Karla's Italian Enchiladas

Saute until soft:
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. oil

Mix:
3 cups cottage cheese
5 chicken legs, cooked, deboned, and chopped
2 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. salt
black pepper to taste
Add the sauteed onions and garlic

18 corn tortillas
28 oz. red enchilada sauce

1/2 - 1 cup Mild cheddar, shredded

Preheat oven to 400 F. Dip six tortillas into enchilada sauce and arrange in the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan to cover the bottom of the pan. Spread half of the cottage cheese mixture over the layer of tortillas. Repeat. Top with a 3rd layer of tortillas dipped in sauce. Pour the remaining sauce over the top. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil, top with cheese, and return to oven until cheese is melted. Serves: 8-10

Oh my. I am ashamed to claim this as my own. At first I was going to roll up the tortillas to bake them, but then I thought "Oooh, I'll make it like a lasagna! Clever!" Not clever enough. It is not the worst thing ever, but it is not delicious by any stretch of the imagination. Here are the problems I (and Kirk) have with it:
1) I only put in about 1/2 tsp. of salt
2) I did four layers of tortillas, which was way too much
3) Italian seasoning does not work with red enchilada sauce
4) I don't really like red enchilada sauce (should've at least used green)

I imagine that if 8-10 people were actually sitting down at my table to eat this (heaven forbid), one would say they like it (bachelor), one would say it's pretty good (don't want to hurt my feelings), two would say it's not too bad (no taste in good food) and the rest would have to admit it's just not good at all. Seriously, don't make this!

Creamy White Chili

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cans (15 1/2 oz cans) great northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14 1/2 oz) chicken broth
2 cans (4 oz cans) chopped green chilies
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup whipping cream

In a large sauce pan, saute chicken, onion, and garlic powder in oil until chicken is no longer pink. Add beans, broth, chilies and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in sour cream and cream. Serve immediately. Serves 7.

Joelle Hochstedler brought us this amazing chili last fall after Mayah was born. It's sooo good; I'm not sure why I waited this long to share it on here! If I remember correctly, last time I made it, I used milk instead of whipping cream. She also brought some very delicious garlic cheese biscuits that went very well with the soup. Don't think about the calories, just eat it.

Overnight Sticky Buns

20 frozen *raw* bread rolls (I make my own and freeze them raw)

1 C brown sugar (I cut back to about 1/2 C, but you can go all the way if you want)

cinnamon to taste

1/4 C instant vanilla pudding powder

1/4-1/2 C melted butter

raisins if you want



Before you go to bed, put the rolls in a greased bundt pan. Sprinkle with sugar, pudding powder and cinnamon. Add raisins if you want them. Pour melted butter over all.

Cover with a damp towel and leave on the counter.

In the morning, bake at 350F for about 25 min. or until centre tests done.

Invert onto serving plate and serve warm.



Note: Last Sunday I made these and didn't bake them until about 1pm. They didn't rise too high and they were perfect.



Another Note: I use the recipe on this blog called Rich Sweet Dough for Cinnamon Rolls (you'll find it under "bread"). I make one recipe (half whole wheat), let it rise in the bowl until doubled, make into small balls, freeze on cookie sheet, throw them in a bag and freeze until I need them.

Recipe Challenge #1

Is anyone out there up for a challenge in the kitchen?

This recipe challenge is the first of (hopefully many) challenges to get us all feeling a little more creative in the kitchen.

The "rules" are:
1. You can't use a recipe...this must be your own invention!
2. That's all the rules.

For this first challenge, your invention will have the title of "ITALIAN ENCHILADAS."

On November 1st, we will post our creations. Anyone who wants to participate can either leave a comment on those posts with a link to your blog, or you can email us your recipe and we can post it for you.

Please join our game...we'd love to have your participation!

Best Beef Stroganoff

16 oz pkg egg noodles
2 tablespoons butter
2 onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 pound beef, cut into thin strips
14 oz can beef broth
1/4 cup red wine
2 to 3 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp cold water
8 oz sour cream

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add noodles and cook 5 to 7 minutes or until al dente; drain.
Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in onions and garlic, and cook until slightly tender. Mix in mushrooms, and continue cooking 2 minutes. Place steak strips in saucepan and cook about 1 minute. Mix in broth, wine and lemon juice. Bring to a boil.
In a small bowl, thoroughly blend flour with cold water until smooth. Reduce saucepan heat to low. While stirring constantly, slowly pour flour mixture into saucepan. Gradually return to boil while stirring rapidly, until sauce is thick and smooth. Cover saucepan and continue cooking 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, let cool slightly and stir in sour cream. Serve over cooked egg noodles.

This is from allrecipes.com, with some inconsequential changes made by yours truly. It's really, really good!

Moroccan Tagine

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into chunks*
1/2 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small butternut squash, peeled and chopped
1 (15.5 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
1 (14 ounce) can vegetable broth*
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 dash cayenne pepper

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and cook the chicken, onion, and garlic about 15 minutes, until browned.
Mix the squash, garbanzo beans, carrot, tomatoes with juice, broth, sugar, and lemon juice into the skillet.* Season with salt, coriander, and cayenne pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, and continue cooking 30 minutes, until vegetables are tender.

*This is how the recipe is originally on allrecipes.com. Here are my changes: 1) instead of chicken breast, use 6 (or so) chicken legs (or thighs). Fry them in oil with the onion and garlic. Add the rest of the ingredients. After they are fully cooked in the tagine, take them out, take the meat off the bones, and add the meat back into the pot. 2) use whatever kind of broth you want. I used water and 2 chicken boullion cubes. 3) I made it all in a big pot, not a skillet. 4) I always add some cumin.

We ate it with chunks of crusty bread that we dipped into the tagine and scooped it up with. Need I mention how delish it is? It's delish. Now go make it.

Spaghetti Squash Casserole

Okay, for those of you who think you need a recipe for this and don't trust yourselves... :-)
Here it is:

1 medium-large spaghetti squash
1 large jar spaghetti sauce (or 1 1/2 "regular" size jars) I like to use PC 7-Vegetable Primavera
1 lb ground pork
peppers, onions, mushrooms, any other vegetable you like in spaghetti (zucchini, grated carrots, etc.)
plenty of mozza

Cut your squash in half. Place cut side down on baking sheet lined with tinfoil. Pour some water on the foil to keep the squash from burning. Bake at 350F just until you can poke a sharp knife into the skin. Don't over bake or your kids will not like the squash.
Next, fry the pork with the onions. Add any other vegetables you are using. Then add the sauce.
Jazz it up with some more garlic, basil, salt and pepper, cayenne, whatever you like.

When the squash is cool enough to touch, use a fork and gently scrape out the "spaghetti", taking care not to mush it all up.
Put in a 9"x13" pan and salt it lightly.
Pour meat sauce on top, fold together. Top with lots of mozza and bake until bubbly.

Since you aren't eating any carbs, be sure and serve with garlic bread. You can afford it.