Slow Cooker "Mexican" Chicken Baked Burritos with Cheese Sauce

Slow Cooker Chicken

2 pounds chicken breast

1/2 cup chili sauce

3 TBL brown sugar

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can green chilies

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp oregano

Mix it all up in the crockpot for 2-3 hours on high or low for about 6 hours.  Shred chicken, I cheat and put it in my mixer, so much faster and I don't have to either wait or get burnt fingers. Throw back in the crockpot.  You can either cook it down some more, or just drain off the juice and pull the chicken out with tongs and let the juice go back into the pot.  

Burrito ingredients

6-8 raw tortillas, find them in the refrigerated section

8 oz shredded colby jack cheese

4 oz shredded cheddar cheese

3 TBL butter

3 TBL flour

2 cups warm water (I throw in a chicken bullion cube)

1 tsp cumin

1/2 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line cookie sheet with aluminum foil, makes clean up so much easier. Spray it with cooking spray so they don't stick.  Stuff each uncooked tortilla with the meat that has been drained, or your burrito will be soggy.  Next put on some cheese and roll it up. Place seam side down.  Next bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until getting crispy.  Flip them over and turn on the broiler.  Broil until they are crispy on this side.  While those have been baking and broiling make up the cheese sauce.  Melt the butter in a pot, add in the flour and whisk/stir well until it starts to turn a tan color.  Slowly add in the water and stir until it thickens add the cumin before it thickens too much, every time is different for me for the timing. Turn off the heat and stir in the remaining cheese and sour cream.  Whisk smooth.  Serve.  I didn't smoother them until they were on the plates, less mess and you can better control the smothering.  

I varied this up from this recipe and this recipe.    Carlsbad Carvings...Lots of yummy sounding recipes.  I wanted to make it as written but I thought I had all the ingredients and didn't.  Salsa-nope. Chili powder-how did I run out of that?! So I altered it and really we enjoyed it more, and Pete actually ate it because it wasn't spicy at all, super yummy, but no real spice which is what works for us. It was definitely on the sweeter side.   I loved the idea of using the uncooked tortillas and baking them after stuffing, super genius right there!  Sometime I'm hoping to actually try the recipe as written but so far my brain doesn't function well enough to have everything I need.

Crazy Cake

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
3 TBL Cocoa powder (unsweetended)
1 cup sugar (or 1/2 cup Zing baking blend sugar substitute)
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 TBL applesauce
2 TBL oil
1 tsp vinegar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup water



Preheat oven to 350. Mix all the dry ingredients together.  Add in the wet ingredients and mix until just smooth, don't over do it because it will turn out flat once baked.  Bake in a greased 8x8 glass pan or 12 cupcakes.  Bake for 35 minutes for a cake and 18-20 for cupcakes or until knife comes out clean.

This is my go to cake for our daughter with egg allergies and I've switched it to be a bit healthier and it turned out extra moist and delicious with the changes. I don't feel too guilty eating it or giving it to the kids either!

4.5 weight watcher smart points

Strawberry Pie

4 cups sliced strawberries
1 small box cook and serve vanilla pudding (sugar-free)
2 cups water
1 small box strawberry jello (sugar-free)

Layer strawberries in 9inch pie plate.  On stove mix pudding with 2 cups water, bring to a boil.  Add jello, stir in dissolved.  Cool until mixture reaches room temperature then pour over strawberries and let set at least 2 hours or overnight for best results.

*can substitute strawberries and strawberry jello for canned oranges and orange jello

Recipe from Sandy Julian.

Cheesy Bacony Corn Chowder

4 cups(ish) corn broth/chicken broth
3 slices bacon
1 onion diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons flour
1/2 bag frozen corn or a couple ears of fresh corn cooked and cut off the cob
4oz cream cheese
1/2 block extra sharp cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the bacon until crisp in a medium pot.  Remove bacon leave drippings toss in onion, cook until transulent.  Add garlic.  Crumble the cooked bacon and add back to the pot.  Mix in the flour until oil is absorbed and it sticks to the food.  Add broth in 1 cup at a time to stirring well.  Add in the corn and cream cheese.  After cream cheese has melted add a bit of the cheddar to the pot and leave the rest for topping. 

Hopefully this makes sense.  I've never found the perfect chowder recipe so I just fake what I do like.  You can tweak how you'd like.  I made the corn stock from the cobs of corn destined for the freezer and cooked them in water for about an hour.  Lots more stuff can off and the flavor was amazing!  I made 4 extra bags for the freezer so I can use it later on this winter as well.

