Chicken Enchilada Pasta

I stumbled across this gem of a recipe several months ago (my picture file says June) on a website called My Kitchen Cafe. I was frantically searching through my files trying to find a recipe to post. I stumbled across this one and can't believe I've neglected it before now! It's so super good. I was skeptical when I first read it because I thought, "Enchiladas and pasta? Together? Really?" But the combination is a perfect marriage of texture and flavor. It's just perfection.

This dish has the potential to be super spicy, depending on what kind of enchilada sauce you use. I use mild because I'm a wimp.....er, I mean, because my kids don't love spicy food. I made it once using medium enchilada sauce, and even that was a bit much for us. So if you're not big into spicy, make sure you use mild.

Ingredients:
2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed or shredded
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 medium onion, diced
1 red pepper, diced
4-ounce can diced green chilies
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
2 (10-oz) cans green chili enchilada sauce
2/3 cup red enchilada sauce
1 can large black olives, cut in half
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese
16-20 oz. penne pasta

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and cook the pasta until tender. While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet and cook the onion for 2-3 minutes, or until translucent. Add the garlic and red pepper and cook for another 2 minutes, until pepper is barely tender. Add the cooked chicken, green chilies, spices, enchilada sauces and olives. Let the sauce simmer for about 8-10 minutes. Add the sour cream and cheese and heat through, until the cheese is melted. Be careful not to boil the sauce, otherwise your dairy will curdle. Pour the sauce over the hot pasta. Garnish with extra sour cream, cheese, diced tomatoes, green onions, crushed tortilla chips, diced avocado, shredded lettuce, etc.

Have you ever tried something that originally sounded weird, but you ended up loving it?

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Turkey Chili

Once again, my trusty America's Test Kitchen cookbook has come to the rescue! Oh. my. word. This was SO good. SoooooOOOOOoooo good. Yum!! There's just nothing else I can say, really. It's perfection.

Serve with cornbread for a really easy, filling, tasty meal! This chili can be cooked ahead of time and refrigerated for up to 3 days. Or you can freeze it for up to a month. Reheat over low heat, adding additional water or broth as needed for the right consistency.

Ingredients:
2 onions, minced (just use 1 if you have a larger onion)
1 red bell pepper, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
2 teaspoons coriander
1/2 to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
salt
2 pounds ground turkey (I used 85/15, but use whatever you have)
2 15.5 ounce cans kidney beans, rinsed
1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes, UNdrained
1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

Toppings:
cilantro
lime juice
shredded cheddar cheese
avocado
fresh diced tomatoes
sliced green onion

Combine the onions, bell pepper, garlic, chili powder, cumin, coriander, red pepper flakes, oregano, cayenne, oil, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large pot or Dutch oven. Cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until the vegetables have softened, about 12 minutes.

Uncover and increase the heat to medium-high. Stir in the turkey, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink and just beginning to brown, about 4 minutes. Stir in the beans, diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, broth, and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer, and cook, uncovered, until the chili has begun to thicken, about 1 hour.

Ladle into bowls, and top with your choice of toppings. ENJOY!

Are you salivating yet?! You should be!

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Bagel Pizzas

Is summer going by crazy fast for anyone else? My hubby has summers off (he's a school psychologist), so we've been really busy almost every second. He goes back to work at the end of next week (BOO!), so things will start to settle down a bit after that. Come August, I'll have 2 of my 3 kids in school, so I'll have much more time for this little blog of mine!

So anyway, the other night we were late getting home from the pool and were starving. I had some bagels and pepperoni about ready to go bad and needed to use them up. Thus, this idea popped into my head. My kids scoffed at me ("Bagel pizzas? Are you sure, Mom?") at first, but then I reminded them that we always see those pre-made frozen ones at the store. They still were skeptical because we've never purchased the ones at the store before, but everyone loved these.

You could totally make them ahead of time and keep them in the freezer for quick meals. I plan on doing that and then popping them in the fridge to defrost to send with my kids to school that week. Pizza is so versatile (you can eat it hot or cold), so I think it'll be perfect for their lunches to change things up a bit.

