Chicken Enchilladas with Green Sauce

Here is another recipe that my good friend Amanda gave to me. I have altered it a little bit since I've been cooking it, putting a different spin on it everytime I cook it. Just to see what's good and what's not.

Chicken Enchilladas with Green Sauce.
I think I might have posted something like this before, hmm oh well.

I started by getting out my crock pot. I love this damn thing.

Turn your crock pot on high and add in: 1 cup of water, 3 defrosted boneless skinless chicken breasts, 3 tablespoons ground cumin, 1 large can diced green chiles, 1 can Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup and let it all cook together for about 2 hours.

After it's all nice and cooked, I took out my chicken breasts and shredded them up and put it back in the crock pot to stay hot.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a large baking dish, I put a thin layer of green echillada sauce on the bottom of the pan. This is so the tortillas dont stick. On top of that I put a layer of flour torillas. Next layer is my chicken mixture, I used it all. Then, a thick layer of monterrey jack cheese. Lastly, put one more layer of tortillas and poured the rest of the sauce on top. If you want add some more cheese on top.

Then place in the oven at 350 degrees for 20-30 of until the top is bubbly and the cheese is slightly golden brown.



my chicken mixture in the crock pot, complete with: green chiles, cream of mushroom soup, cumin, chicken on high and cooking




a few of my ingredients




ready for the oven

What do you think?? Ready for feedback, ideas, suggestions....

Christmas Cookies

Also while out of town, my girls and I made cookies. They turned out super cute.
I used Wilton brand cookie cutters and store bought Betty Crocker icing, which I dyed with food coloring. The cookies however, were homemade, and they were really tasty.

Roll-Out Cookies:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened                                   2 3/4 cups all purpose flour                1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar                                        2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons Clear Vanilla Extract                         1 egg

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a mixing bowl, cream butter w/ sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Mix flour, baking powder and salt; add to butter mixture 1 cup at a time, mixing after each addition. Knead in a small amouth of icing color, if desired.

Do not chill dough.

On floured surface, roll dough into balls. At this point I use as much or little dough I need for the cookie cutter to cut out the shapes. Dip cookie cutter into flour before each use.
Bake cookies on ungreased cookie sheet 6-7 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned.


Ok Ok, I have to say that from this recipe my dough was not thick enough. I had to add an additional cup of flour to thicken it up. That did the trick.

Once the cookies were cooled off, the kids and I did our thing decorating and eatting them. :)



a few of our cookies



Amanda's Cilantro Lime Chicken Frittata

While I was out of town, one of my bestest friends, Amanda made this dish. Wow... so good. The fresh lime juice and cheesiness was awesome. So here it is. Lots of pictures too.

First pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.

She started by cooking up the chicken breasts in a large skillet. To this she added a little bit of water to help cooked the chicken. Butter and  1 cup chopped onion were added while the chicken cooked.

After the chicken breasts were done, it was chopped into bite size pieces and put back into the pan.

Next, she added in 1 cup chopped cilantro, 1 can diced green chiles, and approx. 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice.

At the point the chicken is obviously done and you are just infusing the meat with the flavors of all the new additions. Let this cook and take on the flavors for about 5 minutes. Lastly, add in approx. 6 cups of crushed up yellow corn tortilla chips. Needs to be yellow, it tastes different if you use white corn. Stir together well.

In a separate bowl, scramble up 1 dozen eggs and 3/4 cup of milk. Once it is scrambled up well, add in another 1/2 cup of your freshly chopped cilantro.

Now, in a large baking dish, put in your chicken mixture and spread it out. Then, pour on top, your egg mixture. Stir the two together well. Lastly, add appox. 1 block of colby jack cheese right on top.

Pop in the oven on 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Everyone's oven is different. You should be able to tell when it is done by the top turning a golden brown and you will be able to tell that your frittata is set up well. That means, that it holds its shape and the eggs is NO longer runny.

Enjoy. So good!!! I recommend it! It's really easy, the color is impressive, and the flavors are so bright.



fresh cilantro




cooking the chicken breast, with onion, cilantro, and green chiles





cutting into pieces



chicken mixture complete- chicken,onion, diced chiles, cilantro, lime juice, and yellow tortilla chips....check




combining the egg and chicken mixtures




almost done




looks good right???



Thanksgiving Turkey Breast recipe

Since I am currently out of town and not in a kitchen of my own, I've been brainstorming my Thanksgiving cooking. I haven't cooked in a couple of days. Sorry, soon. I promise. Thanksgiving its ON!

I think I'm going to do Turkey Breast instead of a whole turkey. Less fuss, less mess.

Also, of course mashed potatoes and turkey gravy.

My Sweet Potatoe Souffle, Green beans, maybe a casserole, stuffing, and all kinds of different desserts.

Herb Roasted Turkey Breast with Pan Gravy by Rachael Ray www.foodnetwork.com

Cook Time:                

55 min

Times:

Prep

10 min

Cook

55 min

Total:

1 hr 5 min

Ingredients:

• 1 small (golf-ball sized) onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 1 lemon, scrubbed clean
• 12 fresh sage leaves
• Large handful fresh flat-leaf parsley (about 1/2 cup, from 12 stems)
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for oiling pan
• 1 teaspoon salt, plus more as needed
• 6 fresh bay leaves
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2 boneless turkey breast halves, skin on (about 2 to 2 1/2 pounds each)
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup apple or regular brandy (recommended: Calvados)
• 2 to 3 cups apple cider
• Salt and pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Oil a roasting pan and set it aside.


