Creamy Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas

Creamy Cheesy Green Chicken Enchiladas
This is what the enchiladas look like after coming out of the oven. With the sauce poured all over the top plus the cheese, you can't even tell what it is! The recipe fills up a 13" x 9" casserole dish, but I also had enough filing left over to fill a square brownie pan, too. So it makes a lot! The recipe feeds anywhere from 8-10 people but it depends on how hungry they are. Most people can eat only 1 large enchilada & this makes 10-12 enchiladas, so if you have big eaters, take
 that into consideration. This was incredibly delicious & I'm glad I came up with my own list of ingredients. Btw, if you're wondering why I didn't put black olives over the whole top, it's because some picky eaters won't eat them.

Creamy Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients

· 4-5 cups cooked chicken, shredded (I used fully cooked frozen grilled chicken strips - Kroger & Aldi have this in a bag) Or to make it easier, use a fully cooked rotisserie chicken. You could even use canned chicken.

· Large size flour tortillas (use GF or corn tortillas if you eat gluten free)

· 4 cups cheddar cheese or Mexican blend (I used all cheddar bc that's what I had) 1-1½ cups of this will be used in the sauce, but the rest of the cheese will be put inside each enchilada with the chicken, and also some cheese will go on top after the enchiladas are in the baking dish. 

Ingredients for Sauce:

· 16 oz green salsa in the jar (Salsa Verde - not the canned green enchilada sauce, however you can use the canned sauce. I couldn't find the green sauce at Kroger when I was looking for it, so that's why I got the green salsa & we loved it)

· 1-1½ cups Cheddar cheese (grated) You will need more cheese than this for the inside of the enchiladas and also for spreading on top of all the enchiladas before putting it in the oven. See below.

· 1 can Campbell's Cream     of Chicken soup

· 2 - 16oz containers sour cream (full fat-not fat free) OR largest container ( you will need about 3 or more cups sour cream which includes some as garnish on top when its served)

· 1 small can green chili's, drained (these are not hot)

· 1 cup chicken broth (add more if you think the sauce needs to be less thick) I used instant chicken bullion granules + water to make 1 cup.

· ½ cup onion, chopped

· 1-2 garlic cloves, minced    or diced

· 1 Tbsp olive oil for     saueting onion & garlic

· ½ tsp cumin

· ½ tsp chili powder

· ¾ tsp onion powder

· ½ tsp garlic powder

· ¼ tsp paprika

· ½ tsp salt (or more to taste)

· Few dashes of pepper

Optional - sliced black olives & sour cream as a garnish. Add chopped fresh cilantro to the top when its done, unless you hate it like I do because I think it tastes like soap!

Instructions

Saute onions & garlic in olive oil on medium heat, for about 2 minutes. Add chicken and cook on medium til it's thawed, stirring often. If you dont want the big, thick strips inside the enchiladas, after it's cooled, you can shred the chicken. That's what I did. 

While the chicken is cooking, make the sauce.

Sauce:

Into a medium size bowl, using a whisk, add the following:

Salsa Verde (green salsa in the jar)

1 can Cream of Chicken soup

1½ cup sour cream

1 cup chicken broth

Green chili's (drained)

½ tsp Cumin

½ tsp Chili powder

¾ tsp Onion powder

½ tsp Garlic powder

¼ tsp Paprika

½ tsp Salt (or to taste)

Pepper - a few dashes

Add Cheyenne pepper to taste. (taste the sauce to see if you need more of any of the spices)

Note: (7/13/21)

Lay out the tortilla on a flat surface (after putting in microwave for 10 seconds), spread about 2-3 Tbs of the sauce down the center, spread some chicken over the sauce then some grated cheese over all. After all the enchiladas are rolled up and placed seam side down in a greased 9"x13" casserole dish, pour the rest of the sauce all over the top, covering the enchiladas. Then place more cheese on top of that

Bake at 350º for 30 minutes or till hot and bubbly. You are mainly heating up the sauce that is inside the enchiladas and on top, so cook it longer if you think it's not hot enough. Enjoy!

