Chicken Fajita Soup

On Sunday Six Sisters Stuff had this recipe on their blog and it just so happened that I hadn't been shopping for Sunday dinner, nor had I planned what I would be making when I saw this. I had everything I needed and it was a huge hit with my family!! Tis the season for warm, yummy soup!!

You will need:

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup
1 cup salsa
2 cups corn (frozen or canned)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups water
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. dried cilantro (optional)
Toppings (if desired)

**Spray crock pot with Pam and put the chicken on the bottom.
**In a separate bowl, mix together cream of chicken soup, salsa, corn, black beans, water, cumin, and cilantro. Pour over chicken in crock pot. 

**Cook on low for 4-6 hours (or high for 2-3 hours). 

**You can remove chicken and shred using 2 forks. (I just shredded it while still in the crock pot with the soup mixture because I'm lazy like that.)

**If you took the chicken out to shred it, put it back in. 

**Serve with shredded cheese, avocados, tomatoes, sour cream, tortilla chips, etc!

Quick Beef and Noodles

In case you didn't know, the oldest Howe sister(that's me) lives on a cattle ranch and therefore has a plethora of beef in her freezer! You can only imagine the various ways I have found to use all that beef and am always looking for new ideas. This is a quick and easy recipe I recently found. It is really good and my kids devour it! It's also nice since I usually have all these ingredients in the house!

(Picture found here.)

Ingredients:

2 lbs. ground beef
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 12-oz. package egg noodles
1 c. sour cream
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can corn, drained
1 c. cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Spray 9x13 pan with cooking spray

Cook noodles according to package directions. In the meantime, brown ground beef and onion until meat is no longer pink. Drain if necessary. Stir in cooked noodles, sour cream, soups, corn, and cheese. Pour into prepared baking pan. Bake 25 minutes or until bubbly. I added a little more cheese to the top the last 5 minutes, but that's just because I have a house full of people whose theory on life is "You can never have enough cheese!"

Mexican Lasagna

I've heard this called lots of things but I call it Mexican Lasagna. This is a super-easy recipe I got from my sis-in-law. It is so hearty that you can only eat one piece.

image from here

You'll need:
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef (I brown it with a little diced onion)
1 packet taco seasoning
Let this simmer for a few minutes.

10 flour tortillas
1 c. sour cream
2 c. salsa
2 cans corn, drained
2 c. shredded mozzarella
2 c. shredded cheddar

You will use half of everything to make two layers (just like lasagna, hence the name!). Start with 5 tortillas. I cut them in half and stack them up, then cut them in 1 inch strips. Pam a 9x13 and cover the bottom with the tortillas. I just sort of throw them in randomly. I'm wild like that. Spread 1/2 of the sour cream and salsa over the tortillas. Spread one can of corn and half the ground beef. Cover with 1 c. cheddar and 1 c. mozzarella. Now repeat it all again. Cover with tinfoil and bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes. Remove the tinfoil and bake an additional 15-20 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Let it sit for 5 minutes before you cut it into pieces.

You can use medium or hot salsa if you like it a little spicy, but I am super boring and I use mild for my fam. I hope you will try it for dinner and let us know what you think!! Enjoy!

P.S. I was being a lame-o and forgot the last half of the meat and that's why my pic looks so strange. Please excuse that!