Ground Beef and Green Chili Enchiladas

When I got married, my family put together a cookbook for me with all of the favorite family recipes.  My aunt gave me a recipe for Sour Cream Enchiladas.  Over the past 5 1/2 years, I have been making these at least once a month and slowly adapting them.  This is an inexpensive dinner and always a crowd pleaser.  It’s the sort of meal you can serve alone, or pair with a side salad and some corn salsa.

The beef filling is really yummy and this is a great dish to stretch your dollar.  Adding a can of refried beans to the beef makes it go a little further and adds extra fiber.

Nothing gourmet here.  You all know that I cook with canned soups and full fat sour cream.

I have told you about this cheese before.  It may cost a little more, but it is so so creamy and good. 

Oh man!  I wish you could smell these.  So yummy!!


We devoured these.  And don’t worry about the green chilies, they are not spicy, they just add flavor.  My two year old loves these enchiladas.

While you are at it, just double the recipe and a freeze a pan for when company drops by.  Just cover it in heavy duty foil and freeze it just before the baking step.  When you are ready, just pop it in the oven for about an hour on 350 or until hot in the middle.
Ground Beef and Green Chili Enchiladas
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
7oz can diced green chilies
1/4 cup taco seasoning (1 pkg)
3/4 cup water
15oz can refried beans
8 flour tortillas
15oz can cream of mushroom soup
15oz can cream of chicken soup
16oz sour cream
2 cups shredded cheese (I use a 3 cheese blend)
*Grease 9X13 pan and preheat oven to 350 degrees*
1. Brown the ground beef and onion.  Drain off excess fat. Return to heat.
2. Stir in taco seasoning and water.  Let cook down over medium heat until water is evaporated.
3. Stir in can of green chilies and can of refried beans.  Heat over medium heat until the beans are creamy in the mixture and heated through.  Remove from heat.
4. Roll up beef mixture in tortillas.  Place in a greased 9X13 pan.
5. In a medium mixing bowl, mix both cans of soup and sour cream.  Stir until well blended.
6. Top enchiladas with sour cream mixture and sprinkle with cheese.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until hot and bubbly. 
Let these set for about 15 minutes before serving. 
Enjoy!!

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Be sure to follow me on Facebook.  I use this to post links to great recipes, articles, and to share insight from my family blog.  I am shooting for 100 followers by the end of the week.  It is an easy and fast way to keep up and get extra goodies that don’t get posted here.

See you over on my page!
http://www.facebook.com/JoyfulMomma

Need A Little Inspiration?

I love to cook and be in my kitchen.  I have a collection of cookbooks and recipe magazines.  I find new things to make on Pinterest and on blogs daily.  But…..there are still some days when I need some inspiration.  I get caught in a funk.  I can’t make a meal plan or a grocery list to save my life.  Its been one of those weeks (2 weeks now)
I first found myself in a funk when I hurt my hand and had to be in a brace with my thumb immobilized for 3 weeks.  Freezer meals, oatmeal, and pizza for us.
Then, my daughter needed an unexpected visit to a specialist in another town 2 hours away.  We ended up out of town for 3 days. 
Now, I am back home and ready to get back in my kitchen.  But….I am needing to drag myself back to my usual routine.  And so far, all I have been able to muster up is a batch of cake balls (using my new Baby Cakes maker) and some fancy sub sandwiches.  I call them fancy because they have fresh avocado, crisp bacon and lettuce, and a chipotle mayo on them.  Yum, I know!!



Stay tunes, I promise to have more for you soon.

Spring in Montana

Spring is here!


We get such a variety of weather here in the spring. We experienced rain, sun, and 6 inches of snow all in a span of 5 days. The sunny 60 degree days are quite a treat!


This little girl could live outside. She was loving marching around with her umbrella in the rain.


This is our 6 inch snow storm we got. It was so crazy watching all the snow just pile up so quickly. It was then gone 48 hours later.

