Mexican Chicken Stuffed Pasta Shells

One thing that I love about blogging is finding new recipes. I found this recipe along the way. It is called Mexican Chicken Stuffed Pasta Shells. It can be found at Busy at Home. Please check out her blog and her wonderful cooking recipes. I found it through a secret recipe project that looks fun. I just need to hurry up so I can have 60 recipes posted so I may join. YEAH... just my type of thing....

First of all, I have a hard time following a recipe beginning to end. I have to find a way to make it mine. This recipe was fantastic how it was, but I needed to adapt it to my version and what my family would love and is used to... (me tinkering in the kitchen with recipes.)

This is the original recipe.... I will add at the bottom how I changed it to make it mine.

• 4 cups chicken breast, cooked and chopped
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 6 green onions, diced
• 1/2 each of red, green, yellow, & orange bell peppers (or 2 whole bell peppers of your choice), diced
• 3 (8 oz.) blocks cream cheese, softened
• 2 cans diced tomatoes with chiles (don’t drain) (Rotel or store brand, either works)
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 cup of picante sauce
• 38 large pasta shells, cooked al dente

My changes were as follows. I increased the cumin to 2 tsp. We love cumin. I added a can of green chilis. I added a can of sliced olives. I crushed up some frito chips and also added some drained, canned, sweet corn. I put enchilada sauce on top of the shells and just rested them on the bed of tomatoes and picante sauce. It was so good... this recipe is a winner the way it is... but feel free to add to it.

Instructions

1. Cook pasta shells in well salted, boiling water until al dente (still have a little bite to them) If you cook them too long, they will be difficult to stuff, plus they will have additional cooking time, once they are stuffed. Drain the pasta and set aside while you make the filling.
2. Cook, drain and dice enough chicken breast to make 4 cups. I always have homemade chicken stock and pre-cooked diced chicken bagged in my freezer. You could use canned chicken broth if you prefer.
3. To make the filling, mix diced chicken, drained black beans, green onions, diced peppers, and cumin in a large mixing bowl. Thoroughly incorporate all the ingredients.
4. In a separate bowl, mix the cream cheese, chicken stock and undrained tomatoes with chiles. When thoroughly combined, pour it over the chicken mixture and mix well. (If you have trouble incorporating the cream cheese and tomatoes, you can heat it slightly in the microwave.)
5. Spread 3/4 c. picante sauce in the bottom of a large baking pan. (I used 13x18x2, but I’m guessing that two 9×13′s would also work.) Reserve the final 1/4 cup, for later.
6. Using a spoon, or your fingers, fill each of your cooked and cooled pasta shells, setting them into the picante covered pan. Continue until all shells are filled and arranged in the pan.
7. When the pan is full, drizzle the shells with the remaining 1/4 cup of picante and then sprinkle with the shredded cheddar cheese.
8. Cover the baking pan tightly with foil and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Enjoy and please stop by her blog and show her some love... very good site....

Corn and Black Bean Dip

If you only knew what we do on the 4th of July. It could get really ugly if we were all honest with each other, yet the word goes unspoken. Seriously... it does. I live in a very kind and sweet neighborhood. We have wonderful neighbors. They are caring for each other and we look out for each other. We watch each others homes when the other is away. We watch each others children to make sure they are safe when they are out and about on the street. Until a couple of months ago, our daughter was the youngest on the block, yet now there is a family across the street renting a home there, and their son is the same age, and a child even younger. However, we still make sure the teens are being safe. We are the neighborhood that bakes for each other during the holidays... and we gather several times a year to enjoy each others companies. HOWEVER, the 4th of July is all about... OUT COOKING OURSELVES from what we brought the year before. That is what I tell myself... as I am not the one that has to be reminded of what I brought the year before. My mind is a volt when it comes to food. SMILE! BUT... ME BEING THE HONEST ONE AROUND HERE, I must tell you that I am also the one that has to tell you a secret.... we are all really trying to out cook each other as well. Again, it is unspoken. When you put your dish on the table to share... it shows... it totally shows. We eye each others dish, like it is the shoot out at sunset from Gun Smoke!

This year, I think that the block party was bigger than any of the past. Each family welcomes other family and friends from all over the place to join in on the festivities as long as they... BRING FOOD!!!! I love seeing when people are carrying over a sliced watermelon... it should disqualify them of the secret contest that is going on.... and people that bring the same dish each year, no competition.... I.... uhm... I mean WE... have found something bigger and better from the year before. We wear that invisible crown, letting the world that we are warriors of the kitchen... but we do it with a little smile or grin and say we will get the recipe to share right away. They obviously don't know... I have a food blog... and that may or may not be kept a secret. I mean... I would hate someone else to win with MY RECIPE... right?

Seriously though, we are very blessed to live in a neighborhood where we can join together and love each other and share our food. We are blessed to live in America. We are blessed to have each other and call each other friends... and we are blessed to be FREE, thanks to the men and women that keep our country safe. Yes that refers to soldiers... and their families, as that is obvious to me. However, we need to also think outside the box, as to the police, ambulance and fire in the area. We need to think of the neighbors that look out for each others home and belongings... to the teachers that go above and beyond for our kids... the daycare and pre school teachers that watch our children and keep them safe as we work. There are smaller scales her too that go without notice... but... AGAIN... on a big scale... people serving in our Armed Forces... I appreciate you.

For the recipe. I found it at this site and I adapted it to our needs. The name is Some Kind of Delicious. She has some great recipes that I saw over there... that I will be trying again very soon. It was the first time I had been to the site, yet I knew I had to try this. And that I did.

