Green Chili Enchiladas

I. love. enchiladas.  These are sooo creamy and cheesy. I think I ate them for 3 meals a day for 3 days straight.  But, I felt I had to since my husband won't eat anything with chilies.  I couldn't let it go to waste after all.  Oh Yes, I knew that before I made them....yes, I planned on eating the entire pan by myself all along.

  

Make these for yourself soon!

Green Chili Enchiladas

Ingredients:

1 large can green chili enchilada sauce

2 c chicken, cooked and shredded

2 c jack/cheddar cheese blend, shredded, reserve 1/2 cup for topping

1 small can green chilies

1 can cream of chicken soup

8 oz. sour cream

12 flour tortillas

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350º

Pour some of the enchilada sauce onto a plate and dip a tortilla in it, both sides.  Place tortilla in a greased 9x13 pan and fill with some chicken, and cheese.  Roll closed. Repeat for all tortillas. 

In a seperate bowl, mix the green chilies, soup and sour cream.  Pour over the tops of the tortillas. Drizzle the remaining enchilada sauce over the top and sprinkle with the reserved cheese.  

Bake for 30-40 minutes. 

*Don't forget to eat with your favorite salsa on top!

Homemade Baby Food

I'm not Mrs Organic or Whole Food Fanatic, but I have always made my own baby food.  I've done it for a few reasons.  First, I feel more comfortable if I'm the one preparing my child's first foods.  This way, I know exactly what is going in to their tiny tummies.  Secondly, I quickly discovered that store bought baby food is EXPENSIVE!!  I can make three times as much for the same price of a few of those little containers.  Typically, they are about .50 each.  Thirdly, I can portion it out.  I can choose to do one, two or even three cubes at a time.  Less waste. 

Gotta love that!

Homemade Baby Food

Ingredients:

Any fruit of veggie you plan to feed your little tot. 

Directions:

Steam your choice of food until very soft.  Place in a food processor with some of the water used to steam and puree until a smooth consistency. Depending on the food choice, you may decide to peel first.

Portion out in ice cube trays and freeze.  Once frozen, transfer to ziplock bags and store in freezer until needed. 

*Be aware, some foods are not suppossed to be fed to an infant.  Check with a trusted source or your pediatrician as to which foods are good to start with. 

*I try to get fresh foods when I can.  Occasionally, I'll buy frozen.  I try to check the ingredients to make sure there isn't added salt. 

*If you choose a food with skin, it may be harder to get a smoooooth texture.  Notice the pictures of the peas I made.  

*Some foods I regularly make are:

Sweet potatoes (without skins) (These I cook in the microwave)

Squash

Green Beans

Peas

Carronts

Corn

Pumpkin (this is the easiest!  I just buy it already pureed in the can NOT PUMPKIN PIE MIX!)

Broccoli

Apples

Pears

Bananas (Don't steam these, just mash up once they are good and ripe)

*I typically don't season these foods.  I like my babies to get just the basic foods so I can monitor an allergic reaction.  SOmetimes I'll add cinnamon to the bananas or sweet potatoes.  I almost ALWAYS serve with baby cereal. 

Tomatillo Salsa

Um, YUM!  

While helping out my sister and her husband's family during their family reunion I somehow ended up making this salsa.  I had never made this before and I was following a recipe from my sister's friend. Because usually when I make salsa, it's a BIG batch, so when the time came to chop peppers, I absentmindedly chopped up WAY too many for this little bowl.  

You know, auto pilot.  

It was HOT!  But dang, was it good.  So...beware, if you don't like it hot, go easy on the peppers.  

Tomatillo Salsa

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs tomatillos

1/4 cup cilantro, minced

1 bunch green onions, chopped

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1-2 jalepeno and serano peppers

1/2 cup water

Directions:

Peel and thoroughly rinse tomatillos.  Cut into halves and place in a food processor.  Add cilantro, green onions, salt, pepper and peppers.  Blend together.  Add water a little bit at a time until desired consistency.  Blending each time to thoroughly mix.  (You may have leftover water)

*It's recommended to control the heat of your salsa to add a small amount of peppers at a time and taste until desired heat is reached.  

7-Layer Bean Dip

This is the easiest dip to make and everyone loves it.  If you can operate a can opener, you can make this dip. 

