Quesadilla Casserole

Another Pinterest recipe! (I have no idea where it originated (sorry!) it was repinned like crazy from lots of places- I bet it's in a Betty Crocker cookbook somewhere)
This one was another relatively easy one- I just cooked up all the meat saucy goodness when I was prepackaging my freezer meals.
This recipe does usually call for a can of black beans, but since my hubby is severely allergic to beans I have left them out.

Meat/Saucy Goodness:
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp minced garlic, can use dry or fresh
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp oregano
15 oz. can of tomato sauce
1 can of corn, drained
1 can of chopped green chiles

4-6 flour tortillas*

2 cups cheddar cheese

*I used a smaller pan and cut the tortillas down to fit the 9"x9" casserole dish. You can use a 9"x13" pan and cut and overlap the tortillas to fit.*

Brown ground beef in a large pan or dutch oven. Stir in onions. Cook on low for 5 minutes. Add Seasonings. Stir in canned ingredients, simmer for 5 minutes.

 ~At this point you can either continue the recipe and finish it for a meal now or freeze for later.~

Spread a heaping scoop of the beef mixture on the bottom of a casserole dish. Top with tortilla(s). Sprinkle with cheese. Repeat until you run out of the beef mixture. Top with remaining cheese.
Bake at 350 for 15- 20 minutes.

For freezing: Allow the beef mixture to cool for about 15 minutes and then bag it in a labeled Ziploc. When you wish to complete the recipe, thaw for a few hours and then reheat in a large pan and continue with the instructions.

Mexican Chicken

I found this recipe on Pinterest, it's everywhere so you can't miss it. In fact I think I had already pinned it 3 times before I actually tried it. Should have done it sooner. When there's only a few simple ingredients, it's an easy throw together dinner. And come on, who doesn't want that. every day.

I put it in the crockpot while I was prepping some other meals. So it ended up with some additional ingredients.

I'd give this 4 stars (maybe 5). one for easy. one for crockpot. one for juicy chicken. one for flavor.

So here's their version: 

MEXICAN CHICKEN 

1 pound boneless chicken breasts
1 teaspoon Seasoning for Tacos
Salt, to taste

1/2 cup enchilada sauce
4 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
3 green onions, chopped
Sprinkle the chicken on both sides with taco seasoning; grill or sauté. Cut the chicken into cubes and place in a greased 8x8" baking dish; season with salt to taste. Add the enchilada sauce and toss to coat the chicken. Sprinkle the cheese over the chicken and bake at 350º for 10-20 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Scatter the green onions over the top.
Makes 4 servings
Can be frozen
Per Serving: 266 Calories; 12g Fat; 33g Protein; 4g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 3g Net Carbs

And my version:
1 pound boneless chicken breasts
1/2 package of taco seasoning
1 tsp minced garlic
1 can enchilada sauce
1/2 can of chopped green chiles
2 tbsp of chopped green peppers
3 green onions, chopped

Pour all ingredients except chicken into crockpot. Stir to combine all ingredients. Add Chicken. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 or more.
Serve on a warm tortilla and top with cheese. I also topped mine with lettuce and tomato.

Finished Nursery

What a long process! But it's as done as it's going to get until he grows out of the crib.  

The pictures finally hung above his bed. I got it in the heart shape I wanted but it didn't look like what I was thinking it would. Still I like it better than any other idea I came up with.

 Just chilling in his rocking chair. The map sliced in 3 and framed as such is probably my most favorite thing in the room besides my little man.

 the pictures are maps i printed out and accessorized with scrapbooking stickers

 The giraffe puzzle that took forever to put together is now hanging in the frame my hubby made.

Happy November!

Has it really been 2 months since my last post? Well there's a baby now, another love in my life! We "finished" the nursery just in time! By "finished" I mean I'm waiting for my studly hubby to hang some pictures for me.

How quickly life has changed in the past two months and how quickly it's gone by. I thought I had 8 weeks to clean up the guest room. Now I have 3 days! Oops.
And look at my little man! He's getting so big- already!!!

I've also gone to new extremes with Pinterest. Rather then just re-pinning, now I'm actually doing projects and recipes from it!

