What's Cooking: Recipes for Chicken Enchiladas, Chopped Salad, and Smoothies

I promise I have no intention of becoming a cooking blog, but since posting my March 2013 Monthly Meal Plan last week, I've had several requests for some of my recipes.  So I hope to occasionally share them with you so that you can use them in your own meal planning, too.  Know that I rarely make meals that take longer than 30 minutes to prepare or that require fancy ingredients.  Neither are practical to our lifestyle, so I try to make choices that are both financially and nutritionally reasonable for our family.

First off, tonight's dinner is chicken enchiladas.  This is a super easy recipe (most of mine are) and one my mom made often while we were growing up.  It's also an easy freezer meal, so plan on doubling your ingredients and making a pan to freeze.  (Note, if you're a "spicy Mexican food lover" this recipe is not ideal for you.  You'll want to add some flare!)

Chicken Enchiladas

4 c. diced, uncooked chicken (or a 28 oz. can of deboned chicken)
1/2 c. diced onions
1 1/3 cups milk
2 tsp. (2 cubes) chicken bouillon
1 can cream of chicken soup
10 flour tortillas (I prefer the taco or fajita size..can also use whole wheat)
1 package of shredded cheese (I prefer mozzarella)

Optional fixings:
Lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, sour cream, salsa, etc.

1.  Place 1-2 tablespoons oil in a skillet and add chicken and onions.  Cook until chicken is no longer pink.
2.  Add 1/3 cup milk and chicken bouillon.  Cook until bouillon is completely dissolved.  Remove from heat.
3.  Mix remaining 1 cup milk w/ 1 can cream of chicken soup.  Pour half into greased 9x13 dish.
4.  Place 1-2 spoonfuls of chicken mixture in a tortilla.  Fold up bottom, fold in sides, and fold down top.  Place seam down in the 9x13 mixture.  Repeat, making 2 rows of enchiladas and 10 total

5. Pour rest of soup mixture over enchiladas.  Cover with foil.
6.  Bake at 325 for 20 minutes.  Remove foil and cover with shredded cheese.  Bake for another 15 minutes.
7.  Remove and top with fixings (optional).

Suggestions: Spice up by adding chopped or canned peppers or chiles.  Serve with Spanish Rice, Refried Beans, or Guacamole.  TIP: You won't need an entire onion for this recipe, but since you're already dicing one up, go ahead and measure the leftovers, place in a freezer bag and label it, and put in the freezer for future recipes.  

The following recipe is one of my favorites for lunch.  I love how versatile it is.  Definitely not one I make for the kiddos, but my husband and I both love it.

Chopped Salad

Baby spinach, romaine or salad of choice (chopped or torn to pieces)
Feta Cheese
Mandarin Oranges, Chopped Apples, Chopped Strawberries (and/or fruit of choice)
Dried cherries, cranberries or fruit of choice
Chopped Pecans, slivered almonds, or nuts of choice
Croutons

Dressing
1/ 4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup Olive Oil
1 tsp. Dried Mustard (I never seem to have this on hand, so I always give a squeeze of regular mustard--no need to measure.  Just don't overdo it)
1 tsp. salt
1 T. grated onion or dried onion (optional)oppyseed

Place desired amounts of salad ingredients in a large bowl and toss.  Add salad dressing. 

Suggestions: To ensure longer fridge life for your salad, add croutons and dressing to each individual bowl instead of tossing w/ entire salad.  I can usually get a large salad to last 2-3 days by using this method.  You can also add some cooked, diced chicken breast to add some yummy protein.  In more of a greek, vinagrette mood?  Leave out the fruit, add some black olives & chicken and enjoy.  Serve with warm flat bread!

And finally, smoothies.  My sweet neighbor who shared the recipe for the Chicken Tortilla Soup told me awhile back that they have a smoothie every morning for breakfast.  It seems that juicing and/or smoothies are all the rage right now, so I thought I'd give it a try as a way to sneak some extra nutrients and vitamins into our diet.  One quick Google search, and you'll have endless smoothie recipes on your hand, so don't be afraid to experiment with your ingredients.  Here's one that's working for us:

Smoothies
1 banana
1 cup frozen strawberries or berries of choice
1/2  cup milk
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup plain vanilla yogurt (regular or frozen)
1 tsp. flax seed (great for fiber)
1/2 cup spinach, kale or cooked carrots (optional, but a great way to sneak in some veggies)

Place ingredients in a blender of your choice and puree away.  NOTE: You can add more milk if your liquid is too thick.

