Chicken Enchiladas and Spinach Chicken Salad

SUBMITTED BY: AUGUST M

YUMMY Chicken Enchiladas

*2 chicken breasts (boiled then shredded)
*1 can cream of chicken soup
*1-cup sour cream
*1 small can of diced green chilies
*1/2 onion diced
*1/2 - 1 lb shredded cheese

Mix all ingredients. Roll into tortillas. Bake in glass pan at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes
*optional- add diced olives
*optional- cover enchiladas with extra cheese 5 minutes before removing from oven

Best EVER Salad

*1 bag of spinach leaves
*1 bag of Fisher Brand sliced Almonds
*1 bag of Craisins
*1 small tub Fetta Cheese (or shredded cheddar)
*1 bottle (Ken's Steak House Brand) Raspberry Walnut Vinaigrette (we like to use Ranch too)
*1 Rotisserie Chicken (remove meat)

Layer spinach, chicken, cheese, dressing, almonds, craisins. Enjoy most texturally satisfying salad you have ever had!
*Disclaimer- You should know that we ate this 4 times a week for 3 weeks straight after I discovered it. Seriously. Still not bored with it. We are going to try it with shrimp this week. Let you know how that goes!

BASKIN ROBINS GIVEAWAY ENDS TOMORROW!

Are you signed up to win the $10 gift certificate from Baskin Robins??

Here's how:
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2) Leave a comment on any of the blog posts. (Or better yet, be a guest blogger!)

3) Send me an email to momditties@yahoo.com with your name and the best way to get a hold of you if you win!
That's it! Contest ends NOVEMBER 15th - you have until midnight to enter. One name will be randomly drawn for our winner.

Oh, and BTW, don't forget to sign up as a follower on the sidebar so you can keep up-to-date on the latest posts!

P.S. Do you have a business selling kid/baby/mom products?? If you would like to donate a prize for our giveaway, please let me know. You will get your business info on the sidebar for the duration of the contest. (Can't beat free advertising!)

Dinners On A Budget:A Few Classics

OVEN-FRIED CHICKEN
(From the classic Betty Crocker Cookbook)

This is an old stand by for when we have last minute guests. It's very inexpensive (I can usually buy a whole chicken fryer for around $6), feeds a lot of people, and is super easy! Serve it with some mashed potatoes, a salad, maybe even corn on the cob or a loaf of Rhodes bread (everyone will think this bread is homemade!)

Prep: 10 minutes (if that)

Bake: 1 hour

6 servings

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

3 to 3 1/2 pound cut-up broiler-fryer chicken

1.Heat oven to 425. While oven is preheating, melt the butter in the bottom of a 13x9x2" pan.

2.Mix flour, paprika, salt, pepper in ziplock bag. (I sometimes double this mixture just to make sure all the chicken gets coated well.) Place chicken, skin side down, in pan.

3. Bake uncovered 30 minutes. Turn chicken, bake 30 minutes longer or until breasts are no longer pink.

Variation:

To make crunchy, substitute 1 cup cornflake crumbs for the 1/2 cup flour. Dip chicken into 1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted, before coating with crumb mixture.

Meals on a Budget Post 1

Submitted by: Angel M

One Pan Taco Dinner
1 lb. hamburger
1pkg. Taco bell taco seasoning
2c. uncooked Minute Rice
1c. shredded mild cheese
2c. shredded lettuce
chopped tomato
Brown meat and drain, add 2c water & seasoning- bring to a boil, stir in rice, sprinkle with cheese & cover. Cook on low for 5 minutes.
Top with lettuce, tomatoes, and other favorite taco fixings.

Teriyaki Chicken with Rice & Broccoli1-
1 1/2 lb. cubed chicken breast
1T. oil 1/2c. diced onion
2 garlic cloves minced
1c. Yoshida's Teriyaki sauce(or your favorite)
Saute onion and garlic in oil, then add chicken, season with salt & pepper and cook thru. Add teriyaki sauce and simmer for 5 minutes.
Serve with cooked rice and steamed broccoli ( or your favorite veggies).

