Don't Worry, I'm Still In The Kitchen!

It isn't that I'm not cooking. It's that my computer is down with a nasty virus. I keep hoping that it will magically resolve itself, but apparently it's going to take some effort on my part to get it going again. That explains why it's still not working.

(Thanks, Mom, for letting me use your computer to relay this very important message!)

Southwest Chicken Eggrolls with Avocado Ranch Dipping Sauce

I love Chili's Southwest Chicken Eggrolls so I decided to try to make them myself. I didn't quite like the marinade I used for this recipe, it's more like fajita flavor. So if you have any suggestions on how to better flavor the meat, please let me know! (Sorry I don't have any pictures, I was experimenting cooking at my mother's house.)

Southwest Chicken Eggrolls
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, marinated (below)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can corn, drained
1/2 cup fire roasted bell peppers, drained and chopped
5 oz frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed to drain
8 oz grated pepperjack cheese
20 soft flour tortillas (thin tortilllas work best)
oil for frying

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Slice chicken into thin, 1-inch strips and add to hot pan with 1-2 Tbs of marinade. Cook until chicken is opaque. Off heat, stir in black beans, corn, peppers, spinach and cheese. Mix well, set aside.

In another large skillet heat 1/4 inch oil over medium high heat. Working in batches, heat 4-5 tortillas in the microwave for 15 seconds, this will make them easy to bend and wrap. Place 2 Tbs chicken filling in each tortilla, fold like a burrito (click here for egg roll wrapping pictures.) Using tongs, place seam side down in hot oil. (If the tortilla begins to bubble use tongs to hold it in place until the tortilla has shaped itself.) Cook until tortilla is golden on bottom, turn over the egg roll and cook on the other side until golden. Remove with tongs onto paper towel-lined plate. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Serve warm.

For the avocado ranch dipping sauce combine 1 medium, mashed avocado and 1 cup prepared ranch dip.

Marinade
1/2 c soy sauce
1/2 c Worchestershire sauce
2 Tbs olive oil
1 1/2 Tbs brown sugar
1 Tbs lime juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp liquid smoke
1/4 tsp black pepper
pinch of onion powder, red pepper, and cumin

Combine all ingredients and add meat. Place in a gallon size resealable bag and refrigerate for 4-6 hours or overnight.

Turkey Broccoli Alfredo Bake

Last night was one of those nights that I didn't really feel like cooking, but I was really hungry and didn't want to settle for something packaged. I had a ton of leftover turkey in the fridge from Sunday and figured I'd better put it to good use. I found a recipe for Chicken Alfredo and Rice Casserole, but I had only a few of the ingredients. So I used what I had and the result was delicious! Here's what I used.

1 cup rice, cooked (2 1/2 - 3 cups cooked rice)

10 oz Alfredo pasta sauce (I used Bertolli)

1/2 cup milk

2 cups cooked, cubed turkey

1 cup frozen broccoli

1 carrot, grated

1-2 slices of bread, crumbled

1/3 cup Italian bread crumbs

1 Tbs butter, melted

Preheat oven the 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine rice, Alfredo sauce, milk, turkey, broccoli, and carrot. Transfer to 2 qt baking dish. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and stir. Combine bread crumbs and butter; sprinkle on top. Bake, uncovered, 20 to 25 minutes longer until heated through and crumbs are golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Serve with crispy Grissini breadsticks.

Maybe the two kind of bread crumbs sounds dumb, but I really liked it. It was like the larger bread crumbs got breaded in the smaller bread crumbs. (Like I said, I used what I had.)

The great thing about this recipe is that, really, you could probably substitute just about anything you did want for anything that you didn't want.