Creamy Mexican Chicken

Creamy Mexican Chicken

This is one of my favorite recipes, but it's hard to make a very appetizing photo of the finished dish so I've hesitated to add it to this blog. However, I made another pot today and it's just too good to keep to myself, so here you go. It's simple, tasty food that isn't a carbon copy of every Mexican dish you've ever tasted. This is my variation. I hope you enjoy it.

CREAMY MEXICAN CHICKEN

2-3 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, frozen

1 15 oz can whole kernel corn, drained

1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed well

1 15 oz can Ro-Tel tomatoes

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

8 oz cream cheese

Place the chicken, canned vegetables, and spices in a crock pot. Cook on low for about 5 hours. Remove the whole breasts, allow to rest for 5-10 minutes. Shred the meat.* Add the cream cheese to the vegetables in the crock pot and allow it to melt. Stir it into the sauce that forms itself. Return the shredded chicken to the pot, reduce to low and simmer for 30 minutes. 

Serve in flour tortillas as tacos (with your favorite toppings) or over rice or baked potatoes. It's also good ladled over hearty wheat bread as an open-faced sandwich. 

*The easiest way to shred cooked chicken is to use your stand mixer. Put the hot, cooked breasts in the bowl and use the paddle attachment to shred it. It takes about 30 seconds! You're welcome!

Swedish Tea Ring

Swedish Tea Ring (Thanks, Mom!)

This recipe just SINGS of Christmas. My mom has become famous for making them at Christmas time for decades. She usually makes 3-4 at a time and shares them with friends and family. I know it's called a tea ring, but I think it's best with coffee!

SWEDISH TEA RING

2 pkg yeast

¼ c warm water

1 c milk

¼ c butter

½ c sugar

1 t salt

1 t grated lemon rind

2 eggs beaten

6-7 c sifted flour

Soften yeast in water. Scald milk. Add butter, sugar, and salt. Cool to lukewarm.  Add enough flour to make a thick batter. (about 5 c) Add yeast, eggs, and rind. Beat well. Stir in enough flour to make a soft dough (1-2 c) Turn out dough onto lightly floured board, knead until satin-like in texture. Place in greased bowl, cover, let rise until double. Punch down. Roll out to 5x10x1/2 inch. Brush with melted butter, sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Roll lengthwise. Seal edge. Place on greased sheet. Shape into ring, sealing the ends. With a sharp knife, slice every inch, about ½ way through. Turn each slice slightly sideways. Brush with melted butter, or egg wash. Let rise to double.

Bake at 375* 25-30 min.

Cool on rack, frost and decorate like a wreath.

 

Mississippi Roast Beef

I'm usually not a guy who follows a recipe but this one was so unusual before I started it that I made it just the way I found it. As I type this, it's still resting in the crock pot but I already know it's going to make a repeat appearance at my house! I think this will be great served over rice or a baked potato. It's not health food, but sometimes you just have to make something delicious! This is it! I don't know why this is called Mississippi Roast, but if they eat like this every day in Mississippi, they would all weigh 400 pounds!

MISSISSIPPI ROAST BEEF

3 lb chuck roast

1 envelope dry rand dressing mix

1 envelope dry au jus mix

5 pepperoncini (pickled peppers)

1 stick butter, not margarine

Put the roast in your crock pot. Sprinkle on the seasoning mixes. Put the whole stick of butter on top and add the peppers. Cook on low for 7-8 hours. Do NOT lift the lid. Enjoy.

I cooked this overnight. It smelled so good that it woke me up more than once! 

Bacon-Wrapped Poppers

You're looking for a new, tasty appetizer to take to a Christmas or New Year's party. Look no further, you found it! Bacon, Cream Cheese, Spices, and Fresh Peppers. MMMM. These are good if you serve them hot out of the oven or if they cool to room temperature. They travel well, too. Enjoy!

BACON-WRAPPED POPPERS

1 pound small sweet peppers (use a variety of colors)

1 pound bacon

1 pound cream cheese

2 tsp ground cayenne

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp cumin

1 tsp dried basil

Cook the bacon on a wire rack in a 300º oven until it's about half cooked. It MUST remain pliable so don't overcook it! While the bacon is cooking prepare the peppers by cutting about 1/4 of the side off of each pepper so you have room to remove the seeds and veins from the inside. Save the "lid" that you cut off. When the peppers are ready, in a separate bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients and the "lids" that have been chopped finely.

Fill the peppers generously with the cream cheese mixture. If you over-stuffing some and run out of filling for some of the peppers, that is better than having too little filling in all of the peppers. When they are stuffed, wrap each stuffed pepper in 1/2 a strip of 1/2 cooked bacon and secure the bacon with a wooden pick. Bake the wrapped poppers on a wire rack at 300º for about 30 minutes, then increase the temperature to 450º to crisp the bacon and finish the baking. Carefully remove them from the rack and arrange on a serving plate and allow them to cool slightly. Eating them directly from the oven will result in blisters on the roof of your mouth!