Chicken Ranch Enchiladas

Ingredients:

1 lb. Sour Cream
1 can Black or Pinto Beans
Dry Ranch Mix Packet
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
2 cups Shredded Cheese
Fresh Herbs for your chicken (or dry, if you prefer)
1 lb cooked and seasoned Chicken

Prep: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine soup, sour cream, and dry ranch in a bowl, then mix.
Take 3/4 cup of soup mixture and slather the whole bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish. This thin layer will help the enchiladas from sticking to the bottom of the dish.
In a medium bowl, mix beans, chicken, and cheese together.
In each tortilla, layer soup mix and chicken mixture.
Roll up and place in a casserole dish.
Top with remaining soup mixture and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Bake for 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly and cheese is melted.

Hold the Pepper

I don't usually write, but I am always cooking. I have always enjoyed creating in the kitchen, but have been presented with an interesting challenge. My husband is allergic to red pepper, and any kind of pepper except for ground black pepper. That means no red, yellow, or green peppers. No jalapenos, green chilies, paprika, or anything spicy, really. Taco seasoning? No way. Any type of hot sauce is also out of the question. Did you know that a lot of canned, unseasoned tomato sauces have red bell peppers blended into them? (Hunts doesn't, a tip from my Mother-in-Law who has the same allergy as my husband does).

So, I have to get creative. Mexican food is a huge challenge, and most recipes call for something that is on the naughty list. However, I am starting to be more bold with my experimenting.

We've lived on our own with our own kitchen for over 2 years now, and every day is a new cooking adventure. I decided to start this blog to share the recipes that have found their way onto our kitchen table, or, at least the successful recipes. Sometimes things don't turn out, but most of the time they do.

With an allergy like his, eating out is always a challenge. Pre-prepared food from the grocery store, even frozen, usually has some sort of pepper in it. A lot of meats do, too. I have found that I need to read the ingredients on every single item before I buy it - not doing so has resulted in a few allergic reactions over the last few years.

So, this blog will be pepper free. Except for ground black pepper, which is in almost every dish I make. I also encourage you to get creative! Every person has different tastes, and I follow recipes about 20% of the time. If I ever follow a recipe 100%, I spend the next few hours thinking of things I would have done differently. I am picky, but I also like to make things as good as they can be. If you love peppers and want to add them to any of the recipes, go for it! Make it your own! Just because we can't eat peppers, doesn't mean you have to abstain. Recipes are meant to be inspiration, and only you know what suits your taste buds.

On this blog, you'll find entrees, desserts, lunch ideas, breakfast ideas, and delicious sides. These are my own variations of recipes. I will usually read two or three different recipes, then come up with my own based off of my new knowledge of what has worked for other food artists. By the time it hits my table, it is completely different from any of the recipes I've read. Most of the time, I don't write down my recipes, and I recite them from memory. This blog will help me stay organized, remember what I did properly, and hopefully inspire you to get creative in your own kitchen.

Even the best chefs are always learning new things, and experimenting is the best way to do just that.

I hope you enjoy the blog, and if you have any requests, please let me know!

Breakfast Burritos

Ingredients:
24 eggs 
Hash Browns 
Cheese (2-4 cups, to your desired cheesey-ness) 
Fresh herbs and/or Cilantro 
Onion (1/2 medium)
Garlic (2-6 cloves)
Breakfast Sausage (optional) 
Tortillas

 Prep: Cook sausage, then put in a bowl and set aside leaving grease in pan (optional) - cook eggs next, they are extra yummy if you cook in the sausage juice. leave them a little undercooked so they won't overcook when microwaved later. Then, cook the hash browns. Assemble burritos with cheese on the bottom. I like to mix the sausage, eggs, and hash browns together so its easy to scoop out of one bowl and the ratios stay the same for each burrito. You could do it one layer at a time if you'd like though. This will make anywhere from 15-25 burritos.

You can refrigerate or freeze them. To re-heat, microwave for 1 1/2-2 minutes, turning half-way through. Or, you can cook them at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes (until the middle is cooked all the way through).

Variations: you can use fresh potatoes, diced and cooked in a pan as a hash browns alternative. Could be better but definitely more time consuming. You can use other breakfasty meat like bacon. You can add breakfast gravy if you want it to be more moist. You can omit meat entirely if you want to eat less meat, or have a lighter burrito.