New Year, New Recipes: Chicken and Cheese Enchilada Casserole

I know, I know...it's been awhile since I have posted.  I have been cooking up a storm, but life has had me very busy.  Hopefully this year, I can post at least once a month.  So, yesterday I spent the entire day watching the show Worst Cooks in America.  Although, I don't consider myself a bad cook, I learned so much from that show.  For example, I learned that Mise en Place means to prepare all your tools and ingredients before you start cooking.  I also learned that I have been holding my knives wrong for a very long time.  As I was preparing my meal today, I concentrated on my knife holding technique :).  The show also gave me some really good recipe ideas such as a chicken lo  mein, which I will try on Tuesday.  If you haven't seen the show, you should check it out.  

Today, I was in the mood for some three things: Mexican food, something quick, and a casserole.  I knew I wanted to try something new, so my tasty Dorito Casserole was not an option.  I saw my neighbor outside throwing something in the trash on my way to the store; seeing him made me remember those delicious enchiladas his wife had made.  BAM, I had my menu choice for the day, an enchilada casserole!  

It took me about 15 minutes to mise en place for this recipe.  The cook time was about 40 minutes.  Nick, Jordyn, and Mason really enjoyed it.  Noah is a such a picky eater and refused to even try it.  His loss and more for me!  Remember to follow my blog and leave comments if you try any of my recipes.  Enjoy!

Recipe: Three Cheese Chicken Enchilada Casserole 

Ingredients:

• 1 small package of boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins
• 1 medium can of your favorite enchilada sauce (19oz can)
• 1/2 cup of Italian shredded cheese, 1 cup of Mozzarella shredded cheese, 1/2 cup of fiesta blend shredded cheese. 
• 4-6 small flour tortillas
• 1 can of your favorite refried beans
• Seasonings: salt, pepper, garlic, season all

Directions: 

1. Rinse your chicken.  In a stock pot, add water, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil.  Lightly season your chicken with black pepper, season all, and garlic.  Add chicken to boiling water.  Let it cook for 25-30 minutes. When your chicken is done, shred it with forks or a food chopper.  

2. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  In a 9x9 baking dish, evenly spread some of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of the pan.  Next, place two of the flour tortillas (overlapping them) on top of the sauce.  Spread some of the refried beans on top of the tortillas.  Then add the chicken.  Next sprinkle a little of each of the three cheeses on top of the chicken.  Finally, drizzle some of the enchilada sauce on top.  Repeat this once more.  Add the remaining enchilada sauce and cheese to the top.  

3. Tightly cover the baking dish with aluminum foil.  Bake for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes, remove the foil and cook for an additional 10 minutes.   Let the casserole stand for about 10-15 minutes before serving.  

4. Enjoy and possibly serve with some type of bread!

Dip Baby Dip

A few weeks ago, my friend Adriane made this amazing artichoke dip for a potluck dinner.  Well, actually after talking to my friends, I am not sure if it was a potluck or a BBQ, but I digress lol.  The point is, Adriane's dip was so good, it got me in this DIP mood.  About a week after eating Adriane's dip, our friend Tim had a promotion ceremony and his wife made a sausage/rotel dip.  That same weekend, Tim came over to watch football and I thought "well it is the season of the dip; why not make one while they watch football."  Anyone who knows me, knows that I love chicken and spicy food, so I decided on a buffalo chicken dip.  When I tell you that this dip was absolutely delicious, it would be an understatement.  It took me about 10-15 minutes to make and it was gone the same day.  Other than my corn dip, it's my new go to recipe for tailgating parties.  Today, I tried a new recipe and it was just as good.  I made a Pepperoni pizza dip.  There is about a spoonful left (not for long). We are having a work tailgating party in honor of the Kansas City Royals going to the World Series (Go Royals) and I don't know which one to bring.  Decisions, decisions.  Both recipes are posted below.  I know you, your friends, and/or family will enjoy both!  

Recipe: Buffalo Chicken Dip

picture courtesy of chocolatemoosey.com

Ingredients:

2 (12 ounce) cans chunked chicken (drained) OR 2 cups of cooked chicken cut into chunks 

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup of Ranch dressing

3/4 cup of Frank's Red Hot Buffalo wing sauce 

3/4 cup blended Shredded Cheese (mine had cheddar, Colby, and Mozzarella)...you can just use shredded cheddar

Directions:
1. Heat chicken and Buffalo sauce in a skillet over medium heat, until heated through. 
2. Make sure to break up the chicken so there are no big chunks. 
3. Add cream cheese and ranch dressing.   
4.  Stir until well blended and warm. 
5. Add shredded cheese. 
6. Pour into a shallow dish or a crock pot
7. Serve with pita chips for dipping.

