Cream Cheese and Chicken Enchiladas

this enchilada recipe, with this rice as it's side is delish.

I needed a new enchilada recipe that wasn't the same old same old...if you know what i mean.  I loved it with the white beans!...and you gotta follow the recipe, no skippin steps. 

p.s.  i have never had anything bad from this site, in fact it is one of our favorites to turn to for a new recipe.

Vegetable Tostadas

another favorite of ours.

1 T. cumin

1/4 t. s and p

2 t. canola oil

sprinkle that on top of 4 chicken breasts cut up and fry it in a large frying pan until chicken is done.  don't over cook, it will make your chicken hard.

when chicken is done add:

1 red onion chopped

2 ears corn (you can use a can)...fresh is always better.

1 chopped zucchini

1/2 c. green salsa verde

3 T. chopped cilantro

when veggies are soft, spray both sides of a tortilla with pam, put it on a cookie sheet and place it in the oven on broil for about 30 seconds.  flip it over and let the other side cook...this will make your tortilla crispy.

after tortilla is crisp place the mixture on top and some cheese on top of that.  put it back under broil until cheese is melted and eat like a tostada!  YUM.. and healthy too.

Mango Chicken on Coconut Rice

I forgot about this recipe.  I got it a while ago off of the sisters cafe blog.  It is one of our favorites and super easy.

cook 6-8 chicken breasts in crock pot sprinkled with cumin and lemon pepper to taste.  when it is done shred and add:

*you may want to remove some of the chicken juice if there seems to be a lot.  maybe remove it all and if in the end it seems a little dry you can just add more salsa.

1 can corn drained

1 can black beans drained

3 cups mango salsa (i like the kind from costco)

cook it all for another hour or so...

eat this on top of Coconut rice.  Just cook your rice in coconut milk.  however; i tried to do this with a rice cooker and it didn't work.  i now just buy minute rice for this recipe.  so 1 can coconut milk per 1 cup rice.

garnish with cilantro or parsley.

Creamy Chicken Taquitos

I got this recipe from my Our Best Bites cookbook and I loved it. If you make the filling ahead of time, you can whip them together in a flash.

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos
Recipe by OurBestBites.com


1/3 C (3 oz) cream cheese
1/4 C green salsa
1T fresh lime juice
1/2 t cumin
1 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/4 t granulated garlic
3 T chopped cilantro
2 T sliced green onions

2 C shredded cooked chicken
1 C grated pepperjack cheese {I used Colby Jack}

small corn tortillas
kosher salt
cooking spray


Heat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.

Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it's soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and granulated garlic. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well.

You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.

Work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. It helps to place them between damp paper towels. Usually 20-30 seconds will do it. If you find yours are cracking when you roll them or come unrolled right away, just try heating them longer and try the paper towel thing.

Place 2-3 T of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges.

Then roll it up as tight as you can.

Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and sprinkle some kosher salt on top.

Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.

I served mine with their Creamy Lime Cilantro Ranch Dressing.

Pineapple Pork Tacos

cook pork roast in crock pot all day...i cooked mine in a little water with lime juice, honey, and garlic. (i don't know why, just cook it however you want.)
shred it.
put it back in crock pot with a 1/2 c. brown sugar and keep a little of the jucie so it doesn't go dry...cook for another 30-60 min.

Pineapple Salsa
in Cuisinart chop up:
3-4 green onions
1 jalapeno
1/2 bunch cilantro
1 fresh lime juice
1 t. salt
 then add:  8 oz can pineapple chunks with the juice drained.

fry up your tortillas..put sour cream, shredded pork and then pineapple salsa on top. (cheese if you want)

*you may not want to use one whole jalapeno depending on how big or spicy it is.
*you could also use a fresh mango instead of pineapple.  YUM!

