Chicken Enchiladas

I found this recipe on Pinterest and decided to try it.

It's life changing. I dont like things that are spicy so I did change the recipe to my liking but I'm sure if you followed it to a tee it would still rock your world.

Chicken Enchiladas with Red Chile Sauce

Adapted from Pink Parsley

1 medium onion, chopped fine

! green pepper, chopped fine
1 teaspoon canola oil
3 medim cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
3 teaspoons sugar
1 15-oz can tomato sauce
1 cup water
1 large tomato, chopped
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (2 chicken breasts sliced into 4 thin pieces)
1 cup extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup monterey jack cheese, shredded (I used a mexican cheese blend)
1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro
12 (6-inch) soft corn tortillas
cooking spray
salt and ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 425.

Combine the onion, green pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and oil in a large saucepan. cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until the onions and peppers have softened, 8-10 minutes. Stir in the garlic, chili powder, cumin, and sugar, and cook until fragrant, less than 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato sauce, water, and chopped tomato. Bring to a simmer, and cook until slightly thickened, 5 minutes.

Nestle the chicken into the sauce. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until chicken is cooked through (thickest part reaches 160 degrees), about 12-20 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate, and set aside to cool.

Strain the sauce through a strainer into a medium bowl, pressing the onion mixture to extract as much liquid as possible. Transfer the onions to a large bowl and set aside. Season sauce with additional salt and pepper to taste.

Shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Add to the onin mixture, and add 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce, 1 cup cheese, and the cilantro. Toss to combine.

Stack the tortillas on a plate and cover with plastic wrap; Microwave on high until warm and pliable, 40-60 seconds. Spread the tortillas on a clean work surface, and spoon 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture evenly down the center of each.

Tightly roll each tortilla and lay seam-side down in a greased 9x13 inch baking dish.Lightly spray the tops of the enchiladas with cooking spray. Place in the oven, uncovered, for about 7 minutes, or until the tortillas start to brown slightly (skip this step if you don't like the crunch).

Reduce heat to 400. Remove enchiladas and pour sauce evenly on top. Top with the remaining cheese. Cover dish with foil, and bake an additional 20 minutes, or until heated through.

Remove foil and bake another 5 minutes, until cheese browns. Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes before serving.Serve with sour cream, guacamole, salsa, additional cilantro, etc.

10 minutes

I should have taken a picture of this, because it looked as delicious as it tasted. It was a complete experiment because I had a recipe for Sun dried Tomato Alfredo sauce over cheese ravioli that I could not find ANYWHERE. So I made a cheesy tomato sauce with chicken that was to die for.

Creamy Tomato Cheese Ravioli

1 bag frozen ravioli
1 bottle basil pasta sauce (I bought a fancy one because I price matched it)
2 oz cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tomato, finely chopped
1/4 onion, finely chopped
1 chicken breast, cooked and shredded (left over chicken really does the trick for this one)
Garlic powder

While you're waiting for water to boil for ravioli, start on the sauce. In a separate sauce pan, Saute onions in a tiny bit of olive oil until translucent. Next, pour in bottle of pasta sauce and all other ingredients. Season with garlic powder (I love me some garlic powder).
Dump in ravioli into boiling water according to directions on bag. drain and put back into sauce pan.
Once sauce thickens and turns an orange color, take off heat and pour over ravioli.
Wah-lah! You got yourself a 10 minute meal from prep time to finish that is sure to satisfy MOST eaters at your house!
You can't beat ten minutes. Or deliciousness.

Breakfast Cookies

Jackson wakes up every morning asking for cookies AS IF he's ever had cookies for breakfast or AS IF I'm going to give in one day. Well, the boy knows me well because I have given in and let the boy have a breakfast cookie.

I first heard of breakfast cookies from my SIL and after some minimal changes (mostly just adding more stuff) I came up with these!

They have tons of fiber and protein and I even got carrots and craisins in there so its a pretty rounded meal we have here.

