Enchiladas

I have found some of the BEST recipes on the outside of food packages. For instance, I found this enchilada recipe on the back of the Kirtland shredded cheddar cheese bag. These were some tasty enchiladas. I especially loved the flavor of the corn tortilla. I love enchiladas because you can freeze them. Just assemble the enchiladas as directed (except do not cook them) and put into the freezer. Then when you are in a time crunch all you have to do it pull them out, bake them and they are done!

Makes 6 Servings

4 cups chicken roughly chopped (I just use the Rotisserie chicken)
6 cups shredded cheddar cheese divided into 2-3 cup quantities
3- 10oz cans enchilada sauce (you can choose red or green... I loved the green enchilada sauce)
1-7oz can diced green chilies
2 cups black olives divided into 2-1 cup quantities (optional)
1 tablespoon olive oil
6-10 inch flour or corn tortillas

Cooking Instructions

Preheat oven 375
1. Mix chicken, 3 cups cheese, 1 can enchilada sauce, diced green chillies, and 1 cup of sliced black olives in a mixing bowl.
2. Coat 9x13x2 inch baking pan with olive oil.
3. Divide chicken mixture onto 6 tortillas; rill each tortilla "enchilada style: and place seam side down onto pan.
4. Cover enchiladas with remaining enchilada sauce (15 oz total)
5. Bake on middle rack in oven for 60 to 75 minutes or until midfdle of enchiladas register at 165 degrees (it only took about 30 minutes for mine to bake.)

Sloppy Joe's

I found this recipe at Better Home's and Gardens. Another fast and easy dinner idea. These tasted SOOO much better than the canned sloppy joes and were super easy. There are several variations although I just stuck with the original recipe. Also we omitted the cheese. Anywho, if you need an easy dinner, just try this recipe. Plus, Wyatt loved them!

Yield: 6 sandwiches

Start to Finish 25 mins

ingredients

• 1 pound  lean ground beef or ground pork
• 1/2 cup  chopped onion (1 medium)
• 1/2 cup  chopped green sweet pepper (1 small)
• 18  ounce can  tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons  water
• 1 - 1 1/2 teaspoons  chili powder
• 1 teaspoon  Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon  garlic salt
•  dash bottled hot pepper sauce
• 6 kaiser rolls or hamburger buns, split and toasted

directions

1.In a large skillet cook meat, onion, and sweet pepper until meat is brown and vegetables are tender. Drain off fat. Stir in tomato sauce, water, chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, garlic salt, and hot pepper sauce. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Serve on toasted rolls.

from the test kitchenPizza Joes:

• Prepare as directed, except substitute one 14-ounce jar pizza sauce for the tomato sauce and water; omit chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, garlic salt, and hot pepper sauce. Add 1/2 cup chopped pepperoni. Serve on toasted rolls with 6 ounces sliced mozzarella cheese.
• Per sandwich: 501 cal., 25 g total fat (10 g sat. fat; 1 g trans fat), 82 mg chol., 983 mg sodium, 38 g carbo., 2 g fiber, 30 g pro.
• Exchanges: 2.5 Starch, 3.5 Medium-Fat Meat, 1 Fat

Tex-Mex Joes:

• Prepare as directed, except add 1/2 cup fresh or frozen whole kernel corn and 1 tablespoon chopped chipotle chile in adobo sauce with tomato sauce. Serve on toasted rolls with 6 ounces sliced cheddar cheese.
• Per sandwich: 476 cal., 23 g total fat (11 g sat. fat; 1 g trans fat), 81 mg chol., 816 mg sodium, 38 g carbo., 3 g fiber, 28 g pro.
• Exchanges: 2.5 Starch, 3 Medium-Fat Meat, 1 Fat

Veggie Joes:

• Prepare as directed, except omit ground beef. Cook onion and sweet pepper in 1 tablespoon hot olive oil over medium heat until tender. Add 2 cups cooked brown rice; one 15- to 16-ounce can kidney beans, rinsed and drained; and 1/2 cup shredded carrot (1 medium) with the tomato sauce.
• Per sandwich: 338 cal., 6 g total fat (1 g sat. fat; 1 g trans fat), 0 mg chol., 705 mg sodium, 62 g carbo., 8 g fiber, 13 g pro.
• Exchanges: 4 Starch, 0.5 Fat

nutrition facts (Sloppy Joes)

