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!

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.

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.

Potato, Egg and Cheese Skillet

We loved this! It started out as a recipe from Kraft, but it needed a little help, so we tweaked it and were quite pleased with how it turned out. Served with grape juice, it was perfect.

Recipe:

3 T melted butter

1 pkg dry Ranch seasoning

3 med-lg potatoes, peeled and sliced thinly

1 T oil

6 eggs, beaten

salt

pepper

2-3 slices of thick sliced ham, diced

1 cup grated cheddar cheese (or whatever you cheese you like or have on hand, I used white cheddar, and that was awesome)

Toss the potatoes with the melted butter and Ranch seasoning. Stirring until well coated. Heat the oil in a large skillet, over med heat. Pour seasoned potatoes into the skillet. Cover and cook until browned and fork tender, stirring often to avoid sticking (about 15 min). Generously season the eggs with the salt and pepper and pour over potatoes, top with diced ham and cover. Cooking until the eggs are set, do not stir (about 8-10 min). Sprinkle with cheese and cover again, cooking until melted.

This is a good one to mix it up with. You could substitute the ham for cooked sausage or bacon. Try a different seasoning packet with the potatoes. Whatever sounds good. This was really easy and really good. Perfect for a busy weeknight!

Perfect Pulled Pork

I've seen this recipe in just about every magazine I flip through. It looked good and easy, so we gave it a whirl. It was well worth it. This is one of the best new recipes I've tried in a long time!

The recipe was from the people that do the 'pork, the other white meat' ads. You know the ones. So I guess they really know what they're talking about. We topped ours with Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce, and it was perfect pulled pork.

Recipe:

5 lbs boneless pork butt shoulder (I did not buy this much and I used a picnic roast)

1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika

2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 c water (I used less since I had a smaller roast)

soft sandwich buns

Combine all seasonings in a small bowl and rub evenly over roast. Place meat in 6 qt slow cooker. Add water. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hrs or high for 4-5 hrs until pork is very tender. Place pork on cutting board or platter and let rest for 10-15 minutes. Pull, slice or chop to serve. Serve on buns with BBQ sauce.

I probably would have just tossed all the meat with sauce, but I used the left over meat for quesadillas the next day and didn't want BBQ pork for those. Either way would work great!

Chicken with Mustard Cream Sauce

I tried this recipe out of a magazine and it turned out really good!

I made some changes of my own and they did not disappoint.

You start by cooking bacon. Not a bad way to start.

Cook your chicken in the bacon drippings.
(The original recipe calls for pork chops, but I had chicken, so that's what I used)

Make your mustard cream sauce and finish cooking your meat in all the good flavor.

Top your veggies (they wanted brussel sprouts, my kids eat beans) with the bacon and enjoy your chicken, or pork chops, with or without rice.

**When I make this again, and I will make it again, I will maybe double the sauce. We liked the chicken with rice, and the sauce adds good flavor over the rice.**

Recipe:

Cook 4 slices of bacon in a large skillet until crisp. Drain bacon on a paper towel and reserve drippings in pan.

Season 4 (3/4 inch thick) boneless pork chops (or use chicken, I used tenders) with pepper and kosher salt. Lightly dust with flour. Cook in bacon drippings over medium heat for about 7 minutes, turning once, or until nicely browned.

Remove meat to a plate; add 1 minced shallot (I diced green onions and added some minced garlic) and saute 30 seconds.

Deglaze skillet with 1/2 cup white wine (I used apple juice), then whisk in 2/3 cup heavy cream and 1 tsp Dijon mustard; let sauce reduce by half. Return meat into skillet and simmer until cooked through (about 3-5 min).

Serve with veggies topped with crisp bacon bits.

Fajita Tostadas

I realize I've posted about tostadas before, but this is a twist on the original. Delicious and easy, and that's my biggest goal in cooking, so why not?!

I actually got this from a friend's blog and she got it from her friend, that I don't know. I've made my own adjustments and have loved this meal every time I've made it.

You start by roasting the veggies and chicken with some corn and salsa.

Then melt some cheese and brown up your tostada shells

Then assemble with all the fixings.

It really is as good as it looks.
Not judging by the photography of course.

This time around I forgot that I didn't have any chicken and didn't have time to go to the store. So we skipped out on chicken and I just added beans to the veggies when I roasted them. I also tossed my onion and pepper in a marinade for an hour or so before hand. Both changes worked out beautifully!

