Chicken Tortilla Soup

Tex-Mex Tortilla Soup

2 whole large chicken breasts, skinned  and boned,                                   

2 c. water                                                                                     
1 14.5 oz. can beef broth                                                  
1 14.5 oz. can chicken broth                                             
1 14.5 oz. can tomatoes, cut up                                                     
½ c. onion, chopped                                                                       
½ c. green pepper, chopped                                               
1 8 &2/4 oz. whole kernel corn, drained                                       
1 t. chili powder
½ t. cumin
1/8 t. black pepper
Tortilla chips, 3 c. coarsely crushed
4 oz. Monterey Jack cheese, about 1 c., grated
1 avocado, peeled, pit removed and cut up
 

Cut chicken into 1 inch cubes; set aside.  In a large saucepan combine water, chicken broth, beef broth, undrained tomatoes, onion, and green pepper. Bring to boiling.  Add chicken; reduce heat.  Cover and simmer for 10 mins.  Add corn, chili powder, cumin, and pepper. Simmer, covered, for 10 mins more.  To serve, place crushed tortilla chips into each bowl.  Ladle soup over tortilla chips.  Sprinkle with cheese, avocado, and cilantro if desired.  Serve with lime wedges, if desired.  Makes 6 servings.

 This is one of my favorite go to recipes because I have all of the ingredients in my pantry 98% of the time and because literally everyone in my family loves this soup.  I make a double batch because it is great for leftovers and or freezes really well, minus the cheese, for another time.

Pasta Fagioli (Copy Cat with my modifiations)

 

Pasta Fagioli

2 lbs. ground  beef (next time I will make it with sweet Italian sausage)
1 onion, chopped
3  carrots, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
1/4 c. minced dry garlic (added for my own personal taste)
1 qt. canned tomatoes (the original called for 2 28 oz. cans diced tomatoes), undrained
1 15 oz. can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 15 oz. can cannelloni beans, drained and rinsed (white kidney beans)
3 10 oz. cans beef broth
3 t. oregano
2 t. ground pepper
5 t. parsley
1/2 t. Tabasco sauce (originally called for a full teaspoon)
1 24 oz. Prego Traditional Spaghetti Sauce (my personal preference)
8 oz. small cut pasta

Brown beef and place in lined crock pot with everything but the pasta.  Cook on low for 7-8 hours or low 5-6 hours. (for my personal crock pot 4 hours was not long enough for the vegetables to be tender)  30 minutes before serving add the pasta. 

*This makes a large batch of soup in the future I will take 1/2 of the soup out before adding the pasta and freeze for another meal and add the pasta at that time.  To make it gluten free just make sure the beef stock is gluten free and use a gluten free pasta.  This is compared to Olive Garden in the original recipe but I don't think it is the same, but it is a keeper for me.

Stoup- ( Italian Sub Soup from Rachel Ray) A combination of soup and stew a family favorite

Soups are some of my favorite things to make. I have a large arsenal of recipes that I like to use.  This one was on the old "Thirty Minute Meals" show of Rachel Ray's on the Food Network.  This particular recipe is one that everyone in the family likes which is rare. 

Italian Sub Soup (from Rachel Ray)

 1 lb. mild Italian sausage, fried

¼ lb. pepperoni stick, diced

1 ham steak, diced

1 medium onion, chopped

1 bell pepper, seeded, quartered and diced

1 15 oz can diced tomatoes

salt and freshly ground pepper

6 c. chicken stock

½ lb. gemelli pasta or other short-cut pasta

In a soup pot preheat to med. heat.   Brown the sausage and crumble, drain off excess grease.  Then add ham and pepperoni.  Cook meats together for two minutes then add peppers and onions and cook for 2-3 minutes more.  Add diced tomatoes and season with salt and pepper.  Add chicken stock and bring stoup to a boil.  Stir in pasta and cook for 8 minutes.  Make croutons while pasta cooks.

