Enchilda Sauce

I made a chili lasagna, and one of the ingredients was Enchilada sauce.  I decided to try my hand at making my own homemade sauce.  It was easy and delicious!  The one thing that I have learned because of this blog is that cooking does not need to be complicated, nor does it need to be expensive.  This is a great recipe and I will definitely be making some home enchiladas using this recipe for the sauce.














Ingredients:
4 tbsp vegetable oil
4 tbsp flour
4 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
4 c water
2 8oz cans of tomato paste
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt

Directions:
1. heat oil, flour and chili powder together in a large pot, allow to cook for a minute or two.
2. Add reaming ingredients, bring to a slow simmer.  Stir well.  Allow to cook for at least 20 minutes on a low heat.  Stirring occasionally.

This sauce is simple, and so easy to make.  I thought I might mess something up because when you cook just the flour, water and chili powder it cooks funny, but nope did not mess it up and it was delicious in my lasagna.

Shredded Chicken Fajitas

This week I am doing multiple dishes in my crock pot!  Plus, today I am cooking my first whole chicken!! (5 years ago this never would have happened, ask my grandma she has some stories about me and touching raw meat or de-boning chicken)

I started out by cooking the chicken in the crock pot.  I added one can of Swanson Chicken Broth, 2 cloves of garlic, some onion powder and a bay leaf.  I knew I was going to be using this chicken for other things throughout the week, and decided those ingredients would give it a good flavor.  I put all of this in the crock pot, along with a 4 1/2 lb chicken.  I put the crock pot on low and let it cook all day for about 8 hours.  We then shredded the chicken.  I used 12 oz of chicken for the fajitas and the rest went into a container then in the fridge.

In order to make the chicken spicy for fajitas I put the chicken in a medium saute pan then I added my taco seasoning recipe, I saved some (about 1/2 a tbsp) of the seasoning to be added to the veggies.

Homemade Burritos and Guacamole

I love guacamole!!!! I like all kinds of Mexican food. It is by far one of my most favorite kinds of food. I am not the best at making authentic Mexican food, but I am working on getting there. Tonight's dinner was very easy. My husband made burritos and when I got home I made guacamole. We make our own taco/burrito seasoning.

Ingredients: - Seasoning

1 tbsp chili powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper
Chipotle Tabasco Sauce

Mix all of the dry ingredients in a bowl. Depending how spicy you and your family like your food add as much or as little as you would like. I make about one pound of hamburger and add all of this. I then add the Tabasco sauce to taste, a few shakes. The sauce is a smoky flavor, very good.

Now on to the guacamole!!

Ingredients: - Guacamole

4-5 large avocados, peeled and pitted
1/2 tsp cumin
1 Roma tomato, I used a regular vine tomato because I had a big one and need some of it for burrito toppings
2 serrano chili peppers, seeded
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded
1/2 red onion chopped
cilantro chopped, about 1/2 cup
3-4 tbsp lime juice
pepper
sea salt

Add peppers, cilantro, and cumin to a food processor and pulse until chopped. Add avocados, lightly pulse. I like my guacamole to be a little chunky, others like it smooth. It is really your decision on how you want it. Stir in chopped onion, tomato, lime juice, salt and pepper. I have been making guacamole for years, and every time I make it I will add a little of this, or a little of that. I always do the lime juice, salt and pepper to taste. If you don't have a food processor no worries. Make sure that the peppers and cilantro are chopped. How big is really up to you, I do mine finely chopped. Cut the avocados up and then I used use a potato masher and mash them up and then add everything. Enjoy!