Mole Chicken (that's MO-lay)

I was so excited to find this recipe, being a huge fan of Red Iguana and their wide selection of fabulous mole sauces.  Most authentic moles are super complicated with tons of ingredients, this one does have a lot of ingredients but it's mostly stuff you'd have in your pantry already.  The original recipe is from Slow Cooker Revolution by America's Test Kitchen.  Their line of cookbooks is my favorite because pretty much everything is amazing, having been tested numerous times.  My version just has some slight tweaks to make it more Red Iguana..

Your house is about to smell amazing!

Chicken Mole

(Although this is a crock pot recipe, it is important to cook the first set of ingredients in the microwave to really bloom the aromatics.)

Add to a medium microwavable bowl, stir, and microwave for 5 minutes:

2 onions, minced
2 T veg oil
2 T chili powder
2 T cocoa powder (Yes, cocoa. This is one of the key mole flavors.  No wonder I like it so much!)
3 garlic cloves, minces (or three tsp. bottled garlic)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
shake of ground cloves

Scrape cooked mixture into crockpot and then add:

2 C chicken broth, OR substitute 2 cups water with 2 tsp chicken bouillon
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1/2 C raisins (about two of those small boxes--don't worry, I hate raisins but we're going to blend this stuff later so you won't notice them)
1/4 C peanut butter
2 tsp minced canned chipotle chiles/peppers in adobo sauce (Don't let this ingredient scare you. It should be pretty easy to find in any supermarket in the Mexican foods section.  The key part to look for is the adobo sauce.  Since you are only going to chop up two teaspons of this, put the rest in a baggie, freeze it and save it for next time.) 
2-3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs (Since thighs shrink really bad, don't skimp on this or you won't have much meat.  Also, sometimes I throw in one chicken breast to have more of a mixture of light and dark meat.)
Generous dose of salt and pepper
2 T brown sugar

Cover and cook until chicken is tender, 4-6 hours.

Since we used chicken thighs, this is going to have a lot of grease on the top.  Skim this off with a ladle and discard (it's the shimmery stuff). 

Remove chicken, put on a plate for later.

Scoop sauce into a food processor or a blender (if you use a blender you probably need to do it in two batches on SLOW so it doesn't explode all over).  Blend until smooth and pour back into crock.

Shred chicken up with two forks, add back to crock and stir with sauce.  Let it simmer for another 15-30 minutes.  Stir in 2 sliced green onions.

Serve on white rice or Cafe-Rio cilantro rice.  A side of corn goes nicely (I like to stir mine in.)

Garnish with LOTS of AVOCADOS, sesame seeds.

Adrianne's Chicken & Dumpling Casserole

This is my best friend from high school's favorite dish, and she hand wrote out the recipe for me before I left for college.  It smells amazing and has also become the favorite dish of one or two of my children.  I like it because I usually have the ingredients on hand, it's inexpensive, and tastes marvelous.  

PS, a tip on Peas:  Don't let the peas throw you (if you don't like peas), mostly you taste the basil gravy.  Another huge pointer if you think you don't like peas is to always buy "Petite" peas or "Baby" peas.  They are way more tender and sweet, don't have that pasty texture, and just look fresher and more appetizing.  Not all grocery stores carry them so you kind of have to pay attention.  Also, NEVER use canned peas.  Gross.  Frozen, always, or fresh. 

Adrianne's Chicken & Dumpling Casserole

In a large pot or frying pan, saute in 1T olive oil:

3-4 chicken breasts, cut into cubes (or you could add chunked up rotisserie chicken and skip this step, needs about 4 C of chicken total.)
When the chicken is mostly done, add:
1/2 C chopped onion
1/2 C chopped celery
2 minced garlic cloves or 2 tsp garlic from a jar
1/4 C butter

Stir frequently to keep this from scorching.  Before the butter is all cooked down, add:
1/2 C flour.  Stir this in well to combine with the butter, making a roux (thickening sauce).

Now stir in:
4 C chicken broth (or 4 C water with 4 tsp chicken bouillon)
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp pepper
1 small pkg (10 oz) frozen green peas

Heat and stir occasionally until bubbling and thickened.

While this is heating up, quickly make the dumpling batter in a medium mixing bowl with a large spoon:
2 C bisquit mix (Bisquick)
1 tsp basil
Stir in enough milk until sticky texture


Pour your chicken/gravy/peas mixture into a 9x13 casserole dish.  Drop dumpling mix onto casserole by tablespoon until evenly distributed.  (The dumplings will expand while baking and rise to the top better.)

