Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

I like Mexican food. I'm from Texas. I think it's a requirement.

I love my previous chicken enchilada recipe, but I wanted to try something a bit different this time. I hope enjoy it!

Ingredients:
-1 cup diced raw tomatillos (about 3 to 5 tomatillos)
-3 tablespoons butter
-2 tablespoons flour
-1/2 cup heavy cream
-1 cup milk
-2 cups shredded monterrey jack cheese
-3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
-1 tablespoon garlic powder
-1 teaspoon onion powder
-1 tablespoon chili powder
-1/2 teaspoon cumin
-tortillas (at least ten)

Directions:
Spread the diced tomatillos out in a single layer on a baking sheet.

Spray with cooking spray and roast at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes, or until the tomatillos are soft but not overly browned.

Set aside.

In a medium size pan, place the shredded chicken. Add just enough water to barely cover the chicken. Add the spices and stir to combine.

Heat over medium heat and simmer, uncovered, until most of the water has cooked out. Set aside.

In a regular skillet, melt the butter over medium/medium low heat. Whisk in the flour to make a roux and cook another couple minutes, stirring frequently. Add the cream and whisk to combine. Cook for a few more minutes until starts to thicken. Add half the milk and whisk to incorporate. Allow to cook, stirring frequently, until thickened slightly. Add the rest of the milk and repeat process. When the sauce is heated through and has started to thicken again, add the tomatillos. Then add 1/3 of the cheese and allow to melt, stirring frequently, until well combined.

Set the rest of the cheese aside to top the enchiladas. Reduce the heat to low to keep warm while assembling the enchiladas.

Spoon a line of chicken into the center of a tortilla. Wrap the tortilla around the filling and pace seam down in a large casserole dish. Repeat until all the chicken and tortillas are used up.

Pour the sauce over the rolled tortillas.

Top with the remaining shredded cheese. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes,

until the cheese is melted and everything is hot and bubbly.

Serve and enjoy!

Taco Soup

This soup was really tasty. It's super thick and yummy, great for a cold night's dinner. This is also pretty easy and would be wonderful to make for a football watching party, or get together at the holidays, or whenever you need to feed a decent number of people. This recipe would easily feed four adults as a meal, I believe, so you could probably serve this for eight adults if you had a bunch of other food there.

This was the first time I have made taco soup, so, as is often the case, I will make some minor adjustments next time. Basically, I think it had too many tomatoes for my preference. I used a can of stewed tomatoes, and a can of Rotel tomatoes and chilis. Next time, I would either not use the whole can of stewed tomatoes, or I would not use Rotel and just add a small can of green chilis to the stewed tomatoes. It wasn't bad the way I made it, just needs a little tweaking for me to love it. I'll give you the exact recipe I used and you can adjust as you see fit.

So, without further ado, Taco Soup!

Ingredients:
-1-1.5 lb ground beef (use more for a larger group)
-2 or 3 tablespoons garlic powder
-2 tablespoons onion powder
-2 tablespoons chili powder
-1 teaspoon paprika
-1 teaspoon cumin
-1 can stewed tomatoes
-1 can Rotel tomatoes and chilis
-1 can pinto beans
-1 can whole kernel corn, drained
-1/2 to 1 cup water (as needed)
-1 package ranch dressing mix
-sour cream and shredded cheese for topping

Directions:
In a large pot over medium high heat, cook the ground beef until no longer pink. Drain and return to pot.

Reduce heat to medium.

Add in the garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, cumin, and paprika.

Stir it into the meat. It won't be 100% incorporated, but that's ok.

Next, add in the tomatoes and Rotel, canned liquid included.

Next add the pinto beans, liquid included.

Then the DRAINED corn.

Stir all the ingredients together until everything is well mixed.

It should be almost wet enough for soup from all the canned liquid added, but you can add some water if you need to.

I ended up adding a cup of water before I let the soup cook at all, and I was surprised how much more liquid was released from the veggies as they cooked, and probably could have gotten away with less water, but it was ok anyway.

When everything has started heating up and cooking and melding together, add in the ranch dressing mix. Stir to make sure it's well incorporated and not clumping up somewhere. Reduce the heat to low and let the soup simmer another 10 minutes or so to let everything marry together.

