Recipe(tried): Chicken Chipotle Tortilla Casserole, Mexican Corn Rice, Mixed Greens with Tomatoes, Avocado and Orange Honey Garlic Vinaigrette, Glazed Lemon Sour Cream Pound Cake

Good Morning!

There's a hurricane out there brewing and the day is not looking good this far up...it is cloudy with occasional gusts of winds.

Tonight's dinner will have a Mexican flair to it...a neighbor brought us some vegetables and among the treasures is avocados! They are ripe and ready to be added to a salad with a vinaigrette dressing. I will make good use if them!

This dish is adapted from a recipe found in a regional cookbook from Highlands, NC called Wildcat Seasons. Their recipe uses 2 different types of canned cream soup and chili powder. I am going to substitute one canned soup for sour cream and use chipotle instead of chili powder for the heat. They also call for canned tomatoes with chilis but I am going to use some Rome tomatoes that I have. For dessert, a nice Lemon Sour Cream Pound Cake.

Here is the menu and the recipes.

Chicken Chipotle Tortilla Casserole
Mixed Greens, Tomatoes & Avocado Salad with Orange Honey Garlic Vinaigrette
Mexican Corn Rice
Glazed Lemon Sour Cream Poundcake

Enjoy Sunday!! Gina

Chicken Chipotle Tortilla Casserole

3 c. chopped or shredded chicken breasts, cooked
1 large onion, chopped
1 large bell pepper, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 c. mushrooms, sliced
1 10 3/4 oz. cream of chicken soup
1 lb. cheddar cheese, grated
8 oz. sour cream
2 14 1/2 oz. cans chicken broth
1 10 count dairy case pkg. corn tortillas
8 Rome tomatoes, chopped
1 t. more or less to taste chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (I empty the can in the blender and give it a whirl and keep in fridge for later use)

Saute onion, bell pepper, mushrooms and garlic in 2 T. olive oil til limp. Add shrredded cooked chicken and blend well together. Set aside.

Blend the soup, chipotle and sour cream together, set aside. Heat chicken broth and soak tortillas in warm broth until wilted.

In a 13x9-inch baking dish, layer half of the tortillas dripping with broth, half of chicken, half of soup mixture and a third of the cheese. Repeat layesr making sure tortillas are dripping with broth. Bake uncovered at 375 for 30 minutes. Sprinkle top with remaining cheese and bake 10 minutes longer. Serves 8

Mexican Corn Rice

2 scallions, chopped
1 small red bell pepper, chopped
1 T. butter melted
1 12 oz. can Mexicorn, drained
1 t. lemon pepper
1/2 t. coriander
3/4 t. oregano
1 t. salt
1 t. chopped parsley
1 c. rice
2 c. water

Bring the water and butter to a boil, add the rice and all other ingredients, stir, cover and bring down heat to simmer for 20 minutes. Uncover and fluff.

Mixed Greens with Tomatoes, Avocado and
Orange Honey Garlic Vinaigrette

Vinaigrette:
1/4 c. orange juice
1 t. honey
1 t. crushed garlic
salt and pepper to taste
2 t. red wine vinegar with garlic flavor
1 t. dijon mustard
1/2 c. olive oil

Whisk together the orange juice, salt and pepper, vinegar, garlic, honey and mustard. Blend well. While whisking vigorously, pour in slowly the olive oil and continue whisking til emulsified. Store in a glass jar til ready to use in refrigerator.

assorted greens
sliced chunks of tomato
sliced chunks of ripe avocado
handful of chopped scallions
small can of drained mandarins

Place greens in a large bowl, add tomatoes, avocados, mandarins and scallions. Toss with the vinaigrette.

Glazed Lemon Sour Cream Pound Cake

3 c. sugar
3 c. flour
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. baking soda
1 c. butter, softened
8 oz. sour cream
2 T. lemon juice
1 t. lemon rind
6 large eggs
1 t. vanilla extract

Place all ingredients in a the bowl of a heavy duty mixer, beat at low for 1 minute. Scrape down sides and beat at medium for 3 minutes. Spoon batter into a greasaed and floured 10-inch tube pan. Bake at 325 for 1 1/2 hours. Cool cake on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely. Drizzle all over with glaze.

Lemon Glaze:
1 c. powdered sugar
2 T. lemon juice
1/2 t. vanilla extract
1 t. grated lemon rind

Stir together the sugar, lemon juice and extract with a whisk til nice and smooth. Add lemon rind and blend well.