Raspberry Chipotle Chicken Tacos

Anybody besides me love sweet & spicy together?  I love it!  In fact, my favorite candy is Hot Tamales.  This meal is the epitome of a harmonious sweet and spicy marriage.

This morning, I was trying to figure out what to make for dinner tonight.  This is a rarity for me because I almost always plan my menu before I ever go grocery shopping, but I am trying to use up what is in my pantry and freezers this week.  I remembered some boneless skinless chicken breast that I bought a couple of weeks ago on sale (it was buy one get one!).  What could I do with chicken....   I also remembered the raspberry chipotle salsa that was in the fridge.  Thus, the raspberry chipotle chicken taco was born!

I bought the salsa at a Le Gourmet shop.  You can also order it here: 

Ingredients:

2 T. oil (I used canola)
1 1/2 chicken breasts, diced
1 onion, chopped
1/2 bag of frozen mixed pepper strips

1 jar raspberry chipotle salsa
1/2 t. chipotle chili powder (if you don't have this, regular chili powder would work)
1/2 t. cumin
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. onion powder
salt to taste
tortillas

Procedure:

Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat.  Add chicken and cook until outside is browned.  Add onion and cook until translucent.  Add pepper strips.  Add a couple of tablespoons of the salsa.  Add all of the spices and stir to make sure evenly distributed.  Add the rest of the salsa.  Simmer for about 10 minutes.
Heat tortillas according to package directions.  Serve chicken mixture inside of tortillas.  I also put cheddar cheese and rice inside of my tortillas.  So yummy!

Arancini casserole

Arancini casserole

Last night I made this wonderful casserole.  It is based on arancini, a fried, stuffed, Italian rice ball.  It was so delicious!  The sausage adds a spiciness that is mellowed by the rice.  The peas add a sweet little pop to each bite...yum!

I made two casseroles out of this recipe.  Each casserole is 4 servings.  If you need more servings, you could use a 9 X13 pan and make one big casserole, just adjust the cooking time to 20 min with the foil and 10 without.

• 3 bags rice
• 1/2 lb (8 oz) Italian bulk sausage
• 1/2 lb (8 oz) 90% lean ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped 
• salt and fresh pepper
• 4 oz frozen peas (1/2 container)
• 16 oz tomato sauce (I used Classico Roasted Garlic sauce)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup shredded parmigiano cheese
• cooking spray
• 4 T breadcrumbs
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella

Cook rice in water according to package directions. Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, sauté sausage meat; cook until brown breaking up into pieces with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Add ground beef and onion and cook until browned, breaking up as it cooks. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then add peas and 8 oz tomato sauce and simmer on low, covered, about 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400°. In a large bowl combine rice, parmigiano, egg, and4 oz tomato sauce and mix well. Rice should be a bit sticky.

Spray 2 9X9 casserole dishes with cooking spray, making sure to spray sides too.

Take 1/4 of the rice mixture and cover the bottom of one of the casserole dishes,  pressing to form bottom layer.  Repeat in second dish.

Pour half of the meat and peas mixture in one dish and half in the other.

Sprinkle 1/2 c. of the mozzarella on top of each.  Take half of what is left of the rice mixture and spread it on top of meat mixture on one casserole, repeating with the second casserole.  Top with remaining 4 oz of tomato sauce (2 oz each), mozzarella (1/2 c. each), and breadcrumbs (2 T. each).

Cover with foil and bake 15 minutes.  REmove foil and bake 5 minutes more.

Enjoy!