Serve hot, and top with a little dollup of sour cream...and some shredded cheese. :) I also served mine with tortilla chips, which was awesome.

It was nice to have a little bit of crunch in with the soup. Enjoy!

Southwest Pasta

I'm usually a fan of southwestern-type flavors. I guess it comes from my Texas roots. :) So when I decided to make pasta this time around, I decided I would try to make something a little different. Big shocker, huh? Haha.

This was actually semi-inspired by a pasta dish I had at a restaurant in my hometown, which just happens to be the place my husband and I went on our first date. They have a southwestern pasta dish, but it's a little different than mine. I don't even think I could remember everything that was in it, but I could make up my own. So I did. :)

This was actually pretty simple, and I think it turned out pretty well, so I hope you like it!

Ingredients:
-16 oz box of rotelle pasta (corkscrew looking pasta)
-3 tablespoons butter
-2 tablespoons flour
-1 cup heavy cream
-1 cup milk (I used 2%)
-2 tablespoons garlic powder
-1 tablespoon onion powder
-1 tablespoon chili powder
-1 can whole kernel corn, drained
-1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
-1 can Rotel tomatoes and peppers, drained

Directions:
In a large pot, bring water to a boil. Add in the pasta and cook until al dente, stirring occasionally. Drain, return to pot, and set aside.

While pasta is cooking, melt the butter in a medium sauce pan over medium/medium-low heat. Add in the flour and whisk to combine, forming a roux. Let it cook for a couple more minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in the heavy cream and whisk to incorporate. Let the cream heat up, stirring occasionally. The sauce should begin to thicken slightly. Add in the milk and whisk to incorporate. Let the milk heat up as well. The sauce will again thicken a bit. Add in the garlic powder, onion powder, and chili powder, and stir to combine. Reduce heat to low and continue cooking another few minutes, stirring occasionally, until sauce has thickened just a bit more.

Add the corn, black beans, and Rotel tomatoes and peppers to the pasta. Stir to combine.

Pour the sauce over the pasta, and stir to coat.

Serve immediately and enjoy! Yum!

Taco Dip

Can I just say that some days, I just want to snack all day? Meals are no fun, and I just want to munch. That was why this ended up on the menu. However, it is full of such great stuff it could totally make a meal. Haha. My husband and I were totally satisfied eating this for dinner. Cause we're cool like that.

This would also be a great dish to take to a party, or to have at your own. It's super easy, and it's great cold or room temperature, so no worrying about keeping it warm. So I hope you enjoy this as much as we did!

Ingredients:
-1 can refried beans
-1 lb ground beef
-1/2 cup water
-1 tablespoon garlic powder
-1 teaspoon onion powder
-2 tablespoons chili powder
-1/2 teaspoon cumin
-1/2-3/4 cup red enchilada sauce
-1.5 cups guacamole* (homemade recipe below)
-1.5 cups sour cream
-1 cup shredded cheese (I used Colby Jack)
-tortilla chips, for dipping

Directions:
Cook ground beef in a skillet over medium/high heat until no longer pink. Drain and return to skillet. Add the water, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, and cumin. Stir to incorporate well.

Reduce heat to medium. Let the water start to simmer, and stir occasionally. When the water has mostly evaporated and the meat has absorbed most of the flavor of the spices, it's done. Set aside.

In a square baking dish (approximately 9 by 9 inches), spread the refried beans in an even layer.

Add the ground beef as the next layer. Spoon the enchilada sauce over the beef in as even a layer as possible.

It won't be perfect, but that's ok.

Next, spread the guacamole* over the other three layers.

The next layer will be the sour cream,

and then the shredded cheese.

And you're done!

Serve with tortilla chips for dipping and dig in!

*Homemade guacamole:
Ingredients:
-2 avocados
-1 lime
-1 tablespoon garlic powder
-1 teaspoon onion powder
-1/2 teaspoon cumin
-1/4 teaspoon dried cilantro

Directions:
Cut around the pit of each avodaco. Gently twist the two halves apart. One half should contain the pit. Insert your knife blade into the pit, and gently turn it. If you do it right and you have a good avocado, it should twist right out. Discard the pit. Using a spoon, gently remove the avocado from the skin. Rough chop the avocado and place in a food processor, or a large mixing bowl.

