Chicken Enchilada Casserole

source: Pinch of Yum

Time: 1 hour
Servings: 10-12 (this photo is only half of the recipe, I cooked the other half in another dish)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 19 ounces (about 2 ½ cups) red enchilada sauce
• 2 cups shredded cheese (I used a Mexican blend)
• 6-8 small flour tortillas
• 1 can refried beans 

Directions: 

1. Cook and shred chicken. I did this the morning before putting this together by boiling a large pot of water and cooking the chicken breasts about 30 minutes. Then shred with two forks. 

2. Preheat over to 375. Place a few spoonfuls of enchilada sauce in the bottom of a square glass baking dish. Place 2 tortillas int he bottom of the dish, overlapping to cover entire surface. Layer 1/3 cup beans, 1 cup chicken, 1/2 cup cheese, 3/4 cup enchilada sauce and 2 tortillas. Repeat once to make a total of 2 layers. 

3. Cover the top with remaining enchilada sauce and 1 cup cheese. Cover baking dish with well oiled aluminum foil and bake for about 30 minutes. 

4. Remove foil and bake uncovered for additional 5 minutes or until cheese is starting to brown and sauce is bubbling. 

5. Allow to rest at least 15 minutes before cutting. Otherwise it'll be a soupy mess!

Verdict: 

This was good, but a little spicy. I guess it was the sauce I used, although it was mild. The next time I make it i'll try another brand. The beans were really good though and helped cut a little of the spice. This was pretty time consuming and I made it on a day I had off from work. Probably a little too time consuming for a weeknight meal. 

Cheeseburger Macaroni

Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 4-6

Ingredients:

• 1 lb lean hamburger meat
• 1 pkg taco seasoning
• 1 can Rotel tomatoes and green chilies (or petite diced tomatoes)
• 2 cups beef broth (or water)
• 1 cup elbow macaroni
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 2 tbsp flour
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper

Directions:

Brown and drain hamburger meat. Stir in taco seasoning, Rotel, beef broth and macaroni. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat and cover pan. Simmer 12-14 minutes until macaroni is tender.

Meanwhile, melt butter in saucepan. Whisk in flour and cook, whisking for 5 minutes until light brown in color. Whisk in milk and bring to a boil. Whisk until smooth and thickened. Remove from heat and stir in the shredded cheese until melted. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the cheese sauce over the hamburger mixture and stir to combine.

Verdict:

This was SOOO spicy! I have no idea why it was so spicy, i used mild Rotel and original taco seasoning. Even I could barely eat it. But other than being spicy it was really good. I'm going to try to make it again using regular diced tomatoes and mild taco seasoning because I think it could be really good. The kids didn't touch it, cute plates and all. But I think they'd like it, if it weren't so spicy.

I'll update when I make it again.

Swedish Meatballs

Source: simply recipes

Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients

• Meatballs (I used frozen turkey meatballs - you could make your own using your favorite meatball recipe, but I don't have time for that!)
• 3 T butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups beef broth/stock
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• egg noodles or other noodle to serve with meatballs

Directions

1. Cook meatballs according to package. I baked mine on 350 for about 20 minutes. 
2. Meanwhile, cook pasta. 
3. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. 
4. In another small pan, heat beef broth over medium heat. 
5. When melted, add flour and stirring often cook flour until it's the color of coffee-with-cream. You've just made yourself a classic roux!
6. Slowly add hot beef broth a little at a time stirring constantly. Keep stirring and adding broth until you've added it all and most of your lumps are gone. 
7. By this point your meatballs should be almost done. Mine had maybe 4 minutes left on the timer. Take them out of the oven and put them in the sauce you've just made. 
8. Cover and let simmer on low for about 5 minutes. Add a little pepper to taste if you'd like. 
9. Take out the meatballs and place in a serving dish, leaving the sauce. 
10. Finally, add your sour cream to the remaining sauce and stir until blended. This should only take 30 seconds or so. 
11. Pour the sauce over the meatballs and serve with noodles. 

Verdict

This was really good and super easy, especially since I didn't make the meatballs. The kids ate it pretty well, especially the noodles, not so much the meatballs, which is another reason not to slave away in the kitchen making your own meatballs!

We'll definitely have this again. And bonus, this was a last minute addition to our menu and it's one of those recipes where I already had everything I needed stocked in the house to make it. Win!

Chili-Lime Pork with Corn Salad

Source: Everyday Food

Servings: 4
Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
4 cups frozen corn, thawed and drained
1 small jalapeno, seeded if desired, minced
1 scallion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1 avocado, sliced
4 T Olive Oil, divided
2 limes
coarse salt and pepper
1 t chili powder
2 - 1lb pork tenderloin, cut into six 1-inch-thick medallions

Directions:
1. Toss corn with jalapeno, scallion, cilantro, avocado, 2 T oil and juice of 1 lime. Season with salt.

2. Combine chili powder, 2 t salt, 1/2 t pepper and 2 T oil. Flatten medallions with your hands so they are about 1/2 inch thick. Brush both sides with chili mixture.

3. Heat grill to med-high. Grill pork 4-5 minutes per side. Remove from grill and squeeze juice of remaining lime on top. Top with corn salad. Serve.

