What's For Dinner? Red Chili Chicken Enchiladas!

Last night's dinner...

I usually make Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas but my hubs has been begging me for red ones for some time now.  I stopped making them years ago because my sons didn't like them... but, after last night , I'd say they were a hit and I'll be adding these back to my menu plan!

I'll share this super easy recipe with you! This is just my version... I'm sure there are many other ways but this is just the way I make them and my family loved it :)

(Here's the not so great and healthy part)

Run each (white) corn tortilla through oil first until they are soft.

You can spray with olive oil instead of dipping them in the oil,

it's just a bit more time consuming and the tortillas don't get as soft.

If you'd like you'd like to skip the oil all together,

you can use small flour tortillas instead!

They are just as yummy!

As I run each tortilla through the oil, I pat off the excess oil

with a paper towel.

I'm rolling these, not stacking them, so I'm

only making two enchiladas each = 8 total

I cooked up some chicken earlier and shredded it.

(I always save the broth!!)

I used about two and a half small chicken breasts for

8 enchiladas.

I love colby jack cheese and tend to use it for almost all my recipes!

I diced up about 1/3 of a small (yellow) onion

In a baking dish, I have poured a little bit of red

enchilada sauce on the bottom and started to fill

each tortilla with a bit of chicken, cheese,

a sprinkle of onion and a little drizzle of sauce...

 roll and tuck!

(I know how to make my own homemade red sauce but I started dinner too late and had to use canned red chili enchilada sauce instead.  I have used Las Palmas or Macayo's brand.  I think the canned sauce is too runny so I used a little chicken broth from the chicken I made earlier and added a little flour to thicken it.)

After you roll all the enchiladas, pour as much sauce

as you'd like all over them and sprinkle some

extra cheese on top.  You can sprinkle more onions

and even some black olives at this point if you'd like.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 10-15 minutes

(cheese melts and sauce is bubbly hot)

I served them with some homemade Spanish rice, shredded lettuce,

and some diced tomatoes

Top off with a little dab of sour cream if the sauce comes out too spicy.  Also serve with beans... I just don't love them, so I didn't make any last night!

ENJOY! :)

Meal Planning

I usually have a menu planned out for the month.  I like to search for new recipes and throw in a new meal at least once or twice a week.  I write out my grocery list and go shopping.  This allows me to know exactly what I'm making, when I'm making it and I already know that I have everything for it!  Makes life sooooo much easier!

Well, usually it does....

Sometimes, my hubs and my boys have special requests (me: eyebrow raised... whadda ya mean you want pizza? I'm making green chicken enchiladas!!)  Okay, sometimes they save me from the kitchen  so I can't complain too much about it...  When this happens, I either omit a meal or scootchy them on down a day... or twooooooooo.....  okay, sometimes we are bad!   :o)

Anyway, one of the things that I like to do to make sure that we are successful at following the menu is that I take special requests from my hubs and my sons.  It gives them something to look forward to so that they aren't craving something else!

A few of my family's favs are:

Tacos

Chimis

Baked Salmon with veggies and rice

Chicken Penne Pasta with Spinach

Creamy Chicken Soup with Biscuits

Lasagna

Chili Rellenos

Enchiladas

Wiener Schnitzel

Tostadas

and Tuna Casserole which is what I made last night, which is....

Always, always, always a hit!

I'm happy to share this super easy recipe.  Sorry for the crappy measurements but I usually just throw it all together! 

 Chop up celery and green onions

Put the chopped celery and green onions in large bowl and add:

2 or 3 cans Tuna - depends on how meaty you want it.

About 4 tbls of mayo - depends on how creamy you like it (light is fine)

2 to 3 tbls of sour cream (light is fine)

1 tbl of mustard

I would have added some thawed out peas and grated

carrots but I didn't have any... booooo :(

Mix in cooked egg noodles.

Add salt, pepper and thyme to desired taste.

Transfer the mixture to a 13x9 glass baking dish

Slice up a couple of zucchinis

Grate cheese, I used colby jack, sorta kinda a lot... 

