Pinterest Cooking: Green Chile Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

I was really excited when I saw this recipe on Pinterest. I had been wanting a good WHITE chicken enchilada recipe that was fairly easy.  Then when I boiled my chicken this week for this recipe, I was even more bummed when I was getting more and more sick as the week went and I wasn't sure I was going to be up to cooking much at home.  Shon had been taking care of most of the meals this week.  But Saturday I knew I had this chicken that needed to be used. So Ashton and I teamed up and made these.  I think we were drooling as we were making them. Don't worry, we didn't drool in the food. :-) And I knew my antibiotics had kicked in so I could finally prepare food again! Because let's face it ladies...mom's don't have much of a vacation when their sick. 

chicken enchiladas with green chili sour cream sauce

Ingredients

• 10 soft taco shell-I used more...but I lost count how many (mom brain, remember?)
• 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken-I used about 4ish
• 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese-definitely used more than that. But I did put two cups IN with the chicken.
• 3 Tbsp. butter-used 6
• 3 Tbsp. flour-used 6
• 2 cups chicken broth-used one can
• 1 cup sour cream-used 2 cups
• 1 (4 oz) can diced green chilies-used 2 cans and could have used one more. It wasn't spicy and we love green chilies!

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 pan
2. Mix chicken and 1 cup cheese. Roll up in tortillas and place in pan.
3. In a sauce pan, melt butter, stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Add broth and whisk until smooth. Heat over medium heat until thick and bubbly. You are making a rue.
4. Stir in sour cream and chilies. Do not bring to boil, you don't want curdled sour cream.
5. Pour over enchiladas and top with remaining cheese.
6. Bake 22 min and then under high broil for 3 min to brown the cheese.

***Now-since I am feeding 3 monstrous growing BOYS + a husband, I doubled this recipe. I did still have leftovers, which I love so Shon and I can just take it for lunch. So we LOVE our leftovers! 

Oh and I MAY have used a little more cheese than called for as well...(just put the guilty shirt on  me already! But it made it even yummier!)

So I have some of this left over chicken in the fridge...

So I shredded this chicken and picked it apart to get about 4 cups (give or take) of nicely shredded chicken. Oh and I nuked this a little in the microwave since it was cold before adding the cheese.

Here is some of the other ingredients I used. Yes, I used all of those soft taco shells...

The butter/flour rue that the recipe calls for.  I had a picture of what it looked like when I started...and...well...I must have been too excited cause it is blurry.

After the rue is all mixed I mixed in the sour cream/green chilies mixture.  And really--don't let it bubble like I did a little...I was too busy bossing around my slave child below.

No he really isn't my slave child. It's my son, Ashton.  But I showed him how to add some of the chicken/cheese mixture and roll the tortillas and place seam side down so they don't come undone.  He did well!  THIS kid can cook!

Here is the mixture once it was all mixed together. Now that alone just looked delicious to me. I think I was hungry.

One dish down as Ashton (yeah he needs a haircut) is working on the next dish---I told you I had to feed an Army!

So then we put the enchiladas in the oven for 22 minutes. 3 of those 22 minutes I did turn the broiler on.  I don't have much experience with a broiler...and the last time I used a broiler, I burned the top. So I didn't really "broil" like I was supposed to. I don't think it would necessarily make or break the recipe anyways.

So I had tried my hand at some pico de gallo a few times and I finally got the correct portions per ingredient.  Are you ready? It was REALLY hard! No just kidding.

I took about 3 Roma tomatoes. I would really use Roma. They hold up better (and I assume they are in season because all the stores seem to have them on sale right now).  I used one small-medium brown onion (you could use white as well, brown are just cheaper). I used one entire jalapeno seeded and ribbed. If you want more heat, leave the ribs. If you want ever more heat leave the seeds. But I wouldn't recommend that.  Then I took a bunch of cilantro (I love cilantro).  The key to the cilantro is to have about the same amount of cilantro chopped as you do tomatoes and onions. Chop it all and combine. I would also recommend chopping it all by hand and not using a food processor. The nice thing about pico de gallo is it's chunky. So nix the food processor on this one. 

Once that is all chopped and combined, add some sprinkles of salt. I use kosher salt (and keep adding to taste--this is your pass to try the pico first). It works best when cooking and I guess I like that is has more flavor? (Ok that could be a mental thing) Just go with it.  Then you take the juice of about half a lime (give or take) And voila! Told ya it was hard! (Not).

