Crockpot Chicken Enchilada Casserole

This turned out SO good! It is definitely going to be a keeper. It is also so GREAT because if you don't like a certain ingredient, it can easily be left out.

(before picture without the top layer of tortillas)

Note: I use crockpot liners in ALL my crockpot recipes. I HIGHLY recommend them if you don't use them. They are 1.8o something for a box of 4 liners (kinda pricey), but SO worth having NO clean-up.


1 onion, chopped (or minced)
1 garlic clove, minced (I used garlic powder)
1 Tbsp oil
10 oz Can enchilada sauce (your choice: mild, medium, hot)
8 oz can tomato sauce
salt and pepper to taste
8 corn tortillas (I think flour will work, but I used corn)
3 chicken breast, cooked and cubed (I used 2. Can also use canned chicken)
15 oz can Ranch style beans, drained (I used chili beans)
11 oz can Mexicorn, drained
3/4 lb shredded cheese
2 1/4 can sliced black olives, drained

1) Saute onion and garlic with oil in a pan. Stir in enchilada sauce and tomato sauce. Season with salt and pepper.
2) Place 2 tortillas in bottom of crockpot. Layer 1/3 chicken, 1/3 sauce mixture, 1/3 beans, 1/3 corn, 1/3 olives. and 1/3 cheese. Repeat the layers 2 more times.
3) Top with 2 additional tortillas. (Mine top ones turned out really crusty, so next time I am going to either leave them off or add a little of the sauce to the top of them)
4) Cook on low for 6-8 hours. (My crockpot has high, low, and warm settings. So my low is kind of a medium. Therefore, I cook it on low for about 3 hours and warm for about 2 hours--Just know how your crockpot cooks)

Makes approximately 4-6 servings.

Serve with sour cream, guacamole, salsa, tortilla chips, or Doritos. All your choice!

Enjoy!

Basic Biscuits

I made these biscuits awhile back for dinner and again for breakfast a few days later. I have since been asked for the recipe. They are just a basic baking powder biscuits and are super easy to make.
1/3 Cup shortening

1 3/4 Cup Flour

2 1/2 tsp Baking powder

3/4 tsp Salt (varies by taste)

3/4 Cup Milk

1) Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2) Mix dry ingredients together. Cut shortening into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender (or forks). Mixture should look like fine crumbs. Add milk and mix. If the dough is sticky, add slightly more flour. If the dough is flaky or floury, add a splash more milk. Should be moist but not sticky.

3) Sprinkle flour on counter. Place dough on counter and knead about 10 times.

4) Roll out dough into a rectangle til about 1/2 inch thick. Cut biscuits out. (I use a circle cookie cutter, but can use a biscuit cutter or a glass turned upside down.) You may have to dip the cutter in flour. Place the biscuits on a sprayed (PAM) cookie sheet. Repeat until all the dough is used.

5) Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes about 12 biscuits-varies depending on the size of cutter you use.

Enjoy!

Honey Nut Chicken Tenders

Here is another DELICIOUS recipe that I have come across. It was SO good.

Here is what you need.

• 2 pounds chicken tenders, thawed
• Salt and pepper
• 1 Cup flour
• 3 eggs
• A splash of milk
• 2 Cups Honey Nut Corn Flakes
• 1 Cup bread crumbs
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 1 tbsp poultry season
• 1/4 Cup vegetable oil

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Place the flour in a shallow dish and coat chicken in the flour.
3. Beat the eggs and milk in a dish.
4. Combine the cereal, bread crumbs, paprika, seasonings, and vegetable oil in a blender or processor. Blend until crumbs. Transfer to a shallow dish.
5. Dip flour-coated chicken into the egg mixture and then to breading. Place on a greased cookie sheets. Coat all chicken this way.
6. Bake for 15 minutes or until thoroughly cooked.

If you love chicken and love honey, this is a MUST try recipe. Here are my substitutes. I just used chicken breasts and sliced them into "tender" sized strips. I also used Honey Bunches of Oats for the cereal because I couldn't find just plain honey nut flakes. I think that ANY honey nut cereal would work great though like Honey Nut Cheerios, etc. We served these yummy chicken strips with homemade french fries.

