Chicken Tamale Pie

I found this on Pinch of Yum and is really delicious. We have added it to our meals that we have all the time.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup milk
1 egg or 1/4 cup egg substitute
1 1/2 tblsp taco seasoning, divided
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
1 (14 3/4 oz) can cream-style corn
1 (8.5 oz) box corn muffin mix (we use Jiffy)
1 (4oz) can chopped greeb chilies
1 (10 oz) can red enchilada sauce
2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
3/4 cup shredded white cheese (we just use mozzarella)
cilantro and cotija cheese for topping (although we put this on with the cheese and cook it, and have just omitted the cotija)

1. preheat oven to 400
2. combine first 7 ingredients, through green chilies, using 1/2 tablespoon taco seasoning, in a large bowl, stirring just until moist. Pour mixture into a round pie plate coated with cooking spray.
3. Bake for 25-30 min. while corn is baking, toss the chicken in remaining taco seasoning. when corn is done-it will be just barely set and golden brown- pierce entire surface liberally with a fork. Pour enchilada sauce over top. Top with chicken and sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 15 min. or until cheese melts. Remove from oven, let stand 5 min. Cut into 8 pieces. top each with cilantro and cotija cheese.

Backed Chimichangas

SO Jenn gave me a bunch of these and Eric and I thought they were really good.  She used our refried beans and Costco tortillas which I think definitely helps too.

Baked Chicken Chimichangas

From:Jenn Alvey

2 1/2 c. chicken, cooked & cubed or shredded--she highly recommends shredded
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 c. onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 Tbsp chili powder
16 oz salsa
1/2 tsp cumin
pinch salt ( I don't use any)
6-10 tortillas
1 c. refried beans
Olive oil, for basting
Sour cream
Guacamole

Preheat oven to 450. In lg. pan saute onion and garlic in oil til tender. Stir in chili powder, salsa, and cumin. Stir in chicken. Let cool. Grease rimmed 15 x 10 x 1 pan. One at a time-spoon beans on tortillas. Top with scant 1/2 c. chicken mix. Fold up bottom, top, and sides, secure with toothpick, if needed. Place in pan seam side down. Brush all sides with oil. Bake for 20-25 min til golden brown and crisp, turning every 5 min.

Serve with guacamole and sour cream

I add cheese to mine. When you place them in the pan I use a cookie sheet and then make sure they aren't touching so they can get crisp all over.

Nachos Nachos- Day 3

I'm not even sure why I'm posting this other than I want it to seem like nachos week was 3 days not 2. Anyway just normal nachos but always good.

Inspired from:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2013/05/loaded-nachos/

Tortilla chips
Ground Beef (I actually used the ground turkey that I didn't use the day before from the curry nachos)
Diced yellow onion
1/2 tsp Paprika
1/2 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp Chili
1/2 tsp Red Pepper flakes
Salt
Pepper
Either a can of beans or leftovers of refried beans (I used the refried beans because I had some in the freezer)
Shredded cheese
Guacamole
Diced Tomatoes
Chopped Cilantro
Hot Sauce
Sour Cream

Cook the meat and the onions. Add the spices and the beans and hot water if needed.

Layer the cheese and meat/ bean mixture on the chips. Throw in microwave or the oven. Top with toppings of choice.

What a silly post for me to put up here. Nachos.

Spicy beans and rice

This is how I do beans and rice when I am in a hurry and want something filling and have no meat thawed.  It serves 4-6 people.

Rice: 

-2 cups of rice

-4 cups water

-4 chicken bullion cubes

Cook like you normally cook rice

Beans: 

-Rinse two can of beans (I normally do black beans, but last time I did this I only had one can of black so I did a can of kidney beans as well and that was good)

-Heat some oil in a large skillet

-Once the oil is hot, add dehydrated onion (1/2-1 tbsp), garlic (heaping spoonful), cumin (1 tsp), Mexican chili powder (1/2-1 tbsp) (I eyeball spice amounts when I do this and I do it hot.  I will put approximates in parentheses) and cook for about 30 seconds to infuse the flavors

-Add the beans

-Add 1 can of rotel (which makes it even hotter, so Danielle, if you make this do barely any spicy stuff)

Cook over medium heat until heat through.  While it is cooking, you need to stir it often and (most importantly!) smash some of the beans with your spoon.  This thickens it up making it like a paste

-When it is cooked through and paste-like try it.  It will need salt and probably need some pepper too. 

Serve over your rice. 

Sweet Green Salsa

This salsa is a little different because it is sweet.  It is an adaptation of the green apple salsa in the beans and rice I posted previously.

