Cheesy Potato Bake

24 ounces cubed potatoes
1/2 cup minced onion
2 batches of cream soup (mushroom or celery work well)
1 8-ounce package cream cheese
Shredded Cheese of your choice - Original recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups, but it's entirely up to your tastes
1 1/2 cups cubed ham (gf) - I pre-rinse my ham when I use it in recipes because the salt is just too much for me
1/4 t pepper
spinach - I use about half a pound cooked spinach
Take cubed potatoes and boil until soft (small cubes don't take long, maybe a few minutes).  Soften cream cheese and cream together with soup. Cook onions with some olive oil until tender.  Stir in onions, ham, cheese, spinach, and pepper into cheese mixture. Gently stir in potatoes.

For freezing:  Place in gallon freezer bag. Label and freeze.  To serve: Thaw. Place in 9x13 inch baking dish. Bake covered for 1 hour at 350°. Uncover and top with shredded Cheddar cheese. Return to oven until cheese is melted.

Same day:  Place in 9x 13 baking dish and bake 1/2 hour or longer at 350.  (I don't think I've ever covered it like the freezing directions say). 

Enchiladas with Homemade Sauce

Chicken Enchiladas with Homemade Sauce

I got the original recipe for the beef enchiladas here and the sauce here, but I've made changes so you'll have to read my versions of them below. :)

Day 1:  I like to make this into two meals.  Take some chicken and place in crockpot with a jar of salsa and a 1/2-3/4 cup of water.  Cook in the crockpot for the day.  Pull out chicken and shredd it.  Discard any bones or skin unless you used boneless, skinless.  Use leftover liquid in the crockpot to add to the shredded chicken.  This will keep it moist and flavorfull.  Use shredded chicken for chicken tacos.  Use leftover meat for chicken enchilada recipe below. 

Chicken Enchiladas

At least one lb shredded chicken, cooked

1 onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

olive oil

1 Tblsp chili powder

1 tsp ground cumin

red pepper flakes (optional for spicy flavor)

12 corn tortillas

shredded cheese - whichever type you prefer

Enchilada sauce - the amount you desire (as you can see from the picture, we like to use a lot).

To make filling:


Cook onion, green pepper, and olive oil on medium/medium low heat in a sauce pan until tender.  Add cooked chicken and spices.  Add water if it gets too dry.   

Enchilada Sauce


It's a little darker in color than this picture shows

 Make it ahead of time or as you make your filling.


Combine:

• approximately 1/2 can tomato sauce or (1 cup/8oz)

1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes

2 Tblsp chili powder

1/2 tablespoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper (or less if you want to tone down the spice)

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 onion cooked, cooked until tender

add water if consistency isn't to your liking

• (You can add a pinch or so of sugar to give it a sweeter flavor if desired)

Enchiladas:

Place a little bit of sauce inside the baking dish you choose, to coat the bottom.  Microwave or heat corn tortillas in oven until they are softer and easier to handle.  Add filling and some cheese to each tortilla, roll, and place in a pan with the seam down against the bottom.  Once you've filled your pan with enchiladas, pour enchilada sauce over them and top with cheese.  Bake in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or so. 

Cream Soups

Cream of Mushroom Soup

I had been looking for a cream of mushroom soup recipe for a while so that I could still make recipes I liked and not have to buy those horrible cans of it.  Most recipes I found looked too difficult and used ingredients I wasn't interested in purchasing or eating.  BUT!  I finally found one that works well for me.  No more buying those nasty and expensive, little cans. 

I got the recipe from the Gluten Free Homemaker (and she got it somewhere else) and I haven't changed it, but to save time I'm going to write it out.  Please visit her site though, because she has a lot of good stuff there.
Cream Soup
(makes one can worth)
1 cup cold milk
2 T cornstarch
2 T butter
1 tsp chicken bouillon or other flavoring - {You could really get creative here}
1/2 tsp salt - {oops! I lied!  I omit this because I don't like adding salt to stuff.}
Pepper to taste

Whisk cornstarch into cold milk.  Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil in saucepan, whisking frequently.  Reduce heat and simmer about 1 minute until it thickens. 

As you can see from the picture above, I added mushrooms to mine and it came out perfect.  You can add whatever you like to make it how you prefer:  celery, chicken, etc.  Hurray for casseroles!