Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps

Caleb and I LOVED these. Enough said.

This recipe came from Mel's Kitchen Cafe. It will definitely be on our regular rotation.

*Makes 6 wraps*

1 cup cooked rice, warm or at room temperature
1 cup cooked, shredded chicken
1 can black beans, rinsed and drianed
1 green onion, finely sliced (white and green parts)
1/2 red or green pepper, diced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
juice of 1 lime
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
2 cups shredded cheese (I used a combination of monterey jack and sharp cheddar)
Sour cream (optional)

6 burrito-sized flour tortillas

Mix rice together with chili powder, cumin and garlic salt. Add remaining ingredients except for cheese and sour cream. Sprinkle cheese over tortillas, leaving 1/2-inch border around edges, then arrange chicken and rice mixture down the center of each tortilla. (Optional: on some of the wraps, I dotted the cheese with about 1-2 tablespoons of reduced fat sour cream before arranging chicken and rice mixture down the center - it made the wraps delightfully creamy.) Roll stuffed tortillas, leaving edges open. Spray the tortillas all over with cooking spray.

Heat a large non-stick skillet (or griddle) over medium heat for 1 minute. Arrange 2 wraps, seam-side down, in pan and cook until golden brown and crisp, about 2-3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and repeat with remaining wraps. Serve.

White Chicken Chili

This recipe comes from my cousin-in-law, Cydney. As a bonus, it is gluten- free. I made one adjustment to the recipe since we were making it for friends and one of them doesn't eat beans. So below is the recipe just as Cydney shared it with me. Below that I will add my very teeny adjustment.

white chicken chili
3 cups cooked and diced chicken breast
1/2 cup onion finely chopped
2 cans great northern beans, rinsed and drained (i've also used black, which was DE-licious, but kinda takes away from the "white chili" name. i guess you could call it "black and white chili", but that doesn't sound as appetizing)
2 cans chicken broth
1 can (7 oz) chopped green chilis **(I used two 4 oz cans because I couldn't find 7 oz cans)
1 cup frozen corn *optional
2 tbsp corn starch
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic salt or regular salt
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup half & half
shredded cheese for topping

cook the chicken, set it aside and let it cool, then cube it. in the same pan, cook the onion until tender, then add 1 can of broth mixed with the corn starch to make a "gravy". in the crockpot goes the chicken, gravy, other can of broth, beans, chili, and seasonings. cook this on low for 3-5 hours. just before serving add the corn, sour cream, and half&half and make sure it's heated through before serving. yum! top with shredded cheese and tortilla chips, if you so desire.

** As a substitute for the beans, I cooked white rice according to package directions (it was 1 3/4 C. water, salt, butter, and 1 cup rice, supposed to = approx. 3 C. cooked rice) and added it to the crock pot when I added the sour cream and half & half. It turned out really well. I may play around with some beans and some rice in future variations, but suffice it t say, we did not miss the beans! This was super yummy, super easy chili. I anticipate it will be a staple at our house, just like Cyd says it is at hers.

Creamy Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas

I made this for company this past Sunday, and we were all quite delighted with it. I can't wait to make them again. I put the whole casserole together before church, covered it in foil, and stuck it in the fridge. After church, I turned on the oven, set the casserole on top to warm up a bit, and then baked it according to the recipe. Turned out great! I left off the cilantro, because it's not one of our favorite flavors, and we didn't miss it at all. And I used black beans because they are our favorite.

*Serves 4-6

Filling:
3 cups cooked, chopped chicken
2 (4 oz.) cans of green chiles, lightly drained
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, cubed, softened
1 can white or black beans, rinsed and drained (you can really use any type of bean you prefer here)

Sauce:
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped onion (about 1/2 medium onion)
2 tablespoons flour
1/3 cup chicken broth
¼ cup milk
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 can (7 ounce) green chile enchilada sauce
½ cup sour cream

8 ounces (about 2 cups) Monterey jack cheese, shredded
8 medium (soft taco size) flour tortillas
Handful of chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine the softened cream cheese and green chiles. Mix well. Add the chicken and black beans. Mix to combine. Set aside.

In a large nonstick skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens and starts to turn translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir well. Cook for 1 minute, stirring. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth and milk. As you whisk and the mixture cooks, the flour will get less lumpy around the onions and the mixture will become smooth. Cook over medium heat until the mixture is bubbling and has thickened, about 4-5 minutes. Add salt and pepper. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the enchilada sauce and sour cream.

Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking dish. Spread about 1/4 cup of the sauce on the bottom of the dish. Fill each tortilla with about ½ cup of the chicken/cream cheese filling. Top with a small handful of shredded cheese, a couple tablespoonfuls for each enchilada. Save at least 1/2 cup cheese for the top of the enchiladas. Roll the tortillas up and place seam side down in the prepared baking dish. Continue filling enchiladas until the dish is full (I can easily fit 8 enchiladas in one pan).

Pour the white sauce over the top of the enchiladas. Top with remaining cheese. Bake for 20-30 minutes until the enchiladas are bubbling, hot and lightly browned. Sprinkle fresh cilantro over the top and serve.

Recipe Source: My Kitchen Cafe (melskitchencafe.com)

Taco Salad Dippers

This recipe is FANTASTIC, and easy, and it makes A LOT of food-- so it's great if you have to feed a crowd. Or you can freeze the leftovers. I got this recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe by way of my great friend, Chrissie!

*Serves 6-8

2 pounds lean ground beef or turkey
1 medium onion, chopped
6 cups water
1 cup rice (white or brown)
1 teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 (8 oz.) cans tomato sauce
2 (6 oz.) cans tomato paste
1 (15 oz.) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained

In a large pot, brown the ground beef or turkey with the onion and garlic and cook until the meat is no longer pink and the onions are translucent. Drain any accumulated grease. Add the water, rice, seasonings, tomato sauce, tomato paste and beans. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmeruncovered for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, watching to make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot (if you are using brown rice, it may need to simmer for up to 60-70 minutes). The mixture will seem very watery at first, but after simmering, it will thicken to perfection as the rice absorbs water and all the ingredients meld together.

Serve warm with tortilla chips for dipping and other taco garnishes.

Green Chili- Chicken Casserole

Today's recipe is not what we had for dinner (we had spaghetti at Great Grandma's), but this is a super- duper- uper- shmuper favorite of our family. Well, at least of Caleb and I. Phin doesn't like it, but, then, he doesn't like anything. I used to make this ALL THE TIME when we lived in CA and before kids. And it's still a go- to, especially when I want to make something I know Caleb likes.

This recipe is from Cooking Light. It's ages old.

1 1/3 C. chicken broth

1 C. chopped green chiles, drained

1 C. chopped onion (I usually just chop a medium onion and don't worry about measuring it)

1 C. sour cream (being a cooking light recipe, it calls for fat free, but I have no use for most anything fat free in cooking/ baking)

3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. black pepper

2 (10 1/2 oz) cans condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted

1 garlic clove, minced

24 (6- in.) corn tortillas

4 C. shredded cooked chicken breast (about 1 lb)

2 C. (8 oz) shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350º.

Combine the first 9 ingredients (through the garlic) in a large saucepan, stirring with a whisk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

Spread 1 C. of the soup mixture in a 13 x 9 in. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 6 tortillas over the soup mixture and top with 1 C. chicken and 1/2 C. cheese. Repeat layers, ending with cheese. Spread remaining soup mixture over the top. Bake at 350º for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

***Notes: I often use a store bought rotisserie chicken that I clean and shred. If also like more chicken than not in the casserole. Sometimes, if I'm short on chicken or just for fun, I add some drained and rinsed black beans with the chicken when I'm layering. Also, I never measure as I'm layering. I just eyeball it until I run out of stuff.

Slow-cooker Carne Guisada

This was delicious! The boys ate it, too, and it wasn't very spicy. I made homemade flour tortillas and served it with cheese and sour cream. Think I'll eat the leftovers over rice, though.

2 1/2 pounds beef chuck roast or bottom round, cut into 1-inch pieces

salt and pepper, to taste

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 medium white onion, diced medium

1 medium green bell pepper, seeded and diced medium

1 large jalapeno, seeded and diced small

5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin

3/4 tsp. chili powder

3/4 tsp. dried oregano

6 Tbsp. all- purpose flour

1 3/4 C. low- sodium chicken broth

1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes

2 bay leaves

1. Season beef with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat 2 tsp. oil over high. In two batches, cook beef until browned on all sides. Transfer to a 5-6 quart slow cooker.

2. In same skillet, cook 2 tsp oil, onion, bell pepper, jalapeno, and garlic over medium, stirring and scraping up browned bits with a wooden spoon, until vegetables are tender, 5 minutes. Add cumin, chili powder, oregano, and flour and cook 1 minute. Slowly pour broth into skillet, stirring until liquid is smooth. Simmer 2 minutes, then transfer mixture to slow cooker, along with tomatoes and bay leaves. Season to taste with salt and pepper and stir to combine. Cover and cook on high6 hours.

Recipe from Everyday Food, Nov. 2010