Croutons

5 c. cubed crusty bread

3 lg. cloves garlic, removed from the skin

½ c. grated Parmigiana-reggiano cheese

1 t. crushed red pepper flakes

½ t. dried oregano

 In a large skillet heat ¼ c. of olive oil.  Add garlic and cook 1 minute.  Add bread to oil, and toss, toast for 5-6 minutes.   Season the toasty bread cubes with red pepper flakes, oregano and lots of grated cheese.



 

Ladle the soup and float several toasty garlic breads cubes in each bowl. 

Mega Meal Day(s) New Dietary Challenges

I got the urge to make Chicken Pot Pie for dinner a week or so ago.  The recipe I have makes a huge batch, big enough that I always made two and froze one for another day.  Now that it is just the Gourmet Guy and I at home I usually cut it in half and still make two and freeze one for another day.  I decided that I would make the full recipe and freeze a couple for us and some small ones for my Mother-in-law.  Simply doing that put me in the mood to make some meals ahead and freeze them for my daughter in Idaho who is having a baby at the end of the month.  Since they don't live half way across the country anymore I can take them to her frozen and not have to do all of the work while I am there. Instead I and can play with the Grand kids and snuggle the newborn and not be in the kitchen all of the time, except for that days meals.  She will have eight meals for days when she just needs to pull one out of the freezer, and as mom of three small children and a newborn she will need them.

 

NEW DIETARY CHALLENGES

Over the years we have had favorite meals as a family. Recently we have had new challenges that have caused us to rethink some of our recipes.  We have a  dairy allergy, gluten intolerance, and most recently a severe nut allergy that gave us quite a scare, as well as diabetes!!!! Actually the nut allergy was one we were aware of but it was hidden in with another ingredient and caused a life threatening experience.  We have to read labels much better than we have ever before and she will have to stay away from bakeries in general from now on. Preparing meals for all twenty three, with the newest addition is going to be more and more of a challenge! As I had these mega cooking and days I had to alter some of the ingredients and my taste buds were put to the test.

 

 Using:

10 lbs of potatoes

1 med bag of carrots

4 stalks of celery

5 onions, diced

1 medium bag of frozen mixed vegetables

6 14.5 cans of beef broth

4 14.5 cans of chicken broth

3 4 oz. mushrooms

6 4 oz. cans tomato sauce (what I keep in my storage)

1 6 oz. can tomato paste

2 10 3/4 cans tomato soup

4 10 3/4 cans cream of chicken soup

1 quart tomatoes, home canned

1 pint tomatoes, home canned

3 sleeves of Ritz crackers

4 c. sour cream

1 lb. butter

 

After two days of cooking (I kind of went crazy)  I ended up with 20 meals, 7 mini meals and 

3 1/2 dozen cinnamon rolls. Part of the meals were non dairy. My Mother-in-law took home 9 mini meals this morning when she left our home.

 

After loading my freezer I realized I was able to share with some others in my neighborhood and took some of the warm cinnamon rolls to five families and three meals as well.  It was great fun!  Now to finish putting away Christmas decorations.  I would rather be cooking!!!!!!

Pasta Shells

This is one of the cookbooks I have collected over the years.  I chose this recipe because I literally had all of the ingredients in my pantry/fridge.  I only had the medium shells so it took longer to stuff them than it would have with the larger shells.  I also put the meat in with the cheese mixture and pulled some of my own homemade marinara sauce (recipe on the bottom of the blog as Lauri's Italian Sauce) out of the freezer.  What I realized is that the reason I chose this recipe on the fly is because I always have these ingredients in stock and it tasted much like my own. I would also use Sweet Italian Sausage rather than the ground beef in the future.  This is so close to the way I make my own Manicotti, not very risky but good flavors and seemed comfortable.

(From the Cookbook-Church Suppers)
 Stuffed Shells

25 jumbo shell
2 c. ricotta cheese
8 oz. mozzarella cheese
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 t. salt
1/8 t black pepper
1 t dried parsley
1/2 t dried oregano
1/2 . ground beef
1 28 oz. jar spaghetti sauce.

