Tex-Mex Pasta Salad

Recipe via: Monica Bell

Ingredients:

12 oz bag spiral pasta (can be multicolored to be more festive), cooked and drained

1 red or green pepper, cut in pieces (I use a variety of red, orange, and yellow peppers)

1 can olives, halved

1 can garbanzo beans, drained

1 can kidney beans, drained

1 can corn, drained

1 red onion, thinly sliced (I only use 1/4)

1 pkg. grape tomatoes

1 cup cheese, cubed

1 avocado, sliced (add just before serving)

Mix together. Toss pasta salad with dressing.  Chill before serving.

Dressing:

2 Cups buttermilk

2 Cups Mayonnaise

1 pkg. Hidden Valley Fiesta Ranch dry dressing mix (must be Hidden Valley brand)

Enjoy!  It makes a lot, so be prepared. :)

Sheet Pan Frajitas

Sheet Pan Fajitas

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

35 mins

Author: Kathi @ Laughing Spatula

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 pound chicken breasts - sliced thinly
• 1 red pepper - sliced
• 1 green pepper - sliced
• 1 yellow pepper - sliced
• 1 onion - halved and cut in slices
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• Pinch of chili flakes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. In small bowl combine oil, chili powder, cumin, chili flakes, garlic, salt and pepper.
3. Toss chicken, veggies and oil mixture together on a large sheet pan with one inch edge.
4. Spread out evenly.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes until chicken is cooked and the veggies are soft with a crispy edge.
6. Serve with tortillas, sour cream, avocado and all your favorite fajita fixins!

Jordan's Chicken Tortilla Rollups - "His Signature Dish"

Recipe via: Jordan Heath 
 

Jordan makes this recipe for us and it is so delicious - can't wait till he makes it again -so I'll have to try to make it myself!!

 

Tortilla shells
Chicken strips (cooked - boil)
Peppers
Lightly sauté  mushrooms and onions
Grated cheese

Mix together:
  Cooked rice
  1 can mushroom soup

On tortilla shells layer:

  Rice mixture, chicken strips, peppers, cheese, mushrooms and onions

 

Roll up and place in baking pan

Mix 1 can mushroom soup with 1/2 can milk

Pour over Rollups  

Sprinkle with more cheese

Bake till warmed through and cheese is melted

Mexican Rice

Recipe via Brown Eyed Baker
Last week I was in the mood for something a little different. I had never made fajitas at home before so I grilled up chicken, onions and peppers and had all the fixings on the side. To go with it I made a Mexican-style rice. I loved it so I’ll definitely be keeping the recipe!

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup uncooked long-grain rice
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup tomato sauce
2 cups chicken broth
(A lot of the recipes I saw called for cumin or other spices, but I chose to omit them.)

1. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat and add rice. Cook, stirring constantly, until puffed and golden. While rice is cooking, sprinkle with garlic salt.

2. Stir in onions and cook until tender. Stir in tomato sauce and chicken broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Flour Tortillas

Recipe via texasrollingpins
This is a simple, easy to make flour tortilla recipe. EXCELLENT!! These are the best tortillas! Tortillas can be part of the meal, a bread to compliment or a delicious dessert.

Ingredients:
3 cups unbleached flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
4-6 Tbsp. vegetable shortening or lard
about 1 1/4 cups warm water

Instructions:
Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Add vegetable shortening or lard. Or use a combination of half lard, half shortening.

Use a fork or a pastry cutter to cut in the shortening or just do it the old fashioned  way and use your hands.
Next add warm water a little at a time until your dough is soft and not sticky. You do
not need very hot water.

Knead the dough for a few minutes.

Now you will pull off pieces of dough to form about 12 small dough balls. Let them
rest for at least 10 minutes, longer if you like.

This is a good time to heat up the comal. You will want to set it at medium to high
heat. If it is too hot the tortillas will cook too fast.

Now you can roll out the dough with your tortilla rolling pin or palote. It is a good

idea to dust each ball with a little flour just before you roll them out. Lay the palote

in the center of the dough ball and roll up, center and roll down. It is good to lift the

dough and turn it. Again, rolling pin in the center and roll. Roll them out fairly thin.

Lay your tortilla on the hot comal. It takes just a few seconds to cook. Flip to the other

side. When they are done it should have lots of nice brown speckles.

 Place them in a towel. If you would like you can use a tortilla warmer to keep them warm longer.

They are ready to be served!