• cal. (kcal) 349,
 
• Fat, total (g) 14,
 
• chol. (mg) 51,
 
• sat. fat (g) 5,
 
• carb. (g) 34,
• Monosaturated fat (g) 6,
 
• Polyunsaturated fat (g) 1,
 
• Trans fatty acid (g) 1,
• fiber (g) 2,
 
• sugar (g) 3,
 
• pro. (g) 20,
 
• vit. A (IU) 194,
 
• vit. C (mg) 11,
• Thiamin (mg) 0,
 
• Riboflavin (mg) 0,
 
• Niacin (mg) 6,
 
• Pyridoxine (Vit. B6) (mg) 0,
 
• Folate (µg) 65,
 
• Cobalamin (Vit. B12) (µg) 2,
 
• sodium (mg) 628,
• Potassium (mg) 342,
 
• calcium (mg) 71,
 
• iron (mg) 4,
 
• Starch () 2,
 
• Medium-Fat Meat () 2,
 
• Fat () 1,
 
• Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

M&M Peanut Butter Cookies

These are hands down the BEST peanut butter cookies ever! Also they are fool proof. Every single time I have made them they have turned out perfect and everyone always comments on how good they taste. You can dress them up for the holidays by using different colored M&M's. The recipe found at sally's baking addiction.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, softened to room temperature*

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar 

1 large egg

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter 

1 tsp vanilla extract 

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 and 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 and 1/2 cups M&Ms

Directions:

In a large bowl, using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars together on medium speed. Mix in the peanut butter, egg, and vanilla (in that order). Slowly mix in the baking soda and flour. Do not overmix. Fold in the M&Ms with a wooden spoon. Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drop chilled dough by tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet or silicone baking mat. I pressed a few M&Ms on top of the dough balls. Press the balls down (only slightly) since they won't spread much while baking. Bake for 8-9 minutes. Cookies will be soft and may appear undone. They will firm up as they cool.

Allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Enjoy!

*Sally's Tip: You may use unsalted butter in this recipe.  If so, add 1/4 tsp salt with the flour.

Honey-Lime Enchiladas

Here's a great recipe from 71toes.com

honey-lime enchiladas

This recipe is from our church cookbook and it makes me salivate to think about.

It is super-duper easy too, and that is always a good thing when you’re in a hurry.

Sometimes I make extra chicken and freeze it in a Ziploc bag so I can whip these up again lickety-split when I need/want to.

First you cook three or four large chicken breasts any way you like.  I usually sauté mine in garlic and onions until they shred apart (more on how easy that is in the middle of this post), but you can boil it too if that seems easier.

In a bowl, mix up the marinade:

6 tablespoons of honey
5 tablespoons of lime juice
1 tablespoon of chili powder

Mix in the marinade with the cooked chicken:

Let the chicken soak in that marinade in the fridge for a little while…overnight would be ideal, but I’ve done it before without letting it marinate and it’s still pretty darn good.

(If I made enough chicken mixture to freeze some, I do it with the marinade already on it…so easy to whip it out next time you need it.)

Next you need:

6-8 flour tortillas
2-3 cups shredded cheese (I usually use a mixture of Monterey Jack and cheddar)
1 small can of green enchilada sauce

Fill 6-8 tortillas with shredded cheese and equal portions of the chicken mixture.

Spread a layer of green enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 pan (sprayed with cooking spray).  

Roll up those tortillas nice and tight and place them open-tortilla-flap down in the pan.

Spread another layer of enchilada sauce over the top:

Then sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top (and don’t let it fall off the counter which it looks like it’s about to in that picture up there…rest assured it made it safely to the oven).

Bake at 350 for a half hour.

Garlic Lime Chicken Fajitas

Ingredients

1 teaspoon  Garlic, Minced

1 teaspoon  Onions, Minced

3/4 teaspoon Cumin, Ground

3/4 teaspoon  Oregano Leaves

1/2 teaspoon  Cilantro Leaves

1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper

1/4 cup lime juice

1/4 cup orange juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips

1 medium green or red bell pepper, cut into thin strips

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

8 flour tortillas (8-inch)

Directions

1.      Mix juices, oil, all of the Spices and salt in small bowl. Reserve 1/4 cup of the marinade. Place chicken in large resealable plastic bag or glass dish. Add remaining marinade; turn to coat well. Refrigerate 30 minutes or longer for extra flavor.

2.      Cook and stir chicken in large heated skillet on medium-high heat 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from skillet. Add bell pepper, onion and reserved marinade; cook and stir 5 minutes or until tender. Return chicken to skillet. Cook 2 to 3 minutes or until heated through.

