Chicken Taco Quiche

This recipe is courtesy of Taste of Home Simple and Delicious February 2008 - I will be making this tonight so will keep you posted on how it turns out. 

Prep: 20 minutes

Bake: 35 minutes

2 unbaked pastry shells (9 inches)

2 cups cubed cooked chicken

2 envelopes taco seasoning, divided

2/3 cup salsa

2 cups (8 ozs) shredded cheddar cheese

8 eggs

2 cups half and half cream

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1 can (4 ozs) chopped green chilies

1/2 cup sliced ripe olives

Line unpriced pastry shells with a double thickness of heavy- duty foil.  Bake at 400 ° for 4 minutes.  Remove foil; bake 4 minutes longer.

In a small bowl, combine chicken and one envelope taco seasoning; spoon into pastry shells.  Top with salsa and cheese.  In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, cream, butter and remaining taco seasoning.  Stir in chilies and olives.  Pour over cheese.

Cover and freeze one quiche for up to 3 months.  Cover edges of remaining quiche loosely with foil; place on a baking sheet.  Bake at 400º for 33-35 minutes or until knife inserted in near the center comes out clean.  Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

To use frozen quiche: Remove from the freezer 30 minutes before baking (do not thaw).  Cover edges of crust loosely with foil; place on a baking sheet.  Bake at 400º for 70-75 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean.  Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

Yield: 2 quiches (6 servings each).

Southwestern Casserole

So, I have decided that Fridays are going to be Freezer Fridays.  By this I mean that all recipes that I post on Fridays will either freeze well, or will make enough for two meals meaning you can freeze one.  I will let you know whether I have tried this before and will try and rate it 1-5 (one being the lowest, 5 being the highest).  Without further ado - here is the recipe for Southwestern Casserole:

1   package (7 ounces) elbow macaroni   2 lbs    ground beef   1   large onion, chopped   2   garlic cloves, minced   2   cans (14-1/2 ounces each) diced tomatoes, undrained   1   can (16 ounces) kidney beans, rinsed and drained   1   can (6 ounces) tomato paste     1   can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies, drained   1- 1/2 tsp    salt   1 tsp    chili powder   1/2 tsp    ground cumin   1/2 tsp    pepper   2 cups    (8 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese   2   jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped

1 Cook macaroni according to package directions. Meanwhile, in large saucepan or Dutch oven, cook beef, onion and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the tomatoes, beans, tomato paste, chilies and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Drain macaroni; stir into beef mixture. 2 Transfer to two greased 2-qt. baking dishes. Top with cheese and jalapenos. Cover and bake at 375° for 30 minutes. Uncover; bake 10 minutes longer or until bubbly and heated through. Serve one casserole. Cool the second casserole; cover and freeze for up to 3 months. 3 To use frozen casserole: Thaw in the refrigerator for 8 hours. Cover and bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until heated through.

Servings: 12

I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but it is on my menu this week - I will try to let you know how it turns out.  I am looking forward to making these freezer recipes, and easy way to stock up the freezer with meals that just need to be heated.  Happy Friday:)

Note:  I finally made this last night (4/21) and my family really enjoyed it.  I did have a few cans of Mexicorn laying around and added that and for the seasoning I used a packet of chili seasoning.  To save on cost I also halved the hamburger and doubled the pasta - there still seemed to be plenty of meat, at least for me.  This one will definitely be making the menu again:)