Road Trip!

Sorry there has not been a new post in the last couple of days!  I have been busy with work and life, and this is just a side project for now!  My posts will be light this weekend as we have some other adventures planned.  Hope you enjoy your weekend and whatever it is you are turning into an adventure! 

Chicken Enchilada Soup

So this morning I started this recipe. . . it is a crock pot meal!!  PERFECT!!  However because my desire for sleep is higher than my desire to do just about anything else that early in my day, I quick threw it together before I headed off to work so I have no pictures of the process!  Of course I found the original recipe on Pinterest!!  You can find it by clicking here :) It's really easy to throw together and I don't even thaw my chicken before I throw it in!  I serve it up with some sour cream and a little cheese. . . thats it!  One suggestion I have for it is if you like things spicier, use a hotter enchilada sauce.  We don't so I just use mild, but its totally up to you what you want to use!

 

Hope your week has gone well so far and continues as we are on the downside to the WEEKEND!

Flat Nachos

Ok so you are probably wondering what a "flat" nacho is.  It is a simply delicious version of what we already love.  I basically make individual nachos. . .so easy!  My mom has been making these for years and since it is my lovely hubby's ACTUAL birthday today, I let him pick what he wanted to eat :)  I promise, they are delicious!

Here is my starting line up:
-Round tortilla chips
-browned, crumbled sausage
-refried beans
-BLOCK cheese of your choice
-jalapenos if desired
-sour cream

The first thing I do is open my bag of chips and find the "flattest" ones I can.  The flatter you can find, the better.  It makes it much easier to add the toppings :)  Put them all out on your cookie sheet.  You can make as many or as few as you'd like!

After you have your chips out like above, you will need to open your refried beans and spread some on each chip.  This is an amount of whatever you desire.  It is going to work like your glue so make sure you don't use too little!

Once you have beans on each chip, you need to put sausage on each one.  I usually pick up the chip and hold it over my bowl and sort of spoon the meat on.  I also kind of smush it down just a bit to make sure it sticks!  Once again, you can use as much or as little as you desire!  This is where you can also add jalapenos right on top of the sausage if you'd like.

This next step is what makes these nachos the BEST.  You need to make sure you use BLOCK cheddar or colby cheese.  You will want to cut squares or strips off the block to lay on top of each chip.  It is like a balancing act! :)

 

After you have the nachos made, you need to put them in a 350 degree oven until the cheese is all nice and melty.  They should look something like this. . .

I usually let them sit for a few minutes so the cheese cools a bit before we dig in.  I just dollop a little sour cream on each one and that's it! 



  Enjoy and try to stay warm!!

Green Chile Mac & Cheese

Hope your weekend has been swell!  Tonight for dinner I made Green Chile Mac & Cheese.  Lets put it this way, if you like mac & cheese but get bored of the same 'ol boxed kind or your own homemade, TRY THIS.  It is seriously such a delicious spin on an old favorite!  I got the recipe a few years ago from some magazine, somewhere.  I have the page ripped out and trimmed down to fit in my binder so I have NO clue what magazine it did come from!  Shame on me, I know!  :)  Here is the printed recipe before my photos :

Green Chile Mac & Cheese

• salt and pepper
• 1 lb. elbow macaroni
• 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 small onion
• 2 jalapenos, seeded, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups low-fat milk, warmed
• 2 4-oz cans chopped green chiles, drained
• 8 oz. sharp Cheddar, shredded (about 2 cups)
• 8 oz. pepper Jack, shredded (about 2 cups)
• 1 1/2 cups crushed corn chips

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Bring large pot of water to a boil.  Cook macaroni until al dente, about 8 minutes.  Drain; rinse under cold water to stop cooking.
2. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat.  Add onion and jalapenos and saute until soft, about 10 minutes.  Sprinkle flour on onion mixture and cook, stirring constantly, 3 minutes.  Slowly whisk in milk.  Raise heat to medium and slowly bring to a simmer, stirring constantly.  Cook for 2 minutes  Stir in chiles.  Set aside 1/2 cup of Cheddar.  Add remaining Cheddar and all pepper Jack to skillet and cook, stirring, until all cheese has melted.  Season with salt and pepper.
3. Add pasta to skillet; stir.  Mist a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray and pour in pasta mixture.
4. In a bowl, combine corn chips with reserved 1/2 cup Cheddar; sprinkle over pasta.  Place dish in oven and bake until pasta mixture is bubbling and top is golden, 40-45 minutes.  Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Now this recipe makes a lot. . . it seems that pasta always grows as you cook with it!  I halved this recipe today because it fits just the 2 of us so much better!  I also left out the jalapenos because we are not overly spicy food eaters.  The green chiles and pepper Jack cheese give it the perfect kick!

First you need to saute the onions in your butter.  Really let them cook so they start getting translucent and softened.  You don't want crunchy onions in this one!

After you have cooked the onions down, you need to put your flour in with them and mix it really well.  This is what will thicken your milk and make it creamy and delish!  It should look like paste.

After you have allowed that to cook for several minutes, you can whisk in your milk.  After you have done that, make sure to keep stirring so it does not scald on the bottom of your pan.  Keep stirring until it is starting to bubble and is thickened.

 

After it is thickened, you need to add your green chiles.  These can be found in the Mexican Foods section of your grocery store!

 

Once you have the chiles all stirred in, it's time to add your cheeses!  YUM.  I used about a cup of each since I halved it.

 

After you add the cheese, stir stir stir!  Keep stirring until all the cheese is nice and incorporated.  After it is nice and creamy, you will want to add your pasta and stir it all together.

 

Once you have it all mixed together, pour it into a well greased casserole dish.  I used a round one because it was the perfect size!  Then you need to put some cheddar on top and the corn chips.  I however did not have any corn chips and so I use Ritz crackers. . .I thought it was really good this way!!

 

If you have made half a recipe, you'll want to bake it for 20-25 minutes.  If you made the full recipe, you will want to bake it for 40-45 minutes.  It should come out nice and bubbly and the top browned.

 

It really is a full meal all on its own but we had a little salad with ours too!  It was delicious and makes for great lunchtime leftovers.  Works out pretty great!

 

Like I said before, it's all in your preferance as to how spicy you choose to make it.  We think its just perfect without any jalapanos.  You might think that 2 just isn't enough!  Whatever you like, I know you will enjoy this.  It's even great to make when you have dinner guests. . .Adult mac and cheese!  Although, I think kids would love it too!

 

I won't be posting anything tomorrow night as we are going out with our familes for dinner to celebrate the hubby's birthday!!  Boy is he getting OLD.  Glad that's not me. 

 

Happy Sunday!!













New Recipes??

Hello friends!!  I wanted to put out a short post asking you for your well loved recipes!!  I would LOVE to try out your tried and true recipes, so PLEASE shoot me an email at turninggroceriesgourmet@outlook.com with it and I will create it and post it right here on my blog!  I always need new ideas and I think others appreciate a change of pace too!  Hope you have had a great Saturday!!