Breakfast Cookies

1/2 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. smooth peanut butter
1 C brown sugar

1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 c. water
1 egg
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour

3 Tbsp. flax seed

1 C rolled oats
1 C Craisins (you can use raisins or choc chips too)

1 C Carrots, shredded

2 C Bran Cereal

1 C Cheerios

Preheat oven to 350. Beat butter and PB on high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking soda and salt. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl. Beat in water, egg and vanilla. Beat in flour until combined. Beat in oats and flax seed (you may have to do this by hand if it's getting too thick for the mixer), then fold in cereal, craisins, and carrots. Drop by scant 1/4 cupfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Maybe flatten slightly. Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Err on the side of undercooking so they stay softer. Store in tightly covered container.

They are super delicious and healthy so when your little boy wakes up asking for cookies, you can just hand him the freakin cookie and both start your day a little happier.

Dressing it up

I'm back!
I should begin by apologizing for the long break but we had a lot of stuff going on and I could not keep up with it all.

Here's what happens when you dont half of the ingredients for some delicious dressing. You just look in your pantry and take out things that sound like it would do the trick and then you just wing it.


Cilantro Lime Dressing

half a bunch of cilantro, chopped (or the whole bunch, depends on how cilantro-y you want it to be)
1 dry ranch dressing packet
1 C milk
1 C mayo
3 T lime juice
1 small can of chopped green chiles
garlic powder to taste.

Combine all and blend. You can stop there or add some hot sauce if you're feeling a little adventurous.
I usually am not.

Pour over your favorite salad, dip chips in it, or eat it by the spoonfulls.
I might have tried all of the above.

Lemon Veggie Chicken

I'm only ending this break because I made this delicious chicken in the crockpot.
I had a lot of produce that was close to its death date and we're moving so I had to use it.
Yeah we're moving. And I'm a jerk for not telling you before. I'll go into that later.
For now, just enjoy this easy recipe.

Lemon Vegetable Chicken
from: out of my butt

3 large frozen Chicken Breasts
1 onion
3 lemons
1 red pepper
1 zucchini
2 roma tomatoes
3 small carrots
1 can organic chicken broth
1/2 C cream cheese (I would have done an 8 oz block now)
1/4 C greek yogurt
salt, garlic powder and pepper to taste.

Spray crockpot. Put chicken in first, then chopped veggies. In a separate bowl, combine broth, cheese, yogurt and seasonings together, taste and pour over chicken and veggies. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Remove lemons. Season a little more. Eat whole breasts or shred and serve it over rice.

Easy! Now the hard part is getting my husband to eat all those veggies.

Arroz con Pollo

This has been a really common meal in my life.

I remember the week after we got back from our honeymoon and we were back to reality and married, the thing I was most worried about was if I could cook arroz con pollo well.

It's really really hard to mess this up, so I did pretty good.

The thing I love most about this is that its all one dish and there is veggies, rice and chicken. So you don't really have to make anything to accompany it.

Other than dessert, of course.

Arroz con Pollo

2 Chicken Breasts, cubed small and seasoned

1/4 C water

2 C rice

4 C water

1 large carrot, shredded

1 tomato, chopped

half green pepper, chopped

half large onion, chopped

** This is best if cooked in a wok, or a deep frying pan!

Chop and shred veggies above and set aside.

Cut Chicken into small cubes or strips, season with salt, pepper and garlic powder and cook on large frying pan (in a little bit of EVOO). When it no longer sticks to pan, add 1/4 c (or less) of water and cook for 5 minutes over high heat, stirring constantly until almost cooked thoroughly. Remove chicken from pan and set aside. There will still be a little bit of water at the bottom of pan (if there is too much, pour a little bit out). Pour vegetables in pan and cook until onion is translucent. Add 2 cups of rice and cooked chicken and saute for a minute or two. Add 4 cups of water and mix. Taste, and add any additional salt or garlic powder; let boil. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until water is absorbed.

Tadahh! Authentic latin food in a jiffy.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Bread Bowls.

Oh.
My.
Goodness.
These are DELISH.

