Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

I have my own recipe for chicken enchiladas that I've used for years but after making this one I don't think I can ever go back. SO GOOD! The only things I did differently were using colby jack cheese (when I went grocery shopping and looked at my list I thought I wrote Monteray jack on accident so I bought colby jack) and I used corn tortillas because Josh complains when they are flour.

*Serves 4-6

Filling:
3 cups cooked, chopped chicken
2 (4 oz.) cans of green chiles, lightly drained
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, cubed
1 can white or black beans, rinsed and drained (you can really use any type of bean you prefer here)

Sauce:
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped onion (about 1/2 medium onion)
2 tablespoons flour
1/3 cup chicken broth
¼ cup milk
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 can (7 ounce) green chile enchilada sauce
½ cup sour cream

8 ounces (about 2 cups) Monterey jack cheese, shredded
8 medium (soft taco size) flour tortillas
Handful of chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine the softened cream cheese and green chiles. Mix well. Add the chicken and black beans. Mix to combine. Set aside.

In a large nonstick skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens and starts to turn translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir well. Cook for 1 minute, stirring. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth and milk. As you whisk and the mixture cooks, the flour will get less lumpy around the onions and the mixture will become smooth. Cook over medium heat until the mixture is bubbling and has thickened, about 4-5 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the enchilada sauce and sour cream.

Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking dish. Spread about 1/4 cup of the sauce on the bottom of the dish. Fill each tortilla with about ½ cup of the chicken/cream cheese filling. Top with a small handful of shredded cheese, a couple tablespoonfuls for each enchilada. Save at least 1/2 cup cheese for the top of the enchiladas. Roll the tortillas up and place seam side down in the prepared baking dish. Continue filling enchiladas until the dish is full (I can easily fit 8 enchiladas in one pan).

Pour the white sauce over the top of the enchiladas. Top with remaining cheese. Bake for 20-30 minutes until the enchiladas are bubbling, hot and lightly browned. Sprinkle fresh cilantro over the top and serve.

Honey Glazed Chicken

First of all, I'd like to apologize for not taking my own pictures lately. By the time I think of it it's already gone or my picture doesn't do the food justice. So once again I borrowed the picture and recipe from here.

Honey Glazed Chicken

from Kristin E.

2 lbs of diced uncooked chicken breast

1/3 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Salt and pepper to taste

4 TB butter

1/4 cup honey

3 TB lemon juice

2 TB soy sauce

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

Heat oven to 350. In a shallow dish combine the flower and seasonings. Dip each piece of chicken in flour mixture and coat evenly.
Melt 2 TB butter in a shallow baking dish, large enough to accommodate chicken in a single layer. Arrange chicken in pan and bake uncovered for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt remaining butter and add honey, lemon juice, soy sauce and ginger.

After chicken has baked the 30 minutes, turn each piece over and pour sauce mixture evenly over chicken. Bake another 30 to 40 minutes basting frequently.

Serve over rice. I usually double the sauce ingredients to make more to serve over the rice.

*I would definitely suggest doubling if not tripling the sauce recipe. Also I ended up using half lemon juice and half orange juice.....I ran out of the lemon juice. I mixed brown and white instant rice and served ours with broccoli. YUM!

Raspberry Lime Ricky

(Picture from here!)

I came acrossed this recipe last year when Mel posted this. I knew it was love at first site. It's so refreshing and once it's made you can keep enjoying this drink until it's all gone!

12 oz. package frozen raspberries

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup water

4 teaspoons grated zest and 1/2 cup juice from 4 limes (It took 4 limes to get the 1/2 cup juice but I only used the zest from 3 limes – it was plenty)

Club soda, chilled

Ice

Heat raspberries, sugar, and water in a saucepan over medium heat until the raspberries begin to release their juices, about five minutes. Mash the berries with a potato masher until the berries break down, then stir in the lime zest and juice. Simmer until the mixture is slightly thickened, about five minutes.

Pour the raspberry mixture through a fine-mesh strainer set over a bowl, pressing on solids to extract the liquid. This works best done in batches so the seeds don’t clog up the bottom of the mesh strainer. You should end up with about 2 1/2 cups syrup. Discard the berry solids. Refrigerate the syrup until completely cool, at least 30 minutes or up to 1 week. To serve, combine 3/4 cup club soda and 3 tablespoons syrup in tall, ice-filled glasses.

Thai Chicken Pasta

The Chili-Garlic Sauce looks like this: (I found some at Walmart but it wasn't garlic! Ooops! It was HOT chili sauce. I just added a little extra garlic and used what I bought and it worked.)

What you'll need:

12 oz Linguine

2-3 Cooked Chicken Breasts (cubed or shredded)

Sauce:

1 tablespoon Sesame Oil

1/2 cup Green Onions, chopped

1 C finely shredded Carrots

3 tbsp minced Garlic (yes 3, but it's really not too much, promise)

1/2 tablespoon ground ginger or 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced

1/2 cup Honey

1/2 cup creamy Peanut Butter

1/2 cup Soy Sauce

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 teaspoon chili-garlic sauce

Cilantro and additional green onions to garnish. (I left out the cilantro)
Peanuts to taste, chopped

Directions:

Break pasta into thirds and then cook pasta according to box directions. Drain, return to pot, and then set aside.

