Enchilada-Zagna

I saw this recipe with the coupons that come in the Sunday paper. I absolutely loved them! Anything my 4 year old eats is a success and he ate these. He even said they were good! That rarely, or should I say NEVER happens. We were eating before my husband and he told him "Dad, you are going to love these." I'm completely changing things I like. I used to really not like red enchilada sauce, but it's now an ingredient in two of my very favorite recipes. I'm glad I'm trying new things even when I think I may not like them. 2 to 3 cooked boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cut into small pieces (about 3 cups)
1 can (28 oz) or 2 cans (15 oz each) mild red enchilada sauce (The cans I used were only 10 ounces)

1 container (8 oz) sour cream

1 can (12 oz) Carnation Evaporated Milk

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 can (4 oz) diced green chilies undrained (I only used a couple of spoonfuls)

1 pkg (12 tortillas) 7-inch corn tortillas

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 13 X 9 inch baking dish

Combine enchilada sauce and sour cream in medium bowl. Combine evaporated milk, cheese and chilies in medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until cheese as melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat.

Spread 1 cup enchilada sauce mixture on bottom of prepared baking dish. Layer with 4 tortillas, 1 cup enchilada sauce mixture, 1 1/2 cups chicken, 1 cup cheese sauce; repeat layers one more time, starting with tortillas. Top with remaining tortillas,enchilada sauce mixture and cheese sauce. Cover with foil. (The recipe didn't call for cheese on top, but I covered the top with cheese) Cover with foil.

Bake for 40 minutes. Uncover; cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

I also put sour cream and sliced avocados on top. Delicious!

Pumpkin Bars

I used to order pumpkin bars from a local catering place. I won't say where because that would be tacky, but the last time I ordered them they were so awful I couldn't even gag one down. I got this recipe from a mailing that comes in a local monthly flier and thought I'd give them a try. We had just gotten back from a movie and my husband asked me what I wanted for dinner. I told him I wasn't hungry but a few minutes later was cooking these. Of course I can always find room for dessert. I liked these, but next time I won't use as much vegetable oil. Is it possible to taste the vegetable oil? The recipe called for a cup and I thought that was a lot. But, I swear I can taste it. Plus for some reason the middle didn't get cooked all the way but about 2 inches on all sides was cooked and would have been way over cooked had I left them in longer. It was strange. Could old vegetable oil cause that? After I made them I checked the date on the oil, since I thought I could taste it, and it was expired. Probably shouldn't have used it. Maybe next time they will turn out better. I will make them again.

Ingredients:
Bars

4 eggs

1 2/3 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil (this seems like way to much)

1 15 oz can pumpkin

2 cups sifted flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

Icing

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Combine eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin and mix well. Add dry ingredients an mix at low speed until batter is smooth. Spread into a greased 9x12 inch baking dish.

Bake at 30 minutes or until done.

Cool completely before frosting

Chicken Cordon Blue Lasagna

Another yummy recipe from (life as a lofthouse blog). When I saw this I knew I had to make it soon. This was way better than the Spinach Alfredo recipe I posted a few days ago. This was cheesy and so good! It called for 2 eggs, but the dessert I made the other day used up all but one of my eggs and I haven't been to the store. My neighbor didn't get home until I was in the middle of making it so I was short an egg. I also didn't use the full 15 oz of Ricotta only because I don't care for it much. I used probably 3/4 of a container. Anyway, super good. The picture does not do it justice, I promise it's way better than it looks.

CHICKEN CORDON BLEU LASAGNA
Recipe By: Pillsbury

2 eggs
1 container (15 oz) Ricotta cheese
1 cup Cottage cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped, fresh Parsley
2 cups diced, cooked Ham
2 cups diced, cooked Chicken
1/4 teaspoon Garlic powder
1 jar (16 oz) creamy garlic Alfredo sauce
6 uncooked (oven ready) Lasagna noodles
2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
2 tablespoons chopped, fresh Parsley

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl beat eggs. Stir in ricotta, cottage and Parmesan cheeses and 1/4 cup parsley, set aside.