3.      Spoon chicken mixture into warm tortillas. Serve with assorted toppings, if desired.

Watermelon Popsicles

My MIL shared this recipe with me and I haven't been able to make it yet because our blender is broken.  But, it looks really yummy!

	1/8 large fresh watermelon
	4 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
	1 Tbsp sugar, or honey

• Cut flesh from watermelon rind and remove seeds. Blend flesh until liquid (you should have approximately 4 cups of liquid). Stir in lemon juice and sugar.
  
  
• Pour into 5 fluid ounce paper cups, leaving space at the top so they don't overflow. Stick a wooden popsicle stick into each cup. Freeze for several hours. To eat, just peel off paper cup.

Healthy twist on chocolate cake

I'm all about making treats better for you.  Saw this recipe on Pinterest and gave it a try and I think we prefer it made the healthy way over regular chocolate cake!!!!

1 devils food cake mix

1 cup 0% fat free plain Greek yogurt

1 cup water

Mix ingredients well.... Pour into pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes.  (It bakes quicker so keep an eye on it) 

Taco chicken

Taco Chicken
Recipe by OurBestBites.com

1 lb. chicken breasts or thighs 
A couple of juicy limes
A splash of red wine vinegar
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed or coarsely chopped
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper

Juice the limes and combine with a couple splashes of red wine vinegar. Add garlic. Pour over chicken. This will not completely cover the chicken; just turn it occasionally as needed. Marinate for at least 4 hours, no longer than 8.

Heat an outdoor grill (you can also use a grill pan inside. Or your broiler in your oven.) Combine salt, chili powder, cumin, and black pepper in a small bowl. Remove chicken from marinade and rub the spices all over the chicken.

Grill about 7 minutes per side.

Remove from heat and allow to stand a few minutes so it doesn’t lose its juiciness. You can either eat the chicken as it is, maybe with Mexican rice and beans, or use slice it up and use it as you would taco meat.

Summer Salad

1/3 cup pecan pieces

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 head green leaf lettuce, torn into pieces

1/2 head iceberg lettuce, torn into pieces

(I just omit the darn 1/2 stuff and use one head of romaine)

2 kiwis, peeled and sliced

1 cup strawberries, halved

1 avocado, chopped

dressing:

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons sugar

zest and juice of 1 orange

zest and juice of 2 limes

(I cut this dressing recipe in half which is plenty!)

Caramelize pecans by mixing with sugar in small skillet over low heat until sugar melts. Spread on foil and cool, then break into pieces.

Combine dressing ingredients in a jar and shake well.

Toss salad ingredients together with pecan pieces, add dressing to coat and serve.

Gidia's Chicken in Lemon Cream with Penne

1 lb penne pasta (or substitute your favorite type of pasta or spaghetti)

3 tablespoons olive oil

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, diced into 1-inch cubes

1 teaspoon herbes de provence

1 pinch salt, plus

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth

2 cups heavy cream

1 lemon, zest of

1 pinch cayenne pepper (optional)

1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped (I usually just sprinkle dried parsley, still tasts great!)

2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions:

1

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, season with salt. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, 8 to 10 minutes.

2

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Season the cubed chicken with herbes de Provence, salt and pepper. Cook the chicken until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the chicken and set aside. Pour off excess oil from pan.Drain. Add the chicken broth the pan and cook over medium-high heat, scraping up any bits with a wooden spoon. Add the cream, lemon zest, and cayenne. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes.

3

Add the pasta, chicken, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, chopped parsley, and lemon juice. Toss to coat the pasta and chicken with the sauce and serve.

French Dip

French Dip SandwichesOur Best Bites

1 2.5-3 lb. beef roast (you can use a frozen roast if you want)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper
2 1-ounce packages dry onion soup mix
2 c. water
2 cans beef broth
6-8 large buns (or more…6 would be VERY generous servings!)
Swiss, provolone, or mozzarella cheese, shredded or sliced.

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat and rub roast with salt and pepper.

When very hot, carefully place roast in pan and sear on all sides. You’re not cooking the meat, you’re just browning it quickly on all sides to add flavor and seal in the juices. Oh, and it smells so good–just like Grandma’s house on a Sunday afternoon.

Place in crockpot and sprinkle with onions soup mix. Pour water and beef broth over roast.

Cook 8-10 hours on low or cook 4-5 hours on high and another 3-4 hours on low. It’s hard to screw this part up; basically, the longer it cooks, the more tender it will be. But you know it’s done when you pop a fork in it and the meat just falls apart. When meat is ready, shred with a fork.