Cookies of Your Choice
1 box of cake mix (any flavor you want)
1 egg
1/2c. oil
Combine above ingredients and add your favorite chocolate chips, nuts, or dried fruit.
Bake at 350 degrees for 7-10 minutes.
These are literally cookies of your choice, be creative, and experiment. These cookies are unbelievably moist- ENJOY!

Topic #4: Dinners on a BUDGET!

One of my favorite presents that my mom ever gave me was this big binder of recipes from our childhood. Back then, money was very tight and there were a lot of mouths to feed (she's always joked that she should write a book on how to feed a family of 6 for under $10!) so she always found ways to keep food costs down without sacrificing flavor.

That mentality kind of stuck with me as an adult and love finding inexpensive (yet yummy!) new dinners to add to our meal list. My husband and I are both big fans of eating out (very budget-unfriendly!) but if I sit down and make out a dinner list for the week and keep it on my fridge, I'm much more likely to stick to it.

Over the next week, I'll be adding a few of my favorite recipes from my mom, as well as some new ones I've come across in the last few years. I'm also hoping many of you will share your favorites! Please email your recipes to: momditties@yahoo.com. Make sure to include the source, if necessary. Pictures are by no means required (I need to remember to take pictures of my meals and add them!) but are a great plus. I'm really looking forward to seeing what you come up with!

Send Me Your Recipes!

First, sorry for the minimal posts this week... I went on a Girls Getaway to Seattle this weekend with my mom and sisters. Yay for interruption-free shopping!

It looks like our next topic is going to be "Dinners On A Budget" so please email me your recipes:

momditties@yahoo.com

Posting will start tomorrow and end next Tuesday.

Thanks everyone!!

Creative Playdates: Little Chefs

Submitted by Jensa A

(This was one of our favorite memories in playgroup!)

Recipes and pictures from our "Cooking Day" playgroup:

Tortilla Cookies
□ Tortilla
□ Melted butter
□ Cinnamon/sugar sprinkler
□ Cookie cutters
Cut tortilla into fun shapes and then brush with melted butter. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon and place in a 350 degree oven for ten minutes.

Ham / cheese roll ups
□ white bread
□ rolling pin
□ sandwich ham
□ string cheese
□ toothpicks
□ honey mustard dressing
Roll bread flat. Lay a piece of thin sliced ham on top then a piece of string cheese. Roll up and cut into several bite sizedpinwheels. Use toothpick to hold pinwheels together and dip in honey mustard. (2/3 cup mayo, 1/4 cup honey, 2 TB dijon mustard, pinch paprika and salt)

English Muffin pizzas
□ 4 English muffins, split
□ 1 can (8 ounces) pizza sauce
□ 1 cup part-skim mozarella cheese, shredded
□ assorted pizza toppings, optional
Lightly toast muffins. Spread one generous tablespoon of pizza sauce on each muffin half. Sprinkle with cheese; top with your favorite pizza topping (green pepper, mushrooms, pepperoni, etc.). Bake muffin pizza in a 400 degree oven until cheese melts, about 6 minutes.

Fruit Pizza
□ 1 tube sugar cookies (or you could use brownies)
□ 1 container strawberry cream cheese
□ 1/3 cup powdered sugar
□ fresh fruit in season (kiwi, berries, bananas, etc.)
□ chopped nuts (almonds are SOOO yummy)
□ chocolate sauce (optional)
Prepare cookies. Let cool. In small bowl, mix strawberry flavored cream cheese with enough powdered sugar to make it creamy. Spread over cooled cookie. Top with sliced fruits. Sprinkle nuts and drizzle chocolate sauce over if desired. Best if eaten in 2-3 days.

The girls had so much fun and have asked for these snacks ever since! Yumm!