Slow Cooker Enchiladas & Chicken Parmigiana

This is one of our favorite and EASY Mexican meals!  The ingredients may seem a little strange, but trust me on this one because it's a keeper!

Slow Cooker Enchiladas

Ingredients:

* 1 pound lean ground beef
* 10 corn tortillas, quartered
* 1 pkg. taco seasoning OR 4 tablespoons Penzeys taco seasoning (what I used)
* 1/2 cup of water
* 1 can cream of mushroom soup
* 1 can cream of chicken soup
* 12 oz. chunky salsa (your favorite brand)
* 4 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend

How To:

1. Crumble the ground beef into a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir until evenly browned. Add taco seasoning and water; simmer for 15 minutes over low heat.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the salsa, cream of mushroom soup and cream of chicken soup. Mix in most of the cheese, reserving 3/4 cup for later.
3. Place a layer of tortillas covering the bottom of a slow cooker. Scoop a layer of the ground beef over that, and then spoon a layer of the cheese mixture. Repeat the layers until you run out of stuff, ending with a layer of tortillas on the top. Top with remaining cheese.
4. Cover, and cook on High for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Seriously delicious!!! Serve with a side salad and your favorite Mexican rice.

Penzeys Spices ROCK!!!

Soup mixture and yummy cheese

This is how I lay my tortillas in the crock pot - 2 full and one split in half

beef...it's what's for dinner =)

layering it up

Here is another fast dinner.  It's perfect for those busy week nights!

Allie's Chicken Parmigiana

Ingredients:

* 4 boneless chicken breast or 8 to 10 boneless chicken tenders
* EVOO
* 3 to 4 cloves fresh garlic, minced
* 2 cans HUNTS diced tomatoes with garlic and Italian spices
* 2 tsp. basil, oregano, and parsley
* spaghetti noodles ( I like thin, but you could use whatever)
* Parmesan cheese
* mozzarella cheese

How To:

Begin by rinsing your thawed chicken.  Mince garlic and add roughly 2 tablespoons EVOO to your warm skillet.  Add chicken to the skillet and cook through until meat is white and juices run clear.  Add 2 cans of diced tomatoes and your basil, oregano, and parsley.  Meanwhile, cook your spaghetti noodles via package instructions.  Drain and set aside.  I like to add a touch of EVOO to my noodles if they will be sitting for any length of time. This helps them not to stick together.  Once your skillet mixture is bubbling lightly, add a few hand fulls of Parmesan and mozzarella cheese to the top and let melt.  Once melted, you are ready to eat! Sorry I don't have pics for this one. 

Today I ran outside at Shelby and I decided to run around the lake.  Total distance around is 1.67 miles.  I ran it twice for a total of 3.34 miles and I finished in 31:32.  My knee felt great and didn't hurt at all! I am so happy about that and I hope the pain stays away!  The run today felt OK.  I have been under the weather for 2 weeks now - yuck!  I've basically been tired, congested, and had a horribly sore throat.  I'm feeling a lot better today.  I'm still not 100% but I would say I'm about 95%.  I'm hardly ever sick so I'm really not sure what's going on with me, but let's just hope this is the end and I can get back to running 4-5 times a week.  Since I'm going to be running a lot more outside my time at the gym will be less.  I'll still go to the gym to get my weights in but I won't be going most mornings anymore.  Well, at least until it gets cold outside again.  Right now I'm training for my first 5k on June 25th.  I feel pretty confident that I can run the distance and now I'm trying to focus on my finishing time.  Any tips on training for a faster time would be greatly appreciated!  Right now I average 10 minute miles and I'd like to run the race at 9 to 9:30 miles.

Till next time,

Allie