Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients:

- 1 Chicken Breast, Cooked and Cubed

- 8 oz Cream Cheese, Whipped

- 1 T Chives, Finely Chopped

- 1 Small Can Green Chiles

- 1/2 C Pineapple Tidbits

- 1 Small Can Green Enchilada Sauce

- 1 Small Can Sliced Black Olives

- 1 C Cheddar-Jack Cheeses, Shredded

- 1/2 C Heavy Whipping Cream

- 8 Fresh Corn Tortillas

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine first five ingredients until cream cheese is blended in well. Fill the eight tortillas and roll into enchiladas. Cover the enchiladas with the whipping cream, then enchilada sauce, then olives, and finally the cheese. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 25 minutes; remove foil and cook an additional 5 to 10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly on top. Serve hot.

Chile Verde

2-3 Lb. Pork Shoulder Roast
1 Cup Beef Broth
Chili Powder
Ground Cumin
Garlic Salt
Black Pepper
3 or More Fresh, Whole Jalapenos
1 Large Can Diced Green Chiles
1 Jar Green Salsa (I use La Victoria)

In a crockpot, lay the roast fat side up. Add broth and lay jalapenos to the side of the roast in the broth. Over the fat only, trying to avoid adding too much to the broth, sprinkle the cumin, chili powder, garlic salt, and pepper liberally. Cook on low for 12 to 13 hours.

Remove the roast from the crockpot. Remove the fat and bones from the roast; shred the meat into large chunks. In a large bowl, add the shredded meat, green chiles and salsa. Strain 1 to 1/2 cups of the broth from the crockpot into the bowl and combine. Empty the crockpot of everything else and add the meat mixture to the crockpot.

Serve with brown beans and tortillas.

Cafe Rio-Style Salad

A few weeks ago, our friends Staci and Jethro had us over for a party and they made Cafe Rio salads. Here is the recipe that Staci passed along. I especially love the cilantro ranch dressing.

Sweet Pork
2 lbs of pork
3 can Coke, not diet
1/4 c brown sugar
dash garlic salt
1/4 cup water
1 can sliced green chilies
3/4 can enchilada sauce (ex. Old El Paso medium spiciness)
1 c brown sugar

Put the pork in a heavy duty ziploc bag to marinade. Add about a can and a half of coke and about 1/4 c of brown cugar. Marinade for a few hours or overnight. Drain marinade and put pork, 1/2 can of coke, water and garlic salt in crok pot on high for about 3-4 hours (or until it shreds easily but don't let it get too dry). Remove pork form crock pot and drain any liquid left in the pot. Shred pork. In a food processor or blender, blend 1/2 can coke, chilies, enchilada sauce and remaining brown sugar (about a cup you can add a little more or less to taste). If it looks to thick, add more Coke little by little. Put shredded pork and sauce in crockpot and cook on low for 2 more hours.

Clinatro-Lime Rice
1 c uncooked rice
1 t butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 t fresh lime juice
1 - 15 oz can chicken broth
1 c water
1 T lime juice
2 t sugar
3 T fresh cilantro, chopped

In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, 1 tsp lime, chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil. cover and cook on low 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender. Remove from heat. In a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice and mix in as you fluff the rice.

Black Beans
2 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 t ground cumin
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/3 c tomato juice
1 1/2 t salt
2 T fresh cilantro, chopped
*optional* add a drained can of corn with a dash of cumin and chili powder

In a nonstick skillet, cook garlic and cumin in olive oil over medium heat unitil you can smell it. Add beans, tmato juice and salt. Continually stir until heated through. Just before serving stir in the cilantro.

Cilantro Ranch
1 packetTRADITIONAL Hidden Valley Ranch mix
1 c mayo
1 c buttermilk
2 tomatillos, remove husk, diced
1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro
1 clove garlic
juice of 1 lime
1 jalapeno (keep the seeds in for a spicy dressing, remove to make it mild)
mix all ingredients in a blender

To put it all together...
Buy the aluminum deep-dish pans found in the grocery store. Lay a tortilla in the bottom of the pan, sprinkle cheese on it, and put in the oven at 375 for about 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Remove from oven, add beans, rice, pork, then lettuce and a little scoop of diced tomato and onions. Add guacamole, sour cream and crushed tortilla chips, a shake of parmesan cheese and a few cialntro leaves. Serve with the cilantro ranch dressing.

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients

- 2 cooked chicken breasts, shredded*

- 8 oz. whipped cream cheese (can be low fat)

- 1/2 yellow onion, diced

- 1/2 cup salsa (choose your favorite!)

- 8 large flour tortillas

- 8 oz. Jack Cheese, shredded

- 2 small cans enchilada sauce

Instructions

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a 9 X 13 inch baking dish, coat with cooking spray. In a medium sized bowl, combine shredded chicken, cream cheese, onion and salsa. Dividing the chicken mixture evenly among the 8 tortillas, roll into enchiladas, closing the ends as you roll (to help them fit in the pan). After all enchiladas are prepared and in the pan, pour the two cans of enchilada sauce over the enchiladas to completely cover. Sprinkle on the cheese and bake for 20 minutes.

*I use the precooked rotisserie chickens from the grocery store for this, which saves a lot of time and energy.

Taco Soup

Here's another quick and easy recipe, this time for a tasty soup.

1 lb ground beef, browned
1 package taco seasoning
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 can black beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can corn

Put all ingredients, including liquid, in a large pot and heat through. Add fresh tomato pieces at the end if you'd like. Top with sour cream, grated cheese and Fritos. Yum!