Chicken Enchiladas with Caramelized Onions & Red Chili Sauce

I love Mexican food.  I could eat it every day.  Today I am making Chicken Enchiladas with caramelized onions.  You will need the following ingredients:
3 large chicken breasts
3 cans tomato sauce 8 oz. each
1 can V-8 juice
3 medium fresh tomatoes
1 can diced green chilies
3 small onions
1 Tblsp each olive oil and butter
2 tsp minced garlic
1 Tblsp chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
3 tsp sugar
3 cups Tillamook Colby-Jack Cheese
12-16 corn tortillas

Place tomato sauce, V-8 juice, fresh tomatoes, green chilies, and garlic in your blender or food processor.  I love my Ninja.   Puree until completely smooth.

Add sauce to a large skillet.  Stir in the chili powder, cumin, and sugar.  Add the chicken breasts.  Simmer on medium-low for 1 hour minutes turning chicken over once or twice. It is best to simmer slowly so the flavors have time to blend. 

While the sauce is simmering, cut your onions.  Melt butter and olive oil in a skillet.  

Add onions to the skillet and sprinkle with salt to help draw the moisture out of the onions.

Simmer onions on low for about 40 minutes until nicely caramelized.  Set aside.

 Remove the cooked chicken from the pan and set on your cutting board or on a plate. 

Shred the chicken using two forks.

Place the shredded chicken in a large bowl.      Stir in 1 1/2 cups of enchilada sauce.  Add the caramelized onions and 2 cups of the shredded cheese and mix well.

Place the tortillas on a plate and cover with plastic wrap.  Microwave for about 45 seconds until warm and pliable.

Place the tortillas on your counter top.  Scoop a large spoonful of the chicken mixture onto the center of each tortilla.

Spray a large baking dish with cooking spray.    ( I used my lasagna pan)  Roll the tortillas and place with seam side down in the pan. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray.   Bake for about 10 minutes at 400 degrees until lightly browned. 

Remove pan from the oven and pour the remaining sauce over the tortillas.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese.  Cover with foil and bake an additional 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Serve with chopped tomatoes, sour cream, shredded lettuce, guacamole, etc.

Cinnamon Twist Quilt Pattern

Here is the finished "Cinnamon Twist" quilt pattern designed by Peggy Bills, Pastimes Quilt Design
Approximate finished size is 78" x 94".   I wanted to design a quilt that men might like.  The warm colors reminded me of Cinnamon.

Apple Crisp Oatmeal

Do you love apple crisp?  Remember that dessert your mom used to make and serve with whipped cream or ice cream?   I decided to make my oatmeal reminiscent of that dessert.
 You will need the following ingredients:
2 cups cold water
1 cup Quaker oats (not the quick kind)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp brown sugar
1/3 cup craisins
1 chopped apple with the skin
cream, half n half, or milk if desired
optional:  additional fresh berries such as strawberries, blueberries, or blackberries are fabulous in it.

Chop the apple into small pieces leaving the skin on.  In a saucepan combine the water, apple, craisins, sugar, and cinnamon.  Bring to a boil  then add the oatmeal and stir. Bring to a boil again then reduce heat to medium low, cover and cook for about 7 minutes stirring occasionally until all of the water is absorbed.

Divide the oatmeal between 2 or 3 bowls and add a little cream, half n half, or milk if you wish.

 My favorite addition is fresh strawberries but the blackberries were really good too.

Sea Salt Caramels

Caramel is my favorite candy.  It seems I just can't get enough of it.  Well that and toffee.  I found this recipe and made it for the first time this year.  It indicated that you only had to cook it for about 20 minutes on medium low.  Well, an hour and a half later, after I turned the heat up twice, it finally reached the appropriate temperature.  So next time I will cook it at a higher temp to begin with.  And I will definitely make it again.  It is delicious and just the right firmness.  Here is the recipe with my modifications. 
You will need the following ingredients:
4 cups heavy cream
3 cups sugar
1 cup Karo light corn syrup
3 Tblsp unsalted butter
2 tsp  pure vanilla  (I love rum flavoring instead)
sea salt for top (the original recipe said 1 1/2 Tablespoons but I just used a sprinkling and it was plenty salty)

Heavily butter a large cookie sheet or lasagna pan. (I used my glass lasagna pan).   Use a tall, non-stick pot as the candy bubbles up considerably and you don't want it to scorch the bottom of your pan. 

 Add cream to pot and bring to just a boil then add the sugar and corn syrup.  When it starts to boil again reduce heat to a little above medium and insert a candy thermometer.

Stir occasionally until the candy reaches 240 degrees.  Add the butter and stir to blend.  Bring candy to 246 degrees, then remove from heat and add the vanilla and stir well.

Pour the candy in the pan and allow it to spread out on its own.  Cool for 10 minutes then sprinkle lightly with sea salt.  Cool completely, then cut into about 1" squares and wrap in plastic wrap.  

