Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Comfort food 101….Make this, eat this, snuggle into your most favorite comfy clothes, then prepare to sleep like a baby!

Do you ever have those moments where you find a recipe from long ago…and you say “Oh my gosh, I remember this”? Well, the other day I was searching for my short rib recipe and ran across this old recipe and HAD to share. It comes from a dear lady in my life and I just couldn’t wait to make it again.

Linda I can’t thank you enough for sharing this one with me oh so long ago!

Chicken Enchilada Casserole~

1 can of Cream of Chicken soup

1 can Green Enchilada Sauce

1 can of milk (using soup can)

3/4 cup Sour Cream

2 cups cooked chicken, diced

1 cup Green Onions, chopped

2 large cans Green Chilis, diced

1 large can Black Olives, sliced

2 cups. Shredded Cheddar

18 small corn tortillas

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Pumpkin Bread w/ Cream Cheese Filling

Normally I save the final product picture for the end of my post….I just can’t do it this time!

BAM….Emeril style 🙂

You know ya want to make that! It’s simple, it’s delicious….it’s a lot of things- except healthy maybe (P.S. it’s the holiday season)

Ingredients:

~Bread

1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree (unseasoned)

4 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

2/3 cup water

3 cups white sugar

3 1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

~Filling

8 oz. soft cream cheese

1 egg

1/2 cup sugar

splash of vanilla or maple extract

Pork Chops w/ Cream Sauce and Poached Egg

I have to tell you something…..(deep breath, exhale)

I have an unhealthy obsession with poached eggs! They are in my thoughts and dreams and I love them….The End

I could eat a “good” poached egg on so many things: pizza, burgers, pancakes……

The other day I decided to place one on top of one of my favorite pork chops. The chops have a cream sauce, so I thought, why not add a creamy poached egg to the top?

If I should ever create an obsene run on sentence of adjectives…it would be for the poached egg.

If you’ve never cut into a poached egg and watched the yolk run over whatever it’s nestled upon, oh man! Get dressed up the first time ya try it…it’s THAT kind of special 🙂

Caramel Corn

This post should come with a warning…flashing lights….sirens!

Let  me be clear, this isn’t healthy…. BUT I am a firm believer that food that soothes your soul HAS to have some kind of dietary benefit. It’s my world…I’m cozy in it 🙂

Now that I’ve warned you (PS it’s addictive and will wake you up at night)… I give you my Caramel Corn recipe!

FYI: I’m one of THOSE people that SOME people find obnoxious because I say CARE-UH-MEL not CAR-MUHL

Ingredients:

1 cup butter or margarine

2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup unpopped popcorn

Directions:

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Pop the popcorn into a large and deep roasting pan. I still use my old-fashioned air popper and it works just as well today as it did 15 years ago.

In a heavy saucepan, melt the butter and add the brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often.

When mixture begins to boil, lower the heat slightly and DO NOT stir for 5 minutes. If you need to, lower the heat a bit more so it doesn’t boil over.

Candied Nut Ball…Perfect for the Holidays

Me and dips…we’re an inseparable duo!

Jeannean, a facebook follower, shared her recipe for a nutty cream cheese dip and I just had to play with it…It’s awesome!

Here is her original recipe:

1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup toasted pecans

~Beat cream cheese and sugars in a mixer until fluffy. Fold in toasted pecans, or nuts of your choice.

I have a problem..I’ll admit it!

I can’t leave things alone….. I grew up playing with my food and I guess I never stopped!

Establishing a Rewarding Chore Routine…Printable Chart

I don’t know about you…but those magical little elves never visit my home and complete all my work while I sleep! If you have them, please..I BEG you to send them my way!

A house IS work…sandwich those two words together and ya get HOUSEWORK, also labeled CHORE! There’s just no way to make it sound appealing…ESPECIALLY to children.

However, with a little encouragement and organization, youngsters can become responsible and quite helpful..after a little foot dragging of course 🙂

I admit, there’s still certain chores that I have a hard time turning over the reins on… DISHES- I’m guilty of rewashing after the kids. Laundry- just might forever be a NO NO! I’m sure you have your own list of “I’d rather just do it myself” chores..THAT’S FINE! There are PLENTY of chores that are kid friendly, and the help is always nice. It teaches them to work as part of the family unit, and they begin to develop a greater sense of awareness for what it takes to manage a home.

