Chicken Enchiladas

8 flour tortillas
2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/4 - 1 whole can 8 oz. can El Pato jalapeño salsa (depending on how spicy you like it)
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
grated cheese
black olives, chopped (optional)
green onions, chopped (optional)
Mix together cream of chicken soup, El Pato, and tomato sauce with wire whisk in a bowl to make enchilada sauce. Spread about 1/2 c. of enchilada sauce in bottom of glass 9 x 13 dish.

Spread tortillas over counter to easily fill all of them at once. Spoon 1/4 c. enchilada sauce in a line down the middle of each tortilla. Evenly distribute chicken and cheese on top of the line of sauce for each tortilla.
Fold a tortilla in half, and then in half again as you fold the rounded part of the tortilla around the part with the filling. Place in dish, and repeat with each tortilla.




Spoon remaining enchilada sauce over the top to cover all of the tortillas (any tortilla not covered in sauce will dry out when you bake them). Top with grated cheese. Top additionally with green onions, or chopped olives if desired.
Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes, until warmed through.
(I can't lie, I am flattered that my brother-in-law requests "Whitney's Enchiladas" for dinner on his birthday.)
*While I usually prefer the tortillas you cook yourself so they are fresh, just a regular bag of flour tortillas from the store taste better with these enchiladas. Of course, most of these pictures were taken with the bake at home tortillas because I didn't have any of the others on hand.
Serve this with some Zatarain's Black Beans and Rice or Rice a Roni Spanish Rice with a can of diced tomatoes mixed in.
 They would also be awesome with this recipe for Quick and Easy Black Beans.

Lite Lion House Rolls

I had these at a friend's house and can't get enough of them. This recipe is from the Lion House Recipes Lite cookbook.

1 Tbl. yeast
2 c. warm water
1/3 c. sugar
2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. light margarine
2/3 c. instant nonfat dry milk
5-6 c. flour
2 egg whites
1 Tbl. olive oil

Use electric mixer. Combine yeast and water, let stand 5 minutes. Add sugar, salt, margarine, dry milk, 2 c. flour, and egg whites. Beat together until smooth after each addition. Add about 1 more cup flour, 1/2 c. at a time (in your mixer if it will take it, or by hand), until it is well mixed in. Turn dough onto a lightly floured board and kned until it is smooth and satiny, about 10 minutes.

Gather dough into a ball. Scrape bowl clean and spra it with nonstick cooking spray. Return dough to bowl. Let dough rise in a warm (not hot) place away from drafts until about triple in bulk. (In a cool oven with a pan of hot water on a rack under it is a good place.)

Use the last of the flour as needed on the board for rolling and shaping the dough. (Don't use it all unless you need it.) Turn dough out onto floured board and let rest for 10 minutes so it will be easier to manage as you roll it. Roll or cut into desired shapes. Place on baking sheets sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Brush surface of rolls with olive oil. Let rise in warm place until double in size (about 1 1/2 hours).

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until browned.

Make 3 dozen rolls.

And here's the best part:
Per roll:
101 calories
1 g fat
151 sodium

Chocolate Eclaire Cake

From the kitchen of my friend Christie.

3 packages graham crackers
2 small vanilla pudding, or 1 large vanilla pudding
3 1/2 c. milk
1 can milk chocolate frosting (from the store)
8 oz. cool whip

Mix pudding, milk, and cool whip. Layer a 9 x 13 pan with package of graham crackers. Pour on half of pudding mixture. Add another layer of crackers. Pour on remaining pudding. Add last layer of crackers. chill at least 2 hours, then ice the cake. Chill in refrigerator 18-24 hours.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies

I've been looking for a good recipe for these so I could make my own (as much as I love the ones at Macey's grocery store). Then I went to a party down the street and these were so good I had to get the recipe. Thanks Julie.

1/2 c. butter or margarine
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 1/2 c. flour
1 c. chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg, pumpkin, and vanilla. Mix and sift baking powder, soda, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, and flour. Add to creamed mixture. Add chocolate chips.

Drop onto well greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Makes 5 dozen.

Yummy Mummies

Made these for the first time Halloween 2007. A great addition to dinner in a pumpkin, and definitely a new Halloween tradition. Very easy (near impossible to mess up) and tastes good too. The hardest part was making the mustard eyes small enough.

