0028. chile burritos

Chile Colorado Burritos

Ingredients:

· 1 1/2 to 2 pounds stew meat or other beef cubed (top sirloin is great)

· 1 large can mild enchilada sauce (at least 19 oz.)

· 2 beef bouillon cubes

· 1/2 can refried beans (optional)

· 5-7 burrito size flour tortillas

· 1 cup or so of shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
Put beef, bouillon, and enchilada sauce into a crock pot and cook on low for 7-8 hours*, or until meat is very tender. (Can also cook on high for maybe 3-4 hours.) I've also cooked it in a dutch oven for about 4 hours at 325 degrees. More meat, more time. A third option is to cook it in a large heavy saucepan--bring it to a boil on high heat, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the meat is tender. If you go with a method other than the crock pot, make sure the pot is covered and pretty well sealed to minimize evaporation of the liquid.

When beef is done (very tender and flakes off when stirred), taste and add more salt, if desired. Heat up refried beans in the microwave (covered and in a microwave-proof dish, of course)and put your oven on broil. On an oven-proof plate, or cookie sheet even, lay out a tortilla. Place on tortilla about 1/2 cup of the meat, drained by using a slotted spoon, and a spoonful or two of beans. Roll into a burrito (hopefully you know how to roll these). Pour some of the remaining enchilada sauce from the crock pot over the burrito to cover it. Sprinkle with some cheddar cheese. Broil until cheese is bubbly, about 2-4 minutes.


Serve.
Makes 5-7 burritos, depending on how full you make them.

*Note: You may have to adjust the cooking time depending on this size of your chunks of meat. Larger chunks (like 1 1/2 to 2 inch chunks) may need a little longer. Scrappy sort of chunks that are less than an inch may need a shorter cooking time.

0026. Cajun Chicken stuffed with spinach & cheese

**If you have little ones eating this or your spice tolerance is fairly low, halve the Cajun seasoning and double the breadcrumbs. Also, try substituting some of your favorite vegetables in place of the spinach. Some of my favorites include broccoli (parboiled before stuffing in the chicken) and crunchy chopped celery.

Ingredients:
Serves 4


Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes

· 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts

· 4 oz pepper jack cheese, shredded (you can use up to 6 oz)

· 1 c frozen spinach, thawed and drained (you can also use fresh cooked spinach)

· 2 tbsp olive oil

· 2 tbsp Cajun seasoning

· 1 tbsp breadcrumbs (I use Italian style)

· Sea salt, to taste

· Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

· Lots of toothpicks

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Flatten the chicken to 1/4-inch thickness.

In a medium bowl, combine the pepper jack cheese, spinach, salt and pepper.

Combine the Cajun seasoning and breadcrumbs together in a small bowl.

Spoon about 1/4 c of the spinach mixture onto each chicken breast. Roll each chicken breast tightly and fasten the seams with several toothpicks. I typically use about 8 toothpicks in each roll to ensure none of the filling seeps out. Be sure to count how many total toothpicks were used.

Brush each chicken breast with the olive oil. Sprinkle the Cajun seasoning mixture evenly over all. Sprinkle any remaining spinach and cheese on top of chicken (optional).

Place the chicken seam-side down onto a tin foil-lined baking sheet (for easy cleanup). Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

Remove the toothpicks before serving. Count to make sure you have removed every last toothpick.

0025. Bubble up Enchiladas

Start off with browning some ground turkey or beef, whichever you prefer.

Open a can of biscuits and cut the biscuits into 4ths, like the picture shows above.

Add in your favorite jar/can of enchilada sauce. Or if you’re feeling up to it make your own. Here you can also add in other ingredients to, like corn or black beans.

Layer your biscuits on the bottom of the dish and spread the biscuits out.

Add in the beef mixture on top of the biscuits.

Then top it with some cheese and bake in the oven for 25 minutes at 350. Serve with your favorite taco toppings.

Nutrition Info: Calories 390 | Fat 11.5g | Carbohydrate 36g | Fiber 2g | Protein 33g

Weight Watcher Recipes 6 points (old points)

Points Plus: 10

Serves 6

1 pound lean ground turkey
1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce

1 (8oz ) can of tomato sauce (this optional, I do not use this but the recipe says to add it in with the enchilada sauce)
1 16 oz can reduced fat refrigerator biscuits
1 ¼ cups shredded low fat Mexican Cheese

Extra Ingredients
Green Onions, black olives, salsa, etc.
Fat Free Sour Cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown turkey and drain if needed. Mix in a can of enchilada sauce and tomato sauce. Cut the refrigerated biscuits into fourths and stir them in the meat mixture. Then you just dump it all in a greased casserole (I use 8 X 11) and bake for 25 minutes until the biscuits are cooked through. Usually I use a tooth pick to see if the biscuits are done. Take out of oven and sprinkle cheese on top. Bake an additional 10 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Notes: Add in a can of black beans or corn (when the beef is cooking in the pan), or sprinkle with some green onions. Top with a tablespoon of fat free sour cream.

