Mexican Pizza

Disappointed in my photo, because it doesn't show off this dinner very well. It is actually two layers of tortillas. I browned each layer in a skillet with a bit of bacon grease. Then I layed one spelt tortilla down, topped with some homemade refried beans, salsa and cheese. Then a second tortilla, taco meat and more cheese. In the oven for 15 minutes until the cheese is nice and melty. Top with lettuce, onions, more salsa, and sour cream. Very tasty!
-Amanda

Taco Pie

A few days ago I saw something labeled as Taco Pie on Pinterest. The thought of it struck with me and I decided to make my own version. I think the Pinned version had a potato flake crust, which just seemed a bit odd to me. So I changed up the crust and made a few other adjustments, such as taking out the packaged taco seasoning and came up with this version which I think is pretty awesome. I basically took the idea of a 7 layer dip and made it into a meal instead of an appetizer. My husband took one bite and said, "Oh my god, this is SO good." Of course my 4.5 year old twins looked at it and said, "Ew... it looks disgusting." Once I got them to taste it though, they were pleasantly surprised and told me it tasted better than it looked. I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
-Amanda

Cornmeal Crust
3/4 cup of cornmeal
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup of cold butter
4-5 tbsp of ice cold water

I used to make pie crusts in a food processor before my food processor bit the dust a few months ago. I'll describe both methods.
Food Processor: Put flours and salt in a food processor and pulse to mix. Add cut up butter and pulse until it resembled wet sand. Add ice water one tablespoon at at a time until dough pulls from the side and makes a ball. Do not over process. Wrap in plastic wrap and put in your fridge to rest for about 15-20 minutes.

By hand: Mix flours and salt in a large bowl. Add cubed butter. With two knives start "cutting" the butter into the flour. You do this by holding a knife in each hand and cut across the flour and butter, this is cutting the butter and incorporating it into the flour. Again you are left with sand like texture. Add your ice water and with your hands gently massage the dough until it forms a ball. Wrap with plastic wrap and put in your fridge to rest for about 15-20 minutes.

Taco Meat:
1/2 onion
1 bell pepper
1 lb ground beef
3-4 cloves garlic
1 tsp ground oregano
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp chili powder
salt & pepper
3-4 tbsp of tomato paste
3 tbsp cornmeal

Cut onion into small pieces and saute in a bit of butter with bell pepper. Add garlic and seasonings. Add ground beef. Stir the beef as it is cooking so it crumbles into small pieces. When the beef is cooked through, add tomato paste and then the cornmeal. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

Cheese Sauce:
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
2 tsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp cumin
garlic (powder or clove)
3/4 cup milk
1 cup grated cheese

Melt 2 tbsp butter in a small sauce pan. Add 2 tbsp flour and whisk together. Add 3/4 cup of milk and whisk until there are no lumps. Add  tsp of tomato paste, 1/2 tsp cumin, salt and pepper and either some garlic powder or a grated clove of garlic. Last add cheese (I used monterrey jack, but cheddar or your favorite would work.) Stir until melted. Set aside.

Taco Pie Assembly!

1 Cornmeal Crust
1 recipe cheese sauce
Refried Beans
cheese
salsa
Sour Cream
chopped lettuce
olives

Roll out pie crust by liberally sprinkling counter with flour. Place in pie plate and form the pie shell. Scoop taco meat in the pie crust. Top with cheese. Add left over refried beans, or some from a can. (Check your ingredients if you used can and do not buy refried beans with hydrogenated oils.) Top with some cheese and bake at 375 for 30 minutes or until crust gets crispy.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes. (This helps with the cutting.) Top with salsa, sour cream, chopped lettuce and olives. Other toppings that would be good are avocados or tomatoes. I hop you enjoy!

Enchilada Casserole

 Is there ever a good way to photograph a casserole?

