Chicken Dinner Emergency!

You’ve had a dinner emergency, right? I had one last night. “Oh my gosh I thought we had pasta!” And then it was, “I thought I had a can of cream of mushroom soup; now what do I make for dinner!”

You should have seen me last night, eyes bugging out as I surveyed my pantry. I had leftover chicken thighs, and thought I would make either a casserole, a quick chili, or chicken spaghetti.

Slight problem. I didn’t have any cream of mushroom soup. I also struck out on the pasta. And I had no crushed tomatoes left to make an easy chili. Drat! When it’s 5:00 p.m. and you realize these facts, you don’t want to run out to the grocery store. My situation reminded me of that Food Network TV show, Dinner Impossible. You know, the show where you enjoy laughing at the chef who is faced with what seems like an impossible dinner task?

I only had a can of diced tomatoes, half a package of flour tortillas, black beans, refried beans, an onion, 2% shredded sharp cheddar cheese, a very small amount of fat free sour cream, frozen corn, fresh broccoli, and spices. Of course, I also had my main ingredient, the leftover (already cooked) chicken thighs.

After assessing my ingredients, I decided to make a quesadilla, also known as a Mexican pizza to my kids. Everyone loved it. I think you’ll love the crunchy texture of the toasted tortilla, and the smooth taste of the refried beans. The tang of the diced tomatoes is balanced by small amount of sugar and the sweetness of the corn kernels. All of the ingredients together, combined with the slightly sharp flavor of the shredded cheese, made for a delicious quesadilla. In about half an hour, I had dinner on the table. I love happy endings!

Chicken Quesadilla with side of Black Beans

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Serves 4

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Ingredients

• 2 cups diced (already cooked) chicken thigh meat
• 15 ounces petite diced tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/3 cup frozen corn
• 6 ounces fat-free refried beans
• 1/3 cup fat-free sour cream
• 1 cup 2% reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese
• 4 Flour tortillas

Over low heat, heat diced tomatoes and chicken. Add sugar, chili powder and spices. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add the corn. Stir. Heat an additional 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set tortillas on it. Spread sour cream on four tortillas, face up.

Use either a slotted spoon or a colander to drain the tomato juice from the chicken and tomato mixture (you want to avoid a soggy tortilla). Take the drained chicken and tomato mixture and place it on the prepared tortillas. Top with shredded cheese. Scoop refried beans on top of the cheese. Top with a tortilla (sour cream side down) and press down on the tortilla to mash the refried beans down. Repeat with second tortilla. Bake for 10 minutes. Serve with black beans and broccoli. Enjoy!

Black Beans

Preheat small pot on low heat.

Ingredients

• 1/2 large onion, diced (about 1 cup)
• 15 ounces can black beans (undrained)
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

Add EVOO. When pot is warm, add onions and saute for 10 minutes. Add can of black beans. Stir. Let simmer 10-20 minutes. Enjoy!

What is your dinner emergency story?

Photos by Kelly Estes