Apple Chicken Breasts from Mel's Kitchen Cafe YUM!!!

Apple Stuffed Chicken Breasts

printed from melskitchencafe.com

*Serves 6

INGREDIENTS:

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 cups chopped apples (about 2 medium firm, crisp apples, peeled and cored)

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

3 tablespoons bread crumbs or 5-6 saltine crackers, crushed finely

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

2 tablespoons cold water

1 tablespoon cornstarch

2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, for garnish (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

If the chicken breasts you are using are on the thicker side, slice a pocket in the center of the thickest part to use for stuffing in the apple mixture (similar to this method). If the chicken breasts aren't thick enough to cut a pocket, pound each of them to a thickness of 1/4-inch. Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the chopped apples, shredded cheese, bread crumbs and garlic salt. Divide the apple mixture between the chicken breasts, stuffing it into the pockets, if that is the method you used, or topping the flattened chicken breast with the mixture and rolling up and securing with a toothpick.

In a large, 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat until rippling. Brown the chicken breasts in a single layer, about 5 minutes per side (make sure the oil is hot before adding the chicken so it browns nicely on each side). After browning the second side, pour in the chicken broth and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cover the skillet and simmer the chicken for 10-15 minutes, until cooked through.

Remove the stuffed chicken to a plate or serving platter. In a small bowl, whisk together the cold water and cornstarch and stir the cornstarch slurry into the juices left in the skillet. Bring the mixture to a boil, whisking or stirring, until the mixture is bubbling and thickened slightly. Pour the gravy through a fine mesh strainer (optional - only if you want to get rid of any larger ingredients that leaked out while the chicken was simmering). Pour some of the gravy over the chicken. Garnish with parsley and serve, passing the extra sauce at the table.

Pineapple Grilled Chicken

Fun Way to use pineapple sides and so moist and yummy and easy too!

One Pineapple
2 skinless chicken breasts
Hot grill

Cut top and bottom off pinapple, then cut down the sides and save.
Next take your skinless chicken breasts and beat with meat malet untill they are about an inch thick.
Seasonal to taste, salt, pepper, allspice, whatever favor you like.
Now sandwitch the chicken breasts between the pinapple, tie it together with either cooking thread or I just used some fine wire, just as long as it doesn't burn.
Place them on the grill and cook for about 15 minutes per side.
Then I scooped out some of the cooked pinapple and served it ontop of the chicken.
Yummy!

Kale Salad

1 bunch kale
1 t salt
1/4 medium-small red onion, thinly sliced or diced
1/3 chopped toasted almonds or nuts of choice
1/3 C raisins, currants or dried fruit of choice
1/4 C olive oil
2 T apple cider vinegar

Soak kale in water to loosen any dirt. Wash individual leaves as you de-stem them (pull leaf away from thickest parts of stem). Shake dry. Chiffonade leaves (stack, roll and slice into thin ribbons) and put in a large bowl. Sprinkle salt over kale and, using hands, massagekale for 3-4 minutes. After about a minute you’ll notice a big difference in the leaves – they’ll start to soften and turn a dark green almost as though you were steaming them. When done, drain off any liquid that collects on bottom of bowl (may or may not happen) and setkale aside.
Heat a small sauce pan, toss in whole nuts and toast until nuts start to brown slightly. Shake pan on occasion to brown nuts evenly and to keep from burning them – which is SO easy to do. I used almonds because that’s what I had on hand. However, walnuts, pecans or even sunflower seeds would be great in this salad too. Remove nuts from pan and give them a rough chop on your cutting board. Add nuts to bowl of kale.
Add diced onions and raisins to bowl (again, raisins, currants, or your fave dried fruit cut into raisin-sized pieces will all be fine – just use whatever you have on hand). Pour olive oil and apple cider vinegar evenly over bowl of goodies, then toss the whole thing with tongs until all ingredients are thoroughly mixed

Braided Spaghetti Bread

Carbs, Carbs, Carbs! YUM! I think everyone in my family knows how much I LOVE spaghetti. I would beg my mom to make it for me when I lived at home and when I went to see my sister (who is the best cook) that's what I wanted her to make me too!!! I could really eat it a couple times a week! So I saw a recipe on Pinterest for braided spaghetti bread and I thought YUMMMY and had to try it. All the recipes I saw I didn't really LOVE so I decided to just make up my own and you can do the same!!

