Sharing is Caring!

Dinner #1 was a success last night! We got home around 5:20, changed clothes, threw the chicken enchilada casserole in the oven and headed out for a walk. We ran in around 6:15, ate, and were out of the house by 6:45. It was pretty rushed, but It was a gorgeous day (70 degrees!!) so I loved getting a short walk in instead of rushing in the kitchen. Tonight is day 2, but Dave has class and I'm trying to talk my brother into going with me to get a treadmill I bought off Craigslist....I'm NOT going alone even though I'm sure everything is super legit. Besides, I need his truck and his muscles.

A couple of people asked for the recipes yesterday and I am glad to share!! They are honestly 3 of my FAVORITE recipes and the secret is that none of them are mine!! Ha! I got these recipes from friends and friends of friends and these are 3 of my "go-to" dishes. 2 out of the 3 of them are super simple...like so easy I kind of hate to tell you because when you have a kid and need a meal I will be bringing one of the 3 of these to you...

Lasagna- We had a variation of this recipe at Lynch's bachelorette party and it is now my favorite lasagna recipe. I almost can't even eat Stouffer's because I love the homemade one so much more! It is not hard at all, but it is a little more time consuming. My advice, if you like it, is just make 2 while you're already going to the trouble! Freeze one and call it a day!

Ingredients for one lasagna (standard 9x13) or two 8" pans (what I did this time):

• Lasagna noodles- I actually boil my noodles instead of using the ready bake ones. I'm sure ready bake is fine, I just prefer to cook them to my liking.
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 pkg. cream cheese softened
• 8 oz. Sour Cream
• Spaghetti sauce- I use Prego and I use the 26 oz jar. You don't want to run out of sauce!! YUM!
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese
• 2 cups cheddar cheese
• Spinach (if desired- I don't use it in mine)

Boil noodles and pat dry. Brown meat and drain (I season my meat with garlic salt, basil and oregano while cooking). In a bowl, mix together the cream cheese and sour cream. You're ready to layer! Layer noodles, cream cheese mixture, ground beef, generous amounts of cheese (I said generous! Keep going!), sauce, and start over! I do 3 layers, so it takes 9 noodles to do a 9x13 pan. A 9x13 pan will easily feed 7-8 people. And the good news is...this is the more time consuming recipe! So that should tell you how easy the other 2 are!! (PS...the picture of my lasagna below is a little sad because I thought I had cheddar cheese and I didn't! So before I bake this one I will add some Cheddar cheese to the top.) Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. (If you freeze it will take about 1.5 hours to cook.)

Chicken Enchilada Casserole- My dear friend Courtney made this for dinner one night and it was SO good! It has since become a regular in our house. Just don't ask Dave how regular! ha! So easy and so yummy! (I might not even put all the ingredients Courtney does, so she is probably going to gasp at this recipe....sorry friend!)

Chicken Enchilada Casserole:

• 2 cups shredded chicken (I buy a rotisserie chicken from my grocery store)
• 2 cups Monterrey Jack cheese
• 2 cans green chile enchilada sauce
• Corn tortillas (package of 10 works for a small baking dish)

Cut your tortillas into quarters, open your cans of enchilada sauce and you've got yourself a meal. Layer corn tortillas, chicken, enchilada sauce, then cheese. I make 3 layers. Bake uncovered on 350 for about 35-45 minutes (until bubbly). If you refrigerate it overnight after putting it together it will take a full hour to reheat.

And Finally, my one true love, taco soup. I have no pictures because....well, because I just don't. But this is E-A-S-Y to make and we love it.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. beef
• 1 pkg. Taco seasoning
• 1 pkg. Ranch dressing seasoning (dry packet)
• 1 can corn- drained
• 1 can creamed corn
• 1 can rotel
• 1 can pinto beans
• Optional: 1 can crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce (if you want it thicker or you want more tomatoes...I don't add anymore tomatoes, but we don't really like them)

Brown meat, drain, add in your taco seasoning and cook according to package directions. In a stock pot add meat, can of drained corn, can of creamed corn, can of beans, rotel, ranch seasoning mix and 1-2 cups of water (to your desired "soupyness"). Cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Done and done! We serve it over tortilla chips with a little shredded cheese on top. If I'm really feeling generous I'll slice an avocado or make corn bread muffins.

Phew! I'm hungry now! :) And for my friends in real life, you know you'll be having one of these items next time you come over for dinner so please try to forget how easy it is!