Lastly, this is a perfect meal to let your kids prepare! My kids were fighting over who got to spread the sauce, and they loved spreading on the cheese and pepperoni. :)

Ingredients:
plain bagels
pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce
shredded mozzarella
pizza toppings

Break bagels in half, and lay them out on a foil-lined baking sheet. Top with a few spoonfuls of sauce, then cheese, then toppings. Sprinkle a little extra cheese on top before baking.

Bake at 375* for about 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and pepperoni starts to get crispy around the edges.

I served ours with some fresh, sliced cantaloupe and a salad. It was a really yummy summer supper!

What meals do you throw together in a pinch?

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Turkey, Bacon, and Avocado Wraps

This is just to give you some inspiration and isn't a recipe. I often will see things on a website and think, "Duh! Why didn't I think of that?!" or "Oh, yeah! I love that meal!" My family gets really sick of sandwiches, so this is my way of tricking my kids. It always seems like it's more fun wrapped up in a tortilla as opposed to being in between 2 slices of bread.

I'm sure you are well aware of the pure bliss that comes from the combination of turkey, bacon, and avocado. Plus, you get to eat bacon, and that's never a bad thing. Everyone needs more excuses to eat bacon. ;-)

The ingredients list is just what I had on hand the day I made these. There are tons of ways to improvise. I was in a hurry on this day and just threw these together in a flash, so they don't contain anything that required a lot of chopping/rinsing/dishes.

Ingredients:
turkey breast (I just used thick sliced lunch meat)
cream cheese, softened
1 avocado, sliced
lettuce (I used romaine)
bacon (less mess by cooking it in the oven!)
1 tomato, sliced
flour tortillas

Spread the cream cheese onto each tortilla, then top with remaining ingredients. Roll up, and cut in half on an angle. I secured mine with toothpicks so they'd stay rolled up.

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Crunchy Onion Barbecue Chicken

This is another recipe that I got from Full Bellies, Happy Kids. She said she got it from Taste of Home. I don't remember seeing it in any of the recent magazines, so I'm glad I saw it on her blog. It was really tasty! My kids devoured it, and it was super easy and quick. I always have all the ingredients on hand, so it's a perfect go-to meal. I served mine with buttermilk mashed potatoes. It would go great with anything you'd serve at a barbecue -- corn on the cob, potato salad, etc -- or serve it with green bean casserole to use up more of the French's french fried onions.

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
1 1/3 cups French's french fried onions, crushed
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Combine onions, cheese and pepper in a shallow dish or bowl. Put barbecue sauce into separate shallow dish or bowl. Coat both sides of chicken breast halves into barbecue sauce, then dip one side into onion mixture. Place chicken onion side up on a foil lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400* for about 25 minutes, or until cooked through.

Do you have any yummy recipes that use French's french fried onions (besides green bean casserole)?

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Breakfast Sandwiches

My semester is over! I finished all my finals last week and have 2 weeks of school-free bliss before summer semester starts. I know it's going to go by way too fast!

Today's post isn't a recipe, it's a method. Since going back to school, I've been so busy that I've had to come up with a larger repertoire of quick and easy meals. My kids aren't lovers of cereal for breakfast. I've spoiled them with hot breakfast too much, I guess. The other morning, my oldest asked if we could go to McDonald's for breakfast since I had a busy day ahead of me with finals. That's when I got the idea to just make McD's at home instead -- healthier, cheaper, and faster.

These would also be a great thing to have on hand in the freezer for even quicker breakfasts.

You can do these sandwiches tons of ways. Poach or scramble the eggs instead of frying them. Add sausage or bacon instead of ham. Serve on biscuits instead of English muffins.

Ingredients:
English muffins
eggs
cheese
ham or Canadian bacon

Cook eggs however you want. This particular morning, I fried them in a little butter. Meanwhile, toast English muffins in the toaster. When eggs are done, assemble sandwiches.

I popped mine in the oven for a couple of minutes just to melt the cheese.

How often do you make a hot breakfast?

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Spaghetti a la Philly

First off, I'm sorry about the lack of posting (again with the lack of posting!). It's finals for me right now, and it's just been a bit crazy. One week left! Woo!

A few weeks ago, I told you about the hot corn dip I found from Full Bellies, Happy Kids. Well, since then, I have tried many of her recipes and have really enjoyed them all! Today's is also from her site. She said she originally found it from Love My Philly. I have yet to check out that site, but I'm going to. We always have cream cheese on hand, and I'd love to come up with new ways to use it!

