Dutch Oven Enchilada Casserole

 We've become pretty good cooks because we are trying one to two to three new meals every week. I think cooking well, just depends on knowing how to mix ingredients together, and maybe adding a thing or two, to make something taste the way you like it. 

One of our favorite TV shows is Chopped and maybe that's helped us a little to be creative. Of course we're not pro dicers, or slicers or anything. But we enjoy it. And that's what matters.

This meal turned out delicious. I had a meal similar to this at a Relief Society activity, where they taught us about dutch ovens. Ever since then I've wanted a dutch oven, and like I said before, we just got one. I do have to say, our enchiladas tasted much better than the ones I had at the RS activity. I think because they had more meat and less sauce. Anyway, we'll definitely be making this one again.

 

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef

1 tsp. Salt

1 TBS chopped garlic

1 can (10 oz.) tomato soup

2 cans (10 oz. each) red enchilada mild sauce

1 can water (10 oz.)

6 large tortillas

2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

 

1. Brown the ground beef with salt and garlic in a pan(You could also add onion, if you like)

2. Add tomato soup, enchilada sauce and water.

3. Simmer for 5 minutes.

4. Pour 1/4 of mixture into dutch oven.

5. Tear tortillas into pieces, and place 2 tortillas on top of the mixture.

6. Pour another 1/4 of mixture on top of tortillas.

7. Sprinkle with 1 cup of cheese.

8. Add another layer of 2 tortillas.

9. Pour another 1/4 of mixture on top.

10. Add another layer of 2 tortillas.

11. Pour the rest of the meat mixture on top.

12. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of cheese over mixture.

13. Cover with the lid and briquettes.

14. Cook for 15-20 minutes. 

Chicken Cordon Bleu

I've made some sort of chicken cordon bleu recipes a couple times since we've been married. They weren't bad, but Nate and I both agree that this time turned out the best tasting. The cheese melting out of the middle of the chicken was absolutely perfect. And this is definitely a meal we'll make again (maybe without the sauce next time - only to cut on fat/calorie content.)

Chicken breasts (the chicken breasts I had were huge, so I cut them each in half)
Italian bread crumbs
Paprika
Eggs
Sliced ham
Sliced provolone cheese (you could use swiss too)

1 Can cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cups sour cream

Use as many as you need for each of these things, depending on the size of the group you are cooking for.

1. Cut chicken breast pieces in half, but not all the way through, creating a small pocket.
2. Stick ham and cheese in pocket.
3. Close pocket with toothpicks.
4. Dunk breast piece in egg.
5. Mix bread crumbs with paprika (about a 4:1 ratio, or whatever you think is good.)
6. Roll chicken breast in bread crumb mixture, covering entirely.
7. Repeat steps 1-6 with the rest of your chicken.
8. Cook chicken on grill for about 15 minutes, until chicken is white throughout and core temperature is 165 F (You could cook this in the oven too, at 350 degrees, maybe 20 minutes - we just LOVE the smoked charcoal flavor of the grill)
9. Combine cream of chicken soup and sour cream in a pot.
10. Heat sauce until mixture is warm and creamy.
11. Pour sauce over chicken breasts and enjoy.

I think I really need to work on my food-picture-taking skills. Or at least the lighting in the room, and use my nicer camera while taking them. Please don't let my lack of skill discourage you from partaking in this delicious meal.

Mediterranean Chicken Wraps

1 chicken tender (from Costco of course)
1/2 cup Italian dressing
1 your favorite wrap (I used a wheat tortilla)(if it is dry, sprinkle a little water on it and zap for 10 seconds in the microwave)
3 TBS Sabra Hummus (I used jalapeno hummus)( I love plain hummus, Greek olive hummus, and roasted red pepper hummus too)
1 romaine lettuce leaf (torn in bite size pieces)
1 small tomato (sliced)

1. Marinate chicken in Italian dressing (for a couple of hours)
2. Grill chicken thoroughly
3. Cut or tear chicken into bite size pieces
4. Spread hummus on the wrap, covering all of the wrap
5. Place lettuce, tomato, and chicken on top of the hummus
6. Roll the wrap and enjoy

Hummus is my new favorite snack.  I love to eat it with wheat thins.  It is a quick snack and filling.  My favorite brand is Sabre.

Neapolitan Pancakes

We made these for Sunday General Conference breakfast along with this syrup.

• 2 cups of pancake mix (I used Bisquick)
• 1 cup of milk
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Strawberries, diced into small pieces
• Milk chocolate chocolate chips

Combine the pancake mix, milk, vanilla and egg together in a bowl. Pour about 1/4 cup of batter per pancake onto a hot nonstick griddle or skillet. Top each pancake with pieces of the strawberry and chocolate chips. (or you can mix the strawberries and chips in the batter)

Cook 2 minutes or until the tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked. Carefully turn pancakes over; cook 2 more minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. Served slathered in butter and topped with maple syrup. Enjoy.

Adapted from For the Love of Cooking

Jambalaya

About a week ago, we gave in and, bought a dutch oven from Costco. We almost bought a dutch oven from amazon, but once we saw the one at Costco we knew we had to have it. It was more than 9 quarts (I just wrote this out as courts), pre-seasoned for 40 bucks. Great deal right? Well, we've already used it twice, because we can. And we can't wait to take it camping with us. We're especially excited to make cobbler, which is so easy and always tastes so good.

I keep typing jambalaya and spelling it jumbalaya (isn't that how its pronounced - it should be spelled like that anyway!)

I found the base of my recipe from foodnetwork, here. But we changed it up, to make it better for us, by adding more meat and no hot sauce and such. So here ya go:

1/2 lb small shrimp, tails removed

2 large chicken breasts, cubed in bite size pieces
1 1/4 TBS Creole seasoning (which cannot be found with the spices, but instead near (oh shoot, now I can't remember, Asian pre-made food) something)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped 

2 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 can diced tomatoes
3 bay leaves
2 TBS Worchestershire sauce
1 cup rice, uncooked
3 cups chicken stock
3 spicy sausages, sliced (the size of brats or hotdogs)

1 tsp salt 

1/2 tsp pepper

1. Cook rice. (We did it in a rice cooker, but a pot would work too)

2. In a large bowl, combine shrimp, chicken and sausage.

3. Mix creole seasoning, salt and pepper in with meats.

4. In a pan, saute onion, pepper and celery with olive oil, for about 3 minutes.

5. Combine sauteed vegetables, meats, garlic, tomatoes, bay leaves and Worcestershire sauce.

6. Stir in rice, and chicken broth.

7. Pour mixture into dutch oven.

8. Cook until meat is done, about 30 minutes. Stirring occasionally.

* Warning, do not have your feeble wife, life the lid of the dutch oven, charcoal will spill EVERYWHERE including into your delicious meal. Oops. (I promise from now on, Nate will be the one to lift the lid.) After picking out the large pieces of charcoal, we enjoyed our meal with a few small speckles of charcoal dust. It just adds character, right?

P.S. I'm sure you could cook this in a pot over the stove, if you don't have a dutch oven.

Besides the charcoal dust, the meal tasted really good. I picked out the shrimp from my bowl, and added them to Nate's, but luckily there was no sea food taste throughout. This made enough for the 3 of us to each have a big bowlful, and we froze about half of it. Although this probably isn't a meal I'll make every month, we'll definitely make this every few months or so. Try it.