Kathleens Mexi Atore Chicken Recipes

MEXICAN-STYLE CHICKEN TACO CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Combine chili powder, ground cumin, onion powder, paprika, pepper, and garlic in a small bowl and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and spray an 11x7-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
• Place water and bouillon cube in a microwave-safe container and microwave on high for 2 minutes; stir until bouillon cube is dissolved. Cool slightly, add milk, and set aside.
• Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until bubbly, about 2 minutes. Stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. When flour and butter are bubbly and thickened, gradually stir in milk-bouillon mixture. Cook, stirring, until the mixture boils and thickens, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 1 1/2 cups Cheddar cheese.
• Combine chicken, black beans, corn, tomatoes, and spice mixture in a bowl; mix well. Pour in cheese sauce and stir again. Pour casserole ingredients into the prepared baking dish.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. Sprinkle crumbled tortilla chips over the casserole, return to the oven, and bake until casserole is bubbly and set, about 10 more minutes.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle reserved Cheddar cheese and chopped tomatoes evenly on top of the casserole, then add dollops of sour cream.

KATHLEEN'S CHICKEN CURRY

Steps:

• Marinate chicken pieces several hours with 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 inch piece minced ginger, juice of 1 lemon, 1 Tbsp curry powder, 1/2 Tbsp garam marsala, 2 Tbsp vegetable oil. Add water, if necessary to make sure the chicken pieces are well coated.
• Working in batches, brown chicken on high in large saute pan/fry pan. Remove to plate.
• To the same pan add the onion, bell peppers, remaining ginger, and saute until tender (5 minutes). Adjust the heat to prevent browning (I didn't need to, but my cookware bows a little on the burner).
• Next add remaining garlic, curry powder, garam marsala, salt and saute another minute or so.
• Then add the chicken back in and the cream or coconut milk. Turn heat to low and let simmer until chicken is cooked through.
• Squeeze remaining lemon juice and chopped parsley over chicken just before serving.
• Notes: I really just eye-balled my spice measurements, so these quantities are 'guestimates'; so please don't be intimidated by the ingredient list indicating divided measures, just do what looks good to you. A sprinkling of raisins or diced apple would be a nice addition. This would work with boneless, skinless chicken breasts, too, but perhaps would be a bit dry.
• Serving suggestion: With brown rice, plain yogurt and a green salad with tahini-sesame dressing (tahini, cider vinegar, olive oil, garlic, garam marsala, sugar, salt and sesame seeds).

BOB'S MEXICAN STUFFED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking dish.
• In a shallow bowl, mix the corn flakes, chili powder, and fajita seasoning. In a separate bowl, mix the red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, orange bell pepper, mushrooms, and onion.
• Dredge the chicken in the corn flakes mixture to evenly coat. Sprinkle one side of each breast with 2 tablespoons Cheddar cheese, and layer with 1/4 the vegetable mixture. Top with equal amounts salsa. Carefully roll the breast halves over the filling. Seal seams with toothpicks, then dredge again in the corn flakes mixture.
• Arrange the rolled chicken breasts in the prepared baking dish. Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven. Top with remaining cheese, and continue baking 10 minutes, or until chicken juices run clear and cheese is melted.

MEXICAN CHICKEN TACO CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a 9x13-inch casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
• Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add ground chicken and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally to break up the meat, until onion is mostly tender and meat is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Season with chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, and salt. Add black beans, corn, tomatoes, and tomato sauce; stir until well combined.
• Bring mixture to a low simmer and cook for about 10 minutes. Taste mixture and adjust the seasonings as desired.
• Spoon a couple of good-sized scoops of meat mixture onto the bottom of the prepared casserole dish, and spread into a thin layer. Lay about half of the tortillas over the sauce, breaking them in half as needed to make a fairly even layer without too much overlap. Add remaining meat mixture over the tortilla layer. Top with remaining tortillas, again breaking into pieces as necessary to evenly cover the surface.
• Cover with shredded cheese. Spray a piece of foil with nonstick cooking spray, and set the sprayed side against the cheese to cover the casserole dish (this helps prevent "cheese loss" when you remove the foil).
• Bake in the preheated oven until casserole is bubbly and cheese is nicely melted, about 30 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes before cutting into wedges or scooping out to serve.

KATHLEEN'S MEXI-ATORE CHICKEN

Steps:

• Place tomatoes, onions and jalapenos on a cookie sheet and broil about 4 inches from the heat source until tomatoes and jalapenos are blistered and blackened (but not rip-roaring 'burnt'). Turn them over, to roast the other side. The onions should take about twice as long as the peppers and tomatoes to blacken, they don't need to be turned (IMHO).
• Remove vegetables from oven and set aside to cool. Readjust oven to bake at 350°F.
• In a medium sized bowl mix all ingredients EXCEPT about 3 Tbsp pumpkin seeds and chicken. Dice roasted vegetables as best you can (the tomatoes are especially mushy) and add to the sauce in the bowl. Set aside to let the flavors develop.
• Prepare chicken by either boiling it in a large container for about 15 minutes (I did this with mine because it was frozen) OR by browning it in oil in a frying pan.
• Remove chicken and cram into a 9x13 pan. It will be a tight fit, but it will also keep the chicken mostly submerged in the sauce.
• Taste sauce to adjust seasonings (making it hotter, saltier, whatever).
• Pour sauce over chicken, adjusting pieces to 'coat'.
• Place in oven and bake until chicken is tender and beginning to fall off the bones, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Check periodically to make sure the dish doesn't brown over much.
• Remove from oven, sprinkle with reserved pumpkin seeds. Serve with brown rice. To add in those essential vegetables, I chop up fresh spinach and layer it between the rice and the chicken on the plate.
• To add more veggies, you could include carrots, zucchini, raisin and/or olives in the sauce.