Tex Mex BBQ Turkey Wraps

This recipe is another one that you can pretty much do whatever you want with.

Approx 2 cups shredded turkey
1 to 1 1/2 cups of your favorite BBQ sauce
1 cup rice
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
4 tortillas

1. Combine turkey and BBQ sauce
Heat in skillet on medium for about 15 mins


2. Cook rice according to package directions.

3. Heat tortillas in microwave in 10 second intervals until warm to touch.

4. Build wraps by placing hot BBQ turkey on lower third of each tortilla, top with 2 Tbsp cheese and 1/4 cup rice. Roll bottom edge of tortilla over ingredients.


You can serve it with chips and salsa or corn.

Salsa:
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 to 1 jalepeno seeded and sliced
1/2 bunch cilantro

Combine in blender, puree for about 3-4 seconds.

Spinach and Berry Salad

Happy Memorial Day!
I'm going to try to post every night after dinner, but if I don't, then just know that by the end of the week, there will be 5.

And, since I'm not used to taking pictures of my food, I forgot. So, these are from elsewhere on the internet. This recipe has many variations, so feel free to do whatever you feel like.



In a large bowl add:
Approx. 6 cups fresh spinach (or however much you think you need.)

1 quart berries (strawberries or raspberries) sliced or halved

1-2 cooked chicken breasts cut into bite-sized chunks. ( I used one of the roasted chickens from the grocery store and just did 1 of the breasts and it was a lot.)

Dressing:
1 Tbsp sesame seeds
1 Tbsp poppy seeds
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/8 cup white vinegar
1/4 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp Worcestershire sauce (I didn't have any, so I didn't add it)
1/2 Tbsp minced onion (that seemed like too much work too)

Combine all ingredients well. The recipe says to refrigerate it for an hour. I didn't read that well and added it to my salad immediately. It was just fine.

Toss and enjoy. You can also add slivered almonds, or chopped nuts, feta or gorgonzola cheese, or anything else you think would be yummy.

Serves approximately 4

Santa Fe Chicken

A friend sent this to me as one of her "food storage" recipes -- something you eat when it's the end of the world and you don't have anything else more worthwhile to eat. But it's delicious, and (especially if the chicken is precooked) it's super fast.

In a large skillet, boil

• 2 cubed chicken breasts*
• 1 cup of salsa**
• 1 cup water
• 1 packet taco seasoning***

*I used precooked shredded chicken.
**I always throw my salsa in the blender and whirl it up. I don't like chunks and neither do some of my kids, but if it's blended we'll lap it right up on its own or in recipes.
***We use taco seasoning in several recipes, so instead of dropping 70 cents each time, we bought a big container of it from Costco for $3.50. If you do the same, you'll use about 2.5-3 Tbps of seasoning.

Cover and simmer until chicken is cooked (or warmed in my case). Stir in

• 1 can black beans
• 1 1/2 cups cooked rice

Heat through. If you have to cook the chicken, this whole thing can take maybe 20 minutes start-to-finish. But if your chicken and your rice are already cooked, you're looking at 5-10 minutes total.


You can top this with sour cream and cheese and eat with corn and tortilla chips, or you can throw these in a wrap like we did last night. Might I recommend getting super fancy and buying a pack of jalapeno cheddar burrito shells and garnishing with lettuce, cheese and sour cream. Amazing.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

If you've ever lived in Rexburg, this kind of reminds me of the Sweet and Sour sauce at Fongs. It's certainly closer to the Eastern Idaho take on Chinese food than the sauces I get here in northern Idaho.

For the sauce, boil

• 1 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 6 Tbsp ketchup
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup vinegar
• 1 can pineapple juice

At first the ketchup will look globby and gross like this.


But don't worry, when it boils it gets better.

Pour the sauce onto some precooked chicken, about three chicken breasts-worth. I like to use shredded chicken, since I always have cooked shredded chicken in my freezer. But you can cube and cook it over the stove or whatever you want. (You can also coat the chicken in an egg, flour, cornstarch and garlic salt concoction, but that's way too much work in my mind.)


Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. In the meantime, make yourself some perfect rice in the microwave. Top the rice with the chicken and sauce and enjoy.


By the way, this also makes fantastic leftovers.

Potato Corn Chowder

We have soup for dinner every Monday, and this particular soup is by far everyone's favorite.

I'm sure many of you wouldn't deem this a hard recipe -- definitely not complex enough to justify all the pictures. But for me it's pretty fancy.

First you dice up a bunch of potatoes. I usually do about 8 or so, but potatoes up here come really small. Cube them however you like -- my husband likes them pretty chunky, but I like them small because that makes this recipe all the more chowdery. (What, that's a word.)


