Tuesday: Chicken Enchiladas (Crock pot meal)

I don't usually think to rate recipes, but this one is soooo delicious. On a deliciousness scale I give this one a TEN. Not incredibly good for you, but if you wanted to make a special dinner comparable to a night at a Mexican restaurant you really ought to try this one.

Ingredients:
3 cups chopped cooked chicken
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded Monterey Jack cheese with peppers
1 (4.5 oz.) can chopped green chiles
1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 (8-inch) flour tortillas
1 (8 oz.) container sour cream
1 (8 oz.) bottle green taco sauce
1 cup (4 oz.) shredded Monterey Jack cheese with peppers
Toppings: (optional) chopped tomato, chopped avocado, slicked green onions, sliced ripe olives, chopped fresh cilantro
(ignore the pictures of the cream soups...those were for another recipe. I got confused)
(I shredded my chicken using my salad chopper, since I used chunks of chicken from a whole chicken I had cooked. I think I liked it this way. Made it very easy for everyone to eat)
Step One: Stir together first 5 ingredients. Spoon chicken mixture evenly down center of tortillas, and roll up. Arrange, seam sides down, in a lightly greased 6 quart slow cooker, stacking tortillas, if needed. I did have to stack the tortillas, and I actually got ten enchiladas out of this recipe rather than 8. I spread some of the sour cream mixture between each layer and that seemed to work well.

Step Two: Stir together sour cream and taco sauce; spoon over enchiladas. Cover and cook on LOW 4.5 hours. Remove lid, and sprinkle enchiladas with 1 cup cheese.

Step Three: Cover and cook on LOW 15 more minutes or until cheese melts. Serve with desired toppings. Makes 8 enchiladas.

Side note: Slightly bummed, because I did not take pictures of the final product and realized it just now as I was going through my pics. These pictures really do not do this recipe justice because it truly was so delicious, and the pictures just look kind of plain. Trust me when I say that if you like Mexican food, you will love these enchiladas.

This recipe comes from page 143 in the Southern Living Slow Cooker Cookbook.

Bonus recipe #1: Peanut Butter and Apple Toast

This recipe comes from page 289 in the Baby & Toddler Meals for Dummies book. We will be doing a review on this book in a little while, and when we do there will be a giveaway and a lucky winner will receive their very own copy of this book!!! Be on the lookout for more recipes from this book in the near future and a book review with giveaway. In the meantime, here is a very simple snack you can make with your children...



Prep time: 15 minutes
Tools: various cookie cutter
Yield: 3 servings

Ingredients:
3 pieces of whole-wheat bread
Butter for spreading (I left this out)
2 Tbs. Peanut butter, smooth
Finely slicked apples pieces

Step One: Toast the bread in a toaster or toaster oven until lightly brown.

Step Two: Using a cookie cutter, gently press the cutter into each piece of toast to cut the desired shape. Discard the extra pieces of bread. (or use them to make some not so pretty peanut butter and apple toast for yourself...that's what I did.)

Step Three: Place each toast shape on a plate, lightly butter, and spread 1 Tbs. of peanut butter over each piece of buttered toast. Place the apple slices as desired on top of the peanut butter and serve.

This recipe comes from page 289 in the Baby & Toddler Meals for Dummies book.

Monday: Ratatouille (Crock pot meal)

This cooks all day long. (8 hours) If you have the time in your day, I suggest you let your children help you with it and talk about all the color of the vegetables. (I did not do this, and thought about it later in the day) Remind them that it is good for our bodies when we eat lots of different color vegetables. Then, watch the Ratatouille movie at some point in the day while it is cooking. This will build excitement for this recipe. We served ours with garlic bread, but you could also use polenta, and I have also heard of using leftovers in scrambled eggs the next morning.
Ingredients:
1 large eggplant
1 large onion
2 tomatoes
1 large green bell pepper
1 large red bell pepper
3 medium zucchinis
3 garlic cloves
3 Tbs. olive oil
1 Tbs. capers
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 (4.5 oz.) can sliced black olives, drained
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Step One: Combine first 11 ingredients in a 6-quart slow cooker.
*(I used a little less of each vegetable and used a smaller slow cooker-do what works for you) This makes a huge batch that can be easily frozen and saved for later. We will be using some of the leftovers in our spaghetti later this week.

