Creamy Pimento Chicken

This was a last minute meal that I made and it turned out great. Most of the ingredients I already had on hand, so that made things easy too. I hope you enjoy!!

Creamy Pimento Chicken

3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, halve
4 oz. jar diced pimentos, drained
italian bread crumbs (~1 cup)
1/2 cup milk
pecorino romano cheese, grated (~1/4 cup)
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
~1/2 stick butter
1/4 cup chicken broth (I didn't measure this...could be more or less)
1 cup heavy cream
red pepper flakes
pepper
italian seasoning
angel hair pasta (optional)

maybe some lemon wedges and a little extra basil for garnish (presentation...I need to work on that!)

Grab 2 bowls and put the milk in one and the breadcrumbs into another. This will be for the breading. Turn your stove to medium heat and melt a few pats of butter in a cast iron skillet (If you don't have a cast iron, you can use a regular skillet, but cast iron is the bees knees). Grab a piece of chicken and dip in the milk and then dredge through the bread crumbs and coat the chicken. Cook about 5 minutes on each side or until just browned.

Place the browned chicken in a sprayed baking dish. Preheat the oven to 350. At this point I sprinkled a little italian seasoning on the top of each browned chicken breast. Cover and cook about 20-30 minutes depending on your oven and the size of your chicken pieces.

While that is cooking, have a little wine. Yippee!

When the chicken is just about done, prepare your sauce and pasta noodles (if you are into the pasta). For the sauce, grab a small pot and start over low heat. Saute the garlic for about 1 minute (do not burn). Then stir in chicken broth, pimentos, heavy cream, spices and cheese. Bring to a boil and heat for about 2 minutes or until desired thickness while continuing to stir. Turn down the heat and add the basil to the sauce. Keep on low heat.

We chose to have pasta, chicken and top it with a healthy dose of sauce. (You could sub in rice, or eat it plain with sides...just about anything could work here)

Notes: We both REALLY enjoyed it (and husband helped me make it)!
Servings: 4-6
Start to Finish: 1 hour

4th of July Baked Beans

Caveat: I do not like baked beans. Nor does my brother. We are from the Deep South. Discuss.

Like a good sport/wife I gave these a whirl for a little backyard grill-out.

I have to say...and I don't want to...I kind of like them...dom. dom. dom. My mom would never believe this. Our guests loved them and husband ate all the leftovers. I can honestly say that they smelled delicious in the oven. I may have to come over to the dark side of life: the baked bean side.

4th of July Baked Beans

1 small red pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 large onion, diced
yellow mustard, ~2 tbls. or so
2 jalapenos, seeded and minced
1/2 cup BBQ sauce (eyeball)
1/4 cup pressed brown sugar
1/8-1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 large can and 1 regular can Pork and Beans
slab of bacon (we'll talk about this later)
pepper
Tabasco

Add 3-4 slices of torn bacon to a dutch oven over medium heat.

Chop all your veggies and add them in. Let the vegetables sweat for about 5-7 minutes (they will cook more later).

Mix all the rest of your ingredients into the pot and let this simmer for about 10 minutes.

Transfer everything to a lightly sprayed baking dish and top with slices of bacon. Preheat oven to 325.

We are going to slow cook these beans. Slide these in the oven on the middle rack and cook for about 2 hours. Let them stand for about 5-10 minutes and dig in!!

As I said before, I DO NOT LIKE baked beans. These are good!!!

recipe cred: Pioneer Woman's baked beans (with adjustments and a much smaller serving)
Servings: 6-8
I think next time I make this recipe I will add a tablespoon or so of Worcestershire sauce

Chicken Taquitos

Let's start by admitting that husband loves Tabasco, I love pearls and we cannot live without Mexican food. I'm not sure how two rednecks from Alabama love Mexican food so much, but we really do. These chicken taquitos were awesome!

On a similar note, today was an interesting day (mostly because I was on a cleaning kick...insert laughter). After cleaning out the refrigerator and subsequently clogging the disposal, I was feeling pretty sheepish. I was hoping this new recipe would be a hit and boost my spirits. It did just that! A win in the kitchen, is a win overall (and husband fixed the disposal). Just for clarification, in case there were any doubts, you just can't go wrong with Mexican food in this house!

Chicken Taquitos

~1.5 lbs. chicken, use what you have (I used 4 chicken thighs with bones and skin)
1/2 can beer
flour tortillas, burrito size
olive oil or cooking spray
3 cups fresh spinach
4 small jalapenos, minced
1 cup pepper jack cheese, grated
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. paprika
couple dashes of Tabasco
salsa or taco sauce for dipping

If you have leftover cooked chicken or cheated and bought a rotisserie chicken (I won't tell) then ignore these instructions below and proceed to the assembly portion.

I cooked my chicken in the oven. You could also boil it. Preheat oven to 350 and arrange chicken in a dish. Pour the beer around the chicken.

Cover and bake for about 45 minutes or until done. While the chicken is cooking, mince your jalapenos. We had fresh home grown jalapenos on hand from our back yard plants. Growing stuff is fun!! So anyways, we removed the seeds and used our food processor to mince them.

When the chicken is done, remove the skin and shred the chicken. Transfer the chicken to a medium bowl and add the spices and Tabasco. Reserve ~1/4 cup of beer/chicken liquid. If you had precooked chicken, you could just use some chicken broth.

Add the reserved beer/chicken liquid to a skillet on medium-low heat. Now add your spinach and jalapenos. Cook until the spinach is mostly wilted and turn off heat.

