Taco Chicken Bowl

It is taco flavored and cooks in the crockpot. It is bound to be a favorite!

INGREDIENTS:

1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast

16 oz jar salsa (whichever hotness you prefer)

15 oz can black beans, drained

8 oz frozen corn

1 Tablespoon chili powder

1/2 Tablespoon ground cumin

1/2 Tablespoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Salt and Pepper to taste

green onions (optional)

8 oz shredded cheddar 

Rice (brown or white, approximately 6 servings)

DIRECTIONS:

Place chicken breast (can still be frozen), salsa, beans, corn, and seasonings into crockpot.

Mix together, making sure chicken is mostly covered. Cover and cook on low for about 8 hours.

By the time it is ready, the chicken will be super tender. Stir everything in the crockpot and the chicken should shred/fall apart easily.

Cook the rice (we used Minute Rice).

Scoop cooked rice into the bowl, topped with the chicken mixture, cheese, and green onions. Enjoy!

Crunchy Black Bean Tacos

These are small, but very filling!

INGREDIENTS:

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup red onion,minced

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon paprika

6 oz shredded pepper jack cheese

Olive Oil

8 6-inch corn tortillas

Desired toppings (sour cream, pepperoncinis, hot sauce, etc)

DIRECTIONS:

In a medium bowl, mix together the beans, onion, cumin, and paprika.

Heat a couple Tablespoons of olive oil in skillet on medium-high.

Place a tortilla in skillet. Heat 5-10 seconds. Add about 1/4 cup of bean mixture, then top with cheese. Using a spatula, fold tortilla over so it forms a shell.

Cook a few minutes, until crispy. Flip (toward the fold so filling stays in), cooking the other side for a few minutes.

Serve with desired toppings.

Adapted from HERE

Vegetable Enchiladas

When I first made this, I honestly didn't have high hopes. I was pretty sure the kids wouldn't eat it and that Matt and I would just tolerate it. I was wrong. It is sooo good! It is very filling without being heavy, and the kids gobbled it up. It is a little bit on the spicy side with the pepper jack cheese, but that can always be substituted for another kind. The sauce isn't all that great alone, but I think it goes really well once the dish is put together.

INGREDIENTS:

Sauce:

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon ground cumin

5 oz can tomato paste

14.5 oz can vegetable broth

3/4 cup water

salt and pepper, to taste

Enchiladas:

2 cups grated pepper jack cheese

1 cup Colby jack cheese

1 teaspoon ground cumin

10 oz frozen spinach, thawed and excess moisture removed

10 frozen corn, thawed

15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained

4 green onions, chopped, separate whites and greens

10 fajita-sized flour tortillas

DIRECTIONS:

In a medium saucepan, heat oil. Add cumin, flour, and tomato paste. Mix together.

Add the vegetable broth and water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened, about 5-8  minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

In a large bowl, combine pepper jack cheese, ground cumin, spinach, corn, black beans, and onion whites. Mix well.

Divide mixture evenly among tortillas. Roll up, placing seam side down in a greased baking dish (I only made 6 to start, and they fit in an 11x7 pan. If making all of them at once, use probably a 9x13).

Spread the Colby jack cheese evenly on top, and cover with sauce.

Bake uncovered @400F for 20 minutes. Garnish with onion greens. Enjoy!

adapted from HERE

Taco Cupcakes

More taco stuff. This time, in cupcake form! Who can resist? :)
I made them in a regular size muffin tin, but decided to make a few in a mini-muffin tin as well. The little ones tasted just as great and were easier for the kids to eat. They would also be good for a potluck, one batch would make quite a few.

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb ground beef
2 Tbs taco seasoning
15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
Wonton wrappers (2 per cupcake for the large ones, 1 per mini. I think I used around 24).
Queso (amount used is up to you)
Chunky Salsa
1-2 cups shredded Mexi-blend cheese
sour cream for topping

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly spray muffin tin with non-stick spray.
Brown ground beef in skillet. Drain. Add taco seasoning and black beans, heat a couple minutes until hot throughout.
Place a wonton wrapper into each cup on the muffin tin. Place a dollop of queso on each one.

Top with meat mixture (about 2 Tablespoons worth), a little bit of salsa, and a sprinkle of cheese. It should fill each cup roughly halfway.

 Place another wonton wrapper in each cup, pushing down to sort of seal everything together. Repeat the filling process.
Bake 18-20 minutes, until golden brown.

Let sit for about 5 minutes before removing from pan. Top with sour cream and enjoy!!

Here are the mini ones with no sour cream (my kids refuse to eat sour cream!). Just one layer, but still delicious!

adapted from here

Crockpot Black Bean Italian Cream Cheese Chicken

I think this recipe needs a shorter name haha. I don't actually call it all that, I usually something more like "Its chicken with some other stuff. Eat it." Do not judge it based on appearance. It is one of those that don't look very appealing at all but taste yummy! It is a little on the runny side so we eat it over rice the first day. The leftovers (if you have any!) are still good over rice the next day but also work well on a tortilla since it thickens up in the fridge.