Corn and Black Bean Dip

2/3 c. sour cream
½ c. cilantro, chopped
1 tsp. ground cumin
½ tsp. cayenne pepper
1 (15-oz.) can corn, drained and rinsed
1 (15-oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
Juice & zest of 1 lime
Salt & pepper to taste
Tortilla chips

In a bowl combine the sour cream, cilantro, cumin, cayenne pepper, and lime. Stir in corn & black beans. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with tortilla chips.

I increased the sour cream to 1 1/3 cups. I added some tapitio to add some zip, and some carne asada seasoning to it. I also added an extra can of corn and a small onion. Her way was divine, yet, I like a lot of extra spice to my food most often. I also increased the the cumin to 2 tsp. and added some green chilis that were diced in a can. I think next time I will add an extra can of black beans and a can of cheddar cheese soup or shredded cheddar cheese. We shall see what wild hair I get that day. All in all her recipe was fantastic... I always tweek... the way I am made.

I hope you try this... it is super easy. Ooooooohhhh... as I am sitting here and my mind wanders yet again, I am thinking it would be fantastic with Mexican sour cream as well. It is so very yummy.... hmmmmmm..... thinking, thinking, thinking.

I also hope you go over and visit her site. It is a keeper for sure.

Carne Asada Nachos....

Last night in Carlie's excitement that I am now working again. She obviously didn't understand that my feet were killing me so very bad. That will take getting used to. Not that this is a bad thing... it's just a *thang*... and I will get used to it again and it will be better for my body than a sit down job. I still am convincing myself of this perhaps... please join in. Ha.

When I picked up toodle doodle from pre school she said she wanted to celebrate. Our celebrations always include food. Not sure that is all that healthy but it is the way that it is, and I am very aware of it. With this in mind... she got to pick the food. Her food of choice was... carne asada nachos. Go figure... two kinds of cheese... a staple in my home... ha. They really are good.

Whatcha need...

Any tortilla chip... we like Juanitas. I used juanitas round. They are thin and crisp... best ones...
1 large can refried beans
1 can chopped green chilis
1 can mushroom soup (cheapest is okay since you are not making a sauce with it.)
1/2 tsp cumin

Monterey Jack Cheese
Cheddar Cheese
Carne Asada cooked with Carne Asada spices on it (leave a little under cooked so it won't end up dry)
Sliced olives
Diced onion
Chopped tomato
Chopped avocado
Sour Cream
Salda
Cilantro




Layer your chips in a 9x13 or larger pan. I have done them in a broiler pan as well. In a bowl, combine the refried beans, green chilis, mushroom soup and cumin. Mix well and spread over the chips. Top with grated monterey jack cheese. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes until cheese starts to melt.

I then add the grated cheddar, then the carne asada, then olives and topped with more monterey jack cheese. (If you are wondering, yes, this can make your butt grow if not eaten in moderation... it is cheese you know) This is also why you want your carne asada to not be cooked toooooooo much as it is going to bake and it will get closer to how you like your meat cooked... I like mine still moist and not dried like the sole of a shoe... Place back in the oven for an additional 12 minutes or until the cheese is all melted.

This is what it will look like when it comes out of the oven. It is now easy to serve individual portions and top the way you like it...

Here is what it ends up like for my plate. And so you don't sit and wonder... thinking no wonder her rear is the size of Texas... this is a salad plate... so it is not as big as it looks. I am going to stick with this story.

Red Beans and Rice so good...

Not too often do I just love something from a fast food chain, that makes me want to eat it often. I must tell you that I have to resist turning into Popeye's chicken each time I pass it due to my fixation of their red beans and rice. AUHHHHHHH.... and if I do pass it, I want to do a u-turn to get me back. I like them that much! NO JOKE. So I have dabbled a bit and have come up with my own version. I am thinking I am pretty close.... but... would still stop there anytime for them.

I just cook my rice in a rice cooker and I add a little bit more water than usual... as I like our rice kind of sticky for this recipe. I add half water and half chicken broth as I just like that flavor, and I also add about a half tsp of garlic powder to the broth mixture and about 2 TBLS of butter. (And I wonder why my butt is so... just forget it...)

2 cans of red beans (don't drain)
1 can kidney beans (drain but reserve the liquid)
4 shakes of tabasco (more if you are daring)
1/2 tsp cumin
1 1/2 capfuls of liquid smoke
1 tsp garlic powder
2 Tbls. butter
1/2 tsp. pepper


Pour everything into your pot that you are going to cook with. Stir and let boil for approximately 10 minutes.
I smash mine with a potato masher. Some people like to keep all the beans whole. I do not. I like to smash them as when you do the beans become starchy and will start to thicken on their own. I turn the heat down to medium at this point of them cooking.

I smash about half to three forths of the beans and let them simmer for about 20 minutes or so. They thicken as they cook so you need to be careful and continue to strir now and then so they don't burn... (another reason to turn them down. Serve over rice.

I serve mine with enchiladas and corn... but also with fried chicken and macaroni. I do make a mean macaroni too... so my kids say. Five kinds of cheese... again another reason my butt grows.
Enjoy!!!!
S

Homemade Guacamole... YUM!!!

2 ripe avacados (not too ripe, you don't want them mushy)
1 roma tomato diced
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 small onion diced
splash lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
three shakes of tabasco sauce
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup of sour cream



I smash my avocado with an old pastry blender. I want chunks left in my guacamole, but some do not. I then add all ingredients except for the sour cream and lemon juice. Mix well.

At this point stir in your lemon juice to keep it from turning brown.

Add in your sour cream... you will not taste the sour cream flavor, but it will help give you more guacamole and not be so expensive. It makes it creamier as well and more appealing to the eye. I also learned a trick from my sister. Store the pits from the avocado in the guacamole and it will keep it green longer.

Enjoy. Disclaimer... I was making up measurements. Play around with this... this is a basic recipe but I don't do measurements well... ha.... just keep playing with it to tweek it to your liking.