Coconut Basmati Rice

1 3/4 cups basmati rice
1 can coconut milk
2 cups water
toasted coconut

Combine rice, coconut milk, and water in saucepan over medium-high heat.  Cook and stir until it boils.  Reduce heat and cover. Cook for about 15-20 minutes or until the water is all absorbed. 
Let stand for 5-10 minutes. Fluff.

To toast coconut:  Pull out a small skillet warm up on the stove add the coconut and stir until it is starting to turn brown dump into a bowl or plate.  You have to watch it or it burns fast.

You can substitute the basmati rice for regular white rice, but I wouldn't suggest it.  The basmati rice is amazing and does actually taste different.  Also make sure to wash and soak the rice, it makes it cook so much faster!

Adapted from: 365 Easy Vegetarian Recipes

Grandma Lich's Seven Layer Salad

1 Head of Lettuce-chopped
1/2 onion-sliced then broken apart
1 pkg frozen peas
1 head of cauliflower-sliced
2 cups sliced celery

Dressing: 
2 cups Miracle Whip or Mayo (it is an entire small jar)
3 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Mix dressing.  Spread on top of salad and seal edges.  Top with 1# crisp bacon crumbled.Top thiswith 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese. Cover and set in fridge for 24 hours.  Toss and Serve!

One of my very favorite foods! Eat it within a day or so of "tossing and serving" because it starts to get a bit soggy.  Each one of us leaves out something when we make it.  Grandma cuts out the onions, mom the peas and I leave out the celery! 

Walnut Berry Muffins

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup corn meal or (1/2 cup corn and 1/2 cup ground flax seed)
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 ripe banana, mashed
3 large eggs
1/4 cup canola or applesauce
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup berries- lightly smash half and leave the other half whole
1/2 cup (ish) walnuts for topping

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Mix dry ingredients. Set aside.  Mix all wet ingredients but berries.  Add the wet to the dry, mix until just combined.  Fold in the berries.  Fill greased muffin pan 3/4 cup full-makes about 18 with this much batter in the cups.  Top with walnuts.  Bake 20 minutes or until done. Consume.

This is adapted from here.  I made the original recipe today and decided it was good but definitely needed to have some things changed to better suit us.  You can use muffin liners but be warned your muffin will stick to it horribly and leave a nice bit behind, I suggest going without them-but I also use silicon muffin pans!  These are not the normal sweet muffins, they have a good flavor but not the normal super sweet am-I-eating-a-cupcake? muffin.


calories 103
fat 5.3
carbs 11
fiber 2
protein 3
(using flax and corn mix, oil, 2% milk)

Hawaiian Haystacks

4-5 cups cooked rice
2 cups cooked chicken
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 cup milk

Toppings:
1 pkg crispy Chow Mein Noodles
almonds, peanuts, sunflower seeds, cashews
sliced green onions
coconut
pineapple-crushed or tidbits, drained
sliced olives
mandarin oranges, drained
soy sauce
diced green peppers
diced tomatoes

Chunky Chicken Gravy:
Combine chicken, cream of chicken soup and milk.  Heat until desired thickness and temperature is reached.

To assemble.  
Rice
Gravy
Any combination of toppings from the above list or anything else that would be good with it

A classic.  This particular combination is from Phil's family's cookbook. 

Peanut Chicken Tenders

1 egg
1 tsp mustard (Dijon or regular)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 lbs chicken breast (sliced)
2 tsp olive oil
1 1/2 cup peanuts

Preheat oven to 400.  In shallow bowl mix egg, mustard, salt and pepper.  Set aside.  Place peanuts in food processor to make course crumbs.  Spray cookie sheet with spray.  Dip chicken in egg, then roll in peanut crumbs; place on the cookie sheet.  Drizzle oil over chicken tenders.  Bake 11-13 minutes.

I've had this recipe since we were first married.  I first had them for a dinner before prom with some friends.  I loved them and later made them myself.  I do not know where I found the recipe, so I'm sorry. 

Whole Wheat Cornbread

1 cup cornmeal
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder

1 cup milk
1 egg (beaten)
1/4 cup butter (softened)

Preheat oven to 425. Mix all dry ingredients.  Add in wet individually.  Mix until just combined.  For muffins bake at 425 for 13-15 minutes.  For a pan bake at 425 for 16-20 minutes.  

I found this recipe when we were first married.  I have no clue where I found it but I love it.  They are my favorite, they even beat out Jiffy Mix for me.  I also grind my own wheat and corn for this recipe.  Just grind the normal popcorn and store it in the fridge.  I normally do a whole bag and it lasts well in the fridge without going rancid. 