This dish was inspired by a pin off of pinterest. The original recipe was called something like Texas Ranch Casserole. But as soon as we ate my dish the family exclaimed, it tastes like enchiladas! Like I said, I took the original recipe as an inspiration point and made several changes. The biggest was to replace the canned soup with real cream. I kept this very mild since my kids don't like spicy food, but feel free to throw in some jalapenos or other favorite peppers to add some heat!
-Amanda

Enchilada Casserole
12 corn tortillas
2 cups shredded chicken
2 cups heavy cream
1 pablano chili
1 red bell pepper
3 stalks of celery
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
3 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp celery seed
1 can roasted tomatoes, diced
1.5 - 2 cups shredded cheese
1/4 cup cornmeal
butter for sauteing in and for greasing casserole dish with

Dice onion and start it sauteing in a pat of butter. Chop celery and add it to the onion. Next dice up the bell pepper, pablano chili and garlic. Add all of that to the onion and celery. Saute until vegetables soften. Add celery seed and chili powder, salt and pepper. Stir well. Next sprinkle in the cornmeal and toss all the vegetables in it. Quickly add the heavy cream and stir. Bring to a boil. Add the can of tomatoes, undrained. Let it simmer, stirring frequently until everything thickens up. Add 1/2 to a 1/3 grated cheese. Once thickened, turn off heat and add in cooked shredded chicken.

Grease a casserole dish with butter. Cut tortillas into strips. Line one layer of dish with tortillas and some of the grated cheese. Spoon in some of the chicken-vegetable mixture. Add another layer of tortillas and repeat until you get to the top of the dish. Top with extra cheese. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes.

By the way, my husband came in and tasted the dish right before I added the chicken. He thought I was making a nacho cheese dip. He grabbed a tortilla chip and dipped it in and said, that it was a GREAT dip and for me to write down what I did so I could replicate it for him. So I'm obliging his request. :)

Green Salsa Chicken

I made up a pretty terrific slow cooker meal today. Wanted something low carb so instead of serving this on tortillas, I served in in lettuce leafs. The other great thing was the girls loved helping make the salsa. They peeled all the garlic and tomatillos and they helped brush on the avocado oil. The salsa could be made up the day before without any problems making it a super simple crock pot meal the next day. And of course, you could stuff burritos or tacos with this juicy tender meat!

-Amanda

Green Salsa Chicken

Roasted Green Salsa
1 white or yellow onion
1-2 hot peppers of your choice, preferably green ones
8-10 tomatillos
4-5 cloves garlic
3-4 tablespoons of oil (I used avocado oil, but olive oil would work too.)
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 425. Peel garlic and tomatillos. Cut tomatillos in half. Cut onion in quarters. Cut pepper in half and discard stem and seeds. Toss everything with oil (or use a pastry brush and brush it on each vegetable.) Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 25 minutes. Let cool complete, and then blend in your blender until you have a chunky consistency.

Shredded Chicken

4 chicken breasts
1/2 can of coconut milk
zest of one lime
juice of one lime
salsa recipe from above
salt to taste

Pour half the salsa in your crock pot. Place chicken breasts and sprinkle with salt. Pour in the rest of the salsa, the lime zest, lime juice and coconut milk. Cook on low for 5-6 hours. Take chicken out 30 minutes towards the end and shred. Place back in sauce and stir. Adjust salt as needed. Serve with cheese and lettuce for the photo above, otherwise use as a stuffing for tacos or burritos.

Best Ever Chicken Tacos

Yesterday I had a big pot of homemade chicken stock simmering away, smelling up the entire house. I knew that some of the chicken that was making the stock was going to make chicken tacos for dinner. Sometime in the morning I cut up some tomatoes, peppers, onion and a few cloves of garlic, tossed them in some salt and pepper and olive oil and roasted them for 25 minutes at 425. Then I pulled them out to cool. At my kids naptime I pulled the chicken out of the stock and set it on a cutting board to cool. Just as they were waking up, I pulled off a big bowl of meat that will be enough meat to make 3 meals. Blending up the tomato mixture makes a delicious roasted tomato salsa/ sauce. With all this homemade salsa & slow cooked chicken I figured it'd be a shame to wrap it up in a cardboard (I mean, store bought) tortilla, so while the chicken was cooling, I quickly tossed the ingredients together to make homemade tortillas.
-Amanda

Chicken Taco Filling

1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
1/2 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheese
2 cups slow cooked shredded chicken
3/4 cup salsa (see above for a quick homemade version)
salt to taste
oregano
ground cumin

Melt butter in a skillet and add flour. Whisk until the flour is coated and cooked a bit. Add milk and whisk all the lumps out. Add cheese and keep whisking until sauce thickens. Add chicken, salsa and seasonings. Just cook enough to warm the chicken through. I added a ladle of my homemade chicken stock just for the extra nutrients and simmered that until it thickened up again, but that is optional. Serve on warm tortillas with chopped lettuce, dollop of sour cream and extra salsa.