Oh and remember my tomato fetish? I hate tomatoes. Yeah I will eat them in pico de gallo. Yet another mental thing I am sure...let's just keep that our secret.  Anyways. Here is the done deal and it was freaking amazing! I had one at first without the pico and the Mr. said I had to put pico on it and eat another one. Let me tell ya, I am glad I did! It just brings all the yumminess together and made our bellies happy.

So the final run down and family vote. The recipe did not call for pico. I added that.  Remember the more color on  your plate the better it it. 

This was also a good recipe to have the kids help.   

And this for 5/5 stars! And I am sure more if they could vote more than just 1 star. :-) This one is definately a keeper!

Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Jordan's First Taekwondo Test And The Journey To Where It Started...

Thanks to a good friend to the referral (Eve), Jordan started Taekwondo last November. 

Let me go back a little further though. Jordan did a couple of free trials through ATA in American Fork that a friend in my old ward invited him to. But with the class schedule and location it just was not going to work out to sign him up for classes and keep him there.

In August, Jordan started Kindergarten. I knew I was going to have some troubles with him.  

Jordan has never had a problem being vocal about his opinion. 

Which can be a good thing except...

Well...that was an understatement. By the time the first parent/teacher conference came around a few moms had complained about Jordan's bully like behavior. 

I felt horrible. 

I could relate. 

And I was mortified. 

I was mortified because I knew how those mom's felt when their poor little Kindergartner came home and said someone, not just someone, but a classmate was mean to them. Making their child scared, alone and defensive. 

I knew this feeling because this happened to David. In fact it happened to David more than once (three grade levels in a row). I would get sad, hurt, angry and defensive for my child. And some times I wanted to just follow my kid all the way through his day at school to protect him.

So what would I do if I was on the other end of the story?

We talked to Jordan, we tried positive reinforcement, we had David explain how he felt when he was pushed, shoved, punched in the face and got a fat lip at school. We even (although I don't like admitting this) tried a guilt trip and put Jordan in the position if he was bullied and kids called him names.

It didn't work...

I mean I wasn't expecting a miracle and I was expecting it to happen overnight...but it had to be sooner than later. And we need to figure out where this aggression with Jordan was stemming from.

So...I talked to my friend at work. Her son became a black belt through this Grand Master she knew. 

She took Jordan and I the first night. We walked in and watched the beginners work out for a little bit. Then Grand Master walked up to us and introduced himself. Then he sat down next to me and called Jordan over to him. He looked at Jordan eye level and in a very serious Drill Sergeant manner (no, not kidding) said the following:

I have 3 rules...

He held us his pointer finger signaling number 1.

"This is my Do Jo and I am the boss. And if I am not here, she is the boss (pointing at Whitney, the black belt that works with the little beginners). If you don't like that too bad. There's the door. At home, your mom and dad are the boss-not you."

Then he held up two fingers for the second rule.

"You are never to use what I am teaching here at school or outside of here. And I better never hear about you kicking, hitting or being mean to another classmate in school from your mom, your dad, your teacher or your principal. The minute I hear about any of it I will show up to your school and you, me, your teacher, your principal and your mom and dad are ALL going to have a nice chat."

Then he held up his three fingers for the last rule.

"If you break any of these rules you will write me a 1000 word essay on any subject of my choice. Do you understand?!"

I wanted to grab my kid and run. I was thinking "What the hell did I get my kid in to?!"

Jordan, with a straight face nodded yes as to agree. I wish I knew what he was thinking at that time...although I have a good idea.

But this is what he needed. He needed someone from the outside to tell him his behavior isn't OK. And he needed to know that what he was doing was wrong. And he needed to know that we were all (teachers, parents, leaders) are now on the same page. And he needed to get his negative energy out and learn how to use it appropriately.  He needed to learn how to use his words in class appropriately.  And I needed to know and learn that I wasn't a bad mom.

I knew Jordan was always going to be my baby child.  And since he was just 20 months when we got him, my time with a toddler was limited...and I needed to allow my toddler to become a young little boy who now needed to learn honor, respect and manners.

So here we are less than two months later and he has gone from a white belt to a white/yellow stripe belt.

He had to learn and test on the first 8 forms of Chon Ji, a back kick (donkey kick), left hand knife hand blocks, fold blocks, high blocks, outside blocks, a side block/kick, grab kicks, grab/kick/chops.

Here are some pics of his test...some are fuzzy. Sorry about that. For some reason my iPhone was acting up. 

