Chicken & Mango Salsa Tortilla Stack

Not sure how the weather is in your corner of the world but today is horrible here in Chicago. I’m so thankful I did all my grocery shopping and errands yesterday before the big ‘blizzard’ hit!

To make some room in my freezer, I roasted a large chicken last night which I coated with a cinnamon chipotle rub and stuffed with 2 chopped limes. Delicious! We enjoyed some of the chicken for dinner yesterday with leftover Arroz con Gandules. I actually roast meats quite a bit for a few reasons…

1. Often times, large cuts of meat (pork, beef, chicken) cost less per pound than others.
2. Roasting a large cut of meat allows me to be creative and make other dishes using leftovers… stretching the cost a bit more!

So with leftovers of this Cinnamon Chipotle Lime Chicken on hand, I took a peek in my fridge to see what I could come up with. The Pièce de résistance? … Chicken & Mango Salsa Tortilla Stack! It’s a common dish layering tortillas, salsa, cheese and meat which is then baked. Very similar to a lasagna only kept stacked.

Chicken & Mango Salsa Tortilla Stack
original Joelen recipe

1 cup Mexican blend shredded cheese
1-2 cups Mango Salsa (or whatever salsa you have on hand)
1 cooked roast chicken breast (or use rotisserie chicken)
5-6 corn tortillas (6 inch size)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a round baking dish, spread about 1-2 tablespoons of salsa.
Place one tortilla over the salsa coated dish.
Top with 1/4 cup of shredded cheese.
Top with another tortilla.
Top tortilla with slices of chicken until covered.
Spread a few tablespoons of salsa over chicken.
Top with another tortilla.
Continue layering and stacking in whatever way you’d like until all ingredients are used.
The top layer should end with a tortilla and enough salsa to cover the top.
Bake uncovered in preheated oven for 30-45 minutes.
Serve with sour cream, a sprinkling of shredded cheese and a dollop of guacamole.

Before…
….After!

Floribbean Holiday Party!

This year we wanted to celebrate the holidays with friends in a special way. To take our mind off the cold Chicago winter, we provided a bit of the tropics with our Floribbean menu. We chose this cuisine in honor of Florida… where we would have moved this past late November/early December. We decided to stay in Chicago after reviewing our work situations so here we are. We’re not sure if we will move in the future, but for the time being, Chicago is home.

We couldn’t have asked for a better holiday party with friends and good food. Here’s what I prepared with links to the recipes! (and a special thanks to my husband for helping out around the house to prepare while I was busy in the kitchen…)

Appetizers
shrimp ceviche
aloha bbq chicken pizza squares
mango salsa & chips
warm pineapple brie & crackers
empanadas

Salads
black bean corn salad
spinach orange cranberry salad
carribbean jerk chicken salad

Side Dishes
Congri (spanish rice, black beans & chorizo)
Arroz con Gandules (pigeon peas & rice)
Maduros (sweet plantains)
Tostones (green plantains)
Yuca w/Mojo

Main Dishes
Mojo Chicken
Guava BBQ Ribs
Jamaican Roast Pork
Citrus Flounder
Cuban Paninis

Desserts
Key Lime Pie Bars
Tres Leches Trifle
Creamy Tropical Fruit Salad

Drinks
DIY Caribbean drink bar
assorted wines
Caribbean punch

For holiday fun, we had our White Elephant Holiday Gift Exchange! Friends brought in a cooking/baking related gift… but it had to be something they already had. We all drew numbers and picked out a gift, with the option to swap a gift that was already opened. It was a lot of fun and some great gifts were received! Here are some of the great smiles of the night…