CHICKARITOS

PHOTO COURTESY OF TASTE OF HOME

CHICKARITOS from Taste of Home

Ingredients

3 cups finely chopped cooked chicken

1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies

1/2 cup finely chopped green onions

1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1 package (17-1/4 ounces) frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed or pie pastry for double-crust 10-inch pie

Guacamole

Salsa

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the chicken, chilies, onions, cheese and

seasonings. Chill until serving.

Remove half of the pastry from refrigerator. On a lightly floured

surface, roll to a 12-in. x 9-in. rectangle. Cut into nine small

rectangles. Place about 2 tablespoons of filling across the center

of each rectangle. Wet edges of pastry with water and roll pastry

around filling. Crimp ends with a fork to seal. Repeat with

remaining pastry and filling.

Place seam side down on a lightly greased baking sheet. Refrigerate

until ready to heat. Bake at 425° for 20-25 minutes or until

golden brown. Serve warm with salsa and guacamole. Yield: 1-1/2

dozen.

SLOW COOKER CHICKEN AND STRESS

I am making two meals in my slow cooker today because I am lazy and I am stressed the heck out. I have so much swirling around me that it feels like there is mass hysteria in my mind.  The 3 (nearly 4) year old does not want to potty train, while he has shown me he is quite capable of using the toilet he just does not want to and frankly I am tired of changing diapers. I have been changing diapers for nearly 8 years straight, I had a 2 month hiatus between Kaleb getting trained and the birth of Evan. I am through with changing his diapers, I have offered bribes which worked for a week now the bathroom is too much of an inconvenience again. He will just keep wetting his underware and having accidents I suppose WHATEVER!

Then Mister gets the Cub Scout den dropped in his lap coming on the end of the year. He agreed to take over the den for next year, but come to find out the previous leader is not even going to finish what was started and is just dropping the majority in Mister's lap. I got an email that infuriated me about how as a leader he would not attend the Blue and Gold Ceremony. Mister just agreed yesterday to take over now...after 2 weeks of this person not performing the duties and last minute dumping them on Mister. I am appalled that the comment was made after all the shortcomings this person has confessed.

Kaleb's teacher is a total waste of a year, she is so inconsistent and unreliable I am ready to call the principal on the lack of communication. I have not been given the courtesy of a return call that I requested twice now. I just have this feeling that she is less then enamored with Kaleb (which is whatever since you cannot like every child I suppose) and has not fostered an appropriate level of concern over his success in 2nd grade. I feel like he is being ignored and left to his own devices instead of being included in the classroom. I am seething, I feel the anger hot in my chest starting to fume.

So those being my major gripes for the time being I am lest then thrilled with making dinner. I threw 4 chicken breasts into the slow cooker, added about 2C frozen turkey stock (I made from Thanksgivings carcass) 3 cloves of minced garlic, 1 medium onion sliced, half a green pepper sliced and a 4oz can of green chilies with some water to cover the chicken. Then I mixed together my own fajita seasoning as follows...

FAJITA SEASONING

1 Tbsp cornstarch
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp oregano
1 cube chicken bouillon
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp sugar

Mix all ingredients together and store in an airtight container.

I set the slow cooker on low for 6 hours, seasoned with the fajita seasoning to taste, and I will shred it when it is done cooking. Tonight we will have chicken quesadillas and then later in the week I will use the rest of the shredded chicken to make chicken puffs (new recipe untested).

CHICKEN QUESADILLAS

2 chicken breasts, shredded
package of flour tortillas
1 can (16 oz ) refried beans
2 C shredded mexican cheese
1 medium tomato, diced
sour cream, optional

Place a flour tortilla on a cookie sheet, spread refried beans on tortilla. Personally I like a slightly thick layer of bean, maybe about 1/2 inch while the boys do not care for it at all. Then I place shredded chicken around on top of the bean, as much or as little as you want then cover with cheese, at least a cup's worth because this is what binds your quesadilla together. Quesadilla's are great because the preparer can make them to their liking with as much or as little of the ingredients as you want. Place another tortilla on top of that cheese and place in the oven 350 degrees until cheese melts about 10-15 minutes. Serve with fresh diced tomato and sour cream .

TANGY CHICKEN BITES AND A SNOW DAY

Ok, I like these little tangy chicken bites served over a bed of rice, but the kids turn up their noses. Well, Kaleb does not, but Evan and AJ do and I think they are out of their minds. Thank you Linda Nichols Belon of Steubenville, Ohio for submitting it to Home Cooking Magazine.

TANGY CHICKEN BITES adapted from Home Cooking Magazine Dec. 2007

3 tbsp butter
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 C Dijon mustard
1/3 C cider vinegar
2 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp honey
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes

Melt the butter and sesame oil in a pan. Add cayenne pepper, Dijon mustard, cider vinegar, brown sugar, honey and soy sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add chicken and cook until chicken is cooked through. Serve with the sauce over a bed of rice or egg noodles.

Well here I am in the midst of yet another snow day for Kaleb. Thank goodness for Super Mario Brothers on the Wii because it is a small distraction for a few moments of priceless sanity. I love the boys, but they are trying to make me looney, it is a conspiracy. Last night Kaleb wakes up and comes into our room around midnight because his throat hurts (he has some kind of creeping crud) and after much convincing takes some medicine to help him sleep easier. In the meantime, he wakes AJ who sleeps in our room still so at 1:30 am I ended up downstairs with AJ wondering why in the world  some nights have to be so tough and why is it my boys seem to hate to sleep. Just about the time the sleep-deprivation crazies start setting in, I put AJ back down and have 20 minutes peace until Evan wakes up at 3 am. Yes I am in rare form today and the world seems slightly fuzzy to me and I have a cling-on in the form of a small blue-eyed boy. Wish me luck I am charging head-first into the madness.