Enchilada Suiza

 

I have a confession. Enchilada Suiza used to be one of my favorite tv dinners back when I bought those things. This is SO much better than any tv dinner. I wish I had tripled the recipe and froze it though. It'd be great for taking to a new mom. This was a project though. I did not end up making my own tortillas, but that would have just made it that much better. I did cook the chicken for 24 hours to make stock from it. Chicken pulled from the bone after being simmered for that long is so moist and it shreds so easily. Plus I got about 6 quarts of rich stock to use for another recipe. The roasted tomatillo salsa that went into the recipe was really great too! I used anaheim peppers for flavor and no heat, since I wanted my toddlers to eat this and they don't like spicy foods (yet!) I made the salsa the day before. It'd be a great one to make and lacto-ferment and serve with chips, but I didn't ferment this batch since I knew it'd be baked in the oven which would kill of any beneficial bacterias that I would have gained from fermenting it. Then I stirred together a quick white sauce to pour over the enchiladas with the green sauce and they went into the oven. Here is the method broken down a bit more:

-Amanda

Chicken Enchilada Suiza

Tomatillo Salsa

6-8 tomatillos, huskes removed

3-4 cloves of garlic with skins still on

4-5 anaheim peppers or a mixture of your favorite peppers. If you go with a hotter pepper you can either add it with the anaheims, bell peppers or just increase your amount of tomatillos so you get the same amount of salsa at the end

1 small white onion, peeled and quartered

cilantro (optional)

olive oil

salt

On a baking sheet, spread out the tomatillos, garlic with skin still on, onion and peppers. Liberally drizzle olive oil on top and sprinkle with sea salt. Put in a 425 oven for about 25-30 minutes until everything starts to turn a bit brown. 

In a blender, place the onions and tomatillos in the blender, add the garlic removing the skins at this time, they should just squish out. Cut the top of the peppers and squeeze out the seeds and add them to the blender. Blend on high for a minute or two until everything is well blended. The tomatillos should have enough liquid that you don't need to add water, but you can add a bit if needed. Add cilantro if using and blend one more time. Store up to a week in the fridge. Makes about 1 quart.

Cream Sauce

1 cup of sour cream

1/4 cup heavy cream

1./2 tsp cumin

salt

Mix together and set aside.

Enchiladas:

1 quart of tomatillo salsa

1 recipe of cream sauce

3 cups of shredded chicken meat

12 oz (ish) of shredded cheese, I used colby jack

10 tortillas

Spread about half of the tomatillo salsa on the bottom of a large baking dish. Roll up each tortilla with a bit of shredded chicken and shredded cheese and roll it up. Place with the seam down in the salsa. Finish all 10 tortillas squishing them together. Top with the rest of the salsa. Pour white sauce over the green salsa and top with leftover cheese. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes until cheese gets all nice and bubbly.

Chirizo Chicken

This is a very intensely flavored dish. I tried to make cauliflower and cheese pancakes to serve along side but they didn't turn out that great.
-Amanda

Chirizo Chicken

2 large chicken breasts
2 tbsp coconut oil 
2 links of chirizo sausage
1 bell pepper
1/2 pablano pepper (spicier pepper if you wish!)
2 stalks of celery
1 rounded tsp of arrowroot
1 cup homemade beef stock made from bones
1 cup homemade chicken stock made from bones
1 can of organic fire roasted tomatoes

In a large heavy bottom skillet, melt the coconut oil. Brown two chicken breasts on both sides and remove from skillet. Remove the casings off chirizo sausage and brown in the skillet, breaking up the sausage as it cooks. Dice bell pepper into small squares and put it in the skillet with the cooking chirizo. Next add diced pablano pepper and celery. Cook a few minutes until vegetables start to get tender. Sprinkle over the arrowroot and then add chicken and beef broth. Stir to incorporate all ingredients. Add the roasted tomatoes. The skillet will be very liquid-y. Turn your burner on high and let it come to a hard boil. Stir every five minutes or so to make sure it isn't sticking. Cook until it has thickened and reduced by half. About 20 minutes. Bring back down to a simmer and add chicken. Cook an additional 20 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Serve with avocado slices or sour cream.

