Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

This recipe earned a rare compliment from John.  I got it all put together in 20 minutes before picking Maggie up from school, so it would be ready to bake when we got home from Disneyland.  So not only is it yummy, it's easy and fast.  The taste is really mild.

I used frozen pre-cooked chicken cubes, because I've determined I can't cook my own chicken much cheaper, and certainly not any tastier.  So I'm splurging on pre-cooked chicken now.

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas
8 8-inch flour tortillas
2 cups cooked chicken
2 cups grated cheese (I used Colby Jack, but next time I want to try Monterey Jack)
3 T. butter
3 T. flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 small can green enchilada sauce
1 cup sour cream

Mix the chicken with 1 cup cheese and fill the tortillas.  Put them seam down in a greased 9x13 pan.  Melt the butter on the stove top, stir in the flour.  Add the chicken broth, then the enchilada sauce and cook until thickened.  Stir in the sour cream and pour the sauce over the enchiladas in the pan.  Top with the rest of the cheese and bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Homemade Microwave Popcorn

Microwave popcorn is one of our new favorite snacks.  It's easy, it's filling, it's really cheap, and the kids think it's a special treat.  We first tried it on New Year's Eve when we had a movie night in the living room, with the sleeping bag.

Put 1/4 c. popcorn kernels in a paper bag. Fold the top of the bag down.  Microwave on the popcorn setting, or for 2-2 1/2 minutes. listen carefully and turn the microwave off when the kernels slow down popping. Mine cooks for 2:15.

I don't add oil or anything, though I've heard it will help more kernels pop. I like that it's really low-cal and fat free.  Also I can reuse the paper bags if I don't add oil.

Lego Birthday Cake

I made a Lego cake for Maggie's 6th birthday.  I used the "recipe" and instructions from BHG and I'm happy to say it turned out great.  Pound cake, marshmallows and frosting made from 2 lbs powdered sugar and 3/4 c. milk.  Plus, lots of Wilton food color gel.

The frosting felt a little like finger paint as I was dripping it on, but it turned out really nice looking. It hardened up, making the cake pieces easy to move onto the platter.

Sweet & Sour Meatballs

This is one of Maggie's all-time favorite dinners. I use IKEA frozen meatballs, and serve it with jasmine rice.  I got the sauce recipe from the Our Best Bites cookbook, via Jodi.

Sweet & Sour Meatballs

3/4 c. brown sugar
3 T. flour
3/4 c. pineapple juice (1 small can)
3/4 c. water
1/4 c. vinegar
3 T. soy sauce

Whisk everything together (I find it easy to mix the brown sugar and flour before adding liquid) in a saucepan.  Add the meatballs and boil for 20 minutes.

Pork Tacos with Sweet Lime Slaw

This recipe is from Every Day with Rachael Ray, except I changed up the pork a bit.  It's really good, and the kids love it.

Pork Tacos with Sweet Lime Slaw

1 lb boneless pork loin

1 t. chipotle rub

1/2 head cabbage, shredded

1 carrot, shredded

2 limes, zested and juiced

1 t. sugar

1/2 c. sour cream

Sprinkle chipotle rub on the pork, and grill it.  Slice it into strips.  Mix the coleslaw ingredients together.  Add the lime zest, lime juice, and sugar to the sour cream.  Mix the dressing on the coleslaw.  Serve everything on tortillas!

72-Hour Kit Menus

I'm working on putting together our 72-hour kits.  For the food, I made each of us 3 gallon Ziploc bags.  Each bag has 3 meals and some snacks.  There are not a ton of calories here, and extra water is required, but it's certainly better than nothing. Maybe I need to throw in a few extra Clif bars. I'm going to try for 3 16 oz bottles in each backpack itself. Here's the menu I used for our 72-hour kits.

Breakfast Day 1

oatmeal

Instant Breakfast

fruit cup

Lunch Day 1

Easy Mac

V8

Dinner Day 1

soup

Crystal Lite

Snacks

granola bar

pudding cup

hard candy

Breakfast Day 2

Poptarts

applesauce

chocolate milk

Lunch Day 2

peanut butter

crackers

fruit snacks

Dinner Day 2

ramen

juice box

Snacks

almonds

Clif bar

hard candy

Breakfast Day 3

breakfast on the go

fruit snack

juice box

Lunch Day 3

ravioli

raisins

Dinner Day 3

peanut butter

crackers

Crystal Lite

Snacks

granola bar

pudding cup

hard candy

Brown Sugar Carrots

I don't make a lot of side dishes, but this one is really simple and it's great.  I used to make a fancy glaze, melting butter and bringing to a boil with brown sugar. Too fancy, plus it made an extra pan dirty. Can't have that.

Cook carrots until soft.  I steam mine in the microwave in a Pampered Chef microcooker.

Drain, and add a few tablespoons of brown sugar, stirring to dissolve.  That's it! Yum.