Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

Well, since NO ONE bothered to comment or anything on my last post, I'll try this again... (seriously, where are some of you guys lately?!)

I have to thank the Sisters Cafe for this recipe. I was looking for something easy to make for some guests that were coming into town and this sounded perfect. I was super easy to throw together and tasted fantastic. I boiled and shredded the chicken the night before so all I had to do was assemble it and put it in the oven. The honey makes it sweet and the chili powder gives it a kick but isn't really spicy (I am a wimp when it comes to spices so anyone can make this and be okay with it- ahem, Kelli!)

Picture courtesy of the Sisters' Cafe

1.5 lbs pork or chicken, cooked and shredded (I used chicken)

Sauce:
1/3 c honey
1/4 c lime juice
1 Tb chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder


2 (10 oz) cans green enchilada sauce

equal parts mixed together of:
mozzarella cheese, shredded
cheddar cheese, shredded

flour tortillas


Mix together sauce ingredients then add to shredded pork or chicken. Let the sauce soak into the meat for about 30 minutes.

Lightly spray 2 pans with non-stick baking spray. (I usually use one 9x13 and one 9x9 but it may vary with how thick you stuff your enchiladas) Pour green enchilada sauce into pans to coat the entire bottom. Fill tortillas with shredded meat and desired amount of cheese. Roll and place in dish.


Pour remainder of sauce over enchiladas and sprinkle more cheese on top (I actually used about 3 cups or so of shredded Colby Jack. There is no such thing as too much cheese!). Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Then turn on broiler and place enchiladas nearer the top of oven. Let it broil until cheese is slightly brown and crispy.

I served this with Picky Palate's Spanish Rice recipe and a salad. I'll post the Spanish Rice later!

Garlic Butter Spread

I was making plain old spaghetti the other night and had a loaf of Italian bread on the table too, so I decided to jazz it up a little. I found this recipe on allrecipes.com and loved it! It was super easy and I had everything in the house. I liked that I didn't need any fresh herbs too, which are nice, but expensive! I used this on the bread, but the recipe also says you can use it to brush on fish or chicken dishes too. I don't have a picture yet, because all my pictures were ugly. How do you take a good picture of garlic bread? It's all about the smell, isn't it?

Garlic Butter Spread

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened to room temperature
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic (about 3-4 cloves)
2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 tsp garlic salt (I didn't have this so I subbed about 1 tsp garlic powder and 1/4 tsp salt)
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp paprika

Combine all ingredients together and slather on your Italian bread loaf. I cut mine horizontally so I had two halves, then just put half of the garlic butter on each half. You can slice yours if you want. I won't be offended. I actually broiled my bread on low for a few minutes, but I think next time I will bake it for a little bit to let the whole thing crisp up, then put it under the broiler for a minute or two so it can get extra crunchy on top. It was really yummy and so easy!

Chocolate cookie cake

Chocolate cookie cake

This is my favorite dessert. The cake is so moist and chocolaty and the icing on top makes the cake. It is so super easy and I love that it does not call for melted chocolate. I did not have buttermilk so I made my own by placing 1 T. white vinegar in a liquid measuring cup and then filling with milk until it measures 1 C. Let it sit five minutes and you have buttermilk.

Mix together in medium bowl

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Bring just to a boil

2 cubes butter

1 cup water

4 T. cocoa powder (Use heaping tablespoons and a little extra)

Pour wet mixture into dry and add

2 eggs

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 tsp Vanilla

put into a greased and floured pan bake ( I used a cookie sheet) at 350 for 20 min.

Icing

1 cube butter

5 Tablespoons buttermilk

4 tablespoons cocoa (same as before)

1 pound powdered sugar (3 and ¾ C.)

Boil together for 2 min pour on warm cake. Some of the frosting seeps into the cake making it so moist!

Let the cake cool and the frosting harden. The extra cocoa in the frosting makes it so it has a thin crisp layer on top!

Super Sidewalk Paint

I wanted to make this today and couldn't find the recipe! I think everyone needs to try it and it's one I like to do over and over. So, now it is forever on our blog--never to be lost (or almost lost) again!

