Super Easy Stacked Enchiladas

This recipe can be adjusted to feed any group size.  I was feeding a group of 12 so I used large servings but you can shrink it at will.  I pretty much threw random portions of random items into this dish.  Have fun and loosen up!

INGREDIENTS:

Corn Tortillas (I used 18)
Green Enchilada Sauce (I used 3 cans)
Canned Chicken (I used 5 large cans)
Onions (I used onion powder cause we had no onions but fresh would be great too)
Chili Powder (for a kick!)
Cheese (I used cheddar)
Salt
Pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

Mix everything but tortillas and cheese in one large bowl.  Layer tortillas on bottom of large pan.  Dump in a small portion of the mixture.  Spread with cheese.  Repeat layers until you are out of ingredients and/or room in the pan.  Bake in 325 degree oven for roughly half an hour (just to warm everything and get a slight golden crisp on the top of the cheese)

You can get creative with other ingredients in this dish.  Now that I am typing it up, I think olives would have been amazing.  Or whatever else you like in your enchiladas.  Easy and yummy!

Black Bean Soup

Had some black bean soup for dinner tonight.  Recipe (and picture!) compliments of Our Best Bites.  And holy moly this stuff was delicious!  Super healthy for Ben and his new diet.  Filled with vegetables and legumes.  Boy was it yummy!

INGREDIENTS:

Olive Oil
4 Large Garlic Cloves, Chopped
2 Diced Carrots
1 Diced Onion
2 Cans Black Beans (drained)
1 Small Can Green Chilies
2 Cans Low-Sodium Beef Broth
Salt
Pepper
Chili Powder
Cumin
Oregano Leaves
Lime Juice
(NOTE: the recipe originally called for diced celery but I hate celery so I omitted that part)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Saute garlic, carrots, and onions in olive oil.  Add black beans, green chilies, and beef broth.  Mix in spices. Heat to boiling and let simmer for 20-25 minutes (until carrots are tender) then throw into a blender and blend.  You can either make your soup smooth or chunky, depending on what you like.  When it is a good consistency, dribble in some lime juice and serve over tortilla chips and with cheese.  Mmm Mmm good!

Delectably Amazing Cauliflower and Broccoli Soup

This is an old family recipe passed from Ben's Great Grandmother to Ben's Grandmother to Ben's mother to me.  And oh boy, let me tell you, if you even kinda sorta like cauliflower or broccoli, then this soup is definitely for you.  Mmmmm amazing!  Definitely the favorite soup of the family - and when I say family I mean extended family - as in 25+ of us.  Yum!

INGREDIENTS:


1/2 lb Bacon (or bacon bits, or ham, or none of the above)
1/2 head Cauliflower
1 small bunch Broccoli
1/2 - 1 onion, chopped
1 cube butter

1/2 C flour
1 quart 1/2 & 1/2
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 C grated cheddar cheese
1/2 can Whole Kernel Corn

INSTRUCTIONS:


Steam the cauliflower and broccoli until tender.

Meanwhile, fry the bacon; set aside. Sauté the onion in the bacon grease. Once the onions are
soft, set them aside with the bacon and drain the bacon grease. (or use store-bought bacon bits, or even just ham.  Or you can even omit this step all together for a vegetarian version)

In the same pan, melt the butter. Mix in the flour until smooth. Cook over medium high heat
until bubbly. Remove the pan from the heat. Slowly mix in the 1/2 & 1/2 until it makes a
smooth mixture. Return the pan to the heat and stir constantly until it thickens. Be careful to not
let it burn on the bottom (turn down the heat to medium if necessary).

Turn down the heat to simmer. Add mushroom soup and cheese, stirring until smooth. Add
bacon, onion, corn, and cooked cauliflower and broccoli. Simmer until heated through. A little
milk may be added if this is too thick.