Sprinkle with the juice of one lime. This will help to keep the avocado from oxidizing and turning brown, as well as adding a fresh flavor to the guacamole. Pulse the avocado (or mash with a fork if you don't have a food processor) until it reaches the desired consistency. For me, that's pretty smooth with few chunks, but feel free to leave it a little chunkier if that's your thing. Add the spices and pulse or mash to combine and incorporate well.

Once that's done, your guacamole is ready for consumption. Enjoy!

Southwest Chicken Tortilla Bowls

I've done tortilla bowls before...Taco bowls to be precise. They were fun, so I decided to make them again, but this time I did a Southwest Chicken version. Corn and black beans with some latin-ish spices, to me, equal southwest. So that's exactly what I added to these bowls. Haha.

These tortilla bowls are so easy. And you can do so much with them, too, they're just wonderful. I hope you enjoy this little creation as much as we did. Have fun with it! This recipe makes enough for 3 or 4 bowls. Gauge accordingly.

Ingredients:
-tortillas (one tortilla makes one bowl)
-1 cup uncooked rice
-1 chicken breast, cooked and shredded
-1 can whole kernel corn, drained
-1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
-1 tablespoon chili powder
-1 tablespoon garlic powder
-1 teaspoon onion powder
-1/2 teaspoon cumin
-shredded cheese, approximately 1/2-1 cup
-sour cream, for garnish

Directions:
On a cooking sheet, turn small ramekins upside down and spray with cooking spray. Press a tortilla on each ramekin to form an upside down bowl. Place in a 450 degree oven for about 5 minutes, until the tortilla is slightly golden and crispy.

Keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn. It should be able to stand up and keep it's shape on it's own.

Cook the rice according to package directions. Set aside.

In a small pot, add the shredded chicken, 1/3 cup water, and the spices. Simmer over medium/low heat, stirring occasionally, until the water has been mostly evaporated and the chicken has absorbed the flavor of the spices.

Heat up the corn and black beans in your preferred method.

Spoon some rice into the tortilla bowl.

Next, spoon some of the chicken,

then corn,

then black beans.

Top with cheese

and a dollup of sour cream.

Dig in and enjoy!

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

I have shared my Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas before, and I love them. My husband does too. So I decided to try something a little different just for fun.

It seems to me like when the weather warms up, I get in the mood for more...summery flavors or something. Does that happen to anyone else? Or perhaps I'm just nutty? Haha. Anyway...I decided to try some honey lime chicken enchiladas. Yum.

In order to cut down on the acidity of the lime and the sweetness of the honey, I added some heavy cream to the sauce. I think it really added something nice to the sauce without overwhelming the whole thing. This recipe made enough for at least 10-12 enchiladas. I hope you enjoy this great, kind of summery, enchilada recipe. :)

Ingredients:
-2 chicken breasts
-Marinade: juice of one lime (approximately 3-5 tablespoons), 3 tablespoons honey, 1 teaspoon chili powder
-two cans green enchilada sauce (or you can make my homemade sauce)
-1/2 cup heavy cream
-2 tablespoons honey
-juice of half a lime (approximately 2 tablespoons)
-1 teaspoon chili powder
-tortillas
-2 cups shredded cheese (I used a Mexican cheese blend)

Directions:
Cook the chicken, then shred it. I did this in my food processor,

but you can do it with two forks as well. Place the shredded chicken in a large zip top bag. Mix together the three marinade ingredients in a small bowl.

Add the marinade to the bag with the chicken. Knead the marinade into the chicken.

Set aside in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

When the chicken is marinated thoroughly, it's time to start everything else. In a sauce pan over medium low heat, heat the enchilada sauce. Add the lime juice, honey, and chili powder, and stir to combine.

Pour a little of this sauce mixture into the bottom of a 9 x 13 in baking dish, just enough to cover the bottom. Add the cream to the remaining sauce in the pan. Stir to combine.

Reduce heat to low and stir occasionally while compiling your enchiladas.

Sprinkle a little of the shredded cheese in a line in the middle of a tortilla.

Spoon on some of the chicken.

Roll the tortilla around the filling and place seam side down in the baking dish. Repeat until the baking dish is full.

Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the entire dish of rolled tortillas.

Sprinkle with the remaining shredded cheese.

Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 15 minutes, until everything is hot and bubbly and yummy.

Woohoo!