In another medium bowl, mix together chicken, ham, garlic powder and Alfredo sauce. In an ungreased 9x13 glass baking dish, spread about 1/2 cup of chicken mixture.

Top chicken mixture with 3 uncooked noodles, half of the cheese mixture, half the remaining chicken mixture and half each of the mozzarella and Swiss cheeses. Repeat layer starting with noodles again and ending with Swiss cheese. Cover tightly with foil.

Bake for 1 hour. Let stand 10-15 minutes, then sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of parsley before slicing and serving!

Ooey Gooey Cheescake Bars

I was browsing recipes the other day and went to my sister in law's friends blog that I visit from time to time. She actually has a lot of stuff I want to try but these caught my eye and I had to try them since I already had all the needed ingredients. My husband says I'm trying to kill him with all the junk I keep in this house. Although it's far from the truth I really do need to stop baking! This are so easy though and way good. I actually over baked these just a little but oh well, it won't stop me from eating them. (please excuse my horrible food pictures...It's so hard to get a good picture but I like having pictures better than not even if they don't look great.) I got this recipe from HERE

1 yellow cake mix
3 eggs
1 stick of butter, softened
1 lb. powdered sugar (1/2 of regular bag)
1 pkg (8 0z) cream cheese, softened
Combine yellow cake mix, one egg, and stick of butter to form a crust. Press into bottom of 13x9 pan.
Combine two remaining eggs, powdered sugar, and cream cheese and pour mixture over crust.
Bake for 35-40 min in 350° oven. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and allow to cool.

Orange Julius

I don't like Orange Juice. Never have. But, my mom always made Orange Julius and that I like. I'd forgotten about it actually. Until I visited Life as A Lofthouse blog. She had a picture of hers and I instantly wanted some but didn't have any Orange Juice. The next time I went to the store I got some and we had it with our breakfast. Yum, delicious. I figure I'll forget about it again unless I actually post it here so this is the recipe I copied from her blog. It may be the same as my mom's but I'm not sure.

ORANGE JULIUS

makes 4 (8oz) servings

8 oz frozen Orange Juice concentrate
1 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 ice cubes

Combine all ingredients except ice into a blender. Blend for 1 minute.
Add 3-4 ice cubes at a time and continue to blend until all crushed and thoroughly mixed.

Spinach Alfredo Lasagna

If you are looking for a low calorie recipe, this is probably not the best. It's filled with loads of cheese. It didn't turn out as good as I was hoping for, but it was yummy and I will make it again.

From Allrecipes.com
Ingredients
1 (16 ounce) package lasagna noodles (I cooked the whole box and ended up throwing a bunch away. I think I used 12 noodles.
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach
3 cooked, boneless chicken breast halves, diced
2 (16 ounce) jars Alfredo-style pasta sauce
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 pints ricotta cheese ( I had to google that because I didn't know how much 2 pints was, turns out it's 32 oz. I used that much and I think it had to much ricotta cheese so would use less than that)
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes; drain. Cook spinach according to package directions; drain.
2.In a medium bowl, combine chicken and one jar of alfredo sauce, stir together. In a separate bowl, combine ricotta and drained, cooked spinach, and stir.
3.In a 9 x 13 baking dish, place one layer of lasagna noodles, edges overlapping. Pour chicken and alfredo sauce mixture over noodle layer and spread evenly. Sprinkle 1 cup of shredded mozzarella over chicken mixture. Top with another layer of noodles. Spread spinach mixture evenly over noodles. Pour 1/2 of remaining jar of alfredo sauce over spinach mixture, spread evenly. Sprinkle another cup of mozzarella over sauce, lay on the final noodle layer and top with remaining 2 cups of mozzarella and salt and pepper to taste. Bake 50 to 60 minutes, until top is brown and bubbly.