Mushroom Quinoa Soup

1 lbs mushrooms sliced (any edible kind)
1 cup wine (we don't have wine so I use 3/4 cup fruit juice, 1/4 cup water and a bit of vinegar)
1 large carrot chopped
1 onion diced
1 celery stalk
2 TBL butter
2 TBL flour
4 cups broth (chicken, turkey or vegetable) or 4 cups of water and 3 bullion cubes
1/3 cup quinoa uncooked

Melt butter in medium saucepan.  Add flour stirring to break down lumps until browning.  Once it begins to brown put in the carrot, onion and celery stirring to coat.  Slowly add the wine or wine substitute. Simmer 20 minutes or until thickened.  You are making a roux.

In another pot add the broth and bring to  simmer.  Add mushrooms. Simmer 10-20 minutes.

After the 20 minutes are up on veggies add the mushroom and broth to it.  Add quinoa and stir.  Cook for 20 minutes or until tender.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Frosting

1 cup Butter
1 cup Shortening


Mix together until well combined. 
Add:

4 Tablespoons Hot water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract (don't skip this!)

Mix together until well combined then Add:

1 bag (2lbs) powdered sugar

Mix this together for sometime.  You may need to do 1/2 the bag mix and then add in the rest of the bag.  Let it mix until it is completely white the longer it goes the whiter it will get.  

The original recipe continues on to add more water, but I like a really fluffy thick frosting.  If you need it thinner you can add more Hot water (2-4 Tablespoons) to make it the correct consistency, I've done it this way and just didn't like the results nearly as much in the end.

I make this in a large KitchenAid mixer, it may need to be cut in half or added slower if you have a smaller mixer.

Half Batch of Cinnamon Rolls

Mix and let sit for 15 minutes
1 3/4  cup warm water
3 oz (mark on a measuring cup) sugar or 3/8 of a cup of sugar
1/4 cup oil

3 Tablespoon yeast (2 1/4Tablespoons Saf-Instant)

Then add
1/2 Tablespoon salt
2 eggs
5 1/4 c. flour

Mix together for 10 minutes, then sit for 10 minutes. Oil counter top, dump out dough.  Roll out into rectangle. Spread with 2 Tablespoons  melted butter and then with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Roll up tight. Divide into 12 rolls and place on greased cookie sheet.  Let rise until they are about the size that you want them, they will rise more in the oven. Bake for 12-15 minutes at 400.

Cinnamon Sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 Tablespoon cinnamon


Make a glaze from powdered sugar and milk. Eat.

This is just the recipe cut down to a half batch.  It is a bit more manageable for mixers, the full batch was going to do in my kitchenaid so I cut it back a bit.

Oatmeal Packets

Ingredients

1 cup oatmeal (rolled or quick cooking)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1-2 teaspoons brown sugar
2 Tablespoon powdered milk
cinnamon (optional)
ground flax seed (optional)

Directions

Mix in plastic baggy.  Add cinnamon to taste and desired amount of flax seed if using. If using the ground flax seed store in the fridge so it doesn't go rancid.

To make a bowl. 

 Add 1 packet with 1 1/3 -1 1/2 cups boiling water.  Mix.  Let still until water is absorbed.   Eat.


This makes one really big bowl that Phil eats for breakfast so if you aren't into huge bowls of oatmeal just cut the oatmeal in the packet to 1/2 cup and the powdered milk to 1 Tablespoon.  Here is the original recipe and some other flavor ideas too.

Homemade Granola

Ingredients

4 cups rolled oats (not the quick cooking)
1 cup nuts (I use walnuts because they are cheap)
1/2 cup shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
1/4 cup sunflower, pumpkin or flax seeds
1/2 cup maple syrup (I use breakfast syrup)
2 Tablespoons Canola Oil
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix the ingredients together, either in a bowl or on the baking sheet. Bake, tossing once, until crispy and golden, 25-30 minutes.

Optional add dried fruit after the cooking is complete.  Let cool.

I have made this recipe quite a bit.  We eat it with yogurt or alone for a quick snack.  I never remember to add the fruit but it is really good without it too.  Just don't mix the fruit in before you bake it.  I adapted my recipe from here. 

Pete's Cookies or Teething Biscuits

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups flour (I use part whole wheat)
1/2 cup instant non-fat dry milk powder
1/2 cup wheat germ
11/2 tsps baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/2 cup undiluted, frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed

Directions:
Combine flour, milk powder, wheat germ, baking powder, cinnamon and salt together.
In another bowl, combine sugar and oil. Beat in the egg and orange juice and gradually add flour mixture to make a stiff dough. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.

