaster oven.
Enchilada Casserole and Quick Salsa
15-oz. bag tortilla chips, divided (I usually use 1/2 of the tortilla chips and for the other half I use soft corn tortillas sliced up into about 1'' strips)
2 c. shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
10 3/4 oz can of cream of chicken soup
10-oz can enchilada sauce (I like Hatch)
16-oz can green chile sauce
Optional additions: black beans drained, canned corn, shredded chicken (cooked)
Arrange a layer of chips (or chips and tortillas strips) over the bottom of a greased 9''x13'' casserole pan; sprinkle one cup of cheddar cheese on top. Stir soup, enchilada sauce and green chile sauce together in a mixing bowl. If adding additional ingredients add those into the sauce too. Pour half of the sauce mixture over the cheese layer. Add another layer of chips; spread with remaining sauces. Sprinkle with remaining cheese; bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.
Easy Salsa
3 cans of diced tomatoes, drained
1 can tomato and green chilies, drained (I use Rotel)
cilantro
Blend all three ingredients together in a large bowl. I've used a food processor or even a hand processor and they both do well with these.
BBQ Chicken Pizza and Salad
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
1 cup cooked chicken, diced and 1/2'' cubes (leftover from Monday)
One 12'' pizza crust (I used Boboli)
2 T olive oil
1 1/4 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup red onions, chopped
2 T fresh cilantro, chopped
Lettuce for salad and any additional veggies/toppings
1. Mix BBQ sauce and chicken and allow to marinate to a few minutes, or even up to 24 hours. (Since I used our leftovers from Monday it was already taken care of. Mine is a little less diced and more shredded since it's leftover but it still works well, maybe not a pretty looking.)
2. Preheat oven 400 degrees F.
3. Spread fresh pizza dough on parchment paper or pizza stone (no cookie sheet). Lightly spread with olive oil on the crust leaving about 1'' edge. Add mozzarella cheese. (Again, I used a Boboli crust as it saves lots of time.)
4. Evenly distribute BBQ chicken on top of the cheese. Top with onions and garnish with cilantro.
5. Bake on middle or top rack for 9-13 minutes and serve.
While pizza is baking put together salad.
Tomato Bruschetta and leftover Red and White Pasta Bake
2 hamburger or hot dog buns, split (I'll probably make a little more - leftover from Monday)
4 T olive oil
6 Roma (plum) tomatoes, seeded and diced
6 kalamata olives, pitted and roughly chopped (we might skip these and add diced red onion as I have leftover onion from the pizza)
2 T fresh oregano or basil, torn
kosher salt and pepper
leftover pasta bake
1. Heat broiler.
2. With a rolling pin, roll the bun halves until flattened.
3. Place on baking sheet and brush both sides of the buns with 2 T of the oil. Broil until golden brown, about 1 minute per side.
4. In a bowl, combine the tomatoes, olives (or maybe red onion), oregano or basil, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, and the remaining oil. Transfer the buns to a platter and spoon the tomatoes over the top.
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