Boil the potatoes. If you're weird and like extra work you can dice up some onions. Otherwise just sprinkle in a bunch of onion salt.


When the potatoes are soft, drain the water. You can either go for stick-a-fork-in-it done or you can let it get really mushy if you want it to be super chowdery. (Again, it's a word.) This particular batch got really soft ... I totally forgot it was boiling and started folding laundry. Turned out delicious.


Return the potatoes to the original pot and throw in a few tablespoons of butter or margarine. (Don't judge the starch all over my pot -- I told you, I forgot the potatoes were boiling.)


Then add a can or two of creamy corn. I always do two cans, but I always do a big batch for the leftovers. Did I mention this makes fantastic leftovers?


Add about 3 cups of milk (more or less depending on how many potatoes you cubed and how large of a batch you'd like to make) to the pot and put it back on the burner at a medium heat. Stir regularly while warming the milk.


When the milk is warm enough* add a handful or two of grated cheddar cheese to help thicken the soup. The official recipe calls for about a cup, but there is no wrong amount of cheese here. (*What is "warm enough"? You could wait until it bubbles, but I'm never patient enough. As soon as you think it'll actually melt the cheese, toss it in. It'll melt eventually.)


Once the cheese has melted, viola! You're ready to ladle the soup up.


Looks delicious, right? And this is the leftovers -- I made a pot large enough to feed a small army because we become eating machines for this meal.

This is great with bread or rolls. You can also toss in some bacon pieces of you're so inclined.

RECIPE:
8 medium potatoes, diced
onion salt to taste
3 Tbsp butter
1-2 cans cream style corn
3 cups milk
1 cup cheese, grated

Boil potatoes. Add onion salt. When potatoes are soft, drain. Add butter, corn and milk. Bring back to a light boil. Add cheese. Stir until cheese is melted.

7-Up Chicken-Dutchoven turned oven recipe.

Got this awesome recipe from my Aunt Verla years ago and my Mom figured out how to do it in the oven.  Easily a family favorite, Home style meal.

Makes a lot, so you may want to half it.  Serves 8-10 depending on how much chicken you want.

Basic ingredients: 

1/2-1 pound bacon

little flour

8 chicken breast or 12 thighs

Lawry's seasoning salt

Garlic powder

pepper

Carrots 

potatoes

onions

1 can of 7-UP

Butter/margarine

Fry up bacon.  I cut mine before with my kitchen shears to make it easier. 

Then  place your bacon in the roasting pan.  Save the bacon grease to brown your chicken.

Flour your chicken breast and then pan fry them in the bacon grease.  Add more oil if needed.

Then placed browned chicken breasts  in roasting pan.  Season LIBERALLY with Lawry's seasoning salt, garlic powder, and pepper.  This is where it gets most of the flavor.  I do it over board and then do some more.  You can always add it later in your cooking if it isn't flavorful enough for you.

I just use baby carrots so I don't have to cut them.  (I go for easy) And then I quarter a large onion when I'm making a half batch, but quantities all depend on your own preference of vegetables.

Then I peel the potatoes and throw them through my Bosch food processor french fry cutter (Love my Bosch)  A whole post in itself I'm telling you!!

Add 1 cube of butter/margarine, 1 cup of water, a can of 7-up and into the oven at 350 degrees.  Now depending on the size of your potatoes it can take between almost 1.5-2.5 hours .  With my potatoes cut like this 1.5 hours is usually sufficient.  If you are still in a dutch oven, it cooks over hot coals for about 45 minutes -1 hour. 

NOTE: this is not a meal that freezes well for later,unless you removed some for freezing before all the vegetables are done.  Otherwise you loose all the texture once you freeze it.  I suggest just halving and eating leftovers for a small family.

Sloppy Chicken

This is much like many chicken crockpot dishes out there. But somehow this was so stinking easy (I made it while on bed rest) and really, REALLY yummy.

Into the crockpot, toss:

2 chicken breasts (I threw mine in frozen 'cause I hadn't planned ahead)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can chicken broth
1 sleeve Ritz crackers, crushed
1 can cream of mushroom soup

Cook on low for 5-6 hours, stirring once in a while (I think I remembered once, maybe twice). We pulled the chicken into lots of pieces (basically shredded it) and served all of it over rice.

I had low expectations for the Ritz -- I thought they would turn into gross mush. But they dissolved entirely into the mixture -- you wouldn't even know they were there. Yet I swear they did something for the overall texture and taste. Delicious.

