while browsing ikea last week, i noticed they were putting out their summer outdoor items.
it made me excited for warmer days, and hanging out in the great outdoors.
can i just tell you how much my little norah makes me laugh.
she is equally cute as she is a little stinker at times. she really is in one of those stages… where she likes to be naughty and really doesn’t care if you say no. should be very interesting when baby brother arrives in 2 1/2 weeks.
i made this little character a fun embellished shirt for valentine’s day last month, and she was sure proud to show it off.
i just used a plan white shirt, and made the flowers from different colors of jersey material. i cheated, and ran the fabric through my die cut machine from lifestyle crafts, using the new little blossoms cookie cutter die. it didn’t cut completely through the fabric, but it gave me a nice pattern to cut out the rest and fold them in half and layer them until i got the right size flower. then, i just simply sewed all the little flowers in place after some layering, and sewed them to the shirt.
the flowers did shrink up a little in the wash, but you could iron them out again. i thought this was a fun way to liven up a $2 white shirt from wal-mart.
Creamy chicken enchiladas are always a nice addition to our weekly dinner menu.
I decided to change them up a little bit, and make the chicken enchiladas layering them “lasagna style,” and save my self some time rolling up individual enchiladas. But, of course you can still keep them traditional, and roll up each one.
My favorite part about this recipe, is making the sauce from scratch with monterey jack cheese and diced chilies. It is a simple sauce to make for the enchiladas, and you don’t have to use any canned cream of chicken soup, which has a lot of sodium.
I like the authentic flavor of the corn tortillas, but you can always use flour tortillas as well. Hopefully this dish will make it onto your menu this week.
{Chicken Enchilada Lasagna}
Ingredients
Tortillas, flour (8-10) or corn (15-18), (For flour tortillas I prefer the uncooked flour tortillas from Costco/Sams and cook them up according to package instructions.) * for the lasagna, I used three rows of 6 corn tortillas (18 total)
½ cup diced onions
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon pepper ½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 (8 ounce) carton sour cream
2 cups chicken broth
1 (4 ounce) can diced green chili peppers , can add two cans for more flavor 1 cup salsa verde (divided)
2 cup shredded Monterrey jack cheese
3-3 1/2 cups chicken, cooked and shredded
black olives (optional)
tomatoes (optional)
green onions (optional)
cilantro, (optional) Jalapenos, diced (optional) Gives it a nice kick.
Directions Wrap tortillas in foil and heat in 350* oven for 10 minutes to soften.
For Sauce: In a saucepan, cook over medium heat onion, garlic, coriander, cumin salt and pepper in the butter until the onion is tender. Stir the flour into the sour cream, and then add to the onion mixture.
Stir in broth and chili peppers, half of the salsa verde all at once. (and jalapenos if adding)
Cook and stir until thick and bubbly.
Remove from heat; stir in 1 C of the cheese.
For Filling: Stir 1/2 C of the sauce into the chicken, mixing well.
For regular enchiladas:
Place about 2-3 soup-spoon-size of mixture on each tortilla and roll up.
Arrange rolls, seam side down, in a lightly greased 12x8x2 baking dish.
Top with remaining sauce.
Bake, covered, in 350* oven for 35 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake, uncovered, 5 minutes more until cheese melts. Let stand 10 minutes.
If Desired: garnish tops with olives, tomatoes, and cheese. Add cilantro after cooking.
For Enchilada Lasagna:
Spray a 9×13 inch baking dish.
Spread a thin layer of salsa verde.
Then, layer a thin layer of tortillas (for corn tortillas, I used 6) then add half of the chicken mixture, then add 1/3 of the remaining white sauce with chilies. Then layer again with tortillas, a little salsa verde, chicken mixture, then sauce again. End with the tortillas, and top with the remaining sauce and the remaining 1 cup of monterey jack cheese. Add olives, or any other toppings you desire, and bake at 350 for 35 minutes then remove cover and back for an additional 10 minutes until the cheese is bubbly. Garnish with cilantro.
