Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Ok, so this is one of the tastiest things I have ever had...it's so good. I have had this recipe since freshman year of college.

Cheese & Chicken Enchilada Casserole (one of our favorites!)
Serves 4 (it serves more like 6-8)
1c shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese (I used lowfat)
1c chopped tomato
1 can black beans
1 c corn
3 chicken breasts, cooked & shredded
1c cottage cheese (I used fat free)
1/3 c sliced green onions
2t chili powder
2 garlic cloves, minced
9 corn tortillas
1 c enchilada/taco sauce
1/4 c shredded Monterey jack cheese
2 T chopped green onions

Boil chicken and shred it with 2 forks.


Preheat oven to 375*. Combine 1st 9 ingredients.

Arrange 3 small tortillas or 2 large ones in bottom of greased 11x7 pan. Spread 1/2 of cheese mixture over
tortillas.


Repeat procedure w/ 3 tortillas and remaining tortillas.
Pour taco sauce over tortillas, sprinkle with Monterey jack cheese.



Bake @ 375 for 20 min or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with 2T of
green onions.

Some of you may want to copy & paste it, so here's the recipe without pictures:
Cheese & Chicken Enchilada Casserole (one of our favorites!)
Serves 4
1c shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
1c chopped tomato
1 can black beans
1 c corn
3 chicken breasts, cooked & shredded
1c fat free cottage cheese
1/3 c sliced green onions
2t chili powder
2 garlic cloves, minced
9 corn tortillas
1 c enchilada/taco sauce
1/4 c shredded Monterey jack cheese
2 T chopped green onions

Preheat oven to 375*. Combine 1st 9 ingredients. Arrange 3 tortillas
in bottom of greased 11x7 pan. Spread 1/2 of cheese mixture over
tortillas. Repeat procedure w/ 3 tortillas and remaining tortillas.
Pour taco sauce over tortillas, sprinkle with Monterey jack cheese.
Bake @ 375 for 20 min or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with 2T of
green onions.

Crock Pot Pot Roast

I never ever have made pot roast, and I don't cook with beef much...so this was a new experience for me! This will definitely be a recipe I keep and use on occasion. It had a lot of flavor (I don't really like the taste of plain beef without lots of spices, etc.). This recipe is from my friend Jordan - she's a great cook and has a lot of great recipes on her blog. It's also incredibly easy - you just throw it in the crock pot before you leave for work, and dinner is ready when you get home!

Jordan's Crock Pot Pot Roast

INGREDIENTS
2lbs Stew Meat
4 Carrots, chopped into big pieces
2 Stalks of Celery, also chopped
12 Small Potatoes (white or red)
1 Medium White Onion (I used small boiling onions, whole)
1C Water
1t Worcestershire sauce
2 Cloves garlic, whole
1/2T Oregano
1 Bay leaf
3/4T Salt
1/2T Black Pepper
1/2t Paprika

DIRECTIONS
Put everything into crock pot, stir just enough to mix spices. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high 4 to 6 hours. Serve with homemade biscuits and you’ve got a warm and comforting meal.

Spinach Stuffed Chicken

It was funny, I went online to find a recipe that I could use a half of a bag of fresh spinach, some bacon, chicken, and sour cream (because these were all things I had to buy for our get-togethers this weekend) and I found this amazing recipe! I will definitely be making this again.

(note: this is not the halved recipe - we halved it and it still was too much!)
INGREDIENTS:
1 (10 oz) package fresh spinach leaves
1/2 cup lowfat or regular sour cream
1/2 cup shredded mozzerella
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded to 1/2 inch thickness
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 pinch chili pepper
8 strips turkey bacon or regular bacon (uncooked)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F

2. Place spinach in a large glass bowl, and heat in the microwave for 3 minutes, stirring every minute or so, or until wilted.

3. Stir in sour cream, cheese, garlic, black pepper, and chili powder.


4. Pound chicken breasts to 1/2 inch thickness. (I put saran wrap on the chicken so the gross chicken juice doesn't spray everywhere!)



5. Lay the chicken breasts out on a clean surface, and spoon some of the spinach mixture onto each one.


6. Roll up chicken to enclose the spinach, then wrap each chicken breast with two slices of bacon. Secure with toothpicks, and arrange in a shallow baking dish. (I did not have toothpicks, hence the crazy skewer sticks!)