Slow Cooker Southwest Chicken Stacks

Recipe Source: from www.mykitchencafe.blogspot.com


2 cups frozen corn
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 large frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 pound)
1 1/2 cups salsa
cilantro ~ chopped

Lightly grease the bottom and sides of the slow cooker.
Pour frozen corn into the bottom of the slow cooker and place the frozen chicken breasts on top.
Cover with beans and salsa.
Cover slow cooker and cook on low for 6 hours.
Remove chicken from slow cooker and shred with forks.
Return to the slow cooker and stir until the chicken, corn, beans and salsa are combined.

Serve on a bed of lime tortilla chips
Top with additional garnishes:
     lettuce,
     green onion
     tomato,
     avocado,
     sour cream,
     cheese, etc.

Portable Taco Salad

What you will need;
450 g extra lean ground beef
2 tsp each of chili powder and onion flakes
2 tsp cumin powder
¼ tsp turmeric
½ cup each ketchup & water
small freezer bags
single serving (50 g) bags nacho chips (I use Doritos)
washed green leaf lettuce
optional; low fat grated cheddar, sour cream, salsa

Next;
Brown meat in a large non-stick fry pan at med/high until meat is no longer pink.
Add spices while meat is browning.
Add ketchup and water after meat has browned.
Simmer for a few minutes, then let cool slightly.
Measure 1/3 cup of mixture into freezer bags, seal and place in freezer.
Break lettuce into salad spinner, rinse and spin dry.
Store in a breathable veggie bag (these can be found near wraps in the grocery store)

How to be portable (the day of)
Before work or school, add your favourite toppings to the frozen meat bag ending with the lettuce. (This will keep things cold). Take this bag along with your bag of taco chips. When you are ready to eat, simply cut the bag of chips open along the long side. Crush the chips by squeezing the bag, stuff the lettuce into the bag of crushed chips, and warm the meat and toppings in a microwave until warm - add to taco bag.

Taco Soup (2 versions)

Taco Soup
Recipe via Lorraine
Brown:
     Hamburger

Add:
     Chopped onion
     Chopped red and green pepers
     1 pkg Taco seasoning mix
     1 can cream of mushroom soup
     1 can pork and beans/ kidney beans/black beans
     1 can water (depending on how thick you want it)
Optional: Add 1 can corn

Simmer

Serve with :
     Sour cream and cheese on top
     Nacho chips around bowl

Taco Soup
Recipe via Monica via Shelly

This recipe is SO easy, but delish!


Brown 1 Pound of Hamburger and Half of and Onion
Add 3 TBSP of Taco Seasoning
Add One Can of Blended Tomatoes
Add 1 Can of Black or Kidney Beans
Add 1 Can of Mushrooms
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Add 1 Can of Water

Simmer for 10-20 minutes then serve!
 I love to top my soup with sour cream, Cheese, and broken Tortilla Chips.

Honey Lime Enchiladas

Trade Secrets: I followed Brittany’s recipe closely, the only modifications being the addition of cream to the remaining enchilada sauce to add a bit of depth and creaminess. Since the chicken was cooked while marinating, I also poured the leftover marinade into the enchilada sauce and cream to blend all the flavors together. And finally, I added a bit more lime juice than the original recipe because that’s what my lime produced! Next time (because there WILL be a next time), I might saute some onions and garlic and add that to the chicken mixture.

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas
recipe via Kitchen Cafe

6 tablespoons honey
5 tablespoons lime juice (1 large lime)
1 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 pound chicken, cooked and shredded (I used 3 small chicken breasts)
8-10 flour tortillas
1 pound monterey jack cheese, shredded
16 ounces green enchilada sauce
1 cup heavy cream (to lighten them up, I have substituted sour cream with good results)

Mix the first four ingredients and toss with shredded chicken. Let it marinate for at least 1/2 hour (I tossed mine together in a ziploc bag in the morning and let it sit in the refrigerator all day). Pour about 1/2 cup enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9X13 baking pan. Fill flour tortillas with chicken and shredded cheese, saving about 1 cup of cheese to sprinkle on top of enchiladas. Mix the remaining enchilada sauce with the cream and leftover marinade. Pour sauce on top of the enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until brown and crispy on top.

*Freezable Meal: Freeze prior to baking. To bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake enchiladas, covered (without thawing first) for 1 hour. Uncover and bake 30 minutes longer, until brown and crispy on top.

We always double the marinade – it is great. This time we followed your suggestion and added sauteed onion and garlic