Chicken Enchiladas or Burritos? Oh, well.... It sure is yummy!

Chicken Enchiladas (OK...Chicken Enchi-ritos)

What you need:

1-2 Cooked and Shredded Chicken Breasts - I use whatever leftover baked chicken parts that I have already

2 "cans" of creamed condensed soup - I use 1 mushroom and 1 chicken from Pacific

Something to add a little spice, like a few spoonfuls of hot sauce or Rotel

8 oz Sour Cream

1-2 cup of Shredded Cheese - I use Cheddar and Pepper Jack (separated)

12 flour tortillas or 15 corn tortillas

What to do:

Combine the soup, sour cream and your choice of "something spicy" in a bowl to make a sauce. Scoop out 1/3 of the sauce and combine with the chicken in a separate bowl. Coat the bottom of a large casserole dish with a small amount of the sauce. Place a small amount of the chicken mixture in each tortilla and roll it to close. Place the rolled tortillas seam side down into the casserole dish. Pour the remaining sauce on top of the Enchiladas and top with cheese. I put Cheddar Cheese on the kids half and Pepper Jack on the grown-up half. Bake on 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until heated through.

This recipe makes enough for my family plus a couple of my kids friends. I would count that as serving 5-10 depending on the age.

Can you make is smaller? Yes. I would just use half of the ingredient to feed 2 adults plus one child.

Tortellini Soup

I can barely believe that I am posting a soup recipe when it is 108 Degrees outside! My thoughts are drifting towards cooler Fall evenings, however, this one goes out by special request.


My original recipe is adapted from Rachel Ray's "About-15-Minute Soup with Spinach, Artichokes, and Tortellini."


What you need:

• Extra-virgin-olive-oil, or butter to be used to saute the onions and mushrooms
• 4-6 cloves of garlic (or more - I really like garlic!)
• Small package of white mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• Salt and Pepper (to taste)
• 1 can quartered artichoke hearts, drained and chopped into desired size
• 2 tetra-pak boxes of organic chicken broth (2 quarts), or fresh broth
• 1 Family size package of fresh refrigerated tortellini, and flavor
• 2 pound of fresh baby spinach (or regular spinach), washed and stems removed

What to do:

In a 4-quart soup pot, sauté the mushrooms and onions in the EVOO or butter. Add the garlic to the pan and cook for 2 minutes more. Next add salt and pepper and all of the broth and bring to a boil. Add the tortellini and cook for 5-6 minutes, or until the tortellini floats. Add the artichoke hearts and return to a boil. Last, fold in the spinach and cook until all of the spinach is wilted. Serve with a really good crusty bread.

Alterations:

You can vary the ingredients to your own taste or according to what you have available. You can leave out the garlic or use and color of onion. I usually buy the 4lb package of spinach and use about half of it. I am of the opinion that if you are adding a vegetable, you should get a decent amount of that vegetable in your dish.

Breakfast Crepes

This crepe recipe can be eaten for any meal and stuffed or stacked with your favorite sweet or savory topping. I enjoy serving breakfast food to my family with fresh fruit, so I topped mine with fresh, organic strawberries. My daughter topped hers with homemade blueberry syrup, and both were delicious. This recipe is super easy and quick - even for a novice.


What you need: 

• 1 1/2 C Flour
• 1/4 Tsp Salt
• 1 1/4 C Milk
• 4 Eggs
• 3 Tbs Butter, Melted
• 1 Tbs oil (for the skillet)

What to do:

• Preheat a skillet or omlet pan to medium low.
• Place the flour in a deep bowl and gradually whisk or stir in the milk. Whisk until well blended. 
• Add eggs, salt and melted butter.
• When the skillet is hot, pour 1/4 cup of batter in the skillet at a time into the pan. Gently swirl the batter around in the skillet to spread the batter.
• When the bottom of the Crepe is slightly browned, turn it over and cook the remaining side briefly.

I rolled these Crepes and stacked them with strawberries and maple syrup, but you could stuff them with fruit, scrambled eggs and salsa, or just about any topping you prefer. 

My Favorite Chuck Roast Recipe

#1 Disclaimer: I only make this recipe with 100% GRASS FED BEEF Chuck Roast. (I know, Chuck Roast is much fattier than other roasts. However, because it is 100% Grass Fed, the meat has a different fat content and consistency than grain fed / feed lot raised beef.)The cooking temperature and time reflect the unique make-up of this healthier meat.


Preparation:  

• Using a fillet knife, remove as much of the fat as possible from the roast.
• Preheat an iron skillet / dutch oven at 225 degrees F.
• Place the roast in the hot skillet. (You may have pieces that are not attached to the main roast anymore. That's ok. Just place all of the pieces in a small pile in the skillet.
• Sprinkle generously with dried chopped onions or 1-2 medium sized onions, minced.
• Sprinkle with additional seasoning of your choice: garlic powder, salt, pepper.
• DO NOT add any liquid.

Cooking:

• Cover the roast with the lid or cover tightly with aluminum foil.
• Cook at 225 degrees F for 4-5 hours.

This roast will make its own juice and will be fork tender at the end of its cooking time. Leftovers from this roast make great sandwiches!

Granola Bars

I have reviewed a lot of recipes for granola bars and oatmeal cookie bars on the internet, and finally created a recipe based on what I found. I will continue to experiment with some ingredient changes to make these with a little less sugar, but, for now, this is what I've got. I made this with what I had on hand. You can substitute the dry ingredients for other dry ingredients.

2/3 cup of brown sugar (or natural sugar cane sugar)
3/4 cup of honey
6 cups of dry ingredients...
2 Tbs of butter ( I will try to substitute this one for coconut oil)
1 cup of chocolate chips

For dry ingredients, I used 2 cups of oats, 1 1/2 cup of puffed brown rice, 1 cup of raisins, 1/2 cups of mixed nuts, 1/2 cup of almonds and craisins. Combine all of the dry ingredients into a large glass mixing bowl.

1 Combine the brown sugar, honey, and butter in a sauce pan over medium low heat and cook until it simmers.

2  Pour the honey mixture into the dry ingredients and mix well with a large spoon.

3  Let is cool for a few minutes and then add the chocolate chips.

4  Pour into a 9x13 inch pan lined with parchment paper. Press firmly into the pan. Allow to cool completely. Turn the granola mixture over onto a cutting board and cut into granola bar shapes. Enjoy! Wrap any leftover bars in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator.