mexican chicken lasagna

i'm posting this recipe now, because you might really enjoy it and i don't really want to wait. however...it needed a little something. more flavor, more spice, more something. i personally think it would be excellent with cilantro, but i live with haters people who don't like cilantro.

oh the humanity. how can you NOT like cilantro?? it could be worse. they could hate onions, peppers and tomatoes. then my life would REALLY suck.

my kids liked this and it was easy. there is only a small piece left in the pan...so either everyone was really hungry or it really was good.

here's what's so dang cool about this recipe: it can be prepared the night before... AND it can be cooked in the microwave (if the pan you prepare it in will fit in the microwave - and is not metal. that's a DUH, right? don't put metal in the microwave!!)

mexican chicken lasagna

3 cups cooked chicken, shredded or cubed
12-18 corn tortillas (depends on the size you use)
1 6 oz can tomato sauce
2 cups water
1 pkg enchilada seasoning
1 cup salsa, divided
1 cup corn, divided (or whatever is in the can you use)
2 cups shredded cheese, your choice (i used fiesta blend. it's a party cheese!!)
1 8 oz. package cream cheese
oregano (yeah, i have no idea how much. just some, ok?)

i also wanted to use 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed, divided, but i wasn't in the mood to listen to my kids bitch, so i didn't use them. however, next time, i just might use them anyway.

prepare the enchilada sauce by mixing the water, tomato sauce and enchilada seasoning packaet according to package directions (or you can use 1 28 oz can enchilada sauce).

soften cream cheese in the microwave for about 30-45 seconds. it goes without saying that you should remove it from the package and put it into a bowl, right?? mix 1 cup shredded cheese into the cream cheese, toss in some oregano. maybe like 1 tsp? ish? mix well.

we'll assemble this in a 9X13 pan (or a pan that will fit in your microwave). i sprayed the bottom with cooking spray first. dip 1/3 of the tortillas in enchilada sauce and layer them in the bottom of the pan. you may have to tear the tortillas to cover the bottom of the pan.

on top of the first layer, sprinkle half of the corn, half of the chicken, half the black beans (yanno, the ones i didn't get to use??), and half of the cream cheese mixture. i dropped the cream cheese on top using my pampered chef cookie scoop. i love finding new ways to use that overpriced little gadget. oh yeah, i almost forgot. distribute about 1/2 cup salsa on this layer, too.

dip another 1/3 of the tortillas in the enchilada sauce and arrange on top of the chicken, cheese, salsa, corn and black beans. repeat with another layer of chicken, cheese mixture, black beans, corn and salsa. top with the last layer of tortillas, pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the top of the lasagna. cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees F, or until bubbling. remove foil, sprinkle with remaining cup of cheese and return to oven for about 3 minutes, or until cheese melts.

i probably would have served this with a bit of source cream if i would have had any, but i didn't... if you make this, let me know what you think.

my new best friend

ladies and gentlemen, meet my new pal:



i bought the larger of the two knives - it's got a 7 inch blade. i am straight pimpin' with this knife. if you love to cook, you NEED a really great knife... i thought i had really good knives until i tried this one.

instant love.

i did buy the pearl handled knife, as i thought it looked elegant and classy. plus all my other knives have a boring old black handle.

you should have seen me cut pineapple with this baby - i sliced through three of them in no time at all. and if you've ever cut up a pineapple, you know it's not easy.

twix salad

i knew it had been a while since i last blogged, but wow...i had NO idea it had been more than a month! now that's out of the way... i'm happy to share a recent recipe success with you. warning: this has UTAH and MORMON written all over it, but that certainly doesn't diminish the tastiness of it.

i like to make yummy things to take to our company potlucks, because they are actually appreciated there. my husband appreciates and enjoys my cooking, and i think my kids do, too, but they really take me for granted. we recently had a potluck for a coworker who was quitting. he has been commuting to logan from farmington for the last year while his house was on the market, and was never able to sell it, so he decided he needed to quit and take a job closer to home. can't say as i blame him; commuting that far would not be ideal for me, either. his favorite candy is twix and i knew i wanted to make a dessert, so i started looking on teh internetz for a recipe, but wasn't finding anything appealing. i didn't want to recreate the twix bar (it's already fairly perfect) as much as i wanted to incorporate it into a dessert. i asked a friend who used to be a pastry chef and he pointed me towards a great recipe for a snickers salad and i tweaked it a bit to make it the TWIX salad. i think you could use any candy bar, honestly... i made a double batch, since this was for potluck, and it fit nicely into a very large bowl. there was NONE left over and some people didn't even get any. did i mention i work with men with hollow legs? maybe i left that part out...

twix salad

*1 12-oz container of cool whip (i used western family brand, cuz i'm cheap frugal)
*1 large box instant vanilla pudding (i used jell-o brand, cuz the WF brand was sold out)
*3-4 granny smith apples, cored and diced, but NOT peeled
*3-4 pkgs of twix bars (or 2 king size bars)
*1 1/2 cups milk

the whipped topping needs to be thawed before you assemble this recipe, so factor that in when you decide to make it. i think if you wanted to whip up something quick and didn't have time for cool whip to thaw, you could whip cream (2 pints, probably) and sweeten it with sugar.

first, mix the pudding with the 1 1/2 cups of cold milk. it will be fairly thick. let the pudding sit for about 2 minutes, and then fold in the whipped topping.

now it's time to cut your apples. i have one of these:



at my house, we call it the ka-chonker. a friend told me this is what he called it, and my kids love that name, so it has stuck. that is the sound it makes when you use it on apples: KA-CHONK.

i used the ka-chonker to speed up the process. it really doesn't matter how big or small you cut up the apples - small enough to fit on a spoon. you'll want them to be about the same size as the twix bars when you cut the them.

stir the apple chunks into the pudding/whipped topping mixture.

cut up the twix bars and add them to the salad, mix well. refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.

you'll be popular, i promise. :) enjoy.

sweet and sour meatballs. casa de elana style

so i've never made this, but i'm going to tonight. the biggest reason i'm posting it is b/c i got the recipe in an IM and i need to get it written down before i do something stupid like close the IM window and then POOF! it's gone forever.

i'm going to serve this with rice, but elana (and really, you've got to head over there and see her "daft hands" post anyway...) says it's good with funeral potatoes (if you seriously need this recipe, let me know and i'll post it, but really??? you don't already have it???)

mmm...sweet n sour meatballs. from my sister's IM to your kitchen.

1 lb (or so, she claims to eyeball it. i find this weird, b/c it makes it sound like she has a giant pot of ground meat and she just scoops out whatever and uses it for these meatballs.)

let me start over.

*1 lb. ground meat. i'm using turkey, b/c it's what i have. you can use beef or pork, too.
*2 eggs
*3/4 cup oats
*1/2 cup milk
*minced onions (dried or fresh, eyeball it. she leaves them out, but that should be illegal.)
*1 T worchest-whatever (her words, not mine...)
* salt n pepper

mix together and shape into balls using this thing:



what? you don't have one of these? LAME. making the meat mixture into balls will not be as easy for you, then.

place the meatballs on a cookie sheet in a 9x13 baking dish in a nice little pattern of your choosing.

for the sauce:

*1 c. brown sugar
*1/2 c. vinegar
*1/2 c. bbq sauce
*2 tsp. mustard
*1 T. worchest-whatever

mix ingredients together in a saucepan, heat until boiling. pour sauce over meatballs and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 mins.

here's a little variation i'm going to try out - i'm going to brown the meatballs in a skillet first...and THEN put them in the oven. i have a skillet that is oven proof, so i think they'll be good this way.