"Re-purposed" chicken enchiladas

What to do with leftovers...hmmm that is the age old question.. and it seems like I always have a dab of this or a dab of that, and I HATE throwing away food.  There are so many hungry people out there, and with food prices skyrocketing, I try and be careful. 

We had company over the other day, and he stated that when he was growing up, they could throw nothing away from their dinner plates.  If they took it, they had to finish it, he remembered sitting for 3 hours at the dinner table trying to finish what was on his plate. He said that his family grew up without much money, and wasting food was out of the question... certainly though provoking...

Anyway, I had leftover cooked chicken, leftover rice, a small bit of leftover tomatoes & vegetables so my thought was enchiladas... So I put everything in a pan, added some cream of chicken soup, sour cream, seasonings, white wine and voila... enchilada filling.  I rolled everything up in flour tortillas, topped with enchilada sauce, and shredded cheese.. baked them in the oven... delicious... I served these with sour cream on the side, but that is totally optional. 

For the chicken, I had leftover chicken thighs, but you can use any cooked chicken, rotisserie, baked, broiled, boiled etc.  I also use mild enchilada sauce from a can, but you can use hot, or whatever your family likes.  Make these today.. so good....Enjoy


2 cups shredded, cooked chicken
2-3 cups leftover cooked rice
1/4 cup white wine
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/3 cup, leftover cooked veggies ( I had a tomato, corn, okra mix)
Flour tortilla
1 small can enchilada sauce
1 cup shredded cheese ( I used a Mexican blend)
 1/2 cup Sour cream (PLUS more for serving)


seasonings of your choice ( I used Cumin, onion & garlic powder, pepper)

Preheat oven to 375. Spray a baking dish with nonstick spray.
In large pan over medium high heat, add chicken, veggies & rice and start heating up.  Then add wine, soup & seasonings and heat over heat until bubbly.  Turn off heat & stir in 1/2 cup sour cream.  On a plate place a tortilla, then add a couple of spoonfuls of filling mixture into the center and roll the tortillas up like a burrito, placing seam side down in a baking dish. Continue until all of the filling is used. Slowly pour the enchilada sauce over the enchilada, and if necessary with a spoon cover all completely.  Bake for around 30-35 minutes until hot and bubbly.  Sprinkle with the shredded cheese and place in the oven for a few minutes or until the cheese is melted.  Remove from oven and serve with sour cream on the side.  Enjoy

Hawaiian sweet and sour meatballs

Who doesn't love meatballs?  Especially sweet and sour meatballs.  With all their yummy sweet & pineappley (is that even a word...lol) goodness.  They are super easy to throw together & they simmer away in a crockpot until they are devoured..

I made these recently for my class reunion and they were a hit.  I used frozen meatballs (shh..don't tell anyone..:)  but I have made from scratch and cooked meatballs and added the sauce to those and they were delicious as well. But I have to tell you , the frozen ones with this sauce taste just as good, and are way easier.. so why make more work for yourself if the outcome is just as good... not me... I will save that effort for things that definitely taste better homemade..make these today.. Enjoy
**I sometimes serve these over plain cooked rice for dinner, along with a salad..so good...


Hawaiian sweet & sour meatballs

2 packages of frozen regular (not Italian style) meatballs (the packages I used were 2 lbs. in each package)
1 20 oz can crushed pineapple, I drained about 1/2 the liquid off (reserve)
1 cup teriyaki sauce (I use Lawry's marinade sauce)
1/4 cup ketchup
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 t ground ginger
1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar 
1/4 tsp onion & garlic powder

Thaw the meatballs overnight in the fridge.  Put the thawed meatballs in the crockpot.  In a saucepan add the pineapple (don't add the reserved juice yet), the teriyaki sauce, ketchup , brown sugar, ginger & onion & garlic powder.  Mix well and cook over medium heat stirring often until sauce is hot, bubbly and the sugar has dissolved (watch carefully) cause this has a tendency to burn because of the high sugar content).  Remove and pour over the meatballs and stir them gently to coat.  Turn the crockpot on low and simmer a few hours until the sauce becomes bubbly.  If it gets too thick add the saved pineapple juice to thin the sauce out.  **NOTE stir these often because the sugar will burn if left unattended and not stirred.  Serve. Enjoy...

Buffalo Chicken Dip

I recently went to my 30th class reunion... when did I get so old..hmmm that post is for another time..lol anyways, it was a 2 day event with one of the days being a potluck gathering.  A fellow classmate Connie brought this really yummy dip... I asked her the recipe and she shared.. it was so good my husband had seconds... she said it was really easy to make, and had a couple of variations... so here is the recipe..
 
I only like Frank's red hot sauce.. if you have another favorite use this..Also, for the chicken you can use canned chicken (just make sure you drain it well), or any kind of cooked leftover chicken, (think baked, roasted, rotisserie,  boiled, shredded into small pieces).  Also you can use a combination of ranch and blue cheese dressing or just one of the two types.  Also, use what cheese you like, thinking maybe a sprinkle of Parmesan would be good over the top before it goes into the oven.. Like I always say use what you have,or your family likes..Serve with crackers, Fritos, tortilla chips, veggies..this stuff would be great on anything...Try this today..so good.. Enjoy

Thanks for sharing Connie...


Buffalo Chicken Dip

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup Frank's red hot sauce
2 cups shredded chicken
1/2 cup shredded cheese (any kind, mozzarella, cheddar, co-jack or a combination )
2T crumbled blue cheese
1/2 cup ranch dressing (or 1/4 cup each ranch and blue cheese dressing)

Crackers, fritos or veggies for serving

Heat oven to 350.  Spray a baking dish with cooking spray.
Add the cream cheese, hot sauce, chicken, cheese, (blue cheese if using) and the salad dressing in a bowl mixing well. Spread in a greased baking dish and bake at 350 for around 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly.. Serve with crackers or your choice of dippers.. Enjoy