Saturday, October 31, 2015

All Hallows Eve

What's Schoolin'/Celebratin'?


Today is what most people celebrate as Halloween.  We celebrate All Hallows Eve and focus on studying/celebrating the saints.  This year it will be oh-so-simple due to oh-so-many constraints but this is what we have planned.

Halo cake:  This was dd's brilliant idea as we thought about what we had on-hand.  We just happen to have a cake in the freezer begging to be decorated and eaten.

Halos: We'll enjoy some Halo clementine oranges for snack.

St. Lucy's Eyes:  Grapes - morbid, I know!

St. Francis' Guessing Jar: A jar filled with Annie's cheddar bunnies [See THIS post that inspired this idea].

Movies:  We've checked out several saint biographies from the local library AND Amazon Prime has quite a few for free download for Prime members.  I'll update later with a list of what we watched/checked out/discovered.

This was amazing - I learned so much!



All Soul's Day [Dia de los Muertos]:

HERE is a quick recipe for Soul Cakes

Pray for Us November candy/treat bags:  From THIS blog.

Sunday, October 25, 2015

Enchiladas with Sour Cream/Green Chili Sauce

What's Cookin'?

 Sour Cream Enchiladas

I used the filling left over from THESE chimichangas to fill the enchiladas.  THIS link was my inspiration.  Below is how I made the sauce.

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons butter
1/3 C diced red onions (optional)
1/4 C flour
8 oz organic chicken broth
1/2 jar Herdez green chili sauce
8 oz Sour cream

Directions:

1. Melt the butter and cook the onions until slightly tender. 
2. Add the flour.  Stir constantly until the butter is absorbed into the flour. 
3. Slowly add the broth, stirring constantly, and then slowly add the green chili sauce. 
4. Cook, still stirring constantly, until it reaches a slow boil and continue 1 more minute. 
5. Remove from the heat and add in the sour cream. 
6. Cover the enchiladas with this sauce.  Top with grated cheese - I used 2 handfuls... Maybe 3/4 cup?
7. Baked at 350F for 20 minutes.  Let it sit for 10 minutes before serving.

 
PS:  Even my mom liked it!  Enjoy!

Saturday, October 24, 2015

Oven-Baked Chimichangas

What's Cookin'?

I used THIS recipe for inspiration and adjusted to our needs/ingredients/leftovers.  This made a double-batch of filling so I am using THIS recipe for inspiration for chicken enchiladas with the remainder filling.

Ingredients:

2 cups pre-cooked rice (I try to keep some in the freezer for faster meals)
2 pre-cooked, diced chicken breasts (also from my freezer)
1/3 C chopped vegetables (I used Cascadian organic Swiss chard from... the freezer)
1/4 jar of green chile sauce (Herdez is not organic but has real ingredients and is in glass)
6 tortillas (thawed earlier from... the freezer)
2-3 TBL butter (yes, I keep that in the freezer, too!)
Oil/shortening (small amount - enough for ingredients to not stick to the pan)

Directions:

1. Heat oil/shortening in a pan and mix together the rice, chicken, greens or leftover vegetables of your choice, chili sauce.  You may need to add a bit of water.

2. Put approximately 3 tablespoons down the center of each tortilla.  Wrap them up chimichanga-style:  fold the 2 short ends over the filling and fold the longer ends overlapping the short ends with one long side over the other.  Put seam side down on a baking dish or pizza pan with about 1 inch between chimichangas.  Melt the butter and generously brush all around the outside of each chimichanga.

3. Bake at 400F for 10-15 minutes or until barely beginning to brown.

4. Serve with fresh salad or fruit and more chili sauce or sour cream.

Enjoy!