whatever

enchiladas...of a different kind

i am not talking about THESE spicy green sauce enchiladas today.
but... have you made that recipe?
it is probably my favorite meal ever...so so SO good!
we have it at craft weekend often and so many of you have made that recipe.
it's DELISH!

(goes perfect with a margarita)

today i had another recipe i have been making forever that i want to share.

we call them Sour Cream Enchiladas.

pretty creative name, i know.

these are the ingredients you will need.... 

i hope by now you are used to my generic food brand choices.

as long as my kids eat it then i am not going to worry about brand names.
EVEN when the generic name is Nice 'n Cheesy.....

i call it Velveeta in the recipe below.
i don't want to confuse you if were looking for the Nice 'n Cheesy.   HA!

NOTE: this recipe can be made with chicken OR ground beef.

 
today i am showing the chicken dish but we make it exactly the same way when we use the ground beef. 

first you cook the chicken (or brown the ground beef)
i usually just cook chicken in the crockpot in the day and shred it up when im ready to cook dinner.

add the cheese, soup, the evaporated milk and the sour cream to a seperate bowl. 

then microwave for 5 minutes. 
it melts all together and is a cheesy cream sauce.

*** you SHOULD add the can of Rotel here but my family is picky and half of them don't like the Rotel. ***



add one cup of the sauce to the chicken (or beef) and mix it around to coat the meat.

pour a small amount of the sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 pan... just enough to cover the bottom
and this way the tortillas don't stick to the pan.

(question: is this the most monotone set of photos you have ever seen? the lovely golden kitchen at the farm house is the same color as cheese sauce....)


fill tortillas with chicken/cheese mixture, roll up and place side by side in the pan.
(my pan is actually 10x13 so it's a little bigger than usual)


now here is where my family makes meals confusing....
i pour the cheese sauce over HALF the enchiladas and THEN i add a can of Rotel (spicy tomatoes & green chiles) to the sauce because my kids don't like spicy food.

then i pour the rest of the sauce with the spice over the other half of the pan.


i HIGHLY suggest you put the Rotel in from the very beginning but if your kids are picky like mine and you still want to eat spicy food then it's worth it.

Bake it for 30 minutes at 350 and the top is bubbly golden brown... but not crispy on top.

This meal is super yummy.

and cheesey.

and very delish when you serve it with black beans and rice...and salsa on top.

but my kids don't eat that either so i just made myself some broccoli instead. 

 

 

and i realize now that i spelled "spicy" wrong in the recipe.
whoops.

 

pumpkin french toast....YUM

i have an easy yummy recipe for you to make for this weekend.
it's so nice to make it quickly the night before and then have a hot breakfast in the morning when you are sleepy.  
that is a HUGE reason why breakfast isn't my thing... i am not a morning person.
i am too tired and out of it to consciously make a dish without messing it up.

so... the make ahead stuff is great for my night owl personality. 

you need a loaf of bread, eggs, pumpkin, vanilla, milk, pumpkin pie spice and brown sugar.


cut the loaf of bread into cubes.  
i just buy a loaf of italian or french bread for this and cut the whole thing up.
if you arent' cooking for a crowd like i am at every meal... you don't need to use the whole loaf.



put the cubes in a 9x13 dish and mix up all the ingredients except brown sugar.



pour that over all the bread cubes covering the cubes completely.





if there is a place where the batter did not get on the cubes use a rubber spatula and gently smoosh it down until all the bread cubes are soaked in the batter.

THEN cover it and place it in the refrigerator overnight.



in the morning.... preheat your oven to 350.  
uncover your dish.
sprinkle the brown sugar over the top of the dish.
BAKE at 350 uncovered for 40 - 45 minutes.



It smells amazing as it cooks.
like you are making pumpkin pie for breakfast.

we top it off with syrup... each person putting on their own amount.



it's DELICIOUS.
seriously.... such a treat for a weekend morning.

 

you can make a smaller amount by using a little less eggs and milk.
i don't think you would need to change the pumpkin, vanilla and spices though.

i am super hungry right now.... i wish thees pictures weren't from last week.

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chicken.

