Chicken Enchilada Casserole

I found a new blog that I really enjoy called Sweet Tooth Sweet Life.

She recently did a post called 21 One Pot Meals and I pinned several of those recipes to make.  Monday I made the Chili Mac and Cheese (which I forgot to take a picture of) which was awesome, and all three kids loved it!

Last night I made the Chicken Enchilada Casserole that was super yummy too!  However, Alayna wanted nothing to do with it.  Oh well, can't please them all the time.

 

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

12 corn tortillas, torn into bite-size pieces

3 cups shredded cooked chicken (3 cups = about 12 oz)

1 can (10 oz each) Ro*Tel® Original Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies, undrained

1 can (10 oz each) red enchilada sauce

1 can (8 oz each) Hunt's® Tomato Sauce

1 cup shredded Cheddar and Monterey Jack blend cheese, divided

- See more at: http://www.readyseteat.com/recipes-Chicken-Enchilada-Skillet-2273.html#sthash.xBItGpqQ.dpuf

12 corn tortillas, torn into bite-size pieces

3 cups shredded cooked chicken (3 cups = about 12 oz)

1 can (10 oz each) Ro*Tel® Original Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies, undrained

1 can (10 oz each) red enchilada sauce

1 can (8 oz each) Hunt's® Tomato Sauce

1 cup shredded Cheddar and Monterey Jack blend cheese, divided

- See more at: http://www.readyseteat.com/recipes-Chicken-Enchilada-Skillet-2273.html#sthash.xBItGpqQ.dpuf

6 small tortillas, cut into bit size pieces

3 cups shredded cooked chicken

1 can Rotel diced tomatoes

1 can red enchilada sauce (I made my own enchilada sauce from Mels Kitchen Cafe )

1 can tomato sauce

1 cup shredded Cheddar and Monteray Jack blend

Spray large nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Add tortilla pieces and chicken; mix well. Cook over medium-high heat 5 minutes or until hot, stirring frequently.

Pour undrained tomatoes and enchilada and tomato sauces over chicken mixture in skillet. Mix well. Sprinkle 1/2 cup cheese over chicken mixture. Cover skillet; cook 5 minutes or until hot, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Serve immediately.

- See more at: http://www.readyseteat.com/recipes-Chicken-Enchilada-Skillet-2273.html#sthash.xBItGpqQ.dpuf

Spray oven safe skillet with butter spray, place chopped tortilla strips in bottom of skillet, ladle in a cup of the enchilada sauce followed by half the chicken and half the cheese, do another layer of tortillas, sauce, chicken and cheese.  Bake at 400 until cheese is bubbly, 10-15 minutes.

Very easy and very versatile!

What's Going on This Week

It's Monday already, I seriously can't get over how fast time goes these days....

 

My elbow is finally feeling better, I had an xray and nothing was broken, thank goodness.  I cannot even tell you how painful this has been.  And do you have any idea how many times a day you bump your elbow?  Like a thousand...Needless to say I think my hubby will be over the moon to have his wife back.  I don't do pain.

Friday night we met some friends for happy hour, all three girls were gone babysitting (well, Rachel was babysitting, but we know the family really well and they wanted all 3 to come) so we had a few hours to ourselves.  We were home and sleeping on the couch by 9.  Pitiful. 

Saturday we all cleaned (did I mention the new allowance program we've got going with the girls?  I LOVE it!) and I did my food prep for the week.  

 

Here's what's on the menu:

Monday:  Chili Mac and Cheese

Tuesday: Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Wednesday: Meatloaf

Thursday: Cheesy Chicken and Asparagus Risotto

2 of those are new recipes, I'll try and blog about them next week.

Saturday night we had a 40th birthday party and 3 of the guys that were there have a band, so around midnight the guitars came out and it was awesome!  They played everything from Johnny Cash to Hootie and the Blowfish.  Needless to say we didn't get home until 3:30, I was sober driver but it's amazing how crappy you feel not having much sleep.  I was wide awake at 7, grrr...

Sunday was just another finish cleaning/laundry day.  I made Pepperjack Cheesy Potato Soup that was yummy, and for supper I made homemade chicken strips for the girls and steaks for us (that we won at the meat raffle Friday night, whoop whop!) with baked potatoes.  It was divine.

Rachel has a volleyball tournament in Rochester this weekend, ugh.  I am not looking forward to driving that much, but what do you do.  We (the players and families) are doing a potluck Saturday night, so that will be nice to not have to eat out.  I will pack about 4000 pounds of food for lunches, and I believe I am off Thursday instead of Tuesday this week, so that will work perfect.

Happy Monday!

P.S.  I finally updated the recipes and fitness tabs at the top of my blog.  It's not fancy, and the recipe are not categorized and never will be.  I'm just happy to finally get those two pages done!

Friday Favorites

Man, is it just me, or do these weeks FLY by??  When I stayed home and did daycare, Fridays took FOREVA to get here.  We actually have a pretty quiet weekend upon us, no volleyball tournaments, no big plans.  Tonight Rachel is babysitting and Alayna is going with, I am trying to talk Emma into staying so we can watch the movie "The Book Thief" she got for Christmas.  we'll see...