Waiting for Grand Master and getting ready to salute the flags.

This shows a good portion of the sets he had to test on.

Finally...after Jordan stressed for two days wondering if he was going to be awarded to move up or not this happened on Tuesday...

Can you see the anticipation on this kids face? I mean I know it's blurry...but you CAN'T miss it!

He is just glowing with smiles...I love it! He felt SO accomplished!

We love Whitney. She has so awesome and VERY patient with Jordan. She knew our concerns and she has worked really well with him.

 So that's his story. I am grateful for my friend for the great referral and I am even more grateful that it's working.

I do believe that Taekwondo, when taught correctly and perceived and learned appropriately, can be a very good lesson in self discipline and be a beautiful form.

Who knows if Jordan will want to stay with it. It's is time consuming and can get quite expensive. But for now...it works and we will stick with it as long as he keeps learning.

Pinterest Cooking: Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo Shells

Mom is down for the count and called in to work today, but never fail, dinner was on the table! My kids and husband have really enjoyed trying a new recipe once a week.  We really don't like to eat out. We are trying to be healthier, it's expensive and eating out everyday is just gross to me.  I love cooking for my family. And they enjoy it when their momma (or wife) cook for them.

This week Shon was really excited about this one. When I showed it to him, he said we HAVE to make it. By "we" he means "me". Hah hah.

I have the exact recipe posted here.

But for easy sake, here are the ingredients and what I kinda changed. I usually like to follow a new recipe to the "t" but when cost is a factor and I know it won't change the taste much, I go for it.

Yield: 4-6 Servings (It was more like 7-8 healthy helpings for us!)

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups (about 8oz) whole wheat medium shells (I used 3 1/2 cups since my were "small" shells (hey, they were only a $1!) and I didn't use wheat)
• 2 1/2 cups fresh broccoli, cut into small florets (just the head, no stem)(I agree with the no stems part. The stems are very tasteful in a recipe like this. And DON'T use frozen broccoli as they usually have more stems than the actually tree part)
• 2 cups cooked, diced or shredded chicken
• 1 (16oz) jar Alfredo Sauce (Whatever you like--I used Ragu--not my fave but it's cheaper)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (medium cheddar or mozzarella) (I used Italian and Colby Jack-and I for sure used more than 1 1/2 cups-I eyeballed it)
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/4 tsp Pepper
• 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

Instructions

1. Cook shells according to directions on package. Mine took about 10-11 minutes. Drain. Return shells to the pan, add alfredo sauce, salt, pepper, & garlic powder. Stir & set aside.

(I heard stems are good in a home made vegetable broth?)

Just enough water to cover the broccoli. Don't drown it with water. (No that is NOT black nail polish, it's this color by OPI.

1. Place broccoli florets & a little water in a container with a lid. Leave lid loose & microwave on high for 2-3 minutes depending on how crunchy you like your broccoli; just keep in mind that it will continue to cook in the oven. (I have three pictures to show about how much water I put in to cook it, how I cut them and what I cut off. You could also use the steam bags that I forgot I had AFTER I microwaved the broccoli.)
2. Cook & dice or shred chicken. I actually used leftover roast chicken & heated it up in the microwave for 1 1/2 minutes to have it hot like my other ingredients. (I think this should have been number 1 if you are cooking fresh chicken. Also I cooked chicken for a couple of recipes this week so it looks like I have A LOT of chicken-I promise I didn't use all of it on this recipe)

I added some salt and pepper. You could also add some chopped onion or minced garlic for more garlic flavor. I thought the Alfredo sauce and Garlic Powder was enough in the sauce.

1. Add the broccoli & chicken to the shells. Stir well. Empty contents into a greased 13x9" baking dish & top with shredded cheese.
2. Bake at 350*F for 20-30 minutes or until bubbly & heated in the center.

I went more towards the 30 minutes and that was a little too long. So we fixed that by adding MORE cheese! Shon loved it! David had 3 helpings and Jordan had 2 helpings (Jordan NEVER asks for another helping--I mean, never! Ok...unless it's cereal in the morning!)

I had a couple of bites. I wasn't too hungry. So of the 4 here, we gave it a 4/4 stars!

Cooks additional thoughts: This recipe (as I knew it would be) was super easy!

Disclaimers: 1. I was not paid by Walmart to show their items

             2. I am high on Nyquil--be proud this post looks this good.

             3. I'm tired...and goodnight!

Pinterest Cooking:Salsa Chicken

I found this recipe on Pinterest and thought it sounded delicious. I have been looking for some healthy recipes that I can cook in the crock pot. 