Cook shells according to the package directions; drain.  In a large bowl, combine the cheeses, eggs, salt, pepper, parsley, and oregano.  Preheat the oven to 350. Fill each shell with 2 T of the mixture.  In a large skillet, brown the beef and mix with the spaghetti sauce.  Spread a thin layer of sauce in 3 qt. rectangular baking dish.  Place the shells 1 deep in the dish and cover with sauce.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  Bake for 35 minutes.  Make 6 servings. 

Chicken Pot Pie (update)

(for this post/batch I only did a half of a recipe and still had enough for 2 ramekins for a dinner, a freezer meal for the "Gourmet Guy" and I and a small freezer meal for my Mother-in-law.  I also had two previously grilled chicken breasts in the freezer that I used on the fly for this instead of cooking a whole chicken like I typically do.

Chicken Pot Pie

 

Boil a chicken roaster or use rotisserie chicken left overs or any leftovers you many have such as turkey.
 

Make Gravy:                                                       Half recipe gravy:

2/3 c. margarine or butter                                  ½ c. butter                    
2/3 c. flour                                                         ½ c. flour                                  
1 t. salt                                                               ½ t. salt                                   
½ t. pepper                                                          ¼ t. pepper
3½ c. broth                                                         1¾ c. broth
1 1/3 c. milk                                                        ¾ c. milk

Melt butter over low heat, blend in flour, salt, and pepper.  Cook over low heat, stirring until mixture is smooth and bubbly, remove from heat.  Stir in broth and milk.  Heat to boiling, stirring constantly.  Boil and stir one minute.  Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients.  (reserve about 1/3 of gravy for top when serving.)

Stir in

2-4 boiled potatoes, cut up
cooked meat                               
1 4 oz. can mushrooms
1 16 oz. bag of frozen vegetables

Pie Crust

1/3 c. plus 1 T. shortening                                         
1 c. flour                                                                       
1/2 t. salt
 2-3 T .cold water

(Double for two crust)

Pie crusts did not come easy to me until my mother-in-law showed me how to make them.  The method of rolling them out in wax paper was the best advice I have ever had.  A double pie crust recipe was perfect to top all of these.  For the full recipe it would take two double pie crust recipes to top all of the mixture.  These freeze really well for up to about six months.  Because they freeze like a brick they should be taken out the night before and placed in the fridge to thaw.  They may still be partly frozen and need to be out on the counter for an hour before baking.  I have put them in completely frozen and it took at least two hours to cook through and some even longer.  Bake them at 425 until the mixture bubbles through the slits on the top of the pie and the crust is golden brown. the fruits  of one evening, four meals and I did extra potatoes and mashed them for a couple of other projects that will be in the next few days,  Maybe it is has been awhile but they were the best tasting mashed potatoes that I have make in quite awhile, I guess good practice for the upcoming holiday! 

 

 And the chicken filling inside of the flaky crust was just the meal I was looking for that night. Pure comfort food.



 

The efforts of the night and multitasking in a nice way!

Enchiladas Con Pollo (revisited)

  Echiladas Con Pollos


 2 whole chicken breasts
water
½ small onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
8 peppercorns
salt ½ medium onion, chopped
3 T. Parmesan cheese
1 c. Monterey Jack Cheese

Cream Sauce
1 4 oz. can diced green chile's
1 13 oz. can tomatillos, drained or 1¾ can tomatoes, drained
1/4 c. cilantro
3/4 c. whipping cream
1 egg
salt
canola oil, for frying tortillas
8 corn tortillas
grated Cheddar or Monterey jack cheese
guacamole 3-4 radishes, sliced
2 c. shredded lettuce
12 ripe olives
Place chicken breasts in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add water to cover, onion, bay leaf, peppercorns and salt to taste. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 45 minutes or until tender. Cool chicken in broth. Drain. Shred chicken, mix with Parmesan cheese and 1 c. Monterey Jack cheese. Add salt if needed. Set aside. In blender or food processor, combine green chiles, tomatillos or tomatoes, cilantro, whipping cream, and egg. Preheat oven to 350. Heat oil in a skillet. With tongs place tortilla in oil 1 at a time, hold 3-5 seconds. Drain over skillet or on paper towels. Place 1/8 of the chicken mixture on each tortilla. Roll tightly and place seam side down in a 10x13 pan. Cover with cream mixture and sprinkle evenly with the Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese. Bake 20 mins., or until heated through and bubbly. Serve with sour cream, guacamole, garnish with radishes and lettuce

