Tailgate Tuesday: White Chicken Chili

(note: Tailgate Tuesday posts are special features written for the SideLion Report from us gals of The Thrifty Table. Check in every Tuesday for a new recipe perfect for that week's tailgate party!)

We loved last week's Buffalo Chicken Dip and thought that we would continue with another spicy dish for this week. For the Dallas Cowboys game we are making a flavorful White Chicken Chili. With the weather getting colder in Detroit you will enjoy this warm meal while watching the game at home!

White Chicken Chili
1 lb. chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 medium onion, diced
1 garlic clove, diced
1 1/2 C water
1 t. chicken base (or replace water with chicken stock)
1 can of white northern beans, drained (or pinto beans)
1 can of corn, drained
1 can of tomatoes (use a kind with green chilies for a kick)
1/4 C. red pepper, diced (or green or jalapeno peppers)
1 t. each of cumin, paprika, and chili powder

Cook onion and garlic in a pan with oil. Add chicken and cook until done. Add pepper and season with salt and pepper. Cook together for a few minutes and then add to a slow cooker. Add the rest of the ingredients to the slow cooker. Cook on high for 2-3 hours, or low for 4-5 hours. Serve with cheese, tortilla chips, and sour cream. Enjoy!

Rice Noodle Stir-Fry

A new thrifty option for Meijer shoppers is mPerks. You can go to their site and clip electronic coupons. No scissors required! You can have your "coupons" printed or emailed to you, and when you check out at the store, just type in your phone number and they will be applied to your purchase. Catherine told me about this and now I use it all the time. Maybe someday soon all coupons can be electronic...how nice would that be?

One thrifty purchase I made was Thai Kitchen Rice Noodles (combined a manufacturer's coupon and mPerks coupon!). I never made rice noodles before, but my husband loves to get them when we go out. Now it is time to try it at home!

I followed the basic recipe on the box, adding in chicken and the veggies I had at home (carrots and green beans). A few cashews added on top really make this meal delicious!

Rice Noodle Stir-Fry

1/2 box of rice noodles
2 T vegetable oil
2 chicken breasts, cut into pieces
1-2 cups of vegetables (I used 1 cup sliced carrots and 1 cup fresh green beans)
2 T soy sauce
dash of sesame oil (optional)
handful of cashews (optional)

1) Bring a medium pot of water to boil. Remove from heat and immerse 1/2 package of rice noodles. Let stand for 8 minutes. Immediately drain and rinse with cold water (or they will become sticky).

2) In a large frying pan cook chicken in oil until done. Add the vegetables, soy sauce and sesame oil. Heat for a few minutes, then add the cooked rice noodles, adding more soy sauce or water as needed until the vegetables and noodles are tender. Serve with a few cashews or chopped green onion. Serves 2-4. Enjoy!

Chicken, Cheddar, and Apple Wraps

I was excited to get my first bag of Michigan Paul Red apples for the season. As much as I love summer, I really enjoy fall foods, including anything with apples. I made Melissa D'Arabian's four-step chicken the night before and cooked an extra chicken breast without the sauce. The next day, preparing these wraps for dinner was so easy! The combination of cheddar and apples is amazing, and the honey and Dijon mustard sauce pairs it perfectly.

Chicken, Cheddar, and Apple Wraps

5 t. Dijon mustard
1 T. honey
handful of chopped romaine lettuce
12 slices of reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 lb. sliced cooked chicken breast
1 apple, peeled and cut into thin slices (the cookbook suggests Granny smith)
4 large flour tortillas
dash of salt
dash of pepper

1. Combine the mustard and honey in a bowl.

2. Layer the lettuce, cheese, chicken, and apple slices on each tortilla. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with the mustard mixture. Roll them up and enjoy!

*Adapted from Weight Watchers My Turnaround Cookbook.

Amazing Chicken Enchiladas!

I love some good Mexican food. That is the one type of food that I never get sick of. I have seen a lot of chicken enchilada recipes floating around over the years but never found one that really sounded up my alley until I saw this recipe. WARNING: This recipe is definitely not a quick one. There are a lot of step including cooking the chicken, shredding the chicken, mixing the sauces, chopping etc., but let me tell you, IT WAS WORTH IT! This recipe turned out amazing. We invited Jenn and Matt over to enjoy this with us and it was a hit with everyone.

Chicken Enchiladas (adapted from Angela's Awesome Enchiladas on allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

• 2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast meat - shredded
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1 1/4 cups sour cream
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies, drained
• 1 (1.25 ounce) package mild taco seasoning mix
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped, divided
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 5 (12 inch) flour tortillas
• 3 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded, divided
• 1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce
• 1 (6 ounce) can sliced black olives (optional - we omitted these)
  

