FRITO BANDITO!

This is not the healthiest meal, but it's not too shabby either since it includes all the food groups.  This is a definite kid pleaser as my kids request this often as our family night dinner...our once a week fun night of a favorite dinner, favorite desert, and movies or board games.  It's basically Nacho's made with Fritos!

You start with a layer of Fritos, then a layer of my homemade refried beans that I made earlier in the day, then a layer of cooked ground beef with taco seasoning, then a nice layer of cheese.  On top of all that you can add lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, green onions, guacamole or avocados, sour cream and olives on top!  Sounds delish doesn't it?!  It soooo is!  Let me know if you try this and how your family likes it.

Homemade Refried Beans

This make the yummiest beans ever! And it's sooooo easy!

I cook for 7 people, so you may want to half this recipe if you have only 2-3 kids.

I pour 4 cups (2 pounds) of dried pinto beans (I buy the big bulk bag at Sam's Club) into my crockpot, and rinse out all the dirt. Then I add water, enough to be about two inches above my beans. I then add a ham hock....you can buy this in most grocery stores and they are pretty cheap...well worth it for the taste. My grandma used to add bacon when we didn't have ham hocks, but I don't care for the greasiness of it. Do not add salt at this point because it will make the beans tough. Oh and I should mention that you don't have to soak the beans overnight when you cook using the crockpot method. Trust me on this.

Ok, so set the crockpot on medium or high...depending on how much time you have, and just let them cook all day. Check the water regularly if you can to make sure you don't need to add more water. When they are cooked (doubled in size) you want the water level to be about an inch above the beans. When you are getting closer to dinner time (about an hour before) add about 2 teaspoons of salt or 1 teaspoon if you are only using 1 pound of beans. Then add maybe a 1/2 or 1/4 teaspoon of chili powder. You don't want a strong chili taste....we're not making chili, but it should give it just a hint of flavor but not enough to burn little ones mouths. Let the flavors mingle for about an hour.

Next you want to separate the beans from the water. Take the hamhock out and if there is any meat on the ham hock you can scrap it off and keep it with the beans. So then, strain the beans from the water, but keep the water set aside in another bowl.

Mash the beans with a potato masher and add the water from the beans a bit a time until you reach your desired consistency.

You can also just leave the beans whole in the water for some yummy pinto beans if you don't want to mash them.

That's it. You just made a much healthier and yummier version of refried beans! Please let me know if you have any comments or questions.

Enchilada Casserole

Last night I concocted a surprisingly delicious dinner that again, even my picky 8 year old son loved and wanted seconds of. I had to take stock of the limited items I had in my pantry and try to find a way to create a meal. Earlier in the day I roasted one of those whole chickens that I got for a great price and had to decide how I wanted to use the meat. Here's what I came up with and I think it will be a hit in your house too using left over chicken or even turkey will be good.

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Shred up the chicken and set aside.

2. Using the pan of the roasting chicken add 2 cups of water and scrape the bits off the bottom of the pan. You may need to warm up the pan on two burners to get the bits to come off easily. You basically made chicken broth.

a. or you may use two cups of water and two chicken bullion cubes, or two cups of ready made broth.

3. Pour the chicken broth into a medium sauce pan. Add 1 can of tomato paste and 1/2 cup of salsa, and 2 tablespoons (I buy the bulk container of this at Sams Club) or if you buy the packets you can add a whole packet for a stronger flavor, of taco seasoning. Simmer on medium heat until thickened....maybe up to 10 minutes. Then add the shredded chicken to the sauce.

4. In the bottom of a 13x9 casserole pan spread a very thin layer of the sauce. Try to make it only sauce not chicken.

5. Layer 6 small corn tortillas over the little bit of sauce. Then spread a layer of the chicken mixture over the tortillas. Then sprinkle some shredded mozzarella over the chicken mixture. Add 6 more tortillas, another layer of chicken mixture, and more mozzarella . The last layer is 6 more tortillas, another layer of chicken mixture, then sprinkle on shredded cheddar cheese.

