In the Kitchen: Santa Fe Chicken

7 Comments

This week, Santa Fe Chicken – quick and yummy, this meal couldn’t get much easier! It makes enough to easily serve four or you can save the leftovers for another meal or a quick lunch.

Total time:  About 20 min  |  Serves 4

What you’ll need:
• skinless boneless chicken, 3-4 tenderloins or 1-2 breasts
• 15 oz can black beans
• 15 oz can sweet corn with peppers (or Mexicorn)
• 15 oz can diced tomatoes with chilies
• 4 oz can chopped green chilies
• 1/3 cup shredded pepper jack cheese (more if desired)
Cut thawed chicken into small cubes and cook in a deep skillet. 
Season chicken with about 1/4 tsp each of garlic powder, onion powder, black and red pepper mix, cilantro and a few shakes of red pepper flakes. It may seem like a lot of seasoning for the chicken but it gets watered down once you add the other ingredients. 
Once the chicken is almost done, add the green chilies, undrained, and heat until the chicken is cooked through. Next add the diced tomatoes and black beans, undrained, and the corn, which needs to be drained. Simmer until heated throughout. 
Give it a taste and you may want to add a few shakes of salt or more seasoning depending on preference. 
Add shredded cheese to pan and stir until melted. I use pepper jack but cheddar would work well also.
Serve over hot white rice with a dollop of sour cream, if desired, and Fiesta Breadsticks – yum! 

In the Kitchen: Easy Fiesta Breadsticks

9 Comments
Welcome to a new series for 2009 all about the one thing I love more than making jewelry – eating! Well… and cooking, but mostly eating. Every other Tuesday, opposite my featured artists, I will feature a new recipe with how-to photos or fun kitchen related finds. You can easily access these posts anytime with the links under In the Kitchen Series in the right sidebar.
This week, easy Fiesta Breadsticks – they’re a yummy appetizer & snack or perfect with any spicy dish.
Prep time: 5 min  |  Cook time: 11 min |  Makes 4 breadsticks

What you’ll need:
• 1 package refrigerated crescent rolls
• taco seasoning
• shredded monterey jack cheese

On a small cookie sheet, unroll the crescent roll dough, keeping two wedges together as shown above. You will get 4 breadsticks from a standard package of 8 rolls. You may need to flatten or reshape the sections after unrolling. Also make sure the two wedges are connected well, you don’t want any gaps. You can overlap the two wedges a little and press them together along the seam if needed. 
Sprinkle with the desired amount of taco seasoning.
Next, add the shredded cheese down the center. I prefer monterey jack but these would be equally delicious with other types of cheeses as well. I like a good amount of cheese but if you use too much they are hard to close and break open when cooking. 
Fold each side of the dough up and press the seam closed. Be sure to also press the top and bottom closed or the cheese will leak out. Sprinkle a bit more taco seasoning on top.

Bake at 375° for 11 min. or until the dough begins to brown.
Serve warm and enjoy! These breadsticks have quickly become a favorite in my house. I always serve them with my Santa Fe Chicken, which I will feature next time on February 3. Be sure to stop back!