Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

This week has been filled with traveling, and therefore little cooking. I have had 4 interviews and 1 job fair lately. It wouldn't be so bad, but its a long drive across Houston during rush hour. I have had one job offer and I think I'll get another this week. I'm trying to hold out for the second offer with Magnolia ISD. Hopefully this week will be better (plus no school on Friday!!!!). Anyway, I've wanted to post these enchiladas for a while. They are so not the traditional enchiladas we are used to, but they are still tasty. My husband really likes them and they are easy to make.

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

4 0z. cream cheese, softened

1 tbsp. water

1 tsp. onion powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/4 tsp. pepper

2 1/2 cups diced cooked chicken

10 flour tortillas

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup milk

1- 4oz can green chilies

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, water, and seasonings until smooth. Stir in chicken. Place 1/4 cup of chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla, roll up, and place seam side down in a greased 13x9x2 inch dish. In a bowl, combine the soup, sour cream, milk, and chilies. Pour over enchiladas. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes, or until heated through. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese, bake 5 minutes longer, or until cheese is melted.

By the way...I'm posting this from my couch on my new handy, dandy HP Netbook. I've never had a laptop, and I'm super excited. Hopefully I'll post more often now that I can do it from anywhere in the house (maybe).

Mexican Casserole

Seems like I'm just not finding the time to blog much lately. I'm rushed for time right now to finish this so I can watch a movie with my husband. Hopefully, I'll get my Halloween stuff posted soon (just waiting on some pictures). I know I post a lot of mexican food, but I just can't help it. It's so good!!! So, here's another one.

Mexican Casserole

1 1/2 lbs ground beef

1 envelope of taco seasoning

3/4 cup water

1 - 16oz can refried beans

1/2 cup salsa

6 - 6inch- flour tortillas

2 cups frozen corn, thawed (or canned corn, drained)

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

In a large skillet, cook beef over med heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in taco seasonings and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in a microwave safe bowl, combine the beans and salsa. Cover and microwave for 1-2 minutes or until spreadable. Place 3 tortillas in a greased round 2 1/2 qt baking dish. Layer with half of the beef, bean mixture, corn and cheese; repeat layers. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve with lettuce, tomatoes, olives, and sour cream if desired.

Notes: Enough Said!

2 days after Ike: Chicken Tortilla Bake

On Saturday, we ate some pork roast leftovers that we could warm up on the stove as we didn't have power. As stated earlier, we also ate a lot of chips and drank a lot of beer while enjoying the view from our front porch that night. There really isn't much to do without electricity!! On Sunday morning, we got up from our pallet on the living room floor (too hot to sleep in the bedroom), and my husband cooked some pork sausage. After breakfast, we loaded up all of our thawing food and headed for my dad's house. Since I had all my food with me, I decided to cook dinner there.

Chicken Tortilla Bake

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes

1/2 tsp. cumin

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. oil

1- 16oz. can refried beans

1 can rotel, drained

6-8 inch flour tortillas, cut into 1 inch strips

1- 11oz. can Mexicorn, drained

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (or a mexican cheese blend)

In a large skillet, saute the chicken, cumin, and salt in 1 tbsp. of oil until done. Combine the refried beans and rotel together; spread 1 cup of mixture into a greased 11x7x2 inch baking dish. Top with ~24 tortilla strips; layer with half of the corn, bean mixture, chicken, and cheese. Repeat the layers. Using remaining tortilla strips, make a lattice crust over filling. Brush the lattice crust with the remaining tsp. of oil. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is melted and dish is heated through.

Notes: You can use however many tortilla strips you like, and you don't have to bother shaping it into a lattice, obviously. But, it does make for nice presentation. I didn't want to bother cooking the chicken in a skillet this time, so I baked the chicken breasts in the oven (see previous entry about cooked, cubed chicken). I just sprinkled the seasonings on the chicken breasts before cooking. Feel free to use spicy refried beans or rotel, and we always add a dollop of daisy on top as well.

Black Bean Burritos

This is easy enough for me to make for dinner the first day of school (which means it must be fast). I think my brain stopped working at exactly 2:30pm yesterday. The first day of school went pretty well. It was my 4th first day of school (as a teacher) and the first that I wasn't nervous about. I have to admit that I miss my sophomores. Juniors and seniors are too arrogant for me. Oh well, getting juniors and seniors is supposed to be a promotion (without a pay increase), so I'll try to enjoy it.


