A few months ago we started having a family meeting on Sunday evenings. This started as a meeting for me to wrap my head around the logistics of the week to manage schoolwork and activities. What happened as a result has changed the way our family meal plans. During one of the meetings, I asked each person what he/she would like to request for dinner. This quickly knocked out the meal planning for 5 nights, leaving 2 nights as flex nights. We will have a leftover night if the fridge gets full, but that has not been happening as the kids have been eating like crazy! Oh, to have the metabolism of a growing kid again!
After sharing this idea, requests came in for recipes. I figured this would be the easiest place to share them.
Enchilada Casserole served with a Mexican Street Corn Salad Mix (I add baby spinach to it to stretch it for whole family) Jared’s Choice
Homemade Enchilada Sauce
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup all-purpose flower
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 (28 oz) can crushed or diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions:
1. Add vegetable oil and flour to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk together to combine. Whisk in remaining ingredients. Taste and adjust spices based on preferences.
2. Cook over medium heat for 15 minutes.
*This sauce can be made ahead of time and placed in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. The original recipe calls for 1/2 of this sauce to be used. I like this recipe better using all of the sauce in the dish.
Enchilada Casserole Recipe
olive oil
6 medium tortillas
3 chicken breasts
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
enchilada sauce (recipe above)
1-2 cups sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt)
2 cups Mexican blend cheese (or plain cheddar cheese if that’s what you have on hand)
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.
2. Chop chicken that you have already baked. I use my Pampered Chef chopper. I LOVE this nifty gadget!
2. Drizzle olive oil into bottom of 12-inch skillet over medium heat.
3. Add diced onion and garlic to skillet. Cook until just tender. Add chopped chicken to this mixture. Remove from heat.
4. Spoon about a cup of enchilada sauce into the bottom of a 9×13 casserole dish that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Spread sauce to coat the bottom of the casserole dish.
5. Place 3 tortillas on top of the enchilada sauce, overlapping them slightly at the edges to make them fit into the dish.
6. Ladle on additional enchilada sauce, again about a cup.
7. Layer on half of the chicken, onion, and garlic mixture, making sure to spread the mixture evenly over the tortillas and enchilada sauce.
8. Top with large dollops of sour cream and spread slightly. Sprinkle on the cheese.
9. Repeat layering with 3 more tortillas, enchilada sauce, chicken mixture, sour cream, and end with the cheese.
10. Bake in the oven until cheese has melted, about 20 minutes if preparing right before baking. Cook 25-30 minutes if it’s been refrigerated.
11. Serve warm.
I usually will prepare this meal in the morning and place it in the refrigerator all day. Letting it sit allows all of the flavors to marinate together, and it makes my job easier during the hectic evening schedule. I always make the recipe with chicken that I bake with olive oil, salt, and pepper, but you can make it with pork or beef as well. It’s a great dish to use up leftover meat!
DeeDee’s Chicken Casserole (Hamilton’s Choice)
This has been a favorite of mine that I passed on to my kids. It’s so simple but for some reason it’s so good. My mom always served it with a side of peas and a side salad. My boys like to mix their peas in to the casserole while AH prefers everything separate.
Cook 3-4 chicken breasts ahead of time in olive oil, salt and pepper. Chop or pull apart chicken.
Combine 2 cans of cream of chicken soup, 16 oz of sour cream (I’ll sometimes do 8 oz of sour cream and 8 oz of plain Greek yogurt). Fold in the chicken.
Pour combined ingredients into greased 9×16 casserole dish. Top with one sleeve of crushed Ritz crackers. Cut 6 slivers of butter to pad the top.
Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until bubbly. 30-35 minutes.
Time saving tip: Buy a large rotisserie chicken at Costco or Sam’s Club to use in the first 2 recipes.
Lasagna (Parker’s Choice)
Again, this is my mom’s recipe. I love that it’s simple and can be made ahead of time. This is still the yearly request my siblings and I have for our birthday gathering (all of 4 our birthdays are within 34 days). We always had it with a side salad and garlic bread.
Brown 1 lb of meat.
In microwave, warm up 1 jar of spaghetti sauce, browned meat, and 1 C of water.
Other ingredients: 24 oz. cottage cheese, grated Parmesan, and 3 C Mozzarella cheese
Layer in large casserole dish:
Sauce in bottom, noodles, cottage cheese, parmesan.
Repeat for 2nd layer.
Final layer is just sauce, mozzarella and sprinkle parmesan on top.
Cover with tinfoil and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes in 350 degree oven. Check noodles with fork and brown for 10 minutes, removing the tinfoil. Let sit 5-10 minutes before serving.
BBQ Salmon with Roasted Vegetables and sourdough artisan bread (My choice)
This one is so simple. You can even chop the veggies ahead of time if needed. I used russet potatoes and Brussel sprouts this week. I prefer the sprouts to be copped in quarters and the potatoes in 1/2 inch cubes. Toss with olive oil and salt and pepper and arrange on cookie sheet. Thaw the premartinated salmon from Costco/Sam’s Club in a bowl of tap water.
Roast vegetables for 15 minutes at 450 degrees. Toss vegetables and add cookie sheet with salmon to the oven. Cook another 15 minutes.
Hibachi Steak/Chicken on the Blackstone (AH’s pick).
This is Jared’s specialty, so I’ll have him sit down and share what he does.
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