Chicken Enchiladas with White Sauce

These are super creamy enchiladas that are just a good warmed up the next day as they are the evening they're prepared.  I'm kicking myself for spacing out taking pictures while I was making them but I'm thankful I remembered to do it before diving into my plate!  This recipe came typed from my Mom.  I'm not sure where she got it - but it's a keeper!

Let's Get Crafty!

Preheat oven to 350

Make the saucy deliciousness:

3 tablespoons butter (melt in a medium sauce pan)

3 tablespoons flour (add to melted butter and whisk for one minute over medium heat)

1 can low sodium chicken broth (add to the butter and flour mixture and whisk together.  Continue cooking over low heat until it thickens and bubbles up and then remove from heat)

Add to the sauce after it has cooled a little bit (so the sour cream doesn't curdle):

1 cup light sour cream  (I wasn't brave enough to try fat free greek goddess yogurt... but I'm curious.)

4 oz green chiles 

Stir together the filling:
2 1/2 cups shredded and cooked chicken (rotisserie would be perfect here!)
1/2 cup of the white sauce
3/4 shredded colby-jack cheese

Get your enchiladas ready:

10 small flour tortillas

(For my tip on making sure the filling is evenly dispersed - see my April 6, 2017 post of Honey Lemon Chicken Enchiladas.  It works like a charm every time!)

Once your enchiladas are rolled up and in a 9x13 baking dish - pour the white sauce over the top
1/2 cup additional cheese spread over the top of the enchiladas - because well... why not.  :)

Bake 20-25 minutes and then low broil to brown the extra cheese another couple minutes

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you have a great day!

Salsa Canning Fun!

Canning season is here!  I'm excited to have found time to make salsa.  My Mother-In-Law offered to help when they were here with us to celebrate Emily's birthday over the weekend.  It was fun getting to use the same recipe she and my sister-in-law used just the weekend before.

Ingredients:
5 qts tomatoes, peeled and chopped
2 cups jalapenos, roasted and peeled (1 1/2 cup jalapeno and 1/2 cup dynamite)
3 cups mixed peppers, peeled and diced (Pueblo and Anaheim green chile mix)
4 cups chopped onion
7 cloves garlic
1 cup vinegar
3 tablespoons canning salt
Once all combined - cook on low for around 1 1/2 - 2 hours until it reaches the desired consistency.  It took us about 2 hours.  (There were extra tomatoes so we added another 1/2 of the recipe to the pot.)

We did some work the night before to give ourselves a head start:
Diced the onions
Roasted, peeled and chopped the jalapenos and green chiles

                                     Go Time!                                                 30 minutes in

                         90 minutes simmering away                        2 hours - it's canning time!

Start the water in the water bath kettle:
This will take some time to come to a boil - took us about 30 minutes.  There needs to be enough water to make sure it will cover the jars by an inch or two.

Get the jars ready:
Open each jar - putting the rings and lids in a small saucepan to simmer and cleaning the jars in soapy water.

Microwave sterilization:
Fill each jar 1/4 of the way with water and put in the microwave.  You can fit 6 jars in the microwave at one time.  Cook on high 2 minutes.

To make sure all of it is sterilized you gently swirl the water around the sides.  We did this over the water bath and then dumped the hot water in the water bath.  It was handy dumping it right in the water bath because the microwave was right above it and the jars are pretty hot.

Now it's time to fill the jars:
To be sure to keep the rims of the jars clean- we used a funnel when pouring in the salsa.  After filling the jar within 1/4 of an inch from the top (it's important they are filled pretty close to the top) we used a towel to clean around the rim again just to make sure it stayed clean before putting on the lid and ring.

Betty uses a magnet at the end of a green stick to help fish the lid and ring out of the simmering pot.  Worked like a charm and fun to boot.  You could also probably use tongs.

Once the lid and ring are in place and the ring has been tightened (closed but not super tight) you can use jar lifters to lower the jar into the water bath.  We fit  9 jars in Betty's water bath.  Using pint size jars we set the timer for 15 minutes to process. (Quart size would be 20 minutes and smaller jelly jars would be 10 minutes.)

You may need to remove some of the water if it has risen too high by time the jars were all added to the water bath.  Also keep an eye on the boil... it should be gently boiling but not enough for the jars to be moving around.

After the 15 minutes is done - a jar lifter is used to remove each of the jars and put on a baking rack to cool.  You will start hearing the lids snapping shut pretty fast.  If one doesn't snap you can throw it in the fridge and enjoy it that night.  We had one later that night along with some bean dip... I loved getting to the end and getting to sample.

                                                                    14 jars in total!

Have a great day!  Thanks for stopping by.

Cranberry Orange Bread

Yep!  I baked and it was delicious!  This was the same day I did the crock-pot meals and had half a package of fresh cranberries left.  I was trying to think of a fun way to use them.  This recipe from The Petite Plantation blog fit the bill.  

