Fancy-ish Chicken Quesadilla

This is a good, simple, quesadilla. I mean really, who doesn't like a quesadilla? Tortilla? Cheese? Now add some extra ingredients and a rotisserie chicken and you are golden! This was very yummy! I also made a "hot sour cream" to dip it in.

1/4 cup mayo

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

4 green onions, chopped

3 stalks of celery, chopped fine

2 tablespoons sour cream

2 teaspoons hot sauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 rotisserie chicken, skin removed and cut into small pieces

shredded cheddar cheese

Flour or corn tortillas

Directions:

• Whisk the first 8 ingredients together
• Then add the chicken to combine
• Heat pan and spray a little cooking spray
• Put one tortilla down on pan, then spread a thin layer of cheese, careful to not go all the way to the edge. Then put a layer of the chicken mix followed by another thin layer of cheese and another tortilla.
• Let cook until the bottom tortilla is brown and then carefully flip. 
• Keep going until you have all of our quesadillas done
• To make the "hot sour cream" just mix a couple tablespoons of sour cream with 2 teaspoons hot sauce!

Pecan Pie

Happy Thanksgiving week!! I wanted to make a pecan pie this year, my Grandpa's favorite! Of course I turned to my favorite "celebrity" chef, The Pioneer Woman, she had an amazingly simple recipe and it was insanely good. You must try. Click here for the recipe, below you can see some of my pictures :) I must say, I am pretty proud of myself, I am not really a pie maker.

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Some pictures from my trip to New Mexico Last week!!

Spicy Chicken Rigatoni

For years my brother and Stephen have been raving about a restaurant called Bucca di Beppo. It is a family style Italian restaurant with limited locations (mostly large cities). Well when we visited Albuquerque  New Mexico, we found one and had to try!! Everything we had was delicious, but this dish was my absolute favorite. I tried to find it online and made a couple of modifications on my quest to remake this dish. It is a super easy MUST try!

1 rotisserie chicken, cut into small pieces

1 cup marinara (I used Tomato Basil from Traders)

1 cup Alfredo (I used Trader Joes brand)

5 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 tablespoon red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon butter

1 cup frozen peas

1 lb rigatoni pasta, cooked and drained (but not rinsed)

more red pepper flakes to garnish if you desire

Directions: 

• Boil water and cook pasta. This is very important, make sure you drain the pasta when it still has a little "bite" to it. You do not want the noodles to be mushy or overcooked!
• In a large pan, heat olive oil on medium for about 3 minutes. 
• Add the garlic, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes until the garlic just starts to cook and the red pepper flakes add spice to the oil (you can do less red pepper flakes if you want it less spicy)
• Add the rotisserie chicken and mix in the oil, let cook about 5 minutes
• Add the marinara and Alfredo sauce and let cook another 10 minutes
• Add the peas, then add the cooked pasta and stir!
• Make sure all the noodles are covered in the sauce and the chicken is incorporated throughout the pasta. 
• Serve up!

Love you Grandma

I just wanted to post a short blog about my Grandma Lou that passed away suddenly this week. She was an amazing grandmother. Always had a way of making everyone feel like they were her absolute favorite person in the world. She was warm, loving, kind and generous. So many memories from my childhood have her in them, and I will always remember her voice telling me how proud she was of me and how much she loved me. Hug your loved ones extra tight every day and don't take a moment for granted. If you ever have someone on your heart, even if it is for a brief moment, let them know.  Hugs & kisses Grandma.

http://www.mantecabulletin.com/section/30/article/53881/

Chili Relleno & Ground Turkey Casserole

Another dish inspired from Farmers' Market!  This dish had locally grown peppers (sorry there were a couple different kinds and I can't remember their names) that had such awesome flavor. This is a super easy dish for a weeknight when you really don't feel like laboring over a stove with numerous pots and pans.

5-6 peppers w/ thin skins

1 lb turkey

1 lb cheese (I used 1/2 pepper jack and 1/2 Mexican blend)

1/2 cup flour

1 1/2 cups milk

3 eggs

chili powder

garlic powder

salt and pepper

Directions:

• Microwave peppers (or you can charbroil the and peel them) 
• Cook ground turkey in a pan and season with seasonings
• Mix the flour, milk and eggs together
• Spray a 9x13 baking pan and then layer the cooked chilies
• Follow by all the turkey meat 
• Layer all the cheese
• Then add the mix that you made in step 2
• I had a small can of chilies that I added on the top, but this is optional
• Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes until it is firm to the touch and the top and edges have slightly browned
• Serve with some tortillas!

Lemon, Cilantro & Parmesan Bowties

Last weekend, Stephen and I went to Farmers' Market and went pretty crazy buying veggies, so this week I have had to be creative with my meals. I must say, the meal I made last night was SO good. ALL the veggies were grown in SLO County! I made this pasta to accompany a baked Sole, which I put in a baking dish, drizzled olive oil all over it and then added fresh tomatoes and garlic for it to cook in. This lemon pasta is perfect for any fish dish, and it is SO easy!

1 box bow tie pasta, cooked and drained

1 cup cilantro, chopped

1 teaspoon garlic, chopped 

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

2 lemons, juiced 

2 tablespoons cooking water from pasta

salt and pepper

Directions: 

• After you cook the pasta, reserve 2 tablespoons of the cooking water and put aside. 
• In a bowl, add all the ingredients and mix
• If the pasta seems a little dry, add the cooking liquid.
• Taste as you go and modify to your taste!