So this recipe was super simple and tasty. It's a perfect quick weeknight meal. It really intrigued my kids that their spaghetti had cream cheese in it. My kids love spaghetti anyway, but this made it even more kid-friendly. Admittedly, my husband was very skeptical ("Cream cheese in spaghetti? Are you sure about that?"), but he even said it was yummy after we were finished.

Ingredients:
3/4 pound spaghetti
1 pound ground beef
1 jar spaghetti sauce
4 ounces cream cheese, cubed
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Cook noodles according to package directions. While noodles cook, brown ground beef in a saute pan; drain. Add spaghetti sauce and cream cheese, and cook until cream cheese is melted.

Drain spaghetti, and toss with sauce. Serve topped with Parmesan.

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Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Aaaaaaaaaaand we're back! :)

Wow, going back to school was a rude awakening for me! I thought, "Yeah, I can totally do it! No sweat! How hard can it be?" Um, hard. Really hard. Now I'm juggling 3 hats -- Mom, Wife and Student. But as hard as it is, it's still great to be doing something for me!

Anyway. This recipe we tried for the first time last night. I got it out of my Healthy Cooking magazine back in December of last year and finally remembered to try it. It was really tasty and SO easy. It's also a great meal to have on hand in the freezer. You can have it completely prepared and then just pop it in the oven on a busy day. Fabulous! You could also easily make this in the crock pot. And if you wanted, you could even turn this into a great appetizer for a party. Just omit the rice and serve the meatballs on toothpicks with extra sauce for dipping!

The only thing I changed was that I omitted the raisins. We didn't have any anyway, but I thought that sounded really gross to put in the meatballs. My husband says he thinks it would be really good, so we'll try it with raisins next time, I guess.

Ingredients:
1 15 ounce can tomato sauce
1 cup water, divided
1/2 cup raisins
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/4 cup egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 pound ground beef
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 cups hot cooked rice

In a saucepan, combine tomato sauce, 3/4 cup water, raisins, brown sugar and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the bread crumbs, seasonings, egg and milk. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into 1 1/2 inch meatballs. Put meatballs into sauce. Cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until meatballs are no longer pink. In a small bowl, combine flour and remaining water, then stir into meatball mixture, cooking for 2 minutes, or until slightly thickened. Serve with rice.

What's your favorite meal to have on hand in the freezer?

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Pork Chops with Blue Cheese Sauce

This came from my Healthy Cooking magazine. It is so simple, super fast and really tasty. Even if you're not much of a blue cheese fan, I think you'd still like this because the sauce is very mild. We love blue cheese, so I added a bit more than the recipe called for. My kids gobbled this up, and my husband said he wished I'd made more because he wanted a second helping.

My other favorite part of this meal was that it only used a small pot! The chops are cooked in the oven. I lined my baking sheet with foil, so all I had to wash was the pot I cooked the sauce in. Gotta love that!

Ingredients
4 bone-in pork loin chops
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 green onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
2/3 cup milk
3 tablespoons blue cheese, crumbled
1 tablespoon white wine or chicken broth

Sprinkle the pork chops on both sides with pepper. Broil 3-4 inches from the heat for 4-6 minutes each side, or until meat thermometer registers 160*. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, saute onion and garlic in butter until tender. Sprinkle with flour and cook for 1 minute. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Add cheese and wine (or broth). Stir until heated through. Pour sauce over chops and enjoy!

Are you ready to have your kids back in school yet? ;)

Not sure what to do with the extra blue cheese?
Blue Cheese Dressing
Walnut Blue Cheese Salad
Buffalo Chicken Salad

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Egg Drop Soup

This is a super easy and cheap dish to make for a crowd. I love it because it's so easy and comes together in a flash! We served it with potstickers from the frozen section of the grocery store for a really fast meal.

I'm not a huge Chinese food fan, but I do really like egg drop soup. The problem with soup from every restaurant I've been to is that it's usually really greasy. This soup doesn't have that problem, and I think it tastes just as good as any soup I've ordered at a restaurant. Next time I make it, I think I'm going to add mushrooms.

If you want, you can make it totally vegetarian by using vegetable stock in place of the chicken stock! It's an awesome meatless meal.

Ingredients:
4 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 eggs
green onions, sliced

Pour 3 cups chicken broth into a large pot. Add ginger, green onions and salt. Bring to a boil.