I've been reading some older posts lately which reminded me of new year's resolutions. Most people make their's in January, but I find myself running on the August-June school year schedule, and I think of changing things every new school year. I'm declaring my new school year resolutions now (so maybe I'll stick to them).


1. I will not carry other teachers. They should learn to do their own job.
2. I will try not to be as sarcastic to students (but it's ok to be sarcastic with them right?)
3. I will set a goal to have all my kiddos pass TAKS ( I know, pretty lofty, but we'll see).
4. I will not stay late at work and still bring my work home.


Ok, so I think those are all goals more than resolutions, but I'll try. Anyway, here is the busy night recipe.

Black Bean Burritos

1 - 15oz can black beans, rinsed and drained

1/4 cup chopped onion

1-4oz can chopped green chilies

1/4 cup chopped green pepper

1/4 cup chopped red pepper

1 tbsp. veg. oil

3 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. minced garlic

1/4 tsp. dried oregano

1/4 tsp. ground cumin

1/8 tsp. salt

8 flour tortillas

1 cup shredded Monterrey Jack cheese (or cheddar)

salsa and sour cream

Place beans in a large microwave-safe bowl; mash lightly. Stir in the chilies, onions, peppers, oil, chili powder, garlic, oregano, cumin, and salt. Cover with paper towel and microwave on high 2-3 minutes, or until heated through, stirring once. Spread 1/4 cup bean mixture down teh center of each tortilla. Top each with 2 tbsp. of the cheese; roll up. Place seam side down on an ungreased microwave safe dish. Cover with a damp microwave safe paper towel. Microwave on high for 30-45 seconds or until heated through. Serve with salsa and sour cream.

Notes: This is an easy dish, but I have to admit that it tastes like something is missing. If you have any suggestions, let me know. I think that I'll try less chili powder with more salt and garlic next time. That's just me. The original dish is still worth a try. Again, no meat; add any meat you like if have someone that refuses to eat vegetarian meals.

Refried Bean Soup with Pace Cornbread

I'm finally getting around to posting this delicious meal. I made it last week sometime. The soup is one of the easiest recipes I have. Just throw together a few cans, heat, and eat!! The cornbread recipe is from my mother in law and is a great side for any mexican theme dinner. I haven't been cooking much since I started working again last week. Last night was movie night with me and my husband. We made out the hide away bed on one of our couches, piled on a bunch of pillows, and watched movies all night. My husband cut up salami, summer sausage, pepper jack cheese, smoked cheddar, and mild cheddar. We ate it with crackers for dinner. It was great!! We even put an ice chest next to the couch so we didn't have to walk to the kitchen. I think we'll try to make movie night a regular ritual. Anyway, back to the recipe; the soup can have so many variations to suit your needs. I'll put some of my variations in the notes below. You have to try this on a busy weeknight!!

Refried Bean Soup

1 (~15oz) can fat free refried beans (you don't have to use fat free)

1 (15 1/4oz) can whole kernel corn, drained

1 (15oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 (14 1/2oz) can chicken broth

1 can rotel

1/2 cup water

1 (4oz) can chopped green chilies

1/4 cup salsa

Optional Garnishes: tortilla chips, more salsa, sour cream, shredded cheese

In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients except for garnishes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 8-10 minutes or until heated through. Serve with any garnishes you like.

Notes: I like to make the soup and add a dollop of daisy and some shredded cheddar to each bowl. The original recipe called for spicy refried beans, but my husband isn't fond of spicy foods. Therefore, I use regular refried beans and mild rotel. I just add a little cayenne pepper to my bowl to spice it up. As you may have noticed, there is no meat in this soup, but it is plenty hearty. My husband doesn't even usually notice the lack of meat. But, if you are a big meat eater, you could add cubed, cooked chicken.

Pace Cornbread Squares (sorry, no picture)

1 pkg. Jiffy Cornbread mix

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup Pace Picante Sauce

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 egg

2 tsp. sugar

1/2 cup sour cream

In a bowl, mix all ingredients, except the cheese, very well. It will be thinner than normal cornbread batter. Pour batter into a greased 8 x 8 inch pan. Sprinkle the cheese over top and bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, till center is baked. Watch so that the bottom crust doesn't overbrown.