Cheesy Beef Enchiladas

When it comes to Enchiladas, I am not really a beef enchilada person. I like either shredded chicken or just plain cheese.

Thanks to Damn Delicious for this recipe. I tweaked it a little bit and called it Cheesy Beef Enchiladas since our family really LIKES cheese!! Below is how I made them! Plus my 11 month old son absolutely LOVED these and almost ate an entire enchilada by himself.

Sorry the pictures are a little blurry & not the best. If you multitask, this recipe can be done in 30 minutes or less!

Ingredients:

2 (10 oz) cans enchilada sauce (I used 1 1/2 cans)

1 lb. ground beef

1 (4.5 oz) can diced green chiles

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup corn kernels (a little less)

1/2 cup black beans (a little less)

Monterey Jack cheese

Cheddar cheese

6 flour tortillas, warmed

*I added Chili powder

*Cilantro and avocado for topping (For my enchilada)

What To Do:

• Preheat oven to 375F
• Pour 1 can (I used a little less) enchilada sauce in the bottom of a baking dish
• In a skillet, brown your beef along with the green chiles, salt and pepper (chili powder if desired); drain excess fat
• In a large bowl, combine your corn, black beans, preferred amount of both cheeses, and beef
• After tortillas are warmed up, spoon mixture into the center or each tortilla (we topped with a little bit more cheese)
• Roll the tortilla and place seam side down into your baking dish
• Repeat with remaining tortillas
• Top with remaining enchilada sauce and additional cheese
• Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is bubbly
• Serve immediately with your favorite toppings

Homemade Pizza

Yes, this really is a NO NEED TO POST dinner recipe. I just don't think about making homemade pizza when we have this delicious New York Style Pizza down the street from us. It does work to keep all the ingredients for a night where you just don't want to get out.

I can't really give you any sort of directions except for, use the Pillsbury Pizza Dough....I love it way better than the pre-made pizza dough because you can get it really crunchy and crispy, plus you can season it yourself!!!

We decided to go with what we really like...Pepperoni & Jalapeno Pizza!!

Simply preheat your oven, roll out the dough, cook for 8 minutes, top with marinara or pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, any toppings you prefer and bake for another 6-8 minutes!!!

Chicken & Lentil Soup

I am sooo ready for summer and warm weather. It has been in the 80's one day and the next day was in the 30's and rainy. My allergies and sinus infections are going nuts. Well needless to say, we had a cold day last week so I wanted to make a soup.

I love Lentil's, but I just never cook with them a lot. The recipe sure made a huge batch, but I was able to freeze some, which is perfect!!

Sorry, no picture :/  Thanks to SkinnyTaste for this wonderful recipe!!!

Ingredients:

1 lb. dried lentils

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

8 cups water

1 tbsp. chicken Better than Bouillon

1 small onion

2 scallions

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

3 cloves garlic

1 medium ripe tomato

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. cumin

1/4 tsp. oregano

1/4 tsp. paprika

salt to taste

*I added in some chili powder as well along with a little bit more of the seasonings above

What To Do:

• In a large pot, combine the lentils, water and chicken bouillon
• Bring to a boil then cover and cook over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes
• Once chicken is cooked. Remove the chicken and shred. Return back to pot.
• Meanwhile, chop up the onions, scallions, cilantro, garlic and tomato
• Add to the lentils along with garlic powder, cumin, oregano and paprika
• Continue to cook covered for another 25 minutes
• If soup is too thick for you, add more water as needed
• Adjust salt to taste

Tomato Basil Soup

It has been a very long time since I last made homemade tomato basil soup, so long that my husband hasn't had mine yet. It is a longer process since I hand crush all the tomatoes, etc. (I will have to make that one soon and put it on here.) Until I can do that, I came up with this simple version that will tide me over.

What goes best with Tomato Basil Soup, yup that's right, grilled cheese sandwiches!!! (A craving with this 2nd baby)

Ingredients:

1/2 onion; diced

3 cloves of garlic; diced

Container of fresh basil leaves

2 large cans of crushed tomatoes

32 oz. tomato juice

1/2 stick of butter

1 cup Half and Half

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

What To Do:

• In a sauce pan, cook onion and garlic until translucent and soft
• Add in tomatoes and tomato juice and let simmer for about 15 minutes
• In a blender, add your sauce from the sauce pan along with the basil and puree until smooth (Unless you like chunky tomato soup)
• Pour back in sauce pan and add in your butter along with half and half
• Cook over low heat until butter is melted and soup is hot
• Garnish with fresh basil leaves
• ENJOY!!! 

Crockpot Cilantro Lime Chicken (for Tacos, etc.)

I have really been wanting tacos with a cilantro lime flavor with a little bit of a twist. This was perfect because of the taco seasoning you add to it. Right before I decided to shred the chicken, I ended up wanting to make quesadillas instead of tacos. We always make tacos, so something different sounded nice.

Needless to say, my almost 11 month old LOVED his quesadilla and ate every bit of them!

This Vintage Grove had the perfect recipe that I could just whip up and throw in the crock pot. Next time, I will add more cilantro and more lime to get more of that flavor.