Braided Spaghetti Bread

recipe by: Brooke Salcido

Cooked Spaghetti (however much you think your family will need & that will fit in the bread) I used about a handful of uncooked for just me and Chris.

Jar of Spaghetti Sauce- and you will need the WHOLE jar, even if you don't have a lot of spaghetti

Italian Spices

Mozzarella Cheese (optional)

Bread Dough- If you are crafty (Nicole) you can make your own yummy dough, you can really use any dough for this. I just used Pillsbury Pizza Crust dough, which made it taste more like a calzone (yum)

One egg whipped

Parmesan Cheese (optional)

Bread Crumbs (optional)

Directions: Cook the spaghetti and while you are cooking it spray your cookie sheet and lay down the dough on the cookie sheet. Spice up the dough with some yummy Italian spices (garlic powder, oregano, etc). When the spaghetti is done cooking put the sauce with it and mix it good- you will want A LOT of sauce, because when you cook it-it kind of dries out the sauce. Then spread the spaghetti in the middle of the dough, add the mozzarella cheese if you want it (I opted out) and braid the bread. See http://foursisterskitchens.blogspot.com/2012/01/chicken-and-broccoli-braid.html for how to do this. Then brush some egg on the top and season it some more. I put the really fine Parmesan cheese on top, bread crumbs, garlic salt, etc (you can really get creative) Cook the bread on 425 for 12-15 minutes.



Grandma Lill's Carrot Cake

It was my birthday last week and I ended up making my own cake because I wouldn't settle for anything other than my Grandma Lill's carrot cake. It made my husband a bit nervous baking it from scratch, so I did it gladly just because I know how freakin good it is! :)

This cake is so moist and oh so delicious. My Mom use to make it all the time growing up. Love it!

Carrot Cake

Recipe from Grandma Lill

1 1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

2 cups flour

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

3 cups grated carrots (raw and packed)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour 2 round cake pans (or one 9 by 13). Combine oil and sugar and mix well. Sift in half of the dry ingredients and half of the eggs mixing well each time. Repeat with the rest. Add carrots and vanilla and mix well. Pour into prepared cake pans. Bake at 325 for 60-70 minutes. Cool and frost.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Recipe from Grandma Lill

3 cups powdered sugar

1 cube butter (1/2 cup)

3 ounces cream cheese

2 Tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla

Dried Fruit and Nut Bites

This a great snack in between meals, or even on the go! I am trying to get back into shape after 2nd baby, so I needed some good, healthy snacks! My 2 yr old loves them too, and he loved helping me make these!

-Recipe from Wholeliving.com

Ingrediants

*2 cups mixed dried fruit

*2 cups raw mixed nuts and seeds

*Coarse salt

*Dash of Cinnamon

*1/3 cup raw sesame seeds





1. In a food processor, pulse dried fruit; transfer to a bowl.
2. Pulse nuts and seeds until finely chopped and add to dried fruit with a dash of cinnamon and a pinch of salt.
3. Knead together and form 1-inch balls; roll each ball in sesame seeds. Makes 20.

                                       

Creamy Chicken Pasta Bake

Here's a recipe I clipped from a magazine a while back and finally tried. SOoooo good! I'll be honest I've never used neufchatel cheese before so I think it scared me off a bit. I had no idea it is basically just a low fat version of cream cheese. This meal was super yummy! The orginal calls for whole wheat pasta which makes it even healthier, but I just used regular :) Easy and absolutely delish!