Green Enchiladas
It's difficult  to tell with the sauce all over the top but I know I got 3-4 enchiladas in this square brownie pan

 

Layered Taco Casserole and Mexican Rice

Layered Taco Casserole

I've never been crazy about chili powder so Tacos and Chili have not been among my favorite dishes. This may sound strange but I like my own recipe for Chili, because I don't use tons of chili powder, as most recipes call for.

I have a family living in my home temporarily and I do all the cooking. They love Mexican food so I'm always looking for new recipes. I came across this recipe for Taco Bake and decided to give it a try because it is quick and easy. I usually tweak recipes I find, so they are different from the original. But the fact it calls for corn tortilla chips instead of flour tortillas caught my eye. I have a wheat intolerance and avoid flour.
By the way, this recipe is great and tastes even better  left over.

Ingredients

• 1 lbs. ground beef
• 1 can Rotel tomatoes, mild
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 pkg. taco seasoning (I used 3/4 of the pkt)
• 2 cups cheddar cheese
• Corn tortilla chips
• Chopped fresh tomato, diced green onions and sour cream for garnish. 
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Preheat oven to 350.

Fry ground beef in pan til done. Drain fat and add taco seasining, Rotel, sour cream and water. Simmer for about 5 minutes. In a greased,  13" by 9" baking dish, layr ingredients in this order.

Corn tortillas

Ground beef mixture

Cheese

 Corn tortillas

Ground beef misture

 Cheese

Bake for 20 minutes. Place fresh chooped tomatoes and green onios on top. Serve with Mexican Rice (recipe below)

Mexican Rice - A great side dish with any Mexican meal!

Mexican Rice

1/2 cups chopped onion

1 clove chopped garlic

1-2 Tb oil

1 cup uncooked Basmati (or a little more), rinsed and drained

1-8oz can tomato sauce

1 cup frozen or canned corn

1/2 tsp salt

Black pepper to taste

2-3 dashes of cumin

2 cups chicken broth (or water)

Optional- ceyenne pepper, chili powder, paprika

Saute garlic and onion in oil about 1- 2 minutes, add rinsed rice and toast for about 2-3 more minutes. Add tomato sauce, cumin, salt, pepper, corn and chicken broth. Turn down heat, cover and let it simmer til done, about 20-30 minutes, checking it after 20 minutes for doneness.

You'll love the sweetness of the corn that counters the heat of the spices and Rotel that's in the Taco Bake.

Taco Salad in Crispy Bowls

This taco salad is a lot like the ones you buy at Taco Bell. After all, I bought the crispy bowls from them. I don't know how many people think of this but instead of baking tortilla bowls in the oven, I just go to Taco Bell and buy them for 50 cents each. It's well worth it to me because you don't have to bake them yourself and it is the original shell from Taco Bell. That was always my favorite part of the salad anyway! I don't know what all they put in their salad, but here's what I put in mine. It's delicious and everyone loves it! I hope you do too!

My Taco Salad with Crispy Bowls from Taco Bell

Ingredients  - Serves 6

2 lbs ground chuck or round
6 large shells purchased from Taco Bell
Lettuce,  shredded
Tomatoes , chopped
Vidalia sweet onion, chopped (or green onions)
Black olives, sliced
1 can black beans, rinsed
2 packets taco seasoning
Grated cheddar cheese
Optional - Sour cream, avocado, Ortago taco sauce

Brown ground beef in large skillet. Drain fat. Add taco season packets and add 1 1/3 cups water. Stir and simmer til most of the liquid is gone, about 30 minutes. Note: you don't want to make it too dry.

To Assemble Salads
Place shell on microwave safe plate and microwave for  30 seconds. Put about 2/3 - 1 cup meat inside bottom of shell. Use more or less meat, as you desire. Then put in layers on top of the meat, the lettuce, tomagoes, onion, black beans, black olives, ending with cheese.
Add sour cream, taco sauce and avocado if desired.

Baja Beef - Mexican Layered Dish

Baja Beef

I asked on Facebook if anyone knew where Baja was and they said California but I didn't know the connection with Mexico. Then a friend said The Baja Pennisula is part of Mexico...although it juts off south of California...and the j is pronounced h in Spanish.

