Fixer {S}upper: Enchilada Pasta

I sent Ryan a link to a "one pot pasta" dish that was making its way around Facebook a few weeks ago and he made it for dinner one night. And he was hooked on this whole "get one pan dirty and make a really yummy meal" thing. So we have tried a few more since then - he has even pinned a few on his on Pinterest account. (Y'all should totally follow him). This one was a major hit and combines two of my favorite things - pasta and enchiladas. Yum. 

One Pan Enchilada Pasta

No. 2 Pencil

They give you all the glorious step by step pics over at No. 2, so go there if you like that sort of thing. 

Ingredients
2 TBS EVOO (if you don't know that shorthand, well, then you don't know Rachel Ray)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 small onion, diced
1.25 pounds of taco seasoned ground turkey or lean ground beaf
1 packet low sodium taco seasoning
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 19oz can of red enchilada sauce
8oz (about 2.5 cups) of rotini pasta
2 cups shredded cheddar jack cheese
green onions
black olives

Instructions

1. In a large skillet or pan, saute garlic and onions in EVOO until softened
2. Add ground turkey and brown, breaking up with wooden spoon
3. Once meat is cooked through, add pasta, chicken broth and enchilada sauce to pan
4. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cover
5. Cook on low, with pan covered for 15 minutes.
6. Remove lid and let simmer for additional 5 minutes until pasta is tender and sauce has reduced
7. Remove lid and stir in 1 cup of cheese
8. Top pasta with additional cup of cheese and melt under broiler for a minute or two, or place lid on back and let heat from pasta melt cheese
9. Garnish with black olives and green onions

How did I Fixer {S}upper?

1. I used a medium onion - because we like onion
2. I again used the pre-minced garlic, just a few "plops" in the pan. (My Sicilian ancestors are cringing)
3. I also didn't pre-season the meat, or use taco seasoning. We are big fans of Gerbhardt Chili Powder, which is what I use when I make tacos so I just that
4. I didn't use anywhere close to TWO CUPS of cheese. Y'all. That's insane. Less is more and you can always add more on top. Sheesh.
5. We added corn, I just drained a can of whole kernel corn and added at the end to heat through
6. No olives, but I did sneak green onions in there instead of putting them on top
7. I topped the kids with a little more cheese and some sour cream
8. We used wheat pasta


Big hit - the kids even asked for it again the next night. I was even able to stay on my 21 day Fix and not feel like I cheated. I just portioned everything out using my containers and was completely satisfied! Y'all really should join me on this!

Any new recipes I should try??

Fixer {S}upper...

Can we begin with a pause for how clever the title of this post is. If I am anything on this blog, it is inconsistent. I label things randomly, and act like I'm going to start a new traditional post every other week, BUT... I think this one may stick. Probably. Maybe. 

Anywho. I love discovering a new recipe, especially when they are easy. And ESPECIALLY when they are tasty and loved by the whole family. I have two new ones to share with you that I found while hanging out with my online bestie, Pinny. 

First up...

Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Pie

from Skinny Mom

(I need to invest in some plain white dishes. I love mine, but the photograph horribly).

For all the step-by-step beautiful pictures, click on her link above. For a run down of ingredients and what I changed, read below. (By the way, she gives you the nutritional value... definitely start following her!) 

Ingredients

6 small red potatoes, cubed

1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts or tenders

2 - 10.5 oz cans fat free cream of chicken soup

1 cup skim milk

1 cup water

1 small onion, diced

1/2 cup celery (about 1.5 stalks), diced

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp parsley

1/2 tsp thyme

10.8 oz frozen mixed veggies

Instructions

1. Place cubed potatoes on bottom of slow cooker and chicken on top of potatoes
2. In small bowl, mix soup, milk and water. Pour over chicken and potatoes. 
3. Throw in diced onion and celery.
4. Sprinkle with seasoning.
5. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.
6. 30 minutes before serving, remove chicken and shred. Place back in slower cooker and stir in frozen veggies. Cook for additional 30 minutes. 
7. Serve over biscuits

How did I "fixer {s}upper"... 

1. If you recall from my first round of power cooking - frozen onions are your friend. I used frozen onion and the pre-minced garlic to my liking
2. I am pretty sure I didn't use the thyme
3. I used fresh chicken, not frozen
4. I added frozen okra instead of mixed veggies because it's what I had on hand
5. To add a little crunch (and some calories), I crushed some ritz and mixed with butter and then placed on top of each bowl.

This was a big WIN in our house. Made PLENTY for left-overs and was filling but not heavy.

Next up... 

Slow Cooker Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Taquitos

from Crem de la Crumb.

Again, for all the step-by-step foodie blogger pics, click on her link above. For a run down of ingredients and what I changed, read below. 

Ingredients

3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 cup original flavor bbq sauce

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1/2 cup pineapple juice

t tablespoon liquid smoke

16 taco-sized soft tortillas

1-1 1/2 cups shredded cheese

Optional: ranch dressing for dipping

Instructions

1. Mix bbq sauce, garlic powder, pineapple juice and liquid smoke
2. Place chicken in bottom of crock pot (does anyone else giggle at this? Where else would you place it? On the lid?)
3. Pour bbq sauce mixture over chicken. Cover and cook on high for 3 hours or low for 6 hours. (If using frozen chicken, you may have to adjust time).
4. Once cooked, shred chicken and place back in crock pot.
5. Lay tortillas on flat surface and sprinkle with cheese down each tortilla. Top with shredded chicken and roll tightly. 
6. Spray rolled taquitos with cooking spray and broil for 5-8 minutes or until cheese is melty.
7. Serve with pineapple salsa (she makes her own, I used some from HEB) and ranch is optional (But is it? Really? Is ranch EVER optional?)

How did I "fixer {s}upper"... 

1. I am adamantly opposed to liquid smoke. Instead I used Weber Hickory Smoke BBQ - we had a jar in the pantry and it had "smoke" in the title, so I figured it would work. 
2. I am adamantly for pineapple chunks, so I used diced pineapples with the juice.
3. We used corn and flour tortillas. Both delicious.
4. We rolled our taquitos and then put them in the freezer to flash freeze them. They stayed in ziplocks until ready to eat and baked at 420 degrees for 15 minutes. 
5. Ranch was NOT optional. 

I can't give enough praise to this recipe y'all. First, by flash freezing them on Sunday, it allowed me to enjoy the awesome weather and hang with the kids for an hour or so when we got home. It was so easy to pull some out of their bags, spray with cooking spray and bake. 

Radley ate two taquitos and the girls each ate one... every bite. No complaints. It was the perfect mixture of crispy outside with gooey middle. They have already requested to eat them again tomorrow (and since I froze them - they are ready to go!)

No go fix{er} some {s}upper!

Any fun recipes I need to try?? Let me know!

**Edited I just saw that Andrea was hosting a recipe sharing linkup today...head on over there for more tasty treats!**