Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas

~CREAM CHEESE CHICKEN ENCHILADAS~

Ingredients:

5 oz. reduced fat cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup light sour cream
10 oz. can of enchilada sauce
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese, divided
2 cups cooked shredded chicken
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed (canned corn works just fine, but drain it first)
4 oz. can diced green chiles
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cumin
Salt and pepper
4 scallions, thinly sliced
8 (8-inch) whole wheat tortillas

Directions:
1.Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 9×13 dish with cooking spray.

2.In the bowl of your mixer cream together the cream cheese, sour cream, and 1/2 of the enchilada sauce. Stir in 1/2 cup of each type of cheese.

3.In a second bowl toss together the chicken, corn, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper, green chiles, and half of the scallions. Add the chicken mixture to the cheese mixture and combine well.

4.Spread about half of the remaining enchilada sauce in the bottom of the baking dish.

5.Spoon the filling into each tortilla, roll the tortilla up, and place in the baking dish with the seam down. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the top of the filled tortillas and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Sprinkle with the remaining scallions and serve. Enjoy!  

*We garnished with tomatoes, spinach and a dollop of sour cream!  So yummy! I have had this recipe saved in my "drafts" in my email for months.  I can not remember for the life of me where it came from!  It is sure yummy though, whoever came up with the recipe! :)

Slow Cooker Creamy Potato Soup

Slow Cooker Creamy Potato Soup

Ingredients:

10 gloves of garlic, minced (if you use jarred, it's a 5 t equivalent)

64 oz (8 cups) of chicken stock or broth

1 T seasoned salt

5 pounds russet potatoes, washed NOT peeled, diced into 1/2 inch cubes

2 medium yellow onions, diced

2 cups carrots, diced

16 oz low fat or non fat cream cheese

Directions:

Combine all ingredients (except for cream cheese) in crock pot and cook on high for 6 hours or low for 10 hours.

Take out half of soup and place in blender with most of liquid and blend with cream cheese. Pour blended soup back in with rest of soup in crock pot and stir to re-incorporate. (This will give you a creamy base with some chunky vegetables still intact). 

Can garnish with shredded cheese, green onion, crumbled bacon, if desired. 

I serve with crusty bread, usually rosemary focaccia. 

Notes:

Very simple and perfect for fall. This has become my go-to recipe to bring to new moms with newborns. It's a familiar tasting comfort food that agrees with most palates. This make A LOT of soup (it fills my crock pot up to the very top) so I take half to the new mom's family and save half for our family. You could easily half this if just eating for your own family (at least at my family's stage now, who knows in the future!). It is certainly a comfort food with the cream cheese ingredient, but so worth it! My kids all love it, including EmmaMae.

Campfire Cones

Waffle Cones
Chocolate Chips
Marshmallows
Sunflower seeds
Coconut
Jam
Peanut Butter
Caramel Topping
Butterscotch Chips
etc,
Aluminum Foil
Marshmallow roasters

Fill it, wrap it, roast it, and snarf it up!

Grilled BBQ Chicken Sandwhiches with all the Toppings

2 large chicken breasts
Stubbs BBQ sauce (original)
Pepper Jack Cheese
Avocados
Tomatoes
Mini Peppers (come in a bag of all colors)
Mayo
Tort  Crusty Rolls from Costco

Smother chicken in BBQ sauce and place on grill, re-smothering as needed while cooking.  Remove Pepper centers and roast on the grill.  When chicken and peppers are finished, place on roll with all other toppings.  Serve with salad, fruit, chips, or sweet potato fries!  (Clayton loved, loved, loved these.  A fun spin from the sometimes sloppy shredded BBQ chicken sandwiches)

Heather's Brownie Cake

Ingredients

Brownie Cake

• Box of Brownies
• Box of chocolate pudding (powdered)
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup water
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 20ish Hershey's Kisses or chocolate chips (milk choclolate if you want it like kisses)
• 1/2 brick of Nestle's Abuelita's Authentic Mexican Hot Chocolate Drink Tablet

Frosting

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/8th to 1/4th cup of butter
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 3 tablespoons cocao
• 1/3 cup milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix the brownies, pudding, eggs, oil, oil, water, and sour cream together.  Cut up kisses (or dump in as many chocolate chips as you want) and 1/2 tablet of Mexican chocolate, and add to the mixture.  Put mixture in greased 9x13 pan, and cook for 45 to 50 minutes.  (Until toothpick comes out clean).  While backing, mix all the frosting ingredients.  Pour frosting on top of the cake.  Will take about an hour or two for the frosting to harden.  

Roasted Red Pepper Chicken Melts

Ingredients:

• 7-ounce jar of roasted red peppers, drained and patted dry (about 3/4 C)
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1/2 cup mayo
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 2 cups cooked shredded or (or a few chicken breasts grilled and sliced)
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, or several slices
• a handful of fresh basil leaves
• 1 large french baguette (about 24″ long) or 4 large hoagie buns

Directions: 

Place roasted red peppers, garlic, mayo, and lemon juice (if you don’t have a lemon, sub red or white wine vinegar, or just leave it out!)  in a food processor.  Add a pinch of salt and a few cracks of fresh ground pepper.  Process until smooth and then store in the fridge until ready to use.  You can make the sauce ahead of time.

Slice bread in half to open it up.  Lightly brush with olive oil or butter and place under a broiler until golden brown and toasted.  Remove from oven and spread red pepper sauce on the bottom half of the bread.  Layer chicken on top of it and top with cheese.  Place back in the broiler just until cheese is melted.  Top with basil leaves.  Spread red pepper sauce on other side of bread and put sandwich together.  Slice in to 4 large hoagies, or 8 smaller sandwiches.

Notes:

I like to make these open faced. We have made them about once/week since discovering them last month. Jordan especially LOVES them. I sometimes use rotisserie chicken so I barely have to turn the oven on (it heats up our apartment so badly!). I place the basil under the cheese before I toast it. We have it with fresh fruit and it's a perfect summer meal! 

Recipe and picture from: http://www.ourbestbites.com/2013/05/italian-chicken-hoagies-with-roasted-red-pepper-sauce/

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Flat Bread/Pizza Crust (We buy packages of flat bread from Costco and just use those)

BBQ sauce

Grilled Chicken (I use 1 chicken breast for 4 flat breads.  I just cut it up in small pieces, cook in olive oil over the stove, season with salt and pepper)

Caramelized onions (I cut up a yellow onion and cook it in butter and brown sugar.  Sorry I dont have measurments, I just do whatever)

Cilantro (Or green onions if you dont have cilantro)

Mozzarella cheese

Cook at 375 for 20 (ish) minutes