Best Lasagna Ever!

Our daughter in Kansas City just had a little baby girl. I am here to help her out for a few days and to play with the her sweet little girls. I have been doing some cooking for her while she recovers and making doubles so that after I leave she can pull something out for dinner on her hectic days (with a 20 month old and a newborn there maybe a few!)

I made a marinara sauce several days in advance for several meals that I would be serving. I think sitting and marinating helped the sauce "mature!" At home I would use the tomatoes that I had canned for myself and I don't add sugar so the taste was a little different. But I made my usual recipe, below, only a smaller batch.

Lauri’s Italian Sauce
3 bottles whole tomatoes (4cans approx. 1 lb size)
2 8 oz. cans tomato sauce
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
3 8 oz. cans mushrooms

3 T. dried Oregano
3 T. dried Marjoram
3 T. dried Basil
1 ½ T. dried Thyme

1/2-3/4 c. chopped dried onion or two chopped fresh onions
2 T. minced dried garlic or 5 cloves fresh garlic minced (if using fresh onion and garlic saute them in olive oil until transparent and then add the remaining ingredients)
Combine all of the above ingredients and bring to a boil, simmer on low heat until thickened. (I usually simmer it for several hours)

Meat Sauce
4 lbs, lean ground beef
2 chopped onions
2-3 cloves garlic, minced

Brown the meat and add the onion and garlic and cook until tender. Add to the marinara sauce and simmer.

For Lasagna:
Place marinara sauce in the bottom of a 9x13pan. Place lasagna noodles (uncooked) on top and then layer with Cottage cheese, Cheddar cheese, Mozzarella cheese, and Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers again. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for one hour. If freezing cover with foil and freeze, thaw and bake, saves up to six months in the freezer.

The one thing that made this lasagna so good was the local Italian Sausage that I used along with the ground beef I just wish I could take a case of this home with me. Because the marinara sauce was being used in several things I didn't put as much sauce as I typically do and there was a lot of the meat mixture it all blended together so well.

Seriously one of the best Lasagnas I have ever made!

Vegetable-Stuffed Shells

I have a file folder of "recipes to try" many have been ripped from magazines or newspapers and this is one of those recipes, unfortunately I don't know which magazine it comes from.

Choose your favorite Marinara sauce, I make my own it is the Italian Sauce on the left hand side of the blog.
While cutting the vegetables up boil the pasta shells, according to directions on the package.
When finished drain and place on baking sheet to cool.

Saute the broccoli, onion, carrots, and garlic. Add the water and the spinach and cover cook until tender and the moisture is gone.

When the vegetables are tender add the Ricotta and Parmesan Cheeses, the fresh basil, salt and pepper.

Combine ingredients well.

In a 9x13 pan place the Marinara Sauce in the bottom.
Spoon the vegetable mixture into the shells and place into the Marinara Sauce.

Sprinkle the Mozzarella Cheese across the top, cover tightly with foil and bake at 400 for 35 minutes.

Until bubbly.

Enjoy! Serve with a nice green salad.