6. Place the casserole in the oven uncovered for about 30-45 minutes or until the cheese is starting to brown and get bubbly.

That's it! I'm sorry I don't measure usually, but it's pretty easy to throw this together I think. Let me know if you have any questions about it.

I also made homemade refried beans to go with this. So much yummier than the canned kind and almost as easy to make! I'll post the recipe now.

The Most Amazing Chicken Pot Pie EVER!

This is actually a recipe from Mickey's Gourmet Cookbook, this is the recipe they use at the 50's Prime Time Cafe at Disney World. If you're looking for what to use your leftover roasted chicken for or even left over turkey, just use it instead of boiling the chicken breasts. I have no doubt this will be a huge hit with your family. Even my very picky 8 year old LOVES this and even eats the vegies in it! Speaking of vegies....feel free to use whatever vegetables you have on hand instead of what's listed in the recipe.

Ingredients:
1 pound chicken tenderloins, or chicken breast cut into strips, uncooked
1 cup broccoli, tops only
1 large carrot, cubed
2 stalks celery, cubed
¼ cup leeks, diced
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
3 cups whole milk
1 cup parmesan cheese, grated
2 chicken bouillon cubes
Pastry for a single-crust pie
1 egg, beaten

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F.

In boiling salted water, simmer chicken tenderloins, broccoli, carrots, celery, and leeks until chicken is fully cooked and vegetables are tender, but still firm (about 15 minutes). Drain well and set aside.

In a medium sized skillet, melt butter and add flour. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly, and add milk or half-and-half. Bring to a boil and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened (about 10 minutes). Dissolve chicken bouillon cubes in ¼ cup warm water and add to sauce. Blend in grated Parmesan cheese and remove from heat. Add cooked chicken and vegetables and mix well. Pour mixture into a deep-dish pie plate and cover with pie dough. Press edges down over sides of pie plate. Slit crust to vent and brush top with beaten egg. Bake until crust is golden brown and the filling is hot (about 45 to 50 minutes).

Good Gravy!

The key to making a good gravy is simplicity!

When you take your roasted chicken out of the oven, remove the chicken and place the whole pan on your stove-top burners. My roasting pan takes up two vertical burners, and I put the heat on medium.
Add some flour. I don't measure so it's hard to say exactly how much, but a safe bet would be to add 1/4 cup of flour at a time. Whisk it with the pan drippings and scrape up the bits stuck to the pan with a wire whisk. Sometimes my bird leaves me with a lot of juices, sometimes not much, so depending on how much juice is there you may need to add water.

That's it! You just use the juices on the bottom of the roasting pan and some flour. Water if necessary. The seasonings from the bird usually make the drippings for the gravy flavorful enough, but if you want to add salt and pepper you can do that too.

Pour this gravy over some mashed potatoes and your chicken if you wish and you'll be in heaven!

Roasted Chicken

Below you'll find my two favorite Roasted Chicken recipes. The first is so amazingly good, but the second is pretty darn good too, and it's faster. You'll definitely have to try both recipes. I found them both on my favorite recipe site www.allrecipes.com.

I'll be posting some great recipes soon for what you can do with that leftover chicken you have from these fabulous roasted chickens.

Roast Sticky Chicken-Rotisserie Style

This recipe takes a while, but it's soooo worth it! If you don't have the extra time to make this, then the recipe in the post below is yummy too. But you have to at least try this one. It's the best in my opinion!

Ingredients

• 4 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 onions, quartered
• 2 (4 pound) whole chickens

Directions

1. In a small bowl, mix together salt, paprika, onion powder, thyme, white pepper, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and garlic powder. Remove and discard giblets from chicken. Rinse chicken cavity, and pat dry with paper towel. Rub each chicken inside and out with spice mixture. Place 1 onion into the cavity of each chicken. Place chickens in a resealable bag or double wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight, or at least 4 to 6 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C).
3. Place chickens in a roasting pan. Bake uncovered for 5 hours, to a minimum internal temperature of 180 degrees F (85 degrees C). Let the chickens stand for 10 minutes before carving.