Chicken Chimmies

from the Gooseberry Patch Family Favorites Cookbook

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
salt, pepper, and garlic to taste
1 T. butter
10 (8 inch) flour tortillas
8 oz pkg shredded Monterey Jack cheese
6 green onions, diced
1 T. vegetable oil
Toppings: sour cream, salsa, guacamole, lettuce

(I cooked my chicken in the crockpot with some cumin and garlic and then skipped the first step)

Sprinkle chicken with salt, pepper, and garlic. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat; add chicken and saute about 3 minutes.
Spoon chicken evenly onto tortillas. Top with cheese and green onions; fold up sides and roll up, burrito style. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add rolled up tortillas and saute until golden. Serve with your choice of toppings. Serves 6-8.

We're having it with Cuban Black Beans

Mexican Lasagna

This recipe is from one of my new favorite cookbooks which I found at the library and must buy!
It's the Gooseberry Patch Family Favorite Recipes book.

1/2 lb ground mild pork sausage
1/2 lb ground beef
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped (I used 1/2 b/c of the kids)
2/3 c. canned diced tomatoes with green chiles (I used the whole can)
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
can of cream of celery soup (thinking about omitting this next time??)
can of cream of mushroom soup (wondering if you can replace cream soups with something more healthy??)
10 oz can of enchilada sauce
18 (6 inch) tortillas
2 c. shredded cheddar (I used about 1/2 of that)
1 c. shredded monterey jack cheese
1 tomato, seeded and diced
4 green onions, chopped
1/4 c. fresh cilantro, chopped
optional: 1 avocado, chopped

Cook sausage and ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring until meat crumbles and is no longer pink. Drain. Stir in jalapeno and next 5 ingred. Cook until thoroughly heated.
Stir together soups and enchilada sauce in a saucepan; cook until thoroughly heated.
Spoon 1/3 of the sauce into bootom of a lightly greased 13 by 9 baking dish, top with 6 tortillas. Spoon 1/2 of meat mixture and 1/3 of sauce over tortillas. Sprinkle with 1/2 of the cheddar cheese. Top with 6 tortillas, repeat layers, ending with tortillas. Sprinkle with monterey jack cheese and next 3 ingred. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Top with avocado if desired. Serves 6 to 8.

Chalupa- Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook

3 lb pork roast
1 lb dry pinto beans
2 garlic cloves, minced (I used the jar kind)
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp dried oregano
2 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp salt
4-oz can chopped green chilies
water

1. Cover beans with water and soak overnight in slow cooker

2. In the morning, remove beans (reserve soaking water), and put roast in bottom of slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients (including the beans and their soaking water) and more water if needed to cover all the ingredients.

3. Cook on High for 1 hour, and then on Low for 6 hours. Remove meat and shred with 2 forks. Return meat to slow cooker.

4. Cook on High for 1 more hour

5. Serve over a bed of lettuce. Top with grated cheese and chopped tomatoes and onions.

I was going to make this a long time ago. Then when I got to the store and realized how much a pork roast costs, I changed my mind. Months later I noticed the recipe again and it sounded really yummy so I decided to just do it anyway. Trust me- it is SO worth it!! This is such a delicious meal and it makes A LOT. So tonight we're having some of the frozen leftovers.
I served it with corn tortillas. And of course my favorite bagged shredded lettuce. We had it for dinner one night and I had enough left to freeze 3 containers- one large and 2 small. The large one will be for our dinner tonight. I gave one of the small ones to my mom for a meal for her and my dad and I still have the other small one.

Chicken and corn quesadillas- my own

1 can of chicken (aprox 10 ounces)
1 can of corn
1 can of green chiles (chopped)
1 can of white beans
dash of cumin- or two or three
about a Tbsp of mayo
shredded cheddar or mexican blend cheese
16 Corn and/or flour tortillas (the small ones)


This is a great way to hide some beans from my kids- stick them in a food processor and make them creamy by adding the mayo (you could use a little bit of milk, but I'm trying to reduce dairy). Also add the cumin to give it a little smokiness. Using this bean mixture helps to make the quesadillas creamy without using a ton of cheese. You can also add a can of diced tomatoes if you want.

Mix everything together (well, not the tortillas obviously!). Butter one side of each tortilla. Put half of the tortillas butter side down on a large griddle, cover with the mixture, and top with a tortilla (buttered side up). I'm pretty sure that was totally not necessary to explain, but just in case, there you have it. Cook until they're a little brown and crispy then try to flip them without losing all the filling and cook to brown and crispy on the other side. Cut in slices like a pizza and top with salsa or taco sauce, sour cream, and my favorite- shredded lettuce. I'm talking about the finely shredded lettuce you buy that way- I love it!

What I'd do differently next time:
Use less beans. For two reasons. One being that we had chili the night before- YIKES. And also because the filling mixture was kind of messy and not quite cheesy enough. The kids all loved it, but if Pete had been home for dinner I'm sure he'd agree that half the beans would have been better.