A chicken casserole is an easy, breezy dish to throw into the oven when you don’t want to stand in the kitchen chopping, stirring and watching. This Mexican Chicken Casserole recipe is easy, delicious and super comforting!

image and recipe via How To: Simplify, suggestions by me!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2 can chopped green chiles, divided
• 1 fully cooked rotisserie chicken, shredded
• 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1/4 cup cream cheese
• 1 (8 ounces) jar enchilada sauce
• 12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
• Cooking spray
• 1/2 cup extra-sharp cheddar cheese
• Handful of crushed tortilla chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Pour broth and 1 can of chiles in a saute pan and bring to a boil ( I like this Calphalon Non-Stick Saute Pan). Add shredded chicken; reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove chicken from the liquid. Leave the cooking liquid in the pan.
3. Heat oil in a separate skillet and add 1 can of chiles and onion. Saute for 2 minutes or until the onion is softened. Add chopped garlic and cook for an additional 1 minute.
4. Add onion, chiles and garlic mixture into the saute pan filled with the reserve cooking liquid. Add evaporated milk, Monterey Jack cheese, cream cheese and enchilada sauce. Cook for two minutes.
5. Stir in shredded chicken and cook for 2 minutes then remove from heat.
6. Place 4 tortillas in the bottom of a 2-quart casserole dish coated with cooking spray (try this Le Creuset Casserole Dish).
7. Spoon 2 cups (try this triple pour measuring cup from Crate & Barrel) of chicken mixture over the tortillas. Repeat layers twice, ending with the chicken mixture.
8. Sprinkle cheddar cheese and crushed tortilla chips over the top and bake for 30 minutes or until heated through and bubbly. Serve warm.

One huge perk of working at an internet company is the access to unlimited cereal via our cereal bar. But, when you’ve eaten cereal everyday for the past year, all you yearn for in the morning is a substantial REAL breakfast. Enter, from stage right: smoked salmon. I saw this image on JessicaLettuceTomato, and knew it was a winner. Smoked salmon, creme fraiche, scrambled eggs and toast. Simple, delicious and fast.

Don’t forget a really sharp knife when slicing smoked salmon–you want the paper-thin slices to melt in your mouth! It’s also safer!

Chroma Salmon/Ham Slicer type 301 by FA Porsche

WMF Spitzenklasse Salmon Slicer, 17-inch

Arcos Color Prof 12-in Salmon Knife with Granton Edge

Kevin‘s blog Closet Cooking just featured a delicious twist on a classic comfort food–grilled cheese sandwiches! The recipe is a fancier version, with Roasted Red Pepper Pesto and Goat Cheese.

Red Pepper Pesto Goat Cheese Sandwich

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons roasted red pepper pesto
2 tablespoons goat cheese (room temperature)
2 slices bread (lightly toasted)
1 tablespoon butter (room temperature)
Directions:
1. Assemble sandwich and grill until the cheese has melted and the bread is golden brown on both sides, about 2-4 minutes per side.

I love panini grills for any grilled cheese sandwich!

George Foreman 360 Grill With 5 Removable Plates

George Foreman 36-in. Champ Indoor Grill

Cuisinart 11×7 Griddle/Panini Press, Brushed Stainless

When I saw this recipe on Healthy Food For Living my mouth dropped, watered, and then dropped again. I’ll let Lauren’s pictures do the talking.

Pumpkin Mac & Cheese

serves 4

Ingredients:

• 8 oz uncooked macaroni or other pasta, preferably whole wheat or whole wheat blend pasta
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 cup 1% low-fat milk
• 2 oz (about 4 Tbsp) 1/3-less-fat neufchatel cream cheese
• 1 cup freshly grated 50% reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup freshly grated gruyere cheese (can sub in any good melting cheese, such as monterey jack)
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/8 – 1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper, or more depending on heat preference
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. Meanwhile, whisk together and heat pumpkin puree and milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat until hot.
3. Reduce stove heat to low. Whisk in cheeses until fully melted.
4. Stir in nutmeg and cayenne. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Stir drained pasta into the pumpkin-cheese sauce and mix until thoroughly combined.
6. At this point, the mac & cheese might appear a bit soupy. If this is the case, let the mixture sit off of the heat for a few minutes. The cheese sauce will firm up as it slightly cools.
7. Serve with an extra dusting of nutmeg, if desired.

You’ll need:

All-Clad Stainless-Steel Measuring Cups

Microplane Coarse Grater Soft Touch

Cuisipro Frosted Egg Whisk

The toaster oven is one of the most versatile appliances to have in the kitchen. In college, I would use my toaster oven for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and pizza bagels were always a favorite and easy recipe–bagels, marinara sauce and cheese, it really didn’t get any easier than that. Blogger Bellpeppers & Bokchoy has taken that simple idea up a couple of notches by making Spinach, Prosciutto and Garlic Pizza Bagels in the toaster oven! How perfect for a portable picnic!

Bellpeppers & Bokchoy says: “My suggestion is to toast the bagels once before you put the toppings & sauce on, otherwise it gets kinda soggy. after that, roughly chop a couple of cloves of garlic, and the prosciutto. Throw the garlic in a hot pan with a bit of olive oil in it and let it saute for a few minutes. Then add the prosciutto and let it get crispy. Add the spinach at the very end, as it cooks really quickly. If you notice the mixture getting dry, rinse the spinach right before you throw it in the pan to add some moisture.”