Drip Beef Sandwiches

We did a family recipe book for Christmas... so now I've got quite a few recipes typed up... which makes them very easy to share :-)

This is one of the easiest things to make, and so tasty!

1 chuck / pot roast (4-5 ish lbs.)

1 can beef consume (or beef broth)*

1/2 Jar of Pepperoncinis, including juice

4 t. Italian Seasoning Dressing

Throw it all together in the oven at 275 degrees for 5-6 hours. Or cook everything in a crock pot for 5-6 hours on low. Shred meat and remove Pepperoncinis (unless you want to eat them). Serve on rolls/hoagies with melted swiss cheese.

* I never add the beef broth, since cooking my roast in the crock pot always seems to produce enough liquid.

Cafe Rio Pork

All I can say is YUMMY. This is just like the sweet pork at Cafe Rio. I've had a few other versions of this pork (made with Coke or Dr. Pepper or some sort of pop) and I think this one is the best.

1 pork roast (3-3.5 lbs)

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup worcestershire sauce

1 t. dried oregano

1 t. ground ginger

1 t. salt

1 t. chili powder

1 t. garlic powder

2 T. dehydrated minced onions

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker, then place roast on top. Cook on low for 6-8 hours (depends on how hot your crockpot cooks-- mine is fast). Flip the roast once, about halfway through cooking. One hour before serving, shred the pork, remove any bones (if there are any) and stir in 1 cup brown sugar and 1 cup red enchilada sauce (I always throw in the whole can). Allow to cook for remaining time and serve warm. Serve with black beans, cilantro lime rice, cilantro lime ranch, lettuce, tomatoes, guacamole, olives... pretty much whatever you want on there. Can be served on a salad, or in a burrito.

YUM!

Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

Man, people are really slacking on posting on this blog (and by "people", I mean me!) Here's a really easy and delicious recipe for bbq chicken sandwiches.

4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup ketchup
2 T mustard
2 t lemon juice
1/4 t garlic powder
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 T Worcestershire sauce
1/2 t chili powder
1/8 t cayenne pepper

Place chicken breasts into the bottom of a slow cooker. In seperate bowl, stir together remaining ingredients (*I always forget to do this-- I just throw everything into the crock pot*) Pour the sauce over the chicken, set cooker to low and cook for 6 hours. Shred the chicken with 2 forks and cook for 30 more minutes. Serve on hamburger buns.

White Chili

White Chili

3-4 15 oz. cans of white chili beans

2-3 cups uncooked cubes of chicken

1 t. cumin powder

1 t. chili powder

1 t. garlic salt

1 cup white onion, cut up

2 T. butter

6 cup chicken soup stock, or prepared bouillon

1 c. salsa

Sauté onions and chicken in butter, add to rest of ingredients. Cook until hot.

*I made mine in the crock pot and it worked great. I had uncooked white chili beans (not canned), so I let them cook in the crock pot for a while before adding the rest of the ingredients. I didn’t measure exactly some of the ingredients; just go by taste. It was super yummy and made for good leftovers*

Easy Enchiladas

Whenever we make enchiladas, we make chicken ones, since that's what we both prefer. But we've got lots of frozen hamburger that needs to be eaten before we move in 2 months... so I went searching for an easy beef enchilada recipe and here's what I found. From cooks.com. It was pretty tasty... and so easy!

EASY ENCHILADAS

Flour or wheat tortillas
1 lb. ground beef or chicken
1 can green or red enchilada sauce
1 pkg. cream cheese
1 pkg. shredded cheese

Melt cream cheese in microwave until very soft. Add half of can of enchilada sauce to cream cheese, reserve remainder.

Cook beef or chicken and add to mixture.

Heat tortillas in microwave for about 20 seconds or until warm. Place mixture in tortillas and wrap.

Place enchiladas in baking dish.

Pour shredded cheese and remaining sauce over top.

Bake 20 minutes or until hot at 325˚.*

*We're almost at sea level, so I had to cook mine at a hotter oven temp*

The Pioneer Woman's Chicken Parmigiana

I made this tasty recipe for my anniversary and my husband thought (and still thinks I am) a gourmet cook. If you want to see her step by step directions with pictures click here. Mine looked like this:

Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cook Time: 45 Minutes Difficulty: Easy Servings: 6

Ingredients
4 whole (up To 6) Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, Trimmed And Pounded Flat
½ cups All-purpose Flour
Salt And Pepper, to taste
½ cups Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Butter
1 whole Medium Onion, Chopped
4 cloves Garlic, Minced
¾ cups Wine (white Or Red Is Fine)(I used Chicken Broth instead)
3 cans (14.5 Oz.) Crushed Tomatoes
2 Tablespoons Sugar
¼ cubes Chopped Fresh Parsley
1 cup Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 pound Thin Linguine

Preparation Instructions

Mix flour, salt, and pepper together on a large plate.
Dredge flattened chicken breasts in flour mixture. Set aside.
At this time, you can start a pot of water for your pasta. Cook linguine until al dente.