Chicken Balls (sorry, don't know what else to call them)

Mix:
6 oz Cream Cheese

1/8 tsp Cumin

1/8 tsp Chili Powder

1/4 C Red Bell Pepper

1 Can Diced Green Chile

2 C Shredded Chicken

Note: (I use two cans of costco's kirkland canned chicken and the whole 8 oz block of cream cheese)

Next:

4 cans of Crescent Rolls

-Each can makes 4 "rectangles", so just overlap and pinch dough of two "rolls" together forming one rectangle

- Place a large spoonful of mixture on each of your rectangles and form the dough around it to make a "ball"

- Roll the balls in bread crumbs (plain or italian is fine)

-You can roll the balls in melted butter first, but I found that the bread crumbs stick great to the dough without it and it spares a few calories. I don't notice a difference in taste by skipping it either.

Bake:

At 350 for 20 minutes.

Makes:

16 Chicken Balls

Serve with:

Richie and I are horrible at side dishes but usually some beans,

Enchilada Casserole

Most of the summer I have avoided turning on my oven but since it was rainy and cooler yesterday I made this! I love this recipe! It isn't difficult and I even put it together during nap time and then all I had to do was pop it in the oven so dinner was ready when Jeff got home! You can also sneak some veggies into it! I pureed carrots and added them to the meat and I didn't tell Jeff. He had no clue!!! Extra veggies in your family's diet is always a good thing RIGHT???

Cook together:

1 ½ lb hamburger

½ tsp oregano

1 cup chopped onions

2 TB chili powder

½ tsp Tabasco sauce

Simmer for 15 minutes, then add ¾ cup flour and mix well.

Add 2 cups water or to consistency of thin gravy, after which add ½ cup tomato sauce and 1 tsp garlic salt.

Simmer together add salt and pepper to taste.

In a baking dish, put layer of tortillas, chili mixture, and cheese (3/4 lb shredded) to about 4 layers, with cheese as a final layer

Bake at 350^o for 30 minutes or until heated through.

Optional: Serve with shredded lettuce and chopped green onions mixed together and sprinkled on top.

Tomatillo Ranch Dressing

Since I just posted our Cafe Rio style rice recipe, I thought I'd add on our dressing recipe as well. We're still on the lookout for a pork recipe to satisfy our lofty expectations (I haven't tried yours yet Atrena!). Every recipe we've tried for the Cafe Rio style pork is good, but a shadow of the glory found at the restaurant.

Café Rio Dressing

1pkg. Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix, buttermilk flavor

1 cup fat free sour cream

½ cup buttermilk

3 fresh tomatillos (you can also use canned)

1 cup fresh cilantro

3 cloves of garlic

½ tsp. – 1 tsp. Tabasco sauce

Blend everything and enjoy with a Cafe Rio type salad!!!

Cilantro Lime Rice

I tried out McCall's recipe for Honey Lime Enchiladas last night. Oh my! Our taste buds gave them a standing ovation!!! Bryce made cilantro lime rice as one of our side dishes and we've gotten requests for the recipe...so here it is!

Cilantro Lime Rice

Serves 6-8

4 tbsp. unsalted butter (I don't usually have this on hand and find regular butter works great too)

2 shallots, peeled and minced (or 2-3 green onions)

2 cups Jasmine rice or long grain rice

Grated zest of 2 limes

1 Stalk of cilantro, washed (the long thin part, no leaves)

4 cups hot chicken broth or stock

2 tbsp. fresh cilantro leaves

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Melt butter in medium *casserole dish and sauté the shallots until tender, 3-4 minutes. Add the rice and cook until translucent and well coated with butter, a few more minutes. Stir in half of lime zest, the cilantro stalk and the stock. Cover the casserole dish and place in the oven. Bake until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, about 20-25 minutes.

*Bryce has broken a casserole dish cooking the rice this way. We now use a frying pan to saute the green onions and rice. We stir in the lime zest and cilantro stalk, then dump everything into our rice cooker with the chicken stock.

3. Stir in remaining lime zest and cilantro leaves. Season to taste and serve.

Honey Lime Enchiladas

I'm usually not a huge Mexican fan, but I decided to give these a shot. Wow. They are simply amazing. I got the recipe from The Sisters Cafe. Your family will love these.

1.5 lbs pork or chicken, cooked and shredded

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 (I actually think I like it better with red 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 - don't be stingy! (I sometimes use more like 1 1/2 cans- you can freeze left over enchilada sauce in a baggy.) 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.