Chicken Enchiladas

I am pretty excited about this recipe. This recipe was found on Tasty Kitchen. I made it quite awhile ago and I have been waiting to share it with you as I was doing a bit of an experiment. This makes a huge batch of enchilada filling. So much, that I was able to get 3 meals out of it with leftovers. Altogether, this made 16 enchiladas, and you could get more by not filling them so full.  I made this last fall and made it for two meals, one for a night with my friends and another for a night just with my husband. Overwhelmed by the amount of enchilada filling leftover, I froze the filling for a quick meal later. I was not sure how it would hold up in the freezer and I am telling you now that I am really impressed. This is an all around time saver recipe as it utilizes the slow cooker to cook the meat.

• 2 1/2 pounds chicken breast (I used four large breasts)
• 1 (16 oz.) bottle Italian Dressing (I used Kraft Free and it worked fine.)
• 1 Tablespoon Cumin
• 1 Tablespoon Chili Powder
• 3 teaspoons minced garlic

Place all these ingredients in a slow cooker on high for 3-5 hours, shred and place back in slow cooker until ready to use.

• 1 box Hamburger Helper Cheesy Enchilada Rice

Cook the rice according to package directions. Do not add the meat called for on the box or the sauce mixture. Just make the rice with the seasoning.

• 1 can black beans

Heat in a large microwave bowl in the microwave.

Combine the chicken mixture, rice, and black beans in the large bowl and mix well until combined.

• Tortillas (If you are making all at once, you will need at least 16. If you are planning to divide in half and freeze remaining filling, you only need 8. Just have on hand the number of enchiladas you plan to make)
• Enchilada Sauce (I used one 10 oz. can per pan of 5-6 I made)
• 3-4 cups shredded cheese

Fill each tortilla with 1/3 cup filling, roll and place seam side down in a pan appropriate in size for the number you are making. Pour enchilada sauce on top and sprinkle with cheese. If you have warm filling, bake at 350 for 20 minutes until bubbling around the edge of pan.

If you have leftover enchilada filling, place in a freezer safe Ziploc bag, label and date. Place in the freezer for a speedy dinner another night

To use: Thaw enchilada filling and heat in a microwave safe bowl. Fill each tortilla with filling, roll and place seam side down in pan. Pour enchilada sauce over enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese. If the filling is even a little bit cold, allow to bake for 30 minutes at 350 instead of 20.

White Almond Sheet Cake

A few weeks ago I wrote about a chocolate sheet cake by the Pioneer Woman, which you must make now if you haven't tried it yet. Anyways, my husband is not a huge chocolate fan and saw this recipe for a white sheet cake in the cookbook my mom gave me before I got married. He's been begging me to make it ever since so today I whipped it up and I am sharing it with you.

• 1 cup butter (two sticks)
• 1 cup water
• 2 cups flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon almond extract

In a saucepan, melt butter and add water and bring to a boil. Meawhile, place flour, sugar, milk, eggs, salt, baking soda, and almond extract in a large mixing bowl. Mix until combined. Add butter mixture and mix until batter is smooth. The batter will be very runny - this is normal. Pour batter into a greased jelly roll pan (10x15 inch pan). Bake 20-25 minutes at 350. Wash the saucepan and mixing bowl as you will need it for the icing.

When the cake is almost done baking, mix up the icing.

• 1/2 cup butter (one stick)
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 4 cups powdered sugar

In a saucepan melt the butter and add the milk. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Add to the mixing bowl with powdered sugar and almond extract. Beat until smooth. Spread over warm cake after removed from the oven. Try to drizzle the icing over the entire cake so that it keeps a smooth finish as it cools. Attempt to spread as little as possible as it is not as smooth looking as a finished product. The icing is runny when warm but firms as it cools.

Sweet Potato Pancakes

I want to start by saying that I do not like sweet potatoes but I do love these pancakes! I normally would have never tried this recipe except for the fact that I had some sweet potatoes on hand. I started getting locally grown/organic produce through a program at work called Doorganics and what they deliver each week is what I eat for the week. It's a bit on the pricey end for what I would normally pay for produce but it is very high quality and I get a huge variety each week that I know I would not normally buy if I went to the grocery store by myself. Because of the price, I make sure to use every last bit of the produce I recieve. So last week, I got these two lovely sweet potatoes. Great. Normally I have a hard time even swallowing sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes are a great source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and fiber. I also got my issue of Taste of Home magazine last week and saw a recipe for sweet potatoe pancakes. I made a few changes to make them the way I like pancakes and I am really pleased with the results!

• 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 egg
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups flour
• 2 Tablespoons oil
• 1/2 of a sweet potato
• Hot syrup or caramel sauce

Start by cooking your sweet potato. I microwaved mine on a plate for a couple of minutes and then mashed it with a fork (like you would bananas for banana bread). I then threw all the other ingredients and mashed sweet potatoes (minus syrup/caramel sauce) in a bowl and whisked together until smooth. Heat an electric skillet on medium heat or 300 degrees depending on what kind you have. Grease the skillet with cooking spray or cooking oil. I prefer cooking oil as it gives pancakes a crispier edge. Pour batter from bowl on skillet to make three inch circles. I would keep these on the smaller side and keep a few inches between pankcakes as these expanded quite a bit. Cook until the top start to bubble and then flip. Cook until each side is a nice pretty golden brown color. Serve with hot maple syrup or hot caramel sauce.

I preferred the maple syrup while Dylan liked it better with the caramel sauce - both ways were great!