Rhodes Dinner Rolls, thawed but still cold (thaw about 1 hour)

Hot dogs

Mustard

For each Mummy Dog cut one dinner roll in half. Roll each half into 22 to 24 inch rope. Wrap one rope around hot dog from bottom up 4 1/2 inches. Cut a 1 1/2 inch piece off the second rope and set aside.

Wrap the second rope around the hot dog from the bottom up 4 1/2 inches going the opposite way. Wrap the 1 1/2 inch piece around the top of the hot dog. Place Mummy Dogs on a sprayed baking sheet and bake at 350 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven, cool slightly and add mustard eyes.

Serve warm with ketchup and mustard.

Warm Ham and Swiss Sandwiches

Thanks to my friend Pamela for introducing me to these sandwiches that have become a great go to meal for me, my mom, and all my aunts. These are a really light and tasty sandwich, perfect for a hot summer day when you don't feel like cooking and heating up the house. As someone who doesn't like poppyseed dressing on my salad, I think these sandwiches are really good! Serve them with salad, fruit, or a pasta salad and prepare to get lot of compliments!

At Thanksgiving time, I found mini croissants (pictured at top) that were the perfect serving size. They were a good size for my kids, the slice of cheese fit on it perfectly.

Croissants

Deli ham

Swiss cheese

Kraft Creamy Poppyseed Dressing

Spread poppyseed dressing on each half of the croissant, cover bottom half with ham and a slice of cheese. Put the top of the croissant back on, and toast them in the oven until the cheese melts and the croissant is slightly crispy.

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Chex Mix

This is the OLD Chex Mix recipe that used to be on the side of the Chex box. They have since changed it, and it's not as good. Also tastes much better than the store bought Chex Mix. We always took this on family car trips growing up and we still have this at the family Campout every year. I think my mom sends it with all of the kids when they have to travel for sporting events.

Use a big bowl (sorry I'm unclear on the size) and fill with equal parts Cheerios, Crispix, Rice Chex, Corn Chex, and Wheat Chex.

Melt:

1 square margarine

3 Tbl. worchestershire sauce

2 1/2 tsp. seasoning salt

Pour evenly over cereal, stirring to coat evenly. Microwave for 6 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes.

Peanut Butter Chews

Can't believe I haven't put this recipe on here yet. These are my husband's (and now my children's) favorite.

1 c. powdered milk
1/2 c. peanut butter
1/2 c. corn syrup
2/3 c. powdered sugar
3/4 c. milk chocolate chips

Mix well until uniform consistency, adding chocolate chips only when other ingredients are mixed well. Roll into small 1/2" to 1" balls and chill. Or roll into a long tube like a snake inside of plastic wrap, chill, and cut into pieces.

If you are using the very fine powdered milk from the cannery, only use 1/2 c. powdered milk.

Note: All of these ingredients are things you could keep in your food storage so I have these as an easy treat or comfort food that you could make without baking or refrigerating in an emergency. I know if there was an emergency and we were living off our food storage for whatever reason, these would cheer my family up for sure.

Frosting

1 stick of butter or margarine, softened
3 c. powdered sugar
1 egg

Mix together with electric mixer. May add water in small amounts (drops) to thin if needed. Add food coloring as desired.

(This is the same recipe as the chocolate frosting without the cocoa.)

Emeril's Belgian Waffles

This recipe is from Emeril on the Food Network. BAM.

Bowl 1: Sift

2 c. flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

Bowl 2:

4 egg yolks

2 Tbl. sugar

Beat until sugar dissolves and eggs turn a pale yellow color. Add 1/2 tsp. vanilla, 4 Tbl. butter, 2 c. milk.

Bowl 3:

Beat 4 egg whites about 1 minute until peaks form.

Combine Bowl 1 and 2, fold in egg whites. Do not overmix. coat waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray. Use 3/4 c. batter each time (at least this amount is perfect for my waffle iron). Makes 8 round Belgian waffles.

Barbara's Potato Casserole/Ham and Potatoes

I think most people call these "funeral potatoes." We always have them on Easter Sunday with ham.

1 can cream of chicken

1 c. sour cream

1 c. milk

1 Tbl. dried onion

1 c. shredded cheese

3 Tbl. melted butter

Spray 9 x 13 pan. Fill pan with frozen hash browns. Mix rest of ingredients. Pour over potatoes but do not stir. Sprinkle with corn flake crumbs (what I do) or the following topping.