Put the onion into the bowl of a mini food processor. Using a vegetable peeler, peel the zest from the lemon in thin strips, being careful not to cut into the bitter white pith. Add the lemon zest to the food processor and reserve the whole lemon for another use. Chop the onion and lemon zest until fine. Add the sage, parsley, olive oil, and 1 teaspoon salt and pulse until it forms a coarse paste.


Put 2 of the bay leaves and the butter into a small pan and heat over medium-low heat until the butter is bubbling. Remove from the heat and set aside.


Put the turkey breasts on a work surface. Carefully run your fingers between the skin and the flesh from 1 end, being careful not to pull it completely off, creating a pocket. Season the turkey breasts generously with salt and pepper. Stuff half of the herb paste under the skin of each breast, and spread it evenly under the skin.

Transfer the breasts to the roasting pan, and slide 2 bay leaves underneath each one. (The heat of the pan will release the bay leaf oils and flavor the breast.) Using a pastry brush, baste the breasts with half of the bay butter. Place the turkey in the oven and immediately decrease the temperature to 400 degrees F. After 20 minutes, baste the turkey breasts with the remaining butter, and roast for an additional 20 to 25 minutes, until cooked through, and a thermometer placed in the thickest part of the breast registers 170 degrees F.


Remove from the oven, transfer to a platter, cover, and let rest for 10 minutes before carving while you make the gravy.


Put the roasting pan over the burner on medium heat. Sprinkle the flour over the pan juices, and cook, stirring, for a few minutes. Add the apple brandy, and scrape the pan to lift the bits that are stuck to the bottom.

Cook for a minute to burn off the alcohol, then, while stirring, pour in the apple cider. Bring to a simmer, and stir until thickened. Season with salt and pepper.


Slice the turkey breast on the diagonal, and serve with warm gravy

Kris Jenner's Sweet Potatoe Souffle: as seen on the Rachael Ray show

I was watching the Rachael Ray show the other day and saw this. Kris Jenner, yes the Kardashian's mother, had an "famous" recipe she was sharing. Sweet Potatoe Souffle .Sounds great. I'm gonna give it a go. What do you think??? I'll let you know as soon as I do. But until then, if you try it, let me know how it turns out.

Oh and if you aren't already, sign up to become one of the blog's followers. Thanks* Enjoy

http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/



Ingredients
2 Sticks Butter (Melted)
6 sweet potatoes
1/2 Box Brown Sugar
2 Cups White Sugar
6 Eggs (Beaten)
1 Can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1 Teaspoon Nutmeg
　
　Yields:

PreparationCut potatoes in 4 pieces.
Boil Potatoes for 20 minutes, until soft.
Peel and mash until very fine.
Add 2 sticks of melted butter.
Add all other ingredients (except the eggs).
Add the eggs, beaten fine, at the end (once all other ingredients have been added).
Put ingredients into soufflé dish.
Bake for 1 hour at 375 degrees
1 Soufflé

Pumpkin Pie!!

Today, my little Mina had Native American Heritage day at school with an assembly, guest speakers, and singers. Her class also celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday today. I had volunteered to make Pumpkin Pie for the class. It was good and pretty easy. By the way, I have so much sweet stuff at my house right now I've been giving it away. I enjoy the baking by my gosh I can't eat all this stuff or I'm really gonna pack on the pounds this Holiday season.

Crust:

 Ok ok, I cheated here. I bought Pillsbury Deep Dish frozen pie crust. Two crusts were about 4 dollars.

Pie Filling:

4 eggs, slightly beaten
1 can pumpkin
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
2 12oz cans evaporated milk
2 9inch pie shells unbaked

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix ingredients in order given, pour into unbaked pie shells.
Baked 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 and bake for another 45 minutes. Until knife inserted in center comes out clean.





my pie filling




ready for baking



Ready to eat

Paula Deen's Banana Spice Cake w/ Peanut Butter Frosting

Wow. All I can say is wow. Amazing.
This cake was so moist and the banana/peanut butter combination is never a bad idea.
I highly recommend this recipe. Sure to be a frequent request in this house from now on.

This recipe is in Paula Deen's, The Deen Family Cookbook.

Frosting:   3 cups sugar         



my frosting


2 1/4 cups creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons honey
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cake: 4 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp salt
pinch of ground cloves
1 3/4 cups sugar


2 1/4 sticks of butter, softened

4 large ripe, peeled, and mashed bananas



my cakes, freshly baked



1/4 cup sour cream

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 cups chopped peanuts, for garnish, optional,

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease two 9 inch round cake pans. To make the frosting, cream together the sugar, peanut butter, and butter. Add the cream, honey, and vanilla and continue to cream until smooth. Cover and chill until needed.

2. To make the cake, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, salt and cloves. In a separate bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the sugar and butter. Then add the bananas, sour cream, eggs, and vanilla, and continue beating until well combined.

3. Fold in the flour mixture. Divide the better between the prepared pans. Bake until the cakes are golden brown and a tester inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. 30 to 40 mins. Allow cakes to cool for 10 minutes in the pans, then turn them out and finish cooking on a wire rack.

4. Split each layer in half to make 4 layers. Fill and frost the cake layers, sprinkling 1/2 cup of the peanuts between layers. Top the cake with the remaining peanuts. ( I left this part out )





already got my piece :-)



what do you think?? Its so good, try it and reply back. :-)

Try a recipe and give me your feedback on it. Please?!?  Much love *Kelly