Recipes from the Twit Army Mess Hall - Baked Chicken in Salsa

This is a 'down & dirty' quick recipe for when you want a hot meal & there is no time to cook.

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken (I keep a sack of breast tenders in the freezer just for this but you can use anything)
2 c. of salsa (again, any type you want but don't use a fresh, or 'raw' salsa. If your salsa is extremely smooth I'd suggest adding some corn or chopped tomatoes to it to add some texture) I use Whole Foods 'Roasted Corn Poblano' salsa
1 c. shredded, mexican style cheese, optional
sliced black olives, again optional

Preparation:

Put the chicken in a pan large enough to hold it in a single layer, pour over the salsa & then the cheese & olives, if using. Bake in a 350 degree oven until done. About 25 minutes for breast pieces & 30 - 35 for thigh meat.

Serve.

Easy isn't it.

Recipes from the Twit Army Mess Hall - Layered Bean Dip Casserole

Ingredients

1 can of refried beans (type is your choice, i.e. spice, fat free etc.)
1 tbl taco seasoning (I use Penzy's)
1 lb ground meat (Again, I use chicken but beef or pork will work also)
2 - 3 tbl. chili powder
3/4 c. warm water
1 can corn with peppers, drained
2 c. shredded 'mexican style' cheese
1 c. black olives, sliced

Healthy version
1.5 c. lettuce shredded
1 medium tomato chopped

Fun version

1 bag of tortilla chips (what ever type you like, I use "Scoops", just NOT Fritos (tm))

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Brown meat in saucepan, when about 1/2 way there add the onions and continue browning until the meat is cooked and the onions are soft but not browned (You may need to add some oil to cook the onions depending on how lean the meat is). Mix chili powder with water and stir to remove lumps, mix into meat/onion and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and add the corn.

Put the bean in the bottom of a 9 inch deep dish pie plate or similar sized casserole, mix in the taco seasoning and mash together until reasonably smooth. Spread around bottom of pan and cover with 1/2 of the cheese.

Pour the meat/onion/corn mixture over the cheese layer and spread out evenly. Cover with the rest of the cheese and put the olives on top.

Bake in oven for 30 minutes or until hot & the cheese is melted and somewhat brown.

Serve by scooping up through all the layers and putting it on top of the lettuce, then adding tomatoes or by serving along with the chips.

Serves 4

This makes up well ahead of time and will keep for a few days. Just hold off on the final cooking until you're ready to serve.