A Twist on Margie's Enchiladas

A few weeks ago Ms. Margie Romney-Aslett posted her recipe for Chicken Sour Cream Enchiladas - YUM! But when I saw the recipe, I already had a pork tenderloin in the crock pot. So what's a girl to do but improvise!

Margie's Sourcream & Chicken Enchiladas

1 large can of Cream of Chicken Soup - I used a small can cheddar cheese soup

1 large can of Green Chili Enchilada Sauce - same

1 large container of Sour Cream, {24 oz} - I used a small container

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, or a Mexican Mix - same

1 large can of diced green chili's - same

1 large can of sliced black olives. - same

1 cup salsa - I used homemade but only because I made a huge batch a few days prior

1 large onion diced. - same

4-6 cooked chicken breasts. {cubed} - Pulled Pork from the crock pot

mix.

roll in flour tortillas

put the extra sauce on top add another cup of grated cheese on top.

cover with Tin Foil and bake at 350 degrees until bubbling.

Chicken Rollatini via Skinny Taste

From Gina over at SkinnyTaste. If you don't have this woman on your blogroll you are seriously missing out!



Go visit Gina's blog for the recipe. Blogging rules must be abided ;)

Altaira's Lasagna

Everyone has their fave lasagna recipe. This one is my own recipe. I combined a few different things I like from various lasagnas I have had over the years.

Ingredients:
1# ground beef
28oz. can Hunt's crushed tomatoes
half red onion, finely chopped
4 gloves garlic
1 jar Ragu Mama's Special spaghetti sauce
3 scallions, finely chopped
8oz. light sour cream
8oz. cream cheese
small container Ricotta cheese
small bag shredded Mozzarella
9 lasagna noodles - cooked per package directions

1. Preheat oven to 350* Start a pot of water to boiling, cook noodles per package directions.
2. In a large skillet, combine ground beef, onion and garlic. Saute until beef is browned, scraping up the bits on the bottom of the pan. Add can crushed tomatoes and jar of sauce. Stir to combine and continue cooking over low heat until you are ready to layer everything.
3. Combine scallions, sour cream, cream cheese, and ricotta in a bowl.
4. Spray a 9x13 with nonstick spray. Add a small amount of the sauce and move it around to cover the bottom. Layer noodles, cheese mixture, mozzarella, and sauce. Repeat until the ingredients are used up. Tent with foil and cook 25-30 minutes until bubbling. Sprinkle with any remaining cheese and let it rest before serving.

A Tale & A Recipe

Before I continue to share recipes with you, let me tell you something. 

I used to burn water. I kid you not. I would wander off to do something else and forget I was supposed to be cooking. Yeah, i was that girl. 

Bob, on the other hand, was a chef for 10 years. Now that he doesn't work in a kitchen, he's kinda a pain to cook for. He has to have meat in every meal. And he needs WAY more calories than the average guy. Bob is super tall and super thin. He doesn't gain weight.....ever....every woman's dream. He doesn't like fast food, and we don't eat out a whole lot.

When I got pregnant with Payton, I got super sick. I would lay on the sofa watching Food Network and wish I could cook the stuff they were making. So I started... after I was able to start eating again.

In today's economy, having a hobby is considered a luxury. Well, everyone has to eat and chances are you are the one cooking for your family. Make it Fun! Make cooking and trying new recipes your hobby. It won't cost you anything extra - maybe a new spice here or there. There are so many great websites out there to help. 

We were in a serious eating rut - the same few dishes on repeat. My friend Joanne got me a subscription to Food Network Magazine. So I made it my goal to cook at least 2 new things out of each issue. Some issues are chuck full of dishes Bob will eat - other issues, like the recent Chocolate issue, not so much. 

My "system" is to pull out recipes I'd like to try. They go in our recipe binder (a three ring binder with page protectors - nothing fancy) and then as I plan dinner for the week I go through and decide what we are having. If I haven't made the recipe within a month, I toss it. If we like it, it goes in a page protector. 

Now, I know some of you are rolling your eyes at the menu planning. We hear about it everywhere. We hear about it everywhere because it works. I used to go to the store and toss the makings for all kinds of dishes in the cart. And every day I would ask Bob what he wanted for dinner. We would go in circles. Or I would end out going to the store to spend more money on the makings for another meal. 