Enjoy!

Baby Blanket-Reversible

Another one of my favorite things to do to pass my time away, is to make blankets. I LOVE sewing blankets and experimenting with styles and patterns. I NEVER use a set pattern. I sketch out something on paper, and then cut it out and sew it. Simple as that. This is one area I consider myself creative. Here is a reversible baby blanket I made for my second son that we are expecting.












The one side is a solid cream and a blue plaid print. The other side is sky blue solid and a horse print.

I think that it is adorable.

Oreo Cookie Recipe

I LOVE homemade Oreo cookies. I usually cheat and make them from devils food cake, but my friend Niki had this from scratch recipe that she hadn't had time to try out. So, she emailed it to me, and I gave it a try. It is SO good! So here it is.
For the chocolate wafers:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa (I used whatever brand regular cocoa was in my cupboard)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 to 1 1/2 cups sugar [see recipe note]
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) room-temperature, unsalted butter (can microwave for 15 seconds-soft not melted)
1 large egg

For the filling:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Preheat to 375°F. And spray cookie sheets with non-stick
2. In a food processor, or bowl of an electric mixer, thoroughly mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. Once mixed add the butter, and then the egg. Continue processing or mixing until dough comes together in a mass. (took a few minutes for mine)
3. Take rounded teaspoons of batter and place baking sheet approximately two inches apart. With moistened hands, slightly flatten the dough. Bake for 9 minutes. Let cool.
4. To make the cream, place butter and shortening in a mixing bowl, and at low speed, gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy. (I dumped the butter and shortening in and mixed and then dumped the powdered sugar and vanilla in)
5. Spread cream on cooled cookie. Put another cookie on top to make sandwich. Dunk generously in a large glass of milk, if desired.

Note: Let’s talk about the sugar for a minute, shall we? This is a sweet cookie. A good, sweet cookie. Yet, if you think of an actual Oreos, the wafers are fairly un-sweet and actually on the slightly salty side, which contrasts with the super-sweetness of the filling bringing harmony, happiness, yada yada. If you want your cookie closer to that original, you can take out a full half-cup of the sugar. If you want to make the cookie by itself (as I did a while back for ice cream sandwiches), go ahead and use the full amount.
Makes 25 to 30 sandwich cookies

My notes: I have a cookie dropper/scoop that drops cookies about a tablespoon or 2 in size, so I used that instead of teaspoon full. That made my cookies bigger. I had a total of 26 cookies or 13 sandwiches instead of the 25 or 30. Also, I used the full 1.5 cups of sugar and they are really really sweet. So, both those things (size/sugar) adjust according to your taste preference. :-)
Enjoy!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Sundays and Thursdays for our house are "busy" days and I just find that I never have time to cook. Sundays we do not get home from Church until after 4 PM and Thursdays we always have meetings. Seriously, who wants to eat out ALL the time or eat PB&J ALL the time. I know that I sure don't. So, I have been trying harder on these two days to use the crockpot more. I LOVE crockpot meals because they are so easy and yummy. Plus, if you use the crockpot liners, there is little to no clean-up! Bonus!!!


So, here is our dinner for tonight. It is a Chicken Tortilla Soup. There are several variations, but this is the one I chose to use.


4 chicken breasts (I used 2 because they are big and we have a small family)
2 Cans Black Beans, undrained
2 Cans Stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 small can chopped green chilis
1 Cup Salsa (whatever your favorite is)
Tortilla Chips or Tortillas
Shredded Cheese
Sour cream

Place the first 5 ingredients in the crockpot. Cook on low for 5 or 6 hours. Serve with Chips/Tortillas, cheese, and sour cream, if desired.

Super yummy! (sorry no pictures)

Introducing ME!!!

Hello all!

This is my newest blog. I have a family blog, but I have been wanting to start a blog to share my recipes, my crafts, and other random thoughts and ideas that I have during my free time. I do not know how often I will post on this blog, but I am REALLY excited about it :-)