Chicken Taco Casserole

When I started dating my husband, I shared a casserole with him at his house.  His mother often sent him home with casseroles and cookies and I was so happy to learn that he liked casseroles as much as I did.  After James and I got married I asked my mother in law for her recipe for chicken fajita casserole and I made it.  I must say, it was pretty good.  But I can't leave any recipe alone.  I change every recipe I read to make it suit my personal taste.  The original recipe had no vegetables other than the canned chilies, so I added lots of fresh salsa.  The original also called for canned chicken.  I was astonished to discover that chicken even came in a can!  Did you know this?  Canned chicken?  Like tuna?  Needless to say I used her recipe to inspire this recipe and I changed the name to one that more suits the ingredients.

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts cooked and cubed           4.27
24 oz chunky salsa medium                        5.22
7oz can chopped green chilies                      .88
1/2 cup fresh cilantro (not pictured)             .25
2 cans reduced fat cream of chicken soup   2.50
8 oz light sour cream                                     .99
2 packages taco seasoning                             .92
12 ten inch tortillas (corn or flour)              3.72
8 oz block of sharp cheddar                         2.14
8 oz block of pepper jack cheese                 2.28

Directions:

 

Pour the salsa and green chilies into a colander and stir well to get rid of any extra liquid.  This will keep your dish from getting soggy.

In a large mixing bowl combine the chopped chicken, drained salsa & chilies, 2 cans of reduced fat cream of chicken soup, 8 oz light sour cream, 2 packages taco seasoning and 1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves.  Stir well.

Shred the cheddar and pepper jack cheeses onto a large plate.  Take out 12 tortillas and slice them in half.  Now you are ready to assemble.

Place three 8x8" pans side by side and spread a small scoop of chicken mixture in the bottom.  This will prevent the tortillas from sticking.

Place two halves of tortilla in each pan with the strait side out and the curved side to the middle. 

Now layer two more halves over top so all the edges are covered. 

Now spread a large scoop of chicken mixture in each pan.

Sprinkle each pan with about 1/6 of the cheeses.

Repeat the layers one more time.  Tortillas, chicken then cheese.  Label 3 pieces of foil and cover each pan. 

Place one pan in the fridge for tonight and two pans in the freezer for later.  Please thaw in the fridge for two days before baking.  When you are prepared, bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. 

My husband likes his with pickled jalapenos.  I like mine with a scoop of sour cream and a sprinkle of cilantro.  This would also be good with a can of black beans added to the filling.  I was able to make 3 pans of chicken taco casserole for $7.72 each. 

Enjoy!
Christie aka Keeza

French Onion Meatloaf

I was watching the Rachael Ray show and she made a great homemade french onion dip in one segment, and in the last segment she made a meatloaf.  I got to thinking.  I wonder if anyone has ever made a french onion meatloaf?  You know, with a can of Cambels soup condensed french onion soup?  I bet that would be amazing.  So I looked up French Onion Meatloaf on the Internet and I found and awesome recipe by Jan Peters on Tasteofhome.com.  My mouth was just watering before I could even make the meal!  So here it is in all it's glory! 

Ingredients:

3 eggs, beaten
1 can condensed french onion soup
6 oz stuffing mix, crushed
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground turkey

Directions:

Using a blender or food processor crush the dry stuffing into crumbs.

In a medium bowl beat three eggs.  Stir in 1 can of condensed french onion soup.  Add the crushed dry stuffing mix and stir well.  Crumble the ground beef into the bowl and mix well with your fingers until fully Incorporated.

Shape into two loaves.  I made one large loaf for tonight and two smaller loaves to fit in a 8x8" pan to freeze for another night.

Cover each pan with foil and label. 

If cooking from frozen, please thaw in the fridge for two days before baking.   Bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes covered.  Then uncover and bake 5 more minutes to brown the top.

We ate ours with potatoes and mixed vegetables.

I am a meatloaf lover and this one did not disappoint.  My husband thought it was less dense than my usual meatloaf and it had lots of flavor.  The sage from the stuffing mix really makes this meatloaf a knockout.  The ground turkey helps keep the grease out and create a great canvas for the onion soup to shine. 

Give this one a try.  It's a keeper!
Keeza aka Christie

Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry

Today I had two solid hours to work on freezer meals.  I bought two family packs of chicken breasts at the store and made them into 10 meals.  I grilled two breasts for dinner.  I baked the other 10 breasts and cut them into cubes. 

Then I made 4 quarts of Broccoli Chicken and Wild Rice soup, 3 8x8"pans of Green Bean Chicken and Rice casseroles and two bags of Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry.  Phew!   I must admit that this recipe is pretty simple.  Kind of like freezer cooking 101.   In my defense, I would like to say that I needed something to balance out the soup and casserole.  So yes, this is pretty basic.  Please feel free to get fancy and make your own Teriyaki marinade.  Me?  I'm whipped!  I cooked and assembled for two solid hours. 

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts cooked and chopped      6.08
2 bags of stir fry vegetables                       3.96
2 bottles Teriyaki sauce                             4.16  

Directions:

Take two gallon zipper bags and pour one bag of vegetables into each bag.

Then add half of the chopped chicken to each bag.  I also added half a sliced onion to each bag because the vegetables that I bought did not have onion.  Feel free to add in any veggies you have in your fridge that you would like to use up...mushrooms, celery, carrots, asparagus, green beans etc.

Pour one bottle of Teriyaki sauce into each bag.  Seal and squeeze to mix.  Then label and freeze.

When you are ready to cook please let one bag thaw in the fridge for two days.  Then pour the contents of the bag into a medium sauce pan and heat over medium heat.  Serve over rice.

I made two meals for $7.10 plus the cost of rice. 

If you are new to freezer meals and batch cooking you should try this.  Then when you have an incredibly busy day you have a meal ready to go in just a few minutes. 

Enjoy!
Christie aka Keeza