Home-made Taquitos

What can I say...my kids love taquitos, but I don't always have them on hand in the freezer. So, being the ever resourceful mom, I went to the Internet in search of a taquito recipe.

They were yummy! I used the canned chicken though I'm sure that the refried beans would be just as good. My son loved them!!!


Homemade Taquitos
Edited from Family Kitchens

1 (15 oz.) can refried beans or (12.5 oz) can of cooked chicken
breast
1 small can of mild green chili’s
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. onion powder or 1/2 finely diced onion
1/2 tsp garlic salt or 1 finely minced clove of garlic
1 package of small flour tortillas (warmed slightly in the
microwave to prevent cracking)
non-stick baking spray (olive oil or butter flavored preferred)

In a large bowl, combine refried beans (or chicken), cheese, lime
juice, cumin, onion powder and garlic salt. Stir together until well
combined. Spoon 2-4 Tablespoons of mixture into the center of a
tortilla. Wrap tortilla tightly around mixture, then set taquito in a
cookie sheet or large baking dish which has been generously
sprayed with cooking spray. Continue wrapping remaining
taquitos. Once finished, spray a fairly heavy layer of cooking
spray over each tortilla, making sure to spray all areas of each
tortilla. Bake in an oven preheated to 400 degrees for 15-20
minutes, or until the edges of the tortillas are crisp and
browned. Serve with sour cream, tomatoes, chopped cilantro
and salsa.

Enjoy!

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

I love this dish! I don't make it very often because it's very rich.

This recipe was given to me by a former AZ co-worker's wife, who is an excellent cook. Just wish I could've gotten her tamale recipe.

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts, cooked and diced
2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup
1 16 oz. container sour cream
1 can diced green chiles
18 small corn tortillas
1 cup diced onion
shredded cheddar cheese


Preheat oven to 350. Boil chicken in water until tender. Remove skin, cut into bite-size pieces.

In saucepan, heat together soup, sour cream, chiles and chicken. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5-7 minutes.


Arrange 6 tortillas in bottom of large pan (12x9x2). Pour sour cream mixture over tortillas. Sprinkle with onion and cheese. Repeat layer again, ending with remaining 6 tortillas. Pour remaining soup mixture over enchiladas. Top with cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes. Serve hot.


Enjoy with your favorite Mexican beer, Margarita or Sangria!!!

Teriyaki Chicken

This is one of my children's favorite dinners and usually I make it from scratch. However, the last time Hubby and I perused Costco, I came across teriyaki chicken in the frozen section and thought we'd try it. The consensus was that it was a little on the salty side and not much quicker than making it from scratch. I think I'll just stick to making it myself and freeze any extras for future meals.

Teriyaki Chicken

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breast, grilled and cut into bite-sized pieces

Sauce:
1 1/4 cups pineapple juice, unsweetened
3/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced

Combine all of the sauce ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly, until thickened.

To the sauce, add in the grilled chicken. Cook an additional 3 minutes or until chicken is warmed through.

Serve with rice and a green vegetable (we usually have broccoli).

Enjoy!

Pot Roast

Fall...crisp days, trees changing, Halloween, Thanksgiving and lots of comfort food. This is my absolute favorite time of year!!! I love to cook. I especially love the way the house smells when there's something cooking in the crockpot. Here is one of my family's favorite meals to enjoy during the fall and winter months. I hope you enjoy it, too.

Pot Roast

1 3-5 pound chuck roast, frozen or fresh
1 whole yellow onion, peeled
1 can Beefy Mushroom soup
1 can French Onion soup
1/2 carton beef stock
4-5 medium Yukon gold potatoes, cubed
1 small bag of baby carrots, cut into pieces

Place roast and the following four ingredients in crockpot on Low. Cook for 8 hours (frozen) or 6 hours (fresh). Three hours before serving, add potatoes and carrots to the crockpot. That's it! Serve with spoonbread and a green vegetable.