Note: For a lower fat version (and what I usually do): use 1/2 cube butter and substitute milk
for all or a portion of the 1/2 and 1/2. I also usually pour the whole can of corn in or use leftover
corn that I've had in the freezer. This is also good with frozen cauliflower and broccoli. I also
usually use bacon bits and then sauté the onion in olive oil or the butter I will be using for the
sauce.

Soooo good!

Homemade Ice Cream (without the machine!!)

When I spotted this website on one of the blogs I follow, I about jumped with happiness!  I LOVE LOVE LOVE homemade ice cream but I am unfortunate and do not own an ice cream machine, nor to I have the patience to do that shake-stuff-around-in-an-icy-bag technique they teach you in science class (at least they taught me that method in science class)  My favorite food blog Our Best Bites posted this ice cream recipe and I just HAD to try it.  And oh boy, it did not let me down.  It was so wonderfully delicious and yet so incredible simple to make.  Not exactly healthy, but let's face it.  Life can't be 100% healthy.  Cause that would just be...not healthy :-) We all need a little junk in our lives.  So bring on the ice cream!

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups heavy cream
14 oz sweetened condensed milk (I used Eagle Brand)
2 Tablespoons vanilla

INSTRUCTIONS:

Mix sweetened condensed milk and vanilla in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl, beat heavy cream until peaks begin to form.  Gently fold cream into milk mixture.  Add desired mix-ins (I used mini Oreos - Mmm Mmm GOOD!) and put into freezer for at least 6 hours.

Hello delicious homemade ice cream without the machine.  Hurray!

(sorry, again no pictures - I am camera deprived at the moment :-))

Jana's Chimichangas - One of Ben's and my favorite foods!

SERVES: 6
PREP: 1 hour

INGREDIENTS:
8 whole wheat tortillas - warmed
1 1/2 cups shredded chicken (or beef or turkey)
2 TB salsa
1/4 cup sour cream
Seasonings to taste (I use a little bit of season salt and a lot of onion salt then I smell and add things till it smells yummy!)
-----------------------------
Velveeta cheese made into a sauce (melted over the stove with a little bit of milk for consistency)
Shredded lettuce
Olives
Any other desired veggies
Brown Rice

DIRECTIONS:
Mix meat with salsa, sour cream, and seasonings. Butter (or I spray butter flavored cooking spray) one side of the tortillas (the outside) Put meat mixture into tortillas and fold up all sides. Place on a baking sheet, fold side down. Bake in the over until insides are hot and outsides are crispy (I usually bake at 350 for about 5 or 10 minutes then turn up the heat till 450 until it's brown and crispy) Serve over rice and top with lettuce, olives, and other veggies. Pour cheese on top. DELICIOUS and good for you too!! :-)

Ben's New Diet

We recently discovered Ben has early liver failure and so to prevent complete failure of his liver he has been instructed to eat foods that are alkaline (or basic) rather than acidic (on PH balance scale) Basically what that means is Ben can eat pretty much whatever he likes, as long as more than 50% of his meals pertain of alkaline (basic) foods. Things like fruits and veggies and whole grains. Hopefully, I'll be able to compile a large list of foods/meals that fall into that category right here so I'll never run out of things to make for my love!

Ideas

Ideas for recipes I need to post later -
W.W. Chimichangas w/ W.W. rice (w/ lettuce and veggies)
Taco Soup
W.W. Spaghetti and Meatballs (side of veggies)
Beef Stew w/ beans and (maybe) w.w. rice?

Fun in the Kitchen

Due to the recent discovery of Ben's liver problems and therefore his new diet, I have decided to begin work on an idea I have been playing with for quite some time. I have wanted to create a food blog for a while now, complete with all my family's favorite recipes (healthy and non-healthy lol) Now that Ben has a specific diet he needs to follow, I needed a place to write down ideas and recipes of meals he is able to eat so I decided to combine my two ideas/needs and Fun in the Kitchen was born!! With a little love and a lot of time, this blog will be filled with delicious things to eat (and I may even post the how-to's as well!)