C is for Chicken Salsa Bake

I'm not a casserole queen, but sometimes I need an all-in-one dish meal like "salsa chicken."  Chicken smothered in chunky salsa, beans, cheese, and tortilla chips...can you object?  In college Peter and I regularly made all-in-one dishes like creamy chicken, chicken divan, or chicken broccoli and rice.  It was a great, cheap option when we were feeding a pack of hungry undergraduate wolves boys in his apartment, but now that it's just the two of us, I stray away from condensed soup and rice meals in favor of healthier ingredients.  This one slipped through the cracks because I'm a sucker for Mexican flavors.  I never think casseroles look very good on your plate, but they sure taste good and they're nice to take to school as leftovers for my lunch.  A hot lunch is a nice break from my ordinary turkey sandwich.              

This recipe came from the magazine Every Day with Rachael Ray, and in general I'm not a Rachael Ray fan.  She doesn't offend me, but I tire of the 30-minute meal mantra and most of her recipes don't make it into my my keep file.  This one did.

I used shredded meat from a rotisserie chicken, but you could certainly cook a few pounds of boneless chicken breasts and cut up the meat to use in this dish.  I added jalapeno, corn, garlic, and cilantro.  I lessened the amount of sour cream and cheese.  You could certainly use fewer tortilla chips; just use thin layers and only crush a cup at a time to see how far it can go.  Rachael Ray didn't cook the onion before adding it to the casserole, and I think this is a mistake.  The onions lose their potency when cooked in a skillet first with a touch of oil and it's worth the time.  An overly oniony casserole doesn't go over well with anyone.  If you wanted to make this a vegetarian dish, omit the chicken and use two extra cans of beans.  I'd suggest black beans or pinto beans.

  

Chicken Salsa Bake
adapted from Rachael Ray

1 onion, finely chopped

1/2 c. corn kernels 

1 tsp. minced garlic

1/2 jalapeno pepper, diced
2 lbs. shredded chicken
2 16 oz. jars salsa (try salsa verde or your favorite variety)
1 15 oz. can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 c. sour cream
3 c. crushed tortilla chips
1 1/2 c. shredded Mexican-style cheese
cilantro for garnish

Preheat the oven to 375 F.  In a large skillet, heat a tsp. of oil.  Add the onion until it becomes transparent.  Toss the corn, garlic, and jalapeno into the skillet for a couple minutes to gently brown on medium heat.  In a large bowl, shred your chicken meat and add salsa, kidney beans, and the onion corn mixture.  Gently stir in the sour cream.  Spray a 9x13" baking dish with nonstick spray and scatter a layer of tortilla chips on the bottom.  Top with half of the chicken mixture and a layer of cheese.  Repeat the layers and then top with some chips and cheese.  Bake for about 30 minutes, watching that the cheese doesn't burn.  Enjoy!

F is for Foxfield

The last Saturday in April is a holiday in Charlottesville.  We call it Foxfield.  It is the sunniest, preppiest, most entertaining splash of spring you've ever seen.  Oh, and it's a steeplechase horse race, but some people go to Foxfield and never see a horse.  Even though the undergraduate students make up the greatest percentage of the massive crowd, there are plenty of plots for us "grownups."  We actually watch the horse races (and take $1 bets too)!

I enjoy the challenge of creating a picnic for Foxfield because it has to be sun-proof.  It has to be easily packed and organized so that we can set up quickly, chow down and hang out for hours, and then pack it all up again.  This year's spread was pretty delicious, so today I'll share my menu.  I had plenty of helpers to create the meal and even more helpers to consume it, so I can't take all the credit for putting this together.  Nonetheless, I was the planner and that's a role I love.  

Foxfield Menu

Assorted sandwiches (roast beef, ham, turkey, grilled chicken)

Blue cheese, cranberry, spinach, & apple wraps

Italian pasta salad (with feta and pepperoni)

Sesame noodles with red peppers and carrots

Prosciutto and spinach Stromboli

Texas Caviar (a chunky salsa with black beans, hominy, & black eyed peas)

S'mores Cookies

Rice Krispie Treats

Crudités with red pepper hummus

Watermelon

Mimosas, Bloody Marys, the "Monarch," & other cocktails

Gourmet Jello Shots

Wraps made with a blue cheese spread, dried cranberries,
granny smith apples, pecans, and spinach

Italian pasta salad with tomatoes, cucumber, feta, and pepperoni

Sesame noodles with carrot ribbons and thinly sliced red peppers

Stromboli with prosciutto and mozzarella, plus spinach and
mushrooms from the farm box

Texas caviar: a chunky salsa made with black-eyed peas, black beans,
yellow and green peppers, hominy, tomatoes, and jalapenos

S'mores cookies with chocolate chips, graham crackers, and marshmallows

Rice Krispie treats

Vegetable crudités with red pepper hummus

My "gourmet" jello shots were one of the biggest hits of the day.  I purchased 2 oz. condiment cups with lids from a restaurant supply shop here in Charlottesville and mixed up several batches of jello shots.  My varieties?  Cranberry jello with vodka and lime juice made a classy cocktail.  Orange jello with vodka made marvelous mini screwdrivers.  Lime jello with tequila was the perfect mini margarita.  Lemon jello with sweet tea vodka made a fantastic Arnold Palmer.  We got lots and lots of compliments on our fun jello drinks!       

I failed to take pictures of our sandwiches, but we tried something new this year and it was a success.  The night before the picnic, we had a sandwich assembly line and created at least 20 different combinations of bread, meat, and cheese.  We used turkey, spiral sliced ham, roast beef, and grilled chicken breasts marinated in caesar dressing.  We had a variety of cheeses also, including cheddar, pepper jack, brie, swiss, and blue cheese.  We used sub rolls, sandwich buns, bagel thins, and whole wheat bread.  After each sandwich was built, we labeled the plastic sandwich bags with incredibly cute labels made by Lotta Jansdotter.  I gave the pen and labels to my sister-in-law, Lindsay, because she's got the perfect handwriting of a designer, and she stickered each sandwich with a little love.  They looked so cute I could barely stand it.  Let me add that we got lots of compliments on our adorable sandwiches and how professional they looked.  "Are these from a deli?" was my favorite comment.  To keep the sandwiches from getting soggy, we left off any condiments and just put a small cooler under the table that held mayonnaise, mustards, pickles, and banana peppers on ice.  It worked out perfectly.  In general, our Foxfield weekend was a great, preppy, picnic success!  

Lindsay & Peter busy on the sandwich assembly line