The EASIEST Enchiladas!

The EASIEST Enchiladas! Its a really simple weeknight meal to throw together.

1 lb Ground Beef

1 Medium Onion

1 Tbs minced Garlic

1 tsp Chili Powder (this is up to you, my kids complain if its too spicy though)

1 1/2 tsp Cumin

Salt & Pepper

1 can Refried Beans

1 Pepper (I used Yellow)

5-6 large/Burrito Tortillas

1 jar Salsa

1/2 cup Shredded Cheese

First preheat the oven to 375. Then brown the beef for about 4 minutes then add the sliced onion, garlic, chili powder, cumin, salt & pepper and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Once the meet cooked through remove from the pan and place in a large bowl. Put the pan back over heat and saute the sliced peppers.

While the peppers cook, stir occasionally, and mix the can of beans through the meat.

Add the peppers to the meat as well (peppers need about 4 minutes so they are tender but not squishy)

Grab your tortillas because you are ready to wrap!

Run the meat mixture in a line down the middle of the tortilla.

Fold the top and bottom of the tortilla over the meat.

Fold over one side of the tortilla, then roll towards the open side.

Voila!

Repeat until meat is all gone.

Cover the enchiladas with your favorite jar of salsa or enchilada sauce.

Then top with 1/2 cup shredded cheese, I used a sharp cheddar, but you could use pepper jack or anything else you have on hand.

Bake uncovered for 15 minutes. Its now ready to serve with whatever toppings you like. I had an avacado, but it wasn’t ripe enough so we settled for hot sauce and Sirracha.

So good and so easy! Enjoy!

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Broccoli Chicken Casserole

It snowed just a little bit here in Michigan yesterday, and a little more today, and potentially more tomorrow, so in honor of the colder weather I made some comfort food.

Broccoli Chicken Casserole

1 cup Rice (cooked according to the package)

1 lb Chicken cubed (I used organic chicken tenderloins)

3 tbsp Butter

3 tbsp Flour

2 1/2 cups Milk (I used whole)

1/2 tsp Nutmeg

salt & pepper

1 cup White Cheddar (shredded)

1/2 cup Sharp Yellow Cheddar (shredded)

1 head Broccoli chopped

Bread Crumbs: Use store bought or follow my homemade version

3 slices Whole Wheat Bread (use the heel of the bread if you have it)

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1/2 tbsp minced Garlic

Salt & Pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray.

Cook your rice in a pot large enough to pour all the ingredients into later on (you can combine all the ingredients in a separate bowl, but this will save from another dirty dish). While the rice cooks, brown your cubed chicken in a pan over medium heat. Depending on your pan you can use a little olive oil if you need. Salt and pepper the chicken while it cooks.

Turn the chicken to low to finish cooking and melt butter in a small sauce pan over medium low heat. Once the butter is melted add the flour one table spoon at a time while you stir.

Once it is thick allow to cook about 3 minutes, and stir the whole time. Slowly add the milk, while continuing to stir.

Once all the milk has been combined, add the nutmeg, salt, and pepper to the milk. This will need to simmer over low heat while it thickens, about 5-7 minutes.

I know it feels like a lot is going on in a bunch of different pans, but if your chicken is done cooking or close just turn it off, it will continue to cook in the oven.

Add your shredded cheese to the milk.

You are now ready to combine all your ingredients!

To my rice pot I added the chicken, cheese sauce, and broccoli.

Pour the casserole into your casserole dish.

For the Bread Crumbs. I ripped up three slices of bread and put them in my food processor.

I added a little olive oil and minced garlic to my now empty chicken pan and heated to medium, once the garlic is fragrant add the bread crumbs.

You want the heat to be high enough for the bread to toast, while they cook add italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Toast bread crumbs about 4 minutes.

Distribute the bread crumbs across the top of the casserole.

Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Black Bean Veggie Burgers

Black Bean Veggie Burgers

1 Zucchini

1/2 Medium Yellow Onion

1 can Black Beans (15.5 oz Drained and Rinsed)

1/2 tsp Cumin, Chili powder, salt, and pepper

1/2 tbl minced Garlic

1 egg

1/2 cup Bread Crumbs (I like whole wheat Panko)

1/4 cup ground Flax Seed

Buns (your preference, I used the sandwich skinnys)

I have a very tiny food processor, I had a large old school one at one point, but it stopped working. I tell you this because I had to food process each veggie separately, but you may be able to do the zucchini, onion, and beans at once, and if you don’t have a good processor a blender will work also.

Chop up the zucchini into large chunks and food process.

Empty into a bowl, and chop and food process the onion. Then empty the onion and then blend the beans.

Now all your blended items should be in one bowl.

(as a side note, here is my cute fall spatula)

To your blended items add the spices, garlic, egg, bread crumbs, and flax seed.

If you don’t have flax seed just add more bread crumbs.

Refridgerate until you are ready to cook, at least 10 minutes.

Heat skillet over medium high heat, once the pan is hot add 1/2 tbl olive oil and cook each burger for about 4 minutes on each side.

My kids topped theirs with ketchup and pickles. My favorite toppings are hummus, feta cheese, and banana peppers.

You could also add corn to the patty’s and go with a little mayo-siracha combo. The possibilities are endless.

Turkey Zucchini Lasagna

We had a little ‘Make your own Pizza’ night for Halloween and I had 2 left over jars of sauce, one Garlic Basil and a Vodka sauce, I haven’t made lasagna in about a year so I decided why not? This is the first time I made a lasagna and it wasn’t all soupy and runny, and I have figured out the secret to lasagna…Don’t add so much freaking sauce. Also it helps to mix your meat into the sauce, again making it less saucy.

Turkey Zucchini Lasagna

3 cups of your favorite jar sauce (or in my case 1/2 of each opened jar in your fridge)

1 tbl minced Garlic

1 lb ground Turkey

Salt & Pepper

1/2 medium Yellow Onion

1 Zucchini shredded

15 oz Ricotta Cheese

1 tsp Italian Seasoning

8 oz Fresh Mozzarella

5 oz Parmesan (Freshly shredded)

I’ve made the lasagna before where you use the zucchini as the noodles and it was really good, but incredibly watery even after pre-baking the zucchini to sweat out the water.  I decided to keep this one a little more traditional and shredded the zucchini and added it to the sauce.

First things first, preheat oven to 375, then pour the sauce in sauce pan to simmer with minced garlic.

Put sauce on low heat and get out a pan to brown the turkey with salt and pepper. Once its brown add the onion and zucchini to the turkey. Cook until the onions are translucent.

Combine turkey pan into your sauce pan.

While these simmer together place the ricotta cheese in a bowl and mix in the Italian seasoning and a little salt & pepper. Slice your mozzarella so its ready also.

You are now ready to layer! Your first layer will be sauce, then noodle. I buy the oven ready lasagna noodles so I don’t have to cook them first. You can break them to fit your pan size. I used an 10×14 pan.

I buy the oven ready lasagna noodles so I don’t have to cook them first. You can break them to fit your pan size. I used an 10×14 pan.

Now we smear 1/2 the ricotta on top of the noodles, again this works better with noodles that are not cooked.

On top of this layer I add half the sliced mozzarella and half the Parmesan cheese.

Sauce

Noodle, remaining ricotta, sauce, then top with the second half of the mozzarella and parm cheeses.

You’ll notice the sauce is thick enough its not running down and filling the sides, it’s pretty much staying where I put it. This is ideal. You’re lasagna is going to taste amazing regardless, so don’t be too concerned.

Cover with tin foil and bake for an hour.

Here is the lasagna after an hour when I removed the foil. Now bake for an additional 15 minutes sans foil.

There she is in all her glory. It was delicious! Lulu said it was the best I ever cooked.

Enjoy! Don’t forget to vote!!

Cream Cheese Pumpkin Muffins

I love all things pumpkin. Sunday after church we tried to go to Robinettes the local apple haus, our plan was to get apples for applesauce and a pumpkin pie for family dinner later that night. We got to Robinettes as they were opening and the line was already out through the parking lot…so we ate our picnic on one of their tables outside and went home to make our own pumpkin treat.

and so I introduce you to Cream Cheese Pumpkin Muffins

1/3 cup Butter

1 cup Sugar (I used Sugar in the Raw)

1 cup Pumpkin Puree

2 Eggs

2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice

1/4 tsp Salt

1 tsp Baking Soda

2 cups Flour (I used whole wheat)

1/4 cup Milk

8 oz Cream Cheese

1/2 cup Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. We used some muffin liners because we had some Halloween ones on hand.