Chicken Enchilada Chili

Currently I'm doing a weightloss program called The Liberation Diet that falls in line with the principles set forth by the Weston A. Price Foundation and the Real Food Movement. The Liberation Diet is a very low carb diet that focuses on good quality high fats and oils. When I first was reading some of the literature it was quite mind blowing to see how the journey our culture took to leave behind butter, lard, ghee and other quality, vitamin-rich fats for the likes of margarine, soy-oils, canoloa and vegetable oils. If you follow the history it is all about making money and marketing.

For instance, the makers of Crisco were just trying to find a way to get rid of their industrial sludge leftover from making candles. Some one along the way thought it looked like lard (not too unlike the time my very own Mema thought she could substitute a bay leaf for basil in a pasta dish since they were both leaves and started with ba... they might have looked similar but they were definitely NOT similar!) This person took this lard look alike and baked a pie with it. Surprisingly it worked out okay and tasted okay. Viola! A new (cheaper) oil was introduced to the market. What they didn't know then was that it is very damaging to humans in a very slow and unapparent way. For more of the whole story on Crisco, please see: The Rise and Fall of Crisco. Here is a link that talks about fats in depth, with several other informative links at the bottom of their page: Know your Fats

Well back to my recipe... I love mexican food! I often have made burritos and quesidallas and other tex-mex delights. But since I'm going low carb, I needed to find a way to have my favorite flavors without the tortilla. Then the other day when I was picking up my Kombucha scoby from Nicole she had a dish similar to this bubbling away on her stove. I told her I wanted the recipe but since she left for vacation the very next day she hasn't had time to post. So I made something up myself.
-Amanda

Chicken Enchilada Chili

2 tbsp ghee or butter
1/2 onion
3 cloves of garlic
2 cans of organic fire roasted tomatoes
1-2 pablano or other favorite chili
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
pinch (or more) of red chili flakes
sea salt
2 chicken breasts, previously cooked*

cheese sauce:
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp whole wheat flour
1.5-2 cups whole milk (I use raw milk)
1.5-2 cups lightly packed shredded cheddar cheese
sea salt
pepper

Make cheese sauce first, in a medium size pot, melt butter. When butter is melted, add whole wheat flour and whisk until all of the flour is wet. Continue to whisk to cook the flour a bit. Add milk a little bit at a time. Start with just a splash and whisk lumps away. Add a little bit more and keep whisking keeping lumps away. Add sea salt and pepper to taste. Add cheese and continue to whisk until sauce has thickened and cheese melts. Set aside, keeping warm.

In a large skillet melt ghee or more butter. Dice an onion into small pieces and add to butter. Chop garlic and add it to the onions. Chop chili peppers and add them. I like to add my spices at this time to toast them and make them more flavorful before adding liquids. So add the cumin, oregano, red chili flakes, sea salt and pepper. At this point the onions should start to be soft and brown bits may be accumulating on the bottom of the skillet. Open tomatoes and add them. When the tomatoes start to come to a boil, take a ladle and ladle some of the tomato-onion mixture into the cheese sauce to temper it. Stir it into the cheese and add a few more ladles of tomatoes. Then pour all of the cheese sauce into the tomato sauce. Add diced chicken and cook until warmed through. Serve with fresh guacamole and organic sour cream.

*If you don't have any chicken cooked, you can add raw chicken in after the onions, just be careful not to overcook when you bring the tomatoes to a boil.

Fish Tacos

We had fish tacos for dinner tonight. They turned out great! Normally I think I'd use a corn tortilla for fish tacos but I already had some of these homemade wheat flour tortillas in the freezer so we went with what we had. I served up some homemade oven fries and some fresh cantaloupe on the side. The crisp coleslaw with a homemade yogurt dressing was a perfect accompaniment to the fish.-Amanda

Fish Tacos:
4, 6-8 inch flour tortillas (recipe HERE)
4 pieces of cod (or other firm fish)
marinade for fish:
    juice of one lemon
    1 tbsp olive oil
    pinch of red pepper flakes
     1/8 tsp ground cumin
     1 smashed garlic clove
     1/8 tsp oregano
     1/2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
     salt

Coleslaw:  
1/8 of a head of cabbage
1 grated carrot
Sauce for coleslaw:
    1/4 cup greek style yogurt (or homemade yogurt that has been drained in a cheesecloth overnight to thicken)
    1 tbsp honey
    1 tsp mustard
    salt & pepper
    1/2 tbsp olive oil

Whisk all the ingredients for the fish marinade together and set fish in it to marinade for about 1 hour. Drain marinade away from fish. Cook in a very hot skillet until fish can be easily flaked with a fork.

