Taco Bake

We found this in our Dollar General believe it or not... decided to give it a try and we LOVE it. Easy, the kids will like it and it's cheap too! You can also find more recipes from Kraft here.
Kraft Taco Bake
1 pkg (14 oz) Kraft (or any really) Macaroni and Cheese Dinner
1 lb ground beef
1/8 cup chopped onions
1 pkg taco seasoning
3/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 cup of chunky salsa
Heat the oven to 400F. Prepare the mac and cheese dinner as directed on package. While that is cooking, saute your onions in a LITTLE bit of butter or oil. When translucent, add meat and cook until no more pink shows. Drain out the fat and move back to heat and add taco seasoning until mixed in well, remove from heat. Stir the sour cream in to the mac & cheese, spoon 1/2 of this mixture in to a 8 in square baking dish. Top with a layer of the meat, then 1 cup of the cheese, and finally the rest of the mac; cover with foil. Bake for 15 minutes, take out and top with salsa (or not if you're like my husband) and then cheese on top of that. Bake for an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Enjoy! It's really quite easy!

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas with Red Sauce

Well, some people have asked me to post my recipe for Chicken Enchiladas. So here I go! My first DFLS recipe entry! YAY! (A big THANK YOU to Ashley for getting this all set up for us! I am SO excited to share recipes with you!)
First, the Sauce: 2 tbsp vegetable oil 2 tbsp flour 2 tbsp chili powder 1/2 tsp cumin 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper 2 cups water (warmer is better) 1 8 oz (or 12 or 6... I haven't found an 8 oz can yet, but if you have gold star for you) can of tomato paste 1 tsp garlic powder 1/2 tsp onion powder 1/2 tsp salt *secret ingredient 1/2-1 tsp SUGAR! Depending on your liking Heat the oil, flour and chili powder in the saucepan and cook 1-2 mins. It'll look weird and dark red. That's okay, this IS a red sauce! Reduce heat or turn off the heat while doing your next step- dissolve the tomato paste in the two cups water as much as you can. Add this mixture and the rest of the ingredients on low heat and simmer for 20 mins, stirring it occasionally with a whisk. Because of the flour, it will thicken up quite nicely. AND, in my opinion- the longer you can simmer or even let sit before using, the better tasting it is. This gives the flavors a chance to work their magic and absorb in to this lovely mixture we call Red Sauce. For the Enchiladas: 1 chopped onion 2 tbsp vegetable oil 1 tsp each chili powder, garlic powder & ground cumin 8 oz cream cheese 6 cups chopped cooked chicken (season to your liking) 8 oz sharp shredded cheese 16 corn tortillas (or 10 small flour tortillas) Heat your oven to 350 degrees, spray your large glass baking dish, two if you need. Spoon some sauce in to the bottom of the dish as well for the enchiladas to rest in. In a large saucepan or wok cook the onion (I use Kroger's Recipe Starters pre-chopped onions! I HATE chopping onions) and oil for 5 mins or until translucent. Mix in the spices; chili, garlic and cumin until onions are coated well. Add the cream cheese in small chunks and cook on low until melted. Add your chicken and stir well, then add the shredded cheese. The insides are all done now! Yes, it's THAT easy!Now... this part gets tricky I think because corn tortillas are kind of a pain to work with (which is why some prefer flour tortillas). So you have two options in my humble opinion. #1-Have a skillet of hot oil ready and quickly dip your tortillas in the hot oil before filling with the chicken mixture and rolling up to put in your baking dish. This keeps the tortilla flexible and saturated so it doesn't fall apart when you roll it up. #2-Another trick is to warm them up in the microwave and spray with warm water- although this sometimes results in MUSH or the tortillas ending up falling apart anyway. Personally- I do the water trick because it seems to be less of an extra step and plus I don't really care if they fall apart- they end up covered in sauce and cheese anyway and no one can even tell! Now, if you're using flour tortillas... easy-peasy... you just fill and roll, no problem. Anyway you decide- fill those bad boys up, roll them and tightly fit them next to each other in your baking dish.Now, for the SAUCE... the best part! Now you've got your Enchiladas ready for a bath in that lovely warm red sauce... so go for it. Pour it ALL over the enchiladas making sure to get in the nooks and crannies and the sides of the dish. Cover with as much lovely cheddar cheese as you want and bake for 20-30 mins. Then eat! Seems like a process, and I guess it is- but trust me it gets easier the 2nd and 3rd times and you WILL make it at least that many times more! These are DELISH!