Recipe: Pepperoni Pizza Dip

Ingredients:

12 ounces cream cheese

3/4 tsp dried oregano

3/4 tsp dried parsley

1/4 tsp dried basil

2  (8 ounce) cans of tomato sauce

1 (6 ounce) can of tomato paste 

2 tsp dried oregano 

2 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 cup mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup of Pepperoni

1/4 tbsp of BBQ sauce

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º F. Spray the bottom of a casserole dish with cooking spray; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, mix together cream cheese, 3/4 tsp of oregano, 3/4 tsp of parsley and 1/4 tsp of basil.  
3. Spread herbed cream cheese on the bottom of casserole dish. Layer with ½ cup mozzarella cheese and ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese.
4. In another bowl, mix together tomato sauce, tomato paste, 2 tsp of oregano, 2 tsp of basil, 1/2 tsp of sugar, garlic powder, and 1/4 tbsp of BBQ sauce. Pour over cheese layer in dish.
5. Cover with the remaining cheeses. Top with pepperoni.
6. Place in preheated oven and bake for 20 mins or until heated through and bubbly. 
7. Serve with pita chips or bagel chips.

Parmesan Meatloaf

A few weeks ago, I had a friend over for dinner with his fiance.  I racked my brain as to what I could make for them.  At first, I was going to go with a Mexican theme, because my neighbor inspired me to make chicken enchiladas.  I decided against that once he told me they would prefer a down home type of meal.  Being from the south, I thought about all the possibilities of what I could make.  After a couple of days, I decided on meatloaf, mashed potatoes, salad, and corn.  I knew I didn't want just any meatloaf, so I searched all of the web for the perfect meatloaf recipe.  I finally found one and it is the best meatloaf I have ever had.  Of course, I added my own twist on it and let's just say: AMAZING.  My guests thoroughly enjoyed the meal, which lets me know they agreed that it was AMAZING.  I am also including the recipe to a cake my mother in law introduced to me.  Last year, she brought this same cake to my mothers house and my mom literally ate this cake for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  It is my go to cake to bake when I have to bring a dessert to a potluck.  I actually made two of them last weekend and ended up eating one ALL BY MYSELF (Don't judge me lol).  It's simple, requires few ingredients, and oh so good.  

Recipe: Parmesan Meatloaf

Picture courtesy of ontario.foodland

Ingredients: 

2 lb ground beef or ground turkey 

2 eggs 

1/4 cup seasoned Italian breadcrumbs 

1/2 teaspoon dried basil 

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme 

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 

2 tablespoons of minced garlic 

1 small onion, chopped fine 

1/2 teaspoon season all 

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 

1/2 cup your favorite marinara pasta sauce 

1/2 cup shredded Italian cheese  

1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese 

1/2 cup of cooked chopped bacon 

Cooking Spray

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a meatloaf dish with non stick spray/cooking spray.  

2. In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, eggs, breadcrumbs, thyme, oregano, basil, garlic, onion, season all, pepper, chopped bacon and Parmesan cheese. Do not over mix the ingredients.  Put the ground beef mixture in the greased meatloaf pan.  Top the meatloaf with pasta sauce.

3. Bake the meatloaf in the oven for 1 hour (may take 1 hr. 15 mins). Remove the meatloaf from the oven and add the remaining cheese on top.  Place the meatloaf back in the oven and bake until the cheese is melted.

4. Remove the meatloaf from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes before serving/slicing.

5. Enjoy with mashed potatoes, a vegetable, and some garlic bread!

Recipe: Orange Cake

Picture courtesy of YouTube

Ingredients for cake: 

1 box of yellow cake mix

1 box of instant lemon jello pudding

3/4 cup of oil

4 eggs

1/2 cup of water

1/4 cup of orange juice

a splash of milk

Ingredients for icing:

2 cups of powdered sugar

1/3 cup of orange juice

2 tsp. warm water

2 tbsp. of softened butter

Directions for cake: 

1. Grease and flour a cake pan.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (325 for a glass pan). 

2. Mix together the ingredients for the cake and bake for 35-40 minutes.

Directions for icing:

1. Mix butter with powdered sugar before adding the juice.  Mix all the ingredients thoroughly. 

2. Immediately removing from oven, punch holes over the entire cake with a fork.  

3. Pour the icing all over the cake and spread evenly.  The icing will be absorbed leaving only a slight glaze.  

4. ENJOY!!!!