Black and Decker 4 Slice Stainless Steel Toaster Oven

Oster Inspire Convection Stainless Steel Toaster Oven

My favorite dessert in the world are fruit tartes . When I eat pies or tartes I go straight for the crust! But instead of just using the tartes for dessert, I thought it would be a delicious alternative to eat tartes for lunch or dinner, made with the one and only Le Creuset Tarte Pan. The stainless steel spatula will be an important part of getting your polenta ready and this All-Clad Stainless Steel Flexible Spatula is perfect. The recipe and beautiful images are via Elizabeth from the Guilty Kitchen!

Zucchini Tarte Tatin with Polenta

Polenta method is adapted from Marcella Hazan

4 cups water or low sodium broth
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup whole grain cornmeal (medium to coarse grind)
2 small zucchini (approximately 6″ each)
1 tsp. veg oil
salt and pepper to taste
2 oz. Chèvre
1/2 cup asiago, grated
1 Tbsp each of fresh thyme, chives and basil, chopped
1 egg, beaten (room temperature)

1. Bring water and salt to a boil, whisk in cornmeal a little at a time to avoid clumps.
2. Cook over medium high heat for 2 minutes, whisking constantly.
3. Reduce heat to low and cover. Cook at a low simmer for 45 minutes. Stirring every 5-10 minutes for at least 1 minute.
4. Meanwhile, slice your zucchini into 1/4″ rounds.
5. Add oil to skillet and heat to medium high. Add zucchini and salt & pepper. Sauté for 6-8 minutes (or until slightly softened).
6. Grease an 8″ round baking dish . Arrange cooked zucchini in concentric circles around bottom of dish. When finished, crumble chèvre over zucchini. Preheat oven to 400°F.
7. After 45 minutes, remove polenta from heat & stir in cheese and herbs.
8. Let stand 15-20 minutes, add beaten egg and stir quickly to combine.
9. When polenta is ready, pour gently over zucchini. Spread evenly with spatula.
10. Bake for 40 minutes for a soft centre. Longer if you want it more set.
11. Take tarte out of oven and slide a knife or spatula around the edges to loosen. Place a large round plate on top of baking dish and flip everything over together to get the tarte out.

via The Guilty Kitchen

I’m a huge fan of the cooking TV show Top Chef, DC . This season, one of the most common judge complaints stem from food that had been unevenly cut, thus cooking the food at different rates. An important kitchen tool called a mandoline can ensure even cooking time for cut fruits and vegetables. Get a stainless steel commercial mandoline —it’ll be easier to clean and much safer to use than any old cheapie mandolin. The quintessential recipe to test out your new stainless steel commercial grade mandolin would be Ratatouille ! I will admit, until Disney’s culinary rat Remy came into town, I had no idea what Ratatouille was and now, thanks to Smitten Kitchen , she’s taken this movie fantasy dish and turned it into a reality using her very own trusty mandolin.

Ratatouille’s Ratatouille As envisioned by Smitten Kitchen

1/2 onion, finely chopped, 2 garlic cloves, very thinly sliced, 1 cup tomato puree (such as Pomi), 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 small eggplant (my store sells these “Italian Eggplant” that are less than half the size of regular ones; it worked perfectly),1 smallish zucchini, 1 smallish yellow squash, 1 longish red bell pepper, Few sprigs fresh thyme, Salt and pepper, Few tablespoons soft goat cheese, for serving.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Pour tomato puree into bottom of an oval baking dish , approximately 10 inches across the long way. Drop the sliced garlic cloves and chopped onion into the sauce, stir in one tablespoon of the olive oil and season the sauce generously with salt and pepper.

Trim the ends off the eggplant, zucchini and yellow squash. As carefully as you can, trim the ends off the red pepper and remove the core, leaving the edges intact, like a tube.

On a mandoline , adjustable-blade slicer or with a very sharp knife, cut the eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash and red pepper into very thin slices, approximately 1/16-inch thick.

Atop the tomato sauce, arrange slices of prepared vegetables concentrically from the outer edge to the inside of the baking dish, overlapping so just a smidgen of each flat surface is visible, alternating vegetables. You may have a handful leftover that do not fit.

Drizzle the remaining tablespoon olive oil over the vegetables and season them generously with salt and pepper. Remove the leaves from the thyme sprigs with your fingertips, running them down the stem. Sprinkle the fresh thyme over the dish.

Cover dish with a piece of parchment paper cut to fit inside. (Tricky, I know, but the hardest thing about this.)

Bake for approximately 45 to 55 minutes, until vegetables have released their liquid and are clearly cooked, but with some structure left so they are not totally limp. They should not be brown at the edges, and you should see that the tomato sauce is bubbling up around them.

Serve with a dab of soft goat cheese on top, alone, or with some crusty French bread, atop polenta, couscous, or your choice of grain.

Seems like company comes around pretty often this time of year.  It’s always nice to have ingredients for cheese ball recipes or other easy appetizers around for whipping up something in a pinch.  Here’s an easy cheese ball recipe that I’ve made several times.  The ingredients keep for awhile, so you can buy them ahead, and make it when you need it.

Chipped Beef Cheese Ball

• 2 blocks of cream cheese, softened
• 2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 pkg. dried beef, finely chopped.
• 1 bunch of green onions, finely chopped
• Dash of garlic salt

Set aside 1/3 of beef and onions.  Combine cream cheese, remainder of beef, Worcestershire, remainder of onions, and garlic salt in food processor.  Pulse until blended.  Form into a ball, and roll in reserved beef and onions.  Serve on a platter with crackers and cheese knives.  If you don’t have a food processor, you can mix this by hand in a large mixing bowl.