1/4 red onion (I actually believe an onion is needed here, not just dehydrated onion)
1 green pepper
1-2 granny smith apples, peeled (depends on the apple size, how sweet you want it and how far you want it to stretch)
1/4-1/2 jalapeño, seeded (I don't make this spicy at all, mostly just for the flavor)
1 bundle of cilantro

Throw it all in a food processor and process until small and combined.  Small is between pureed (the size you do the green stuff in mom's salsa) and medium (the size you do the peppers in mom's salsa).

Add salt to make everything start juicing.  Then add enough lime juice to make it all blend together.

I will try to remember to take a photo to hep explain it.

Taco Pizza

1 lb ground beef
1 pkg taco seasoning mix
2 can(s) (8-oz) pillsbury crescent rolls
1 can(s) (16-oz) refried beans (i used the jalopeno kind)
2-3 c cheddar cheese, shredded (or mexican blend)
1/2 c tomatoes, diced
1/4 c black olives, sliced
4 c green onions, chopped
add whatever other toppings you want

1.Heat oven to 375 degrees.
2.Brown ground beef and drain. Add taco seasoning to the ground beef according to the package directions.
3.Unroll crescent rolls into rectangles. Place in ungreased 11 1/2 inch x 16 1/2 inch jelly roll pan or cookie sheet. Press dough over the bottom and 1/2 inch up sides to form crust. Bake at 375 oven for 11 to 13 minutes or just until golden brown.
4.Microwave beans in a microwave safe bowl for 1 minute. Carefully spread beans over warm crust creating a thin layer.
5.Top with cooked beef mixture, sprinkle with cheese followed by tomatoes, black olives and green onion. Return to oven for 3-6 more minutes until cheese is melted. Serve immediately. 


Tried this at Danielle's and it was good.  We probably had 1.5-2 lbs of meat and we are glad.  We used homemade refried beans and put salsa on it.  And added avocado. 

Anna-you could cut this in half easily. 

This one is fast. 

Mexican Stuffed Peppers

This recipe came about because I am teaching my friend Erin to cook.  She said that she had green peppers and tomatoes from her family's garden we should use and some ground beef from one of their cows.  So of course, I immediately thought Mexican food and she thought stuffed peppers.  So we combined the two.  I got some of my inspiration from some recipes on Taste of Home.  Even though this seems to have a million steps, its fairly easy to prepare.  It just cooks forever.

Ingredients
4 any color peppers (we did this with five small green peppers and they were very full)
1 lb ground beef
1 red onion
garlic
salt
pepper

2 tsp cumin
2 tsp chili powder

1 c homemade salsa (I can't vouch for this recipe if you use store bought)
1 4oz can green chili
Mexican blend cheese

Preheat oven to 350.  Get a large pot of water and get it boiling.  While it is boiling, cut the tops of the peppers and clean out the seeds and membranes.  Once your water is boiling, boil the peppers for 3-5 minutes.  Rinse with cold water.

Meanwhile, cook ground beef with the onion.  Season with garlic, salt and pepper so it tastes good.  Add cumin, chili powder, salsa and green chili.

Arrange peppers in a dish so they all stand up.  I used a loaf pan because some of the peppers were kind of ripped and this held them all together.  Put enough water to barely cover the bottom of the dish in there (maybe you should do this before putting the peppers in, we did it after we filled them up).  Fill each pepper up until you run out of filling.

Cover the pan with foil and cook for 45-60 minutes.  They need to be heated through.  Our were great at 45 minutes.  Remove the foil, add the cheese and put back into the oven until the cheese is melted.

Serve with the rest of your homemade salsa :)

Ideas:
-You can make this recipe go further by adding 3 cups of cooked rice.  Or you could probably use potatoes like Uncle Evan does for taco Sunday
-You can also cook your stuffed peppers in a pressure cooker and it takes less time.  This recipe explains how: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Presto-Mexican-Peppers I just don't own a pressure cooker.

Beef Taco Rice Skillet

This is a recipe that I have made for years and years.  I got it out of a little grocery store mini Betty Crocker cookbook (you know the ones that are like half page size and at the check stands to tempt you) that I bought before I was married. It is fast and yummy. Both of my kids love it. The only change I make is to add a can of kidney beans and to ignore the whole chop up tomatoes thing.  Oh, and we eat it on chips.

So, I googled it and found it online so I didn't have to type it in :).