I was jotting down ingredients I need to get for each recipe plus the name of it in my little notebook, and commenting "not so much" or "heck yes" next to them- then I realized "DUH! I have a blog!"

So the next few posts will be recipes and a finished nursery (when we finish it).

the nursery - it's almost done.

Yup, I'm past my due date... and my little guy doesn't seem to care.
Mowed our entire lawn this morning.
Ran errands all afternoon.
Walked another mile plus tonight.
Obviously my body thinks this is all very funny. So... what else to do but blog??
You remember the nursery before, right?


What a relief to have it almost done. And when I say almost, I mean there's some wall art- still in progress- that needs printing and framing, but there's a place for him to sleep!

Chair - already had
Blue Foot Stool - $12, antique store

Map - $8, picked up at an antique store

Frames - $36, $12 each at Michaels

Vintage Suitcase - $10, antique store

Fabric for curtains - my hubby insisted he knew what he was talking about when he said we should make them. I found out I knew more about sewing than him and honestly the stress wasn't worth it. Just buy them. And if you need to make them thicker, buy flannel sheets/fabric to back them. That's what I would have done. 

Giraffe pillow - $3 travel pillow from Walmart. $5 fabric at Hobby Lobby

Clock -$7.50, Dollar General

Zebra Print Lamp - $14 at Walmart

Giraffe - $10 Gordmans

Alphabet letters - $.35 each 

Wicker Bench - already had

Bookshelf - Stole it from my hubby's office, he didn't need it

wallpaper - $.50 at another garage sale, (lots of pieces so plenty of potential for many projects should I desire)

Crib - free on the curb at a garage sale!

Bed skirt - $13 from target -my mom helped me transform a rectangle tablecloth into a bed skirt!

Paper Lanterns - $12, $5 for the 3 green and brown at Sears. $7 for the blue at Hobby Lobby

Changing Table/Dresser - $40, Craigslist and somehow the guy went from $75 down to $40. Don't mind if you do!

Globe - $25, antique store, It's going to be hung from the ceiling, someday!

Wall art to come - $15, (2) 3pks of 5"x7", (1) 2 pk of 8"x10" Target.

Pumpkin Coffee Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze

Stolen from Six Sisters' Stuff -this stuff was so easy! I had all the stuff in the pantry (ok, so white cake mix) -so absolutely doable! Eat up, peoples! 

Ingredients:

1/3 cup water

1 (15 ounce) can pureed pumpkin

2 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 (18 ounce) box yellow cake mix

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup all purpose flour

4 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  

In a large bowl, mix water, pumpkin, eggs, vanilla, and pumpkin pie spice.  

Mix in cake mix (just the dry mix, not the ingredients listed on the box) and baking soda and mix until combined.  

Pour batter into a greased 9x13 baking pan. 

In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, flour and melted butter.  

Sprinkle over the top of the cake.  

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.  

Serve your cake when warm or cooled to room temperature.

finally-- and a preview

Okay, I'm not at the "finally" stage yet. But close! And my apologies for not blogging in over a month... That's what happens when this chica moves into a new house and is now 11 days away from her due date! And the nursery- so scary! Don't ask. The limitations I face- being pregnant, partially OCD and used to doing things myself don't exactly help!

So this is the little guy's room! I was trying to take some pictures with my phone before stuff started getting piled in.

This is probably the saddest looking wall in the whole room. The previous owner's little guy got a little excited with the stapler. So we -ehem - I - am forced to repaint. My hubby would have left it probably as long as possible.

The room in progress! (and a pile of stuff) A coat of primer done- in the picture!
There's actually a coat of paint up as well (not pictured), but we have one more finishing coat to do before it's done done. Can't wait!

And preview: My $10 find at an antique store!

And a map ($8 maybe?) I chopped up to frame!
I saw where someone did this idea with canvas but I was so afraid I could botch that completely. This is almost botched- There was literally a smidge of leeway with the size of the map to work with to get them to fit that perfectly! The frames (10"x20") I found for 40% off at Michaels so for $12 each, I couldn't pass them up!


So this week, we should be finishing up the nursery and it will be all set up!