Easy Chicken Enchilada Pasta Skillet

I was looking for something fast and easy to cook for dinner tonight. We were blessed in that we didn't suffer too much damage here from Ike, but lots of the communities around us did ... and they are packing our grocery stores and gas stations ... so I'm staying away from the store and wanted to use what I had on hand. I came up with this recipe. The whole family loved it ... which is rare. I wanted to get this posted before I forget what I did. :o) Add a salad or a green vegetable to this and you have a complete meal.



Ingredients

1 thirteen ounce can of chicken breast, drained
1/4 to 1/2 cup of chopped frozen onion
1 can of 98% fat free cream of chicken soup
1 can of green echilada sauce
2 or 3 shakes of garlic powder (or to taste)
2 cup of shredded cheese, divided (4 cheese mexican blend, monterey jack, pepper jack ... whatever you have on hand)
1/2 of a twelve ounce bag of cooked whole wheat blend egg noodles (or any other noodle you have on hand)

Directions

1. Cook noodles according to package directions (I put the noodles in boiling water and then started with the next step while the noodles were cooking to tender)

2. Drain chicken and mix with onions in a skillet that is heating on medium high. Once onions are soft, add the soup, enchilada sauce and garlic powder. Mix well and heat through. Add one cup of cheese and mix until melted. Turn the heat to low.

3. Drain the pasta and gently stir into the chicken mixture in the skillet.

4. Sprinkle the remaining one cup of cheese on top of the chicken and noodle mixture and serve.

Crock Pot Enchilades

I made this recipe for potluck last Sunday. I was out of town all day Saturday, so I knew I needed something I could make ahead easily. I browned the meat and added the soups and seasonings, and then put the crock in the fridge Friday night. Sunday morning, I put the crock in the "pot" and heated it for about 4 hours and it turned out great.

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds of hamburger meat
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 can of cheese soup (any flavor)
1 can of golden mushroom soup
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 can of red enchilada sauce (mild or hot)
1 tsp. of ground cumin
1 four ounce can of chopped green chilies
12 corn tortillas

Brown hamburger meat and onions. Drain and put into a Crockpot you have sprayed with cooking spray. Add the rest of the ingredients except for the tortillas. Cook for four hours on low. One hour before you serve it, tear up the tortillas and add to the soup mixture in the crock pot. Cook an additional hour and serve.

Santa Fe Pinto Beans

Here is my version of a recipe I got off of a can of Bush's Pinto Beans. It was a nice change for a side dish. The boys wouldn't even try it, but my hubby and I really liked it.

Ingredients

1/2 C. frozen chopped bell pepper
1 C. of frozen chopped onion
2 cloves of minced garlic
1 T. of olive oil or canola oil
1 T. of chicken base or bouillon
1/4 c. of water
1/2 tsp. of cumin
2 cans (16 oz.) of pinto beans (drained and rinsed) - the original recipe called for one can of pinto beans and one can of black beans. Since I only had pinto, that's what I used, but you could use one of each.
1 can of rotel tomatoes, undrained
1 and 1/2 C. of frozen corn

In a large skillet, saute the green pepper, onion, and garlic in the oil. Stir in the chicken base, water and cumin. Bring to a boil and add the beans, tomato and corn. Reduce heat and simmer until heated through.

To see what else is cooking on Wednesday, check out What's Cooking Wednesday.

Mexican Breakfast

Can you tell I'm from Texas with all of this Tex Mex food!? :o) I love Mexican food the way it is done in Texas. Anyway, I got this recipe from Amy Landry who got it from her mom and I don't know where she got it, but it is WONDERFUL! I've made it a couple of times when we have had overnight guests, and it is ALWAYS a big hit!

Ingredients

1 cup of sour cream
1 can cream of mushroom soup
4 oz. can of chopped green chilies
2 T. LaVictoria green chili salsa (I've used other brands of green chili salsa and it works fine ... LaVictoria brand is hard to find around here)
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
Combine the above for sauce

1 pound Jimmy Dean hot sausage (can do half bacon and half sausage)
2 T. butter
7 eggs beaten
1/4 c. cottage cheese
1 T. chopped parsley
1/4 C. chopped green onions
12 buttered flour tortillas
2 C. shredded Mexican cheese blend

Brown and crumble the sausage. Drain on paper towels. Melt butter in the same skillet, add eggs and cottage cheese. Add parsley and green onion. Cook until lightly set (the eggs should be pretty gooey). Add sausage and 2 T. of the sauce to the egg mixture. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spread a small amount of the sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Divide filling and roll into buttered tortillas (the number of tortillas you use depends on how fat you stuff them :o) but you can probably get about 12 out of this). Arrange rolled tortillas in a single layer. Top with the rest of the sauce. Cover with grated cheese and bake for 30 to 45 minutes.

You can prepare this dish the night before and refrigerate it. Cover it with foil and bake for 30 minutes and then uncover and bake for another 15 minutes. It won't take as long to cook if it hasn't been in the refrigerator. You can also use 1/2 bacon and half sausage.

Sloppy Chicken Enchilades, Version II

I got this recipe from Jill's recipe blog: Simple Daily Recipes Blog

She came up with the recipe when she was short for time and could only use what she had on hand. I used it last Thursday when I was in the same situation. Because I could only use what I had on hand, mine is different from hers, but based on the same principle. :o) To try her recipe, go to her blog. Here is my version of Jill's recipe.
Ingredients

2 cans of canned chicken breasts (the size that you can get 5 to a pack at Sam's)
1 tsp. of onion powder, or to taste
1 can of 98% fat free cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup of light sour cream
1 and 1/2 tsp of chili powder (less if you want it less spicy)
1 and 1/2 tsp of ground cumin
1 can (4 oz.) green chilis
1 can of drained rotel tomatoes (use mild if you want it to be less spicy)
8 corn tortillas
2 cups of 2% Mexican blend cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Drain the canned chicken, and mix it with the soup, sour cream, onion powder, chili powder and cumin in a large bowl. I used my kitchen shears to cut the tortillas into strips (bite sized pieces). Add the tortillas strips, green chilis, and drained rotels. Mix just until the tortillas are coated with soup mixture. Empty the mixture into a sprayed 9x13 casserole dish and cover with cheese. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly on top.