I didn't have any broccoli, ham slices, heavy cream or swiss cheese, but I did have mozzarella cheese, ham chunks, milk and lots of love so that pretty much evens it out...right?! I recommend really seasoning the sauce. I did it with... you're right... garlic powder, pepper and salt. Seriously, we kept licking our fingers it was so good.
Try it! the yummy chicken and the crusty bread... SO good. I'd serve it with veggies on the side so you don't feel like a fatty afterwards.

Chicken Tacos

I've been taking pictures of all the food I've been making and THEN I went ot download them and they were NOwhere to be found. NOWHERE. So now I only have 2 of the recipes I meant to post.

This isn't in our menu (oops), but we were out of milk and couldnt make Tuna casserole. But we did have yummy tortillas (from Costco, have you tried them? YUM), and chicken and stuff for all the fixin's. Yeah, I just said fixins.

Chicken Tacos
2 Chicken Breasts (each breast sliced in half to make 4 thin chicken breasts and cut into cubes)
1 small onion, chopped
2 T butter
Garlic powder
Salt
Flour tortillas
Lettuce, chopped
tomato, chopped
1 carrot, shredded
1 green onion, chopped finely.

In a frying pan, saute onions in butter until translucent. Add chicken and season with salt and garlic powder. Cook for 6-7 minutes or until not pink in the middle.
Put aside.
Cook tortillas as directed on the package and fill with chicken, lettuce, tomato, green onions and shredded carrots.
Put some type of dressing on it (ranch, salsa), I use my mom's. Enjoy! Don't eat too many.

Southwest Shredded Chicken 3 Bean Chili

I'm getting pretty bored of my go-to recipes so when I saw this little twist on my normal taco soup, I had to give it a try.

I took it from here and didn't make any changes, except no hot sauce.

Now that I've tried it, I would have probably ommited one of the beans (it's too beany for my taste) and wouldnt have added so much cumin and chili powder. I like a lot of taste, but this just had a little too much.

Other than that, it was awesome! and James loved it.

Hope you like it too!

Applesauce Pancakes

Jackson refuses to be a baby.
That little stinker wants to grow up too fast.
There's only one little problem... he has no teeth.
He's all tough on the outside, until he flashes you a gummy smile.

He refuses to eat any baby food, and thinks its funny to spit it out in your face.
Or all over your clothes.
He actually laughs about it.

So I've said goodbye to homemade soups and purees (months ago)
and I basically feed him anything he can handle.
To him, having no teeth is not a problem. If you saw him chew his food, you'd think he had a full set of teeth in there.

I was looking for some healthy recipes and I came across these Applesauce pancakes. Don't ask me where, because I don't remember.
But the point is that they're good. really good and really healthy.
I might have ate a couple myself.

Applesauce Pancakes

1 cup flour (I used half wheat, half regular)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon melted butter
1/2 cup milk
1 beaten egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups applesauce

Sift flour, salt and baking powder into a medium mixing bowl. Combine butter, milk and egg. Stir into dry ingredients. Add vanilla and applesauce; beat well. Spoon batter into a hot, well greased griddle.
This makes 10 pancakes (I spooned 1/4 C servings unto griddle)
**Freezes Well**

Also, I've heard you can substitute the applesauce with baby food to make it a good lunch food. I haven't tried it, but I did add fresh blueberries to the mix and they turned out great.

*Remember to top your pancakes with a little shredded cheddar cheese ;)

I'm raising my boy RIGHT!

Menu

I just realized I haven't posted another 2 week menu! Sorry!
I've already started it, but forgot to fill you guys in.
I've decided to try out a couple of new recipes because I was getting bored with all the ones we already have. I'm excited to share what I thought about them with you!

2 Week Menu
Southwest Shredded Chicken 3 Bean Chili & Corn Bread
Steak and Baked Potatoes
Baked Penne with Chicken, Broccoli, and Smoked Mozzarella
Pizza Bites
Chicken Cordon Blu Bread Bowls
Tuna Casserole
Arroz con Pollo
Lentils & Rice
Baked Potatoes

BBQ Chicken Pizza

I've posted this recipe before.

