Mini Tex-Mex Chicken and Cheese Pies

This recipe and photos were provided by Sally Roeckell of Table and Dish and were originally published at 365Barrington.com as a part of the Heinen’s 4 P.M. Panic Series.

This week’s “4PM Panic” recipe offers, in a word, simplicity. It’s a dish that can be used for dinner then easily packed into tomorrow’s lunchbox. We’re pulling out the muffin tins to put our main course into a neat little package with Mini Tex-Mex Chicken and Cheese Pies.

Roasting a chicken is easy and it makes your home smell great but let’s be honest, it takes time. Time is something most of us just don’t have much of these days. Let Heinen’s do your roasting for you so you can put your efforts to more important things. There are so many meals you can make with the meat of a simple roasted chicken. Today I’m sharing one that tastes great right out of the oven and also the next day as a handheld snack.

As a bonus, I’m also sharing a quick and easy dessert. Well, in all honesty, it takes 5 minutes to create but about 4 hours to freeze. So, it’s not that quick but with a little planning, you can really surprise your family with this yummy treat. This week we celebrated my son’s birthday but why wait for a birthday? There’s always something to celebrate. It’s almost spring, that’s reason enough for me.

Mini Tex-Mex Chicken and Cheese Pies

Ingredients:

• 1 (1.3 LB) rotisserie chicken, shredded (skin and bones discarded)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded pepper jack cheese
• 1 (3 oz) can diced green chiles (optional!)
• 1/4 cup chipotle ranch dressing
• 1/4 cup cilantro, plus more for garnish *
• 1 cup Bisquick™ Original baking mix
• 1 cup milk
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup salsa of your choice

Note* If you are not a cilantro fan like several of the members of my family, you can substitute by using flat-leaf parsley. It adds a fresh, bright element to the dish.

Method:

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• In a large bowl, combine the shredded chicken, cheese, green chiles (if using!), chipotle ranch and cilantro.
• Mix together with your hands until well combined.
• In another smaller bowl, whisk together the Bisquick™, milk and eggs.
• Lightly coat a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray.
• Pour a Tbsp of the egg mixture into each muffin cup.
• Then place about 2 Tbsp of the chicken mixture on top of the baking mixture.
• Then spoon over 1 more Tbsp of the baking mixture on top of the chicken. (Continue for the remaining muffin cups.) Depending on the size of the chicken you use this recipe yields 12-18 muffins.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick is clean when inserted.
• Serve garnished with more cilantro and your favorite salsa!

Ice Cream Layer Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 pound cake (the pound cake at the store was much smaller than my loaf pan at home so I used two pound cakes and pieced the layers together.)
• 2 quarts of your favorite ice creams…we used cookies and cream and salted caramel.
• 4 peanut butter cups roughly chopped.
• 1 cup of assorted candies roughly chopped. We used Kit Kat bars, Butterfingers and Rolos.
• One Chocolate shell ice cream sauce. The kind that hardens. Caramel or chocolate sauce for serving.

Method:

• Slice the pound cake horizontally into 3 pieces.
• Place the first slice in the bottom of a loaf pan lined with plastic wrap. Cover the cake with ice cream followed by three-quarters of the chopped peanut butter cups.
• Add a second layer of cake, cover with ice cream again and top with three-quarters of the assorted chopped candies.
• Place the last layer of cake on top, followed by more ice cream. Cover with the remaining candies then coat with the chocolate shell.
• Allow a minute for the shell to set. Fold over the plastic wrap and place into the freezer until frozen, about 4 hours.

ENJOY!

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