Step Two: Cover and cook on LOW 8 hours.

Step Three: Stir in tomato paste, olives, and basil. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Makes 8-10 servings.

Recipe comes from page 164 in the Southern Cooking Slow-Cooker Cookbook. The book suggests you serve this with polenta.

Week of April 5-10...and then some

I am very excited for this week, and I am so sorry for getting this up as late as I am, because I want you all to be able to get excited for this week too. I have many great resources that I am tapping into this week. Second trimester has kicked in and I have been inspired to try some new things that I hope to love, and hope you will love too. We are sneaking in some fruits and vegetables this week. I got my hands on a copy of "The Sneaky Chef", so you will be seeing a variation of Missy Lapine's healthier version of brownies, packed with nutrients! I have three bonus recipes planned for you this week that all make great snack ideas, one of which comes from a book I will share more about later, "Baby & Toddler Meals for Dummies" (stay tuned for a giveaway of this book in the near future). I also have four crock pot recipes to share with you this week because I am working out of my Southern Living Slow Cooker cookbook. Two or them use chicken, so I cooked up a whole chicken tonight that I am planning to go cut into pieces when I am done posting. Okay, too much chit chat. Here's my week:

Monday: Ratatouille (I love spell check!) ;)
Tuesday: Chicken Enchiladas
Wednesday: Mexican Macaroni
Thursday: Sgettis (using the leftover Ratatouille)
Friday: Chicken Lasagna Florentine
Bonus recipe #1: Peanut Butter and Apple Toast
Bonus recipe #2: Brownies you can feel good about
Bonus recipe #3: Fruit bouquet

Here's what you need:

Ratatouille
1 large eggplant
1 large onion
2 tomatoes
1 large green bell pepper
1 large red bell pepper
3 medium zucchinis
3 garlic cloves
3 Tbs. olive oil
1 Tbs. capers
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 (4.5 oz.) can sliced black olives, drained
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Chicken Enchiladas
3 cups chopped cooked chicken
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded Monterey Jack cheese with peppers
1 (4.5 oz.) can chopped green chiles
1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 (8-inch) flour tortillas
1 (8 oz.) container sour cream
1 (8 oz.) bottle green taco sauce
1 cup (4 oz.) shredded Monterey Jack cheese with peppers
Toppings: (optional) chopped tomato, chopped avocado, slicked green onions, sliced ripe olives, chopped fresh cilantro

Mexican Macaroni
1 (8 oz.) package elbow macaroni, uncooked
1 (10 oz.) can diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained
1 (10-3/4 oz.) can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 cup water
1 (8 oz.) container sour cream
1 (4.5 oz.) can green chiles
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded Mexican four-cheese blend

Sgettis
Spaghetti noodles
spaghetti sauce
leftover Ratatouille
mozarella cheese
Parmesan cheese

Chicken Lasagna Florentine
1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed
2 cups chopped roasted chicken
1 (10-3/4 oz.) can cream of chicken and mushroom soup, undiluted
1 (10-3/4 oz.) can cream of onion soup, undiluted
1 (8 oz.) container sour cream
1 cup milk
1 (8 oz.) pkg. sliced fresh mushrooms, chopped
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
3.5 cups shredded colby-jack cheese blend
9 uncooked lasagna noodles
1 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Bonus recipe #1: Peanut Butter and Apple Toast
3 pieces of whole-wheat bread
Butter for spreading (I left this out)
2 Tbs. Peanut butter, smooth
Finely slicked apples pieces

Bonus recipe #2: Brownies you can feel good about
1/2 cup wheat germ, unsweetened
1 box (about 21 oz.) brownie mix
2 large eggs
3/4 cup Blueberry and carrot First Juice
1/4 cup canola oil

Bonus recipe #3: Fruit bouquet
1 pineapple
1 cantaloupe
iceberg lettuce
(tools required: heart shaped cookie cutter, skewers, and melon baller)

Chicken and Broccoli

In my house it is never my son that struggles eating his veggies....it is the hubby. Thus, this easy recipe is fantastic for us because he downs his serving without any complaint about the greens.