Recipe:

1 med onion- sliced

1 bell pepper- sliced (we love red or yellow the best)

1 box of frozen corn or one can of corn, drained

about 1 cup prepared salsa- you can use jarred or bottled, but fresh, like pico de gallo, is best

olive oil

1-2 cups cooked and shredded chicken, depends on how meaty you like your meal, we like less so the veggies can shine

6 corn tortillas or tostada shells

1 c cheese, cheddar or pepper jack are good choices for this

Move rack to highest setting, under the broiler and preheat the oven to 450. Line a baking sheet with foil and put your onion, pepper, corn, and about 1/2 cup of salsa on the foil. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and toss together. Roast veggies, tossing occasionally until tender and lightly browned. That takes about 15-20 minutes. Add the chicken, toss and roast an additional five minutes. Transfer all that into a bowl and discard foil.

Now you can use tostada shells and sprinkle with grated cheese and toast. Or you can use tortillas. Brush them with olive oil. Bake until lightly toasted, then sprinkle with cheese and continue baking until the cheese melts.

Then top the tostadas with the chicken and veggies and then top like you would a fajita. Lettuce, tomatoes, guacamole, sour cream, and your remaining salsa. So good!

Turkey Tacos

Don't let the turkey scare you away. It cooks up just like ground beef and tastes great! My friend from work that suggested them, his wife doesn't eat red meat, so this is a great alternative. I'd never used ground turkey before, but I really liked it and may start throwing it some of my other dishes.

This was a nice toss up to the traditional taco seasoning taco. It was a little sweet but still a lot of good flavor. I didn't add the dried cranberries, I was going to, but it was the last thing on my list and they weren't where I thought they were at the store and my kids were done with the shopping thing. Maybe next time. If you like that sort of thing, I'm sure it would add another level of flavor, and good color.

Turkey Tacos:
1 lb ground turkey
1 pkg taco seasoning
3/4 c water
3/4 c green onions
1 T sugar
1 T apple cider vinegar
1/2 c dried cranberries
4 tsp chopped cilantro

Cook turkey until browned. Drain off fat. Stir in all the other ingredients except cilantro and cranberries. Cover and cook over med-low heat, simmering for two minutes. Uncover and stir in cilantro and cranberries. Simmer five more minutes. Serve on a tortillas with sour cream, cheese, guacomole, lettuce, tomatoes, etc.

Spicy Black Bean Enchiladas

This is a pretty quick and easy enchilada recipe. I've tweaked a few things to make it a little more our style.
Recipe:
8 flour tortillas *I highly recommend the uncooked tortillas*
2 15 oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 pkg enchilada seasoning
2/3 c water (this wasn't quite enough, I think I'd go closer to 3/4)
1 10 oz can enchilada seasoning- we like medium, if you can handle the heat!
1 c sour cream
shredded cheese- the pepper jack I used turned out really good, but use whatever you have or like

In skillet, mix water and seasoning packet, then stir in the beans. Let that simmer til the sauce thickens and beans are tender. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup of sour cream.
Assemble the enchiladas by spreading 2 T enchilada sauce on the tortilla, 1/4 c bean mixture and sprinkle with cheese. Roll and put in greased 9x13, seam side down. Repeat with the remaining 7 tortillas. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over the top of rolled tortillas.
Cover and bake for 15 minutes at 375. Uncover and sprinkle the top with cheese, bake an additional 5 minutes. Serve with remaining sour cream.

**This is a great dish to make ahead and then refrigerate until you are ready to eat. Just add an additional 10 minutes of baking time to warm through!

Teriyaki Pulled Pork Sandwiches

This is an easy crock pot dinner that only requires a few ingredients. I think I got it from some magazine, but I don't really remember. It's been too long.

Start with a pork roast. Top it with some diced onions, teriyaki sauce and pineapple juice.

After it has cooked all day, pull the roast out and shred it.

Top it with some pineapple slices, served on buns and served with garden fresh veggies.

Perfect summer meal.

Recipe:

3 lbs pork shoulder roast (or whatever is on sale)

1 c finely diced onion

1 c teriyaki sauce, divided (if you can find low sodium, use it)

1/2 c unsweetend pineapple juice (I use the juice from the can of slices, and just save the slices)

3 T flour

sliced pineapple

Place the roast in the crock pot with onions. Pour over 1/2 c teriyaki sauce and pineapple juice. Cook on low for 7-8 hours. About 45 minutes before you are ready to eat, pull the roast out onto a plate. Mix the remaining 1/2 c sauce with the flour and whisk it into the crock pot. Cover and cook that on high for 30-40 minutes allowing the juices to thicken. Shred the meat and return to the crock pot to warm it through. Serve on buns, topped with pineapple slices.

