Creamy Spinach Enchiladas

I made these the other night and thought they were pretty darn good. These and diabetic friendly too! That is why everything is reduced fat of fat-free. I of course just use the regular stuff.



Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients:
1/2 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts
4 cups torn fresh spinach or 1/2 of one 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well-drained
1 8-ounce carton light dairy sour cream
1/4 cup plain fat-free yogurt
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup fat-free milk
1 4-ounce can diced green chili peppers, drained
6 7-inch flour tortillas
1/3 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese (1-1/2 ounces)
Chopped tomato or salsa (optional)
Thinly sliced green onions (optional)
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions

Directions:
1. In a 3-quart saucepan place chicken in enough water to cover. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 15 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Remove chicken from saucepan. When cool enough to handle, use a fork to shred chicken into bite-size pieces. (You should have about 1-1/2 cups.) Set aside.

2. If using fresh spinach, place spinach in a steamer basket over boiling water. Reduce heat. Steam, covered, for 3 to 5 minutes or until tender. (Or, cook in a small amount of boiling water, covered, for 3 to 5 minutes.) Drain well.

3. In a large bowl combine chicken, spinach, and green onions; set aside. In a bowl combine sour cream, yogurt, flour, cumin, and salt. Stir in milk and chili peppers. Divide sauce in half. Set one portion aside.

4. For filling, combine one portion of the sauce and the chicken-spinach mixture. Divide the filling among the tortillas. Roll up tortillas. Place, seam side down, in an ungreased 2-quart rectangular baking dish.

5. Spoon reserved portion of sauce over tortillas. Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree F oven about 25 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with cheese; let stand for 5 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter. To serve, if desired, garnish with chopped tomato or salsa and additional green onion. Makes 6 enchiladas.

* You can make these ahead of time and refrigerate them, just add 10-15 minutes to the cooking time.
* I would also add more chicken and cheese.

Cowboy Caviar

This has become one of my trademark recipes in our ward. I took it to a potluck a few years ago and the recipe has become popular. You can find it at just about any BBQ or baby shower that someone in the ward puts on. It is yummy! I originally got it from my sister-in-law Janell. Thanks Janell.1 10 oz. package frozen corn
1 can black eyed peas, drained
1 can black beans, drained
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
8 roma tomatoes
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
8 oz. Zesty Italian dressing
2 tsp. (or so) cumin
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine and serve with tortilla chips. Enjoy!!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Another chocolate chip cookie recipe. We all have our favorites and this is ours. Soft and chewy, just like we like it. Kimball eats these straight from the oven. He also likes to take a cooled cookie and stick it in the microwave for a few seconds to warm it up.
3/4 c. butter
1 1/4 c. brown sugar
2 T. milk
1 T. vanilla
1 egg
1 3/4 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 c. chocolate chips (we like milk chocolate best)

Cream butter and brown sugar. Beat in egg. Add milk and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients. Add to creamed mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 9 minutes at 375 degrees.

Makes 3 dozen or less depending on how much of the dough you eat :)

General Tso's Chicken

I think this would be yummy with Allison's Lo-Mein!
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast
1/3 c. flour
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 T. oil
1/4 c. sugar
1 T. cornstarch
2 T. water
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. pineapple juice
1/4 c. vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. freshly grated ginger, (I left this out because I don't like the flavor in my food unless it's a cookie)
red pepper flakes, to taste
4 green onions, sliced


Combine flour and cayenne. Dredge chicken in flour and cook in oil.
In saucepan combine cornstarch and sugar. Slowly whisk in liquids, garlic, and ginger. Cook and stir over medium heat til thick and bubbly. Add red pepper flakes and green onion. Pour over chicken and stir to coat. Serve over rice.

Penrod Fajitas

So, I hesitated posting this because this recipe is so Utah Mexican food, and I know that I’ll get some flak for it. But, since I won’t be seeing any of you for a long time, tease away! :) This recipe is from my best friend in high school’s family (and yes, they are from Utah). So, no, definitely not an authentic fajita recipe, but it’s a fun way to change it up.

Penrod Fajitas
Serves 6

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
1 onion, cut into strips
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 bell peppers (your choice of color), sliced into strips
2 tablespoons canola oil
¼ - ½ cup Yoshida’s sweet teriyaki sauce

Flour tortillas, warmed (whole wheat are yummy)

Toppings, below

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in skillet over high heat. Once hot, cook chicken until lightly browned. Remove from pan. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat and add onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent and soft, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Add bell peppers and cook 2-3 minutes or until done. Add chicken and sauce and cook, stirring constantly, another 2 minutes, until heated through. Serve on warm tortillas with desired toppings.

Toppings:
Lime
Sour cream
Cheese, shredded
Tomatoes, diced

Chicken Lo Mein

We love having this when we feel like Chinese. I adapted the veggies to suit my kids' tastes, so feel free to throw in whatever your family likes. The changes I make are in red. The best thing about this recipe is that it makes a ton, and tastes even better the next day!

Chicken Lo Mein

adapted from My Kitchen Cafe

12 ounces Chinese Lo Mein noodles or linguine pasta (I use whole wheat linguine)
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
Stir-fry Sauce (recipe follows)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large onion
1 1/2 cups shredded carrots
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms (I do 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup celery, sliced

1/2 cup snow peas

1 cup broccoli florets, steamed until just barely tender

Unsalted dry roasted peanut halves (optional)

Cook the noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, continue with the recipe, and when the noodles are done, drain and set aside.

Make the stir-fry sauce and set aside. Heat the oil in an extra-deep 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Peel and coarsely chop the onion, adding it to the skillet as you chop. Stir from time to time. While the onion cooks, slice the chicken into strips about 1/4-inch wide. Add the chicken to the skillet. Raise the heat to medium-high and stir occasionally.

While the chicken cooks, add the carrots, broccoli and mushrooms (celery and snow peas) and stir to mix. Stir-fry the mixture until the chicken is no longer pink. Immediately add the stir-fry sauce and noodles. Raise the heat to high and cook until the noodles and chicken are heated through and coated with sauce, 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. Serve, garnished with peanut halves (if using).

Stir-Fry Sauce

(I sometimes double this, depending on how many veggies I end up throwing in)
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar or distilled white vinegar

1 tablespoon ketchup
2 teaspoons chopped ginger

1 teaspoon dark sesame oil

Whisk all of the ingredients together in a 1-quart bowl.

Yellow Cake (from scratch)

I have never been a fan of 'from scratch' cake. It always turns out too heavy, dense, and... just not quite right. But, my kids were concerned that I didn't have a birthday cake and I didn't have a cake mix in the house. I went online and found a recipe on Allrecipes. I tweaked it a bit the way other commenter's had suggested. I really wasn't very hopeful that it would be any good. To my surprise THIS CAKE WAS SOOOO GOOD. I may never use a boxed mix again!!! Here is the tweaked recipe...
2 1/3 cups flour, (the recipe said to sift, but I don't have a sifter. I just used my whisk and whisked the flour in the container then gently scooped my flour)
1 T. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. oil
2 eggs
1 1/2 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Combine dry ingredients. In another bowl combine oil, eggs, milk, and vanilla. Add dry mixture and mix well. I mixed everything by hand with my whisk and it turned out GREAT!
Bake in a greased 9x13 at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Didn't the kids do a good job decorating!! They were very proud of their work!