Suggestions:  Currently, my children are 4, 2 1/2, and 1 years old.  Smoothie drinking is a SLOW process, especially if the consistency is too thick or frozen.  I've opted for adding more milk and removing some of the frozen ingredients so that we can get them down a little faster in the morning.  :)

 Hopefully these recipes will help you in your weekly or monthly meal planning.  ENJOY!

Monthly Meal Plan March 2013

Allow me to preface this post by saying that in my life BC (before children), I was a public school teacher for four and a half years.  Year four was when I finally felt like I was "getting it" and was comfortable in what I was doing as a teacher.  And now, I'm at four years and three months of being a mom, and I feel like I'm finally starting to figure it out.  Having three babies in as many years definitely threw me into survival mode, and it's been a long exhausting journey getting here, but I finally feel like I'm somewhat in control of my role as a wife, mom, and domestic goddess.  :)

That being said, I've been trying to find ways to maximize my time w/ my children and alleviate those high-stress periods throughout the day, primarily the chaos that ensues at meal times and during meal prep.  Also, my husband and I have been talking about some big dreams which includes really sticking to a budget, and I know one of the quickest ways to reduce spending is to plan and prepare meals at home so that I'm not tempted to pick up carry out or order a pizza.  Thanks to the inspiration of several blogs I follow, I decided to start doing a monthly meal plan that includes preparing freezer foods and meals.  I particularly like what Erica at Confessions of a Homeschooler uses, so I adopted her model.

I spent four hours last night planning and preparing (there's a big learning curve initially if you're like me and tend to plan one or two days out but often find that you're flying by the seat of your pants).  I began by creating a master list of meals and foods that I commonly prepare and/or want to add to my repertoire (I hope to post several of those recipes eventually).  From there I looked at which ones had common ingredients and could be prepared in bulk as freezer meals.   Knowing your family's weekly activities is key, so I planned a big pasta lunch for Sundays after church and simple meals for Tuesday evenings since I attend a women's group then.  And of course, planning meals that will have enough leftovers for lunch is a huge time saver. 

You'll note that I have breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner posted each weekday.  Weekends often include travel and social events, so I left those open for leftovers or using a freezer meal.  I plan to do my grocery shopping on Friday mornings and freezer meals prep on the weekends.  (Friday is also our trash day, so it's a great day to make sure leftovers are used up and the fridge is cleaned out.  Like I said, there's so much to consider when starting this journey!)  And just because it's on the menu doesn't mean I can't be flexible.  I'm sure as the month goes on, we'll have things come up that will force me to modify as we go.

So I went grocery shopping early this morning sans kids (thanks to my awesome hubby), came home and cut up and froze three pounds of strawberries, threw a whole chicken in the crockpot (I'll debone it and cut the meat up to freeze for casserole use), and have another crockpot of soup cooking (also a freezer meal).  And now it's 10:15 and I'm sitting down with my coffee in hand and kiddos on either side as we enjoy Sesame Street.

So now that you know a little bit about my planning process, here's my menu!  Enjoy and modify for your own use!

 

Click here to download your Monthly Meal Plan, March 2013 (Word document, editable)

What's Cooking: Recipe Chicken Tortilla Soup

I have one of the best neighbors ever.  Seriously.  Ever.  She is a Christian woman with 2 young kiddos, and she is incredibly thoughtful, kind, and generous.  I cannot tell you how many times she has shown up on my doorstep with food or hand-me-downs in hand.  My girls are never in need of clothes, and we're often thankful for a surprise treat or full-blown meal.  I don't know if she'll ever fully understand what a blessing she is in my life or how thankful I am for her.

What's cooking in my kitchen right now is her recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup.  Few meals are simpler than certain soup recipes, and most of the time they are freezer-friendly and provide ample leftovers, so I love making a big pot of soup (not to mention, they make the house smell so yummy!).  This one took me 5 minutes to prepare.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, uncooked
2 cans of black beans (undrained)
2 cans of stewed tomatoes (preferably the Mexican seasoned ones)
1 14.5 oz. can tomato sauc
1 cup salsa
1- 4 oz can peeled, diced green chiles

Fixings (optional):
Tortilla Chips or Strips
Shredded Cheese
Sour Cream

1.  Place all ingredients in a crockpot on high for 8 hours (or less...until chicken is tender and falling apart)
2.  Just before serving, remove chicken breasts and shred.  Return to crock pot.
3.  Serve with fixings (optional).

Suggestions: You can spice this soup up by using black beans with jalapenos or substitute the green chiles for canned/diced jalapenos.  You could also slice up some avocado to add upon serving, serve with guacamole, or add some frozen or canned corn while cooking.  ENJOY!