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes until dumplings are golden brown.

"Boats" (Stuffed Jumbo Pasta Shells)

The music is usually on at our house, but when I make Italian food, I turn on the opera channel.  It's just so much more fun to fling mozzarella when Pavarotti is belting it out..  The kids roll their eyes but I know they secretly like it because they will come up to me with a big expectant smile, "Mom, is it Pasta Night??"

 Affectionately named "Boats" by one of my children because of the shape, this is one of our family's favorite pastas.  The ingredient list is simple, and you probably won't even have to chop anything, but you will get your hands dirty.  The basis for this recipe contributed by my friend Michelle Brown, who certainly knows her way around the kitchen.  Turn up the music!

Boats

Fill a large pot almost half full with water and bring to a boil.  This is for your pasta.  Dump in:
1 large box of Jumbo Shells pasta.  You'll want to boil this about 8 minutes maybe, or until the noodles are al dente (still just a teeny bit tough). 

While the pasta is cooking, make the filling in a medium mixing bowl:

1 cup shredded Mozzarella (finely shredded works a little bit better here, but whatever.  Also, you need to save about another cup out to sprinkle on top when you're done assembling.)
1 jar Alfredo sauce
2-3 cans cooked chicken, drained and flaked apart with a fork (I actually rarely use the canned chicken because, although super easy, it is more expensive.  The canned would be a great option if you are wanting to use your food storage.  If you want to just use 2-3 chicken breasts instead, an easy way is to boil them or saute them, then chop them up fine.  I use my favorite slap-chop tool for this to get it really fine.  Every kitchen needs a slap-chopper!)
1 can mushrooms, finely chopped (Optional.  I only do this about one time out of three.)
Stir until well combined.

By now your pasta should be done.  Drain it and rinse it in a strainer with some cold water so you can handle it comfortably.  You are ready to assemble the casserole.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Pour half of 1 jar or can of spaghetti in the bottom of a casserole dish.  I like to use a large, round, deep one for most of my casseroles (partly because you use a lot less cheese to top with because there is less surface area), but a 9x13 would work fine and have a shorter cooking time.

Get a tablespoon (soup spoon style, not an actual measuring spoon), scoop up some filling, and scrape it out into each "boat" noodle, kind of tucking the sides of the noodle a little bit closed when you are done (especially if the noodle is ripped.  Ripped still works great, no worries.)  Plop the stuffed noodles onto the bed of sauce in the dish.

(If I was super fancy I would tell you to put all the filling into a pastry bag, or at least a Ziplock with the corner cut off, and squeeze the filling in this way, but the beauty of the jumbo shells instead of manicotti or something is that you can just use a spoon and it goes a lot faster.)

When you are done filling the shells (it's okay if you end up with a few empties, just stir them in with the rest), pour on the other half of the spaghetti sauce and top with about 1 cup mozzarella.  The sauce will leak down into the noodles while it bakes.

Cover and bake for about 35-45 minutes or until cheese is melted and center noodles are hot and melty.  The deep casserole dish will need a longer baking time.  If you like the crunchy noodles and browned cheese effect (I don't particularly) uncover for the last 10 minutes or so.

Serves 6.

Artichoke Spinach Dip (Let's start with the A's)

In a medium bowl, stir:

1/2 C shredded mozzarella
1/2 C mayo
1-2 tsp Dijon mustard
(Grey Poupon is fine, but you can do just as well with a cheap generic, or even regular mustard in a pinch)
1 14 oz can Artichoke hearts, drained and chopped small.  Do not use the marinated kind in a jar, they taste different and are packed in oil.
1 C loosely packed, chopped spinach or frozen spinach
1/2 C finely chopped red onion
1/2 C sour cream or subst. plain yogurt
1/2 C grated Parmesan

Stir well.  Spread in 9 inch pie plate or oval baking dish.  Sprinkle with a little more Parmesan.

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees 15-20 minutes.  Serve immediately because this cools fast.  If you take it to a party, etc., you will probably have to heat it up again for a few minutes so the cheese is still melty.  Keeps for about a week refrigerated.

Serve with Triscuits, crackers, corn chips or for an extra nice showing, wide sliced carrot "chips".

Pictures will follow the next time you invite me to a party and ask me to bring some!