Sprinkle about half (your desired) cheese over the

noodle mixture,

Lay out the zucchinis and sprinkle a little

salt and pepper on them,

Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on the zucchinis

I then bake it for about 15 minutes (just heating it and melting

cheese at this point)

Then, I change it to broil for about 5-ish minutes (just until

the cheese is golden brown)

YUM.  It's a hit.  If your kiddos like veggies, they'll love this!

Cheers my friends! :O)

Back Label Recipes

How many times do you notice a recipe on the back label of a jar or can and think to yourself, "That would probably be pretty good!" .........but you never end up trying it?  I have done that a gazillion times!!

I posted a monthly menu calendar on my old blog so if you had the chance to see it, you know that I have at least 30 different meals to cook.  Even then, we grow tired of it!  For the past few months, my hubs and I have been talking about why we haven't tried these back label recipes and followed it up with a review.  So today I was writing up my grocery list and noticed we had a couple of cans of Cream of Broccoli by Campbell's Soup.  Why I originally bought them? I dunno! I can't remember! BUT... I peeked at the back and I decided to try that back label recipe!

Here's the label with all the info on the recipe: (click to enlarge)

CHICKEN   BROCCOLI   DIVAN

1 lb. fresh broccoli, cut into spears or 1 pkg (about 10oz) frozen broccoli spears, cooked and drained.
1 1/2 cups cubed cooked chicken or turkey
2 tbsp. dry bread crumbs
1 tbsp. butter, melted
1 can (10 3/4 oz) Campbell's Condensed Broccoli Cheese Soup
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

1. Place broccoli and chicken in 9" pie plate. Stir bread crumbs and butter in a small bowl.
2. Stir soup and milk in small bowl until mixture is smooth. Pour over broccoli and chicken. Top with cheese, if desired. Sprinkle with bread crumb mix.
3. Bake at 400 degrees F. about 25 minutes or until hot and bubbling.

Results:  It was pretty good!

The label states that each can serves 4 people.  There's four in my family and we had my nephew over for dinner last night so I had to use two cans and double my batch.  Good thing I did because we ended up with only one serving left!! My sons, nephew and hubby really liked it!  This is not something that I would want to cook once a week though.  I think I would tire of the broccoli cheese taste.  I did do a couple of things different.  I can never follow a recipe to a tee...  I put more milk in the soup than the label called for.  I wanted it a little more runny than thick.  I also added more butter (1/2 stick).  Next time I think I'll add more bread crumbs for more of a crunch!!  I served it over white rice and although I added broccoli to the mix, we ate them all so I added a few fresh ones just for the photo ;o)

Have you ever tried a back label recipe? I'd love to hear about it!



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Such-a-Quitter!

Yes I admit it! I'm a quitter... or, is it considered quitting or just putting it on the back burner til it peaks my interest again?

What am I talking about? Everything.... photography, painting, drawing, sewing, crafts, jewelry, cooking, fashion, nail art, scrapbooks, pretty much everything artsy that I've jam packed my craft room with. When I discover something new, it completely envelopes me and shortly after, I'm moving on to the next thing. But I do have to state, that eventually I circle back to my other hobbies.

 

So here I am, attempt number "Quatro" at blogging.  I quickly grew annoyed by my other blog's name.  I hated saying it and I hated having to spell it out.  I also think it was hard for people to remember.  I wanted it to be simple and I decided that I didn't want my name in the title of my blog.  I needed a new name and there is one that has stuck with me for the past three days... Hello Monday.  How did I come up with that?  I get a bit impatient when I get an idea. I'm not the type of person that says, "I'll start Monday" or "Maybe next Monday".  Monday's always seem to be the best day to start something for most people even though it's the most hated day of the week.  Fortunately for me, I'm a SAHM so I can start any day... So today, is my Monday!

So out on a limb I go!  I'm posting to nobody and hoping that somebody finds my little corner and becomes my first new follower.

I promise to share with you my roller coaster life with photography projects and jobs, art projects, new discoveries, holiday crafts, and everything in between.

Cheers ;o)