To make coleslaw, mix the yogurt, honey, mustard, olive oil and salt & pepper. Cut the cabbage into very small pieces and add the grated carrot. Pour sauce on top and let sit for an hour.

Built taco with tortilla, coleslaw and fish. I also added a bit of diced raw red onion on top. I served with oven fries and cantaloupe on the side.

Tex-Mex Stuffed Bell Peppers and Fruit Salad

A few days ago I made Taco Mini Muffins. When I made the meal, I doubled the taco meat & veggie mixture for a meal later in the week. That was tonight. I turned the taco meat into Tex-Mex Stuffed Bell Peppers, and they were very delicious! I served them alongside a simple fruit salad with a yogurt dressing.
-Amanda

Tex-Mex Stuffed Bell Peppers

1 recipe of the taco meat & veggie mixture from my Taco Mini Muffins.
2/3 cup wheat couscous
3/4 cup of chicken or beef stock (or water.)
4 small bell peppers
2 oz of your favorite Mexican cheese, grated

In a small pot, bring stock to a boil. Add couscous and stir. Turn off heat, cover and let sit for 5 minutes. Add couscous to taco meat mixture and stir. Cut the tops off your bell peppers. If the bottoms are very crooked, you may want to cut of a very small amount to make them level so they will stand up. Stuff each bell pepper with 1/4 of the taco/couscous mixture. Place them on a cookie sheet and bake at 425 for 30 minutes. Top each bell pepper with some of the grated cheese and broil until cheese is melted. Serves 4.

Fruit Salad with Yogurt Dressing

1 banana
1 orange
8-10 strawberries
1 cup of grapes (I did green and red
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp fresh grated giner

Peel and chop banana. Peel and segment one orange and cut each slice in half. Cut strawberries into fourths. Cut grapes in half. Place all fruit into a mixing bowl. In another small bowl, mix the yogurt, vanilla, honey, cinnamon and ginger. Pour over fruit. Serve chilled.

Taco Mini Mufins

I loved the response from my homemade chicken nuggets! Many of my friends told me they were going to try out the recipe. Please let me know how yours turn out if you do!

Today's recipe is another very toddler friendly meal idea. Although I'm going to serve this for dinner for the adults too, paired with a salad. These Taco Mini Muffins can also be made in bulk and frozen. Reheat in the toaster oven or microwave. This isn't an exact science, you can change the recipe to your preferences. Oh and I actually doubled the meat and veggies so I could have easy taco salads later this week.
-Amanda

Taco Mini Muffins

Cornbread Mix
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cup cornmeal
4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup applesauce
2 eggs
approx 2 cups of milk, start with slightly less and add until you get a "pancake" batter consistency.

Taco Mix
1/2 lb lean ground beef
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 small onion
1/4 cup frozen or fresh corn
1/4 cup drained black beans
1/2 red bell pepper
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp cumin
3 tsp chili powder
2 tbsp tomato paste or ketchup (I used homemade)
salt & pepper to taste

Dice onion into small bits. Place oil in a skillet (I used cast iron.) When it gets hot, add onion. While the onion is cooking, dice red bell pepper. Add it to the onion, stir occasionally. When onion and bell pepper are soft, add corn and beans, heat until the corn is thawed. Remove vegetables from skillet (Or if pressed for time, cook them at the same time as the meat in a separate skillet.)

Once vegetables have been removed from the skillet, add the meat. Add the cumin, chili powder, oregano, tomato paste or ketchup, salt and pepper. Cook on medium-high heat until meat is cooked all the way through.

Add meat to the vegetables and stir.

In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients for the cornbread mix, except the milk. Add 1 1/2 cups of milk and stir. Add enough milk until you have a loose "pancake" like batter. Stir in the meat/vegetable mixture. Dish about 2 tbsp in mini muffin tins. Bake at 375 for 12 minutes. If you do larger muffins, adjust your cooking time. A toothpick should come out clean and the tops of the muffins should start to brown.