Let's Get Crafty!
Preheat oven to 350

2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt (I never use the full amount of salt- I used 1/2 teaspoon today)
1 tablespoon
3 tablespoons grated orange zest (1 large orange)
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil (I'll try it with applesauce next time)
1 1/2 cups cranberries (fresh or frozen)

Mix the dry ingredients (except the cranberries)
Mix the wet ingredients (I included the orange zest here)
Combine wet and dry and then gently fold in the cranberries.

Bake for 45 minutes.  (I checked mine around 40 minutes and it needed a little more time.)

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Hope you have a great day.

Tex Mex Casserole

On this particular day I was home with my family and browning up extra hamburger to freeze.  It’s still hard for me to believe that that start of school is just around the corner.  I’m trying to get a leg up on dinner preparations before school and football practices are here.

On a day where I bulk cook ground beef we generally have something with ground beef for dinner.  This helps it be double duty for the freezer and for our dinner meal.

This recipe is from the Taste of Home Ground Beef magazine from Spring 2017.  I added a couple more veggies and changed up the cheese (they used 4 cups mozzarella).  Something fun about this recipe is that is can make two 8x8 casserole dishes – one for now and one to freeze or you could do one big casserole if you’re feeding a crowd.  If you’re doing the larger dish- you’ll want to make sure you increase the cook time.

Let’s Get Crafty!

Preheat oven to 350

1 ½ lbs ground beef, browned and drained

Add the veggies and spices to the meat and simmer 10-15 mins:

1 large onion, chopped

1 yellow pepper, any color will do… I was hoping the yellow of the pepper might help my daughter eat more pepper because it looks at first glance like corn.  It worked!  J

6 button mushrooms, sliced

1 ½ cups frozen corn

1 cup water

2 ½ tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder

Other ingredients needed for layering:

1 cup salsa

10 – 8 inch flour tortillas cut into ¾ strips

1 cup sour cream

1 ½ colby jack cheese

½ cheddar cheese

Prepare your baking dishes and then layer it up:

We made two 8x8 casseroles.  One to bake tonight and one in a foil tin to freeze.

Layer 1- ¼ cup salsa spread around the bottom of each dish

Layer 2 – ½ of the tortilla strips shared between the two dishes (1/4 of the total for each)

Layer 3 – Divide the meat evenly in one layer

Layer 4 – ½ cup sour cream over the meat for each, spread evenly

Layer 5 – Remaining tortilla strips between the two

Layer 6 – ¼ cup salsa for each

Layer 7 – Split the cheese between the two

Bake at 350 for 35 minutes, covered and then low broil for 10 minutes.  Let sit 10 minutes before cutting.

To use the frozen casserole: Thaw in fridge for 24 hours. Remove from fridge 30 minutes before cooking and while oven is preheating and then bake as directed above.



Thank you for stopping by!  Have a great rest of your day!

Cajun Shrimp

I'm a sucker for a rich, creamy tomato sauce that has simmered away and reduced.  It needs to be the kind of sauce that proves to be the perfect match for toasted garlic bread.  This broth did all of that for me and the kids loved it too.

Let's Get Crafty!
1 cup each, diced:
Onion
Celery
Green pepper
Yellow pepper

Look at these fun colors!

Saute with 2 tablespoons of butter on medium heat and then reduce to low with 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Add to the veggies and start simmering:
1 can diced tomatoes, pureed
1 can chicken stock
2 teaspoons cajan seasoning, I like "Slap ya mama"
Turn to low and simmer.  I like to wait and start my pasta water at this point.  You could do it at the beginning but I like for the sauce to have more time to simmer and continue developing flavor.

This seasoning is awesome!  

Let's get the shrimp going:
1 lb shrimp, shelled (I like to buy them already deveined)
2 teaspoons EVOO
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cajan seasoning
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
Combine and aside to grill when you're about 10 minutes from digging in

I've made many spins on this dish in the past.  A couple things we did this time that I really liked was grilling the shrimp separate to put on top of the pasta and sauce.  You can also toss the shrimp in the simmering sauce but you run the risk of whatever doesn't get plated right away for dinner having overcooked shrimp.  Another way to get even more flavor into your pasta would be to add more stock to the simmering sauce and cook your pasta directly in it.

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope you enjoy!

Mac and Cheese Stuffed Peppers

The inspiration for this dish came from the March 2017 Rachael Ray magazine (pg 31.)  The recipe caught my attention because mac and cheese type of casseroles are fun way to sneak extra veggies in during meals and serving it in a bell pepper is brilliant!

Let's Get Crafty!

Preheat the oven to 350

I start my pasta water while I get the sauce going and used  2 cups pasta once it was at a rolling boil.

