Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Apple Chicken Quesadillas

Just got back from acupuncture. Terry laughed at me for being so excited about my new meal tonight! I really love cooking, I'm having a lot of fun with it.

Last night was Taco Tuesday. We had a few leftover tortillas. We also had some taco cheese. We've always got frozen chicken. We conveniently had a jar of salsa from a barbecue in the summer (no worries, it wasn't open). AND since it's the most beautiful season of the year (see photo below, this is right down the road from me), we have a TON of apples!


Thank you, John Bulmer (http://www.bulmerphotography.com/)

So, I didn't know what to make for dinner, but knew I was going to make something with chicken. I googled "fun chicken recipes" and BAM. Apple Chicken Quesadillas. So easy! And SO very delicious.

Prep: The recipe calls for pulled chicken. Have you ever pulled chicken? I didn't, that was new for us. Online, it's suggested that you boil the chicken or grill it. We have a foot of snow on the ground outside, so I wasn't going to make Nathan stand in the snow to grill (Sweet of me, right?). And boiling chicken sounded unappealing. So Nathan fried it up in the frying pan with a little oil. Once it was completely cooked through (no pink on the inside), he moved it to a plate. 5 minutes for the chicken to cool off, and then STAB it with a fork! And then, take another fork! And start yanking little pieces off. Shred it with your forks. We need practice on this, we ended up with chunked chicken, but it still tasted good.

Also, the apples need to be sliced. I was going to quarter them and then cut the quarters into pieces, Nathan didn't think that was a good idea. He cut his apple in half and then just cut slices like it was an onion. He's a better cook than me and he doesn't even try.

Ready to go! Heat up tortillas in a frying pan, one at a time. Flip them over a few times so they're heated on both sides. Once the tortilla starts bubbling, it's ready for cheese! Sprinkle taco cheese (Mexican-blend, whatever other kind of cheese you like) onto one half of the tortilla. Fold it in half. Flip it over a few times until the cheese melts. Then it comes out of the frying pan and onto your plate. Peel the tortilla open, the cheese should be coating each side. Put a layer of apple slices, a layer of pulled chicken, and some salsa on one half, and then fold the tortilla closed again. Tada. Love it? My favorite part is that the apples are not cooked in the frying pan, so they're not mushy. You still get a fresh, crunchy texture. The mix flavors and textures is just too good. I'm loving this easy, cheap recipe.

So, what's for dinner at your house tonight?

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Taco Tuesday!

Taco Tuesday! YUM!

One of my favorite ways to eat venison (because it barely tastes like venison) is as tacos! The first time we tried making tacos, we went to Price Chopper and bought the taco kit. It was expensive. And it wasn't really enough to leave us satisfied in the bellies. So, then we went to Sam's Club and bought everything in huge packages. That was way too much, we had leftovers for days. Tacos aren't the kind of thing you want to eat day after day.

So, we went to Price Chopper again. Bought a 10p of flour tortillas, PC taco cheese, kept the giant container of taco seasoning from Sam's (because that doesn't go bad), and bought a head of lettuce. And then, we were good to go. So that's how dinner tonight went.

The meat defrosted throughout the afternoon in a "cold water bath" in the kitchen sink. Nathan came home and started cooking the meat while I got everything else ready... The venison burger (prepared just like any other burger) gets browned in a frying pan, then drained. Then ¼ cup of seasoning per pound of meat and ¼ cup of water. Cook it all down. Once the water is cooked up and evaporated, you're good to go!

I chopped up the lettuce, got out the cheese, and heated up the tortillas. The packaging suggests putting the tortillas between 2 damp paper towels and heating them up in the microwave. I've never used the damp paper towels, the tortillas heat up fine without them.

We ate, they were delicious, they put us in good moods - as tacos usually do. And we actually ate at a decent hour, like 5 o'clock. That never happens anymore. It was nice.

So, what's for dinner at your house tonight?