Thursday, October 14, 2010

New Easy Dinner Recipes

I love the Cook's Illustrated magazine.

Anyway, for Christmas one year, I got The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. A great one. But sometimes I am intimidated by the recipes because they seem so complex. But not these two...

They were easy and perfect for the crazy nights we have had. And EVERYONE loved th. A miracle. (Except Quinn but I am not counting her yet).


Easy Chicken Calzones
2 - 10oz pkg frozen broccoli, thawed and chopped
1 lb mozzarella cheese, shredded (4 cups)
2 cups cooked chicken (1 lb), chopped
1/2 cup pesto
salt and pepper
2 lbs pizza dough - I used 2 pop-up canisters of pizza dough - the Pillsbury kind - I think you might need 3 because my filling was a lot.

Oven to 450.
Pat broccoli dry and the toss with other ingredients.
On a floured counter, unroll one pizza dough (roll to 1/4 inch thick). Mound half of the filling on to one side of the dough. Brush the edge of the dough with water and fold the other half of the dough over. Seal the edges.
Put calzones on greased baking sheet.
Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake until golden about 15 minutes.

Perfect for on the go nights.

Fiesta Casserole
3 cups low sodium chicken broth
2 cups instant brown rice
2 cups frozen corn
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups salsa
1 T Tabasco (i didn't use this)
3 cups shredded cooked chicken  (1 1/2 pounds)
8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
6 oz crushed Frito's ( yummy without so if you are counting calories - just skip it).

Heat oven to 450.
Combine broth, rice corn, beans, salsa. Pour into a 9x13 pan. Bake for 15 minutes.
Stir chicken into dish and sprinkle cheese over the top and then the Fritos. Bake 8-12 more minutes until edges are bubbly and crumbs are toasted. 

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