Shredded Chicken Quesadillas

Pin It If you missed the awesome shredded chicken that we used for tacos recently, you missed out. We had plenty of leftovers so we tried a twist on Martha Stewart's Zucchini Quesadillas. These quesadillas are a reason to make the shredded chicken! Yum.

Special Equipment: none
Time Management:
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 25 min

Ingredients:
4 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
salt
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium zucchini, quartered and sliced
1 cup frozen corn kernels
4 flour tortillas
1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese

Directions:
Heat 3 Tbsp olive oil in skillet and saute onion and salt for 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add zucchini and corn and cook additional 6 minutes. Add 1 cup shredded chicken and heat through.

Brush one side of each tortilla with remaining olive oil and assemble your quesadillas with chicken/zucchini mixture on bottom and cheese over the top, finished with remaining tortillas. The recipe calls for you to bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, but my tortillas weren't as crispy as I would have liked and next time I think I'll try to do it stove top.

Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken

Pin It I love to put a meal in the slow cooker. It's makes it so easy in the evening, and the house smells delicious. This recipe for Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken took a little extra prep time, but more than made up for it when it was ready. As a bonus, these 4 shredded breasts lasted for 3 meals!
*No picture - it didn't do this dish justice.

Special Equipment: Slow Cooker
Time Management:
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 4-5 hours

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 1/4 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/3 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
2 limes
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:
Heat olive oil in medium pan and saute onion for 5 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, chili powder, coriander, paprika and saute 2 more minutes. Add chicken broth and remove from heat.

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper and place into crock pot. Add lime juice, cilantro, jalapeno, and then pour your onion and garlic mixture over the top. Cook on high for 4-5 hours. Shred chicken, scoop out onion mixture from crock pot and combine with chicken to serve.

I used this chicken with rice, beans, guacamole, and green salsa for delicious tacos!

*My chicken breasts were frozen and they were perfectly cooked and easy to shred after 5 hours.

Chicken with Peppers on Parmesan Pasta

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Here's a colorful meal that tastes light and satisfying.

Special Equipment:none

Time Management:
Prep time:10 minutes
Cook time:20 minutes

For the Pasta:
Ingredients:
10 oz small pasta of your choice (I like bow tie)
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp water

Directions:
Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and set aside.
Heat nonstick skillet with olive oil and pepper. Saute pepper for 1 minute. Add pasta and 2 Tbsp water and heat through. Add Parmesan cheese and stir until melted.

For the Chicken with Peppers:
Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, diced
1 large zucchini, quartered and sliced
1/2 yellow bell pepper
1/2 green bell pepper
1/2 small onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp + 1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp + pinch salt
pinch pepper
1 tsp + 1 tsp olive oil

Directions:
Heat oil over medium heat. Add chicken and 1 tsp oregano, 1/4 tsp salt and a pinch of pepper, and saute until chicken is cooked through. Remove from pan and set aside.
Heat remaining 1 tsp olive oil in pan. Add vegetables and 1/2 tsp oregano, pinch salt, pinch pepper, and saute until crisp done aprox 5 minutes. Add back chicken and heat through.

Plate on top of Parmesan noodles and serve hot.

Minestrone Soup

Pin It This is a hearty soup that can be used as a main dish. It made enough for two meals for my family so we've got one in the freezer for an easy meal soon.

Special Equipment: none
Time Management:
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:
5 slices bacon, cut into bit size pieces
1 cup of onion, chopped
2 stocks celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
28 0z Italian style tomatoes
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
6 cups chicken broth
1 can garbanzo beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can black beans
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp oregano
2 cups small pasta
Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Saute bacon in a large pot 5 minutes. Add onion and celery and cook until vegetables are soft, but not brown, about 5 minutes.

Add carrots and minced garlic, cook 2 minutes more. Add tomatoes, parsley, chicken broth, beans, basil and oregano. Simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring occastionally. Add the pasta and cook for 8 minutes (or according to package). Add additional chicken broth or water if needed.

Sprinkle individual bowls with Parmesan cheese before serving.

Cabin Chili

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This chili is a guaranteed winner at my house and is on the menu more than once a month. I generally use ground beef to make this recipe, but ground turkey is also a good alternative. It makes a very large batch (a 1/2 batch will leave you with leftovers) but I like the cook once and eat several meals and this freezes well.

Special equipment: 8 quart pot - this makes a lot!

Time Management:
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes active cook + 30 minutes to simmer

Ingredients

2 lbs ground beef
1 yellow onion, chopped
56 oz petite diced tomatoes, undrained
30 oz tomato sauce
2 cans garbanzo beans
2 cans pinto beans
2 cans black beans
1 1/2 tsp salt
4 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp pepper
pinch of red pepper flakes

Directions:
Brown beef with onion until meat is no longer pink and onion is tender, aprox 10 minutes. Drain out fat and add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer 30 minutes.

Toppings:
cheddar
green onions
sour cream
jalapeno
avocado
cilantro