I had some extra helpers in the kitchen…

Mix butter, 1 cup sugar, and pumpkin

Add in eggs, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and baking soda. Mix these items, then add half the flour, then the milk, then the remaining half of the flour. I use my 1/4 cup measuring cup with handle to scoop into the muffin trays, it keeps them consistently the same size and doesn’t over fill the tin.

Here are my new measuring cups from World Market, and Brandon measuring the sugar, only $12!

For the cream cheese fililng mix cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, and the vanilla. I put a tablespoon of the filling on each muffin and baked, but next time I am going to layer the filling. So a little batter, then a little filling, then a little more batter. Let me know which way you try.

Bake for 25 mins or until a tooth pick comes out clean.

Cuddle your babies while you wait for the muffins to bake.

Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Indian Butter Chicken

There is butter in Butter Chicken, but not much so don’t be alarmed.

Slow Cooker Indian Butter Chicken

3 tbl Butter

1 Medium Yellow Onion

1 tbl Minced Garlic

1 1/2 tsp Minced Ginger (or ground)

1 tsp Garam Masala (which is a blend of spices I didn’t have so I blended 1/4 tsp of each: black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg. Go heavy on the pepper)

1/4 tsp Cayenne (I went light on spice for my kiddos, feel free to add more)

1 tsp Salt

1 lb Chicken (I used organic chicken tenderloins via http://www.doorganicsgr.com)

1 can (14.5 oz) Fire Roasted Tomatoes

1 can (15oz) Tomato Sauce

1/3 cup Whole Milk (you can use cream if you prefer)

1 cup Peas (frozen works great)

Place butter, chopped onion, garlic, ginger, ‘garam masala’, cayenne, salt and chicken in crockpot.

Go outside with a handsome little man and play.

(If you are leaving the house and won’t be back until its time to eat just add everything into the Crock Pot except the cream and peas, add those just before serving and should only need a few minutes to cook).

When you come back from you’re play date the slower cooker should look like this:

Add tomatoes and tomato sauce. When you are ready to serve add milk and peas, and allow to cook for a few minutes.

I cooked some rice while the peas and milk simmered and served with store bought Naan.

Family Reviews:

Brandon “We should eat this every night.”

Addy “It’s good, I like the bread.”

Lulu “I only like the bread.”

Wyatt (ate 2 bowls)

Happy Friday! Have an amazing weekend!

Chicken Sweet Potato Soup with Rice

Nothing like a little inspiration from your butter before you start cooking.

Chicken Sweet Potato Soup with Rice

2 Tbl Butter

1 medium Onion (I used a yellow)

4 medium Carrots

2 small Sweet Potatoes

2 Tbl minced Garlic

2 tsp Italian Seasoning

1 tsp Thyme

1 lb Chicken (I used tenderloins)

1 1/2 cups Brown Rice

1/2 cup White Wine (I had a Riesling open, just use what you have)

2 1/2 – 3 cups Chicken Broth

1 Bay Leaf

Saute onions, butter, salt & pepper until onions become translucent. Add garlic and saute until fragrant.

Chop carrots and sweet potatoes and add to onions.

Push the veggies to one side of the pot and brown chicken on the other, I cubed the chicken up before browning it. Once chicken has cooked, I deglaze the pan with the white wine. Which is just a fancy way of saying, scrape the brown chicken and veggie bits off the bottom of the pan because they add a lot of flavor and you want that in the broth. Allow the wine to cook a bit before adding rice and chicken broth, maybe 2 minutes. I add enough broth to cover the rice, and once the rice cooks you may want to add a little more. Add a bay leaf while the rice simmers, depending on what type of rice you use this could be ready to eat in about 10 minutes, but with most things in life…the longer it cooks the better it tastes.

Enjoy and please share how your soup turns out! What did you garnish your soup with?