Yummy Baked Quesadilla's

I love these quesidilla's. I make mine without chicken in them, but make Chris's with chicken. Of course when Chris makes them mine have chicken in them as well (he claims "the baby wants it").

They're really pretty simple, but very very yummy! And sorry there's no exact amounts for anything as it all depends on how many you're making and of course how full you like your quesadilla's.


Yummy Baked Quesadilla's

chicken breasts or tenderloins, cut into small pieces (approx. 1 tenderloin or 1/2 breast per full quesadilla)
zucchini, sliced and halved
red, yellow, orange peppers, julienned
onions, sliced
Wishbone Bountifuls Simply Santa Fe or Kraft Zesty Italian dressing (regular, low fat or fat free)
cumen, very generous sprinkling
shredded cheddar cheese (sometimes I used pepper jack for Chris's as well)
sour cream
tortilla's (2 for every quesadilla)
tomatoes, chopped
cilantro, chopped (fresh is preferable, however dried works as well)
lettuce, chopped
avocado/guacamole

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare a large baking sheet with tin foil.

Over medium heat and in a frying pan (sprayed with PAM) add the cut up chicken and drizzle a generous amount of dressing on top, followed by the cumen (again be generous).

When the chicken's about half way done I start my veggies in a separate frying pan (also sprayed with PAM) and again drizzled with the dressing and cumen on top.

Of course if you're making chicken/veggie quesadilla's then you can add the veggies to the same frying pan as the chicken.

When the chicken and veggies are almost finished lightly cook the toritilla's (we always buy the uncooked ones from Costco, so if you have precooked tortilla's already then you can skip this step).

To prepare the quesadilla's, place one tortilla on the baking sheet and sprinkle with a little shredded cheese, followed by a nice thick layer of the chicken / veggie mixture. Sprinkle some chopped tomatoes, cilantro and more cheese on top of the chicken and veggies. Then spread a thin layer of sour cream on the other tortilla and place on top of the first tortilla. Continue with as many as you're wanting to make and then bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Remove from the oven with a lifter/spatula.

Serve with guacamole/avocado, sour cream, chopped tomatoes, and lettuce on top.

Enjoy!

*Note: You can also make a 1/2 quesadilla by of course using only one tortilla and folding it in half.

Creamy Veggie Chicken Pasta

I got this recipe from my sister in law Shannon and as noted below had to make some alterations to it (I've included notes at the bottom that show her original recipe). It's a yummy creamy pasta with a little bit of a zing to it!

Sorry there's no pic, but another sister in law just asked for the recipe so I thought I'd put it up without a picture for now...I'll be sure to add a pic the next time I make it!


Creamy Veggie (w/ optional Chicken) Pasta
1 lb noodles of choice (penne, bowtie, rigatoni, shells, corkskrew, etc), approximately

Sauce:
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
2 tbsp mustard*
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup veggie/chicken stock
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
2-3 tbsp parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

2 chicken breasts (or 4-5 tenderloins), cubed
1/2 large onion
1 medium zucchini, chopped and halved**
1 red pepper, julienned (or orange or yellow peppers)
1/2 cup creamy ceasar dressing (or ranch dressing)***


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Over medium heat fry onions in a little olive oil and when the onions start to soften add the chicken. After the chicken is about half way cooked add the zucchini, red pepper and ceasar dressing. Cover and slightly reduce heat.

Boil the water for the noodles while you start the sauce. Cook the noodles to al dente.

Sauce: Melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and whisk until combined. Add mustard and whisk until combined. Mix stock and milk together and gradually whisk into the flour mixture. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Add cheddar and parmesan cheeses and salt and pepper.

Combine the noodles, chicken/veggies and sauce together in a large casserole dish. Sprinkle the top with cheese and cook in the oven at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes, or until bubbling.

Serve with garlic bread, breadsticks, etc.

Enjoy!


*Note: Original recipe called for 3 tbsp mustard, but as I'm not a fan of mustard I found that was too much mustard for me.

**Note: My sister in law makes this with an added 1 lb bacon (fried and cut into 1/2 inch pieces) and uses 1 head of broccoli (chopped into bite sized pieces) and mushrooms (a couple handfuls of sliced) instead of the zucchini and peppers. Again because Christopher won't eat broccoli or mushrooms I had to improvise. I've never made it with the bacon in it, but I'm sure Chris would love it if I did...I just wouldn't;)

***Note: I wanted to make this once and I didn't have any creamy ceasar dressing on hand so I used ranch dressing instead and it turned out just as yummy.