Heat 1 TBS of sesame oil in heavy pan over medium-high heat. Add green onions, carrots, garlic, and ginger. Saute until vegetables are softened, about 4 minutes.

Combine honey, peanut butter, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and chili-garlic sauce in a bowl and mix well. Add to vegetables. Add chicken. Simmer sauce for 2-3 minutes. Pour sauce over pasta and toss well with the chopped peanuts.

Notes:

I found this recipe here and here. The ingredients reminded me of my favorite pasta dish at The Cheesecake Factory. I added the chopped peanuts to the recipe. I loved it!! It came together really fast and was surprisingly simple. I think once you've made it the first time you'll have all the liquid ingredients on hand so that will help with future shopping lists:) Also, I don't think you can buy just 12oz of pasta. I only found 16oz boxes so I cooked it all. When it was drained I set aside some plain before I added the sauce. Lizy is a weirdo about new food so she was able to eat the plain noodles tossed with butter and parmesan cheese. You could also half this recipe.

Creamy Mushroom Soup

From Betty Crocker International Cookbook. Fresh mushrooms are key here. Just rinse them under water and pat dry. DO NOT soak them.

INGREDIENTS:

* 8 ounces FRESH mushrooms (not canned or dried)

4 tablespoons butter

1 medium diced onion

1/4 cup white all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp white pepper

1 can condensed chicken broth (~10 oz)

1 soup can water

1 cup half & half (or cream if you want a real creamy soup)

INSTRUCTIONS:

• Slice enough mushrooms to measure 1 cup.
• Chop remaining mushrooms.
• In 3 quart saucepan, saute sliced mushrooms 2 Tbs of the butter until golden brown & remove from pan & set aside.
• Cook remaining chopped mushrooms and onion in remaining butter until onion is tender.
• Stir in flour, salt, and white pepper.
• Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, about 1 minute then remove from heat.
• Stir in chicken broth and water
• Heat to boiling stirring constantly - boil for about 1 minute.
• Stir in half& half & sliced mushrooms & heat (but not boil).

Makes about 5-6 servings of the best mushroom soup you ever had.

This was delicious! I know a lot of you won't make this because way too many people don't like mushrooms and think of them as "fungus." Even my picky eater Zach ate and LOVED it! I gave him some in a bowl and gave him stick pretzels and told him it was "dip," but soon after he saw mom and dad eating with a spoon he also picked his up and ate with his spoon. He kept asking for more which is saying something. Yum Yum Yum :)

Zesty Chicken with Corn Salsa

I got this recipe from eatbetteramerica.com. I used the whole can of kidney beans not just 1/2 cup and I also used a regular size can of corn. Who has ever seen a 7 oz can of corn? not me :) This was a really fast, simple recipe and it tasted delicious! Josh thinks next time I make it he might grate some cheddar cheese to put on top but still told me I could make the recipe once a week and he'd still happily eat it. Zach ate all the veggies but I think the chicken may have had too much chili powder for him so maybe if your feeding children cut back a little on the chili powder.

Prep Time:15 min

Start to Finish:30 min

makes:4 servings

2	teaspoons chili powder
2	teaspoons brown sugar
1	teaspoon ground cumin
4	boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/4 lb)
2	tablespoons olive oil
1	can (7 oz) Green Giant® whole kernel sweet corn, drained
1/2	small red bell pepper, chopped
1/2	small cucumber, seeded and chopped
1/2	cup red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
3	tablespoons lime juice
1/4	teaspoon salt

1.	In cup, combine chili powder, brown sugar and cumin. Rub both sides of chicken breasts with the spice mixture.
2.	In large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Cook chicken in hot oil 12 minutes, turning occasionally, or until instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest portion reads 160°F and juices run clear.
3.	Meanwhile, in medium bowl, stir together corn, red pepper, cucumber, kidney beans, lime juice and salt.
4.	Evenly divide corn salsa onto 4 plates. Top each with a chicken breast.

BYU Mint Brownies

BYU mint brownies are one of my favorites! I found this recipe in a Utah Valley magazine a few months ago. It is awesome.

1 box of brownie mix

(I like Betty Crocker Hershey Supreme Brownie Mix w/Frosting Pouch)

Walnuts (optional)

5 tablespoons butter, softened

dash of salt

1 tablespoon of light corn syrup

2 1/3 cups powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon mint extract

food coloring

3 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make brownies according to the box directions. Add 1 cup chopped walnuts if desired. Bake in a 9x13 dish.

To make the mint frosting combine butter, salt, corn syrup, and powdered sugar.

Beat until smooth and creamy, but it will look a little crumbly. Add the mint extract and food coloring. Mix in and then add the milk gradually until the frosting is a little more runny than cake frosting.

Spread the mint frosting over the cooled frosting and then place in the freezer for a short period of time to stiffen. Take brownies out of freezer and immediately frost with chocolate frosting.

I like just mint frosting on the top. Most like the chocolate too. If the chocolate frosting is too much just drizzle stripes instead of full on frosting it. So tasty!!