Quick Chicken Tortilla Bake

Ingredients:
2 cans cream of chicken soup
10 oz can diced tomatoes with green chiles, undrained
12 6-inch corn tortillas, cut into thin strips
3 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 cup shredded monterey jack and/or cheddar cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine soup and undrained tomatoes; set aside. Sprinkle one-third of the tortilla strips over the bottom of an ungreased 3-quart rectangular baking dish. Layer half of the chicken over the tortilla strips; spoon half of the soup mixture evenly over top. Repeat layers. Sprinkle with remaining tortilla strips.
2. Bake, covered, about 40 minutes or until bubbly around edges and center is hot. Uncover; sprinkle with cheese. Bake about 5 minutes more or until cheese is melted.

Caramel Apple Cream of Wheat

Mexican Pork

This was VERY GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!! TONS of flavor packed in!

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons ground chile pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
2 Tablespoons orange juice
1 Tablespoon adobo sauce (from canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce)
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon lime juice
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
3 pound pork shoulder (bone in or boneless)

Directions:
1. In a small bowl; combine chile pepper, salt, oregano, coriander, cumin, black pepper, cinnamon, and allspice. Stir in orange juice, adobo sauce, garlic, lime juice, and oil until a paste forms.
2. Trim fat from roast. Using a small knife, make small slits all over the roast. Rub paste all over meat. If possible, place in a large ziploc bag and let marinate in the refrigerator for 4 to 24 hours. If not, place in large baking dish. Pour about 1/2 cup water into the dish. Cover with foil, and cook at 350 degrees for approximately 4 hours, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted in center of meat should register at least 170 degrees.

We made this into tacos with black beans, rice, tomatoes, cheese, and sour cream...SO GOOD!!!!

Triple Decker Taco Bake

Ingredients:
15 oz canned beans (I used refried black beans)
1 cup salsa
12 - 6-inch corn tortillas
3/4 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup shredded monterey jack or cheddar cheese
avocado, as desired
1 Tablespoon cilantro, (optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lightly coat a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray; set aside.
2. Spoon 1/4 cup salsa into bottom of prepared pie plate. Layer ingredients in the following order: three of the tortillas, half of the beans, 3 more tortillas, all of the corn, 1/4 cup of cheese, 1/4 cup salsa, another three tortillas, the remaining beans, the remaining tortillas, and the remaining 1/2 cup salsa.
3. Cover with foil; bake about 12 minutes or until heated through. Remove foil. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup cheese.
4. Bake, uncovered, about 3 minutes more or until cheese melts. Top with avocado, and cilantro (if desired).

Huevos Rancheros

We had this in a restaurant in Guatemala (at the Men's Bible study)...it was so good!
The kids needed to be talked into this a lot, but Belle and Derek ended up eating every bite! Julie ate about half of it, but she's still having issues with egg allergies (although the doctor insists she is no longer allergic...she has a rash and eczema today) :(

Ingredients:
3 Tablespoons olive oil
5 6-inch corn tortillas
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
1 or 2 chile peppers from can of chipotle chile peppers in adobo sauce
2 Tablespoons snipped cilantro
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
8 eggs
1 Tablespoon water
1/2 cup shredded monterey jack cheese or queso fresco

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a large skillet, heat 2 Tablespoons of the oil over medium0high heat. Dip tortillas, one at a time, into oil just until hot. Drain on papertowels (do not stack), reserving oil in skillet. Keep four of the tortillas warm on a baking sheet in oven. Set aside remaining tortilla.
2. For salsa, add onion and garlic to the skillet; cook over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes or until tender. Stir in tomatoes, chile peppers, cilantro, and cumin. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Transfer mixture to a blender or food processor. Tear reserved tortilla into pieces; add to blender. Cover; blend or process until mixture forms a coarse puree. Keep warm.
3. In the same skillet, heat the remaining 1 Tablespoon oil over medium heat. Carefully break eggs into skillet. When whites are set and edges turn white, add the water. Cover skillet and cook eggs to desired doneness (3 to 4 minutes for soft-set yolks, or 4-5 minutes for firm-set yolks).
4. To serve, place a warm tortilla on each of four serving plates. Top each with two fried eggs. Spoon warm salsa over eggs; sprinkle with cheese. If desired, garnish with green onions.

Zucchini and Corn Tortitas

These were so good! I made them for lunch yesterday and served with a little sour cream and salsa mixed together!

OH, and I didn't have any zucchini's from the garden yesterday, so I made with yellow squash...so good!

And I bet these would be great with jalapenos too!

Ingredients:
1 large zucchini (or squash)
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups Monterey Jack cheese
2/3 cup flour
1/3 cup chopped green onions
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup corn
1/4 - 1/2 cup canola oil

Directions:
1. Coarsely shred zucchini (you should have about 1 cup shredded zucchini). Drain on several layers of paper towels, patting dry.
2. In a large bowl, stir together eggs, cheese, flour, green onions, cumin, oregano, and salt. Stir in zucchini and corn.
3. In a large skillet, put enough oil to cover bottom. Heat over medium-high heat. Take large spoonfuls of batter and make it into a hamburger shape. Carefully drop into hot oil; cook for 4 minutes or until golden brown, turning once. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining zucchini mixture, adding oil as needed.

Caldo de Pollo (Chicken Soup)

It's Mexican Week at our house! :) We're eating only meals that they eat in Hispanic cultures for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! Trying to get the kids to not only eat less sugar (i.e. - American breakfasts!), but also to expand their food preferences and see that the rest of the world is a lot different from us!

So, on today's lunch menu? Caldo de Pollo (Chicken Soup...or I believe "Soup of Chicken")

It's still cooking, but it's AWESOME!

I actually cooked chicken tacos last night, so I cooked up a rotisserie chicken in the crock pot, changing up the spices by only using garlic powder, garlic salt, and cumin, and then made all the chicken into the chicken lime taco recipe...and am using that chicken in the soup today!

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 large tomatoes, peeled (if desired), and chopped
2 32-oz boxes low sodium chicken broth
1 pound cooked chicken, pulled apart
15 oz canned beans, drained
(recipe called for garbanzo, but I used Great Northern...would try black too)
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 pepper from can of chipotle chile peppers in adobo sauce, finely chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1 medium avocado, chopped (I didn't have any today)
8 medium radishes, thinly sliced (optional)
1/2 cup shredded Cotija cheese or anejo enchilado cheese (I used monterey jack)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro (optional)
6 corn tortillas (optional)

Directions:
1. In large soup pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook for about 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in tomatoes; cook for 5 minutes more or until tomatoes are soft and mixture begins to thicken, stirring constantly. Add broth; bring to boiling.
2. Add chicken. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, about 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through (if using raw chicken breasts). If needed, remove chicken from soup, wait til it cools enough to handle, and remove bones and pull apart.
3. Add shredded chicken back into soup. Add beans, lime juice, chile pepper, cumin, and salt to soup. Heat through.
4. If desired, cut corn tortillas into strips. Heat in 400 degree oven until toasted.
4. Top each serving with avocado, radishes (if desired), cheese, and cilantro (if desired). Add toasted tortilla strips if desired.