1

lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef

1

envelope (1 oz) Old El Paso® taco seasoning mix-yah right, just use whatever-1/4 c of the stuff from Winco

1 1/2

cups water

1

cup Old El Paso® Thick ‘n Chunky salsa-or whatever salsa or picante sauce you have

1

cup Green Giant® frozen whole kernel corn (from 1-lb bag)-or a can of corn PLUS one can of KIDNEY BEANS DRAINED

1 1/2

cups uncooked instant rice

3/4

cup shredded taco-seasoned cheese (3 oz)-or cheddar chese

1

cup shredded lettuce

1

medium tomato, chopped (3/4 cup) (I ignore this)

 

Sour cream, if desired (you should desire it)

1. In 10-inch skillet, cook beef over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until brown; drain.
2. Stir in taco seasoning mix, water, salsa, kidney beans and corn. Heat to boiling; stir in rice. Boil 1 minute; remove from heat. Cover; let stand 8 minutes.
3. Fluff rice mixture with fork; sprinkle with cheese. Cover; let stand 1 to 2 minutes or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle lettuce around edge of skillet; sprinkle tomato in circle next to lettuce. Serve with sour cream.
4. We like to eat it on chips...

Makes 5 servings

Chicken Enchilada Pasta

I found this recipe and I was intrigued.  I honestly thought this would be kind of gross but I couldn't help but to try it.  It is really really fantastic.  But I forgot to take a picture.  So this was quick and easy and tastes yummy.

http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2009/10/chicken-enchilada-pasta.html

Notes: I did one can of green enchilada sauce (mild) and one can of red enchilada sauce (medium) and it was good.

I also used a mexican blend of cheese

Oh and I put green peppers in because they are in my freezer

And olives are gross so I ignored that ingredient.

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 (I used mild)
2/3 cup red enchilada sauce (I used mild)
1 can large black olives, cut in half
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (I used sharp cheddar)
16-20 oz. penne pasta (Depending on how “saucy” you want the pasta)

DIRECTIONS:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the pasta until tender. While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet and add the onion. Cook for 2-3 minutes until onion is 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 (but don’t boil!). Pour the sauce over the hot pasta. Garnish with extra sour cream, cheese, diced tomatoes, green onions or crushed tortilla chips.

Green Sauce Chicken Taco Meat

I like Our Best Bites green enchilada sauce and I learned that finding tomatillos in central NY is hit or miss.  I made this green enchilada sauce so I would have it and froze it.  I learned that it froze really well.  But, I hadn't used it, hadn't used it, so I finally cooked four chicken breasts in it in a crock pot and ate it for dinners for a week.  I am going to include their recipe and then what I did with it.

Green Enchilada Sauce
http://www.ourbestbites.com/2010/03/green-enchilada-sauce/

2-3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, minced
5-6 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 green peppers, chopped
1-2 jalapenos, seeded and membranes removed if desired (and I desire. Always.)
1 1/2 lb. tomatillos, husked and quartered or halved
1/2 bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
4 c. chicken broth
2-3 Tbsp. sugar (optional and to taste; the sauce Cafe Rio uses seems to be slightly sweet, so if I’m using this sauce for enchilada-style burritos, I generally add a little sugar, but for everything else, I leave it out.)

In a large saucepan or stock pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute onions and garlic until tender and fragrant.

While onions are sauteeing, combine tomatillos, green peppers, jalapeno peppers, and cilantro in your blender. Process until smooth; you may have to do it in batches and/or add some chicken broth to make things blendable.

Pour the tomatillo mixture over the onions and garlic and add chicken broth, salt, pepper, and cumin. Simmer 15 minutes-1 hour, depending on the consistency you want. I usually turn the heat to high and boil it uncovered until I reach the consistency I want; it makes things go a lotfaster. The sauce can also be simmered in a slow cooker all day.

THen, after I got sick of it being in my freezer and not being eaten, I pulled it out, threw it in my small crock pot (I think its like 2.5 qt) with four chicken breasts and cooked it all day.  I shredded it and it made awesome taco meat that I proceeded to put back in the freezer.  So I can continue eating it forever.  I ate it in hard taco shells, with refried beans, sour cream, salsa and cheese.  I am sure it would be good in a burrito or enchilada.  

Mom's Salsa

Ok, here it is.  The one that we have been waiting for me to post for approximately forever.  Sorry, I keep forgetting.  So here is Mom's salsa as she makes it for taco Sunday and then I will also have a reduced version of Mom's salsa.

Mom's Salsa
Ingredients:
1/4-1/2 onion (or some dried onion)
2-3 spoonfuls of garlic (if you are doing cloves it would be 6-10)
bundle of cilantro
2 green peppers
1 red pepper
7 oz green chili
1.5 jalapeño (1 is seeded, .5 is not, normally)
big + little diced tomatoes
small tomato sauce
lime juice
salt

1-Process onion, garlic, jalapeño, cilantro, 1/2 a green pepper to almost a liquid (really, really small).  Pour into a bowl

2-Process remaining green pepper and red pepper until chunky.  Pour into the bowl.  The process tomatoes so they aren't big pieces.  Pour into the bowl.

