Chicken and Spinach Enchiladas

I love Mexican food. When looking online, I stumbled upon a similar recipe for spinach enchiladas but it was a bit too spicy and exotic for my kids. I tamed it down a bit and came up with this alternative. I was able to sneak in a variety of different vegetables into it as well. I am sure if you wanted to omit the chicken that this would be an excellent vegetarian dish. So, enjoy my Chicken and Spinach Enchiladas!

Chicken and Spinach Enchiladas

2 -3 chicken breast, cooked (with salt and pepper to taste)
1 package frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1 small can chopped green chilies
1/3 C. mushrooms
1/4 C. onions, chopped
1/4 C. green peppers, chopped
1 pinch of garlic
1 T. vegetable oil
1 T. butter
2 Tb. lime juice
1/3 C. heavy cream
1/4 C. chicken stock
1 C. shredded cheddar
6 tortillas, warmed

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a pan, melt butter and heat oil, sauté mushrooms, green peppers, garlic and onions until softened, about five minutes. In another bowl, add cream, chicken stock and lime juice. Take half of the sauce and mix with vegetables. Add cooked chicken, spinach, chilies, and cheese into pan until warmed. Roll mixture into tortillas, place seam-side down in a greased baking dish. Then top with the remaining cream sauce and a little extra cheese. Cover with foil and bake for about 15 minutes. Top with tomatoes.

Banana Chocolate Chip Bars

Yum... I love the combination of bananas with chocolate. I do get bored of regular chocolate chip cookies, so I drummed up a mixture incorporating bananas into the recipe. It is a very subtle banana taste in the flavor of these cookies. So, enjoy my recipe for Banana Chocolate Chip Bars... Next time you want to make chocolate chip cookies, consider using bananas in your recipe.

Banana Chocolate Chip Bars

3/4 C. butter, room temp.
2/3 C. brown sugar
2/3 C. sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2 ripe bananas
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 C. flour
1 pkg. of chocolate chips

First, cream the butter with the brown sugar and granulated sugar. Add egg, vanilla and bananas. Mix well. Next, add baking powder, salt and flour, mix together until you get a creamy consistency. Then pour in bag of chocolate chips. Pour batter into buttered jelly roll pan, and bake at 350 for 20 - 25 minutes.

Baked Ziti with Chicken

Surprise... another pasta dish. Well, why not. Pasta is my family's go to meal. It is liked by all five of us, very filling and usually pretty inexpensive to make. I saw a recipe for a creamy chicken and pasta casserole. My mouth began to salivate. Is there anything more comforting and satisfying than a rich, thick creamy sauce blanketing a dish of warm pasta? So, I am a fan of cream sauces with pastas, but I know too well how unhealthy heavy cream sauces can be. I tried to think of an alternative - mix half of the original amount of the cream sauce with a tomato-based marinara sauce. Here is what I came up for my Baked Ziti with Chicken pasta.

Baked Ziti

1 box of ziti pasta
10 oz. alfredo sauce
15 oz. marinara sauce (I used the kind with basil already in it)
1/2 tsp. garlic
1 small yellow onion
1/2 C. mozzarella cheese
1/2 C. parmesan cheese
2-3 chicken breast
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat over to 375 degrees. Place chicken on baking sheet, sprinkling with Italian seasoning and salt or pepper to your liking. Bake chicken breast for about 30 minutes or until not pink. Next, boil water and cook pasta to the ingredients on package. Then, saute onions and garlic for about five minutes. When pasta is fully cooked, mix pasta with cooked chicken, onions, garlic, alfredo sauce, marinara sauce and both cheeses. Then place in oven for about 10 - 15 minutes until it becomes bubbly and beautiful.

Homemade Strawberry Shortcake

When my four year old daughter was watching an episode of the newly remade Strawberry Shortcake cartoon (much different than the version I remember from my childhood), she asked me if I had ever made a strawberry shortcake. I had to admit that I had not, so off we went to look up the recipe. Being that it was summer, I was fortunate to have fresh strawberries at home, along with all of the other necessary ingredients. In about 45 minutes, my daughter and I had answered her question - yes, I have now made homemade strawberry shortcake, and it was delicious. I combined some of the recipes I found to work for what ingredients I had in my kitchen, and it turned out to be a dessert my kids could not get enough of! To top it off, I even made my own whipped cream.



