Hey family!!! On this week’s What’s For Dinner we’re going Southwestern on y’all! We’re cooking up a Southwestern Casserole & Baked Southwest Chicken! BONUS! Dessert is also featured in this week’s episode! Raspberry Zinger Poke Cake! All links and recipes below!
Southwestern Casserole:
Ingredients:
2 cups (8 ounces) uncooked elbow macaroni
2 pounds ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (16 ounces) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chiles, drained
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
Directions
Cook macaroni according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, cook beef and onion over medium heat, crumbling beef, until meat is no longer pink. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Drain. Stir in next 8 ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Drain macaroni; stir into beef mixture.
Preheat oven to 375°. Transfer macaroni mixture to 2 greased 2-qt. baking dishes. Top with cheese and jalapenos. Cover and bake at 375° for 30 minutes. Uncover; bake until bubbly and heated through, about 10 minutes longer. Serve one casserole. Cool the second; cover and freeze up to 3 months.
To use frozen casserole: Thaw in refrigerator 8 hours. Preheat oven to 375°. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Cover and bake, increasing time as necessary to heat through and for a thermometer inserted in center to read 165°, 20-25 minutes.
Baked Southwest Chicken:
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast ( I used 4 because, boys… LOL!)
1 cup canned black beans rinsed and drained
1 cup corn see note
1 can diced green chiles
1/2 red bell pepper diced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 cup colby jack cheese shredded
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Mix the garlic powder, cumin, salt and pepper and set aside.
Combine the corn, black beans, green chiles, red bell pepper, and chopped cilantro and mix well.
In a large casserole dish, lay the chicken breast flat in the baking dish. Sprinkle with seasonings, then spread the corn mixture evenly over it. Add cheese to top it off.
Bake uncovered at 375˚F for 40-50 minutes or until the chicken has an internal temperature of 160˚F. If the cheese starts to get too brown for your liking, loosely cover with foil for the remainder of the cook time.
Raspberry Zinger Poke Cake:
Ingredients:
1 box (18.25oz.) white cake mix
Ingredients listed on box to prepare cake
1 box (3 oz.) raspberry flavored gelatin (Jello)
2 cups hot water
1 jar (10 oz.) raspberry preserves
1 tub (8 oz.) Cool Whip, thawed
1 bag (7 oz.) shredded coconut
Bake the cake according to package directions using a 9×13-in. baking pan.
After the cake has baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool for 30 minutes. Using the handle end of a wooden spoon or a meat fork, poke cake every inch or so with the handle of wooden spoon or tines of meat fork halfway into the cake. There is no set number of holes, but you want plenty of places to fill. Mix the raspberry gelatin with 2 cups of hot water until dissolved. Pour the Jello evenly over the cake, trying to fill the holes as much as you can.
In a small bowl, microwave the raspberry preserves until
easy to spread, about 30 seconds. Pour the preserves over the top of the cake and spread evenly. Top with Cool Whip. Sprinkle the shredded coconut over the top. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.
Store leftovers in the refrigerator.