Ingredients:

1 lb. chicken breasts

juice from 2 limes

1/2 cup cilantro

1 packet of taco seasoning

1 tsp. dried onions

1/2 cup water

What To Do:

• Add all ingredients into the crock pot
• Cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 4 hours
• Shred chicken and mix back with sauce in crock pot
• Serve & enjoy!

Cheeseburger Casserole

Another recipe down and another picture forgotten. We had friends over so I was in a hurry to serve it when I got it out of the oven. 

Very simple recipe and had good flavor! Thanks to The Diary of a Real Housewife for this recipe!

Ingredients:

Rotini noodles

1 lb. ground beef

1/3 cup ketchup

2 Tbsp. mustard (I left it out)

2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

1/4 cup onion; diced

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

28 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 tsp. garlic; diced

2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

What To Do:

• Preheat oven to 350F
• Start by boiling your noodles
• In a large skillet, brown your beef
• Add garlic, salt, pepper, worcestershire, ketchup and mustard to beef
• Drain noodles and place in a casserole dish
• Mix in diced tomatoes, ground beef, and 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese
• Pace the other 1/2 cup cheese on top of casserole
• Bake for 10 minutes or until cheese is fully melted!!

Spinach Dip

So I know most people have their own spinach dip recipe that they use, but I have actually never made spinach dip before. When we have different parties or go to family holidays, my mother in law always makes hers, which is very good. This year for Superbowl, I was asked to bring spinach dip since my mother in law was out of town.

I guess this was a good time as ever to experiment. I just added what I thought goes in there along with some other seasonings. It seemed to be a good hit when there was nothing left in the dip bowl. Only thing is I didn't measure seasonings (I never do) so I can't really tell you how much of everything went into it.

I forgot to take a picture, but we all know what spinach dip looks like anyways.

Ingredients:

16 oz. sour cream

1 ranch dressing packet 

1 package (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed

1/2 onion, chopped

carrots, chopped

1/2 bell pepper, chopped

basil

oregano

garlic powder

salt & pepper

Cayenne pepper & Chili powder for heat

Bread and crackers for serving

What To Do:

• Make sure your spinach is thawed
• Squeeze out any juices with paper towels
• Chop up your veggies and onion
• Mix everything together in a bowl & serve

Mom's Chicken Spaghetti

We call this my Mom's Chicken Spaghetti because she used to always make this growing up, especially to make and take to friends and family when a new baby arrived, house warming, death, sick, etc. I used to be a VERY picky eater and would never really eat this b/c of the tomatoes, etc.

I look back and just think that I am crazy that I would never eat it. I decided it was the perfect night to make it since we had a friend come over for dinner & this serves a lot. I usually add green chilies to mine, but since my son was eating it, I didn't add them.

Ingredients:

1 can cream of chicken

1/2 cup olives, chopped up (Omitted in mine)

1/2 thing of Velveeta cheese

1 can stew diced tomatoes, juice and all

spaghetti noodles, about thumb to middle finger

2-3 pieces of cooked chicken, cubed (we like ours shredded)

**I usually add 4 oz. can of chopped green chilies 

What To Do:

• Preheat oven to 350F
• Cook chicken if you haven't done so already and then cube or shred
• Cook noodles and drain
• Heat cheese, cream of chicken, olives & tomatoes over low heat
• Mix chicken, cheese sauce and noddles 
• Pour in a baking dish
• Bake 30 minutes
• ENJOY!!!! 

Creamy Ranch Chicken

Woohoo...another chicken crock pot recipe means another simple recipe with tender chicken! Besides grilled chicken, crock pot chicken is my favorite way to cook it.

I found a website (blog) that I love. They have much more than recipes, but I decided to try one of theirs out. Thanks to Six Sisters' Stuff for this wonderful recipe that will be on our rotation list for dinner.

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 can of cream of chicken soup

1 oz. dry ranch dressing packet

14.5 oz. chicken broth

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. parley flakes

1/8 tsp. paprika

1/8 tsp. oregano

8 oz. cream cheese

egg noodles

What To Do:

• Spray crock pot with cooking spray
• Place chicken in the bottom
• In a bowl, mix together all of the ingredients EXCEPT for the cream cheese and noodles
• Pour over chicken breasts
• Cook on low for 4-5 hours or high for 2-3 hours
• Remove chicken & stir in cream cheese until smooth (it helps if you warm up cream cheese first)
• Serve over egg noodles!

Spaghetti Bread

Okay, so I know the name throws you off & you might be thinking ummm..I can't do spaghetti inside bread. I was thinking the same thing and was really iffy about making this recipe, but hey, why not try it.

This recipe turned out really really good!! I served it with a side of extra marinara sauce (spaghetti sauce) because the spaghetti sauce soaked in to the bread and left the spaghetti a little dry.

