French Onion Chicken and Rice Bake

French Onion Chicken and Rice Bake

• 2 cups instant white rice
• 2 cups water
• 2 cups cooked chopped chicken (about half of a rotisserie chicken)
• 8 oz French onion dip
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup French fried onions

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9x13-inch pan with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add instant rice, cover and turn off heat. Allow to stand for 5 minutes, until all water is absorbed.

In a large bowl, combine chicken, chicken soup, French onion dip, cheddar cheese, chicken broth and cooked rice. Spread into prepared pan. Top with French fried onions.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Chicken Tortilla Soup

The soup has slightly spicy broth with tender chicken, corn, black beans, juicy tomatoes, creamy avocado, and addictively good tortilla strips. It's ready in 30 minutes, easy, hearty, comforting, and better than restaurant versions. To save time, use storebought rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken that you have on hand. Make sure to salt your soup to taste. It makes enough to stash half in the freezer for those nights when you just want to pull something out of the freezer for dinner. And with winter cold and flu season around the corner, soup is perfect.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup sweet Vidalia or yellow onion, peeled and diced small (about 1 medium onion)

1 large jalapeno pepper (about 4 to 5 inches long), diced very small (the seeds are where the heat is concentrated; included or discard them based on preference)

4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely minced

32 ounces (4 cups) low-sodium chicken broth

two 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes and juice (I used petite diced, no-salt-added)

one 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups shredded cooked chicken (use storebought rotisserie chicken to save time; or roast or cook your own chicken in a skillet)

1 1/2 cups corn (I used frozen straight from the freezer, fresh may be substituted)

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 tablespoon chili powder

2 teaspoons cumin

2 teaspoons salt, or to taste

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon smoked paprika (regular paprika may be substituted)

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional and to taste

1/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves, finely minceddiced avocado for serving, optional for serving

shredded cheese, optional for serving

sour cream, optional for serving

Directions:

Soup - To a large Dutch oven or stockpot, add 2 tablespoons olive oil and heat over medium-high heat to warm.Add the onion, jalapeno, and sauté for about 5 minutes, or until vegetables begin to soften. Stir intermittently.Add the garlic and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes. Stir intermittently.Add the chicken broth, tomatoes and juice, black beans, chicken, corn, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, 2 teaspoons salt, pepper, smoked paprika, optional cayenne pepper, and bring to a boil. Allow mixture to boil gently for about 5 to 7 minutes. If at any point the overall liquid level looks low or you prefer your soup to have more broth, add 1 to 2 cups of water; you'll adjust the salt and seasoning levels at the end.Add the cilantro and boil 1 minute.Taste soup and add salt to taste. This will vary based on how salty the chicken broth, tomatoes, black beans, and rotisserie chicken are, and personal preference. Make any necessary seasoning adjustments (i.e. more salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, cayenne, etc.).Ladle soup into bowls, top with tortilla strips to taste, optionally garnish with avocado, cheese and/or sour cream; serve immediately. Soup will keep airtight in the fridge for 5 to 7 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months. Extra tortilla strips will keep in airtight at room temp for up to 5 days.

Chili Con Crane

Chili Con Crane

1lb ground beef/turkey
1 small onion, chopped
1 tsp garlic
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp sugar
2 (16oz) cans tomato sauce
2 cans red kidney beans

Cook ground beef/turkey and onion on medium heat until brown, drain grease.  Add  the rest of the ingredients, stir, and simmer for 15-20 minutes.  Serve with rice or rolls.

One pot Mexican rice

One Pot Mexican Rice Casserole

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil 
• 2 cloves garlic, minced 
• 1 onion, diced 
• 1 red bell pepper, diced 
• 1 zucchini, diced 
• 1 cup corn kernels, frozen, canned or roasted 
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes, undrained 
• 1 cup white rice* 
• 1 teaspoon chili powder 
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin 
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese 
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Try Hearty Sausage Mini Quiche For Brunch

Instructions

• Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium high heat. Add garlic, onion and bell pepper, and cook, stirring frequently, until onions have become translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in zucchini and corn until tender and heated through, about 2 minutes. 
• Stir in diced tomatoes, rice, chili powder, cumin and 1 1/2 cups water; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer until rice is cooked through, about 15-18 minutes. 
• Stir in cheese until melted through, about 1-2 minutes. 
• Serve immediately, garnished with cilantro, if desired.

