Salsa Verde Enchiladas

Ok, so I take no credit for these. I got these, again, from my mother-in-law, who got them from a neighbor. But they are so easy and so good that they deserve another shout out. Plus, the blog needed something! My oldest son started kindergarten, which I didn't realize would take over my life, and then I've battled a not so awesome three + months of pregnancy which has made trying new recipes not a great idea.

So I'm passing along one of our go-tos! Give it a try and let me know what you think.

http://afoodieinutah.blogspot.com/2010/11/salsa-verde-chicken-enchiladas.html

I have found that the brand of salsa makes a big difference. Not a better/worse, but you'll need to decide what you like!

Serve with this...

http://afoodieinutah.blogspot.com/2010/08/cilantro-lime-rice.html

or a packet of Lipton Rice- Taco flavor! SO GOOD!

A Good Summertime Go-To

I love trying new foods, especially when they come from a reliable source and know they'll be good. Here's the newest one I love!

Fish Tacos with Lime Cilantro Crema

We made these with chicken, cause I had that on hand, and they were awesome! I will try tilapia next.

I also grilled the chicken instead of baking, to save ourselves from the summertime heat and it worked perfect.

Let me know what you think and give me any new good recipes to try!

Lemon Pork Chops

So I can't tell if this is blurry or not, but this is a picture of a picture. I definitely don't take credit for the fancy layout they've done here. This is from some recipe cards I got in the mail and some of them have turned out to be really quite good.

This one, for example, is one of our new favorites! It throws together quickly and it has simple ingredients. The last time I made it, I new I'd be busy all day, so I floured the pork and mixed up my sauce and put it in the fridge first thing in the morning. Twenty minutes before we wanted to eat, I threw it on. So great! And it's a quick stove-top of skillet recipe, another awesome bonus in the summer time.

Recipe:
1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 1/2 lbs boneless pork chops (thin ones, about 1/8" thick)
2 T butter
2 T oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 medium onion, minced
1/2 c chicken broth
1/4 c fresh lemon juice
1 T grated lemon zest

Combine the flour, salt and pepper in a shallow dish. Coat the pork with the flour.

Heat the butter and oil in a large skillet over med-high heat. Saute the onion and garlic lightly. Add the pork in batches until browned on both sides and cooked through, about 2-3 minutes per side. Remove the pork to a plate and keep warm with foil.

Add the broth, lemon juice and zest. Stir until the liquid thickens to make the sauce. (I usually have to add a bit more flour here)

Place pork on serving plate and pour sauce over the pork. Serve immediately.

***My kids ate this really well, but they thought it was a bit lemony. So the second time I made it, I kept the sauce on the side and used it as a dip, so you could add as much as you wanted.
***I like things saucy. So I doubled the sauce and then I had plenty to use with these potatoes that I served with it.

Hope you like it!

My New Favorite

So we've been in a major boring cycle of eating the same things over and over that are easy and stuff I don't have to think to much about. But in the mix of those, we've been eating THIS a lot. My mother-in-law tried it and I fell in love and now we make it all the time.

On her link it shows the stove top way. I've made it in the crock pot and it works out just fine as long as you have that extra cup of water with the juices for the last few steps.

Give this one a try and don't forget the queso fresco!

Chicken with Creamy Scalloped Potatoes

This is another from the Grandma Naylor collection. She is an excellent cook and I love collecting recipes from her.

Sorry for the picture, the lighting is all wrong, but I can't do much about the time of day or the light that comes in my window.

This is so easy, so quick and is a crock pot meal. All great qualities in a recipe.

Recipe:
4 chicken breasts - I used about 8 chicken tenders
onion and garlic powder
salt and pepper
4-6 russet potatoes, peeled and sliced into about 1/4" slices
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 c sour cream
*You can use the low or non-fat versions of both the soup and sour cream to lighten this meal up. And if you're like me and like things with lots of sauce, double this!
Season the chicken with the onion and garlic powder and salt and pepper. Brown both sides in about 2 T heated oil. Set aside. Spray crock pot with cooking spray. Mix the soup and sour cream. Place a layer of sliced potatoes in the bottom of the crock pot and lightly season with salt and pepper. Spread a thin layer of the soup mixture over the the potatoes. Continue with all the potatoes, then place the chicken on the top and spread the remaining soup mixture on top. Cook on low 7-8 hours or high 3 1/2 to 4 hours.