Blessings,
Joyful Momma

Friday, Oh Friday

No post in a week?!  No new recipes all week?!!  Its just a fact of life I suppose.  My hand is finally on the mend and I am no longer wearing that horrible brace that made me feel like I had a claw instead of a hand with opposable thumbs.
We have A LOT of family and friends in and out this week.  Last night we had 11 here for a birthday party and tonight we have 12 for dinner.  Lots of hustle and bustle and others are cooking.  Love that!!
Enjoy your weekend….I will be visiting our new cupcake bakery.

Glazed Chai Muffins

I love chai.  I make chai mix to keep on hand at all times. *FIND THE RECIPE HERE*  I saw these muffins on Pinterst and I knew I had to make them.  I found this recipe from a blog called “my baking addiction”.
 
These were so easy to make and watching the glaze drip down the sides of a warm muffin was a drool worthy site.
 
I love to bake for breakfast.  My 2 year old usually is not ready to eat right away and wants a project.  So, we bake together.  Her favorite part of this was taste testing the frosting.  I told her that is a very important job
.

Glazed Chai Muffins

For the Muffins

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup milk

For the Glaze

3 tablespoons butter; melted
1 cup confectioners’ sugar; sifted
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon milk

 

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Lightly grease a standard muffin tin, or line with 12 paper muffin cups. 2. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, cream together the butter, vegetable oil, and sugars until smooth. 3. Add the eggs one at a time, beating to combine. 4. Stir in the baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, allspice, black pepper, salt and vanilla. Mix well to fully incorporate. 5. Stir the flour into the butter mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour and making sure everything is thoroughly combined. 6. Using a large scoop (I used my ice cream scoop), divide the batter evenly into the prepared pan, filling the wells nearly full. 7. Bake the muffins in preheated oven for 15 to 19 minutes, or until they’re a pale golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the middle of one of the center muffins comes out clean. Prepare the glaze.

For the Glaze

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the melted butter, confectioners’ sugar, spices, vanilla and milk. Whisk until smooth. 2. When muffins have cooled slightly (about 5 minutes), dip the muffin crown into the glaze and allow the glaze to harden. At this point, you can leave them as is or go for the double dip. I glazed my muffins twice. 3. Serve warm, or cool on a rack and wrap airtight. Muffins will keep at room temperature for about a day.

Cooking Can Ruin a Manicure

For anyone who knows me well, in real life, they know that I always have my nails painted.  I cant think of a time that I didn’t like to have my nails painted.  I think I may have started this “personal trait” around middle school….but I would have to ask my parents….they usually know things like that. 

So, in the 16 (or so) years since then, I have tried nearly every painting method and product.  And I have settled on ones I love.  I can even get my at home manicure to last 10-12 days with no chipping and still shiny.  Now, it may go longer than that, but I typically change my polish after a week or so. 
Spending a lot of time in the kitchen and doing dishes, can be hard on a manicure, but I am happy to share my secrets with you.  You can have a lovely manicure that will last for a week or more.

I use an OPI color….sometimes another brand like Esse works well too.  But quality polish makes all the difference in getting it to last.


I start by cleaning my nails with a 100% acetone remover.  Nothing expensive needed here.  A large bottle of this costs me only about $2. This helps dry the nail and makes the polish really adhere to the nail.
 
I then file my nails and push back my cuticles. 
I start by adding a thin layer of Orly Primetime: Chip preventing primer.

I order it on amazon usually.  I don’t get many chances to get to the beauty supply store where most of these products are sold.  So, online ordering is best for me.
Then, two coats of color.  I do a coat on one hand, then the next, then I go back.  This gives the polish a little time to set while you paint your other hand.
I then use my INM Out-the-door super fast drying top coat immediately.

  You don’t need to wait for the polish to dry.  This stuff is amazing.  Salons use this to dry your nail quickly.  I tell people that this is really my secret to a great manicure.  And let me tell you….I have tested about 50 different top coats….and this is always the winner.
When you do the top coat, make sure you get it on the tip of your nail to.  This will wrap the color so there is no raw edge for chipping.
Now, let it dry for about 2 minutes, and you are good to go

Alfredo Topped Lasagna

I do a meal swap with a friend of mine each week. I take her a meal one night and she brings our family a meal another night. It is so wonderful. I find it so easy to just double a meal and take half to them. And, it's a great way to get to try new recipes that my friend shares with me. She is a great cook and I always look forward to what she brings.
This week, she brought us Alfredo Topped Lasagna. It was AMAZING!
She brought in the dish, we chatted and she then left. I took off the lid and the first thing I saw was a golden brown layer of cheesy goodness. It was love at first sight. And oh my word, every bite was better than the one before.