12 oz. jumbo pasta shells, cooked
2 T. olive oil
2 1/2 c. chopped broccoli
1 c. shredded carrots
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 10 oz. box frozen leaf spinach, thawed and cut
1/4 c. chopped fresh basil
1 c. ricotta cheese (cottage cheese can be used)
2 T. Parmesan cheese
1/4 t. salt and pepper
1 1/4 c. marinara sauce
1/2 c. mozzarella cheese

Heat oven to 400. Bring a large pot of salted water, cook pasta according to directions. Drain and cool on baking sheet. (This can be done ahead of time)

Heat oil in large skillet, saute broccoli, carrots, onion and garlic until tender. Add spinach and 1/2 c. water; cover and cook 2 minutes or until vegetables are fork tender. Remove lid and cook out remaining liquid. Stir in basil, ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Spread marinara sauce (Iuse my own recipe on the lefthand column of this blog) on the bottom of 9x13 pan. Spoon vegetable mixture into the shells arrange in baking dish, sprinkle with the mozarella cheese and cover tightly with foil and bake 35 minutes until hot and bubbly. Serves 6.

(This would be good with a little Italian Sausage as well. But is a really good "meatless" dish)

Zucchini....

While I was gone and my garden froze some of the extremely large zucchini survived up under the plant. One of my first projects was to clean seed and grate the zucchini. Most of it I froze in two cup measurements to make zucchini bread (recipe already posted) for my neighbors for Christmas this year.

I also made zucchini brownies, one of my son-in-laws favorite recipes.

Dave's Zucchini Brownies

2 c. flour

1 c. oil

3 eggs

2 1/2 c. flour

1 t. salt

1 t. soda

1/4 t. baking powder

1/2 c. milk

3 t. vanilla

2 c. grated zucchini, folded into the batter

1/4-1/2 c. cocoa

Pour in a greased and floured jelly roll pan. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Dave's traditional frosting

1 cube butter

6 T. milk

4 T. baking cocoa

1/2 c. nuts

Bring to boil, take off heat. Pour in powdered sugar until spreading consistency.

This time I used a cream cheese frosting because I wanted the white color to make spider webs on top of the brownies.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 c. butter, softened

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

2-3 c. powdered sugar

1 t. vanilla

Mix together ingredients and spread on cake or cupcakes.

I took my neighbors a section of the spiders web with the following poem. (I started this in my neighborhood years ago and since none of them know I even have this blog I am safe to pass it along.)

It's time for treats!
It's time for fun!
And you'll have both
Before a day is done.

These treats you see
Are yours to enjoy.
The fun comes in
When your wits you employ.

Think of a neighbor
You want to treat.
Make a surprise.
(It doesn't have to be sweet.)

Secretly give it,
Include this poem.
Smile to yourself,
And quickly go home.

The sooner you do,
The sooner the fun.
Lots will have treats.
Even more will have fun.

So do it now‑-
Halloween's near.
Find someone quick
And spread trick-or-treat cheer.

(I did not write the poem but introduced in in my neighborhood on a cute little ghost)

Pork Pot Pie/ Yummy left overs

Our Sunday Pork Roast dinner left us with plenty of meat to make several different meals. I made extra gravy to use in the pie but got carried away making the mashed potatoes and forgot to leave some for the pie. So I peeled 3 large potatoes and cubed them in 1/2 inch cube sizes and cooked them.

While the potatoes cooked I diced a medium onion and minced a clove of garlic and sauteed them in butter until they turned translucent.
Once the potatoes are fork tender drain and mix with the onion and garlic.

I took half of the left over pork roast and cut into bite sized pieces, added 3/4 of a 16 oz. bag of frozen mixed vegetables and a 4 oz. can of mushrooms (drained) and 1 t. salt.

With some of the left over gravy I blended the vegetables and meat together

and turned into a prepared pie crust (use can use frozen ones too!)

topped it with another crust and cut air vents into it.

In a preheated 475 degree oven bake until golden brown about 20-25 minutes

Serve hot!

There was still enough meat to make Pork Enchiladas Verde (already published) and another undetermined meal. This roast was so good and great for the budget.

Sloppy Joes

Sloppy Joes are such an easy meal to throw together but I don't like many of the traditional recipes so I played around until I came up with my own. Great for a quick meal especially on a cool night.