Linking up again with these ladies for Friday Favorites!

1.  I know the pic is bad, put this is Alayna's mad face at 6 am because I accidentally cut her waffles into squares instead of sticks.  Oh the horror.

This candle from Bath and Body Works.  I typically only buy candles that are "clean", but in all honesty, I'm tired of spending buuco bucks for them.  I LOVE this candle.

Moscato wine.  No explanations needed, see child picture above. 

I love, love, love Kristin's blog!  It is one of my go to foodie blogs.  I've made several of her recipes and they are delish!

My last favorite thing is my Erin Condren Planner.  I'm obsessed with this thing!

 

Hope you have a fantastic Friday!

Weekend Ramblings....

We had a great, great weekend full of volleyball, volleyball, and more volleyball, haha!

I have to post these pics, because this cat is KILLING me with her obsession with Rachel's fish.  Rachel keeps her door closed at all times, but whenever she can, she sneaks in and tries to attack...

Poor Maci, she doesn't realize she'll never catch it.

Saturday started an all day tournament in St. Cloud, girls once again played awesome!  They even improved so much since last week, it's amazing!  They ended up in 3rd in the Gold Division again.  Whoop whoop!

 

I made a big batch of these granola bars, they have become a staple at tournaments, all the girls ask for them!

 

After their tournament we went out to eat with a 3 other volleyball families to celebrate a 40th birthday.  Unfortunately Rachel felt sick, so I dropped her off at home.  I think she was over hungry and then had that sick feeling.  She is my daughter!

Sunday was a day filled with cleaning, laundry and food prepping.  I had so much energy and got so much done.  Emma was gone at a sleepover Saturday night, so Sunday night Rachel and Mousey had friends over.  We played lots of cards and Tenzie's, so much fun!

And now I know why I had so much energy on Sunday, because God knew I'd be down for the count!  I slipped and fell on my way into work, and fell on my elbow and hip.  Ugh.  I am going in this afternoon to have an xray to see if the elbow is broken. 

 

At least my house is clean and I have my meals ready!  Happy Monday Ya'll!

The Weekend

We had a great and BUSY weekend!!  Saturday Brad and I went into town to donate plasma and run errands.  It was nice to get some Christmas gifts returned...On the way home we decided to bring home KFC.  Oh my word, I forget how delicious and horrible that stuff is for you!  The kids had never had it, and they enjoyed every bit!

Brad was gone for the afternoon and evening and Alayna was at a sleepover, so the older two and I watched "Divergent", it was SO good!  I also got some food prepping done, as we had an all day tournament in Forest Lake on Sunday.

I am SO happy that volleyball season is back!  Rachel's team played so well, they placed third in the Gold division!

The very last game they played to get into the championship they played horrible.  Lots of errors, and no one was getting their serves over.  I think they were just so tired!

They have a really great team, and they all get along so well!

 

We didn't get home until 9 Sunday night, so everyone was exhausted.  Thankfully I got meal planning/prepping done on Saturday so I didn't have to worry what to make tonight.

Friday Favorites

Linking up again with Andrea over at Momfessionals!

What I'm loving this week...

1.  New Years!




I know it's so cliche, but I really do love the promise of a fresh, new year.  Starting over, in my eyes, is a great thing.  My only "resolution" is really a goal.  And that's to run my marathon in May.  As far as other resolutions, just to get back on my healthy eating again.

2.  VOLLEYBALL SEASON!!

I seriously cannot.freaken.wait for this weekend!  Rachel has a tournament in Forest Lake on Sunday and I am so stoked to watch the girls play.

3. Tenzies.  It's a dice game, get it people.  it's SO addicting!  Saturday night we were at Brad's sisters house with the kids and played it for almost 2 hours!

 

4.  Salads.  After 6 weeks of eating things I only eat once a year, my body was craving health food.  I dropped 3 pounds since Christmas!  I love my daily salads and good eats.

5.    My planner.

 

I can't even tell you how much I love this thing.  I know it's only been a couple weeks, but I seriously feel  SO organized!

Happy Friday everyone!!

Mini Vacation

I surprised Brad with a quick getaway up to Duluth right after Christmas.  It was perfect timing!  I couldn't find his Christmas gift and felt horrible, but at least I knew I had this for a backup, haha!

We left Sunday morning, dropped the girls off at moms and headed out.  We got to Two Harbors at 12:15, and drove straight to our favorite little bar and grill, The Pub to watch the Vikings game.  We ordered a couple appetizers and enjoyed hanging out watching the game!

After the game we went to check into our room.  We stayed at Superior Shores Resort, which is where we stayed for our honeymoon and our 10 year anniversary.  We love that place!  We ended up upgrading to a suite for only $30 total.  The bedroom, bathroom and jacuzzi are on the other side of the fireplace.

Sunday night we ate at the resort, food was really good, but service was SUPER slow...

