Easy & Cheesy Salsa Verde Chicken

This may be the easiest Mexican dinner you'll ever make, or at least the best tasting easy one!

Cheesy salsa verde chicken only requires three delicious ingredients: chicken breasts, salsa verde and cheese!  (All in the name, right? :)  I also seasoned the chicken with salt, pepper and cumin for extra flavor to penetrate the meat.  This cooks together in a cast iron skillet or (any other baking pan) to a zesty, cheesy chicken dish!

It tastes delicious over a bed of brown or Mexican rice.  I found this awesome organic brown rice at Trader Joes that is not only inexpensive, but only take about 12 minutes to cook verses 40 minute regular rice.  I love it!  Add more flavor to your rice by cooking it in chicken broth instead of water and adding seasoning right into the rice/liquid mixture before cooking.  No more bland rice!

I also made our favorite "Cuban style" black beans flavored with diced onion, fresh garlic, cumin and paprika.  Serve the delicious cheesy salsa verde chicken with sour cream and extra salsa if you like! Cilantro would be beautiful but we don't like the flavor. (I know, weird.) Be sure and give a squeeze of fresh lime juice over your plate before serving to add a bright flavor that balances all the spice.  

I think you're going to go back to this delicious Mexican dinner time and time again for a quick weeknight supper.  I know we will!!

 

Cheesy Salsa Verde Chicken

Recipe from: Posed Perfection

1 Tbsp. Olive Oil

2-3 Chicken Breasts, cut in half (I actually cut these length and width-wise to make cutlets.)

1 jar Salsa Verde (green tomatillo salsa)

1 c. of your favorite shredded Cheese (I freshly grated pepper jack and sharp cheddar)

Salt & pepper

Ground Cumin

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Drizzle extra virgin olive oil to lightly coat the bottom of a large cast iron skillet or 9x13 inch pan.  Lay out the chicken pieces evenly.  Season chicken with spices.  Pour salsa over the chicken and bake for 15-20 minutes.  

Turn the oven temperature up to 400 degrees, take the pan out, and spread the cheese evenly over the chicken.  Return to cook another 10-15 more minutes, depending on thickness of chicken. The salsa will bubble, and the cheese will get nice and gooey.  Salt a bit more just after coming out of the oven.

Serve the chicken (and extra salsa in the pan) over the rice or cut up and in tortillas as a yummy taco.  Enjoy!

Serves 3-4

Light of the World

    Jesus says,

      "You are the light of the world.  A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.  

     Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.  

     In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to Your Father who is in Heaven."

Matthew 5:14-16

A Hayride Favorite! Sweet & Salty Haystacks

Today is a chilly cloudy day!  It's so Autumn like with my windows open and a candle burning away on the mantle.  I just love this type of day!  Drinking coffee, staying in pjs (for most of the day, yes) and watching a movie with the kids amongst ironing and laundry.

Right now my first pot of chili of the season is simmering away in the Dutch oven, and it smells divine!  

We've been cutting back on excessive desserts, but this particular day seems to be asking for a cozy treat to surprise my family with!  I just remembered an old favorite that's quick to make and never fails to please.

One of my favorite fall time treats, and the only candy I make for this time of year are haystacks!!!  Aww... What a classic easy recipe with flavors of butterscotch, peanuts, and chow mein noodles that somehow evolve into a little mound of goodness!  

I'm not sure exactly why I think if them as an Autumnal goody except I think of butterscotch and caramel this time of year with their rich flavors, and I used to make big batches of haystacks every year for family hayrides. They are perfect to munch on while singing in a hay covered wagon in the country!   I just needed to bring this recipe back and introduce them to our children.

So craving these I decided to whip up a batch using what I had in the cabinets.  I don't keep chow mein noodles on hand, so I though I would dive into my favorite combination of salty and sweet instead. Thus adding buttery crushed ritz crackers and salty (goldfish) pretzels!  

Glorious sweet golden mixture is this, but I really think the salty crackers and pretzels set this apart from the original.  It's the easiest "candy" treat in the world to make, and so within 10 minutes I have a pan of haystack beauties.  Crunchy haystacks waiting to cool by the open window as the chilly air invades my cozy home.  This is truly my kind of day!  Please excuse me while I enjoy one, and you should do the same!

Sweet & Salty Haystacks

1 c. Butterscotch chips

1/2 c. Peanut butter

Melt these together in a double boiler or carefully in intervals in the microwave.

1/2 c. Peanuts

1 c. Crushed ritz crackers (1/2 a sleeve)

1 c. Pretzels (I had goldfish:)

Stir these three ingredients into the melted butterscotch and peanut butter mixture.  

Spoon out onto wax paper and allow to cool and set until firm...  Wait if you can!

Savor the moment of the perfect first bite!

Classic Autumn Apple Crumble

I'm sitting a quiet home while my family sleeps in this morning, and the peace is almost too wonderful to handle!  (I love knowing my husband and children are here.)  The window is cracked enough for the cool fall-like temperature to sweep inside our home on this early September morning.  I actually have a soft robe on over my pjs and my coffee in hand as I reflect on my life.

Fall is near!  Autumn's warm and cozy tastes and smells and colors that wrap you like a Grandma's warm embrace is almost at our door step, and I couldn't be happier!  Yesterday was simply gorgeous!  The sky was blue and the air crisp, lacking any Southern humidity at all!  

After spending a special day with my lovely grandparents and cousins, we retreated home for naps.  Well, the rest of my crew did.  I gathered the ingredients and baked up a surprise treat of the season's first apple crumble!

Chopped apples with cinnamon topped with a buttery, brown sugary oat crunch sprinkled over the top and baked till bubbly and crisp on the edges.  I had leftover German roasted pecans from a recent baseball game we attended so I added those to take this rustic dessert to the next level!  I also tossed in some golden raisins since I had them.  

What a way to usher in the fall season but with a warm cozy apple crumble fresh from the oven.  Top it with ice cream or eat it simply with milk or a cup of coffee!  Anyway you choose with be a delicious start to this beautiful season!  

Classic Apple Crumble

Filling:

4-5 medium apples (I used Granny Smith and Gala)

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1-2 Tbsp. Brown sugar

Topping:

1c. Oats

1c. brown sugar

1/2c. Flour

1/4 tsp. Cinnamon

1/4 tsp. Apple pie spice

1/2 c. Butter

Dash of salt

1/2 c. Pecans, chopped-optional

Peel and dice apples into about 1 inch pieces.  Toss with cinnamon and sugar and pour mixture into a 2 quart dish or pie plate.

In a large bowl, mix together oats, sugar, flour, and spices.  "Cut" in the butter until blended into course crumbs.  Stir in pecans.  Pour the crumble over the apples and bake at 350 degrees F. for 35-40 minutes.  Serve warm!