Chicken Enchilada Casserole

So last night I made Chicken Enchilada Casserole and posted this picture on Facebook. My friend Melodie asked if I would post the recipe. I thought it might be easier to post it on here so it can be found easily.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
2 cans diced green chilies
2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup
1 onion
Pickled Jalapeno Peppers
4 cups Shredded Colby Monterey Jack Cheese
18 corn tortillas
Sour cream to top if desired

Boil chicken and shred, reserve some broth (always save all my broth and pour them into mini loaf pans and freeze them in one cup increments, that way I have broth for other recipes when I need it). Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Dice and saute onions. The amount of Jalapeno Peppers depends on taste, I put mine in a food processor and blend a little to chop them up more. Combine the shredded chicken, soup, chilies, onion, about a cup of broth and jalapeno peppers and mix thoroughly.

Spread about 3/4 cup of the mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Layer tortilla's, mixture, cheese and repeat until all ingredients are gone, making sure top layer is shredded cheese. Cover with foil and bake approximately 30-40 minutes. Remove foil and broil until cheese is slightly brown.

I served mine with some refried beans and would have had some salad with it but I forgot to pick up salad mix at the grocery store. I would make rice but I don't know how to make it and most of the boxed rices taste kinda crappy to me.

On a side note...I use to make this frequently when we would spend quite a bit of the summer at the lake with my aunt and uncle and cousins. We would take turns with making supper and for one of my nights we always had the Chicken Enchilada Casserole. To save time and be able to enjoy the day on the lake I would cook 2 of these ahead of time and freeze them in the pan. Once they were frozen I would take them out of the pan and vacuum seal them or double wrap them in foil and put in the freezer. They freeze very well! To heat them up I would put them on the grill in foil while we got showered and cleaned up and ready to relax for the night.

We Interupt The Regularly Scheduled Posting...

FOR SOUP!!! Yep that's right, I am interupting my Graphic45 Birdsong card series because I want to talk about soup. Not just any soup you see, but some Cheesy Chicken Tortilla Soup! Years ago when I worked with my friend Nancy we use to go downtown to a little place called Whimsical Heart. They sold all kinds of different things in there and in one corner of the store they had a little lunch stand. Nancy and I would love to go in there for a bowl of Cheesy Chicken Tortilla Soup and a half sandwich, the price was great and it was something different than fast food.

I have wanted to make the soup for sometime since Whimsical Heart closed years ago I haven't had a nice bowl of it. I have seen all kinds of recipes for Chicken Tortilla Soup but I wanted CHEESY!! I finally found a recipe on AllRecipes.com and then I tweaked it a little bit. I also doubled the recipe because we are suppose to have some bad weather come in and there is nothing like good soup when there is snow and ice coming down!

Cheesy Chicken Tortilla Soup

1/3 c. butter 1/2 onion diced 6 tablespoons flour 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained 3 cans Rotel Tomatoes, undrained 4 c. chicken broth

2 packages Taco Seasoning Mix 4 cups shredded chicken 1 pound VELVEETA®, cut into 1/2-inch cubes 1/2 cup tortilla chips, coarsely crushed 1 lime, cut into wedges

*Melt butter in medium saucepan on medium-high heat. *Add onions; cook until crisp-tender, stirring frequently.
*Stir in flour until blended.
*Add tomatoes, broth and seasoning mix; stir. Bring to boil; simmer on medium-low heat 2 min. Add chicken and VELVEETA; cook and stir 5 min. or until VELVEETA is completely melted and chicken is heated through.
*Top with crushed chips. Serve with lime wedges.

It was late when I got to eat this soup, like after 10pm and even though I was very hungry I would say the soup was still excellent! My daughter loves the Chicken Tortilla Soup from Sante Fe Steak House and she gave my soup two thumbs up! She said it was a little spicy and I told her I thought the Rotel Tomatoes added just the right spiciness. She doesn't do spicy very well though. I squeezed my lime over my chips and it added a nice flavor.  I know this recipe is going to be a keeper for sure!

