Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Sour Cream Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Holy Moly!

It's been FOREVER...FOR-EV-ER  (envision the kid from Sandlot saying it)



since I've had the chance to blog

Work has been a BIATCH!

If  Dante had a 10th Circle of hell.....I'm pretty sure it would have been my job the last 2 weeks.

But I somehow made it through alive....

Barely.


No better way to jump back in then to share with you the enchiladas I grew up on.  

 Disclaimer: They are white people enchiladas.

Ok....so it's not like you have to be white to eat them....I just mean that they are in no way authentic.
At all.


In fact, since these were the only way my family ever made them I didn't even know Red Enchiladas existed.  I didn't even have my first one until I was in high school.

True story!


Here are the ingredientses



Did any of you Real Housewives of New Jersey fans catch that?

"Ingredientses"

Teresa?

Remember?

Her mispronunciations always make me chuckle


Start by cutting your tortillas into quarters and frying in oil just long enough to get rid of the "raw" taste



It takes maybe 30 seconds

And if you make them a little too crispy...you  just made yourself a tasty snack!  Homemade chips!!

Spread on paper towels to drain off excess oil



In a large mixing bowl combine the cream of chicken, sour cream, diced onion, green chiles,  & chicken

Gently stir in your cooked tortillas



Spread into a baking dish.

This made enough for me to fill a 9x13 disposable baking pan (I was taking it to a friend) and a small 8 inch square dish for us (but not quite full to the top)



So bottom line is it make ALOT!  Good for a crowd

Top with shredded chedda




Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes until hot and bubbly

 
It's some serious yumminess!

In the almost 23 years I've been on this earth we have only made it into actual rolled enchiladas twice.
I prefer the casserole approach because I get impatient rolling them and its easier to serve.  No muss or fuss over trying to cut into them correctly.  Just scoop and go!

But if you are more patient then I am you can roll them.  Just cook the tortillas whole in the oil  and mix the soup, sour cream, onion and chiles but DON'T mix in the chicken.  Fill a whole tortilla with a little sauce, sprinkle in some chicken, and place in a baking dish.  Top them with the remaining sauce and cheese. 



Sour Cream Chicken Enchilada Casserole

(2) Family size cans of cream of chicken soup
(1) 16 oz container of sour cream
(2) 7 oz cans green chiles
1 medium onion diced
1 1/2 cups cooked, diced or shredded chicken
3/4 # corn tortillas
Vegetable or canola oil
Shredded cheddar cheese

Cut the tortillas into quarters and fry in oil until soft . About 30 seconds.  Drain on paper towels

Mix together the soup, sour cream, onion, green chiles, & chicken

Stir in the cooked tortillas

Spread into a 9x13 baking dish and top with cheddar cheese

Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes until hot and bubbly

*Note: These can be made into rolled enchiladas by cooking the tortilla whole, and mixing the soup, onion, sour cream, and green chiles together but NOT the chicken.  Fill a tortilla with a little sauce and then sprinkle in some chicken.  place in baking dish.  Top with remaining sauce and then cheese and bake

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Homemade Oreo Cookies

Confession.  

This isn't truely "homemade"  So I'm a big liar

This is more of a Sandra Lee approach to Oreos.  A little more effort than buying a sleeve of them, but not a daunting task.

Speaking of Sandra Lee I gotta say....I can't stand that woman!  I admit I watched her show for years just for the pure entertainment of watching a complete lush try to function on national TV. 

 Every once and a while she had an alright recipe.....but I don't think adding some chopped up parsley to a boxed rice pilaf should make someone as much money as it has made her.  I think she bullshits her way through the "cooking" portion of the show just to get herself to the "Cockatil Time" that she so happily announces at the end of every episode.

I mean I know I've been known to throw back a few...but damn!  Lady be boozin 24/7!

But alas....I give you the Boozy Aunt Sandy version of Oreo Cookies



All it is is my Coffee Creamer Butterceam piped between 2 store bought chocolate cookies.  I bought these at work but you can find similar ones in almost any grocery store bakery.

Simple right?  

Something even a big boobied, blonde haired, boozer could handle

And for the record I don't feel that bad for what I said about her.  A friend of mine works at a popular resort and she came to stay there.  Apparently she was a big Bi-atch to everyone.

She must be an angry drunk

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Disney Vacation Countdown

I don't know about you....but I've been a big pile of useless during the Olympics.  I've been so mesmerized that I would rush straight home after work and park my ass on the couch for 4 hours of complete emotional instability.

One minute I'm relishing in every mistake made by the other countries.  Then I feel like a big bitch and the guilt causes me to root for everyone.  I literally clap out loud.....alone....in my living room.  

Oh...and I cry when anybody gets a gold.  Yep....anyone.  But when it came to gymnastics (my favorite)  I was practically sobbing for Gabby Douglas.  

So as you can imagine an emotional roller coaster like this:

....happy.....bitchy....guilty.....sad.....nervous....happy....bitchy.......nervous....bitchy.....happy


 really takes up alot of time and energy!

There was just no time for anything.  I did the BARE MINIMUM.  I only washed our work clothes, washed enough dishes to prevent smells, and  took out the garbage.  I was slacking to say the least

That of course included blogging.  It's been nearly a week since my last post.  I just got done watching the Spice Girls perform at the closing ceremonies and I figured that was my cue to get back on the productive bandwagon and write a post.

