Cheesy Sour Cream Tacos

This is a quick fix dinner in my favorite invention (and the only way we avoid fast food on dance nights) the crockpot!


You'll need:

• Three boneless/skinless chicken breasts
• 1/2 block of cream cheese (we use Neufchâtel, which has less fat)
• 1/3 c. sour cream
• 1 tablespoon margarine
• 1 can diced green chillies
• salt
• taco shells
• cheddar cheese
• sour cream for topping

Combine the chicken breasts (it is perfectly fine if they are still frozen), cream cheese, sour cream, margarine, diced green chillies, and salt  in your crockpot. Set on lowest setting, and go about your day.

When your ready to serve stir the chicken mixture (it should pretty much fall right apart),  warm your taco shells, and grate your cheddar cheese. Layer in your taco shell, top with sour cream, and dinner is served!

(This made enough for us to have dinner and then lunch for the adults the next day. Oh, and both of my kids ate without complaint, which is rare these days!)

Chicken Pillows

Here is a relatively quick and fun to make with the kids recipe. I'm pretty sure everyone has their own version of this, here is ours. And, if all else fails, just have fun playing with olives.

• 
• 1 rib of celery, diced
• 1/4 c. olives, diced
  
• 1/4 mushrooms, diced
  
• 1/2 onion, diced
  
• 1 chicken breast, diced
• 1/2 brick low-fat cream cheese
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Mix all ingredients and spoon onto crescent rolls and fold remaining dough over. To make this even unhealthier, we like to melt a little butter and mix in some garlic salt to brush over the tops before baking at 350 degrees about 10-15 minutes. (It all depends on how big you made these- you want them to be golden brown and not doughy.)

**This week I noticed that they had crescent sheets at Walmart which were very convenient for this. I just used my ravioli cutter to cut around and make nicely shaped pillows. With the "new" Walmart, who knows if they will still have them next week.**

And, the kids favorite part ***drumroll please*** THE SAUCE.

This is fancy, hold onto your pants.

1 can of reduced fat cream of chicken soup
1 can of water
2-3 tbsp light sour cream
Heat until warm!

Chicken and Rice Wraps

Here is a recipe that is great for making a big batch and putting in the freezer. I have these for lunch a lot, and they are a lot healthier than Hotpockets. (Do I have you singing the song yet?)

1 lb. chopped grilled chicken(or just boiled)
1 c. salsa
black beans (probably about 2 cups - whatever I have left over from the other night)
1-2 tbsp taco seasoning
2 cups cooked brown rice
12 whole wheat flour tortillas

Combine chicken, salsa, black beans and taco seasoning. Heat until warm. Stir in rice. Spoon over tortillas. Serve with extra salsa and sour cream.

The extras can be saran wrapped and then put in a freezer bag and into the freezer. Warm in the microwave for 1 minute and 45 seconds or until the middle is warm.

This Week's Menu

Here is what we're eating this week:

• Sunday lunch: Spaghetti and Meatballs (this was straight from the freezer, a quick after-church meal)
• Sunday dinner: Potato skins
• Monday: Baked Egg Rolls
• Tuesday: Goulash, Black Beans, Broccoli
• Wednesday: Chicken, Bean, Rice Wraps (I'll make extra for the freezer!)
• Thursday: Ham on the Grill
• Friday or Saturday: Grilled Pizzas

* We usually eat out once on the weekends. If not, there are usually leftovers, or we scrape something together out of the pantry/freezer. :)

Watch for recipes to come!

Grilled Ranch Chicken

This is a recipe for a marinade that originally came from my friend Maren. I think Maren cooks a lot of yummy things, and if I had to pick to eat at anyone else's house, she'd probably be at the top of the list. I hope she doesn't mind me sharing it, because it really is one of my favorites and I use it as a base for a ton of things I make. I increased the red wine vinegar from the original recipe, and here is my version:

• 1/2 c. Red Wine Vinegar
• 1/4 c. Olive Oil
• 2 tbsp. water
• 1 package Ranch Dressing

Whisk together red wine vinegar, olive oil, ranch, and water. Combine chicken breasts and marinade in a ziploc bag and place in the fridge at least two hours. (The longer the better.)

Grill!!