Easy Taco Soup

I turned my taco meat leftovers into an easy taco soup. It was a bit hearty for July in Texas but it was still good. -Amanda

Leftovers Taco Soup

2 cups left over beef taco meat filling (mine had corn, cherry tomatoes and beans mixed in.)
2 cups chicken broth
3 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 onion (I didn't have any in the taco meat, so I added it to the soup.)
cheese for garnish
tortilla chips garnish

Chop and saute onion. Add tomato paste. Cook until you think it just about to burn, to develop the flavor of the tomato paste. Add taco meat leftovers and quickly add the chicken broth. Simmer until thick and heated through. Top with cheese and chips.

White Bean Chicken Chili

This recipe was posted on a message board I'm on by Amberly. She got it from Ame. I think everyone in my mom's group is trying out their variation of it! It is really good! I made the white beans from scratch a couple of weeks ago and froze them. So tonight I just pulled those out of the freezer and mixed them with the rest of the ingredients instead of using canned beans. (My beans had carrots, celery and a bit of bacon so it added a depth of flavor that is a bit different than canned.) But either would work fine. My twins ate this up and Izzie even asked for more!
-Amanda

White Bean Chicken Chili

about 32 oz chicken stock
3 cans white beans undrained (I use homemade dried beans that had been previously cooked)
5 cups cooked chicken
1 - 16oz jar salsa or homemade salsa
1 - 8oz block pepper jack (I used colby jack because it was what I had)
2 tsp ground cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup tortilla chips (crushed), optional... makes chili thicker
 avacado to garnish

Place all ingredients in large pot over medium-high heat until cheese is melted. When chili is ready, add crushed chips, if using, and simmer for 10 minutes to thicken.

Tomato Chicken Burritos

Okay, I'm only posting this because it was very good and I want to remember it; but it needs some work. It was too runny. I got inspired to make this after watching a guest cook on the Paula Deen Food Network show. She made Crispy Fried Tacos with Salsa Verde. This isn't exactly that. I had some left over taco shells and I wanted to use them up tonight, but then my "stuffing" was too runny, so I put them in tortillas and baked them for a bit with some store bought salsa verde on top. Like I said, they were delicious, especially with some basic white rice mixed in each bite. Even the two year olds loved it! I think I put too much sauce and not enough chicken. Anyway, here is what I did because it's a bit off from what the original "inspiration" recipe was.
-Amanda

Tomato Chicken Burritos

4 small chicken breasts *
2 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cumin
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 can of green chilis (I'd prefer a fresh one)
1/2 white onion
tortillas
mexican cheese
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tortilla that has been turned into bread crumbs in the food processor (or plain bread crumbs)

*like I said, I needed more I think. Oh, and I wish I had bone in, but I had boneless skinless, so that is what I used.

Place chicken in a pan and cover with water. Add garlic cloves and simmer for 20 minutes**. Do not boil or chicken will turn to rubber. Remove chicken and shred with two forks.

Put tomatoes, garlic cloves from the chicken pan, green chilis, oregano, cumin, onion, salt and pepper in a blender and puree. In the pan you removed the chicken from, pour sauce in. Add chicken back in and bring to a low boil. Add heavy cream, bread crumbs and cheese. Spoon in tortillas and wrap to form burritos. Pour some store bought salsa verde on the top. Cook at 375 for 20 minutes. Serve with white rice, makes 4-5 burritos.

(**hint: if you are using bone in chicken and you want to make some homemade chicken stock while you are at it, add an onion, celery and peppercorns to the water. Simmer on very low for 40 minutes. Remove chicken from bone, toss bones back and water and let simmer for however long you want. Strain, and you have homemade chicken broth, store in an air tight container and freeze)

Bread Bowl

I am so excited. I just discovered a super easy way to make bread bowls at home from scratch. The possibilities are endless. I really don't know how to contain my joy at this discovery! Traditional bread bowls that I have had are more crusty, usually made out of sourdough, but this was light fluffy and the main thing... EASY!
-Amanda

Bread Bowl

base ingredients:
1 package of dry active yeast
2/3 cup warm water
1 tbsp sugar (sugar substitute won't work, it's "food" for the yeast)
1 2/3 cup of flour
1/2 tbsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil
few tablespoons of cornmeal reserved

For Mexican Bowl:
add 1/2 tbsp oregano and 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

For Italian Bowl:
add 1/2 tbsp dry basil and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Pour yeast into warm water. Warm tap water is fine, you don't want it to be boiling. Add the sugar and stir the yeast. Wait until it starts to foam and bubble. This way you know your yeast is still good. It should take about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, place the rest of the ingredients (except cornmeal!) in a food processor (I'm sure you can do this by hand, just knead until dough comes together. You could probably also use a stand mixer with dough hook.) When yeast is good and foamy, turn on processor and pour the water-yeast mixture in slowly until incorporated. Keep the food processor on until the dough starts to ball up on the side. Remove from the food processor and knead a few times by hand to bring it together into one large ball.