Place greased cookie sheet on damp towel to keep from sliding. Place dough on cookie sheet and flatten, rolling out to within 1 inch of the edge. Cut into 2 by 3/4-inch bars; separating the cookies isn't necessary. Bake 15 minutes in preheated 375-degree oven until light brown.

Remove from oven; re-cut on the same lines. Return to oven. Turn off heat and let set until oven is cool.

Makes about 6 dozen cookies that can be frozen and thawed as needed.

I found this recipe here.  There are a bunch more but I liked this one because I didn't have bananas on hand and I have lots of wheat germ and powdered milk.  I make the whole recipe and then put them in the freezer for him to eat for a couple of months.  Pete likes these just as cookies not just for teething, I don't feel as bad about giving him these and really they are pretty good. 

One Hour Cinnamon Roll

 *Warning*
This makes a huge batch of dough.  It ends up over the top of my kitchenaid.  I would suggest cutting the recipe in half. I will add a second post shortly with the halved recipe written out.  


Mix and let sit for 15 minutes
3 1/2 cup warm water
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil

6 Tablespoon yeast (4 1/2 Tablespoons Saf-Instant)

Then add
1 Tablespoon salt
3 eggs
10 1/2 c. flour

Mix together for 10 minutes, then sit for 10 minutes. Oil counter top, dump out dough. Divide in half. Roll one half out into rectangle. Spread with 2 Tablespoons  melted butter and then with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Roll up tight. Divide into 12 rolls and place on greased cookie sheet. Repeat with other half of dough. Let rise until they are about the size that you want them, they will rise more in the oven. Bake for 12-15 minutes at 400.

Cinnamon Sugar
1 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon cinnamon

After baking, frost the rolls just before eating. This way you can warm up the rolls and frosting separately. 

Frosting

1 stick butter
Dash of salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
6 Cups powdered sugar
milk to correct consistency

These are the first half of the batch.  They are about the size of my hand.

I found this recipe via Pinterest.  Here is the link to the original recipe. It also has step by step pictures.  I changed a few things, such as the amount of butter for the filling.  I used the full amount for the first 1/2 but then decided it was too much.

Pasta with Asparagus

Asparagus, chopped
Pasta, 1/2 box
1/4 cup butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bullion cube
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (the cheap sprinkly cheese, not the good stuff)
1 cup half and half
salt and pepper to taste (white pepper would look better, but I'm cheap and didn't use it)
Walnuts, chopped
Bacon, crumbled

Cook pasta according to package directions. Blanche Asparagus to tender, but not gooey. 

Sauce:  Melt butter in skillet. Add garlic, cook for about 1 minute.  Add bullion cube and cheese, mix until the cube dissolves.  Add half and half cook until thickened to sauce consistency.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Mix pasta and asparagus into the sauce.  Plate.  Add bacon and walnuts.  Serve.



I found the original recipe here off of pinterest.   I adapted it to meet our needs and what we had in the fridge.  I was hesitant about the bacon, but Phil does love bacon so I thought I would try it out.  DON'T SKIP THE BACON! It really did add to the dinner. 

Roasted Beet Soup

3 Large Beets
1 1/2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Butter
1 small Onion
4 cups Broth (beef, vegetable, chicken)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Feta Cheese Crumbles (optional)
Dill (optional)

Coat washed beets in olive oil.  Roast beets in oven at 350 for 1 hour or until fork tender.  When cool peel and chop.  Melt butter in large saucepan.  Saute onion until transulecent.  Add beets and broth, simmer, reduce heat to low and cook for 10 minutes.  Puree soup til smooth. Return pot to stove to heat through.  Serve with Feta and Dill.




Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Soup cookbook

This is a quick and yummy soup.  The color is great, just a warning when peeling beat your fingers will turn a lovely shade of magenta so if you don't want that wear gloves.   I've made it with and without the feta it is good either way.  I've never used the dill because I'm cheap and don't have any growing in our apartment.

Ginger Citrus Fruit Salad

1 Grapefruit
2 Oranges
Orange juice
2 teaspoons Ginger
1 Tablespoon Honey


Peel and segment the fruit.  Whisk together honey, juice and ginger in a small bowl.  Pour over prepared fruit in a serving bowl.  Refrigerate for 1 hour.  Serve.


From Prevention Magazine January/February 2009


This is a super yummy salad.  It makes me think of a restaurant here in town that I love!