Creamy Chicken Pasta Bake
Recipe from Kraft Foods

2 cups rotini pasta, uncooked
1 small bunch broccoli, cut into florets (about 3 cups)
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 cup chicken broth (I use 1/2 cube boulion w/1/2 cup water)
2 ounces (1/4 of 8 oz pkg) Neufchatel Cheese, cubed
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
2 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 375. Cook pasta in large saucepan as directed on package, adding broccoli for the last 3 min.
Meanwhile, heat large nonstick skillet on medium high heat with some cooking spray. Add chicken and cook until no longer pink, stirring frequently. Stir in broth and simmer 3 min. or until chicken is done. Add Neufchatel cheese; cook and stir on low heat 1 minute or until cheese is melted. Stir in 1/2 cup mozzarella.
Drain pasta and broccoli. Add to chicken mixture; mix lightly. Spoon into 8 inch square baking dish and cover with tinfoil.
Bake 15 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. Bake, uncovered for 3 minutes or until melted.

Chicken Parmesan

My husband is not really a fan when it comes to Chicken Parmesan, BUT he really LOVES this recipe! and I love it too because it's so simple yet so delicious!  

Chicken Parmesan

Recipe by: Bre Hamideh

2-4 chicken breasts

1 egg- beaten

breadcrumbs mixed with some Parmesan cheese

mozzarella cheese

spaghetti sauce

cooked spaghetti

Flatten chicken breast with mallet. Put breast in beaten egg, then into breadcrumbs, grill on a skillet until browned. Spray casserole dish and put the breaded chicken on bottom, pour spaghetti sauce over and sprinkle with shredded mozzarella on top. (don't mind my picture my husband kept telling me more cheese-I thought it had plenty!) Cook at 350 for 20 minutes. Serve over/with cooked spaghetti. Yummy! Enjoy:) 

Sweet and Sour Chicken

This is still my favorite meal to eat of all time, and despite the fact it takes a bit longer to make then most recipes, it is well worth the sacrifice! I would make it every week if I had the time, but I can usually only get around to making it once a month. Yummiest chicken in the world right here! :)

Sweet and Sour Chicken
Recipe from Melanie @ melskitchencafe.com

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into chunks

accent and garlic powder OR salt and pepper

1 cup cornstarch

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup oil, veggie or canola

Cut boneless chicken breasts into chunks and season with accent and garlic powder or salt and pepper. Dip chicken in cornstarch and then in egg. Fry in a little oil until brown (it won't be cooked through). Place in a single layer in a baking dish. Mix sauce ingredients (below) together and pour over chicken. Bake for one hour at 325 degrees. Turn chicken every 15 minutes. I like to baste the chicken with the sauce the first 15 minutes and then each 15 minutes after that I turn and baste the chicken.  Serve with rice (jasmine is my favorite)

 

Sauce:
¾ cup sugar
1/4 cup (4 Tbsp) ketchup
½ cup vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon accent or garlic salt

If you like extra sauce or if for some reason the chicken seems to soak up all the sauce (happened a few times to me), make another batch of sauce and bring it to a boil on the stovetop. Stir constantly and let cook over medium heat until thickened and reduced - about 6-8 minutes

Super Simple Vanilla Cupcake

I am DEFINITELY not one to recreate something, so when

Mia and I bought these cute little mini cupcake liners and I didn't have a quick

cupcake mix, I was not about to make them homemade. UNTIL I found

this very simple recipe of a Simple Vanilla Cupcake, so I attempted it

and they are delicious and not too sugary at all. I topped it with the yummy

cream cheese frosting in all the sugar cookie recipes and there you have it.

My first "homemade" cupcake.

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 large eggs
 

Easy Cupcake Recipe Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
Line cupcake pans with paper liners.
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. 
Add shortening, milk, and vanilla.  Beat for 1 minute on medium speed. 
Add eggs to the mixture.  Beat for 1 minute on medium speed. 
.  Beat on high speed for 1 minute 30 seconds until well mixed.
Spoon cupcake batter into paper liners until 1/2 to 2/3 full.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool 5 minutes in pans then remove and place on wire racks to cool completely.
If you are doing mini cupcakes, only cook for 10 minutes.