Directions

1. Place the chicken in a large pot and add water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the chicken pieces are no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Shred chicken by placing two forks back to back and pulling meat apart. Set the shredded chicken aside. Meanwhile, combine the cream of chicken soup, sour cream, and chili powder in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, then turn off the heat and cover to keep warm.
2. Heat the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the shredded chicken, chopped green chilies, taco seasoning, half of the bunch of chopped green onion, and water. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the lime juice, onion powder, and garlic powder; simmer for an additional 10 minutes.
3. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Stir 1 cup of the soup mixture into the skillet with the chicken mixture. Spread the remaining soup mixture on the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.
4. Fill each tortilla with chicken mixture. Sprinkle Cheddar cheese over the chicken filling before folding the tortillas, reserving half of the shredded cheese for topping the enchiladas. Fold tortillas over the filling and place seam-side down in the prepared pan.
5. Pour enchilada sauce evenly over the enchiladas. Cover with the remaining 1 1/2 cups of Cheddar cheese. Sprinkle the reserved chopped green onions and the sliced olives on top of the cheese. Bake in the preheated oven until filling is heated through and the cheese is melted and bubbling, about 25 minutes.

Tips for this recipe:

- You can use shredded chicken from rotisserie chickens and it would be just as good. I used some leftover rotisserie chicken for part of the recipe.
- To cook chicken, put frozen chicken breasts in a crock pot on high for a couple hours with some salt and pepper. They come out very flavorful and easy to shred.

Enjoy!

Lemon and Rosemary Chicken

I give all of the credit to this post to one of my favorite chefs, Nigella Lawson. Her shows are unique in that they are calming and inspiring . Her poetic voice turns cooking into an art, yet she is incredibly real and creates recipes that make me say, "I could make that!"

One if the first recipes I tried from her cookbook is "Butterflied Chicken with Lemon and Rosemary." It is a classic Nigella recipe. Simple ingredients come together to make an elegant dish, with less than 10 minutes of prep work. I have made this twice now, and am sure it will repeat again in the near future.

Lemon and Rosemary Chicken (adapted from Forever Summer by Nigella Lawson)

6 Chicken Thighs, skin removed (or one butterflied chicken)
2 sprigs fresh rosemary (dried works as well)
Juice and shell of 1 lemon
1 onion, cut into wedges
4-5 peeled cloves of garlic
5 tbs. olive oil
Kosher salt and ground pepper

In the morning, or the night before, combine all ingredients in a large zip-lock bag. Keep in the refrigerator, turning every so often to mix the marinade.

Later, preheat the oven to 425 F and place everything from the bag on a baking sheet lined with foil. Cook for about 45 minutes until the chicken is crisp. Arrange on a plate with the onion and garlic bits and any juice from the pan (fresh lemon optional). Enjoy!

Pineapple Chicken Salad

I just made this salad for the second time in a week, and I thought that this was definitely a must to share! I credit this recipe to Matt's mom and family! It is a light and sweet pasta salad with chicken, celery, pineapple, and toasted almonds. It is a perfect one dish meal on a summer day, and with our family, it doesn't last for long!

At first, I wasn't crazy about this salad because of the Miracle Whip, but it has grown on me so much that now I love it. This isn't the salad for those who don't like Mayo or Miracle Whip (like Cat's husband!) but for the rest of us, I recommend giving it a try!

Pineapple Chicken Salad
2-3 cooked and diced chicken breasts (no seasoning necessary, maybe a dash of S&P)
1 cup diced celery
1 can drained pineapple chunks
half a box of cooked shell macaroni

Mix and add to above:
1 cup light Miracle Whip
1 container light Cool Whip

Sprinkle on 1/2 cup slivered almonds (I buy them in bulk and toast them dry in a pan before I cook the chicken).

Refrigerate and enjoy! It is easy to double the recipe if you are making it for a large group.

Cashew Chicken

One night while looking at our pantry, I realized just how many cashews I had around our house, and I knew some of them needed to be eaten up. I remembered that Jenn said her mom used to make a cashew chicken and it was great. While I am more of an almond chicken person myself, I figured it would be worth a try.

After searching my favorite recipe website, Allrecipes.com, I came across a 4.5 star rated recipe for Cashew Chicken. I always like to look for inspiration from a recipe and then adapt it to my own taste. It turned out better than I had expected! It was much more delicious, cheaper, and healthier than any take-out chinese food I have ever had. I would recommend this recipe to anyone for a nice budget chinese food night.

Cashew Chicken
(adapted from Cashew Chicken with Water Chestnuts on allrecipes.com)

Yield 4 servings
Ingredients
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2/3 cup chicken broth
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast meat - cut into cubes
2 cloves of garlic, minced

4 green onions, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped (can use green bell pepper instead)
1 (8 ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, drained
2/3 cup cashews

Directions
Dissolve the cornstarch in the chicken broth, and stir in the soy sauce, ginger, and hot sauce; set aside. Heat half of the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Stir in the chicken; cook and stir until the chicken is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan, and set aside.
Pour the remaining tablespoon of oil into the pan, and stir in the onion, garlic, bell pepper, and water chestnuts. Cook and stir until the chestnuts are hot, about 5 minutes more. Stir up the sauce to redistribute the cornstarch, then pour into the pan, and bring to a boil. Add the reserved chicken, and stir until the sauce thickens, and the chicken is hot. Sprinkle with cashews to serve.

Oh, and we can't forget about dessert! :)