Mu Shu Chicken Wraps

Into the crock-pot, on LOW for 6 hours:

• 1 white onion, chopped
• 2-3 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1 TBS sesame oil
• 3/4 cup Hoisin sauce
• 1 TBS soy sauce
• 1 TBS honey
• 2 tsp rice vinegar
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• salt & pepper to taste

Prep for serving 30 minutes prior to mealtime:

• fajita size flour tortillas, warm
• shredded napa cabbage (1/2 cup per person)
• sliced green onions

HINT:  We couldn't find any napa cabbage so I used regular cabbage sliced very thin.  Slivered almonds would be a good additional topping to these wraps, make sure you have extra Hoisin sauce on hand for dipping...enjoy!!

Pesto Chicken Pizzas

Ingredients:

• 1 cup fresh cilantro, minced
• 1 cup fresh parsley, minced
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• pizza crust (home made or store bought)
• 1 cup diced, cooked chicken
• 2 cups diced tomatoes
• 1 can (2 1/4 oz) slice ripe olives, drained
• 1/4 cup diced red onion
• 1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. (Making the pesto.) In a blender: combine the cilantro, parsley, walnuts, Parmesan cheese, and garlic cloves. Cover and blend well. Once fully processed, add olive oil in a steady stream while continuing to blend.
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
3. Place pizza crust on prepared baking sheet. Top pizza crust with about pesto, spreading with the back of a spoon.
4. Next, sprinkle with chicken, tomatoes, olives, and cheese.
5. Bake at 425 degrees F for 12-15 minutes - or until cheese is melted.

Hint: The original recipe called for flour tortillas as the crust - that is my favorite pizza crust! We had been traveling all day and I didn't realize we didn't have any tortillas. Apparently our oldest thinks flour tortillas make great late night snacks...Any whoo... In 15 minutes I prepared a home made crust (recipe to follow). Being flexible in the kitchen can be very rewarding! Another way to save time would be to substitute prepared pesto sauce - instead of making it from scratch. Enjoy!!

I'm sharing this recipe at A Little Nosh for the Tastetastic Thursday 4/19 party - go see what other great ideas are being shared!!

Bacon-Chicken Quesadillas

Quesadillas are a favorite at our house, especially when I don't really feel like cooking. Instead of just sending the boys into the kitchen to make a sandwich - I can score mom points for having a hot meal that is both hand-held and delicious.

We have experimented a lot with tweaking several staple recipes in our menu to "Buffalo Chicken" flavor, and last night we tweaked our Quesadillas in the same direction.

These were devoured. No leftovers. None.

I consider that to be a good sign!

Ingredients:

2 fajita size flour flour tortillas per person (10 in our case)
1 large can chicken breast, drained
1/2 cup bacon crumbles
1/4 white onion, diced
1/8 cup ranch salad dressing
2-3 dashes hot sauce
1/2-1 tsp southwest seasoning
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

* Combine chicken breast, bacon crumbles, diced onion, ranch dressing, hot sauce, and shredded mozzarella cheese in a mixing bowl with a fork.

* Prepare cooking surface, preferably a griddle or shallow skillet by preheating after ingredients are assembled and ready to cook. These cook quickly, so be prepared. (I use a double burner griddle.)

* Place 1 flour tortilla on hot cooking surface, then top with filling mixture. Filling should not quite cover the tortilla and make sure to spread it out so that it will melt evenly as it cooks. The more filling, the harder it will be to flip and the cheese will not melt completely. Top with 2nd flour tortilla.

* Cook for 1-2 minutes on medium-high heat on preheated griddle. Tortillas will become crispy and cheese will melt as they cook.

* Cut with a pizza cutter and serve with ranch dressing for dipping...if the kids wait that long!

Enjoy!!



This recipe is linked up to Friday Food at Momtrends - go check out the other recipes linked up today!

Chicken Enchiladas

We started with 1 whole chicken. Roasted in the crock-pot with only seasoning. From that 1 whole chicken...we got 3 different meals. This is meal #2:

Ingredients:

2 1/2-3 cups cooked chicken, shredded or chopped
1 cup sour cream
1 (4.5 oz) can chopped green chilies
1 cup shredded cheddar blend cheese
1 cup salsa
8-10 fajita size flour tortillas
1 (10 oz) can green enchilada sauce
1/2 cup shredded cheddar blend cheese
sliced black olives for garnish**
2 chopped green onions for garnish**

- Begin by combining the chicken, 1 cup of shredded cheese, sour cream, green chilies, and salsa.

- Spray freezer safe/oven safe casserole dish with cooking spray.
- Spoon chicken mixture into flour tortillas, roll and place in casserole dish seam side down.

- Cover filled tortillas with enchilada sauce, 1/2 cup shredded cheese, and black olives and green onions if desired.

- Bake at 350 degrees F for 40-45 minutes or until heated through.

- OR -

- Cover and freeze for up to 3 months before reheating and serving. To reheat and serve, allow prepared dish to thaw in refrigerator prior to cooking. *Placing a frozen glass dish in a preheated oven may cause glass to break.**