The only craft I completed in the last week was our Disney Vacation countdown.  We're going for our one year wedding anniversary in November.

Let me tell you....we be Disney peeps!

(Clarification for those of you that don't speak crazy, that roughly translates to "We are Disney People")

Yes indeed.  We watched the Artistocats on our second date, he took my to Disneyland for my first birthday that we were together, and we went there on our Honeymoon.  We live and breathe the magic.

And I'm itching BAAAD for a Disney fix.  But I'm not quite sure if a countdown makes it better or worse???

I found these cute Disney stickers over in the scrapbooking area.  They cost a bit more than I am normally willing to spend so I called my hubby who was waiting in the car to come inside and buy one for me so we could use 2 coupons and get them 40% off each.  

There we were in Michael's waiting for the App to download on his phone to get the coupon. He's a sport.



I slapped them on some paper 


And put them in dollar store frames

 I got some small ones too to create a whole display



Complete with a can covered in Minnie inspired paper to hold the eraser and markers


I'm sure i'll be using this countdown for years to come!


Stay tuned for more Disney DIY projects as I prepare for our trip

Monday, August 6, 2012

Back To School Classroom Wreath



Wreath making is an addiction for me

I'm always looking for my next fix

I'll pretty much make a one for any reason at all

So of course the beginning of the school year seemed like a great excuse

My mom plans to put it on her classroom door for the first week and then they'll just bring it in for the rest of the year 



If you've ever seen any of my wreaths like this Patriotic Wreath or my Easter Wreath they all start out pretty much the same.

Gluing down shreddy paper stuff onto a cardboard wreath form I make

I don't like the foam ones you buy because they're expensive as all hell and I prefer for them to be flat up against the door.

After I covered the whole form I glued on some crayons and small pencil sharpeners

I had another sheet of school themed scrapbook stickers leftover from my School Keepsake Box project





Just like in that project I stuck them onto poster board and glued a small piece of cardboard onto the back to help them pop out better




All that was left was a major focal point

I had bought some word strips for the Keepsake Box that I ended up not using





It hit me  that I could make them into a cute bow!



See...every once and a while I can be a friggin genius!




Don't forget to glue on a pop tab in the back for am easy and cheap way to hang it



Friday, August 3, 2012

DIY Washabale Toothbrush Travel Tote (long enough title for ya?)

This project isn't exactly new or inventive on my end

It's been all over the almighty Pinterest for months but I still thought I would share.

I personally don't like the little toothbrush covers from way back in the day...so I would end up just throwing my toothbrush in a plastic bad which is pretty grody too.   

Things get all moist and steamy....yuccka!  At least with this towel tote thingamagij it absorbs the steamy wet nastiness and keeps your bag dry.  Then you can just throw it in the wash when you get home and you don't feel so dirty inside.

I got a cute pink hand towel from 99c only

And because I LOVE all things animal print I thought some leopard ribbon would be uber cute




I wanted three pockets so I folded it in thirds, pinned it, and sewed it down






I forgot to take pictures, but I used permanent heat proof fabric glue to glue down the ribbon.  You could certainly sew it but I don't have a machine and do all my sewing by hand.  I didn't want to mess it up so glue seemed the way to go for me.


Make sure you only sew or glue down the ribbon onto the middle of the 3 "panels" so you can tie it once you fold it in thirds.


I also folded and sewed down the corners of the ribbon so it wouldn't fray.





I'm bad at tying pretty bows if you couldn't already tell


Thursday, August 2, 2012

Gifts For The Peanut Butter Lover In Your Life

Earlier this week I posted that I made Reese's Cup Cookies for my brother in-laws birthday.

I have a thing lately where I try my best to make the wrapping for all my gifts a little special.

I didn't want to slap them on a plate with a piece of saran wrap or throw them in a tupperware that has the hardcore white spots that I can't quite figure out what it is  (is it melted plastic??...or water spots???...I can never tell!)

So I thought what better than to put them in a giant peanut butter jar.


So I got to making my own


I used a giant olive jar from work and covered the lid just like I did in this tutorial  HERE .




The above link will give you a detailed tutorial but I took a few pics for ya.


Word of advice though.  I was trying to do this project using things I had on hand.  I was feeling lazy that day and a trip to Michael's was just a bridge too far.  I didn't have any red scrapbook paper so I thought I would give wrapping paper a whirl.  Since wrapping paper is super thin and only has the color or print on one side it's much harder to work with.  When I picked it up my fingers stuck to the areas that weren't completely dry and took some of the red off with it.

No biggie though....after it dried I colored in the little spots with a marker.  But scrapbooking paper is just less of a hassle


Of course you need a cool label for your peanut butter jar.  We were more of a Skippy family growing up.  (Apparently my mom wasn't that choosey)  But I decided on Jif for the sheer fact that it seemed easier to draw.  I'm not much of an artist.

I am completely aware that the "creamy" looks like ass haha





When your done just glue or tape it to your jar and fill with your peanut butter treat!

In hind sight I should have made a double batch of cookies to fill this beast of a jar.....but I am TERRIBLE at that kind of stuff.   I have no concept whatsoever of what will fit into something

I dirty more containers putting the dinner leftovers away that it's just easier for The Boy to do it.  The first one is way too small....then way too big...then I find the right size but can't find a matching lid to save my life.   By then end of it I've dirtied 5 sets of tupperware.   Annoying.


Here it is




This is the Instagramed version he posted.




Better than a plate right?   I freakin hope so!