Recipe by: Cupcakerecipes.com

Crock Pot Fudge Cake

Ingredients:

Cake: 1 cup Flour ½ cup Sugar 2 TBS Cocoa Powder 2 tsp Baking Powder ½ tsp Salt 2 TBS Vegetable Oil ½ cup Milk 1 tsp Vanilla extract ½ cup chopped nuts (optional) Hot Fudge: 1 ½ cup packed Brown Sugar ½ cup Cocoa Powder 2 3/4 cup hot Water

Directions:

Spray crock-pot with non-stick cooking spray. Mix flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Add milk, vanilla, vegetable oil, and (optional) nuts. Spread mixture in bottom of crock-pot. Mix together brown sugar, cocoa powder, and hot water. Pour over cake mixture in crock-pot. Cover and cook on high for 2 - 2 ½ hours. Cake is done when toothpick stuck in center comes out clean. Serve warm with ice cream.

Chicken Fajitas

My friend Melanie brought these over after I had my second baby, and I have been in love with them for 4 years now. I just love the smoky flavor the liquid smoke adds, and they are especially yummy with some avacado spread or guacamole.

*One sidenote: a lot of times I take the chicken off the grill a bit early and let it finish cooking sliced up with the peppers. You can also cook your chicken in a saucepan with a little oil instead of the grill and it's just as tasty, plus gives a little extra juice for the peppers.

Chili's Fajita Marinade

Recipe adapted from melskitchencafe

Marinade:

¼ c fresh lime juice

1/3 c water

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

2 large minced cloves garlic or 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt

3 tsp vinegar

2 tsp soy sauce

½ tsp chili powder

3/4 tsp liquid smoke

¼ tsp black pepper

dash onion powder or flakes

1 to 1 ½ lbs chicken breast

1 yellow onion (I just use 1 tsp onion flakes)

2 red, yellow or green bell peppers

1 tsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp water (omit the water if you use frozen peppers)

½ tsp lime juice

dash of salt and pepper

Combine all the marinade ingredients. Marinade chicken for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight. Grill 4-5 minutes per side. Slice onion and peppers and fry in a preheated fry pan at medium high heat until softened but still crisp, not soggy! Add soy sauce, water, lime juice and salt and pepper. Cook another 3-4 minutes. Slice meat thinly and add back into the pan with the peppers and onions. Serve in tortillas with sour cream, guacamole, salsa, etc.

Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken

My friend found this recipe on Pinterest and told me I HAD to try it and everyone knows how much I loveee crock pot meals. They are so easy when you aren't sure what exact time you'll be eating dinner.. This recipe is SUPER easy and it was delicious!!

Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken

Recipe adapted from Babycenter.com

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (thighs would be fine too)
Salt and pepper
1 cup honey
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup diced onion
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (I used olive oil)

2 cloves garlic, minced (I just used some garlic powder)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
4 teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in 6 Tablespoons water
Sesame seeds

Directions Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper, put into crock pot. In a small bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, garlic and pepper flakes. Pour over chicken. Cook on low for 3-4 hours or on high 1 1/2 – 2 1/2 hours, or just until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken from crock pot, leave sauce. Dissolve 4 teaspoons of cornstarch in 6 tablespoons of water and pour into crock pot. Stir to combine with sauce. Replace lid and cook sauce on high for ten more minutes or until slightly thickened. Cut chicken into bite size pieces, then return to pot and toss with sauce before serving. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve over rice or noodles. YUMM!!

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

I was asked to do a special snack for Mia's preschool,

so since it's Valentine's Day on Tuesday, I decided to make

30 of these delicious chocolate covered strawberries and called

my sister Bre to help. This is her recipe. Enjoy :)

Ingredients:

chocolate chips (or white chocolate chips)

olive oil (or vegetable oil)

wax paper

long stem strawberries (or any fruit or pretzel)

Directions:

First have your wax paper out and ready on a large cookie sheet

Next, have your strawberries washed and dried

Pour a bag of chocolate chips in a glass bowl along with 3 teaspoons of Olive Oil

Microwave for 30 second increments/stirring after each one

Continue until it's completely smooth.