What you will need:
Chicken Breast (or Pork)
1/2 cup of chicken broth
1/4 cup of cream cheese
1 nice big stalk of broccoli
1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese
1 1/2 cups of whole wheat noodles such as rotini

What to do:

1. Either cut up your chicken/pork into bite sized pieces or place them whole into a pan with olive oil. Let them cook slowly until finished.


2. In the meantime, put your rotini noodles into boiling water until ready. Cut up your broccoli and place it in with the rotini for the last four-five minutes. When finished DRAIN.





3. Add the following to the pan with your meat:
Add 1/2 cup chicken broth to the pan.
Add 1/4 cup of cream cheese to the pan.
Add 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese to the pan.
Stir the above together around your chicken/pork.
They will go form lumpy to a smooth creamy sauce within just a few minutes.





4. When the ingredients are all saucy add the noodles/broccoli to the pan and stir together really well.



If you cut up your chicken/pork it will be mixed into the dish. We did not cut ours up. We set it on top as you can see in the picture.





I got this idea from out of the Kraft Food magazine. This is the first meal I have made from that magazine and it was pretty good. I used more broccoli that they suggested and cut it up into smaller pieces. We liked it. I do think that leftovers of this meal would be really dry, so perhaps adding a bit more chicken broth to the them before reheating would be in order.

Wonderballs!

These are a family favorite here in our house. We make them at least twice a month. The beautiful thing about Wonderballs is that they are fun to make with kids, healthy and they taste like glorified cookie dough!


Here is what you need:
One Cup Peanut Butter
One Cup Honey
1/2 Cup Milled Flax Seed (Fiber!!!)
1/4 Cup chopped nuts (This is optional, but we like to add them. We use Almonds)
1/2 Cup of dried fruit (Our favorite is raisins and cranberries)
1/2 Cup of chocolate chips (we like using dark)
2 Cups of Uncooked Oatmeal

1. Now, in a big bowl add your peanut butter and honey together. Stir!!!!


2. Add in your 2 Cups of Oatmeal and stir!!!
3. Add in your Flax Seed too!



4. Add in your chocolate, chopped nuts, and dried fruit. Stir!!!


Now, you will have a big sticky blob of goodness. Using a spoon or your hands go ahead and make cookie dough balls out of them. Next, put them into tupperware. I stack them and use wax paper in between. Place them in your freezer. As they freeze they will lose most of their sticky-ness. We like to keep them in our freezer and pull them out one by one as snacks. You can also refrigerate them for a softer wonderball.




Enjoy!

Thursday: Postponement

Ok, I was going to post the Brocolli and Chicken bake today but we had something come up last night. Rather than making a meal we ended up all fending for ourselves. The good thing about this was that leftovers were cleared out of the fridge perfect for grocery shopping day. I am making the meal tonight, which means it will be posted tomorrow morning.

I will be posting the WONDERBALLS later this afternoon! Yipee!!!!!!!
They are so good!

Wednesday: Cowboy Nachoes

I am in love with the Pioneer Woman website and originally received my idea for these nachos from her.
Jason and I have been going to a BBQ place here in town and enjoying these nachos. I ran across them on her website and learned how to make them for myself.

We create a meal plan like this weeks, with pinto beans and brisket as two other meals thus this is the third meal and leftovers from both previous meals are used.

Here is what you need:
The leftover pinto beans from your beans and cornbread meal.
The leftover Brisket.
Home made Pico de Gallo (Tomato, Onion, Lime juice, Cilantro, Onion)
Shredded Cheese
Wheat Tortilla Chips

Pioneer Woman soaks the meat in enchillada sauce for extra flavor. We do not. It is up to you!

Here is how you do it:

Step 1: Start thinking layers. Add a layer of chips to a dish, pile on beans, brisket, cheese, and pico de gallo. Repeat several times over until you have a large pile of layered yumminess!
Step 2: Put in oven long enough for cheese to melt and then top with one more helping of Pico de gallo.

ENJOY!

Once we ran out of brisket and so I used hamburger meat. It was still delicious. Make sure to pile on the pico de gallo. It is the heart of this dish!