3-Add chills, lime juice, tomato sauce and salt until it tastes right.

If you want it hotter add more jalapeños or cayenne pepper.  This normally gets hotter the longer it sits.

For a smaller batch of salsa, use these amounts:
1/4 onion (I like onion, so probably less if you don't)
1 spoonful of garlic (cloves would be about 4 I think)
1 jalapeño (1/2 with seeds and 1/2 without)
1/2 bundle of cilantro
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
4 oz green chili
1 little diced tomato (little being 15 oz)
1 small tomato sauce
lime juice
salt

Make it the same way.  This cut down version is more pepper-ish and less tomato-like, which is just fantastic for me :)

Mexican Rice

I have wanted a Mexican rice recipe for a really long time, but I have only had Spanish rices and I don't like them very much (too much tomato) so I smashed together a couple of Mexican rice repines that I found on allrecipes.com and came up with this:

Ingredients:
1 cup white rice (although if you want to be healthy go for it)
vegetable oil
1 tomato diced
1 green pepper diced (I put it in the food processor)
1/2 onion diced
1/2 jalapeño seeded diced
garlic
4 oz can green chills
1/3-1/2 bunch of cilantro
1/2 tsp salt, cumin, pepper
1/4 tsp chili powder
2 cup chicken broth
Monterey jack cheese

Get everything but the rice, oil, chicken broth and cheese chopped and mixed together.  You could probably throw all the things that need to be diced in the food processor at the same time, but I wasn't that smart last night, so I did it all separately.  Regardless, mix all of those veggies and spices and set them aside.

Then, sauté your rice in the oil from anywhere from 3-7 minutes until fragrant.  Then add the broth and the veggie mix, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and let sit until rice it cooked.  I think I let it sit for about 35 minutes.

Once the rice is done, melt some cheese on top and serve hot.

Danielle, this is spicy, so Eric and Hailey won't like it.  Definitely leave out the chili powder and probably the jalapeño.  It will still have good flavor that way, it just won't be spicy

Mexican Chicken

So I had dinner with a friend and tried all new recipes.  This was fantastic!  Although I wish I would have used homemade pico de gallo (like the OBB one) instead of store bought salsa, but that is ok too.

http://bakedbree.com/mexican-chicken

Ingredients

• 6-8 chicken breasts (I did this with only four chicken breasts and I removed half of the breading mixture before starting.  This was so as to not waste it and so I can use it again without it getting eggy and raw chicken-y)
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 cup flour
• 1 packet taco seasoning (or a blend of Mexican spices)
• 2 eggs (and I only used one egg)
• enough olive oil to fry it in (probably about 3 tbsp)
• 1 avocado
• 1 bunch green onions (and only one green onion)
• Monterey Jack cheese
• sour cream
• salsa
• cilantro

Instructions

1. Set up a breading station. In one dish, combine cornmeal, flour, and taco seasoning. In another whisk eggs with salt and pepper. In a large skillet or saute pan, heat oil  over medium-high heat. Dip the chicken into the egg mixture, and then into the flour mixture. Make sure that your chicken is well coated with the flour.
2. Cook the chicken until one side is golden brown and flip to the other side. If your breasts are thin enough, they will cook through. If not, transfer them to a 350 degree oven to finish cooking. You can also keep the chicken in a low oven to keep them warm until you are finished browning them all, like 250 degrees.
3. Meanwhile, gather your toppings. Slice the Monterey Jack and green onions thinly. Get your sour cream, salsa, and cilantro ready. Place a few thin slices of avocado and some green onions on the top of the chicken. Cover with a few slices of cheese. Place under the broiler to melt.  [I just melted it at 350]
4. Add some cilantro leaves, sour cream, and salsa to the top.

This was super good!  

Let's All Post How We Make Taco Soup

So,

I was making taco soup yesterday. And I was thinking about how my recipe has evolved. And then I started looking at other people's recipes. And then I remembered that pretty much everyone has a different taco soup recipe.

So, I thought we could all edit this post and put our versions of taco soup. What do you think?

Here is my most recent version.