Two Recipes - Yes, I Do Use Them!

First off let me say I have been doing some crafting. I had an order for 17 tumblers that I worked on and got done and I will be posting pictures. Secondly, I have been working on some things for the craft show but with competition going on between crafters and craft shows I thought I better not post those items just yet.

Now let me share a recipe, or two actually, with you guys. I had posted on Facebook last week about the cold weather and I decided to make a big pot of chicken and noodles. I don't like store bought noodles and my aunt taught me years ago, over the phone mind you, how to make homemade noodles so that is how I make my chicken and noodles. I also cheated and used my cousin Bruce's suggestion of getting a rotisserie chicken from Walmart and deboning it instead of having to cook my own.

EGG NOODLE RECIPE
2 eggs
about a teaspoon of salt
couple handfuls of flour

Beat your eggs well and then toss in a handful of flour and work it in with the eggs. Add more flour a little at a time until the dough becomes not quite as thick as pie crust dough. Flour your counter and take about 1/3 of the dough and pat it out on the floured counter very thin, about the thickness of pie crust dough and using a pizza cutter cut your dough into strips and toss into the boiling pot of chicken stock you have going. Repeat the cutting process until all the dough is in the pot.

I really wasn't sure how to write the recipe and that is the best I can do on it because I don't use exact measurements and neither does my Aunt Betty. Sometimes she will put in a few drops of yellow food coloring in the dough if she wants really yellow noodles. I've never done it because I'm too lazy *okie knows that is so the truth*.

I always thicken my broth as well because I like it that way. I just add a little cornstarch to about a cup of broth and mix it well and then add it to the pot. I tell ya, there is nothing like a nice bowl of chicken and noodles on a cold day! In the past I have added onion, celery and carrots to the mix as well but most of the time I just do the chicken and noodles.

Now the second recipe is one I fixed for Thanksgiving Dinner. I use to get broccoli salad at Walmart in the deli and loved it but they changed the deli up so now I will be making my own. I wasn't sure what all was in the recipe and looked up several and then used one but changed slightly for my own taste

BROCCOLI SALAD RECIPE

1 head broccoli
6 to 8 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup raisins

1/4 cup crushed slivered almonds

8 ounces shredded sharp Cheddar
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1/4 cup sugar

 

Trim off the large leaves from the broccoli stem. Remove the tough stalk at the end and wash broccoli head thoroughly. Cut the head into florets and the stem into bite-size pieces. Place in a large bowl. Add the crumbled bacon, onion, raisins, almonds, and cheese. In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients, stirring well. Add to broccoli mixture and toss gently.

So there are ya two recipes you can try out if you get bored. I myself will not be cooking again until Christmas, and not even then if I can help it! Now I am off to edit pictures of tumblers!

I Love Iced Coffee!

Especially in the summer time, it's great for when it's a hot Oklahoma morning and hot coffee just adds to the misery. I use to get a fantastic iced coffee syrup by Nestle but they stopped making it, or no one in my town sells it. I have always wanted to try to make my own but never did until Sunday morning.

I read a few recipes on the internet and then decided to just wing it.

OKIE'S ICED COFFEE MIX
Brew 4 cups of water with 12 scoops coffee

10 spoons of Sweet N Low (the spoon that comes with the package, or 10 packets)

4 Tablespoons of dark chocolate shavings

2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

Add the Sweet N Low, chocolate and vanilla after the coffee is finished brewing. Stir until ingredients are dissolved. Poor liquid in a container and once cooled place in fridge to chill. To serve use equal parts of milk and Ice Coffee Mix and add ice...ENJOY!

My daughter use to love the Nestle we use to get and when I let her try this one she said "that has too much of a coffee taste". I told her "well that is why it is called iced coffee!". She said she prefers it more "syrupy". I think she meant sweet! HA HA