I've been fixing this for 24 years and all this time I thought Baja was an Indian term or town. It makes much more sense to me now that it's a Mexican dish. All this time I've been confused because I thought "why would anyone give a Mexican dish an Indian name?" Haha 

Sorry I don't have a better picture, but you will see in the ingredient section this is a layered Mexican dish. I know it looks like any other typical Mexican layered dish, but this is different and much tastier.  
Someone said this looks like  Frito Pie, but it's not like just any frito pie. The typical recipe has taco seasoning in it mixed with ground beef and I'm not crazy about that. The sauce to this Baja Beef is what makes it more special and I hope you think so too. Enjoy!

Baja Beef  - serves 5 - 6

1 - 1 1/2 lbs ground beef
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 - 8 Oz can tomato sauce
1 - 6 Oz can tomato paste
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp salt

Brown meat, garlic and onions. Drain. Add tomato paste, tomato sauce, and 2 cans water. Add spices. Simmer 30 - 50 minutes. 

To Serve on each Individual Plate:
Place regular Fritos on plate. Add meat mixture. Then add any or all of these: 
Green onions, chopped
Black olives, sliced
Avocados, cubed
Tomatoes, chopped 
Lettuce, shredded
Grated cheese
Sour cream

Mexican Crunch Wrap Recipe

Mexican Crunch Wrap Supreme (similar to Taco Bell)

I found the recipe for these wraps on Pinterest and they were just delicious! They were pretty simple to put together and I will definitely be making these again. I'm not all that crazy about Mexican food, but I loved these wraps!

Ingredients:

6 large flour tortillas - (the biggest you can find)

6 small corn tortillas - (I bought the kind already toasted in a big stack)

1 pound ground beef

1 package taco seasoning

sour cream

nacho cheese - I bought it in the deli at Kroger (or shredded Mexican blend cheese)

shredded lettuce

diced tomatoes

Optional garnishes: avocado slices, black olive slices, sweet onion, Ortaga red taco sauce 

Directions:

Brown ground beef in a skillet til there's no pink left. Drain excess fat, and add taco seasoning to meat mixture. Heat for a few minutes then set it aside.

Turn the oven on to about 200º or 250º. Place the crispy (already toasted) corn tortillas in a flat baking dish or cookie sheet and put them in oven to keep warm while you assemble the wraps. OR if you bought the soft corn tortillas do the following. (Bake the corn tortillas in the oven at 400 degrees for a couple of minutes, until they are golden and crunchy.)

Microwave the flour tortillas (one at a time) for about 10 seconds right before you assemble each wrap. This will soften the tortilla. 

Lay the flour tortilla on a large plate or tray. Spoon some of the beef mixture into the center of the tortilla. Top with nacho cheese, or shredded cheese. Place the crunchy corn tortilla on top of the cheese/beef; spread 2-3 tsps of sour cream on top of that, then add the chopped tomatoes and shredded lettuce.

Fold the edges of the tortilla toward the center. Continue doing this until all the tortilla is folded over, and the filling is not exposed. If your filling is still showing cut out a circle from another flour tortilla and place it on the exposed area, then wrap the tortilla again. Put each wrap on a tray folded side down. They will stay together and when they're grilled in the pan, should stay closed.

Place butter in large flat skillet to melt or use cooking spray.  Carefully place the Crunch wrap, seam side down, in the pan. Press with a spatula and cook on medium-low heat, for about 3 minutes, until the bottom is nice and brown. Flip it over and cook for another 3 minutes. Place each wrap in oven to keep them warm til you are ready to serve them. They were a BIG hit at my house and I know we'll be fixing them again!

Impossible Taco Pie

If you've been cooking for any length of time, you have probably come across this pretty, but simple recipe. On the other hand, if you are fairly new to cooking, and your family likes Mexican food, you'll be surprised to know that this pie makes it's own crust. That's why it"s called Impossible Taco Pie. I found this recipe in a Bisquick cookbook, that also includes Impossible Bacon Pie, Impossible Lasagna Pie, Impossible Cheeseburger Pie, Impossible Quesadilla Pie, Impossible Green Bean Pie, Impossible Zucchini-Tomato Pie, Impossible Brunch Pie, Impossible Seafood Pie, Impossible Brownie Pie, Impossible Buttermilk Pie and Impossible Cheesecake. They are all equally as good. Scroll down below my photo to see the recipe.