Place meat in crusty rolls. Top with cheese and broil open-faced in the oven or toaster oven for a few minutes, until bread is golden and cheese is melty. And don’t even think about walking away–things can go from lightly-toasted to on fire within a matter of seconds when you’re using your broiler.

Ladle juices into small cups for dipping and enjoy!

FREEZER DIRECTIONS:

Prepare roast through the searing step; after meat has cooled, place in a plastic freezer-safe container (think Gladware), cover with onion soup mix and boullion, and freeze. When ready to cook, pop it straight into the crockpot (frozen), add 2 cups of water, and set to high until warm or, even better, simmering. Turn to low; cook for a total of 8-10 hours.

(Recipe from: Ourbestbites.com)

White Bean Chicken Chili

Crockpot White Bean Chicken Chili

Put in crockpot in the morning:

2-3 frozen chicken breasts or 8-10 chicken tenderloins
1 jar green salsa


Cook on low setting until chicken is cooked through.

If I put this on low for two hours (with the small tenderloins) it’s done in mine, but every crock pot cooks a little differently.

Shred the chicken with two forks.  

Add:
2-3 cans white kidney beans (un-drained)
1 c. whole kernel corn
Leave in crock pot until warmed through.

Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream and tortilla strips if desired.


Recipe from:  http://www.71toes.com/2013/02/two-kinds-of-yummy-soups.html

Taco Soup

Taco Soup

Brown 1 lb. of ground beef with onion and seasonings.

add:
2-3 c. water
1 large can crushed tomatoes
a couple cans of light red kidney beans (un-drained)
a couple cans of dark red kidney beans (un-drained)
1 pkg+ taco seasoning

Let simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Add 1 c. corn and heat until steamy.

Serve with sour cream, shredded cheese and Fritos (unless you want to be more healthy, then leave those out).

(recipe from: http://www.71toes.com/2013/02/two-kinds-of-yummy-soups.html)

Energy Balls

1 cup oatmeal 

1/2 cup peanut butter (or other nut butter) 

1/3 cup honey (or agave)

1 cup coconut flakes

 1/2 cup ground flaxseed 

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (or craisins)

1 tsp vanilla

Mix everything above in a medium bowl until thoroughly incorporated.  Let chill in the refrigerator for half an hour.  Once chilled, roll into balls and enjoy!  Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week.

(recipe from http://smashedpeasandcarrots.blogspot.com/2011/08/no-bake-energy-bites-recipe.html)

Buttery Shortbread Cookies

"These are Delicious buttery cookies that taste just like Panera's shortbread cookies!"

8 ounces (2 sticks) butter, room temperature

2 cups cake flour (you can use all purpose but cake flour makes a much softer cookie)

3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients; use hands to knead until ingredients are blended. Press dough into ungreased pans. Before baking, mark rectangle cookie lines with knife to get the authentic Panera shortbread cookie look!

Bake at 325 degrees F for about 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Don't over bake!

Note: If you like a sweeter shortbread cookie try the frosting recipe below, very similar to paneras shortbread cookie frosting recipe:

Ingredients;

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 stick unsalted or salted butter depending on your taste ( I prefer salted) softened

2 Tbsp Milk ( Whole, Skim, 2%) any will work just fine.

2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Directions;

Combine Ingredients

Whip for 30 seconds on low, then crank it up to high speed for 1 1/2 to 2  minutes.

Add food coloring and spread over cookies!

Enjoy!

Almond and Cinnamon Granola

Total Time: 40 min
Prep 10 min
Cook 30 min


Yield: 10 cups
Level: Intermediate

Ingredients

4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 cups sweetened, shredded coconut
2 cups sliced almonds
1 1/2 cups dried cherries, chopped (I used Craisens instead) any dried fruit would work.
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup good honey
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon


Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Toss the oats, coconut, almonds, and cherries together in a large bowl. Pour the vegetable oil and honey over the oat mixture. Add the cinnamon, and stir with a wooden spoon until all the oats and nuts are coated with the liquids. Pour onto a sheet pan. Bake, stirring occasionally with a spatula, until the mixture turns a nice, even golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes.

HELPFUL HINTS:
*Put parchment paper down before on the cookie sweet to eliminate clean-up. I cooked it at no higher then 325 degrees. After the first 10 minutes I stirred it and then I checked it every 5 minutes after that until the coconut id golden brown. The first time I made it it burned so watch it carefully!! Also I added the criasens at the end and did not bake them.

Remove the granola from the oven and allow to cool, stirring occasionally. Store the cooled granola in an airtight container.

