Bulgur, Chicken and Salsa Verde Casserole

The next time you feel like cooking a cozy dinner without spending too much time in the kitchen, give this delicious casserole a try. Use an oven-proof skillet or frying pan if you’ve got one to save yourself some time when cleaning up!

Bulgur, Chicken and Salsa Verde Casserole 
1 cup dried bulgur
2 cups water
1 pound cooked chicken breast, shredded
8 ounces canned diced green chiles
12 ounces salsa verde
2-3 cups shredded cheese (I used a mix of aged white cheddar and pepper jack)
Possible garnishes: avocado, cilantro, green onions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Bring water and bulgur to a boil in a pot. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 12-15 minutes or until tender. Drain off any extra liquid.

While bulgur is cooking, combine combine chicken, salsa and chiles and in a skillet or frying pan. Warm the chicken mixture up over medium heat. Stir in cooked bulgur until everything is mixed. Remove from heat and transfer mixture to an ovenproof dish if needed. Top with shredded cheese, cover with aluminum foil or an oven-proof lid, and bake for 20 minutes. Remove dish from oven, top with garnishes, and serve.

Shrimp Enchiladas with Spinach and Goat Cheese

There are days when I crave an enchilada oozing with melted cheddar and covered with red sauce. But then there are days (and enchiladas) like this, and they’re just as delicious.

Shrimp Enchiladas with Spinach and Goat Cheese 
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 7-ounce can diced green chiles
1 pound raw shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails removed, chopped
6 ounces baby spinach, chopped
1 28-ounce can green chile enchilada sauce
3 ounces chevre (soft goat cheese)
12 corn tortillas
2 cups grated Monterey jack cheese
Fresh chopped cilantro, for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, onions, cumin and oregano and sauté until tender, about 3 or 4 minutes. Add shrimp and chiles and cook until shrimp are pink. Remove from heat and stir in spinach. Use a butter knife or spoon to crumble the chevre over the shrimp mixture.

Warm enchilada sauce in a saucepan over medium heat. Ladle enough enchilada sauce to lightly coat the bottom of a 9-by-13 glass baking dish. To assemble each enchilada, dip a tortilla in sauce until lightly coated, add a scoop of the shrimp mixture to the center of the tortilla, roll the tortilla and place, seam side down, in prepared baking dish. Top with remaining enchilada sauce and grated Monterey jack, cover with foil, and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until cheese has melted. Remove from oven, garnish with cilantro, and serve.

Vegetarian? Swap out the shrimp for a pound of sliced cremini mushrooms!

Salsa Chicken and Rice Casserole

Yes, I know there’s a good chance it’s hot where you are and the last thing you want to think about is firing up the oven, but hear me out. You won’t need to spend much active time in the kitchen to put this delicious dinner together -- start the chicken in your slow cooker before you go to bed and you’ll have a pot full of delicious, shredded, salsa-y goodness waiting for you in the morning, which you can then stash in the fridge until you’re ready to make dinner. Cook the rice while preheating the oven, quickly stir everything together once the rice is done, plunk everything into your trusty Pyrex baking dish, and pour yourself a frosty beverage to enjoy during those 20 minutes of bake time. No biggie, right?

Salsa Chicken and Rice Casserole 
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 ½ cups of your favorite tomato-based salsa
¾ cup white rice
1 ½ cups water
¾ cup corn kernels
4 ounces sliced black olives
1 15-ounce can black beans, drained
1 7 ¾ ounce can El Pato tomato sauce with jalapeño
7 ounces diced green chiles
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar
⅓ cup sliced green onions

Combine chicken and salsa in slow cooker and cook, on low, for 8 hours. Shred chicken with fork and knife and stir to blend with salsa. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring water to boil in large saucepan. Add rice, reduce heat, cover and cook until rice is tender. Remove from heat. Stir in chicken and salsa mixture, corn, olives, beans, tomato sauce, chiles, cumin and chili powder until everything’s combined. Transfer mixture to 9-by-13 baking dish. Top with shredded cheese, cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20-25 minutes. Garnish with green onions and serve.

Feeding colleagues a family favorite

“Family Favorites” was the theme of a recent work potluck. Some of my mom’s top dishes are of the casserole variety, including the deliciously filling bake I recreated for my colleagues using my mom’s recipe.

Green Chile and Cheese Rice Bake
8 ounces shredded Monterey Jack
2 cups light sour cream
8 ounces canned diced green chiles
2 teaspoons garlic powder
4-5 cups cooked white rice (this dish works best when using day-old, cold rice)
1/2 cup grated cheddar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine first four ingredients in a bowl until blended. Alternate layers of rice and chile-cheese mixture in a greased 8-by-8-inch glass baking dish, starting and ending with rice. Top dish with grated cheddar and bake for 30 minutes.

