Chicken & Tortilla Casserole

                 1    Whole Chicken, 3-4 pounds
               ½    large Onion, chopped
          1 can    Ortega Diced Green chiles, 4 oz
          1 can    Cream of Mushroom or Ce;lery Soup
          1 can    Cream of Chicken Soup
                      Milk
          1 bag    Corn Tortillas
         3 cups    Cheddar Cheese, grated
                      Salt & Pepper to taste

Stacey’s twist to the recipe:

      1 bunch    Cilantro, minced (optional)
           1 tsp    Cayenne Pepper (optional)
      2 cloves    Garlic, minced (optional           

Boil chicken in a large pot of salted water.  (Broth can be reserved and stored for a later use).  When chicken has cooled, remove and discard the bones and skin.  Shred meat and set  aside.

 

Preheat oven to 375°.

In a large bowl combine onions, chiles, and soups.  Add optional recipe items at this point.  Add a small amount of milk if mixture is too thick

Grease a large casserole dish.  Alternate layers in the dish of torn tortillas, shredded chicken, soup mixture, and cheese. 

 

Bake until casserole startles to boil around the edges and cheese is melted. About 30 minutes.

Tips §  A great recipe to use for left over turkey or chicken. §  For lower calories use fat free soups and less cheese. §  Can be made ahead and cooked when ready to eat.

Leftover Sandwiches - Small and Large

Our yummy sandwich solutions for leftovers...

Barbecue Roast Beef  or Pork Roast

In medium size pot: sauté onions in a small amount of oil.  Add thinly sliced beef or pork, or
shredded leftover roast.  Cover with barbecue sauce and simmer until sauce begins to bubble.
Serve on roll or hamburger bun.

Sloppy Joes

Use thinly sliced roast beef or ground beef/turkey with your favorite sloppy joe seasoning.

Meatloaf

A slab of leftover meatloaf is great on any bread.  Jazz it up with pepperocinis or olive tapenade.

Meatball

Left over hors d’oeuvre meatballs are the perfect bite size for a sandwich.  Heat them in a convenient bottle marinara sauce, and serve on a roll with grated parmesan or mozzarella cheese.  Don’t wait for leftovers – keep a bag of frozen meatballs in the freezer and bottle sauce in the pantry for handy sandwich fixins’

Tortas

This Mexican sandwich makes great use of shredded leftover meat (beef, chicken, pork).  Heat and season with your favorite taco seasonings.  Pile on soft Talera roll and top with cheddar, diced onions, tomatoes, lettuce, avocado and chipotle mayo
 

Fish Salad

Use leftover fish instead of canned tuna in your favorite recipe.  For a Mediterranean spin try mixing capers, diced nicoise olives, onions, fresh dill and a vinaigrette dressing.

Salmon Dill Pitas

Use the recipe on the previous page.  Using a pastry bag, pipe the salmon spread into mini pitas and garnish with sliced cucumbers, onions and capers.

Veggie

Usel leftover salad fixings: lettuce, tomatoeos, sliced cucumbers, shredded carrots, mushrooms… whatever you like.  Serve on sliced bread or roll, inside pitas, or wrapped in tortillas.  Use your favorite salad dressing instead of mayo or mustard.  Adding a little diced/sliced fruit such as pineapple or mango with a hint of chile or spice can add a whole lot of fun flavor !

Croutons - 2 Ways

Woody’s Smorgasburger Garlic Croutons

Woody’s deep fryer was filled with decadent peanut oil, bread cubes (left over hamburger buns or day-old bread) were placed in fryer baskets and cooked until golden.  Still hot they were tossed in a bowl with liberal amounts of garlic powder and parmesan cheese. The staff loved to dip them in Ranch dressing and snack on them while they were still warm, we often had a hard time keeping them around for the customers.

 8 or more slices     Bread, cubbed

              2 cups     Peanut Oil

                             Garlic Powder

                             Parmesan Cheese

Heat oil to 370°F.  Place bread cubes in oil, try to keep all cubes pushed down, so they brown evenly.  When crisp and golden brown, quickly remove from oil to a screen or sieve, and shake to allow some of the oil to drip off.  Then quickly transfer to a bowl and sprinkle with garlic powder and Parmesan cheese to taste.

 These croutons are best eaten the day they are made.  They tend to get soggy if stored for more than one night.

 

A Healthier Crouton

                1 loaf     Baquette, cubed

                 3 Tb     Olive Oil

                 1 tsp     Garlic Powder

                 dash     Salt

                 dash     Cayenne Pepper (for a little kick)

Preheat oven to 375°F.  In a large bowl with cover, mix olive oil, garlic powder, salt and cayenne.  Place cubes in bowl, cover and toss to evenly distribute the oil and seasoning.  Place cubes on a cookie sheet in a single layer.  Place in oven, after 10 minutes check and toss lightly.  Continue to check until cubes are toasted golden brown.  Store in airtight container.

Anitpasto Pasta Salad

Stacey's favorite spur of the moment "bring something" and clear the refrigerator door of all those small bottles of pickled/marinated jars...

               4 cups     Pasta (macaroni, penne, fusilli…), cooked and cooled

              ½ cup     Salami, chopped

              ½ cup     Pepperoni, chopped

                  2-3     Pepperocinnis, chopped

              ½ cup     Marinated Mushrooms

                  2-4     Pickled Garlic, chopped

              ½ cup     Marinated Artichoke Hearts

              ½ cup     Oven Roasted or Fresh Tomatoes, diced

              ½ cup     Italian Dressing

              ½ cup     Feta Cheese

 

Mix all ingredients in bowl (except Feta).

Before serving add Feta and additional dressing if needed.