recipe of the week: southwestern style egg rolls

remember how i told you i split the ranch taco chicken meat between two recipes?

well, this is the other :-) i ran across this recipe on pinterest, but i knew we'd like a little different flavoring (and MEAT) in ours, so here's my adaptation.

southwestern egg rolls

olive oil for sauteing and brushing

1 pound chicken, cooked in crockpot with one tbsp ranch seasoning and one tbsp of taco seasoning

1 container egg roll wrappers

2 cups corn (i use fire-roasted from trader joe's)

1 can black beans

several handfuls of spinach (6 cups non-packed is 3 or 4 handfuls)

a generous bunch of cilantro

5 scallions, chopped

1 small container of sliced black olives

1 container of diced green chiles

1 container of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

2 cups cheese (i used the organic fiesta blend from whole foods)

you can add seasoning, but with the adobo sauce, seasoning on the meat, and cilantro i found we didn't really need any!

 heat oil on stove, and saute green onions, chiles and chipotle peppers for a few minutes

meanwhile, process spinach and cilantro in food processor until it's pretty fine. 

 combine corn, beans and greens in a bowl

 remove onion, chile and peppers from stove and process it with black olives

 add to the mixture, top with the shredded chicken and cheese and mix thoroughly

 put a large spoonful of the mixture in each wrapper and roll up (most packages have easy to follow instructions)

line them up on a baking sheet (i use parchment paper because of the messiness factor) and brush each side with olive oil

i made a batch of my ranch dressing and added one avocado to the mix. 

and it was so good!  definitely a recipe we'll keep around.

recipe of the week: chicken ranch tortilla soup (slow cooker recipe)f

as much as i love pinterest, there have been a few ideas that i have tried and been disappointed by.


one was the sausage egg breakfast casserole. ick.
another was the chicken ranch tacos. cooked in the crock pot. they SOUNDED right up my alley. and so i followed the instructions


put chicken (2 pounds--i used a pound of breasts and a pound of thighs) in crock pot

 add taco and ranch seasonings (of course, it called for the prepackaged stuff...no thanks from me, but you can do what you like)

 (i used two tablespoons of each)

 a cup of chicken stock

 and cook for awhile

 shred cooked chicken

...


and then i tasted it.
and it.was.bland.
(to me)


i could NOT get excited about this at all.  so i froze half of the mixture (the recipe for what i did with that will come later) and with the other half, i decided to try my hand at chicken tortilla soup.  only, since there was the ranch element in the chicken i decided to make it a chicken ranch tortilla soup.


so. here's the (much tastier) outcome. turning a pinterest fail into a recipe that my husband immediately said to "keep in the rotation" isn't a bad deal at all :-)
(i still haven't salvaged that breakfast casserole. some things are lost causes.)


chicken ranch tortilla soup

1/2 chicken cooked as above (or similarly), reserved in crockpot (the other half you can save for a second batch, another recipe, or just double the following ingredients)
theoretically, i cook the chicken overnight on low, then start the soup before i head out the door for work.
olive oil
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1 large onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic
1 can black beans
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 pound shredded chicken (preferably cooked as above, or similarly)
2 cups corn (i used trader joe's fire-roasted)
1 1/2 tablespoons ranch seasoning (separated)
1 1/2 tablespoons taco seasoning (separated)
avocado (1 for every 2 adults eating)
cilantro
tortillas


in a saucepan on the stove, heat olive oil and saute the onion in the 1 tablespoon each of the ranch and taco seasonings for 5-10 minutes

 add the crushed tomatoes and chicken broth and simmer while you assemble the other ingredients in the crock pot.

 to the chicken in the crock pot, add the corn, beans and cilantro

 pour the tomato mixture over

 warm through. i cooked for probably 4 hours on low, but you can simply set your crock pot to "warm" if that's an available option.  about 10-20 minutes before serving, "wake" the spices by adding the additional 1/2 tablespoons of the ranch and taco seasonings.

 ladle into bowls and top with fresh avocado slices, cilantro and strips of tortillas (or tortilla chips if you prefer)

the caloric damage on this isn't too bad either.  the avocados add the most in terms of fat and calories, but since it's a good fat i don't get too worried.  here's the nutrition facts based on 6 servings and 1/2 avocado in each serving.

if you make it without avocado, here's your nutrition info.

thursday's ten or so: to make me laugh

i have a quirky sense of humor.
meaning you may not find any of this funny.
but i'm laughing a lot these days thanks to several sources. so the least i can do is share :-)
here's a very few of the things making me laugh.


i can't help but laugh when i see this. until i'm at work, and then it seems like every child in the building is lining up behind this one!

this one cracks.me.up. anthony also laugh-approved it. 

i don't use pinterest just for recipes and home organization tips (but i'm always trying something off my boards!)


it has other uses too. one of my bff's natasha and i constantly send each other gems we find that we would never post publicly...but there are a few exceptions that i'll share here.

 (the next one pretty much sums us up)

(oh and this one too)

the amazing amanda shared this with me when she was at our house for dinner the other night. we laughed our butts off, so i HAVE to share it with you.



all those "hey girl" memes make me giggle a lot. but THIS one is just extra-special.

replace "men" with "everyone"...

natasha sent this one to me too. if you work with children (your own or someone else's) you'll relate to this at least a few times!

this one makes me laugh and cry simultaneously

and finally...

which leads right into this. you HAVE to watch this. and just know that i WILL instagram it.





***photo/video credits...all of these have been found on facebook, twitter, youtube or pinterest. :-)

recipe of the week: creamy chicken taquitos

have i mentioned i love pinterest?
yeah, probably.
this is a recipe i originally found there.  as far as i can tell, this is the original source.


however, the first time i mixed up the recipe exactly as the original stated, i thought "there is no WAY that is creamy enough for us."


so...here's the adapted version for our house :-)


lora's creamy chicken taquitos

1 package (or more!) tortillas (we prefer the habañero lime from trader joe's or the red chile from whole foods)
2 cups shredded chicken* 
1 package cream cheese
1.5 cups shredded pepperjack or mexican blend cheese (this is one of the VERY FEW recipes i'll actually buy a blend for!)
1/2 cup salsa verde (plus more for dipping)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 cloves of minced garlic
3 or 4 chopped green onions
juice from one lime
your ratio of the following spices...i'm putting approximates for what i use
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper




*this is roughly 1.5 pounds of raw chicken. i grill them up and then use my kitchenaid to shred (another pinterest tip, naturally!)  i usually use just under a pound of breast mixed with just under a pound of thigh, OR strictly chicken thighs. it's so.much.cheaper


preheat your oven to 425゜(that's hot people!)
if you happen to have parchment paper (NOT the same as wax...learned that the hard way once. rookie mistake!), line a baking sheet with it. if not, no worries.


if you have grilled your own chicken to shred, place it in a stand mixer and shred it. if not, just put your shredded chicken in a mixer and follow the next few steps.

add the cream cheese and shredded cheese, followed by the spice blend, salsa, lime juice, cilantro, green onion and garlic. keep mixing until it's blended quite well.

for each tortilla, spoon a generous amount onto the edge and then roll is up. place seam down on your baking sheet.

bake for 15 - 20 minutes (watch for your desired level of crispiness). serve with rice, guac, sour cream, salsa, and whatever else you desire :-)

enjoy!


you should get about 12 taquitos out of this.  per taquito, based on chicken thigh meat only, here's your nutrition info.