Chicken Garcia

One of my favorite types of foods is casseroles...all of them. If it has some sort of creamy soup as an ingredient and involves layers and baking, count me in. That being said, this recipe is one of my favorites. Just a warning, like most casseroles, it makes a TON of food and makes great leftovers.

Chicken Garcia
Preheat oven to 400 degrees

4lbs chicken tenders, boil the chicken and then shred it (if chicken is frozen, be sure to thaw first) 1 lg bag of shredded cheddar cheese

1 family size can cream of chicken soup

1 family size can cream of mushroom soup

1 lg jar Pace picante sauce (mild, medium or hot)

2 dozen corn tortillas

Cut the tortillas in triangles
Combine soups, picante sauce and cooked/shredded chicken
In a casserole dish cover bottom with a layer of the cream and chicken mixture, then a layer of cheese, then a layer of tortillas, repeat all layers until everything is gone, then cover entire mixture with cheese
Cover with tinfoil and bake 30 to 40 minutes @ 375 degrees

So You Think You Can Dance

Summer is here and so is my favorite TV show, So You Think You Can Dance. I am loving every minute of it, especially when one of my long time fellow dancers, Ade, made the top 20 last night. If you don't watch the show, you should and if you watch it this season you should vote for Ade.

So here's my shout out to Ade. You are amazing and I can't wait to watch you rock that stage!

Things I love :: A Great Party & My Mom

This was a whirlwind of a weekend, but it was an unforgettable one. First, we had a fabulous block party for my Stepdad Gary. He is finally retired from serving 30 years as a Phoenix Firefighter and man did he go out with a bang! We had two live bands, some amazing food, and plenty of liquor for everyone. Without exaggerating there at any one time were 300-400 people there to celebrate. It was a fabulous party and we plan on finding an excuse to throw one every year. Here are some pictures from the party.

My cousin Katie & I pretending to be firefighters

Cousins


Gary & Friends


Mom's work friends


Chris, Kent, Jaci & I

My cousins Pat & Staci with my Aunt Jodi & second cousins Elle & Patrick

Mother's day was a blast too! We had lunch with the in-laws at McCormick & Schmick's, one word, delicious! Then Chris & I went to see Star Trek. Now I'm not much for movies like that, but I have to say it was pretty good. A girl can only take so many fight scenes and laser guns before it gets old. Then I wrapped the night up with a spaghetti dinner with my mom and family. It was a pretty nice little weekend.


I hope you all had a great weekend, especially all you mothers!

Love,

Nicki

Tasty Thursdays :: Creamy Pear, Mint & Lemon Tortellini

My amazing husband decided to make this dish for dinner last night and it was delicious. We both agree that it needed some chicken, but other than that it tasted amazing!

Creamy Pear, Mint and Lemon Tortellini
1 pound cheese-filled tortellini
2 unripe pears, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 pound grated Gruyere cheese, plus two tablespoons to garnish
1/4 pound Taleggio cheese
Salt and pepper
10 large mint leaves, chiffonaded (cut into thin strips)
1 lemon's worth of grated zest

Set a large pot of salted water to boil and follow directions on the tortellini package to cook. Meanwhile, In a large skillet, heat olive oil and sauté pears until they begin to soften about two to three minutes. Add cream and cheeses to pears and cook, stirring often until sauce begins to thicken. Add salt and pepper to taste. Drain pasta, toss with olive oil to keep from sticking and add to pan. Toss to coat. Turn off heat and add mint and zest, tossing to distribute evenly.

Distribute evenly on plates and garnish with remaining cheese.

Picture Perfect Tuesday :: Prom

Wow was this weekend full of adventure! With an event for work, Easter, and Kaitlyn's senior prom, our weekend was busy, busy, busy! I have so many pictures from this weekend's series of events, but I thought I would share with you how beautiful my sister-in-law looked as she headed off to her last high school dance. Kaitlyn...you looked amazing!

Tasty Thursdays :: Panko Chicken

So per usual I was struggling to figure out what to make for dinner so I browsed around one of my favorite websites, www.foodnetwork.com, when I came across this recipe for Panko Chicken with a tomato wasabi sauce. I was skeptical at first, but I gave it a try anyway. Just to let you in on some changes I made. 1. I used chicken tenders instead of breasts 2. I paird this with mashed potatoes and it was delightful. In short, it was amazing! So I thought I would share it with you and hopefully you like it as much as we did.

For chicken:

• Cooking spray
• 6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, about 5 ounces each
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup panko crumbs or unseasoned dry bread crumbs
• 1 cup grated Parmesan

For spicy tomato sauce:

• 2 cups canned or jarred tomato sauce
• 2 teaspoons wasabi paste
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.

For the chicken:

Season both sides of chicken with salt and black pepper. Place flour in a shallow dish. Place eggs in a separate shallow dish. Combine panko crumbs and Parmesan in a third shallow dish. Dip chicken first in flour, then in the egg and then panko crumb mixture. Transfer chicken to the prepared baking sheet and spray the surface with cooking spray. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until chicken is golden brown and cooked through. Remove from oven.

For the sauce:

While the chicken is cooking, in a small saucepan, combine tomato sauce, wasabi paste, sugar, chili powder, and cumin. Set pan over medium heat and bring to a simmer, for 10 minutes. Remove pan from heat

Picture Perfect :: The Body of Christ

As the season of Easter quickly approaches, I thought I would share one of my most favorite religious photographs. This picture of the Holy Eucharist is so powerful and creates an undeniable focus on the most important part of this picture, the body of Christ. Simply looking at this picture humbles my heart. I hope everyone has had an amazing Lenten season and is ready for Easter!


P.S. If you are looking for an online mini bible study, check out www.adoreworship.com and click on the Lenten Journey.