Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Cheesy Beef Enchiladas

Sometimes all it takes to inspire a recipe is one ingredient. That ingredient today was Campbell's Fiesta Nacho Cheese Soup. It was sitting in the cabinet, collecting dust, with no recipe to call its own. I scoured the internet but really only found recipes involving soup. (What's up with that?)
I wanted something more hearty than that, so I rummaged through the cabinets and decided on enchiladas. Enchiladas are basically the best food ever. I could eat them everyday. My waist line will prove it.

These enchiladas were super easy to make and you can substitute or add whatever ingredients you want. I have to say, they turned out pretty darn delicious. They were so good that I'm updating this forsaken blog to share the recipe with you.

Jen's Cheesy Beef Enchiladas

Ingredients
1 lb lean ground beef
1 can of Campbell's Fiesta Nacho Cheese Soup
1 4oz can of diced green chiles
12 corn tortillas
1 can of red enchilada sauce
1 8oz block of colby cheese
1 8oz block of pepper jack cheese
1 jar of salsa verde
Taco Seasoning
Salt
Pepper
Sour Cream

Cook the ground beef and season to your liking with taco seasoning, salt and pepper. Add the cans of nacho cheese soup and green chiles (drained) and stir together. I added a splash of water so the soup wasn't as condensed. Let simmer for 10 minutes on low heat.

Meanwhile, shred your cheese and put half of it aside. Then coat your tortillas with the enchilada sauce until they are moist. Take your meat mixture and add a scoop of it to each tortilla. Sprinkle on some cheese and roll them up, placing them in a baking dish. Continue until all of the tortillas have been rolled.

Lastly, pour your desired amount of salsa verde over the top of the enchiladas and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Cook at 350 for about 25 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly. Serve with sour cream.

This will be my go-to recipe whenever I'm craving Mexican food. I served it with some homemade Spanish rice and a side of refried beans. Yummers!

(If I had known it would be so good I would have taken more pictures. Sorry.)

Monday, January 28, 2013

Willow's Rainbow Elmo Birthday Party!

My daughter, Willow, turned three yesterday and we celebrated at an indoor water park. We rented out a big room with a rainbow play gym and decorated with fun, colorful Elmo decor and food. She had a blast! I can't believe my baby girl is three.

I found these cute number buckets at Michael's!

The cake had a fun rainbow center!!

Happy 3rd birthday, Willow Abigail! You are my heart.

This party was cheap, easy, and super fun to put together! A lot of the items are from The Dollar Tree, including the rainbow candy buckets, the candy, soda pop, coloring books, crayons, and juice boxes. The Elmo party favors/decor were from Party City when I had a 20% off coupon. The wooden letters, rainbow picture frame, lollipops, silverware, crayon cups, and dishes were all items I had on hand already. And the name/food cards were from pieces of scrapbook paper that were on sale at Michael's. I made sure the food was simple, yet creative. I probably only spent $125 total, and that's including the food and original invitations! The only thing I forgot was a tablecloth, as I thought the venue was providing one. Oops! Otherwise, not too shabby.

Credits:
Photography by Jennifer Dawn Photography
Cake pops by Sweet Treats by Angie
Elmo cake and cupcakes by Elisabetta