Spray a large bowl with cooking spray and place dough ball in the bottom. Cover with a kitchen towel and place in a warm non-drafty spot. Let rise about 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 375º. Divide the dough into two smaller balls. Sprinkly reserved cornmeal on a cookie sheet (this prevents dough from sticking!) Place balls onto the cookie sheet and cook for about 20 minutes. Dough should start to turn brown on top. A toothpick will come out clean.
Serves 2.

Possibilities are endless: Pictured above: I have a Mexican bowl with Shredded Salsa Beef, topped with cheese, onion and a pickled jalapeno. Diced tomato or black olives would be good too.

Italian bowl, fill with meat spaghetti sauce and top with mozzarella.

Or make a chili bowl, a clam chowder bowl, cheese and broccoli bowl, etc!

Chili Casserole

Finished casserole.


Spoon chili into baking dishes.

This recipe is perfectly adaptable to campfire cooking. As a matter of fact that's how I had it the first time, prepared in a huge castiron dutch oven. It was so good I didn't want to wait until the next campout to have it again, so it can be done in your home oven. Substitute ingredients as you see fit, the main idea is to make a yummy chili and top it with a yummy cornbread.

My playgroup has decided to do a meal swap. I picked this meal to make for our first swap for a couple of reasons. It's easy to make in bulk (I needed enough for 3 families), it is perfect cold weather food, and I had all the ingredients on hand! You can scale it down to suit one family meal or make it in bulk and freeze the extra casseroles!
-Amanda

Chili Casserole

Chili:
1 onion
2-3 pieces of bacon
2.5 lbs of lean ground beef
2 cans of black beans, drained
1 can of tomato paste
1 can of fire roasted tomatoes
1 can of diced green chilies
4 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cumin
salt & pepper

Cornbread: (You can also use a Cornbread Kit)
2 1/2 cups of cornmeal
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup shredded mexican cheese
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
2 tbsp vegetable oil
3/4 cup milk (give or take)

Dice bacon into tiny bits. Saute the bacon with diced onion and garlic. Add ground beef. Break up the beef with the end of your spoon and add seasonings: chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Add tomato paste and mix it into the ground beef. Add drained beans and fire roasted diced tomatoes. Last, add the diced green chilies. Continue cooking over medium high heat until meat is fully cooked. Transfer over to baking dishes. I made 3, 9"x9" casseroles.

Preheat oven to 350º. Mix all the ingredients for the cornbread into a big mixing bowl. Spoon wet cornbread mixture over the chili in a thin layer. Sprinkle the top with extra cheese. Bake for 25 minutes.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Chicken Tortilla Soup is my favorite homemade soup. I think there have been days that I've eaten it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Yes, I know... call me weird. Every time I make it I make it a bit different. Sometimes I make it with no chicken, so it's a Vegetable Tortilla Soup, sometimes I combine the two and add a ton of veggies, with chicken. Sometimes I throw in some rice, other times I leave out the rice. This version is just a simplified Chicken version without too many bells and whistles.
-Amanda

Chicken Tortilla Soup


Some of the pantry ingredients: Green Chili Peppers, Chicken Broth (or stock), tomato sauce and a can of black beans.

Other ingredients:


2 chicken breasts chopped into bite size pieces.



3 cloves of garlic (pictured above) 1 onion, diced, 1 bell pepper, diced & 1 cup frozen corn (not pictured)


About a tbsp of Ancho Chili in Adobo Sauce. It comes in a can. I empty the can into a freezer safe ziplock bag and freeze it. That way I can chip off just the amount I need. This stuff is spicy!


In a large pot, saute the onion, garlic and bell pepper in 1 tbsp of oil on high heat until it starts to brown around the edges.


Add salt (about a tablespoon of kosher)


And seasonings... I use cumin and oregano. About 2-3 tsp of ground cumin and about 1/2 tbsp of dried oregano.