It's easy and delicious! ANND you want to know what's genius?

I didn't want to make chicken for this recipe (I was beat) so I used left over chicken from my Chicken Quesadillas and I was able to not let that chicken go to waste ANND be super lazy and still make an awesome dinner.

I didn't even really feel a different flavor to the pizza because of my chicken alteration, if anyone was wondering.

So go ahead, put on your pj pants and relax. Dinner can be soo easy!

Gotta love lazy cooking!

Chicken Quesadillas

The other day we were at my sister-in-law's house, and she made these. So I decided to copy her.

Chicken Quesadillas
flour tortillas (or you could make them wheat!)
5 large chicken breasts, frozen
1/2 bottle salsa
1 c corn
1 c Beans
Cheddar cheese
and some butter

Put chicken breasts in crockpot and let them cook for about 6 hours on low.
Once its cooked through, remove fat andwater from crockpot and season chicken to your liking (you guessed, salt, pepper, garlic powder)
Pour salsa over chicken, as well as corn and beans.
Let it all heat up for about 30 minutes.

Now, pour some chicken mixture and some shredded cheddar cheese on a tortilla, and fold.
put a little butter on the outside and heat them up on a pan until golden brown, flip and repeat.
Eat up!

It makes a bunch of the chicken which is great for left overs and lunches for the next couple of days.

Cheater

I've been cooking, don't worry.

Just haven't had time to get on and show you.

Jackson had a little cold this week, which he then transfered on to me.

It was joyous. Really.

Anyway. This wasn't in my menu.

But James felt like it, and I really wasn't going to argue because it's good and I didn't have to buy any extra stuff to make it.

BBQ Chicken, Rice and Broc

There really is no recipe for this. Make the rice as it tells you on the package. Steam some broccoli and sprinkle some salt on it.

And chicken. Well season chicken with salt, pepper and garlic powder and brown on pan (about 6 minutes on each side?). When it's almost ready, add some bbq sauce to cover chicken and about 1/4 c of water. Put the lid on it and simmer on medium low heat for about 6 more minutes. Tadahhh!! done.

Ham & Broccoli Wreath

this is good and so. easy.

And it doesnt REALLY have to be shaped like a wreath (as you can see above because I only had one can of crescent rolls)!

Ham & Broccoli Wreath

2 can refrigerated crescent rolls

1/2 C ham chunks (they sell them cut really small and that's my fav to use)

1 1/2 C Broccoli, chopped

1/2 C Mozz Cheese (or you can use the Italian Blend and works really great too)

Garlic Powder to taste

salt to taste

Black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350.

In a bowl toss together ham, broccoli, cheese and seasonings to taste.

Open first can of crescent rolls and form a circle for bottom of wreath on a cookie sheet. With second can, make it like sun rays on the circle. Spoon the filling evenly over middle. Fold the "rays" toward middle. Filling will not be completely covered.

Bake for 25-30 minutes in oven until golden brown. SERVE warm!

Greek Pasta

My mom doesnt measure anything. She just cooks and bakes these amazing things and then you go ask her for a recipe and she says, "oh just pour a little bit of this and add a little bit of that"... like I'm supposed to just understand what that means.

Anyway, I made her get this recipe down on paper and now make it when I'm feeling fancy. Except its not hard so I like feeling fancy a lot!

Greek Pasta

1 box penne pasta (I used whole wheat)

1 small onion, chopped

1 cucumber, chopped

1 tomato, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

1/3 C EVOO

1 C black olives, halved

salt, garlic powder, and pepper to taste

Feta cheese, crumbled

Parmesan cheese to top

Cook pasta according to box; drain and put back in pot. Cut all veggies (put olives aside) and saute veggies in olive oil for 2 minutes, season to taste with salt and pepper (and garlic powder). Combine with pasta. Add olives and crumbled feta. Top with parmesan cheese.

*you can get a french bread at the store, slice it and stick it in the oven on broil for a minute or two and now you got yourself a gourmet meal!

