Paninis

Someone suggested paninis for my 'what to do with rotisserie chicken' question.

Paninis are a favorite around here, though I confess that I forget about them from time to time. One of our favorites is like so:

Chicken cut into bite size pieces

(if it isn't already cooked, cook it with pesto sauce)

Basil pesto sauce -- mix with cooked chicken -- a tablespoon or two.

Sliced red bell peppers

Grated monterrey jack cheese

Sliced sourdough bread

It helps to soften the red bell peppers (cook with chicken) but not necessary.

Mix chicken with pesto, put on bread with bell peppers and cheese and grill like a panini. Simple, yummy.

Rotisserie Chicken, a dozen ways

So, today I have a leftover Rotisserie chicken. Yes, a whole one. Sam's sells them for $5, so I always buy 2. I usually use the 2nd one for chicken salad for sandwiches, but wasn't in a chicken salad mood (AND had nothing planned for dinner tonight so I needed it anyway). I posed the question on facebook: What should I do for dinner with leftover rotisserie chicken. Holy cow. Got quite a response. I will link to a recipe if I have one!

• Chicken Spaghetti
• Tortilla Soup
• Quesadillas
• Chicken Sour Cream Enchiladas (okay, who am I? Betty Crocker? What the heck?)
• Chicken Pot Pie
• Chicken salad
• Fettucini Alfredo
• Chicks-in-a-blanket (I made that name up -- chicken w/ grated cheese wrapped in crescent rolls cooked according to directions)
• Etouffe' (again... Betty Crocker? What?)
• Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup
• Chicken Tacos
• Chicken and Dumplings
• Fajitas
• Paninis

So, what are you waiting for? Get cooking!

Tortilla Soup II

SuperMom already posted one Tortilla Soup recipe. Mine is a hair different (minus the hair, though I was served Tortilla Soup with hair in it at a very fancy local restaurant when my husband came here to interview for his job, though that is an entirely different story).

Start your can opener:

2 cans cooked chicken or 4 cooked chicken breasts
2 cans chicken broth
1 can Ro-Tel
1 can Whole Kernel corn, drained
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can Ranch Style Beans
1 can Enchilada sauce
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Combine and heat (hello, Crock Pot). Serve with grated cheese, tortilla chips, avocado slices, and sour cream. And... if you are really feeling fancy, jalapeno cornbread muffins.

Baked Potato Soup

This is my absolute favorite type of potato soup, VERY easy to do once you have 3 baked potatoes. (If you don't, that is why God invented microwaves -- they can be baking while you do the rest of this stuff...)

Brown together:

1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. flour

Slowly add:

2 1/2 c. milk

Add 2 cans chicken broth (I make one of them Roasted Garlic chicken broth)

Simmer until thick -- 15-25 minutes.

Stir in 3 diced baked potatoes.

Serve with cheese and bacon bits.

Cobbler Recipe

Antique Mommy posted what looks like an awesome cobbler recipe.

Wanted a place to remember it!

Easy Special Sandwiches

I saw that my friend Judy had shared this recipe with someone on Facebook.

Totally ripped it off and slapped it up here on the blog!

Remind me that it's here (why, oh why, did the font just get smaller and I can't do a darn thing about it? Blogger makes me cuckoo!) Won't this be great with soups in winter and fall?

24 rolls (I like the Hawaiian brand)

deli meat of choice – I use three different kinds
cheese of choice

Marinade
½ stick melted butter
1/4t Worcestershire
1/4t poppy seeds
3/4t dry mustard
1 1/2t dry minced onion

Cut rolls in half, making a top and a bottom, like a sandwich
Place bottoms in 9x13 pan
Layer with your selection of meats and cheeses
Place the tops on each one
Prepare Marinade
Pour marinade over sandwiches
Refrigerate 2 hrs or overnight
Bake @ 350 for 15 minutes
Slice rolls apart & Enjoy!

Tammy's Cornbread Recipe

One type of food that I never really ate before moving to Texas was cornbread. And let me just tell you there are many different ways to make it. I have taken some of my Nana's tricks, along with a delicious recipe from my MIL and tweaked it into my own.

Tammy's Cornbread Recipe

To make it taste as good as it possibly can, a cast iron skillet is a must have. I use my 11 or 12" skillet.

2 boxes of Jiffy Cornbread Mix - I use Jiffy because my Nana used Jiffy which makes it the best. But she used it because it is a sweet cornbread mix.

Add 2/3 Cups Milk
2 eggs
1 small can creamed corn
1 small can corn niblets
1-2 cups of grated cheese (cheddar or colby jack)
1/2 cup chopped jalepeno's, or chopped green chille, or chopped green onion

Mix all up together. Let this mixture set for a couple of minutes to rest.

In the meantime put about 2 tablespoons real butter in your cast iron skillet and put it in your 425 degree preaheated oven. You will want to double check that temp. with what the Jiffy Box says and go with the box.

Once butter is melted take cast iron skillet out of oven and pour rested batter in skillet. Put back in oven and cook until brown on top. Takes about 20-25 minutes. Once brown then pull out of the oven and serve with warm butter, or as Paula Dean calls is Buttuh.

In Texas we serve cornbread with bar-b-que, soup, stews, black eyed peas, a bowl of beans.....

Some older folks might even pour milk over it in the morning and make cornmush, but I haven't fallen in love with it that much yet!