I followed most of the recipe (I had to double it) except the carrots. Shon and David hate cooked carrots. I have tried them in a few recipes and I didn't think this was one I could get away with having them in there.

I use Pace Picante when I cook. I think it comes out the best in a recipe and it has the right "chunkiness" consistency that I like. 

I also chopped a little more celery since I wasn't using the carrots...plus I love celery. And, one thing I have learned from Rachael Ray and other cooking shows is to use the celery leaves. They have a ton of flavor. So that is why you see the leaf looking parts on the counter.

I also "eyeballed" the amount of taco seasoning. I love taco seasoning and it has awesome flavor. And I have never really heard of having too much taco seasoning in the crock pot. 

After everything was dumped in the crock pot.

The final result...after my first helping. Oh and excuse the shadow in the picture. :-) And yes I picked out some of the tomatoes. I am not a tomato fan.

And yes that is store bought Spanish rice on the bottom. I have not yet made a Spanish rice recipe I love...so to play it safe-I cheated on that part. We topped it with some cheese and sour cream.

So the review: 4 1/2 out of 5 stars. Everyone had second helpings. I gave it a half star. I think it was too watery which was probably my error when I doubled the recipe. I also think it had too many tomatoes, although the rest of the family begged to differ.  (Remember my whole tomato love/hate relationship?) We will definitely make it again and tweak it a little. The chicken tasted amazing though and was nice and tender and shredded easily. 

As always. Happy cooking.

Dating Divas:Bookstore Date Night

Shon and I are doing the dating divas January dating calendar found here.

This website has a ton of great husband and wife "dating" ideas and cute and cheap ideas to do for one another. Anyways, Friday was the Bookstore Date.

Shon and I went to Mimi's Cafe for dinner. We weren't impressed. They changed a lot of things on their menu and the prices have almost doubled. So...that was a bust. 

Afterwards we walked over to Barnes & Noble (it's in the same parking lot).

We started with the recipe books. We spent almost an hour on it! We found so much good stuff! 

Shon chose recipes from the Lion House which is a local restaurant in Salt Lake City.

I chose the "Crock Pot" cookbook and found some AWESOME recipes...I was also a little excited this book was on "Bargain Buy" for just $12.98. SOLD!

 Then we went over our favorite childhood story. Shon grabbed all of Silverstein's books. Then he chose just one of them and read it to me. 

I chose "goodnight moon". I loved this when I was younger and I love to read it even more to the kids.

Then we went on to the jokes and took a magazine quiz.  We passed on the Poems. Barnes & Noble's poetry section was, well, to say the least- Pathetic. So we passed on that one. And the jokes we read aren't really PG rated, so Shon and I will just keep those to ourselves. ;-)

Last we picked where we would love to travel. We both already knew where the other would chose, but for picture and blog sake...we will found the books. 

Shon has always wanted to go to Germany. He has a lot of family ties there. (Sorry for the blurry picture).

I chose two...cause I want to go to both just as equally.  Sweden and Ireland. Again because I have genealogy roots there and I think both countries have GORGEOUS scenery. (Like the cheesy smile?)

We had a fantastic night! It was a great time and a great laugh. If you have a hubby or significant other, I highly recommend this date. Actually...while we were walking around we found 2 other couples with the same print outs doing the exact same date! Go Dating Divas!

Pinterest Cooking: Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole

I thought I would do something different for the recipe this week.  I made a recipe I had found online. Everyone has made chicken and rice...and there are a MILLION ways to make it. I found this one that I pinned on Pinterest from this website and thought we would give it a try.

So...here's what I did and here's our family review. Family can give a total of 5 stars (one star for each family member--let's make it simple folks!)

I followed the exact recipe. She said in the recipe she likes mozzarella. But I used colby cause that is what I had. The mixed vegetables I had were a mix of corn, green beans, carrots, peas and lima beans. I hate peas just for the record.

Ok, the review. 3/5 stars. Ashton wasn't with us tonight, so we are down a star. And I was the other no star. It just wasn't my favorite. I used a cheap cream of chicken soup and maybe that was the problem.  But I just couldn't help but think I didn't want peas in it (I will eat and use peas and have eaten peas in other recipes by the way) and I am not usually a fan of mixing cream of chicken and cream of mushroom together. I love cream of anything soups. I think this one needed one or the other.  