7. Bake uncovered for 35 minutes in the preheated oven, then increase heat to 500 degrees F, or use the oven's broiler to cook for an additional 5 to 10 minutes to brown the bacon.



I took the bacon off (we are watching our fat intake) but it didn't necessarily say that you can't eat it. I also only like extra crispy bacon. It keeps the chicken nice & moist, and gives it just the slightest hint of bacon taste. mm!
I highly recommend this recipe! We were going to make it this weekend as a special treat, then we realized we were busy all weekend, so I decided to make it tonight. It's relatively low-fat and really tasty!

Chicken Tortellini

Chicken Tortellini

Yum! This recipe was given to me by my mother-in-law.
It is REALLY good. The spinach I put in is probably way more than called for, but we both love spinach, haha!

Chicken Tortellini

3 cups cooked, chopped chicken breasts
2 peeled, cubed Granny Smith apples
4 minced green onions
1/2 c mayo (I used lowfat - that's what I had in the fridge & it turned out great)
1 9 ounce package of cheese stuffed tortellini
1 bunch of fresh spinach, washed and torn
1/2 sunflower seeds
1 8 oz. bottle Italian salad dressing

Mix chicken, apples, green onions and miracle whip or mayo and let stand in fridge overnight. Cook cheese tortellini according to package directions. Combine tortellini with chicken mixture, add spinach and sunflower seeds and toss with salad dressing. Enjoy!

Shepherds Pie

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs ground sirloin (or ground turkey)
  
• 1 onion chopped
• 1-2 cups vegetables - chopped carrots, corn, peas
• 1 1/2 - 2 lbs potatoes (3 big ones)
• 8 tablespoons butter (1 stick)
• 1/2 cup beef broth
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• Salt, pepper, other seasonings of choice

1 Peel and quarter potatoes, boil in salted water until tender (about 20 minutes).

2 While the potatoes are cooking, melt 4 Tablespoons butter (1/2 a stick) in large frying pan.

3 Sauté onions in butter until tender over medium heat (10 mins). If you are adding vegetables, add them according to cooking time. Put any carrots in with the onions. Add corn or peas either at the end of the cooking of the onions, or after the meat has initially cooked.

4 Add ground beef and sauté until no longer pink. Add salt and pepper. Add worcesterchire sauce. Add half a cup of beef broth and cook, uncovered, over low heat for 10 minutes, adding more beef broth as necessary to keep moist.

5 Mash potatoes in bowl with remainder of butter, season to taste.

6 Place beef and onions in baking dish. Distribute mashed potatoes on top. Rough up with a fork so that there are peaks that will brown nicely. You can use the fork to make some designs in the potatoes as well.

7 Cook in 400 degree oven until bubbling and brown (about 30 minutes). Broil for last few minutes if necessary to brown.

Spinach and Mushroom Manicotti

Spinach & Mushroom Manicotti (I made it without mushrooms, ha!)
1 box (8 oz) Manicotti
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
6 oz. mushrooms, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 bag (6 oz) FRESH spinach - it makes a huge difference (one time I didn't have fresh spinach, just the frozen kind and it was yucky - but then again, I'm picky)
2 eggs
1 container (15 oz) lowfat ricotta cheese
1/3 cup chopped basil leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1 jar Italian Baking Sauce or Marinara Sauce
1/2 cup fresh Parmesan cheese (I use the part skim shredded Italian Blend cheese)

Preheat oven to 350*F.
Cook Manicotti 7 minutes, drain and rinse in cool water. Set aside.
Meanwhile, heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and garlic; saute 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add spinach and continue cooking for 5 mins. (If you're not doing the mushrooms, add the spinach where they say to add the mushrooms and skip this step). Set aside to cool.
Beat eggs lightly in medium mixing bowl. Stir in ricotta, basil and salt. Stir in mushroom/spinach mixture.
Spread 3/4 cup Italian Baking Sauce/Marinara sauce over borrom of 13x9-inch baking dish. Fill Manicotti with mushroom/spinach mixture; place in dish. (I find it easiest to cheat and split the shells about halfway and paste it back together) - you can't tell after it's baked. Pour remaining sauce evenly over filled shells, sprinkle with cheese. Cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Uncover, continue baking 5-10 mins until cheese is melted. Makes 6 servings.
Enjoy!