Easiest (and delicious) Enchiladas

Long weeks call for easy dinners. I love making these enchiladas the day before (usually during nap time) and having dinner ready to go for the next night. Usually I make two batches and freeze one for a later date.

Here's what I use. Plus boiled chicken breasts or a rotisserie chicken (even easier.)

I chop the onion and garlic.

Sautéed in a little chipotle olive oil (regular will be just fine.)

Mix the chicken, chopped green chilis, onion and garlic together.

I add half a can of enchilada sauce, a large scoop of sour cream or plain Greek yogurt and a little sharp cheddar cheese.

Mix it all together and spoon into tortillas. Whole wheat for her; flour for him.

Top with the remaining enchilada sauce and cheddar cheese and bake on 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Garnished with avocado slices and a little sour cream for the perfect finishing touches.

Enjoy!

Dinners

I love reading about other bloggers and their families, adventures in motherhood, and travels. But most of all, I love reading blogs for meal inspirations. Call me crazy, but what other women eat and cook to maintain their health, satisfy their husbands, and nourish their children is so interesting to me.

With that said, here's what we've been eating for dinner lately. 

Grilled chicken, veggie pasta with grape tomatoes, cucumber and goat cheese, and grilled asparagus. 

Baked tacos. This was a new Pinterest recipe I tried out on my sister and brother in law. I used chicken and ground turkey (since William have up red meat for lent.) It was just okay but made for a nice twist on traditional tacos. 

Topped with these goodies.

Chicken stir fry with sesame seeds. Yum!

At least once a week we make a big salad for dinner. 

This week we topped it with delicious sautéed shrimp.

Another weekly staple is flat bread pizza. They are quick, easy and delicious. I use Naan whole wheat flat bread, tomato and pesto sauce, and as many veggies as I can load on them...plus a few pepperoni and bacon. 

We combined our leftover pasta salad and shrimp for an easy end of the week dinner. 

I like to try at least one new recipe a week, while keeping our grocery budget in tact. Planning meals is not always easy, but spending time in the kitchen is one of my favorite things to do. 

His and Hers

What's for dinner?

Quesadillas!

His.

A whole wheat tortilla stuffed with steak, sharp cheddar, mushrooms, and onions and topped with grape tomatoes and jalapenos.

Hers.

Stuffed with spinach, mushrooms, tomato, onions, and goat cheese.

The only missing piece.  A margarita.

 

But after our weekend fun, we both passed on the tequila and enjoyed our water. 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

White Chicken Chili

It's cold outside!  We've been busy welcoming Maddi into our family, so this white chicken chili was the perfect dinner to throw in the crock-pot.

Here's what I used, plus boneless chicken that I sauteed in a little olive oil.  (1/2 cup Greek yogurt, 2 cups of chicken broth, and a teaspoon of garlic powder)

All of it went into the crock-pot at once and cooked on low for 4-5 hours.

We topped it with light sour cream, jalapeno and a little shredded Monterrey Jack cheese.  Yum!

Soup and Salad

Warm fires and hearty soups are meant to be together.  They're better that way.  

Wills helped my dad build a fire while I chopped veggies and prepped the soup and salad dinner I planned for my parents.  

I'm getting used to the fact that dirty hands and little boys are also meant to be together.

I used The Pioneer Woman's (are you surprised?) corn chowder recipe as my dinner inspiration.  I cut the corn off of the cob.

Chopped a red, orange and yellow bell pepper.

Wills wanted in on the cooking action.

I cooked a small chopped onion and three slices of bacon in a 1/2 stick of butter.

Added the bell peppers.

The corn.

3 cups of chicken stock, 2 cups of half and half, and pepper jack cheese.  (A lighter version could easily be made with milk, which I plan to do, asap!)

Topped with green onions and served in a crusty bread bowl with a leafy green salad.

Perfectly warm, creamy, and delicious!

Smoked Gouda, Portobello and Arugula Grilled Cheese

This may be one of the most flavorful sandwiches I've ever tasted.

After putting Wills to bed Monday night, I poured myself a small glass of red wine, turned on "Elizabethtown," and started my dinner.  I'm not fond of William traveling, but I will say, those nights I do get to try new, what he would call "weird food" recipes that suit me.  Here's a few I've loved.

Pea and Prosciutto Pasta

Cheesy Spinach Shells

Pesto Pasta with Arugula and Tomato

Edamame Corn Salad

When he's home, we have more of the typical chicken or pork chop, veggie, and starch dinners we all grew up eating (with a few surprises thrown in along the way.)

I adapted this recipe from the Vegetarian magazine I browsed through at the yoga studio.

Here's what I used.

I brushed one portobello with balsamic vinaigrette and baked it on 350 degrees for 15 minutes.  I flipped it once.

I mixed up a little butter, one minced garlic clove, and dried oregano and brushed it on the outside of two slices of sprouted bread.

In a skillet I layered one slice of bread, smoked Gouda cheese, the sliced portobello from the oven, arugula and the remaining slice of bread.  I pressed it into the skillet and cooked it about four minutes on each side.

Seriously delicious, smoky, peppery, and amazing.  

"I say make time to dance alone, with one hand waving free." ~ Elizabethtown

I think I will. 

Spinach, Tomato and Chicken Sausage Tortellini

Thanks, Pinterest, for an easy, delicious, somewhat healthy crock-pot meal.  William agreed; this was perfect for a busy weeknight dinner.

Here's what I used.

William has no idea I used all natural chicken sausage.  Let me tell you, he ate it up!

All thrown in the crock pot with a full bag of fresh spinach.

I browned the chicken sausage in a little extra virgin olive oil.

Ready in 4 to 6 hours depending on how hot your crock-pot cooks.  Yum!

Grilled Pizza

Seriously, I could live off of pizza.  I love experimenting with new flavors, fresh ingredients, and a variety of herbs.

I didn't get to celebrate my actual birthday with my parents, so we celebrated at Land's End a week late, with fresh, homemade pizza.  Since then, I've been doing my best to recreate this on my own, minus the grilled part.

My mom and I chatted, laughed at Wills, and sipped wine while she made the dough.

And this amazing Herbed Grill Oil from a pizza focused cookbook.  It was perfect and added so much to the overall flavor of the pizza.  Definitely recreating this all week forever.

Fresh basil and mozzarella.  Hand-picked tomatoes.  Mushrooms.  Italian Sausage.

The grilling of the crust is a little tricky (just ask my dad) but worth every second of frustration.

For the past two nights, I made herbed grill oil, spread it on a pesto foccacia bread from Fresh Market, and topped it with tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and basil from my little garden.  A simple, delicious dinner.

Perhaps this weekend I can convince William to try this out on our grill.  :)

Pesto Pasta with Arugula and Tomato

What do you do when your husband is out of town?  Let me tell you, it was a really wild night over here. :)  I put together a simple vegetarian pasta, painted with my little boy until he went to bed, and then curled up on the couch with a great book, Shape magazine, and The Bachelorette on demand.

Here's what I used for my pasta.

Chopped arugula and tomato.

I added a Tablespoon of pesto to the whole wheat noodles.  Tossed in the tomatoes, arugula and pine nuts, and topped it with some shredded Parmesan.

The flavors were perfect together and paired nicely with a glass of cab.