Sausage Breakfast Bake or HAM Bake

Here is another recipe from the Life as a Lofthouse blog. I'll admit, I'm a little embarrassed because I know she checks my blog and I've been trying and posting a lot of her stuff. I actually don't like sausage but the boys do so I made this. It actually was really good, but I think next time I may use chopped ham instead and see how I like it. Finally, something Karson ate!
***These pictures are of this with sausage. I changed it the second time I made it and used ham, and no peppers. It was SO good. My husband still likes sausage, but I prefer the ham.***

8 servings

1 (8oz) package of crescent dinner rolls
1 (8oz) package of pre-cooked sausage links
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
4 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon oregano

Start by preheating your oven to 425 degrees. In a 9x13 baking pan press the crescent roll dough on the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of the pan.
Slice the sausage into small pieces and then sprinkle evenly over the top of the dough.
Mix eggs, milk, green pepper and salt, pepper and oregano all together in a small bowl. Pour over the sausage. Sprinkle the shredded cheddar cheese evenly over the top.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool 5 minutes before slicing

Ranch Chicken

Another yummy recipe from the Life as a Lofthouse blog, linked on the side of mine. (I'm tired of linking every single post but want to give credit where credit is due.) I would love to master baking chicken. It just never turns out right. It's either overcooked or undercooked. But, the flavor of this was so good. I served it with boxed cheesy potatoes that I thought were disgusting. Next time I'll remember that and make my own cheesy potatoes or have salad or steamed broccoli or something. Side note, Karson is hating my new found love of cooking. I used to make the same stuff over and over again, and I'd make stuff he liked. Not anymore. I'm always trying new stuff and I always make him eat it and he always complains that I cook disgusting food. Ha...My 4 year old thinks he's starving to death for sure. He loves when I'm lazy and give him a corn dog. Ok, on with the recipe.

RANCH CHICKEN

3-4 chicken breasts
1 packet Ranch dressing seasoning mix
1 cup crushed Corn flakes
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 TBS butter, melted

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 9x13 glass baking dish with cooking spray.
Combine the Ranch seasoning mix, the crushed Corn flakes and Parmesan cheese into a large freezer baggie.
Shake well to mix all together.
Dip each chicken breast into the melted butter, and then drop into the baggie. Seal the bag shut and then shake well to coat with the seasoning mix. After well coated lay chicken into the baking dish. Repeat with all of the chicken.
Once all chicken has been coated, sprinkle the remaining seasoning mixture onto the tops of chicken.
Bake for 45 - 50 minutes. (Towards the last 15 minutes of cooking you may need to lay a piece of foil over the top to prevent from burning.)

Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup

I got this recipe from the Sweet Treats and More Blog, linked on the side of mine. It is so incredibly yummy! I made it last Sunday, ate it for a few days after that, and I'm already craving more. It's just so good!

Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup
adapted from allrecipes

2 c. chicken broth
1 c. red enchilada sauce
1/4 c. sour cream (I probably put in more than that but I'm not sure how much)
1 (16oz) can diced tomato
1 (4 oz) can diced green chili
1 can black beans, drained
1 cup frozen corn (I didn't have frozen corn so I used one can of corn)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp pepper
4 boneless skinless chicken tenders (2 breasts OR abt 2 cups shredded turkey)
4 corn tortillas

Place everything but the tortillas in the crock pot, stir together, and cook on high for about 3 hours (or low for 6-8 hours).
Shred corn tortillas into small squares and stir into soup 5-10 minutes before serving. Garnish with cheese, avocado, and additional sour cream if desired.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I used red and green m&m's for Christmas cookies. I'm not sure why these ones are so flat. Usually they are more fluffy, but they still tasted great. I have several chocolate chip cookie recipes, but this is the one I seem to use the most.

1 Cup sugar

1 Cup brown sugar

1 Cup butter or margarine (I use butter)
2 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3 Cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 package (12 oz) chocolate chips

Mix sugars, butter, eggs and vanilla well. Sift flour, salt and baking soda together. Gradually add flour mixture to sugar mixture until well mixed. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by teaspoon onto greased baking sheet 2 inches apart. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 - 12 minutes or until they start to crack. They may not look done.