Best Chicken Enchiladas EVER! (easy too)

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!  It is a day for love, and I LOVE these enchiladas!!!  This go around I'm taking my time, so prepare for a lot of photos!!!

I realize there is no chicken in the above picture, but it's thawing in the microwave.  The joy about this recipe is that you can seriously nuke the whole thing!  Of course I am going to make most of it on the stovetop, cause I love using my new pan! Most of what you see above you can find, except for the salsa...my mama made that...and it is the BEST salsa in the whole world, and ruined me for any store bought salsa.

I don't really measure, especially onion and garlic, cause I simply love onion and garlic.
Sweat the onion in a pan (use oil) then add the garlic when the onion is almost done. Don't want to overcook the garlic.

In the meantime, be cooking the chicken in the microwave or any other method you choose.  When it is cooked throw it into your stand mixer, yes seriously.  Lock it down and turn it on medium and let it go.

Before

After

Add the chicken and spices to the pan and stir to combine and heat.

Then add the cream cheese and stir together.

Fill the flour tortilla shells, this recipe should make more, but I like to really stuff my shells so I end up with around 6 total, and I just put them in microwavable containers so they are already read for lunch!

After these are ready to go, prepare the cheese topping.  In deference to Valentine's Day I'm going to use the Queso Blanco Velveeta so the salsa turns it nice and pink!  And as usual I'm making more than what I need for this recipe because it is soooo yummy and perfect for dipping! Cover the tops of the enchiladas with the cheese mix and cover and put in the fridge.

When you are ready to eat, just reheat the enchiladas and you are ready for a party!

CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

½ cup chopped onion

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tablespoon oil

2 cups chopped cooked chicken

1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies

¼ cup chicken broth

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

4 oz cream cheese, cubed

6 flour tortilla (6 or 8 inch)

¼ pound Velveeta, cubed

2 tablespoons milk

½ cup chopped tomato, divided (I use salsa)

 

Microwave onion, garlic and oil in 2-quart microwave-safe casserole on High 2 – 3 minutes or until tender, stirring after 2 minutes.  Stir in chicken, chilies, broth and seasonings.  Microwave on high 4 minutes or until thoroughly heated.  Add cream cheese; stir until cream cheese is melted.  Spoon 1/3 cup chicken mixture onto each tortilla; roll up. Place, seam side down, in 8-inch square microwave-safe baking dish.  Microwave Velveeta, and ¼ cup tomato in medium microwave –safe bowl on high 2 to 3 minutes or until Velveeta is melted, stirring after each minute.  Pour sauce over tortillas; top with remaining tomatoes.  Microwave on high 6 to 8 minutes or until thoroughly heated, turning dish after 3 minutes.

Makes 6 servings.

Balsamic and Onions and Mushrooms! OH MY!

Sundays are a great time for pot roast.  Especially since mother nature has decided to give us an ACTUAL winter, at least a weeks worth of winter weather.  So this morning while I am making fresh blueberry muffins I'm also starting tonight's dinner!

My DH loves blueberries.  And as luck would have it his parents brought us a Valentines bag of fresh fruit, which included a pint of blueberries!!!  The muffins I made came directly from the 1976 Betty Crocker cookbook, the orange one.  I love this cookbook, my mom has it, and when I found it for $12 I had to buy one too!  The consistency was dense, but overall good flavor and super yummy still warm!

On to the main event! Balsamic and Onion Pot Roast!

I tried to follow the recipe as closely as I could, but bottom round roast was much cheaper than chuck roast, so I am using the round roast.  All of my other changes are noted in the recipe.  (see above link)

I have also decided that I need a sous chef...because trying to do all of the steps, and photograph is next to impossible for some recipes...this one is included.  I did manage to get a picture of everything IN the Crock-pot.

Dinner was wonderful, I am glad I added the extra tomato sauce, the balsamic was almost overpowering, also could be that my balsamic isn't the highest quality...But in the end this recipe recieved the thumbs up from DH.  And a "you can make this again" too!

**Last night after eating this delicious meal complete with garlic mashed potatoes and gravy, we both almost passed out on the couch from overeating...which is why I'm posting this now...

Easy Italian

Hello my readers! A lot has been doing on since I last posted...school started, my last semester, and I'm planning a wedding!!!  :0D

Tonight I am preparing a meal of stuffed manicotti, garlic rolls and Italian sausage!  I found the recipe for stuffed manicotti on Pinterest and had to try it.  I love stuffed pastas, but this one did not require boiling the noodles first, a MAJOR bonus for me!

The rolls were super easy!  I went to the store and purchased a 12 count frozen white roll dough...see easy!  Then I greased my cast iron pan with olive oil and placed the rolls in the pan...then you wait 3-5 hours...

I did change the manicotti recipe a bit...I threw all of the stuffing ingredients in the mixer instead of doing it by hand.  Saved me time, and energy.  The blog where I found this says to use a pastry piping bag (which I don't have but now want) or a gallon ziplock bag with a corner cut off.  The hole I originally cut in the bag was not big enough to squeeze the super thick mixture through, and I probably put too much in at once (like the whole batch).  So I re-cut the bag, and then the hole was too big...so I stuffed each shell by hand...with my fingers...fun, time consuming and messy!  Next time I'm going to make sure I have a pastry piping bag...now time to throw them in the oven for 50 minutes!!!  Time to take a break until it's time to start the sausage and rolls.

I love garlic, it's become an addiction for me lately.  There are also health benefits to eating garlic.  I mixed butter with the juice from my jarred minced garlic...YUM!!!  Then brushed that on top of the rolls BEFORE baking (just follow the package directions for baking temp and time).  After they are done and nice and brown, brush them (or soak) them in garlic butter again!  Serve in the cast iron pan, it keeps them nice and warm!

Enjoy a wonderful dinner!