Notes

*Brown rice can be substituted but cooking time may have to be increased as needed.*

http://damndelicious.net/2014/08/27/one-pot-mexican-rice-casserole/

One Pot Chicken Burrito Bowel

One-Pot Chicken Burrito Bowls

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Yield: 4-5

Ingredients

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced into bite sized pieces
• 3 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1/4 cup of diced yellow onion
• 1 cup of uncooked extra-long grain rice
• 1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 15oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder
• 1 teaspoon of cumin
• 2 1/2 cups of low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups of colby jack, monterey jack or cheddar cheese
• kosher salt and pepper
• freshly diced tomatoes
• diced green onions
• sour cream
• guacamole

Instructions

1. Start by sautéing onions in 2 tablespoon of olive oil until they start to soften.
2. Season diced chicken with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper.
3. Add chicken to pan and cook over medium high heat until chicken has started to brown.
4. Move chicken to one side of pan, in the other side of the pan add an additional tablespoon of olive oil and sauté uncooked rice for about 2 minutes or just until some grains start to turn golden brown.
5. Stir in black beans, canned tomatoes, chicken broth, garlic powder, chili powder and cumin. 
6. Bring to a simmer, cover and reduce heat to low.
7. Cook about 20 minutes or until rice is tender.
8. Season with additional salt and pepper as needed. 
9. Sprinkle with cheese, recover and let set for 2-3 off heat to melt cheese.
10. Garnish with fresh tomatoes, green onions, sour cream and guacamole.

Notes

Recipe variations: Try sautéing diced bell peppers or jalapeños along with onions. Mix in frozen corn in the last 5 minutes of cooking. Substitute ground beef or ground turkey for chicken. Skip the cheese for a lighter version.

http://www.number-2-pencil.com/2014/05/22/one-pan-chicken-burrito-bowls/

Gluten and Dairy Free Macaroni and Chees

Gluten and Dairy Free Macaroni and Cheese

• 3 cups gluten free macaroni (we use Bionaturae Organic Elbows Pasta Gluten Free)
• 3 T dairy free butter replacement (we use Earth Balance)
• 2 T Corn Starch
• 1 cup dairy free milk replacement (right now I am really liking Pacific Natural Foods Rice Non-Dairy Beverage, Plain)
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/2 t dry ground mustard
• 1/4 t garlic salt
• 1/2 t salt
• Dash of pepper
• 1 cup Daiya Vegan Cheddar Style Cheese
• gluten free Bread Crumbs  (we use Kinnikinnick Crumbs - Panko Style Gluten Free) 
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a casserole dish.
  Cook the macaroni in salted water according to package directions until almost done but still hard.
  In a saucepan, melt 3 tablespoons Earth Balance.  On medium heat, blend in 2 tablespoons corn starch.
  Stirring constantly, slowly add 1 cup  dairy free milk replacement and stir well until it becomes a smoother texture.  Add the onions, dry ground mustard, garlic salt, salt, pepper and lastly the Daiya Vegan Cheese.
  Cook and stir until the cheese is mostly melted.  It does not have to be completely melted as this will occur when baking the macaroni and cheese.
  
  Mix with the cooked macaroni and turn into the casserole dish. 
  Top with the Bread Crumbs - I like to sprinkle a little extra garlic salt on top.
  
  
  Bake at 350 degrees F  for 35 to 40 minutes (my family likes it extra crunchy).
   

Homemade Sloppy Joes

Homemade Sloppy Joes


2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 medium onions, roughly chopped
2 ½ lbs. ground beef
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
2/3 cup BBQ sauce
½ cup ketchup
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup soy sauce
Freshly ground black pepper
8 to 12 potato rolls

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until they start to turn translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the beef and cook, stirring and breaking up the meat, until it is finely crumbled, the liquid boils off and the meat begins to brown, about 10 minutes. Drain the grease off the meat and onions. Stir in the tomato paste, and keep stirring until the meat is coated. Add the BBQ sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire, soy sauce, and pepper, and bring to a boil. Cook until the sauce is slightly thickened, 4 to 5 minutes. You can make the sloppy joe meat up to 2 days in advance and reheat it over low heat or in the microwave.
Wrap the rolls in aluminum foil and warm in the oven for about 10 minutes.
Serve the sloppy joes hot with the warmed rolls.