Topping:

1/2 c. cornflake crumbs

3 Tbl. melted butter

3 Tbl. parmesan cheese

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 min. to make crispy.

Strawberry Shortcake

From the kitchen of my Aunt Diane. I wish my husband liked strawberries so I had someone to make this for, because it is so good.

1 white cake mix - follow the directions

Bake the cake mix in 2 - 9 x 13 pans OR in one jellyroll pan. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes. Let cool in pan.

Mix:
8 oz. soft cream cheese
1 c. powdered sugar

Mix til stiff: (in a separate bowl)
1 pint whipping cream
1 c. powdered sugar

Fold the 2 mixtures together and spread over the cooled cake. (You can do this much ahead of time if necessary. Cover with foil and put in fridge overnight.)

4-5 baskets of strawberries washed and cut in half
1 jar Marie's strawberry glaze

Cover berries. There should not be a lot of extra glaze on berries. Put the berries on top of the cake and chill before serving.

Fresh Peach Dessert

From the kitchen of Aunt Barbara.

1 lb. package French Vanilla Creme cookies (Keebler)

Roll into crumbs, and put 3/4 of crumbs into 9 x 13 pan.

Cream well:
1 square of butter (not margarine)
2 c. powdered sugar
2 eggs

Spread creamed mixture onto crumbs.

Cut 6 or 7 large peaches in wedges and cover creamed mixture. Fill to top of dish.

Whip 1 pint cream. Don't sweeten.

Spread over peaches and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 of crumbs.

Chill 4 hours before serving.

Homemade Ice Cream

From the kitchen of my Grandpa, this is soo good. On the chance you have leftovers (very rare), it's really good right out of the freezer too. I know the ice cream maker is important too. All my extended family has White Mountain ice cream makers. I've never made this myself because I don't have a White Mountain. Maybe I'll try it myself this summer in my own and see how it turns out.

Beat until creamy:
5 eggs
2 1/4 c. sugar

1 c. evaporated milk
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1/2 gallon whole milk (won't use it all)
1/4 tsp. lemon extract
3 Tbl. vanilla
3-4 junket tablets (these help it set up somehow. All I know is my Mom can't find them where she lives and has to stock up sometimes when she comes to Utah.)

Don't mix it too much with the beaters. Crush up the junket tablets and dissolve them in a small amount of water. Combine everything in ice cream maker except whole milk, then add the whole milk until container (6 qt.) is 2/3 full.

Freeze. Fill the ice cream maker with ice, then rock salt. Repeat until full, and then while freezing and it melts a little.

Edit: I tried it with my ice cream maker (not a White Mountain) and it wasn't as creamy but it was still REALLY good!

Homemade Pizza

I got this recipe from Jen. My whole family loves this homemade pizza.

1 cup warm water
1 Tbsp instant yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 ½ Tbsp oil
about 2 ½ - 3 cups flour

Add the water, yeast and sugar first. Then salt, oil and flour. Mix until bread is pulling away from side of the bowl. Mix for about 4 minutes or knead till elastic. Let rest for a few minutes. Roll dough into desired shape. Poke with a fork to avoid bubbles, then top with canned pizza sauce, grated mozzarella cheese, and desired toppings. Bake at 450° for 10-14 minutes. Crust should be slightly brown.

Variation: Ham and Broccoli Roll
Make bread dough. Roll out ¼” thick. Spread ham, broccoli, and cheese over the dough. Roll up like a cinnamon roll. Cut into ½ - 1 inch thick slices. Place on greased cookie sheet so they aren’t touching but will tough when they rise. Bake on 350° for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Tip: Let your kids slice the olives with an egg slicer. They love to help and they can't cut their fingers with it.

Super Caesar Salad

1 head Romaine lettuce - torn
5-6 Romana or plum tomatoes
1 c. grated Swiss cheese
1/2 pound bacon - cooked and crumbled (or chicken for a Chicken Caesar Salad)
1/2 c. slivered almonds
4 Tbl. parmesan cheese

Dressing:
3/4 c. olive oil
juice of 1 lemon (2-3 Tbl)
3 cloves garlic finely chopped
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. salt

Tuna Noodle Casserole

1 can tuna fish, drained
1 can cream of mushroom soup
3 c. uncooked egg noodles

Cook noodles, drain and rinse. Add tuna and soup. Warm through. May serve sprinkled with crushed potato chips.