Heat olive oil and butter together in a large skillet over medium heat. When butter is melted and oil/butter mixture is hot, fry chicken breasts until nice and golden brown on each side, about 2 to 3 minutes per side.
Remove chicken breasts from the skillet and keep warm.

Without cleaning skillet, add onions and garlic and gently stir for 2 minutes. Pour in wine and scrape the bottom of the pan, getting all the flavorful bits off the bottom. Allow wine to cook down until reduced by half, about 2 minutes.

Pour in crushed tomatoes and stir to combine. Add sugar and more salt and pepper to taste. Allow to cook for 30 minutes. Toward the end of cooking time, add chopped parsley and give sauce a final stir.

Carefully lay chicken breasts on top of the sauce and completely cover them in grated Parmesan. Place lid on skillet and reduce heat to low. Allow to simmer until cheese is melted and chicken is thoroughly heated. Add more cheese to taste.

Place cooked noodles on a plate and cover with sauce. Place chicken breast on top and sprinkle with more parsley. Serve immediately.

Porcupine Meatballs

Porcupine Meatballs

1 pound lean ground beef
1/3 cup uncooked white rice
¼ cup chopped onion (if I don’t have an onion, I’ll use dehydrated onion, found in the spice isle)
¼ cup water
1 t. salt
Dash of pepper

Combine beef, rice, onion, water, salt and pepper. Shape into small balls (1 – 1.5 inches in diameter).

1 can condensed tomato soup (can use store brand, doesn’t taste any different than Campbell’s)
½ t. chili powder
½ cup water

Blend soup, chili powder and water into a saucepan. Add meatballs. Bring to boil, then cover and turn down heat to simmer. Takes about 45 minutes or so (depends on how hot your stove is). When meatballs are cooked through, you’ll know it’s done.

Lemon Pesto Chicken

Super easy recipe. Here's what the original recipe calls for:

1 T. oil
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/4 cup uncooked rice
2 cans chicken broth
1 T. lemon peel
1/2 T. pesto
1/2 t. pepper
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

In a large skillet, saute chicken and garlic in oil. Stir in rice, broth, lemon, pesto & pepper. Cover and simmer 20-25 minutes, or liquid is absorbed and the rice is cooked. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese just before serving.

K, now my variations:
I never have chicken broth, so I used water and bouillon cubes and made my own. I also never use a real lemon, I use lemon juice instead (still about a tablespoon, maybe a little more, depends on how lemon-y you want it). I also never use pesto, I just sprinkle some Italian Seasoning over the whole thing instead. I usually use real garlic, but I discovered I didn't have any this time, so I used garlic salt. This is really easy to make and it makes a TON. Cory and I both had generous helpings, and we've got enough leftovers for at least 3 more servings.

Tomato Bacon Pomodoro

From Taste of Home Cooking School 50^th Anniversary Cookbook

(This recipe tasted great and was really pretty fast. See the changes I made at the end.)

1 package (19 to 25 ounces) frozen ravioli or tortellini

½ pound bacon, finely chopped

1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil

½ medium onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 can (14.5 ounces) crushed tomatoes

5 tablespoons tomato paste

2/3 cup chicken broth

¼ teaspoon dried basil

¼ teaspoon dried oregano

2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

Prepare pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook bacon until almost crisp. Add onion and garlic; cook until onions are tender. Stir in the tomatoes, paste, broth, basil, oregano, and parsley; simmer for 3 minutes to blend flavors. Season with salt and pepper. Serve over cooked pasta. Yield: 4-6 servings.

Changes:

I used rotini pasta instead of tortellini because that was all I had – 12 ounces of rotini was enough.

Next time I will skip the olive oil, but don’t drain the bacon (needed for flavor).

I used a can of diced tomatoes with Italian seasoning – didn’t have crushed in that size. I think the added seasoning helped.

I used a 3 ounce package of tomato paste instead of measuring tablespoons.

Used dried parsley instead of fresh.

Didn’t need any salt or pepper.

4.5 out of 5 stars. Would probably have been better with tortellini, but it was really good. The amount of oil and grease seemed excessive, but it didn’t look it in the finished product.