Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas = YUM

These have been on my list of things to make for a very long time now and last week I struck gold when my friend Fawna said she was making them for our get together! I could not wait to sink my teeth into these babies. I love mexican food and I could eat a calculator if it was drenched in buffalo sauce, so I knew going into this that I would thoroughly enjoy this dish. Clearly my expectations were high, and these somehow managed to make me so much happier than I was already expecting. Surprisingly they are not too unhealthy either, with the ingredients consisting of shredded chicken, enchilada sauce, buffalo sauce(which without the butter is not bad at all,) some gorgonzola and monterey jack cheese and you can use whole wheat flour tortillas! This was the type of meal that I could gorge myself on and eat the entire dish, but I didn't considering there were other guests present. These shot way up the list of my favorite meals and I will definitely be making them for us soon. Until then, buffalo on.

Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas Recipe

Shammy Says "Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas are GENIUS"

Satisfied

I'm happy

Alright I don't know if I just get too excited or if I'm a complete space cadet but EVERY time I try out a new recipe I make at least one mistake. This recipe was more like five or six mistakes, and they STILL turned out phenomenal if that tells you anything. I have stayed up late salivating over this recipe on Pinterest for months now and finally decided to make it. They were simple and the ingredients were fairly cheap, which makes this a perfect weeknight recipe for when you really aren't in the mood to cook. Now I am going to list the mistakes I made, so that you don't make them and then I will list what I am going to change for next time. First off, the recipe called for rice along with some seasonings. Anyone who knows me knows that I have zero common sense, although I'm starting to think it is delayed common sense, because I always seem to figure it out AS I'm dumping the wrong ingredients in the bowl. For some reason I bought a bag of mexican rice, which is already heavily seasoned, then proceeded to dump all my seasonings on top. Like I said, as soon as the seasonings were on the rice was when I realized I should have just cooked plain brown rice and added the seasonings to it. Classic Caroline, nothing new to see here. The next mistake I made was buying my cilantro a week before I made the recipe, so when I opened up the bag it went straight to the trash can. I feel the cilantro would have made this recipe about 53% yummier than it turned out to be, so next time I will not make that dreadful mistake. Next mistake was using black beans, which the recipe called for but my husband HATES black beans and I actually agree with him that this particular recipe would be better without them, so next time I'm ditching the frijoles negros. Mistake number four and probably the most critical one--I had no salsa to go with them. Salsa would have made these the best burritos that have ever crossed my lips. So I am going to the store tomorrow to get some to have for our leftovers. After all of this, I wasn't expecting them to be very good but I was SHOCKED at how yummy they were. My husband LOVED them, despite the beans fiasco. The burrito was crispy and light, and inside was creamy and tasty. Next time I make these I will definitely use the cilantro, add lettuce, skip the beans, make brown rice and season it and make sure my fridge is stocked with Picante sauce. Oh and I added sour cream to my burrito...DUH.

Crispy Southwestern Chicken Wraps Recipe

Shammy Says "Not a total Betty but a vast improvement"

And The Winner Is....!

Not the best picture but I was too busy shoveling this in my dome to care about getting a picture

A few weeks ago I posted a status asking for your favorite recipes and I had to pick ONE out of many delicious sounding recipes. It wasn't easy but the reason this lasagna won out over the others is because I had to make sure it would also please my picky husband. I have never made lasagna before either, so I also took that into consideration when making my decision. This recipe was posted by Katie Newman on her blog "Katie Lately," which I will post a link to below, along with a link to the recipe. I have always been afraid to attempt lasagna because I've heard it is difficult to make. This was one of the easiest recipes I have made to date and it turned out wonderfully! You use oven ready lasagna noodles which cuts your time in half--and that leaves you time to make a cocktail as you're cooking. It's always good to keep your priorities straight. Bottom line is I threw this together in under 15 minutes and then popped it in the oven and watched it cook while anxiously waiting to taste it. It isn't as rich as some other lasagna recipes that I've tried, which is good because you can eat more and finish up the leftovers, which is what my husband did. He gobbled this up like it was his last meal. Very yummy recipe and thank you to Katie for posting it! Until the next contest, enjoy this dish!

Katie's blog - Katie Lately

Lasagna Recipe

Shammy Says "My friends know good food!"

One Delicious Heart Attack On A Plate

"Creamy" would be a hideous understatement

Lemony Tuna Noodle Casserole. Those were the words that caught my eye when I was browsing Pinterest last week looking for new recipes. I love tuna noodle casserole and I love lemon even more so I figured this would be the perfect recipe. Only one thing was standing in my way, my picky husband. Pooh Bear is not a huge fan of lemon or tuna so I knew I would have to play with this recipe a bit. I subbed out the tuna for grilled chicken and used half of the amount of lemon that it called for. The chicken seemed to work out perfectly. It was a success, he loved it and so did I. The only drawback to it is that it is VERY RICH, so rich that I couldn't eat as much as I wanted to because I knew I would end up with a bellyache deluxe if I did. It was very decadent, rich and creamy but I think next time to balance out the richness I will use skim or 2% milk instead of whole milk, a lighter cheese(which may be difficult since it called for Gruyere cheese, which is a classy version of Swiss,) and perhaps olive oil to cook the leeks in instead of butter. If anyone has any other substitutions or tweaks to this recipe that would lighten it up a bit, I would love recommendations because I will definitely be making it again!

Lemony Tuna Noodle Casserole Recipe

Shammy Says "RICH but very delicious"

Homemade, Easy, and Delicious!

Amazing

Who knew homemade pop tarts were this easy to make? All you need is pie crust, jam or preserves(flavor of your choice,) powdered sugar, sparkling sugar and an egg if you want to put an egg wash on them before baking. They taste wonderful, very different from a Pop Tart you buy at the store though, since these don't have all the preservatives. These are still not considered healthy but they are a much better choice than the boxed Pop Tarts. Enjoy!

Homemade Pop Tarts Recipe

Shammy Says "Pop Tarts are the greatest invention ever"

I Need An Apple Tree

Cute AND delicious

These mini apple pies were hands down one of the best things I've ever made. I was nervous considering I had never even baked a pie before but these were super easy, the hardest part was slicing the apples. I LOVE apple pie but I like more crust than filling so I just added more dough on the tops of each one before baking. They were phenomenal, that is all.

Mini Apple Pie Recipe

Shammy Says "12 was NOT enough"

My World Has Just Been Turned Upside-Down, Pun Intended

I stared at this picture for 5 minutes trying to think of an appropriate caption and came up with nothing.

I have ALWAYS wanted to try a Pineapple Upside-Down cake. I knew it would be something I would like, before ever tasting it. I love pineapples, I love maraschino cherries and I love cake. I found this recipe for Pineapple Upside-Down cupcakes and figured I would go for it. I couldn't wait for them to cool so, consequently I burnt my mouth as I was tasting them, but I am pleased to report that the burn was worth it. They turned out even better than I was expecting, if that is even possible. They were fairly easy to make and I will definitely be making them again!

Pineapple Upside-Down Cupcake Recipe

Shammy Says "An out of body experience"