So I think I am going to try to just use maybe broccoli next time. Otherwise...everyone else loved it. I had ZERO leftovers. My youngest boys asked for seconds and thirds.  So...as far as kid friendly wise it is approved!

Oh, and for the record...that isn't what mine looked like when I cooked it...it looked a little something like this-after we had our first share.

So there you have it.

As always. Happy cooking.

Shon vs. The Van

So...it's not too much of a secret that Shon and our Minivan don't get along. I have never (well I had one small accident when I live in Prescott) been in a big car accident.

Shon has been in two larger ones since we have been married, two smaller ones that none or very little damage was done...3 of which were in our Van.

Minivan 3-Shon 1

So here is how the latest one went down and by the almighty higher powers in which most of you believe, he is still alive...barely.

Shon had called me because we were discussing a bill we got in the mail. As I am talking it sounds like he dropped the phone (ok not too frightening). So I call his name. I hear nothing but rattling. Then I hear a car door open. So I think "ok, he is looking for his phone?" Wait about 2 minutes and nothing.

All of a sudden I hear "Hang on honey I was in a car accident" (insert heart drop, flushed face, panic attack)

I wait...

...and I wait...

...and nothing. I am YELLING his name several times and I get NO response, none whatsoever.

So I decide to hang up the phone and call him, repeatedly, hoping he is just "looking" for the phone. When in reality I am thinking he was hit so hard he can't move, no one is there to help him and I am going to kick who ever's trash that hit MY husband in MY van!

After about, oh, I don't know about 20 phone calls later he answers the phone. Instead of saying he was ok, he said again, he was in a car accident. So of course I say..."Are you ok and you better complain your neck hurts" (Thinking he was hit pretty dang hard)

He then tells me he is fine and they are exchanging info.  I ask how bad the car is and he said it isn't too bad, but you can tell it was hit. 

So the next morning, when I could actually see, I took these pictures. The lady said her foot slipped off the brake peddle and she hasn't been in a car accident in a long time. A long time? How many accidents have you been in woman?!

Excuse the dried snow and white on the van...we had just had a snow storm and I didn't get to the car wash... 

So after all the big scare...it wasn't that bad. And Shon said her car was MUCH worse (she drives an Altima).  So good job Minivan for holding up! Thankfully...

And Men, ALL MEN...if you are EVER in a car accident with your wife, girlfriend, etc on the phone. Never just say "I was in a car accident" and not answer anything else. Shon learned his lesson! lol

And the other two times he hit something in the van shall remain nameless. :-)

Momma's Biscuits and Gravy

So this was really my mom's recipe...aaannnnndddd...well I stole it.  My mom first made this for Shon when he came to visit in Arizona after we first met. He told my mom after he had a bite that every time she visits or we visit her she had to make this for breakfast. 

Soon after this first taste from Shon I was told I had to learn the recipe (per Shon) so he could have it more often.  So here it goes. I haven't changed much of the recipe. I think I make it a little thicker than my mom does. But it's otherwise the same.

Here is what you will need...

I make enough to feed an Army, so you can definitely use just one can of biscuits and one package of sausage. Oh the sausage, let's talk about this. If you love maple flavored sausage then use it. If you don't care, just use the normal stuff (it's cheaper) and, well it tastes the same to me. Don't get me wrong I love maple sausage...but for this recipe it doesn't matter. AND, if you like "spicy" or  "hot" then get the spicy or hot sausage instead of mild. 

So...
biscuits (any brand/flavor of your choice)
milk (amount varies, so just get the jug out)
salt and pepper
sausage
and I have almost ALWAYS used the Wonda quick mixing flour. I like it the best. It is a little more expensive but I get about 3 MAYBE 4 biscuits and gravy meals out of it...

Ok, next brown your sausage in a sauce pan...

Once the sausage is completely brown, poor in enough milk to mostly cover the sausage (this is where the *amount varies comes in)

Once the milk gets mixed in slightly with the sausage, pour on some of the gravy mix to top the sauce pan.

Mix in the gravy and stir...

Also as you are mixing, dash in some salt and pepper to taste.

Keep mixing as the sauce will start to thicken...and once it is as thick as you want it, immediately turn the heat off.

Then you are ready to break open the cooked biscuits and spoon the gravy, sprinkle some pepper on to taste and ENJOY!

As you can tell, this is another super easy recipe. The longest part is waiting for the gravy to thicken and for the biscuits to cook! Hope you enjoy!