You can make into 8 servings

0022. Baked tacos

If you want the tacos crunchy, you will want to make sure you place the shells so they are not touching each other. If you want to save time, you can use packaged taco seasoning instead.
Ingredients:
2lbs ground beef
4 teaspoons dried minced onion
3 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
2 cups shredded Colby-jack cheese
18-20 hard taco shells
Optional Condiments-
lettuce (shredded)
tomato (diced)
Salsa
Guacamole

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl combine dried minced onion, chili powder, cornstarch, garlic powder, cumin, oregano, and cayenne pepper. Mix well and set aside.
Step 2: In a large skillet brown ground beef over medium-high heat. Drain off any excess liquid. Add refried beans, tomato sauce, and prepared taco seasoning. Mix well.
Step 3: Spoon the taco meat mixture into the taco shells and place into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish, standing up. Sprinkle cheese over the top of the taco meat in each shell. Place into the oven and bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the tacos are heated through. Remove from the oven and top with any optional condiments for serving.
(Makes 8-10 Servings)

0021. baked cream cheese spaghetti

This isn't quite the recipe I usually use when baking a spaghetti casserole, but I found it on Pinterest and it looks really good.

12 oz spaghetti
1 (28 ounce) jars prepared spaghetti sauce
1 lb lean ground beef
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 clove garlic, minced
8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.

In a skillet, brown the ground beef until cooked through; drain fat and stir in spaghetti sauce. Set aside.

Cook spaghetti according to directions on packet. Drain and place cooked spaghetti in bowl. Add cream cheese, Italian Seasoning and minced garlic. Stir until cream cheese is melted and the spaghetti is thoroughly coated.

Lightly grease a 9x13" pan. Spread a small amount of meat sauce in the bottom of the dish. Put spaghetti on top of sauce and top with remaining meat sauce. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top.

Bake for 30 minutes, until bubbly.

0019. bacon wrapped chicken

Chicken, and bacon, better yet, crispy bacon. They are two of my favorite foods both in one easy recipe. I had some extra boneless-skinless chicken breasts on hand and was looking for an easy dinner which brings us today’s recipe for Bacon Wrapped Chicken. What really surprised me was the amount of ingredients in this recipe, there are very few! I feel the chive and onion cream cheese is a huge ingredient in the flavor department and does most of the work for you. Try and pound the chicken breasts down with a mallet as thinly as possible because they will roll up a lot easier. If you want to do some outdoor grilling these can also be grilled as well. They go great with a side dish of pasta or flavored rice. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
12 boneless skinless chicken breasts halves
2 (8 oz) cartons chive and onion cream cheese
12 slices of bacon
salt (to taste)
2 tablespoons butter

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Between 2 sheets of wax paper with a mallet flatten chicken breasts to ½” thickness.
Step 2: Spread 3 tablespoons of cream cheese over each chicken breast. Then Dot with butter and season with salt. Wrap with bacon and stick a toothpick through the rolled chicken breast to hold it together. Roll up and stick a toothpick through to hold it together.
Step 3: Bake uncovered for 35-40 minutes (or until juices run clear).
Step 4: Turn on the broiler and broil six inches from the heat for 5 minutes or until the bacon is crispy.

0002. Dinner - 6 Sept 2011

I didn't want to work too hard on dinner tonight, and I had a turkey breast tenderloin thawing in the fridge along with a pork tenderloin for my neighbor to toss on his grill (since we don't currently have one), but he wasn't home. Boo. So, I tossed the turkey tenderloin in the oven (it was pre-seasoned "Rotisserie"), made some mac & cheese (with Smart Balance butter & non-fat milk), and steamed some "California style" veggies (broccoli, carrots, & cauliflower) with a little bit of butter, oregano, garlic, & basil.

Not entirely healthy (the mac & cheese especially - but I promised Monkey that I'd make some for her, since I made "healthy grown up food" last night), but it was yummy. I didn't put a lot on my plate, and I didn't finish it. The meds I'm on make my appetite really small, so I usually leave a bit on my plate.