Sloppy Joes

1 lb. lean ground beef
½ medium onion, chopped finely
1 clove garlic. minced
2 T. brown sugar
1 t. ground mustard
½ - 1 c. ketchup
2 t. Worcestershire sauce

Brown ground beef and onion. Add mustard, brown sugar, and ½ c. ketchup. If the meat is not the right consistency add the remaining ketchup a little at a time.

Chicken Zucchini Soup

Chicken Zucchini Soup

5 chicken tenders or 2 chicken breasts
3 T. butter
1 large onion, chopped
4-5 zucchini sliced
2 cans chicken broth

1 c. whipping cream
1/3 c. flour

Fry chicken with small amount of oil. Brown and cook chicken, take chicken out of the pan and set aside. Add butter and chopped onion to pan. Cook until tender. Move zucchini and onions to sauce pan, add the can of chicken broth. Dice chicken and add to pan. In bowl mix flour and whipping cream add to sauce pan, heat on high until bubbling. Lower heat; simmer until soup thickens.

(I had chicken already cooked and frozen so I gave it a quick thaw and then started with the onion. Having Zucchini growing in the garden made it easy to put this together quickly and it's great for a cool Fall evening.)

Chicken a l'Orange

I watched the Next Food Network Star this past season and was very excited when "the Homemaker" won it. I was quite bothered by the housewife comments throughout the series like some of the best cooks come anywhere but out of the home. Watching her new show I thought this recipe sounded good and very easy. I had boneless, skinless chicken breasts in my freezer which made it a little different to begin with but I liked the recipe. I even made the potatoes that she made, I like them but would serve them with a different type of meal.

Crispy-Skinned Chicken a l'Orange
Recipe courtesy Melissa d'Arabian
Serves:
4 servings

Ingredients
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 skin-on bone-in chicken breast halves
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup frozen orange juice concentrate
4 tablespoons honey
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Liberally salt and pepper the chicken breast halves. Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat and sear the chicken, skin side only, until brown and beginning to crisp, about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the orange glaze: In a small saucepan, heat the orange juice concentrate, honey, and salt and pepper, to taste, over medium heat, and boil for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Turn the chicken over and brush each piece with the glaze. Turn the chicken skin side up and transfer the pan to the oven. Bake until the internal temperature reaches 160 to 170 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, brushing on more glaze halfway through, about 15 minutes in total. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes on a cutting board. Remove the chicken breast from the bone and slice the meat on the bias. Transfer the chicken to a serving platter and serve.

This is how mine looked.

The chicken breasts were pretty big and so we only used half for this meal and we decided that they would be really good cut up and served over rice. Since I keep left over rice frozen to be used for quick and easy meals this was extra easy. We were right it was really good fixed this way and this is the way I will do it in the future. Two great meals from one. There was even enough left to make a frozen meal for my Mother-in-law.

Beans-Storage

Growing up I hated containers like this! This is the third picking from our little backyard garden, I no longer hate this sight.

I remember my Mother canning for hours an hours. When I started my family one of the things I had her teach me was how to can green beans. I love the taste and texture of home canned green beans, they also make me a little nostalgic for Mom and Dad. I also like the satisfaction of knowing that we planted, grew, and canned them ourselves. I like looking at them on my shelves. Someday I hope my girls like to see containers like these in the future!

For the second picking I blanched, quick froze and froze the beans in serving size packages.
Fall is my favorite time of year with the harvest and leaves changing colors. I think that comes from my Dad. He always had a huge garden and spent hours taking care of it. Many years later I understand and appreciate that so much.

55 pints
8 large freezer bags

What to do with Wheat

When I was the host at Macey's Little Theatre we had a class on Wheat and using storage. This was such a good chili that I wanted to share it with my daughter who was going to some Food Storage classes in her neighborhood. When I tried to find it I couldn't, while going through some papers this morning it simply appeared so I decided that I needed to make a permanent copy! This is really good if you are looking for ways to use your wheat or get your family used to eating wheat. I am sorry that I can't remember the teachers name to give her credit.