I served the Taco Pie with a tossed salad, guacamole and Dorito chips

Impossible Taco Pie 
1 lb ground beef                 

 1¼ cups milk
½ cup chopped onion      

¾ cup Bisquick baking mix (GF now available!)
1 envelope (1 oz) taco seasoning mix           

3 eggs                                   

 2 tomatoes, sliced       
1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilis, drained          

1 cup shredded Monterery Jack cheese or Cheddar cheese
½ cup sliced black olives (optional)

Heat oven to 400º. Grease 10 inch Quiche or pie plate, 10" x 1½". Cook and stir beef and onion over medium heat until beef is browned; drain. Stir in seasoning mix. Spread in plate; sprinkle with chilies. Beat milk, baking mix and eggs until smooth, 15 seconds in blender on high or 1 minute with hand beater. (I used a whisk for easier cleanup). Pour into plate. (Note: if you like black olives and want to cook them inside the pie, this would be the time to place them on top of the mixture) Bake 25 minutes. Top with tomatoes; sprinkle with cheese. Bake until knife inserted in center comes out clean, 8 to 10 minutes longer. Cool 5 minutes. Serve with sour cream, chopped tomatoes, black olives and shredded lettuce.    6 - 8 servings

This is the photo from my old Bisquick book.  If you like delicious, easy recipes, you"ll find lots of recipes on their site.

                                                             

Recipe - Deep Dish Taco Squares

SO yummy and tastes nothing like tacos
I'm crazy about this recipe!

My friend, Shirley Siddall, gave me this recipe many yrs ago and I always wondered why it was called Taco Squares, since it has no chili powder in it and tastes nothing like tacos. I'm not crazy about taco flavoring, and I guess that's why I love this dish. It was one of my family's favorites so I decided to fix this for another family last night (first time in yrs) and remember why I love it so much. It's hearty and has all the ingredients I like. My recipe card is smeared with food and water making it barely readable. I'm sure you know how that is. So I decided to see if  I could find the recipe on the web, since it's an old Bisquick recipe. Now I know why it's called Taco Squares. The original recipe has taco seasoning in the meat, but I still like it much better without the taco seasoning. I've added more cheese and black olives to my friend's recipe, and maybe you can come up with your own version.

This recipe will remind you of fresh tomato pie that is SO yummy! (But with added ground beef)

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef 
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 2/3 cup Hellman's mayonnaise  (not salad dressing)
• 1 cup sour cream (I added a little more sour cream and mayonnaise)
• 2 tablespoons chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
• 2 cups Biscuit baking mix
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 2- 3 tomatoes, sliced
• 1/3 cup sliced black olives
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• Update: (4/2/24) since I'm by myself this time I decided to make only ½ the recipe (in a square brownie pan) & had the idea to use puff pastry this time to make it easier, than spreading wet dough with my fingers in the pan. It's in the over now & I'll come back and comment how it turned out.
• Update: it turned out great with the puff pastry & using that made it quicker and easier to make this dish!

Directions

• Heat oven to 375º. Cook and stir ground beef til brown; drain. While beef is cooking, grease oblong baking dish (13"x 9"x 2"). Mix sour cream, mayonnaise and onion. Add 1½ cups of the cheese, reserving ½ cup for the top. Set aside this mixture. 
•  Mix baking mix and water, until soft dough forms. Pat in pan, pressing dough ½" up sides. (Note: Spreading the dough will be easier if you sprinkle a little baking mix on your fingers and on top of the dough, as you do this). Layer beef, sliced tomatoes and green pepper on top of dough that's in the pan. Spoon sour cream mixture over top. Sprinkle remaining ½ cup cheese and black olives over sour cream mixture. Bake, uncovered, at 375° for 25-35 minutes or until bottom crust is golden brown. (I cooked this for 35 minutes) 
• Serve with a tossed salad. I used Spicy Ranch Dressing with the salad and it goes well with the dish. 
•  Hope you enjoy it! Let me know if your family likes it.
• Yield: 10-12 servings.