I've seen it made by mixing taco seasoning into the sour cream to add another flavor, but I prefer it as is.  I like the taste of sour cream.

Also, if you can, try to make it with homemade guacamole.  It'll take this dip up a notch. But, store-bought is good too.   

7-Layer Bean Dip

Ingredients:

1 can refried beans

1 container sour cream

1 container guacamole (or homemade)

2 cups, shredded cheddar cheese

1-2 tomatoes, chopped

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1 can sliced olives

Directions:

In a glass casserole dish, layer each ingredient in order, beginning with the beans.  

*Serve with tortilla chips or pita bread.  

Broccoli and Potato Soup

It may be 115º outside, but when the thought of soup sounds good, it doesn't matter how hot it is outside!  This soup is very creamy and rich.  A little goes a long way, I ended up freezing about half the batch because we just weren't going to eat it all.  Can't wait for the cooler months to hit so I can defrost my leftovers!

Broccoli and Potato Soup

Ingredients:

2 tsp oil

1/2 c white onion, chopped

5 russett potatoes, cubed

6 chicken bouillon cubes

4 tsp salt

2 8oz packages cream cheese, softened

1/2 c flour

4 c milk

4 c broccoli, chopped

Directions

In a large pot saute onions in oil.  Once onions are soft, add potatoes, bouillon cubes, salt and fill with enough water to cover the potatoes.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Simmer until potatoes are tender.  

In a bowl, blend cream cheese with flour until smooth.  Beat in milk until smooth.  Add to the potato pot, slowly.  Pour in broccoli.  Stir frequently.  Boil until thick and broccoli is tender. Salt and pepper to taste. 

*When I make this again, I'll be chopping the broccoli a little smaller. 

Broccoli and Beef

If you like broccoli and beef, you must try this recipe.  Every bite bursts with flavor.  Be careful not to overcook the meat...the juicier the better.


Broccoli and Beef

Ingredients:

Sauce:

1 Tablespoon rice wine vinagar

2 Tablespoons low-sodium chicken broth

5 Tablespoons oyster sauce

2 Tablespoons light brown sugar

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

2 teaspoons cornstarch

Beef and Broccoli:

3 Tablespoons soy sauce

1-2 lbs flank staeak, cut into 2-inch wide strips with the grain, the sliced across the grain in to 1/4 inch-thick slices

6 garlic cloves, pressed

1 inch piece fresh ginger, minced

1 1/2 lbs fresh broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces

1/3 cup water

3 medium scallions, sliced

Directions:

In a medium bowl, combie beef and soy sauce.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 10 minutes or up to 1 hour.  Meanwhile, whisk the sauce ingredients together. Set aside.

In another small bowl, combine garlic, ginger and 1 teaspoon peanut oil.  Set aside. 

Heat 1-2 teaspoons oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot.  Add half the beef and break up clumps.  Cook, without stirring, for about 1 minute, then stir and cook until beef is browned around edges and cooked through.  About 1-2 minutes.  

*Don't overcook the meat (cook just barely so the meat stays tender)  

Transfer the beef to a bowl and cover with foil. 

Heat another 1-2 teaspoons of oil and repeat with the remaining beef. 

Add 1 tablespoon oil to the same, now empty, skillet.  Heat until hot and add broccoli and cook for 30 seconds; add water, cover pan and lower heat to medium.  Steam broccoli until tender-crisp, about 2 minutes. 

Push broccoli to the sides of the skillet and add the garlic/ginger mixture.  Cook, mashing the mixture with a spoon, until fragrant, about 20 seconds.  Stir the mixture into the broccoli.  

Add the beef back to the skillet and toss to combine. 

Whisk the sauce to recombine and add to the skillet.  Cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce is thickened and evenly distributed, about 1-2 minutes.  

Transfer to a serving platter, sprinkle with scallions and serve on top of rice. 

It's not THAT bad...

Turns out, I had MOST of my blog photos saved either on iphoto, my phone or in my email.  I am dilligently re-adding pictures to my posts.  My OCD has instructed me to begin from the beginning, so if you read my blog, or refer to it....all pictures should will be returning in the order they were originally posted.  It just makes more sense that way, doesn't it?

If you don't read it or refer to it...then what are you doing reading this?!