Chicken Taco Pizza :)

I made this a few weeks ago and brought some for lunch the next day. The two boys that sit next to me at lunch ALWAYS try whatever I make. They are in love with this pizza! They ask for it everyday!! They saw me putting recipes up during planning period yesterday and immediatly told me to write out this recipe. sooooo... here I am typing a recipe for chicken taco pizza, for anyone interested.

Pizza Pizza?!

1 pizza crust (you can make your own, or buy a can of dough from the store and roll it out)
1 can of green salsa (or you can make my tomatillo sauce from the Mexican Manicotti blog)
1 rotisserrie chicken, stredded
1 packet of chicken taco seasoning (or the packet of your choice)
1 block of pepperjack cheese, shredded

Special Gadgets
1 pizza tray ( i prefer to use the round ones with holes, because i like a thin and crispy crust - you can also use a pizza stone)

Roll pizza crust into desired shape (for me, a large circle).
Place shaped dough on pizza tray and bake on 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
While your dough is baking, take shredded chicken and mix in seasoning packet with a little bit of water (enough to allow the seasoning to coat all of the chicken).
Remove from oven.
Pour on a light coat of green salsa.
Place seasoned chicken on top of salsa.
Scatter cheese on top and bake for 10-15 minutes or until all cheese is melted and bubbly.

From here on, it's up to your imagination.
You can place lettuce, tomatoe, avocado, sour cream, etc. on top and serve, or just eat it as is (which i prefer!).

Serve with a tossed salad!

Mexican Manicotti

I tried out this dish a few weeks ago and it was supurb : ) I found a recipe that hinted at this idea but I didn't like all of the ingrediants. Therefore, I took the idea and created a recipe.

Warning: when i cook, i rarely use measuring utensils so i really have no clue as to the exact amount of anything... sorry. also, i love garlic and spicy so if you do not, you may need to alter the amounts of those ingrediants.

Pasta
12 manicotti noodles
1 pack of cream cheese, softened
1 8 oz. container of sour cream
1 packet of taco seasoning (or fajita, chicken taco, etc.)
1 rotisserie chicken with all of the chicken picked off
1 shallot, diced finely
3 cloves of garlic, dices finely
olive oil
sredded pepper jack cheese (a mexican blend will do)
1 can of rotel tomatoes, strained

Tomatillo Sauce
8 tomatillos, in quarters
8 garlic cloves, smashed
1/2 red onion, in chunks
3 jalapenos, in chunks
olive oil

In a small roasting pan, place all incrediants for tomatillo sauce. Drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper and bake on 350 degrees for about 1 hour (or until all incredianrs are soft to touch). Add everything from roasting pan to a blender and blend until smooth (or chunky, if you like). Add salt and pepper, if needed. Set aside.

Boil manicotti in salted water until pasta is al dente.
Remove from stove and strain.
In a medium sauce pan, coat the bottom with a light layer of olive oil.
Add shallots and cook until translucent.
Add garlic and cook until soft.
Add cream cheese, sour cream, rotel tomatoes, and seasoning pack.
Heat until all ingrediants are happy : )(a little bubbly and all incorperated).
Add chicken and 2/3 of your shredded cheese to the cream sauce mixture.
It should be thick.

Now comes the fun part....
Stuff cream sauce mixture into the manicotti shells : )
Try not to break any of the shells.
Layer the manicotti in a 13 by 9 baking dish.
When all shells have been stuffed, pour your tomatillo sauce on top of the manicotti.
Sprinkle the last 1/3 of your shredded cheese on top.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 or until bubbly.
Serve with Spanish rice and Mexican cornbread.



In the picture, you will see red sauce. We tried it out with a store bought enchilada sauce. It was equally as good. So, if you do not have time to make the tomatillo sauce, a can of enchilada sauce will do the trick!