In another bowl, combine remaining chicken broth with cornstarch, mixing until cornstarch is completely dissolved. Set aside. Whisk eggs together, then pour slowly into the boiling broth mixture, stirring constantly.

After the eggs are poured in, then add the cornstarch. Serve immediately.

Are you ready for CHRISTMAS?!
I can't believe we're down to 2 days now!

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Cream Biscuits

Christmas is coming! I can't believe it's this Friday. Crazy how fast this year has gone! In honor of Christmas being this week, I thought I'd post recipes that will make your holiday entertaining easier. There's almost nothing worse than having a house full of guests and not knowing what to feed them that is quick, easy and cheap!

These cream biscuits are quick, easy AND cheap. They come together in a flash and are really tasty. I love biscuits but never thought I could make them. My mom always told me it's tricky to make biscuits, so now I'm wondering what recipe she uses because this is seriously easy!

There are only 2 things to remember when making biscuits. First, don't over-knead the dough. Knead it as little as possible, otherwise the biscuits will be tough. And secondly, if you use a biscuit cutter, DO NOT (I repeat DO NOT!) twist the cutter. Just push it straight down, then pull it straight up. If you twist it, your biscuits will rise all wonky and will look really lopsided.

If you want to make these ahead, you can. But they'll only be good in the fridge for up to 2 hours. Just prepare the dough, cut out the biscuits, put them on the parchment-lined baking sheet and then cover with plastic wrap before refrigerating.

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

**This recipe will make about 10 biscuits.**

Adjust an oven rack to the upper-middle position and preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl. Stir in the cream with a wooden spoon until the dough forms, about 30 seconds. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and gather into a ball. Knead until the dough becomes smooth, about 30 seconds.

Roll the dough into a 3/4 inch circle. Cut the biscuits into rounds using a biscuit cutter or into wedges using a knife.

Place the biscuits on the parchment-lined baking sheet.

Then bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Serve with butter, jam, honey butter or sausage gravy!

Do you have company coming for Christmas?
Any special holiday meals you like to make?

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Cream Cheese Tuna Spread

**First of all, don't forget to enter our GIVE-AWAY! It ends tomorrow, so you've still got time to earn that extra entry!**

This giveaway is now closed.


My mom recently moved, and she got rid of a lot of things to prepare for that. She gave me several of her cookbooks, one of which is called California's Lite 'n Easy Recipes. That is where I got this recipe from. It's in the appetizers section, but I doubled the recipe so we could eat it as a light lunch. My kids loved it. It would also be a great thing to serve at a party.

The only things I did differently from the recipe was I added finely diced red bell pepper and used green onion instead. You could add in any combination of veggies, sweet relish, parsley, etc. And if you really want it to be low-fat, use fat-free cream cheese.

Ingredients:
1 can water-packed tuna, drained
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons celery, finely chopped
1 tablespoon onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Combine tuna and cream cheese, stirring until thoroughly mixed. Then add in the other ingredients. Chill for at least 30 minutes to allow flavors to blend. Serve with crackers, in pita bread, in crescent rolls, etc.

Do you like tuna? When you buy canned tuna, do you prefer it packed in oil or water?

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Huevos Rancheros

I've been on a mission to find meatless meals and came across this one in my trusty Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. I'd never even had Huevos Rancheros before, even at a restaurant, so I thought it would be perfect to try. It was super easy and really good.

You can make these for breakfast, lunch or dinner. We had them for dinner tonight, so I served them up with a side of refried beans and cheese.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
16 ounce can stewed tomatoes, chopped
2 tablespoons diced green chilies
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
5-7 corn tortillas
7 eggs
3/4 cup Monterey Jack or cheddar, shredded

In a large skillet, cook onion in olive oil. Stir in undrained tomatoes, diced green chilies, garlic powder and chili powder. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, brush tortillas with some olive oil and bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes, or until crisp. Once tomato mixture has thickened, crack one egg at a time into a measuring cup. Gently pour egg into tomato mixture, then repeat with remaining eggs.

Simmer gently, covered, for 3-5 minutes, or until the whites are completely set and yolks begin to thicken (but are not hard). To serve, place a tortilla on a plate, top with 1-2 eggs, some of the tomato mixture and then cheese.