Dip strawberries one side at at time in chocolate

If doing a topping such as nuts or sprinkles, immediately coat with topping after chocolate

Then put the strawberry onto the wax paper- not the topping side

If the chocolate seems to be getting hard, put it in the microwave again with a tiny bit of oil.

Set in fridge until hard.

Recipe by: Bre

Texas Sheet Cake

This cake truly is amazing and so addicting! It's much more moist and full of flavor than any cake out of the box for sure, and you have to feel somewhat better about eating it because you are using all natural ingredients instead of oil and preservatives. I made it last year for my birthday cake with my sisters, and they were all in heaven. Oh- and this cake is so much better the next day or even cold from being frozen. Yum!

Texas Sheet Cake

Cake
1 cup butter
1/4 cup cocoa
1 cup water
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sour cream
2 eggs, beaten

Combine butter, cocoa and water and bring to a boil. Remove and cool slightly. Combine flour, sugar, soda and salt in mixer (or a bowl). Add sour cream and eggs and mix. Add cocoa mixture and mix well. Pour into a greased and floured 15x10 pan, or 2 8x8 pans (do not use a 9x13). Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until a toothpick through the center comes clean. Frost while still warm.

Frosting:
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp milk
1 pound powdered sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1 tsp vanilla

Place butter and milk in a saucepan and bring to boil. Remove from heat and add sugar, cocoa and vanilla. Stir to mix well. Allow frosting to cool 5 minutes, stirring occasionally before frosting the cake.

*This cake freezes amazingly! I always make 2 8x8s, eat one (easily) and freeze one. To freeze, cool completely, cover with plastic wrap and tinfoil. Freeze. When you are ready to eat it just take it out of the freezer and let it thaw on your countertop.

Lasagna

I will never forget the first time I made this lasagna. I was a newly wed and definitely new to the whole cooking idea. I just pulled it out of the oven when I realized that I didn't cook the noodles and immediately burst into tears! Kevin ran over and said, "Wait! Is that my Mom's recipe? You don't ever cook the noodles!" We've gotten a good laugh out of it and in honor of our 9 year anniversary today, here's my favorite lasagna recipe!

Lasagna

Recipe from Cathy Riggs

1 big can spaghetti sauce (3-4 cups)

1 pound lean ground beef

package of dry lasagna noodles (not oven ready)
1 24 ounce carton cottage cheese (I usually do small curd)

1 Tbsp dried parsley

1 tsp dried basil

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

8-16 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

Brown the hamburger and drain. Pour about 1/2 cup or so spaghetti sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 pan and spread it on the bottom. Add the remaining spaghetti sauce to the ground beef. Mix the cottage cheese with parsley, basil and parmesan cheese. Add dry lasagna noodles ontop of sauces 9x13 dish. Layer half the meat sauce evenly over dry noodles, sprinkle and spread half the cottage cheese mixture over the meat sauce. (optional you can sprinkle mozzarella between the layers but I never do). Repeat the layers- noodles, sauce, then cottage cheese mix. Top with shredded mozzarella cheese and bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes. If it starts to brown too much you can cover it with tinfoil.

My Sidenotes:

*In college I could usually squeeze 2 8x8 dishes out of this recipe so that I could freeze one for later. If you want it to keep the original amounts of sauce and cottage cheese, etc. it actually will only make 1 1/2 8x8s. Tonight I doubled the recipe and made 3 8x8 dishes...one for tonight, one to freeze for later, and one to bring to a gal who just had twins. Hope that makes sense! If you freeze it just cover in a few layers of tinfoil. You can thaw it overnight, or you can even throw it in the oven frozen, it will just take a lot longer to cook.

*You can use fresh herbs if you'd like to-just know that fresh needs 3 times more than dry, so for 1 tsp dried you would use 1 Tbsp fresh and for the 1 Tbsp dried you would use 3 Tbsp fresh

Super Easy Sugar Cookies

Ingredients: 2/3 cup shortening

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat together

Add 1 egg

Stir in 4 teaspoons of milk

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teas baking powder

2 cups of flour

Mix well

Bake at 325 for 6 to 8 minutes

6 is better if you want them soft

Frosting: use grandma Lil's cream cheese frosting located on Nicole's sugar cookie recipe

Enjoy !!