Recipe came from the actual Rhodes website! However, I did add in some of my own ingredients (like meat to my sauce)

Ingredients:

1 loaf Rhodes bread dough or 12 Rhodes dinner rolls, thawed to room temperature

6 oz. spaghetti, cooked

1 cup thick spaghetti sauce

8 oz. mozzarella cheese, cut into cubes (I just used grated mozz. cheese)

1 egg white

Parmesan cheese

parsley flakes

*I added:

meat for the sauce (I made my own sauce)

garlic powder

crushed red pepper flakes

What To Do:

• Preheat oven to 350F
• Spray counter top with cooking spray or use parchment paper
• Roll loaf into a 12x16 rectangle
• Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 10-15 minutes
• Cook spaghetti and drain
• Add sauce to spaghetti and mix
• Remove wrap from dough and place the spaghetti lengthwise down the center of the dough
• Top with cheese cubes (or grated cheese)
• Make cuts along the sides of dough (see picture 1)
• Begin braiding the dough by folding top and bottom strips toward filling. Then braid strips left over right, right over left and finish by pulling last strip over and tucking under braid
• Lift braid with both hands and place on large sprayed baking sheet, or just transfer parchment paper to baking sheet
• Brush with egg white and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and parsley (I added garlic powder and crushed red pepper flakes)
• Bake for 30-35 minutes until brown
• Slightly cook and slice to serve!

Crescent Chicken

Yum...who doesn't like crescent rolls. I have seen more and more recipes calling for crescent rolls and stuffing them with food items. I decided to go ahead and try one...my first of many probably.

Thanks to Comfy in the Kitchen for this wonderful recipe! It calls for simple ingredients....plus whatever side you would like. It was perfect with mashed potatoes!! If you want to reheat, we simply placed the dish in a 350F oven and cooked for 8-10 minutes.

Ingredients:

1 package crescent rolls (either 6 or 8)

2 cups chopped cooked chicken

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can of milk (using soup can)

What To Do:

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Prepare soup using milk (directions on soup can)
3. Separate crescent rolls
4. Spoon chicken and cheese onto each roll
5. Roll and seal to enclose the filling
6. Place in a 9x13 baking dish
7. Pour soup over rolls
8. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes

Jalapeno Ranch Chicken Tenders (Spicy Ranch Chicken Tenders)

I know it's not always the healthiest of choices when you bread food, but I just can't get enough of Panko bread crumbs. This recipe called for it so how could I not try it!! 

Simple and easy chicken tenders that were so tender & juicy! Thanks to Real HouseMoms for this recipe. She called hers Jalapeno Ranch Chicken Tenders. I took the easy way out and instead of making my own jalapeno ranch (which I will next time), I decided to use bottle (I am not a big fan of ranch from a bottle..I usually will not eat it). I couldn't find the Jalapeno that I have seen before so I decided to go with Spicy Ranch instead.

I also decided to bake mine in the oven instead of using the stove top!

Ingredients:

3-4 boneless chicken breasts

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 cups Panko bread crumbs

Italian seasoning to taste

1 cup jalapeno ranch dressing

oil for cooking (rack & pan if you use the oven)

What To Do:

• Pour oil to cover the bottom of your skillet & set to medium-high heat
• **If you decide to use the oven, preheat oven to 400F
• Pour some jalapeno ranch dressing on a plate
• Mix bread crumbs, cheese and seasonings in a shallow bowl
• Dip chicken in the dressing and then coat in the bread crumbs (I also sprinkled kosher salt on the chicken before hand to give some more flavor and to help keep chicken juicy)
• Place in pre-heated skillet
• Turn halfway through cooking & cook until no longer pink in the middle
• **Place on a wire rack on top of a pan (Spray the wire rack)
• Cook for 25 minutes in the oven, flipping chicken halfway through
• 
  

Salsa Chicken Casserole

Leave it to Budget Bytes to have another simple yet good recipe! I barely made any changes on this one and know I really wouldn't need to if I could find one of my favorite salsa's, but the store was out.

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked rice

1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed (I just used regular canned ones)

1 (15 oz.) can black beans

1 (16 oz.) jar salsa

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 Tbsp. chili powder (I put more in)

1/2 tsp. oregano

2 large chicken breasts

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

2 whole green onions, sliced (store was out)

**I also marinated my chicken in kosher salt for the day and added in cayenne pepper

What To Do:

• Preheat oven to 375F
• Drain and rinse black beans
• Add the dry rice, black beans, corn, salsa, chicken broth, chili powder and oregano (cayenne pepper also) to an 8x8 casserole dish
• Stir everything together
• Cut the chicken breasts into 3 pieces each
• Push the chicken pieces down into the rice salsa mixture. Try to push them down as far into the liquid as they will go
• Cover the dish with foil
• Bake for 1 hour
• Take the foil off and sprinkle the cheese all on top
• Return to oven for just a few more minutes until the cheese is melted
• Add the sliced green onions on top and serve

Pumpkin Fluff Dip

I absolutely LOVE this dip & I do not like pumpkin flavored foods. Thanks to my friend Angie for making this one b/c now I am hooked on it!!

Plus, who doesn't like graham crackers!!

Ingredients:

16 oz. Cool Whip

Small instant vanilla pudding package

1 can pumpkin

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

*Graham crackers for dipping

What To Do:

• Mix all ingredients together
• Dip with graham crackers & ENJOY!!