I used elbow macaroni here and cooked it to just under al dente.  Since it was going to have some extra time in the oven... I wanted that time to be spent soaking up some tasty sauce goodness and not over cooking my pasta.  Worked great!

To jump start the cooking process on those peppers - save that pasta water!  I cut the pepper in half and let it boil in the pasta water for a couple minutes.

For the cheesy sauce:

3/4 pound hamburger, browned and drained

Sauté with the hamburger:

1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced

1 onion, diced

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Once the veggies are nice and tender- I added in:

1/2 can rotel, undrained

1 tablespoon, chili seasoning 

6 oz Velveeta, diced

Rachael Ray's recipe uses a Tex-Mex flair and I went the chili seasoning direction mostly because we just had tacos or something similar the night before.  

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day.

Beef Burritos with Enchilada Sauce

Here's a great recipe from a friend of mine that she shared on Facebook and I just had to give it a try! We actually made it the day after I read it but it takes me a little while to get things pulled together to put in on the blog.  This recipe is definitely a keeper!  The kids loved it and the leftovers warmed up beautifully.

Mix together and set aside:
Large can red enchilada sauce
2 cans cream of mushroom soup (original recipe calls for 1)

Combine and heat through for the flavors to come together:
1 1/2 pounds hamburger, cooked and drained
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 can green chiles

This made 8 burritos for us that were very nicely stuffed with the meat mixture.  The bottom ones are the ones for the kids and the other half is for Mark and I  with spicy green chiles inside.  I made the kid's burritos first so I could just add the green chiles to the same pot and not dirty any new dishes when adding the green chiles.

Pour the sauce over the top and add as much or as little cheese as you would like.  We dove in head first with our cheese!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Hope you have a great day.

Zucchini Pizzas

This recipe sparked my interest and I've wanted to give it a try.  I'm glad I did.  Although... I must say... it's not pizza.  Don't go diving in and expecting the deliciousness only found in a carb-filled, crispy crust.  Because you might find yourself sad.

However! I will say these were pretty darn good.  That said- I'm a lover of zucchini and had a couple that I wanted to use up.  That said- My husband and son were not home.  My daughter tasted one and proclaimed "This is not pizza."  Pizza is something she holds near and dear to her heart.

Let's Get Crafty!
Preheat the oven to 350
Slice a nice sized zucchini that leaves you with rounds between 2 1/2 - 3 inches

Spray each round with Pam and sprinkle with garlic powder.  

Bake at 350 for 20 mins flipping halfway through. 

Then low broil for 5 minutes once the toppings have been added.

Super easy and a fun twist to sneak more veggies in your diet.  Have a great day!  Thanks for stopping by.

Vail Fun at the Farmers Market

On Sundays during the summer there's a farmers market that had more booths than I could count.  There were so many wonderful things to pick from!  From clothes and jewelry to food you eat right on the spot and food to take home.  There were several vendors with the traditional farmers market veggies and fruits as well as what I was looking for... a salsa booth.  We walked away with some salsa and queso to enjoy from home on another day and ate our lunch from the food vendors.

My half quickie pita

This was my lunch of choice from Nicky's Quickie featuring Greek Gyros.  It was very good.  The gyro meat and onions are sauteed together and served on a grilled pita with lettuce, feta, tomatoes, kalamata olives and of course you can't be without the tzatziki sauce.  I especially loved this sauce because sometimes it feels like places go overboard with chunks of cucumber and this one didn't.  There was a hint of it and it was perfect!  Of course you can't forget to add a couple banana peppers to the mix.

Oh my goodness this paella...

I've had good paella a couple times before but there was something about this one that was really special.  Maybe it was because they called it Authentic Spanish Paella and it looked the part.  Maybe it was my appreciation of the efforts and time behind the dish as one of the people making it described the process that took a couple hours.  It was being cooked on a wok over a grill that looked 3 feet in diameter.  Yes- I saw the start of the process and made a point to come back and try it once it was ready!

The Rocky Mountain Elk, Buffalo, All Natural Chicken were cooked first.  Once cooked the meat was pushed to the side so the direct heat of the wok would go to sauteing the onions and peppers.  Once sauteed nicely together the rice cooked and simmered in all the delicious goodness less behind with the meat covered by foil.  I missed the point where the peas were added but I would anticipate it would have been in the last 20-30 minutes if they were fresh and maybe just before the shrimp if they were frozen.  The shrimp was added at the end (last 10 minutes or so) to steam on top of the meat and rice with the foil laid back over the wok.

Awww... there's another M & M.  

Mark found this on a tree on night as we were heading back to the Lodge after dinner.  

It was a wonderful trip.  We absolutely couldn't beat the weather.  Such a nice get-a-way to have time to hangout with my husband.  Thanks for stopping by.  Have a great day!