American Goulash

By Kathleen, November 26, 2012

Ingredients:

• 2 Pounds - Ground Beef, 80/20
• 1 - Large Yellow Onion
• 4 - Large Cloves Garlic, Minced
• 3 Cups - Water
• 2 (15 Ounce) - Canned Tomato Sauce
• 2 (14.5 Ounce) - Canned Diced Tomatoes
• 3 Tablespoons - Soy Sauce
• 2 Tablespoons - Dried Oregano
• 2 Teaspoons - Dried Basil
• 2 - Dried Bay Leaves
• 1 Tablespoon - Seasoned Salt
• 1/2 Teaspoon - Black Pepper
• 2 Cups - Elbow Macaroni, Uncooked

Instructions:

1. In a large pot, cook the meat over medium heat, breaking up the meat as it cooks into small pieces. Cook until the meat is cooked through and there's no longer any pink. Stir in the onions and garlic. Cook and stir the mixture until the onions are translucent.
2. Stir in water, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, soy sauce, oregano, basil, bay leaves, seasoned salt, and black pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Stir in the pasta, cover, and simmer over low heat until the pasta is tender, about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, discard bay leaves, and refrigerate, if possible, overnight. If you must, you could serve. :)

Creamy Garlic Pasta

2 tsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp butter
¼  tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
3 cups chicken stock
½ lb spaghetti or angel hair pasta
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
¾ cup heavy cream ( used less and you could use milk if you wanted)
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

In a pot, bring the olive oil to medium-low heat. Add the garlic and stir, allowing it to cook for 1-2 minutes. Mix in the butter until melted. Add the salt, pepper and chicken stock. Raise the heat to high and let it come to a boil. 

Once it is at a rolling boil, add the pasta and cook for as long as the box’s directions indicate. Reduce the stove to medium heat and mix in the parmesan until completely melted. Turn off the heat and stir in the cream and parsley. Serve immediately.

Chicken Pot Pie Weight Watchers Style

My MIL shared this recipe with us & we loved it!  

Old-Fashioned Chicken Pot Pie
PointsPlus™ Value: 6
Servings: 6
Preparation Time: 20 min
Cooking Time: 40 min
Level of Difficulty: Easy

We made this comfort food classic lighter with reduced-fat crescent roll dough and a skim milk-based cream sauce. It totally hits the spot.

Ingredients
2 spray(s) Cooking spray, butter flavored
1 tsp Butter, regular, with salt
1 small Onion(s), uncooked, chopped
2 cup(s) Mushrooms, fresh, sliced
¼ tsp Paprika
¼ tsp Dried thyme, crushed
½ tsp Salt, table, or more to taste
¼ tsp Pepper, black
2 cup(s) Vegetables, mixed, frozen, unprepared
1 cup(s) Broth, chicken, canned
3 cup(s) Chicken breast, cooked without skin, chopped
2 Tbsp Flour, white
½ cup(s) Milk, evaporated, fat free, divided
4 item(s) Roll dough, crescent, reduced fat, unrolled

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Coat a 10-inch round shallow baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Coat a large pot with cooking spray. Add butter and melt over medium heat. Add onion and mushrooms and cook, until tender, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Stir in paprika, thyme, salt and pepper. Add vegetables, broth and chicken. Cover and simmer 15 minutes.
3. In a small cup, combine flour and 1/4 cup of evaporated milk; stir into chicken mixture. Cook over medium heat until thickened, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/4 cup of evaporated milk and cook until mixture is slightly thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes more.
4. Spoon chicken mixture into prepared baking dish. Unroll crescent rolls and arrange dough around inside edge of baking dish to form a border (there will be a hole in the middle). Bake until rolls are golden brown and filling is bubbly, about 15 minutes. Cut into 6 pieces and serve.

Notes
Make this recipe to your family's taste with different frozen vegetable blends such as an Asian mix or bell pepper and onion strips.

Taco Soup

Really quick to put together & delicious!

Ingredients:
1lb ground beef
1 onion, diced  (I used half an onion)
1 packet taco seasoning (used reduced sodium)
2 cans kidney beans, undrained (1 light, one dark)
1 large can crushed tomatoes
2-3cups water
1 cup frozen corn

Directions:
Brown ground beef with onion & taco seasoning.  Once meat is cooked, add rest of the ingredients (except for corn).  Bring to a boil.  Then simmer on low with lid on for 5 minutes.  Add corn and simmer 5 more minutes.

Top with shredded cheese & crushed tortilla chips!  Yum!