Corn Salsa

I got this recipe from my mother-in-law and it is always a hit. I made it the other night for a get-together and everyone wanted the recipe! It's great for this time of year when tomatoes are in season.

(Sorry, this was taken after the event)

Corn Salsa:

3-5 tomatoes

2 c frozen corn (or fresh if you are that ambitious)

1 bunch of cilantro

1 bunch of green onions

1 can black beans- drained and rinsed

1 pkt dry Italian seasoning

1/2 c apple cider vinegar

1/4 c oil

Put tomatoes, cilantro and onions in a food processor, each seperately scraping into a bowl when finished. Mix with corn and beans. Mix vinegar, oil and seasoning in processor and stir into salsa. Chill at least one hour before serving.

Tomato and Artichoke Spaghetti

Just tried this from the Pioneer Woman's site and loved it! It went together really quickly and has basic, simple ingredients. Go HERE for pics and recipe.

Simmered Chinese Chicken

I got this recipe from my sister-in-law, Jenny, and she got it from her mother-in-law, Mary, and I don't know where she got it from. We took a family trip to visit them in Oregon, and Jenny made this for us. It was really good, and goes together really quickly. The original recipe calls for chicken thighs. I rarely cook recipes that serve each person a full piece of chicken. It's less expensive to cut up a few breasts or tenders. So if I can adjust the recipe, I do, and that's what I did here. The thighs are delicious, but take a little longer to cook. The pieces brown up and cook in just a few minutes. You could do either, they are both good!Recipe:
-1 T oil
-chicken thighs, enough for your family, or a couple chicken breasts or tenders, diced into bite size pieces
1/3 c soy sauce
1/3 c brown sugar
1/2 c water
1 T ketchup
1/4 c apple juice
dash of red pepper
1 clove of crushed garlic
2 T cornstarch mixed into 2 T water (if using thighs, wait to add this until the end)
If using thighs, skin and trim them if needed. Heat oil in skillet. Brown chicken in oil, on both sides.
Mix all the other ingredients and pour over chicken and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cover, cooking for 35-45 min for thighs, turning the chicken twice. For pieces, leave uncovered and cook 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally to avoid sticking.
If using thighs, remove the chicken and add cornstarch mixture to thicken juices, then pour over chicken. If you did pieces and mixed it in the beginning, the juices will have already thickened.
Top with sesame seeds and serve over rice.

Pasta and Alfredo Casserole Style

You can't really call this fettucine alfredo, because I wouldn't use fettucine. Besides that noodles are hard for kids, a noodle isn't great for this dish.

Kev's grandma was making this one day when I went over to cut hair. She was just sort of inventing it as she went along and I took the idea and tried it out too. It turned out pretty good and the kids seem to like it too, which is always a bonus.

I've tried all sorts of sauces and all work, but so far, homemade is my favorite. I really like this one by Shirley J, but you have to have their universal mix. So any recipe you have will work, and you can do jar alfredo, it just isn't quite as good.

Boil pasta, but make sure it isn't too soft. Then mix with sauce. I like to add chopped canadian bacon or ham, and crumbled bacon would be great too. You could also throw veggies in. I was going to add small pieces of cauliflower, so the kids couldn't tell, but so they'd get some vegetable nutrition, but that will have to be next time.

Put what you've combined into a 9x13 and then I top mine with seasoned bread crumbs. You could also just grate fresh parmesan on top, or both. Bake for 20 or so minutes at 350.

I like to make this early in the day and then put it in my fridge until dinner time. If you do this, bake it for closer to 35-40 minutes. You can also eat it without baking. We've done that and it is really good and creamy.

Teriyaki Noodles and Vegetables

This is one of those easy meals that you can just throw what you have into and make it work.

Cook some pasta (just according to package), whatever you may have. I happened to have spaghetti, but when I do this again, I will do somthing different, since thin noodles are really hard for kids.

While the water is boiling and noodles are cooking, prep your veggies. You can use whatever you have or like. This time I used carrots, broccoli, mushrooms and onions. After they are cut and washed, saute them in a small amount of oil or butter. Depending on how much time you have or how picky you are, add the veggies in the pan in the order of how much time they'll need. For example, onions take a little longer to tenderize than mushrooms, so I would start my onions first and then add the mushrooms towards the end.

When the veggies are cooked to your liking, add in about 1/2 cup of teriyaki sauce for about 8 oz of pasta. If you make more, add more. Then add your cooked, drained pasta. If you have sesame seed oil, add in a generous teaspoon and toss together. Done. Not bad for a healthy, quick and fresh meal, huh?