(spinach is not wilted all the way in this photo)

Now it's assembly time. Turn the oven up to 400. Cut the tortillas in half. Along the straight edge add the chicken, top with some cheese and then add a healthy amount of the spinach/jalapeno mixture. Roll it up starting with the straight edge and place in a greased dish. Continue until you run out of ingredients. Brush the tops with a small amount of olive oil. We ended up with six taquitos. Bake for about 25 minutes or until golden brown and cheese is melted.

I served this with spanish rice. Husband drizzled Tabasco on top of his and ate 2. I ate one and dipped mine in a little taco sauce. We both commented that it turned out really great!

Notes: This dish can take some time to prep, but it is definitely yummy!!! Will make again!

Healthy Pesto Pasta Salad

Well, you probably knew this recipe was coming, so here it is. My basil plant is a rockstar so I made another batch of homemade pesto. I made this pasta concoction myself and it was my first attempt. Simply delicious! So many flavors and textures!!

Pesto Pasta Salad

1 container of cherry tomatoes, quartered

1 16 oz. box penne pasta (I used all but about 1 cup of the cooked pasta)

1 large english cucumber, quartered

1 6 oz. can medium black olives, drained & halved

~1/2 mason jar prepared pesto (pesto recipe)

black pepper to taste

dash red pepper flakes (if you are so inclined)

juice of half a lemon (eyeball)

Boil pasta in salted water until al dente and drain. Splash cool water over cooked pasta and let cool. Transfer to a large bowl and add pesto. Combine.

Add all the other ingredients and stir. Spoon up and enjoy.

So good that I kept sneaking more bites of the pasta even after I had a bowl...

Notes: This will not disappoint and would be great for a large crowd!! The homemade pesto really hits the spot! You could add mozzarella or parm cheese on top, but I liked it just the way it was prepared. The husband said it was "delicious" and did NOT add Tabasco. KEEPER! Leftovers are also delicious!!!

Frito Taco Casserole

Well, I haven't posted in a hot minute, but I'm back. Jack. This is an easy recipe that I haven't made in a while, but still oh so good.

Frito Taco Casserole

1-1 1/2 lb. ground beef
8 oz. tomato sauce
1/2 cup taco sauce
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. oregano
Fritos chips, crushed and divided (one bag should be plenty)
2 small tomatoes, diced
1/2 medium sweet onion, diced
lettuce, shredded
shredded cheese (Mexican style)
Tabasco

Spray an 8x8 dish. Brown the ground beef and drain. Add the beef back to your medium-large skillet and add the tomato sauce, taco sauce, spices and a few healthy shakes of Tabasco. Stir and simmer for about 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 350.

Crush up the Fritos in a plastic bag. (If you don't have a rolling pin, use a spoon like I did)

Spoon about 1/2 of the mixture into the bottom of the pan. Add a layer of crushed Fritos (about 1/2). Then add another layer of the rest of your beef mixture. Next top with the onion, then tomato, lettuce, then a healthy dose of shredded cheese.

Last, the rest of the crushed Fritos on top.

Throw this bad boy in the oven and cook until the cheese is just melted and the Fritos are crispy. Only about 10-15 minutes (depending on your oven). Let it rest for about 5 minutes and VOILA!!!

Notes: I have made this before and it is usually devoured. If you don't eat it all in one sitting, leave the Fritos topping layer off of one side. It tends to be soggy when reheating it. Easy, easy and it will satisfy your Mexican food craving...and I have been super-guilty of that lately!! Also, I bet some black olives would be good too.

Cheesy White Chicken Chili

I've never made this before, but it turned out good. It's a nice change from your traditional chili. Husband ate a large bowl and went back for seconds. The next morning he polished off the leftovers!

Cheesy White Chicken Chili

2 medium-large boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into 1-2" chunks
3/4 large sweet onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can white corn, drained and rinsed
2 15oz. cans white beans, drained and rinsed (I used cannellini beans)
2 4 oz. cans diced green chiles
1 can cream of chicken soup
14 oz. low-sodium chicken broth
1 packet taco seasoning
chili powder

Don't forget your favorite toppings! mine included: green onions, shredded cheese and sour cream. Oh! And tortilla chips!

Ingredients

 Cut up the chicken and put it in the bottom of the crockpot and turn the crock to low.

Next, add the corn, beans, onion and garlic over the chicken.

Combine the remaining ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well. Pour this mixture over everything.

Cook on low for 8-10 hours. About 8 hours in, pull the chicken out and cut up or shred. Return it to the crockpot and let it continue to cook. Serve with your favorite toppings and enjoy!!

Notes: This was very good. You could probably use a little less chicken broth if you like it thicker.

Marinated Chicken Skewers

This is a simple marinade that I used for chicken skewers. You could put it on just about any meat. We grilled our chicken skewers, but you could probably bake them too. This is a delicious marinade! We ate it with some grilled vegetable skewers and a dressed baked potato with sauteed mushrooms. YUM!

Marinated Chicken Skewers

~1 1/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks

Marinade

3 tbls. low sodium soy sauce
2 tbls. honey (we had some local honey from Johns Island)
juice of 1 1/2 limes
1 tbls. olive oil
cilantro, chopped
pepper
red pepper flakes (quantity according to the amount of heat you like)
2 cloves garlic, minced

Put your chicken chunks in a ziptop bag or container. Whisk all the marinade ingredients together in a small bowl.

Pour the marinade over the chicken and seal the bag.

Place in the fridge for 1-2 hours. If you are preparing skewers, make sure they are completely soaked in water (if wood).

Skewer up the chicken and grill!

These are simply delicious! Husband did not use tabasco on the chicken! I will definitely make this again!

Found this recipe on budgetsavvydiva.com