We don't have a very comment-happy group lately!
Show us some love -- leave a comment!

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Apricot Pork

This meal is something I threw together as a way to condense the amount of things in my fridge and freezer (some pork chops and an almost-empty jar of jam). I've seen this combination of flavors all over the place, in magazines and restaurants, but I've never tried it before. I'm kind of paranoid about cooking pork, so I usually just cook it in the crock pot so I can shred it and be sure it's done. But I decided to give these a go in the oven instead. It seriously took me like no time at all to prep. I kept wondering if a meal that easy to prepare would really end up being tasty, but it was! No measurements. Just sprinkle, spread, bake and voila! Yummy-ness. The jam on top might seem too thick and weird at first. But as the chops cook, they release a lot of juices, which thin out the jam and form a really tasty sauce.

Ingredients:
4 bone-in pork chops, thawed
oregano, dried
garlic powder
salt
apricot jam

Let meat come to room temperature for a few minutes. Preheat oven to 325. Place chops in a 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle with oregano, garlic powder and salt. Flip over and season other side. Spread jam over the top (I think I used about 1/4 cup) and bake for 15 minutes. Flip chops over, baste with sauce, return to oven and bake another 15 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. Drizzle sauce over the top before serving.

Anyone doing anything fun this weekend?

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Gnocchi

Every time I make this, it always makes me miss having cable. I got this recipe from the Food Network channel years ago. Good ol' Giada. I used to love Everyday Italian. I'd never tried gnocchi before and always assumed it took a painstakingly long time to make. Boy, was I wrong.

Normally, when I'm in the mood for Italian food, my brain automatically wants fettuccine Alfredo. I loooove me some Alfredo sauce. Considering my hips/waist/thighs/rear don't love Alfredo sauce as much as I do, it's great that I found a yummy alternative. Speaking of Alfredo, I'm going to try topping my gnocchi with it next time I eat it!

This is super kid-friendly, too. My kids gobbled this up. And had second helpings. Second helpings!! We ate it plain the first night (with just butter and shredded Parmesan), but then my husband and I ate more for a late dinner last night, and we topped it with tomato sauce (spaghetti sauce works, or you can use tomato sauce that you season with oregano, thyme, etc). Either way, it's delish.

It would be a big hit at a party! Perfect finger food (well, skewered with toothpicks). It's great as a main dish (which is how we ate it this time) or as a side dish.

ALSO (did you know there was so much to say about gnocchi?!), since it's made from potatoes (starch), it's super filling. And it's a meatless meal. I'm always on the lookout for meatless meals, so that's another reason why I love this dish. Cheap, meatless, yummy, easy, perfect.

Ingredients:
3 pounds potatoes (mine were on the smaller side, so I used about 8 potatoes)
3-4 cups flour
1 egg
salt

Put whole potatoes in a large pot of water (you won't be eating the skins, so you don't *have* to wash them, but I do anyway). Boil for 45 minutes.

While still warm, peel the skins off (they're so soft that you can just use your fingers -- after letting them cool a bit first!).

Place in your mixer and whip with your whisk attachment. If you don't have a mixer, you can just use a large bowl (or the pot) and a potato masher. But when I first did it that way, it was too chunky, so I used my mixer instead. Perfect consistency that way. After it's blended, make a well in the center. Crack the egg into the well and then sprinkle with flour (start with 3 cups and add more if you need it).

Then you knead. Knead until it all comes together. Add more flour if you need to. Now, this next part you can do one of two ways (i.e. the traditional way or my made up way). The traditional way is to take softball size balls of the dough and roll them out into long strips (like as snake). Then you cut them into 3/4" size pieces. I didn't really like doing that, so what I do is just take a portion of dough and roll them into balls in my hands (probably 1-1.5" balls). Much bigger than the traditional size, but I like them better that way. Plus, I have young kids, so it's easier for them to stab their forks into that way.

Next, you drop them into a few inches of simmering water. Do it in batches so you don't overload your pan (which will lower the cooking temperature of your water and make the process take longer). Swish them around a bit while they cook so they don't stick together. When they float, they're done.

Drain, and then brown them in a couple tablespoons of butter until lightly browned.

Sprinkle with shredded Parmesan (or tomato/spaghetti sauce) and serve!

What's your favorite starch?

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