This recipe is made with a turkey sausage, which was very tasty. It also has spinach and is topped with Alfredo and plenty of cheese.
I let my friend type the recipe and I will post it as she typed it. I can edit it if needed when I make it myself.

Ingredients
 12 Lasagna noodles
1 (15-ounce) container Ricotta cheese
1 bundle of spinach cooked. (Remember that spinach shrinks a lot after cooked!)
4 cups (8-ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese divided
2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
2 eggs
Turkey Italian Sausage
4 cups marinara sauce (I usually make my sauce from scratch by blending tomatoes and fresh herbs, but a big 28 ounce jar of your choice will do the trick.)
16 oz. Alfredo sauce (A jar for this works just fine as well, but a good white sauce recipe tastes so much better!)

Directions
-Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions; drain.
-Preheat oven 350F.
-In large a bowl, combine ricotta cheese, spinach, 2 cups mozzarella cheese, 1 cup Parmesan cheese, and eggs; mix well.
-In a 13x9-inch baking dish, ( I like to use my dutch oven and just cut the noodles to fit) spread 1 cup marinara sauce.
-Layer 4 lasagna noodles over sauce.
-Top with half cheese mixture, 1 cup marinara sauce, and all the cooked sausage.
-Layer 4 more lasagna noodles, remaining cheese mixture, and remaining marinara sauce.
-Top with 4 remaining lasagna noodles.
-Spread Alfredo sauce evenly on top; sprinkle with remaining Parmesan and mozzarella cheese.
-Cover and bake for 40 minutes.
-Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
-Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

This came hot and ready to my house with a delicious loaf of garlic bread.

ENJOY!



Blessings,
Joyful Momma

I Love Sushi

Do you all like sushi?  My twin sister first introduced me to it, and then I took my husband.  It is now something I crave!! 

My husband and I also love the show Big Bang Theory.  Nothing is more fun for a night in than a few episodes on DVD and a full platter of sushi take-out.  YUM YUM!!

Traditional Beef Stew

I have known for 6 years that my husband likes stew.  Fall would start to set in and he would say, “I just want a big bowl of meaty, hearty, stew.”  Unitl now, I have never made it for him.  Wife of the year (or past 6 years), I know.  But, we had stew meat and I figured I should show the guy some love. 
I was actually very very surprised.  It was so so good.  So good, in fact, that I will be eating leftovers for lunch today.  That says a lot.  First, I don’t usually eat lunch, and there are very few things that I like enough to have the next day for lunch.  (I do however, eat leftovers for dinner regularly….is that weird)
I got this recipe from my Taste of Home slow cooker book.  It is a real gem.  (naturally, I made a few changes)
Traditional Beef Stew
1 lb beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 lb carrots, cut
2 medium baking potatoes, cubed with skin on
1 medium onion, cut in to small wedges
1 15 oz can, stew tomatoes.  Do not drain. 
1 cup beef broth
1 celery rib, chopped
2 tablespoons quick cooking tapioca
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1. Combing all ingredients in a 3 to 5 qt slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours, until meat and veggies are tender.
Enjoy!

Dinner This Week

Our family had a great weekend. My dad was in town with my stepmom and two sisters for a basketball tournament. We got to cheer on their small town team to the state B victory.

Today, we had a quiet day at home and then went as a noisy family of 4 to the grocery store. We successfully made it home with all the groceries for 5 delicious meals and cookies.

This week I will be making chicken caesar wraps, tacos, beef stew, chicken spinach lasagna, and no peek chicken. I am making an extra large batch of cranberry - white chocolate oatmeal cookies.
Stay tuned, new recipes are a comin'


Blessings,
Joyful Momma