Danielle's Taco Soup Version (I hope this is everything...I am typing this off the top of my head)

brown 1 lb of hamburger and shake some onion/garlic/whatever on it

Add:

1 can tomatoe/chilis (ground up in my magic bullet-Hailey does NOT like chunks)

1 can diced or stewed or whatever tomatoes (used to do 2 cans of the tomato/chili but that was too hot for Hailey-also ground in my magic bullet)

1 can corn drained (I know sister, not your favorite)

1 can tomato sauce

about a 1/4 cup taco seasoning

packet of ranch dressing (this is new for me-not sure if it will last)

I have been cooking my own beans, so I use black beans and kidney beans that I have cooked but a can of each is fine too!

Embellish with chips, sour cream and cheese

the end.


Anna's Version:
Which is pretty much Danielle's version, but that is ok (?)

Taco Soup:
Brown 1lb of hamburger, drain and add salt, pepper, garlic and onion (it should taste good if you eat a little bit of it) 
Then add the following:
2 cans (14 oz) kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
2 cans (14 oz) black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
2 can Rotel (or 2 cans of Mexican stewed tomatoes, if you do Mexican stewed tomatoes it is milder.  If you choose to use Mexican stewed tomatoes and you still want it spicy, add a can of green chilies and some extra chili powder or cayenne pepper)
1 package of taco seasoning
1 can of corn (if you want, I think that is gross)
1 can green chiliesadd enough water to make it look like soup.

boil it together so the flavor goes through the whole thing.  taste it (if you want it hotter add more chili powder or cayenne), serve over tortilla chips with cheese and sour cream

This freezes really well!

Tostada Dip (I am not calling it 7 layer dip because there is not 7 layers)

Tostado Dip/7 Layer Dip

1st layer-1 can refried beans mixed with 1/2-1 TB chili powder (when I am in a hurrry, I leave out the chili powder)

2nd layer-guacomole-fresh avocado and mix is better but in a pinch I use it from a tub

3rd layer-mix 1 cup sourcream, 2 TB taco seasoning, and a sploosh of milk all blended together

4th layer-shredded cheese

5th-7th layer-your choice of tomatoes, green chilis, olives, etc. I usually just put some salsa on the top and think it is great

Shredded Taco Beef

Shreeded Taco Beef
3lb Roast-(I have used pretty much whatever)
1 Can Green Chilis (7 oz) (I grind these up )
1 C Beef Broth
1 Small Can Tomato Sauce
1 T Cumin

1 T Chili Powder
1/2 Onion OR I use 2 TB Dried Onion
3 Cloves of Garlic, Minced

Place roast in crock pot, pour everything on top. Cook on low for 8-9 hours, or until meat falls apart easily. Shred meat into a different container, strain juices from the crock pot (they say to do this, but sometimes I don't-I just put it back in unless there is a lot of fat floating) and pour over shredded beef.

THIS FREEZES!

This recipe is how I make it for Eric. he doesn't like super spicy or "taco tasting" so you may want to double or triple the spicy stuff-you might want to add cayene as well.

Fun lunch-Outrageous Warm Nacho Dip

• I usually make this once for dinner and freeze for quick fun lunches. Hailey likes dipping chips in this.
• 
  
• 1 or 2 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chile peppers (before I was cooking for little people, I used 2, now I use 1 so it isn't as hot)
• 
  
• 1 32 oz loaf processed cheese food (such as Velveeta®), cubed
• 
  
• 2 large cooked skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, shredded (sometimes I leave this out and it doesn't make that
• big of a difference-depends if this is a meal or a side dish) OR cooked hamburger is also good
• 
  
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 
  
• 1/4 cup diced green onion-I think I use about half of this usually too. Sometimes i use dried onion
• 
  
• 2 tablespoons taco seasoning mix
• 
  
• 2 tablespoons minced jalapeno pepper, or to taste (I just use jalapeno sauce, I love that stuff)
• 
  
• 2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained

Microwave everything, stirring every 3 minutes or so until it is all melted and yummy. Serve on tortilla chips

Creamy Tomatillo Dressing

Creamy Tomatillo Dressing (This is not Kendra's and NOT Best Bites...it is a combo of a few other recipes I did a while ago and Eric and I like it the best)

Ingredients:

• 3 tomatillos, peeled and cut into 1/4's
• juice of 1/2 lime
• 1/2 c. buttermilk
• 1/2 c. mayo
• 1/2 c. sour cream
• 1 pkg. dry ranch buttermilk dressing
• 1/2 bunch of ciliantro
• 6 green onions, with ends (the first time, I just used dried and it was good-couldn't really tell the difference)
• 2 cloves crushed garlic
• 3 t. sugar
• 1/2 jalapeno, sliced thin (or I just use a squirt of jalapeno sauce)

Directions: Mix well food processor. Refrigerate for at least one hour.