I still laugh when one of my children clean something and then get disturbed when someone else messes it up!

HELLO, WELCOME TO MY WORLD!!!

Spaghetti Squash w/ Merlot Marinara

You won’t miss the real noodles…..if ya do, have a glass of the merlot 🙂

This couldn’t be easier and is a nice alternative to the carb heavy pasta! If nothing else, you’ve expanded the taste buds on the tongues of your family.

Spaghetti squash is magical- After roasting, it pulls into these incredible little strands that look just like its pasta counterpart.

These amazing little “noodles” are fantastic with marinara…they are downright CRIMINAL when covered with a simple brown butter sauce and zested with lemon…(My brain is going faster than my fingers- what else is new) I’ll share that recipe soon!

Ingredients:

1 large spaghetti squash

2 (14 oz) cans of tomato sauce

2 (14 0z) cans of diced tomatoes (do not drain)

2 tablespoons of Italian Seasoning

2 teaspoons of Garlic Salt

1-2 lbs. ground italian sausage

1/2 – 3/4 cup of Merlot (plus some to drink if desired)

Salt & Pepper

Olive Oil (I use a good olive oil to finish dishes with)

Grated Parmesan

Directions:

Pour a glass of the Merlot…sip as desired 🙂

The sauce we’re about to make needs to simmer for a while, to both reduce the liquid in the sauce and to deepen the flavor…So I start the sauce about an hour before the squash.

Start by browning the sausage in a large skillet

Peanut Butter & Marshmallow Popcorn Balls

Peanuts, marshmallows, and popcorn OH MY!

Look at your fingers…picture small amounts of peanutty marshmallow goodness stuck to them and tell yourself YOU WANT TO MAKE THESE!

With Halloween right around the corner, your kids will LOVE you for these…YOU’LL love you for these!

Ingredients:

10 cups popped popcorn (about 6 tablespoons unpopped)

2 cups dry roasted peanuts

1 cup sugar

1 cup corn syrup

1 cup smooth or chunky peanut butter

1/2 small jar of marshmallow creme

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Measure the popcorn into an air popper or pot and pop.

 

Cleaver Challenge 6…and Giveaway!

It’s time……….Time for the SPOOKTACULAR!

This next challenge is all about Halloween.

Caramel Apples, popcorn balls, spookily decorated desserts…the dark, bat covered sky is the limit!

Have fun with this…Turn a boring mashed potato dish into MONSTER MASH by adding some Halloween coloring to them, your kids will love it!

Your families favorite pumpkin bars or pie, the sticky caramel corn your kids go gaga for, or the giant cookie pizzas decorated like jack-o-lanterns….Bring those recipes HERE.

The prize you ask?

Well, I fell in love with this MAMMOTH cookie book last week and would love to send it to a lucky winner. 623 cookie recipes…right in time for the holidays!  Take a deep breath….then allow yourself to think about 623 cookie recipes. It’s on my nightstand, I don’t leave it alone…I wake up and it’s there! 🙂

Remember, entering the challenge is as easy as posting a link to a recipe (yours or one you have fallen in love with) as a comment, or by emailing your recipe / pictures by using the “Contact Me” form on the homepage.

I will randomly select a winner on November 1st….allowing enough time to get those last-minute, Halloween day recipes in to the challenge!

Signing Off,

Modern Mrs. Cleaver

Spicy Chicken & Udon Stir-Fry

Ohhh recipe how I love thee… Let me count thy ways

1.) You are super tasty

2.) You are oh so friendly on the pocket-book

3.) You stretch farther than my kid’s slimey goopy stuff

You get the point…..

I love it when I can take 4 chicken breast and turn them into a GINORMOUS wok full of stir-fry that will last 2 days!

By using super cheapy ingredients like cabbage and noodles, you can really beef up this recipe…of course there’s no beef 🙂