INGREDIENTS:
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (I use a 2.25 lb bag and dump it all in, still frozen)
15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
15 oz can corn
15 oz can Rotel
1 pack dry Italian Dressing mix
8 oz cream cheese

DIRECTIONS:
Place chicken in crockpot. Top wtih beans, corn, Rotel, and dry Italian mix.
Cover. Cook 4-6 hours, stirring a couple times throughout.
Once chicken is done (and about 30 minutes before you want to eat), shred the chicken and add cream cheese. Mix in until well blended. It will probably be soupy. Keep cooking on low, but leave the lid off to help thicken.
Serve over rice or pasta (or however else you want).

Adapted from HERE

Beef and Black Bean Taquitos

This looks like it has tons of ingredients but its simple to make! Most of the ingredients are just spices/flavors. Delicious!

INGREDIENTS:
1 teaspoon Olive Oil
1 lb ground beef
1/2 of large yellow onion, chopped
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
dash of red pepper flakes
Salt and Pepper, to taste
15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
corn tortillas
shredded cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS:
Heat oil in skillet. Brown ground beef and onion. Add the seasonings while beef is browning.
Add the beans, mix well.
Wrap the tortillas in a damp paper towel. Microwave for 1 minute to soften them.
Place desired amount of shredded cheese and beef mixture in tortilla.

Roll up, placing seam side down on greased baking sheet.
After placing all of the taquitos on the baking sheet, spray tops with cooking spray. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt, if desired.

Bake at 450F for 6 minutes. Turn over and bake another 5-6 minutes, til golden brown.
Enjoy!

recipe adapted from HERE

Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup

This is the only tortilla soup I have ever had, so I can't say how it compares to others. All I know is I love this one!

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast (can still be frozen)
15 oz can whole peeled tomatoes, smashed
10 oz can enchilada sauce
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed 
4 oz can chopped green chilies
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 14.4 oz cans chicken broth
10 oz pack frozen corn
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 bay leaf
Salt and Pepper (I don't measure these, just do what seems good to me)
6 corn tortillas (this is optional, you can just use tortilla chips)
vegetable oil or cooking spray (only needed if using tortillas)
Sour cream and shredded cheese for toppings

DIRECTIONS:
Throw everything (except tortillas and oil) into crock pot. Cook on low for 6 hours.
Remove chicken, shred, and put back in crock pot. Cook additional 2 hours.
Brush both sides of tortillas with vegetable oil (or spray with cooking spray). Cut into strips (a pizza cutter works awesome!). Bake about 10 minutes in 400F oven, turning over half way.

Serve soup with tortilla strips, sour cream, and cheese.

adapted from HERE

Black and White Bean Turkey Chili

This chili has a little bit of kick to it, but not too bad. My boys, ages 3 and 4, both gobbled it up (and they normally just complain about things with beans).  

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb ground Turkey
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 cans Great Northern Beans (drained, not rinsed)
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
8 oz garlic chili pepper cheddar cheese, cubed
1 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup medium salsa
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
4oz can diced green chilis 

DIRECTIONS:
Cook onion and turkey in skillet until browned.
Put rest of ingredients in a large pot. Add meat & onion when they ready. Simmer over low heat 25-30 minutes.

NOTES:
I intended to use jalapeno cheddar cheese but, as usual, the commissary caused me to changed my plans. The chili was still delicious but any sort of cheese with spice would be good too, I think. I have never seen this cheese any where else (although, I admittedly have never looked, so maybe its more common than I realize.)

Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps

When I saw this recipe, I knew we would love it! I made a few small changes to suit our tastes. It is definitely going to be a common meal in our house! Makes excellent leftovers as well. I made how many we would eat for supper, then saved the rest of the mixture to make more for lunch the next day.

The jalapeno cream cheese we used is just a block of regular cream cheese, with jarred jalapenos chopped and mixed in by hand. Since the boys usually don't like spicy foods, I didn't put the cream cheese on theirs. Instead, I used sour cream. They both really liked it. Matt tried one with just sour cream and he said it was really good too...I will continue to stick to my cream cheese though!

The tortillas we used were on the smaller side (they say burrito sized, but I have seen bigger burrito sized ones), so we were able to make about 9 wraps (I put less in the kids, more in matts, so it all just depends).

The filling:

 The Jalapeno cream cheese:

Ready to roll:

 All rolled up:

Ready to eat:

INGREDIENTS:
1.5 cup cooked brown rice, warm or at room temperature
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 green onions, finely sliced (white and green parts)
1/2 green pepper, diced
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon garlic salt
shredded cheese (at least 2 cups)
flour tortillas
jalapeno cream cheese

DIRECTIONS:
Mix rice together with chili powder, cumin and garlic salt. Add chicken, beans, green onions, and green pepper. Spread desired amount of cream cheese over tortillas. Top with cheese, leaving small border around edges. Spoon chicken and rice mixture down the center of each tortilla. Roll stuffed tortillas, folding in edges like a burrito. Spray top and bottom with cooking spray.

Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-low heat for 1 minute. Put 2 wraps at a time, seam-side down, in pan and cook until golden brown and crisp, about 3-4 minutes per side. Enjoy!