Chicken Chili

Sort of like chili. 

I was experimenting again!  I had some leftover chicken from my Roast Chicken* and was trying to think of something to do with it, that was also low-carb / Atkins friendly. 

Scrounging around in the fridge, I found:

Most of a jar of green taco sauce;
Some sandwich peppers left in the jar, that my husband won’t be eating since he doesn’t take sandwiches in his lunch anymore;
A  bag of frozen mixed vegetables;
A partial bag of frozen yellow squash.

I threw it all together in a skillet, but realized it still needed something.  After my husband got home, we figured that some tomatoes would help.  So I bagged up dinner, stuck it in the fridge and a couple of days later we made it to the store.

I grabbed:

A large can of diced tomatoes;
A medium can of tomato paste;
A package of pre-sliced mushrooms;
A bunch of cilantro.

I tossed everything in my crock pot, and let it simmer overnight.  It actually turned out pretty good!  We had it on low-carb tortillas, but I put it over rice for the kids.  I think it would also go really well over any kind of noodle – spaghetti, macaroni, etc.  I also topped it with some shredded Monterey Jack/Cheddar cheese combo we found at the store. 

So, no beans and no chili sauce or powder, but it still had a chili sort of flavor.  According to my husband.     I got a few leftovers cleared out of the fridge in the process too. 

*Actually, you can use any leftover chicken, or fresh chicken cooked, and cut into small pieces.  Just be sure to remove any remaining skin. 

Tomato Chicken

So, there I stood in the kitchen, staring at the chicken breasts I’d thawed a couple of days ago.  What to do, what to do?

I found: tomatoes that needed to be used soon; a little can of tomato paste; a jar of mayo that needed that last bit used up; and some mozzarella cheese that wasn’t so great for snacking but would be good for cooking.

This is what I came up with.

I mixed the tomato paste with some mayo, roughly equal parts, maybe more mayo than tomato paste.  Added some cream, just a splash to make mixing easier.  To that I added a hint of garlic, some parsley, and some basil.  I spooned that over the  chicken, put slices of tomato on top, topped that with slices of mozzarella, and then generously topped the whole thing off with parmesan. 

It turned out pretty well.  I think you could substitute the mayo with cottage cheese, ricotta, even sour cream.  I just happened to have mayo on hand.  And certainly you could add more herbs if you wanted a stronger Italian flavor.

Plus, it’s Atkins (low carb) friendly. 

~~Ness~~