First Pot of Chili of the Fall

I've been craving chili for more than a month now, but it's been way too hot. However, this past weekend, it FINALLY cooled off here in No. AL and it actually feels like fall! :) WooHoo!!!

Time to break out the dutch oven and make some chili!



Here's my take on chili...


1 pound ground round
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 cans diced tomatoes with zesty mild green chilies
1 can white shoepeg corn
1 can light red kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 can chili beans, medium sauce
1/2 cup beef stock

Brown ground round in dutch oven. Add remaining 7 ingredients; bring to a boil and reduce heat so that it just simmers. Let simmer for 2 hours.

Serve with shredded cheddar, sour cream, tortilla chips and favorite beverage.

Enjoy!

P.S. - This recipe can also be made in a crock-pot. Just brown the meat in a skillet and add to the crock-pot. Let cook on low all day.

Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole

I must give a HUGE hat-tip to my mom for this recipe. Over the course of the last week, I have made 4 batches of this wonderful casserole. It's super easy and most of us have all the ingredients on hand. So without further ado...

Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole
recipe courtesy of my Mom

1 cup cooked, de-boned and diced chicken breast
1 8 oz. can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 cup finely chopped celery
1 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 pkg. Uncle Ben's Original Long Grain and Wild Rice

Topping

1 cup mayonnaise (I used light mayo)
1 can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted

Cook rice according to package directions. Combine topping ingredients in medium mixing bowl and set aside. Mix together first 5 ingredients and place in 11x7 baking dish or 2 qt. casserole dish. Spread soup/mayo mixture on top, sprinkle with paprika (optional) and bake, covered, at 325 for 1 hour.

Enjoy!

Mexican Food and Homemade Ice Cream

Every so often I get a craving for my Mom's Mexican Meat Mix. It's soooo good and most of my family loves it...my son would rather just have regular 'ol tacos.

Mexican Meat Mix
courtesy of my Mom, with some alterations

5 lbs. Beef Roast (I use a chuck roast)
3 T. Crisco
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 4-oz. can chopped green chilis
1 14-oz. jar green chili salsa
4 T. flour
4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cumin
Juice from Roast

Place roast in crockpot and cook on low 6-8 hours. I start out with a frozen roast, so it takes 8 hours on low. Do not add salt or liquids to the roast. Drain meat, save juices, cool meat, remove bones (if any), shred and set aside.

Melt Crisco in large skillet; add onions and garlic. Saute onions and garlic until just beginning to carmelize, then add green chilis, saute 1 minute. Add salsa, flour, salt and cumin. Cook 1 minute over medium-low heat. Stir in meat juices and meat, cook 5 minutes until thicken.

From this recipe you can make, green chili burros or chimichangas. It's also good with tortilla chips.

Mexican Meat Mix can be frozen up to 6 months.

Homemade Ice Cream

1 cup plus 2 T. sugar
3 T. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
2 1/2 cups milk
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups whipping cream
1 T. vanilla

Combine sugar, flour and salt in saucepan. Gradually stir in milk. Cook over medium heat approximately 15 minutes or until thickened, stirring constantly.

Gradually stir about 1 cup of hot mixture into the beaten eggs. Add to remaining hot mixture, stirring constantly. Cook 1 minute; remove from heat. Refrigerate 2 hours. Combine whipping cream and vanilla in large bowl; add chilled mixture, stirring with wire whisk to combine. Freeze as directed in the ice cream maker of your choice.

Makes 2 quarts

Cocoa Brownies
Adapted from Alton Brown

4 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
8 oz. butter, melted
1 1/4 cups cocoa
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 cup pecans, optional

Preheat oven to 350 and grease/flour 9x13 baking dish, set aside. In a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the eggs at medium speed until fluffy and light yellow. Add both sugars. Add remaining ingredients and mix to combine.

Pour batter into prepared baking dish and bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely before cutting into.

I hope that you and your family enjoy this meal as much as mine does.

Enjoy!!!