Wheat Chili

2 c. whole wheat
2 lbs ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
½ green pepper, chopped
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. chili powder
1 clove garlic, minced
1 t. oregano
1 large can stewed tomatoes
2 c. tomato sauce
1 small can olives, chopped
2 c. grated cheese, divided

Cover wheat with water, bring to a boil, simmer 1-2 hours. Brown ground beef, onion, green pepper, and garlic. Drain water off and mix with the meat mixture. Simmer 30 mins. Add 1 ½ c. cheese and stir in. Before serving Top with remaining cheese. (Serves 16)

Macaroni And Cheese/Comfort Food

When I was a little girl my mom and I would come to Utah to visit extended family. We would often go to Walgreen's across from Temple Square and have lunch. They had the best Macaroni and Cheese I had ever tasted. I have craved this comfort food recently and have tried to find recipe that might come close, this one was similar.

Macaroni and Cheese

4 T. butter
1/2 c. flour
3 c. milk
4 c. elbow macaroni, cooked
4 c. Cheddar Cheese
1 . Parmesan Cheese
2 c. breadcrumbs
1. 4 c. butter



Melt butter in a saucepan and add flour to thicken (a roux). Gradually add the milk to the roux and thicken to a Bechamel sauce, slowly add the cheese to melt. Add the cooked and drained macaroni to the sauce and mix well pour into a 9 x 13 pan. Melt the remaining butter and mix with the breadcrumbs and cover the the top of the macaroni. Bake at 350 for 30 mins. or until bubbly.



This can be made or a "Rainy Day." Simply freeze and the reheat at 375 for 50-55 minutes until heated through.

Herbed Chicken

In an effort to use some of my fresh herbs I decided to experiment with them a little. I felt this one turned out pretty well.

I took the chicken out the night before to thaw and then made the marinade in the morning and placed in the fridge, turning it throughout the day.
Herb Chicken Marinade

1/2 c. honey

1 lime, juiced

1 t. salt

2 t. fresh Rosemary, chopped

1 t. fresh Thyme

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 t. ground pepper

2 T. olive oil

Place all of the ingredients in a zippered bag and add 4 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts (pounded to the same thickness). Place in the fridge and turn the bag several times. The chicken should be used with 4-6 hours. Fresh chicken could also be placed in the marinade and frozen, when thawed it will be ready to cook immediately.

Beef and Cheese Enchildas (with left over Beef)

After making a pot roast for dinner one Sunday I had quite a bit of really tender meat left over. I decided that I wanted to use the meat in a different way. My idea was to make Beef Enchilada's. I didn't want to use canned Enchilada Sauce and I remembered that my daughter had a recipe from a friend that she really liked so I decided to give it a try. I also made cheese enchilada's with the sauce. The end product was very successful.

Half cheese and half beef.
Freezer meals for my mother-in-law!
The end product!

Left over pot roast, chopped in food processor

2 4 oz. can diced green Chile's

12-14 corn tortillas (I love to buy them at the Tenochtitlan Market in Orem where they are made fresh daily!)

Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded

Cheddar Cheese, shredded

1/2-1 c. onion, chopped

Red Enchilada Sauce

¼ cup butter
¼ cup flour
1 46 oz. can tomato juice
1 can El pato 7-¾ oz Mexican style hot sauce (yellow can)
1 tsp. Mexican oregano
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. vinegar

Combine butter and flour in a large pot over medium heat. Stir to make a
paste. Remove from stove and while stirring add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Once boiling simmer on low until sauce thickens.

Place a small amount of the sauce in the bottom of the pan take the meat or cheese mixture place in the corn tortilla and roll, place seam side down. Fill the pan, cover and add more cheese on top. Cover with foil and place in a 350 oven for 25 mins. Take the foil off of the pan and cook for 5 more mins. until cheese is browned. Serve with refried beans, sour cream, and guacamole.

(these are very mild and could use some extra spice if desired)