CRAFT MATERIALS:
	1/4 cup cornstarch
	1/4 cup cold water
	Food coloring
	Paintbrush
Time needed: 30 Minutes or Less

1. In a small bowl, mix together the cornstarch and cold water. Stir in as many drops of food coloring as you need to get your desired color. Repeat this process for each paint color. Use a paintbrush to make fun designs on the sidewalk or driveway. To wash the paint off, simply spray the area with water.

TIP: Super Sidewalk Paint isn't just for sidewalks. Put it in spray bottles and use it to color sand castles and snow sculptures.

Creamy Blueberry Pie

My friend in Ohio made this blueberry pie for me and it is so good - she brought it over while Jeremiah was still in Utah and besides the small piece the boys had I had the whole rest of the pie. It's best served warm. The recipe is from Allrecipes.com.

3 cups fresh blueberries
1 (9 inch) deep dish pie crust
1 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter

(I also added 1 lemon, juiced, to the sour cream mixture and 1 tsp cinnamon to the brown sugar/butter mixture)

Combine 1 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, and salt. Add eggs and sour cream, stirring until blended.

Place blueberries in pastry shell, and spoon sour cream mixture over berries. In another bowl, combine 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup flour. Cut in butter or margarine with pastry blender until mixture resembles course meal. Sprinkle this mixture over sour cream mixture and berries in the pie shell.

Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 50 to 55 minutes, or until lightly browned. If desired, garnish with additional blueberries and mint leaves.

Banana Cupcakes

I got this recipe from the Bakerella blog (LOVE HER) and had to try it the minute I saw it. I love the Banana Cake my friend Rachel shared with me, but these little cupcakes are so yummy too. They are very light in color and dense, which is perfect for me. A little note: When baking them, do not overbake. Bakerella baked hers 12-15 minutes; mine went more like 20 minutes. Just keep checking with a toothpick and when it comes out clean, they are done. Don't let them get too golden or they will be chewy. And the frosting recipe makes enough for at least 3 batches of the cupcakes, and the cupcake recipe is only for 12 cupcakes so I tripled the cupcake recipe. Also, when it says to have the eggs, milk, butter and cream cheese at room temperature, do it! I left mine out on the counter a couple of hours. Just follow the recipe. It is really yummy and my kids and Adam love it!

Photo courtesy of Bakerella

Banana Cupcakes



1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 large ripe banana (or almost 1 cup)
1/2 cup whole milk, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake tray with 12 baking cups.

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl with a wire whisk. Cream butter and sugar in a mixer for about four minutes. Add banana and mix until combined. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until combined.

Add half the flour in three additions alternating with milk in two additions. Scrape down the sides with each addition. Bake for about 12-15 minutes or until done.



Creamy Cream Cheese Frosting



1/2 cup butter, room temperature
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 box (1lb) of confectioner's sugar
Buttercup yellow icing color (optional)

Cream butter and cream cheese in mixer until thoroughly combined. Add vanilla, then add sugar in small batches until combined and creamy (I sifted my powdered sugar to make sure the frosting wasn't lumpy). Add a small amount of buttercup yellow icing color to frosting and mix (Bakerella did this to tie in the "banana" color to the cupcakes and it isn't really necessary but I did it and liked the effect. I just used regular yellow gel color).

Potato-Bacon Torte

So I don't know who follows Food Network's "Next Food Network Star" but I love it! This season I was totally rooting for Melissa D'Arabian. She's a stay-at-home mom and not a trained chef, but she's amazing. Her husband's family is from Nice, France...just like mine! Anyway, as you can probably guess, she totally won and I'm her biggest fan. She's awesome. So I made her Potato-Bacon Torte last night for our anniversary, and it was so freaking good! We had my mother-in-law over because she was going to watch the kids and she was just raving about it. I'll admit, I cheated and used store-bought pie crust, but it totally worked because my mother-in-law asked for my crust recipe :) I used Pillsbury brand. Anyway, this is a pretty cheap recipe except for the gruyere cheese, but you can totally substitute swiss, and if you don't have fresh thyme, you can just add dried thyme to the heated cream and add that to the pie. I followed the recipe because it was a special occasion.

Also, I made her Cafe Green Salad, it's a spring mix salad with a homemade dressing and it was pretty good if you're wanting to try something new. Click HERE for the recipe.