Add frozen corn (about 1 cup) and black beans. I usually don't drain them.


Add tomato sauce and about 4 cups of chicken broth. Simmer on low for 30-45 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Do not boil or chicken will get tough.


Serve with tortilla chips, cheese, avocado and sour cream if you like.

Chicken and Bean Taco Salad

A quick and easy go-to meal. I have a couple different taco salads here at The Frickin Chicken, and this was another tasty one.... not mention high in fiber and decent in Weight Watchers Points.

Chicken and Bean Taco Salad

6 oz chicken breast
3 oz shredded cheese
1/2 onion, finely diced
1 small red bell pepper small dice
2 cloves garlic
1 can of black beans
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp lime juice
salt and pepper
chopped lettuce
2 tortillas per person

In a cast iron (or other favorite skillet) saute the onions, garlic and bell pepper until the edges start to turn brown. Add the chicken. When the chicken is almost cooked through, add the beans and all of the seasonings. Build your taco how ever you like. I put a tortilla down on the plate, piled it high with lettuce and then my chicken taco mixture. I put 2 oz cheese on top and melted it in the microwave for a few seconds. My second tortilla I cut into triangles and served on the side. This serves 3 Weight Watchers portions for 8 pts each.
-Amanda

Homemade Tortillas & Mini Chicken Tacos

I've always wanted to make homemade tortillas. About a week ago I bought some Harina which is what you use to make tortillas. I thought about rolling them by hand or even trying to use a pasta machine to roll them, but today I found a tortilla press on sale and it was fate. I bought it and tonight I made the tortillas. They are so great. Nothing like pre-packaged tortillas at the grocery store. Slightly chewy, warm and delicious. I made chicken taco meat to go in them. The ones I made were tiny, only about 5 inches in diameter so I made mini chicken tacos.

Tortillas

2 cups harina
1/2 cup water

Mix together. Knead for 5 minutes. Divide into 12 balls. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for five minutes. Press with tortilla press. Pre-heat cast iron skillet on high heat. Place dough in skillet for 30-45 seconds per side. Serve warm.

Easy Chicken Taco Meat

2 cans of white chicken meat
1/2 can tomato paste
1 can fire roasted tomatoes
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp chili powder
squirt of ketchup
dash garlic powder

Drain chicken and rinse really well. Place all ingredients in skillet adjusting seasonings as needed. Break chicken up with spoon or a fork. Serve in tortillas with lettuce and cheese.

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

This is a very tasty dish. The first time I made it, my husband I went crazy for it. I had planned on freezing the leftovers, but we ended up eating on it every night for about four nights because we seriously couldn't get enough of them. It's been awhile since I made them, and this go around I accidentally bought 10-inch tortillas instead of 6-inch ones. That means instead of making 24 like the recipe said (I doubled it), I only made 12. But then again, they are almost twice as big...

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas
From: Don't Panic--More Dinner's in the Freezer

1 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup green pepper, chopped
3 cloves of garlic (I added this to the recipe)
2 tbsp butter
2 cups cooked chicken*
1- 4oz can green chili peppers, diced
3 tbsp butter
1/4 cup flour
1 tbsp ground coriander (I changed this to 1/2 tbsp of cumin and 1/2 tbsp oregano)
3/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
6 oz Monterrey Jack Cheese, shredded
12 6-inch tortillas

*I grilled my chicken for added flavor! (You can also buy, pre-grilled chicken in the freezer section)

Cook onion and green pepper in 2 tbsp of butter until tender. Combine onion mixture in a bowl with chicken and chili peppers; set aside.

For sauce, melt 3 tbsp butter and stir in flour and seasonings. Stir in chicken broth all at once; cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 1-2 minutes more. Remove from heat; stir in sour cream and 1/2 cup of cheese. Stir 1/2 cup of sauce into chicken mixture (I found that 1 cup is better.)

Fill each tortilla with 1/4 cup of chicken mixture, roll up and arrange in a baking dish. Pour remaining sauce over enchiladas and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Recipe as printed should make 12 Enchiladas. This recipe is easy to double or even triple.

This is a good casserole to make in Foil Baking Dishes and freeze for later. Like I said before, I doubled the recipe when I made it tonight. This recipe isn't hard to make, but it is a bit time consuming, especially if you double/triple it. But it is SO worth it!
-Amanda