Christmas Family Traditions

This year we are starting a new tradition.  We will be making gingerbread houses.


 I have the house parts baked. (see recipe for gingerbread houses)







I bought all kinds of candy decorations. Look at the cute gingerbread boy marshmallows I found.





I found some instruction sheets at JoAnn's and also a lot of pictures of gingerbread houses on Pinterest that we can use for decorating ideas.  We will use Wilton cake decorating bags and tips to apply the frosting.

My sister gave me a great tip that her daughter's teacher used.  Hot glue the house parts together and then decorate.  Katie supervises while Shane constructs their house.

Ryan really got into making icicles on the roof of the house he and Jacey were decorating. 

3 year old Kelson frosted his roof with red icing. 

He even let daddy (Jake) help a little bit.

 I was surprised to see the men in the family enjoying this so much. 

Jake and Kelson's gingerbread house with a gingerboy going down the pretzel chimney.

Jacey and Ryan's gingerbread house with cotton for snow and even a snowman in the yard.

Shane and Katie's gingerbread house with a pretzel shingle roof and a gingerboy on top.

They all turned out different and very cute.  A good time was had by all.

Fast Fudge Frosting

This is really good on chocolate sheet cake, brownies, graham crackers, or your finger. 
You will need the following ingredients:
1 lb. powdered sugar
1/2 cup Hershey cocoa
1/3 cup butter softened
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup boiling water

In a large bowl, combine powdered sugar, cocoa, salt.  Add boiling water, butter, and vanilla.
Beat until smooth.

Gingerbread House and Royal Icing recipes

Note:  The recipe used for gingerbread houses is not the same as for gingerbread cookies.  It will bake up stiff like a graham cracker.  You can bake the parts ahead of time and freeze them.  This recipe will make parts for 2 small houses.
You will need the following ingredients:
3/4 cup light Karo corn syrup
1/4 cup dark molasses
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1 egg
4 cups flour
1 Tblsp ground ginger
1 Tblsp ground cinamon
2 Tblsp water if necessary

In a saucepan combine corn syrup, shortening, sugar, and molasses.  Heat, stirring until smooth.

 In a large bowl, combine flour and spices.  Pour syrup mixture over the flour and mix well.  Add egg and water (if necessary) to make a stiff dough.

Roll dough to about 1/4" thick.  (if you are making a large house, you will want to roll the dough 1/2" thick.)  Place paper house template on the dough and cut around the edges.  I used a plastic pizza cutter which worked really well.

Place house parts on a lightly sprayed cookie sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes depending on the thickness of your dough at 350 degrees.  Cool on wire racks for a few minutes.  Trim edges if necessary before they are completely cooled.  When cool, carefully remove from sheets.

For the Royal icing you will need the following ingredients:

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

2 egg whites

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

In a large bowl beat the egg whites and vanilla   Sift the powdered sugar and cream of tartar together.

Gradually add the sugar to the egg whites and beat until very, very stiff.  Cover with a damp cloth until you are ready to use it.  Royal icing hardens as it dries.

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

Brrr, it's cold here today so I thought I'd throw some tomato soup fixings together in my crock pot and enjoy the wonderful smell of simmering soup while I blog.  If you love a warm bowl of creamy tomato soup loaded with good for you veggies, you might want to join me.
You will need the following ingredients:
2 cans of  Italian style diced tomatoes (14-15 oz.)
2 cans of Swanson chicken broth
2 beef bouillon cubes mixed with 1 cup of water
1 small onion (about 1 cup)
2 carrots (about 1 1/4 cups)
2 stalks of celery  about 1 cup)
1 tsp dried oregano leaves
1 Tblsp dried basil
1/4 to 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp minced garlic
1 whole bay leaf
1 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups half n half
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup flour
mozzarella cheese for topping

Using a food processor, dice onion, celery, and carrots very fine.  Add in canned tomatoes with juice and blend again.  Place mixture in your crock pot and add chicken broth, beef bouillon, water, garlic, and spices.  Cover and cook for 5-6 hours on low. 

When done, remove bay leaf and blend soup one cup at a time in your food processor or blender.  (be sure to only blend about 1 cup of hot liquid at a time or it will explode) Pour soup back into your crock pot.  This may seem like a lot of work but you want your soup to be creamy don't you?

Make a roux by heating the butter in a small saucepan  Whisk in the flour stirring continuously.  

Slowly add 2-3 cups of hot soup stirring until smooth.






 Add roux to crock pot stirring well until everything is blended.  Slightly warm the half n half in the microwave, then slowly add to the soup while stirring.  Allow soup to cook just a little longer uncovered until everything is nice and hot.

Top with shredded Mozzarella cheese.  Excellent served with fresh sourdough bread, grilled cheese sandwiches, or croutons.