When I plan out the week, I ask Bob once what he would like for the week. He gives me a couple of suggestions and I fill in the rest. I don't set in stone what we are going to eat each day. I just know what I have the ingredients for and pull out the meat for that meal. 

So that's what works for us. We are saving money this way. We aren't stressing about what to have for dinner each night. And I get to share my new "hobby" with you guys. Win Win Win I'd say. So on to the recipe from last nights dinner.

I found this recipe back in 2008 and have been making it regularly ever since. Now you can feel free to follow that recipe - which I do when we have company. But for every night eating, I've changed it up and cheated a bit.

2 tbs oil

2 12 oz cans Albacore Tuna in water, undrained (or 4 5 oz cans if that's what you have)

3 cans Rotel, undrained - I use mild for the kids and Bob

1 can Hunt's tomato paste

4 celery stalks, chopped

1/2 large red onion, chopped

1 package Real Bacon Pieces

seasoning, we like Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning but Zatarains cajun is good too

rice, prepared per the package directions - we like Jasmine rice with this dish

1. Heat oil in a large skillet, add celery and onion, saute until translucent.

2. Add all of your canned goods. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes until thickened.

3. Serve with the rice, bacon and seasoning of your choice. No seasoning for the kiddos though.

Chicken Paprikash

 This was another picture of dinner I posted to Facebook, and all of my friends asked for the recipe. So here it is! Courtesy of Food Network Magazine (but with my comments and tips)

1 package egg noodles, cooked per package directions
3-4 chicken breasts, cut into even bite size pieces
6 slices of bacon, diced
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup flour
2 tbs paprika
1 tsp dried marjoram
2 cups low sodium chicken broth (use bouillon cubes - same flavor, less cost)
1/2 cup sour cream (you can use light if you prefer, I didn't notice a taste difference)
2 tbs chopped parsley
salt

1. Bring salted water to boiling. Meanwhile, in a large pan, cook the bacon 2 minutes over medium heat. Add the onion and bell pepper, cook 3 more minutes. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, paprika, marjoram and 1 tsp salt. Toss the chicken in the flour mixture and set aside.

2. Push the bacon and veggies to one side and increase the heat to medium high. Add the chicken to the empty side. Add the remainder of the flour mix to the veggie and bacon side. Cook everything, turning the chicken often, about 6 minutes. Then mix it all together and cook 2 more minutes. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil, scraping the bottom of your pan to get the yummy bits. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer 10 minutes. Add your noodles to the boiling water, drain when ready.

3. Uncover your chicken pot, crank up the heat to high, cook 2 more minutes. Reduce the heat back down to low and add your sour cream and parsley, cook 2 more minutes.

Toss it all together and serve. Yum! If you know Bob, you know he isn't a chicken fan. This dish, well he thought it was pork the first time I made it.

Spanish Potato & Chicken Roast

2lbs Yukon golds, cut into even chunks
4 cloves garlic coarsely chopped
2 tbs extra virgin
salt, pepper
2 lemons - 1 juiced, 1 for garnish
4 Chicken breasts cut into 3rds
2 tsp smoked paprika (I used regular the first i made this and couldnt tell)
4 tbs rough chopped parsley
1/2 large red onion, thinly sliced (you can add for if you like onion)

1. Preheat oven to 500 and put a large baking dish in to preheat. Meanwhile, mix potatoes, garlic, extra virgin, 1 tsp water and 1/2 tsp salt in a microwave safe bowl, toss. cover with plastic wrap and pierce. Cook in microwave for 8 minutes.
2. In another bowl combine chicken, paprika, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 2 tbs parsley and juice of one lemon, toss to coat.
3. Take baking dish out of oven and carefully put the potatoes in an even layer. Scatter onions on top. Return to oven for 12 minutes.
4. Flip the potatoes, add the chicken and juices from the bowl. Cook another 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and flip your chicken. Cook another 10 minutes or until done all the way through.

I served this with roasted asparagus the first time and steamed mixed veggies the second time .