San Francisco Chops

I've been trying a lot of new recipes lately and came across this one... The kids ate it. My husband loved it. It's a crockpot meal =easy. So many great things. The recipe calls for low-sodium soy sauce. I had regular on hand, so that's what I used. Next time I will be using low-sodium. The sauce turned out a bit salty, but still delicious. Also, DOUBLE the sauce. Even triple if your the saucy type. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Tortilla and Black Bean Pie

I got this recipe from my really great friend, Whitney. We've loved it and it's one of those fun ones you can make with whatever you want. This is the vegetarian version, but it would be good with some seasoned ground beef or shredded chicken. It goes together fairly quickly and has lots of great flavor. We served ours with some fresh guacamole, but you could top it with anything.

Recipe:
4 flour tortillas
1 jalepeno- minced (for less heat, take out ribs and seeds)
1/2 onion- diced
2 garlic cloves- minced
1/2 tsp cumin
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed (we used one black, one red- it added good color)
1 1/2 c water
1 can corn-drained
2 1/2 c cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 9" pie pan. Heat 2 T oil in skillet. Add onion, jalepeno, garlic and cumin. Season with a little salt and pepper, cooking til onion and pepper are soft. Add beans and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until almost all the water is absorbed and then stir in the corn. Remove from heat. Layer in you pie pan, tortilla, 1/4 of the bean mixture, then cheese. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Bake for 20-25 min, until heated through and cheese is melted. Serve sliced into wedges with whatever you want!

You can make this in the morning and refrigerate until ready to cook. Just add 5 minutes to cooking time. Great if dinner time is always busy time!

Best-Ever BBQ Chicken

I got this recipe in the mail from "CookingMyWay". The picture looked good, so we gave it a whirl.
The kids devoured it! It was just me and the kids and they polished every piece of chicken I cooked and I had even tossed in a few extra tenders just to finish off the pack. Served with mashed potatoes and gravy (even if it was just a cheap packet mix) and corn, this was a hit!

Since I was husbandless, we chose to broil the chicken instead of grill, which worked just fine. If you choose that route, put foil on your pan. I did and was glad I did. The extra sauce that dripped down burns quite a bit with the heat from the broiler and it made clean-up easy!

When we have this again, because the kids said they would be sure to remind me to make it again, I want to try it grilled. Grilling would make this a great summer-time meal.

Oh, and don't bother making extra for dipping. I did and it wasn't very good. It has a very strong ketchup flavor and really needs the heat to carmelize the brown sugar. Let me know what you think!

Recipe:
1/4 c ketchup
3 T cider vinegar
1 T worcestire sauce
2 tsp brown sugar-firmly packed
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp black pepper (my kids thought this was too much, I'd do a dash)
3 skinless chicken thighs
3 skinless chicken legs (I bagged both and just use tenders)

Preheat grill to medium heat or turn on broiler. Place a rack 3 inches from the heat.
Combine all sauce ingredients, except pepper, in small sauce pan. Mix well and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Stirring constantly, until thickens, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add in pepper.
Brush some sauce on one side of the chicken. Place the chicken sauce side down on the grill or sauce side up under the broiler. Grill or broil, turning and basting with remaining sauce until the chicken is cooked through and the juices run clear, about 6-8 min on each side.

Chicken and Rice

I think everyone has a version of this and most of them are good. This one is one of those really quick and easy dinners that you almost always have the ingredients for in your pantry and fridge. I grew up with this meal and it proved itself again in my home. Not on my 'healthiest dinners' list, but we all need a few meals that are fast, delicious and a hit with the kids. A great meal when you don't want to think about dinner.


Chicken and Rice
1 can cream of chicken
1 can cream of mushroom
1 can cream of celery
1 can of water
1 cup uncooked minute rice
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) melted butter or margarine
salt and pepper
chicken breasts or tenders

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Mix all the ingredients except the chicken, seasoning with the salt and pepper (you can always add more later, don't over do it). Pour the soup mixture into a 9x3 and then settle the chicken into the mixture. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through, uncovering for the last 10 minutes.


Another great thing about this dish is it's easy to play with. The regular recipe isn't quite enough for my family and leftovers for my husband's lunch the next day. So I thrown in an extra can or two of the soups I have and maybe another cup of rice and can of water. Only put as much meat as you'll need, and if you want to stretch your dollar, cut the chicken into bite size pieces and mix it in with the soup.


Serve with a green salad or a whatever veggies you have. Enjoy!

Five Hour Stew

We just had THIS for dinner. It's one of those perfect winter time meals. I throw the celery and onions in the food processor so my kiddos don't know they're there and all goes well. I served them with THESE, which I had to learn how to make once I married into my husband's family. This is a true 'comfort food' meal.

This meal also works well in the crock pot, just follow the same instructions, but cook on low for u8 hours in your slow cooker. In the winter, using my oven helps keep my house warm on a cold day.