The Frugal Kitchen: Leftover Chicken Mexican Casserole

Since only my daughter and I eat meat, whenever I bake a chicken there are plenty of leftovers.  I needed something I could make easily and economically, so I mixed up this casserole.

INGREDIENTS

Pre baked chicken torn into bite size pieces
1 can cream of chicken or mushroom soup
1 onion chopped
1 bag of frozen mixed vegetables
4 cups of cooked rice
1 jar salsa
1 bag of shredded cheddar cheese
1-2 Tbsp. oil

Cook the frozen vegetables in the microwave.  Saute the onion, vegetables and chicken in a small amount of oil.

Mix the soup and salsa together in a bowl.  Add about a half can of water to thin it to a sauce consistency.  You may not need to do this if your salsa has a lot of liquid.

Begin layering the ingredients in this order:  sauce, rice, veggie/meat mix and cheese.  Finish with a layer of cheese,

Cook at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 30 minutes.  The cheese should be golden brown.  You can make this casserole in advance and hold it in the refrigerator, but add 15 minutes to the cooking time.

A super simple and nutritious meal.  You can substitute based on the leftovers you have on hand.  Enjoy!

God bless,
Pam

Smothered Chicken and Flavored Rice

Time to get the crockpot out because we are cooking low and slow today.  This is a traditional Southern U.S. recipe which results in a tender (falling off the bone) chicken, covered with caramelized onions and a pan sauce.

Ingredients for chicken:

4 Chicken thighs and legs
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
salt to taste
pepper to taste
1 tsp. garlic powder
pinch of celery seed
olive oil
3 large onions
2 peeled garlic cloves, whole
chicken broth


 The day before soak chicken in a salt water brine; leave in refrigerator overnight.  Mix flour, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper and garlic powder together in a pie pan or plate.  Coat chicken pieces in flour and brown in olive oil on both sides.

When the chicken is golden brown remove to a plate.  Slice onions into thin rings and fry until golden brown in fat leftover in pan.  Salt onion lightly while it is cooking. Add garlic midway through cooking.  At this point you can also brown sliced celery, but I seldom use celery and it is not worth me buying it to just use a few pieces.  So, I use celery seed as a substitute.  Just sprinkle the celery seed over the onions a minute before they are done.  Remove onion from oil with a slotted spoon, placing it in the bottom of an oiled crockpot.

Place the chicken on top of the onions and pour on chicken broth to reach about 1/2 the way up the first layer of chicken pieces.  Once again sprinkle a small amount of salt over the top of everything.

Cook on high for four hours, then low for one hour.  If you are starting this before going to work you can cook it on low eight to ten hours.

Place chicken on plate, top with onions and pan sauce.  Serve with seasoned rice and a salad.

Seasoned Rice Ingredients:

2 cups white, long grain rice
water according to package directions
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp hot sauce
1 1/2 tsp chicken base
2 Tbsp butter

Place ingredients in rice cooker to cook or, if using regular pan,  follow package directions on rice.

This makes a hearty, satisfying meal for a cold day.  We have plenty of leftovers to use in other recipes.    Four chicken leg quarters cooked this way will feed us for three nights if I plan it right.

God bless,
Pam