Chicken Rolls & Corn

My MIL makes these really amazing chicken rolls and I'm always thinking how I'm going to make them for James since they're on the top of his list.

But since she makes them for super nice dinners, I always think they are super hard to make.

WRONG! These are really easy and so good.

This is not her recipe, but it tasted just like them because James couldn't stop raving about them!

Chicken Rolls

2 large chicken breasts, shredded

1 T butter, soft or melted

3-4 oz cream cheese, soft

2 T milk

2 can refrigerated crescent rolls

seasoned croutons, crushed (I used butter & garlic flavor)

salt to taste

pepper to taste

garlic powder to taste

*I don't really like putting measurements for salt, pepper and garlic because I like mine really flavorful and other people might like it better a little more bland.

Heat oven to 350.

In bowl mix chicken, cream cheese, butter, and milk. Season to taste.

Remove crescent rolls from cans and make rectangles by pressing on perforations (4 total rectangles per can). Spoon chicken mixture into rectangle and roll. Pinch edges to seal. Place on cookie sheet.

Get some melted butter and brush it on the rolls and sprinkle crushed croutons on top.

Bake for about 20 or so minutes, or until golden brown.

Makes 8 chicken rolls

Mandarin Meatballs & Rice

I'm pretty sure I haven't posted this recipe before but its soooo easy.
First of all, you are going to go get yourself a Costco membership and buy yourself a huge bag of Kirkland Meatballs... seriously, you wont regret it.
If you don't have a Costco membership, just buy meatballs from your grocer's freezer and pretend they are from Costco.

Preheat the oven to 375, put about 16 meatballs on a cookie sheet and let them cook according to package instructions.

While those are in the oven, this is how you make the Mandarin Sauce (also, you can make this sauce for chicken, steak, pork..it'll work for anything)

Sauce
2/3 C Sugar (try doing 1/3 C and add until desired sweetness)
1/4 C Soy Sauce
1 T lemon juice
1 t minced garlic
1/4 t ground ginger
1/2 C water
5 t cornstarch

Combine first 5 ingredients. Pour into sauce pan, heat mixture until boiling. Combine cornstarch and water. Mix into sauce until thick consistency. Add cooked meatballs until coated thoroughly.

Then just serve those puppies over rice (brown or white) and you're set!

Mom's Pancakes

So I haven't decided what I'm making for breakfast on Christmas Day, but I usually like doing a big breakfast full of deliciousness.
Here is a recipe for THE BEST pancakes you will ever have. I have them memorized now from making them so often.
This is my mom's all time pancake recipe and though it took her a while to give it to me (because she doesnt measure things and has it all memorized in her pretty little head), I couldn't thank her enough for them. They are soft and melt in your mouth. You won't regret making them.

Mom's Pancakes

1 C Flour
1 C Milk
1 egg
1/3 C oil (she actually said a little less, so I never fill it to the rim but leave a little space on top)
1 T Sugar
3 t baking powder
1/2 t salt (same as the oil, don't top it, leave a little space)

Mix in kitchen aid or with hand mixer until smooth. (don't leave a bunch of lumps like other pancake recipes tell you to).
Heat a slightly oiled griddle or frying pan until medium high heat. Pour a scoop (about 1/4 c) of batter onto pan, brown on both sides and serve hot.

Makes 8 pancakes. You can double or triple this recipe if necessary.

Want to try something fun? shred some cheddar cheese and top your pancakes with it. Pour hot syrup over them and ENJOY. Seriously, you will. It is sooo good.

You'll try it right? You better.

German Pancakes

Since I found this recipe, we've had it at least once a week for breakfast.
It's easy and fast and so tasty.

German Pancakes
adapted from The Coterie

1/3 C Butter, melted
1 1/2 C Flour
1 1/2 C Milk
8 Large eggs
1/2 tsp salt (or a tiny bit less)
1/4 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 400. Put butter in microwave, melt. Pour in 9x13 pan.
Combine all other ingredients and pour over butter.
Bake for 20 minutes or until all puffed up and brown around the edges.

(I usually cut this in half and make an 8x8 pan)