Recipe by : Melody AKA mom

My "Famous" Chocolate Chip Cookies

My sisters are always asking for my famous chocolate chip recipe and I always laugh and tell them it's the Toll House recipe, just use shortening and less salt! I know it's crazy but taking like a spoonful of shortening off the cup makes the difference between having flat cookies or chewy cookies. (I learned all this in my food science class in college- I swear)

Here's my awesome tip for freezing: Bake up what you want, then roll the rest out onto a cookie sheet (you can put them really close together though). Throw the cookie sheet in the freezer for 30 minutes (called flash freezing) and then after that you can put them all into a freezable ziplock. It just helps keep them from sticking. I take them right out of the freezer and put them in the oven...cook em just a few minutes more if they are frozen.

My "Famous" Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe adapted from Toll House
makes about 2-3 dozen depending on the size

2 1/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt (I usually tap off a little less)

1 cup minus a big spoonful of shortening (about 7/8 cup)

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

1/2 package milk chocolate chips

Combine flour, soda and salt in a separate bowl

Beat shortening, sugars, and vanilla in a large bowl until creamy.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Gradually beat in the flour mixture.

Stir in morsels and drop onto tablespoon size balls onto ungreased cookie sheets

Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes
Cool on wire rack on the sheet for 2 minutes, then take them off.
*If you wait for chocolate chip cookies to "brown" they will be hard! Always take them out when they look a bit doughy but mostly done, they will set up once they are cooling off.

Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup

I've been wanting to try this recipe for a long time now and after I saw Candice's post about the YUMMY enchiladas I thought I would give it a try! And I am soo glad I did because it has the best flavor to it! My hubby even went back for seconds!(and he doesn't do that often;))

Chicken Enchilada Soup

Recipe by: www.skinnytaste.com

2 tsp olive oil

1/2 c chopped onion

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 c low sodium fat-free chicken broth

8 oz can tomato sauce

1-2 tsp chipotle chili in adobo sauce

1/4 c chopped cilantro (plus more for garnish)

15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained

14.5 oz can petite diced tomatoes (I used the ones with green chiles in it, for a kick)

2 c frozen corn

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp dried oregano

2 8 oz skinless chicken breasts

1/4 c shopped scallions (optional for topping)

shredded cheddar cheese (for topping)

sour cream (optional for topping, I used greek yogurt-taste the same and healthier)

Directions: Heat oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft (3-4 mins). Slowly add chicken broth, tomato sauce, and chipotle adobo sauce and bring to a boil. Add Cilantro and remove from heat. Pour into crock pot. Then add drained beans, diced tomatoes, corn, cumin, oregano and stir. Add chicken breasts; cover and cook on low heat for 4-6 hours. Remove chicken and shred with two forks. Add chicken back into soup. Add salt, pepper and more cumin  to taste. Serve in bowls and top with sour cream, cheese, scallions, cilantro, avacodo, and whatever else you might like!

Tips: I added a lot more cumin and some tabasco because we like it extra spicy in our household. I also wish I didn't put 2 cups of corn in it-because it was soo much corn, a little too much for my liking. Make sure you put the cilantro in it because it gives it a really yummy flavor. Enjoy!

Chicken Enchiladas : So easy and delicious!!

Ingredients: 2 cups fried chicken cubes or 2 cans of chicken breast chunks

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 carton of sour cream

1 cup grated cheddar cheese or mexican cheese

corn tortillas

Canned Enchilada sauce - mild or sauce mix

Directions:

Mix chicken, soup, sour cream and 1/2 cheese together in a saucepan til hot

make the enchilada sauce as directed

Take corn tortillas and dip them in the enchilada sauce, then set them in a 9x9 pan and stuff

it with the above mixture and roll them up

Pour remaining sauce over entire pan

spread remaining cheese on top

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Serves 4 ( you can make more by just  adding the chicken, 2 enchilada sauces

and more tortillas)

Recipe by : my mom :)