Similar to the sour cream sauce I make but a little easier.

What you'll need:
chicken broth
cream cheese
sour cream
2 lemons
2-4 jalapenos (two wasn't hot at all)
garlic powder
I also added salt to taste

With the little pepper cleaning tool, I clean out my jalapenos then made quick work of dicing them. 
Do it like dis!  (That's my new accent)

In a skillet heat over med-low heat a cup of broth and the cream cheese, let it melt and blend together.

When it's pretty well blended, add your peppers
Turn off the heat and let it cool slightly

Then add your sour cream and blend ( I used the whole carton).  
Then add your garlic powder and salt and blend.
The last thing you want to do is add your lemon juice otherwise it can cause it to separate. 

Then you have your enchilada sauce! You can use whatever kind you like.  I used chicken filling. 

Keep this simple!  I used a rotisserie chicken, deboned.
I add about a half a cup of picante sauce, and a cup of cheese.  That's it!  

This looks a little crazy!  Instead of using one big baking dish, like I normally would, I used four small dishes so that I could freeze them and take some to my kids. 
Spray your pan with cooking spray and then add a little bit of sauce to the bottom of each pan. 
fill your tortilla (I used small flour tortillas) and lay seam-side down in pan.

Then cover with sauce and a little bit of cheese. 
Bake at 350 until bubbly (usually about 30 minutes)

I only cooked one of these pans for the two of us and the others I sealed up and froze!  :)  I'm getting better!

Ok.  This is totally cheating.  But it was awesome!!!  

I got this sauce from Williams- Sonoma.  It cost $14.95 
Then I bought a pork roast and cut it up into chunks and browned them in a skillet just to braise the outside 

I threw the meat in the crockpot, poured the jar of sauce over the meat, put the lid on, and let it cook all afternoon!
It was PERFECT!!!!
I could have made the sauce from scratch but this was so cool I had to try it.  I'm in love with their braising sauces too.  

These beans are really good as a side dish.  You can use it to accompany a Tex-mex meal.  But this is also a recipe that stands on it's own.  It's good enough to be a main course!  We've been making this for years and I got my recipe from my big sister.  

The original recipe makes 12 cups of beans which is a huge amount.  I've scaled it down some and it still makes plenty!

Here is what you'll need:
5 slices of bacon cut into chunks
1 large yellow onion
4 cans of pinto beans, undrained.
1 can or bottle of dark Mexican beer (I only had a light beer on hand)
1-2 cups of beef broth
1 can of diced tomatoes
2 jalepenos, seeded and finely chopped
2 tsp of sugar
1/2 cup of chopped, fresh cilantro

And here is what you do:

Cut your bacon into pieces and brown in the stock pot

When the bacon is crispy remove it with a slotted spoon and set aside.

In the bacon grease saute the onion and diced jalapeno.  Cook until it is just tender, you really don't need to brown them.  
Then it's time to add all of the rest of the ingredients (except for the cilantro) 
Add beans, tomatoes, broth, beer, sugar, and bacon. 
Because it's all cooked you just need to let this simmer long enough to let the flavors blend. A few minutes before serving add the chopped cilantro. I don't like to add this too soon or it changes color.  Give you beans a taste and if you think it needs a little something extra you can always add 1 or 2 teaspoons of my secret ingredient:

 But you don't have to!  I made this recipe for years and didn't know about the pinto bean seasoning.  But it's pretty handy stuff!  If you come across it in the store I recommend getting some!  

I hope you all like this.  The beans have an authentic flavor and your guests will think you've worked over a stove for hours. You don't have to tell anyone you used canned beans.  

I have to admit this is one of my favorites.  When I was little I loved the small frozen pot pies.  It wasn't so much about the filling as it was the crust.  And this recipe that I make would be amazing with a homemade crust, but the ready made pie crust reminds me a little of the small pot pies I ate as a kid.  Besides, it's so darn easy!  
I've made chicken pot pies every which way- the ultra quick way: A can, a can, a can, etc..
also semi- homemade:  frozen veggies, rotisserie chicken, canned soup, etc.. but this recipe that I'm about to share requires just enough of a cooking effort that you really feel like it's homemade yet it has a couple of short cuts. 

For the ingredients you will need:

3 cups of cooked chicken (I boiled mine but you can use rotisserie chicken if you like)
Pillsbury All Ready Pie Crust
3/4 stick butter
1-2 T. Olive oil
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk
1 onion, diced
3 celery stalks, diced
1 bag of frozen mixed veggies (I used carrots, green beans, peas, corn)
Approx 2 cups of potatoes (I'm ok with frozen homestyle hashbrowns) but I used 2 potatoes diced and boiled.
Salt
Pepper
Paprika
Thyme
Poultry Seasoning

1 can of cream of chicken soup or chicken broth (depending on whether it needs to be thickened or thinned. It's a judgement call.)

I have all the ingredients ready before I begin because it will move pretty fast once you start.

If it were up to me everything would have sage and paprika in it.  I can find a way to work it into a lot of recipes.

In a skillet, melt your butter and add the olive oil. 
True confession:  I don't really measure my olive oil. I did that thing Rachael Ray does where you do a couple of spins around the pan as you pour. It makes life easier.

Saute the celery and onion.  
I add the spices to the veggies as they cook.
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of pepper
1 tsp of paprika
1 tsp of poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp of thyme (it's also in the poultry seasoning)

After you've sauteed the veggies for 2-3 minutes scoot them to the outside edge of the pan and let the butter and oil seep back towards the middle of the pan then add your flour to the middle of the pan.  Blend that and then go ahead and work it in with the rest of the veggies in the pan.  As you let the roux brown stir with a spoon or whisk. Then when it has slightly changed color you can add the milk and continue whisking to blend. 

Making a roux is magic.  I love it!  You always hope it's going to turn out.  But it's a leap of faith when you start off.  But how pretty is this?  This is a good base for your pot pie!! 

Add your chicken and veggies into the sauce.  If it looks a little too thick you can add some broth to thin it out otherwise add the cream of chicken soup.  I like the fact that it adds more chicken flavor.  
Go ahead and give this a taste.  Adjust the seasonings if you need to.  

I like to use the rolling pin and roll the dough out a little to ensure that it will easily fit the pan with a little hanging over the edge. 
Add your filling and sort of pat it down with your spoon to ensure there are no air bubbles in the mix.

Roll out the top layer of crust and gently center it over the pie.  Then taking the top crust and the bottom crust fold them under together forming a seam at the edge of the pan to seal in the juice.  You can flute the edges if you like.  Cut a few vents in the top of the pie to let steam escape as it cooks.

Some people have fancy schmancy pie shields to protect that edge from burning but I just use foil.  Make a thin strip and then chevron in the middle so that it will fit the round pan.  Cook with this on the pie and remove for about the last 10 minutes of cooking. 
Place in a PRE-HEATED  oven at 350 and bake for an hour or until it's bubbly and the crust is browned.

We're going to pretend that this is a picture of the whole pie and it's a lovely golden color.  We're pretending because I forgot to preheat my oven and stuck the pie in there as it was preheating and it burned the top a little bit.  :(   But it was just a couple of spots.  
Let the pie sit for a few minutes after you take it out of the oven.  And enjoy!  This pie had good reviews last night!  :)  

You have to watch this!  This man is adorable and I'm going to get some "Ov Gloves" this weekend!