Sorry, no picture...I wasn't expecting to post this until after I tried it! Jeremiah is already begging me to make it again, so when I do I'll post a picture...if I can snag a camera.

4 strips bacon
3 sprigs fresh thyme
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 Pie Crusts, recipe follows
3 medium baking potatoes, peeled
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup grated Gruyere cheese (I probably used about 1/2 cup)
1 egg yolk, whisked with a splash of water

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until just crispy. Drain on paper towel lined plate and set aside. Crumble the bacon when cool to the touch. Melissa, on her show, stated she always keeps bacon in the freezer. The fat content doesn't allow for the bacon to completely freeze and it makes it super easy to cut. See how awesome and helpful she is?!

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, heat the thyme and cream over low heat to a bare simmer. Turn off the heat and let steep for about 5 minutes. Remove the thyme sprigs.

Remove the pie pan from the refrigerator. Slice the potatoes in half lengthwise and then finely slice the potatoes. Working in circles, arrange the potato slices in the pie crust, stopping to season each layer with salt, pepper, and about 1/4 of the crumbled bacon. Continue layering until the pie pan is nearly full. Top with an even layer of the cheese and gently pour cream around and over the entire pie, allowing it to seep down between the potato slices. (You may not use all the cream, I actually added a little more to mine, so I used about a cup).

Roll out the remaining disk of refrigerated dough. Cover the pie with the dough and crimp the edges closed. Brush the top and edges of the crust with egg wash. Make a few slits in the center of the top crust, for the steam to escape, and put the pie pan on a baking sheet. Bake the torte until the crust is browned and crispy and the potatoes are cooked through, about 50 to 60 minutes. If the crust edges get too brown, cover them with some strips of aluminum foil (I covered mine about half hour into the baking time). Remove the pie from the oven and let rest at least 15 minutes before cutting into wedges and serving.

Pie Crust:

Again, I didn't make this, but the reviews for the crust are phenomenal. If you want to save money and have all these ingredients, go for it. The trick is to keep the butter cold throughout the process, so you have to work quickly.

1 cup butter (2 sticks), cubed and chilled
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
8 to 10 tablespoons ice water

Put the butter, flour, and salt in the food processor, and pulse lightly just until the mixture resembles wet sand. Add the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing briefly after each spoonful of water. Keep adding water until the dough just begins to gather into larger clumps. Transfer equal amounts of the dough into 2 resealable plastic bags and pat each into a disk. Let rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Remove 1 of the disks from the bag to a flour coated surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to a 10-inch round. Gently fit the rolled dough into a 9-inch pie pan, and refrigerate while you prepare the torte ingredients.

Yield: 2 (9-inch) pie crusts

Creamy Chicken Spaghetti

Hey all! I had some zucchini from my garden and had to use it up before vacation, so I plugged the word "zucchini" into the kraftfoods.com site and found this treasure. It is so yummy! I had everything on hand except the cream cheese so it was easy to make. My kids loved it, and my dad who was over helping us put in an AC unit into our window even asked for seconds. Some people in their reviews on the Kraft site said they added onion or garlic to their spaghetti, but I thought it was fine the way it was.Hope you enjoy!(This is not my picture, but the one on the Kraft website. It looks about the same :)

Creamy Chicken Spaghetti

1/2 lb spaghetti, uncooked (I used whole wheat whole grain thin spaghetti and it was delicious)

1/4 cup light Italian dressing (I used the Kraft Tuscan House Italian I had on hand)

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 zucchini, cut in half lenthwise, then sliced crosswise (I used one huge zucchini)

2 cups spaghetti sauce

4 oz cream cheese (or neufchatel cheese), cubed

Parmesan cheese

Cook spaghetti as directed on package.

Meanwhile, heat dressing in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook and stir 2 min. Add zucchini; cook an additional 2 min., stirring frequently. Stir in spaghetti sauce. Bring just to boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 5 min. or until chicken is cooked through. Add Neufchatel; cook 1 min. or until cheese is melted and mixture is well blended, stirring occasionally.

Drain spaghetti; place on serving plate. Top with the chicken mixture; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. (I just combined the drained spaghetti in the skillet with the chicken mixture and passed Parmesan cheese at the table. Less dishes!)