TIP: I didn't do this, but if you were going to serve it to people other than your kids :o), after it comes out of the oven, you could plate it and top it with shredded lettuce (I love buying the bags of this in the produce section for sandwiches, tacos, salads, etc.); seeded, diced tomatoes; a dollop of sour cream; sliced black olives and/or a dollop of guacamole.

Taco Seasoned Squash

CeCe shares her new veggie creation with us! Thanks, CeCe!

I cooked turkey tacos (I am on LA weight loss so....). I really have never associated "turkey" with anything good except baked turkey for Thanksgiving so this was a HUGE stretch for me. Anyway, after scooping out all the turkey meat/ taco mix , I noticed there was a lot of stuff left in the skillet. Lots of seasoning, bits of turkey browned....I thought there has got to be a way to use this to cook this yellow squash that I was FORCING myself to make. (I don't like many veggies unless they are fried. So LA weight loss and I have been chatting about new ways that I might be able to eat them). I cut the squash super thin and peppered them. Sprayed the skillet (left all the stuff in it and just sprayed lightly on top of it), and added the squash. I browned them on either side. OH MY GOSH.....my son and I fought over the whole skillet. IT was the best squash I have ever had and tasted fried but it really wasn't!! ; I tried it again the next day without all the taco seasoning. It was almost as good so I ate it again! There goes another vegetable that I can eat!! Yahoooo!

CeCe

Laura's Chicken & Salsa Soup

This is a super easy, super low fat soup. My husband does not like low fat things OR soup, and this is one of his favorite meals. I made it in a crock pot for a potluck lunch last Sunday and had several requests for the recipe. So, here it is. It is one of my "go to" recipes when I need something that turns out good every time. I've seen different versions online, but this is my take on it. I'll do the stove top version and the crock pot version.

Ingredients

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut in bite sized pieces (I use 2 cans of chicken from Sam's ... I know Martha Stewart and Rachel Ray would be COMPLETELY offended ... but for soup, I think it is fine)
• 1 3/4 C. of water
• I small can of diced green chilies
  
• 1 large onion chopped (I used chopped frozen onions for the potluck soup last week)
• 1 can of chicken broth (14.5 oz.) - I often use chicken bullion but if you want to cut down on the salt, use low sodium broth
• 1 1/2 tsp. of chili powder
• 1 tsp. of cumin powder
• 1 C. of loose pack whole kernel frozen corn (I have used drained canned corn before, but I think the frozen tastes better for some reason)
• 1 C. of thick and chunky salsa or picante sauce
• Garnishes - shredded cheese, sour cream, green onions, tortilla chips. If you want to stay with the low fat version, buy all the low fat or baked varieties.

To make it in the crockpot, put all of the ingredients except the garnishes in the crockpot and put it on low for about 4 hours. If you are using raw chicken instead of canned chicken, cook the chicken first and then put it in the crockpot. To serve, crumble chips in the bottom of your bowl, then add cheese. Pour the soup over that and then top with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of green onions!

To make on the stove top, put the chopped onion in the bottom of a non-stick pan with a little water or a little healthy oil. If it is a non-stick pan, the water should do fine. Cook those until tender an a little caramelized. Add the green chilies and cook a little longer. Add the water, broth, chili powder, and chicken. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat. Add the corn. Cook until the chicken is no longer pink (about 8 minutes or so) if you used the raw chicken. If you used the canned chicken, cook it until it is warmed through. Add the salsa and cook until warmed through. To serve, crumble tortilla chips in the bottom of your bowl and sprinkle with cheese. Ladle the soup over the chips and cheese. Top that with a dollop of sour cream and some green onions. DELICIOUS!

Low Fat Migas

No one has actually asked me for this recipe, which is funny that it is the first recipe I'm posting here. But, I had it for breakfast today, and it is SO good! Also, if you are doing WeightWatchers, it is only 6 points, and it gets in BOTH of your healthy oils for the day.

2 corn tortillas
2 tsp. of extra virgin olive oil (evoo)
1/4 c. of chopped onions or to taste (I use frozen chopped onions)
1/2 c. of drained Rotel tomatoes (or to taste ... less if you like it less spicy or use mild Rotel)
3 egg whites
1/4 c. of 2% shredded cheese

Before you get started, here's a tip. Get your egg whites ready (if you are actually using eggs and not a carton of egg whites) and get your tomatoes ready, too. Open the can and drain them.

1. Heat the evoo in a small skillet over a medium flame.
2. Tear the tortillas into small pieces and fry them until they are firm but not burned.
3. This is where I add my frozen chopped onions. If you are using fresh, go ahead and add them. Cook the onions until they are soft (quicker if you are using frozen onions)
4. Add the Rotel tomatoes. (Here's a tip ... if you are out of Rotel tomatoes, you can use chunky salsa ... won't be quite as good but it works) Cook and stir until warmed.
   
5. Add the egg whites and stir until cooked (firm).
6. Serve the Migas on a plate and sprinkle with the 1/4 c. of 2% cheese. Let it melt and add salsa if you want an extra kick!

This makes a LOT of food and could serve two if you add fruit, toast or ham on the side.