 

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i don't claim to be a cook at all... in any way....but i do have to feed my kids every single day.
and that part of motherhood is not in my top ten.
i don't mind them eating...i just mind MAKING something every day...or the pressure to try to make something everyday.
because i can promise you i don't cook every day.
give me night feedings and diapers over cooking dinner every night.
not kidding. 

this chicken is easy and yummy and my family likes it which makes the cooking a bit more enjoyable.
you could add lots more fancy stuff but this is all we use....no spices, no nothing.
plain.
and that is why all my kids eat it. 
this is the way a friend waaaaay back in my second year of marriage made it for her family.
so i just copied her. 

pour some oil in one container....maybe 1/2 cup.  
if you run out just add more.
and pour in 1 cup bread crumbs and 1/2 cup parmasan cheese (yes...i know it's fake cheese)
stir it together.

i cut all the gross fatty stuff off the chicken because it makes me gag.

then i usually poke holes in the chicken breast with a fork or smash it a bit with a meat tenderizer.
but i forgot to photo that step.



dip the chicken in the oil....both sides.


then dip the oiled chicken into the bread crumbs and parmasean cheese mixture.




coat both sides really well.


ok....let's not even talk about my pans.
why do i still own this pan?
i am going to get new cookie sheets.
i am.
it's time.  :)

Soooo.....put your chicken on the pan and bake it in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes
(or until it's done in the middle of the big pieces of chicken.)


we almost always eat this as a side with this chicken.
not advertising for them, my kids just LOVE this stuff.
we buy two family size boxes and it's gone every time.

and that's it.
it is very weird to see that rooster peeking out in the middle of my plate.
i didn't notice till i posted the picture.

hope that helps you with an idea for dinner at your house.

hey....how about YOU tell me what your easy GO-TO meal is that your family loves?!!!

and we could BOTH have ideas for dinner.
come on...it will be fun to read all the answers! 

cool!

you rock.
i am looking forward to dinner already!

 

sorry....cake...and SWAG

craig played some games with the kids tonight....this one ended half way through.
sometimes games are just too hard to get through with kids of different ages.



 
i made the cake.
thumbs up from all the duerksen kids!  (and mr. duerksen too)
YUM.

enjoying my headband from daisysanddots....one of the craft weekend sponsors.

:)

speaking of craft weekend sponsors....

 
these are just a few....
 
CLICK OVER HERE to see the all of the SWAG sent by our WONDERFUL sponsors!!!

we think they are super RAD.

happy weekend!

 

quick...make these

before you make your new year's resolution to lose weight....

make these and start your diet the next day.
:)

 

i have made these since we have been married.
it's a tradition.
any special day HAS to have these cheesy potatoes.
period.
HAS to.
it's non negotiable. 

all the good stuff. sour cream...cheese...butter....potatoes

mix all of the ingredients together except 1/4 c. of butter and the cereal.
 
 
press it into a 9x13 pan.

then....smash up the cereal in a ziploc bag.
the cereal is....frosted flakes.
seriously.


 
then pour the 1/4 c. melted butter into the bag.

i know i know....i told you....start your diet tomorrow....it will be worth postponing it one more day.


 
pour the buttery cereal on your potatoes and smoosh it down.



now i have two kids in my house that don't like the crunchy stuff on their potatoes so this is how i handle that.
i leave a small portion un-crunched. 

then you cover it with foil and bake it for an hour at 350.

this will be the HIT of any meal.
it's the yummiest homey sidedish of comfort food there is.
if you walk into any church potluck in the midwest on a sunday afternoon....these potatoes will be on the table i can promise you that.  

i hope you LOVE them.
we had them on christmas day.
my mom had them at her christmas dinner too.

enjoy!

 

the recipe is in the AWESOME RECIPES link on the right.  

 

pumpkin muffins

my mom has made these muffins my whole life.
they have always been a favorite.
and my kids love them as much as i did.

the last time that pumpkin disappeared from the grocery store....i had some anxiety.
so when it came back....i bought 12 cans.
(do you even know what i am talking about?? our stores here in town had NO pumpkin for a long time... yikes) 

i didn't ever want to run out.


 
the recipe is simple enough.

and i have to say...it IS better than the quick bread pumpkin mix you can buy next to the cake mixes.
but i buy those too.

it's all about how much time and energy you have for the day isn't it?

i use the big scoop from pampered chef for my muffins....do you?

it's the only thing i use it for.
do you have one?
what do you use it for in your kitchen?
for me....it's called a muffin scoop.

bake them for 20-25 minutes and cool.

then i make some glaze.
my mom always made the glaze really thin so that it was pretty much opaque.
like this....

but i make it thicker like a runny frosting instead.
i like to SEE the frosting.
it makes me happy.

it's the same reason i want the pink donut at starbucks...it looks happy.

the recipe is the in the Awesome Recipes rainbow square to the right.

have you clicked through those rainbow square categories?
i clicked through the 365 one last night and boo hoo...my kids are so much bigger already!
it was 365 from 2009.

enjoy the pumpkin muffins!

your house is about to smell amaaaaa-zing.  

(imagine me saying that out loud...like Oprah...amAAAAAA-zing!)