Pinto Beans

A classic dinner from Kevin's family.

2 c. dry pinto beans
6 c. water
1-6 oz. can tomato sauce
2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. taco seasoning

Let beans soak overnight. Change the water. Add remainging ingredients and turn on low for all day, or on high for 4-5 hours.

Top with cheese. Serve with ketchup if desired.

French Dip Sandwiches

Cook beef brisket at 350 for 6 hours in 4-5 cups of beef broth (you can also use a crockpot). Cut the meat into slices and serve on rolls or hoagie bread. Serve with additional beef broth for dipping.

Fajitas

Cut steak or chicken into strips, brown in a small amount of oil, and add fajita or taco seasoning. (Or use those frozen grilled chicken strips from Costco and microwave for a couple minutes.)

Cut up bell peppers into strips. Use the green peppers as a base, but the red, yellow, and orange peppers are sweeter and will add more flavor if you mix in a few of them. Don't forget to add strips of onion too. I always forget the onion.

Cook the peppers and onions in a small amount of olive oil (or sometimes I steam them for a lower-calorie option) and mix in the meat right before serving. The trick is to get the peppers just right so they are soft but still have a little texture to them without being crunchy.

Serve in warm tortillas with cheese, salsa, and sour cream.

Dinner in a Pumpkin

Or, for another look:

So this year for Halloween I added too much water and it was more of a soup than a casserole AND I forgot the chow mein noodles. Still tasted good.

1 lb. hamburger
1 medium onion, chopped
3-4 stalks celery chopped
3/4 c. Minute Rice
1/4 c. soy sauce
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 3/4 c. water (off of the celery)
chow mein noodles

Boil celery and onion. Brown hamburger. Mix all ingredients together. Bake covered 1/2 hour at 350. Uncover and sprinkle with chow mein noodles. Bake uncovered another 15 minutes.

Serve with more chow mein noodles.

*We bake this in a pumpkin on Halloween and serve it out of the pumpkin. Serve by candlelight with orange jello topped with cool whip ghosts and chocolate chips eyes, root beer, and yummy mummies.

Taco Meat/Taco Salad

For my tacos I just brown a pound of hamburger with an onion, then add taco seasoning and a can of kidney beans.

Serve tacos in corn shells or flour tortillas. Top with salsa, tomatoes, cheese, lettuce, sour cream or dressing.

For taco salad, use more lettuce to make and salad, use above toppings, and finish with ranch dressing and Frito corn chips.

Nothing special and really easy, but so good.

Breakfast Pizza

This is a tradition for our family on Christmas morning and every six months for General Conference. On Christmas we have it with orange slices topped with powdered sugar, and for Conference sometimes we'll make orange julius to go with it.

2 packages crescent rolls
1 package sausage, cooked
1 1/2 c. frozen grated hashbrowns
12 eggs
salt and pepper
grated cheese
parmesan cheese

Roll out the packages of crescent rolls to cover a jelly roll pan (3 long ways, and 1 across the bottom). Pinch the seams together to seal and be sure to make a crust around the edge of the pan or the eggs will run underneath.


Sprinkle the sausage and hashbrowns evenly across the pan. Whip the eggs in a separate bowl and pour over the sausage and hashbrowns. Top with salt and pepper and grated cheese. Finish with parmesan cheese on top.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Serve with ketchup. It's good without ketchup too. :)

Cauliflower Cheese Sauce

Steam a whole head of cauliflower in the pressure cooker with about 1/2 cup water. Cut off all of the green leaves and much of the stem before cooking. Steam it for about 5 minutes (from the time the pressure cooker starts rocking). While it's cooking, start the cheese sauce.

Melt 3/4 of a square of butter. Take off heat. Add 3 heaping Tbl. flour to make a thick paste. Add milk till it is creamy like gravy (about 1 c.) When your cauliflower has steamed for 5 minutes, run the pressure cooker under cold water, open it up and add water off the cauliflower to the cheese sauce (about 1/4 c.) and put the sauce back on the stove top. Bring it to a boil. As it gets near to boiling it will thicken; add milk as it thickens to keep it the consistency of gravy. As soon as it boils, the consistency will not change, so don't add any more milk. Add grated cheese - about 1-2 c. and salt to taste. Pour over the cauliflower in a serving bowl.

Yuuuuummmmmm.