White chili recipe a trusty fave

I’ve been rocking this chili recipe for years but have yet to share it on this blog … until now! If you like a spicier chili, swap out the cheddar for more pepper jack.

Turkey White Bean Chili 
1 large white onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound ground turkey
8 ounces diced green chiles
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
5 15-ounce cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar
Salt and pepper, to taste

 In a large pot over medium heat, combine onion, garlic and ground turkey, stirring occasionally and sautéeing for roughly 10 minutes, or until the turkey is brown. Add the chiles, cumin, oregano and cinnamon and sauté for five more minutes.

Puree two cans of the beans with three cups of the chicken broth in a food processor. Pour the puree in the pot along with the remaining beans and broth. Simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the cheese and simmer for another five minutes before serving. Possible garnishes include green onions, chopped cilantro, sliced avocado, sour cream and tortilla chips.

A soup with plenty of spuds and spice

We’re not big potato eaters but every once in awhile I’ll spot a ginormous bag of spuds at the grocery store, see that it costs mere pennies, and before you know it I’ve hoisted a bag into my cart.

This is what happened during my most recent trip to the supermarket, when I spent a whopping $2 on 10 pounds of white potatoes (this soup was the result of my last cheap-as-dirt potato deal). I also picked up some end-of-season corn for 25 cents per ear.

It’s finally cooling down and feeling like fall, and these super-cheap ingredients were the basis of one of the first of many soups and stews I plan to make in the coming months. I like the sweet flavors of the corn and the cooked red onion mixed with a little bit of kick from the jalapeno, diced green chiles and cumin.

Spiced Potato and Corn Soup
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large jalapeno, seeds removed, diced
1 medium red onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons cumin
2 pounds white potatoes, cleaned and cut into small cubes
2 ears of corn, husked, kernels cut from cobs
7 cups chicken broth
4 oz. can diced green chiles
Salt and pepper, to taste
Green onion, for garnish

Warm oil in a large heavy pot. Add jalapenos, red onion, garlic and cumin and cook mixture, stirring occasionally, for just a couple minutes. Add potatoes, corn and broth to pot, cover pot and bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Use two-cup glass measuring cup to scoop six cups of soup into blender. Puree soup mixture and pour back into the pot. Stir in the green chiles and simmer for just a couple more minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Speedy soup is simply taco-licious

Not sure how I got it in my head that I wanted to make taco soup, but it’s been simmering in the back of my mind for a little bit. It’s a chili-like soup that gets its flavor from taco seasoning. After conducting a quick recipe search, I started building my shopping list.

One ingredient that kept popping up was ranch salad dressing mix, which upon first glance might seem a little off but I’ve tried it in chili before and was happy with the results, so there you go.

The majority of this soup’s ingredients are canned, and I must say it’s quite enjoyable to open up all those cans, pour them into a pot without draining anything, and being done with a good portion of the prep. The soup is super easy and cooks up in no time, making it the perfect weeknight dinner.

Taco Soup
1 pound ground turkey
1 white onion, chopped
1 15-ounce can kidney beans
1 15-ounce can pinto beans
1 15-ounce can black beans
2 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 4-ounce can diced green chiles
1 cup corn (I always keep a bag of corn kernels in the freezer)
1 packet taco seasoning
1 packet ranch salad dressing mix

Possible garnishes: grated cheese, green onions, tortilla chips or strips, sour cream, avocado

Brown ground turkey in large soup pot. Add chopped onion and cook for a couple minutes over medium heat, until onion is slightly translucent and fragrant. Add corn and pour contents of cans, without draining any of them, into pot. Stir in taco seasoning and ranch mix packets. Bring to a boil and then simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Serve soup in bowls and top with desired garnishes.

Chicken chili is low maintenance, highly delicious

I’ve been tinkering with slow-cooker chicken chili recipes for a while and I think I’ve come up with a winner. It’s pretty mild, and I’m OK with that, but I’m sure some grated pepper jack would heat things up a little bit.

Chicken and White Bean Chili
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into large chunks
2 cans (15 ounces each) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans (4 ounces each) diced green chiles
1 medium onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup chicken broth
3 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
½ cup corn kernels

Combine all ingredients in an electric slow cooker. Cover and cook on low heat setting for eight hours, stirring once or twice. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve. Possible toppings include grated cheese, sour cream and tortilla chips.