Enchilada Casserole

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef (lean)
• 1 teaspoon cumin 
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder 
• 1 teaspoon chili powder 
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika 
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 10-oz can enchilada sauce
• ½ cup medium rotel
• 1/2 can of Hormel chili with beans 
• 12 white corn tortillas
• coconut oil 
• ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped, divided
• 1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
• sour cream and lime wedges, for serving. You can also add olives and avocados.

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the ground beef. Cook, stirring and breaking up the beef, until the beef is browned and cooked through. Add in all seasonings. Drain any fat, if needed.
3. Add the enchilada sauce, rotel & chili and bring to a boil. Cook for 4-5 minutes.  Remove from the heat.
4. Fry tortillas in coconut oil and then begin to layer them in the dish.  Add half of the beef mixture, then sprinkle half of the cheese over the top. Top with enchilada sauce. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the chopped cilantro on top. Repeat the layers, using the remaining tortillas, beef and then cheese.
5. Bake until the cheese is melted and bubbly, about 10-15 minutes. Sprinkle the remaining cilantro over the top before serving. I added a bit of the tensing rotel to the top.

Enjoy!

DIY Thomas the Train costume

This is an extremely late post. Back in October I made both my children's Halloween costumes. My daughters was also her cosplay costume for a convention so I made a blog post as i created it. But I never got around to showing my sons. 

I started with a bunch of diaper boxes. If you have a baby or toddler than I'm sure you have a few of these on hand like I did. 

I began to attach boxes and shape the boxes into a train. I hot glued the entire thing together. 

Next came painting. 

Lots & lots of painting 

For the conductor outfit I thrifted him a cute pair of stripped overalls. The hat we already had from a trip to San Antonio (we rode the train there and bought Jasper a hat) and the bandana we already had. 

I wish I had better photos. This was right before I fully completed it, the top isn't attached and I hadn't cleaned up the lines yet. But I couldn't keep my son out of it. I also attached straps with white material and hot glue so he could wear it. 

Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup

I originally found this recipe on Pinterest, but the directions instructed the chicken be cooked alone with the broth before adding in the other ingredients (which to me ruins the whole point of even using a crockpot, am I right?) so I changed it up a bit, tweaked the ingredients and yes, I threw everything at once into my nifty little crockpot. If I'm going to use my beloved crockpot, then I want to set it & forget it. 

Anyway, here's the recipe. 

Ingredients

• 4 1/2 cups low -sodium organic chicken broth 
• 1  can petite diced tomatoes
• 3/4 cup finely chopped red onion
• 4 cloves garlic, pressed through a garlic crusher
• 2 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 3/4 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1  can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 1/2 cups frozen corn
• 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
For serving:
• Tortilla strips or tortilla chips (I made mine homemade)
• Shredded cheddar or monterey jack cheese
• Diced avocado, diced roma tomatoes, sour cream (optional)

Directions

• Pour chicken broth and diced tomatoes into a slow cooker. Add chopped onion, garlic, chili powder, cumin, paprika, coriander and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add chicken breasts and remaining ingredients. Cook on low setting for 6 hours. 
• Remove chicken and shred (or shred with a fork in crockpot)
• Serve warm with tortilla strips and cheese and sour cream. 

For the tortilla strips here's the recipe I used:

Ingredients:

• 8 small corn tortillas
• 4 tsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• Dash cayenne pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
3. Cut corn tortillas into 1/2-inch strips. Add to a large bowl, toss with vegetable oil to coat. Sprinkle with seasonings. Toss to coat tortilla strips evenly.
4. Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Bake for 5-10 minutes. Toss and return to the oven. Continue baking for an additional 5-10 minutes or until desired crispness is reached.
5. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.