Verdict:
This was super yummy.  I served it with tortillas, heated on the grill, on the side. We also made tacos out of it.  So easy and so yummy!

Slow Cooker Jerk Pork with Caribbean Salsa

Source: skinny taste . com

Time: 5 minute prep in morning, 15 minutes for salsa in the evening
Servings: 10 or more

Ingredients:

• 3 lb boneless pork shoulder blade roast, lean, all fat removed
• 6 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 - 3 tbsp Walkerswood Jerk Seasoning (I used mild)
• 1/2 tsp coarse salt
• 1 lime, squeezed
• 1/2 cup fresh orange juice

Note: I didn't have time to buy the seasoning and couldn't find the McCormick's version at HEB either, so I used a Weber grill mix jerk seasoning packet. I found it near the marinades and BBQ sauces. 

For the Caribbean salsa:

• 1 haas avocado, diced
• 2 large ripe mangos, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped (or jarred mango - saves time to not have to peal it, but they are mushier)
• 1 1/2 tbsp chopped red onion
• 1-2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
• 2-3 tbsp fresh lime juice
• salt and pepper, to taste 

Directions:

Using a sharp knife, cut slits into the pork and stuff holes with half of the crushed garlic. Combine the remaining garlic, jerk seasoning, and salt, rub all over pork (you may want to wear gloves). Place in a large container, pour the lime and orange juice over the pork; cover and refrigerate 5 hours or overnight, turning pork occasionally so the marinade covers all of pork.

The next morning, put everything in the crock pot and cook on LOW for 9 hours.

Remove liquid from crock pot and reserve. Add shredded pork back to the slow cooker. Add about 1 cup of the liquid back into the crock pot and taste for salt and pepper. Let it cook an additional 15 minutes.

Meanwhile make the Caribbean salsa: combine all the ingredients in a bowl, season to taste with salt and pepper. Refrigerate salsa until ready to serve.

Verdict: 

This was delicious! The salsa is what made it really good. Both kids (and adults) gobbled this up. I served it over brown rice. 

Chicken and Broccoli Noodle Casserole

source: skinny taste.com

Servings: 6
Total Time: 45-55 minutes

Ingredients: 

• 6 oz Ronzoni Smart taste noodles (or no-yolk)
• 2 tsp oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 12 oz fresh broccoli florets, chopped and steamed 3 minutes until soften
• 1 medium shallot, minced
• 3 tbsp all purpose flour
• 1 cup 1% milk
• 12 oz cooked shredded chicken breast 
• 1-3/4 cups fat free chicken broth
• 4 oz shredded  sharp cheddar 
• cooking spray
• 3 tbsp shredded parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp seasoned breadcrumbs

Note about chicken: I cooked 3 frozen chicken breasts in the crock pot all day while I was at work for the cooked, shredded chicken.  Place in the crock pot with salt, pepper, a quartered onion and 2 inch pieces of cut celery. Cover with water and cook 8-9 hours on low. Use the cooked water as the chicken broth!

Directions: 

Cook noodles in salted water until al dente, or slightly undercooked by 2 minutes. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 375°. Lightly spray a 9 x 12 casserole dish with cooking spray.

In a large pot, heat butter over medium-low heat, when melted add the garlic and shallot and cook until soft, 2-3 minutes. Add the flour and a pinch of salt and stir well, cooking an additional 2-3 minutes on medium-low heat.

Slowly whisk in the chicken broth until well combined over medium heat; whisk well for 30 seconds, then add the milk and bring to a boil. Simmer on medium heat, mixing occasionally until it thickens (about 6-7 minutes). Remove from heat and add cheddar and 1 tablespoon of the parmesan cheese; mix well until the cheese melts.

Add the shredded chicken, noodles and broccoli to the sauce and mix well until evenly coated.

Pour into a casserole dish and top with parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs. Spray a little more cooking spray on top and bake for about 20 - 25 minutes. Place the casserole under the broiler a few minutes to get the crumbs crisp and golden (careful not to burn).

Verdict: 
This was really good. It's a lot like making mac and cheese, so a little time consuming, especially for a week night. Allison is kind of against broccoli right now, but did eat the noodles. I liked it and since I'm the cook, I get to pick if we have it again. We will. 

Weekday Thanksgiving

source for turkey: Kathleen

Servings: Lots! It's Thanksgiving after all
Total Time: 15 minutes prep (for everything) + 8 hours crock pot time

Crock Pot Turkey Breast

• 3.5 lbs boneless turkey breast
• 1-14oz can of chicken broth
• 2 T olive oil
• 3 T Worcestarshire sauce
• 1-2 t thyme

Directions: 

Rinse turkey breast and pat dry. Season with salt,pepper, olive oil and thyme. Place in crock pot. Pour chicken broth over turkey. Cook on low for 8 hours. Make gravy from juice when done. 

I served our turkey with canned green beans and stove top stuffing. Who knew HEB only sells the good bag stuffing during holidays! Next time I'm stocking up!

Verdict: 
This recipe produced a really good, moist turkey, even after cooking for 8 hours plus warming for another 1.5 hours. I'd never cooked just a turkey breast before, it was so easy. And how awesome is it to get Thanksgiving dinner in 15 minutes or less prep time! Y.U.M.