Strawberry Shortcake

1 package strawberries (about 5 or 6 cups)
1/4 C. sugar

Cake:
2 C. flour
1/3 C. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 C. cold butter
1 egg
3/4 C. buttermilk

In a small bowl, mix the strawberries and sugar. Set aside.

Next, mix flour, sugar and baking powder together in a mixing bowl. Then cut in cold butter until it looks like a crumb consistency. Then add egg and buttermilk, being gentle and try not to over mix. Spread batter into a buttered round 8 inch pan and bake at 450 degrees for about 15 minutes. After it cools, remove cake from pan and cut in half. Stuff the cake with strawberries and whipped cream. Then top it off with a touch of powdered sugar. Voila!

Strawberry Buttermilk Pancakes

Summer has begun in my household. The kids are home, we are sleeping in a little more (maybe pushing it to 7:15 a.m.), which means I am able to actually put a tasty, homemade breakfast on the table that does not come out of a box or from some kind of frozen Eggo container. While strawberries are in season and cheaper to purchase, I stock up. I try to think of recipes that I could incorporate strawberries into. I am not sure that most people are aware how easy it is to make homemade pancakes, comparing it to a store bought powder, add water kind of a mix. It is super easy and fast, and so much better tasting - honest! A plate of strawberry buttermilk pancakes, a cup of hot coffee and kids happily eating their meal makes this mommy one happy camper!


Strawberry Buttermilk Pancakes

1 C. all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tb. baking powder
1 egg
1 C. buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 Tb. vegetable oil
3/4 C - 1 C. diced strawberries

Mix flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl. Add egg, vanilla, milk and oil to mixture, stirring to combine. Do not over stir. Carefully fold in strawberries. Heat pan with non-stick spray and pour batter onto pan. Cook for approx. 4 minutes on each side until golden brown. Top with syrup or butter and enjoy!

Crockpot Meatball Subs

With this hero sandwich, I am the real hero. My kids love spaghetti. In fact, I believe they would eat it for dinner every night if I would allow it. For a change of pace mostly for the sake of my husband and I, I will use similar spaghetti ingredients in a different way. This recipe allows the meal to be ready when I am ready for it. In fact, I think the first time I ever used my broiler and broiler pan was for this recipe. I never knew who used the mysterious "broil" button on their stove until I figured out what a great function it is.

1 lb. ground beef
1 egg
1/3 C. bread crumbs
1/2 tsp. garlic
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/4 C. milk
1/4 C. beef stock
Jar of spaghetti sauce
Provolone cheese slice
Loaf of french bread, or a bread you like for sandwiches

In a bowl, beat egg, then add beef, bread crumbs, milk and seasoning. Form into small bite sized balls and place into crock pot. Cover the balls with beef stock and let cook on low for 4 - 6 hours. When the meat is fully cooked, cut bread, insert meat balls, cover with your preferred amount of sauce and cheese. Turn on broiler on low, then pop in for about 3 - 5 minutes, keeping an eye on them while broiling.

Spinach Pie

Pie... Pie... Did someone say pie? I have learned that my kids will eat anything if it sounds like a dessert. To be honest, I love spinach, whether it is fresh in a spinach salad, or baked in some kid of casserole or dish like this one. My recipe for spinach pie came from my mother-in-law. It is extremely easy to make, and it is a great side dish for a meat. We often have this next to my state's famous Iowa pork chops. Spinach pie is a great, easy dish to have if your are looking for something warm and comfortable when it is cold out side, or it is perfect on a warm night when grilling too. This has become one of my favorite meals to make when I am bringing a "congratulations, you just had a baby" or "welcome to the neighborhood" dish. It is great reheated too!

Spinach Pie

3 eggs (beaten)
3 Tb. flour
1 C. shredded cheddar cheese
16 oz. cottage cheese
1/2 tsp. garlic
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 pkg. frozen chopped spinach (make sure to drain all excess water really well)
1 frozen deep dish pie shell

Combine all ingredients in bowl and mix well. Place in frozen pie shell and bake at 375 degrees until golden brown.