Monday morning we got up and drove into town to eat breakfast at Judy's Cafe.  It's a little hole in the wall cafe, but the food is delicious!  After breakfast we went back and showered and decided that we would drive farther north.  We ended up in Grand Marais which is about 2 hours from our resort.  Of course we stopped along the way to take some pics!  It was FREEZING!  Monday was a high of -2.

We ate lunch in Grand Marais at The Gunflint Tavern, which was recommended to us by my aunt and uncle.  The food was amazing!  I had a grilled tomato and Gruyere cheese melt with bean and kale soup.  Brad had the grilled salami and cheese melt with chicken wild rice soup.  His was amazing too.  The place was packed, definitely one to come back to!

We did some shopping and then headed back to our resort.  One the way back we stopped in Lutsen to have a cocktail at Charlies.  Great place for a drink, and their live music was phenomenal!

We did do a quick hike up to Cascade Falls, very cool, but again, FREEZING!  We ended up back at The Pub in Two Harbors for pizza.  They make them there, excellent pizza!  We ended the night playing cards and relaxing.

Tuesday morning we ate breakfast again at Judy's Cafe and then decided to check out the harbor, there was a ship that was coming in between 10-11, so we waited for.  It came in around 11:15 and was so neat to watch it come in.  Brad loves taking pics with his phone, and they turn out so great!

Our quick little getaway was exactly what we needed after a super busy holiday season!  It would be nice to make this a yearly tradition, we'll see.

Brad and I often say how lucky we are that we truly love hanging out with each other.  Given the option, I will always choose him to hang with!

Happy New Years!

I hope everyone had a wonderful New Years!  I truly can't believe that Christmas has come and gone....sad.

We had a great New Years, Brad and I both worked and then headed to friends to hang out for the evening.  We were missing one family who was on vacation, so we took a pic of all of us sending kisses, lol!  We had a blast playing the game Headbands, some ping pong, and just enjoying all the yummy food.  We got home around 2, yuck (I was sober driver, yay for feeling amazing the next morning!).

New Years day we took down all the Christmas stuff and cleaned house.  I hate taking my Christmas stuff down, but it makes your house seem really clean!

Emma left with the Tangens around 9:00, they have hockey tournaments in Hibbing until Sunday, so they brought Emma with so Kyleigh had something to do.  I already miss that kid!

We all napped in the afternoon and then played some Carbles with the girls.  Clearly no one wanted their pic taken.  Except Alayna.

 

I always make resolutions, and for the most part stick to them.  My goals for 2015:

1.  Run the Fargo Marathon in May.  I'm nervous because I'm dealing with some leg/knee/heel pain, so hoping we can get that figured out STAT!

2.  Organize/declutter my house more.  We have SO.MUCH.CRAP.  It needs to go...

3.  Use my planner everyday.  Write notes, lists, stay more organized.

That's about all I got, I don't need to stress out about a New Years list, haha!

Happy 2015!!!

Christmas Traditions

Ever since I can remember, we have always put our Christmas tree up the afternoon of Thanksgiving.  Mom would make a big meal, dad would nap, and then we would hound him until he finally got the tree and lights up.  I think it was his favorite tradition. Not.  When we were older, we started putting the tree up the Friday after Thanksgiving.  This is what we do too.  Although since I've started working outside the home and have Tuesdays off, I put the tree up in our family room downstairs and decorate.  I LOVE that!

The girls help with all the other decorations and the other 3 trees we put up.  Our family room tree is the wildlife/outdoorsy style tree.  (See the pheasant and ducks back there???)  The living room tree is filled with ornaments that we've collected over the years for Brad and I and the girls.  I have a tall thin tree in our entryway that has the girls' homemade ornaments on it, and another similar tree in the dining room/kitchen that has candy and baked good ornaments.  I LOVE my trees.  I plan on putting one in our bedroom next year with all my racing medals on it!!!

 When we put up decorations, we crank the Christmas tunes and drink hot apple cider.

I love this pic, this is what you see if you're standing on our front porch...

 

You have to have several mugs of hot chocolate of course!

 

Making a gingerbread house is a must.  It always cracks me up how all 3 of the them start making it, but Rachel eventually takes over the duties and barks orders to the other 2.  Classic. And sometimes, hot glue is needed, just sayin...

We always like to make some homemade things for friends.  The girls had a lot of fun this year coming up with ideas.  Oh wait, they came up with ideas and I vetoed them because I already had it all planned out.  Wonder where Rachel's bossiness comes from???

The elusive cut outs.  I seriously don't know why we make these, no one eats them. 

We also watch every Christmas movie known to man....our favorites are National Lampoons Christmas Vacation, Elf, The Grinch and my fave, The Family Stone.  That is always one of my saddest parts of Christmas being over, not watching the movies.

Christmas morning we make the girls stay in their rooms until 6, which gives Brad and I some time to relax and drink coffee.  Love that!  I always make cinnamon rolls for breakfast and Brad makes eggs and liver sausage (nasty).  The last couple years we have gone to mass Christmas morning at 9:30 instead of Christmas Eve.  We really enjoyed having more time on Christmas Eve, and since they are up at the butt crack of dawn, 9:30 service isn't so bad...