Twisted Chicken Salad - Low Carb, Too!

I ended up really stirring things up for my low carb dinner tonight. Some of my best recipes come from throwing together "a little of this and that". That's what happened when I decided that I wasn't in the mood for a "normal" chicken salad. My family was having chicken & cheese enchiladas so a taco salad was the obvious next move....wasn't wanting that either.

On hand I had....
cooked shredded chicken
sour cream
salsa
Monterey Jack cheese
coleslaw mix
lettuce
cucumber
cauliflower

I decided on making a taco salad with a twist - using coleslaw instead of lettuce & sour cream and salsa instead of a salad dressing.

Twisted Chicken Salad
makes 1 -2 servings 

If you are serving 2, you will need
to make an extra cheese crisp bowl.

1 C. shredded cooked chicken
1/4 C. sour cream
1/2 C. salsa
1/2 C shredded Monterey Jack cheese
2 C. coleslaw mix
5 black olives for garnish
1 large cheese crisp bowl* - instructions below

Stir together sour cream and salsa. Stir in chicken, cheese and coleslaw mix. Refrigerate mixture for at least 30 minutes in a container with a tight fitting lid.

While the chicken salad is chilling, make the cheese crisp bowl:

I make my cheese crisps a little differently than a lot of people... I like to use shredded cheese instead of cubed cheese. I also microwave them instead of baking them or cooking them on a stove top. Any way you choose to make them, they are so good!

There are great examples of how to make cheese crisps on Linda's Low Carb Recipes & Menus. She posts instructions, along with many pictures. I have had much success in the past using the microwave to make them.

I doubled the amt. of cheese that Linda uses to make the large crisp in her first picture. I blotted the oils from the cheese using a paper towel after the first minute or so of cooking. It took about 3 minutes to cook this large crisp. Immediately remove the plate from the microwave (use oven mitts!!) and sit on the counter to cool for 30 seconds or until it is still hot but you can handle it. Once you can pick up the crisp, fold the sides of the crisp to create a "dish".

Fill the cheese dish half full of the chicken salad. Garnish with sliced olives.

Delicious!

Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas

My family loved tonight's dinner from Campbell's - Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas. - other than the fact that I nearly burned them down with flaming hot picante sauce. I searched all over the bottle for the word "hot" but I didn't see it written anywhere....I assumed that it wouldn't be that hot. (and what is it that they say about assuming???) This didn't stop them from asking me to make it again --- just to cool it down.

I doubled the recipe to make 12 enchiladas. It's such an easy recipe that went together really quickly. Once assembled, all you have to do is pop it into the oven and put the rice (the side dish) on to cook.

Can you say MMmmm MMmmm Good!

Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas
from Campbell's

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup  (Regular or 98% Fat Free)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup Pace® Picante Sauce - I bought another brand but the next time I will buy Pace!
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese  (about 2 ounces)
6 flour tortillas (6-inch), warmed
1 small tomato, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1 green onion, sliced (about 2 tablespoons)

Heat the oven to 350°F. Stir the soup, sour cream, picante sauce and chili powder in a medium bowl.

Stir 1 cup soup mixture, chicken and cheese in a large bowl.

Divide the chicken mixture among the tortillas. Roll up the tortillas and place seam-side up (I put them seam side down and it worked out much better. Be sure to spray your pan with non-stick cooking spray.) in a 2-quart shallow baking dish.

Pour the remaining soup mixture over the filled tortillas. Cover the baking dish.

 Bake for 40 minutes or until the enchiladas are hot and bubbling.  

Top with the tomato and onion. I didn't do this extra step. Instead, I sprinkled on about 3 oz more of Monterey Jack cheese on top of the enchiladas. The next time that I make this dish, I will stick it back under the broiler to melt the cheese topping and to crisp it up a bit.

 Serve the enchiladas over cooked rice.

Vegetable Beef Soup with Cheese Crisps - Low Carb, Too!

I cooked a big beef roast in my crockpot last week. The leftovers from that roast went into Monday's soup.

I changed the ingredients from my family's soup so that I could eat it without loading up on too many carbs. This soup turned out to be some of the best soup that I've ever eaten. 

This is certainly not just a low carb dish. Just double or triple this recipe to feed a family. 

Low Carb Vegetable Beef Soup
makes 2 hearty servings

2 C. beef broth
1/3 C shredded, cooked beef roast
1 small zucchini, peeled and cut into small cubes
1 turnip, peeled and cut into small cubes
1/4 C. cooked carrots ( I used leftovers)
1 - 1 1/2 C. coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage)
1 pinch each of: lemon-pepper seasoning, basil,
garlic powder & red pepper flakes

Pour beef broth into a med-sized pot. Turn heat to high to heat up the broth. Turn the heat down to medium.

Add the remaining ingredients. Cook the soup until the turnips and zucchini are tender - about 10 minutes.

While the soup is cooking, make the cheese crisps: 

Cheese Crisps

I make my cheese crisps a little differently than a lot of people... I like to use shredded cheese instead of cubed cheese. I also microwave them instead of baking them or cooking them on a stove top. Any way you choose to make them, they are so good!

There are great examples of how to make cheese crisps on Linda's Low Carb Recipes & Menus. She posts instructions, along with many pictures. I have had much success in the past using the microwave to make them.

Menu Plan

Somehow I've lost my mojo when it comes to being creative in the kitchen and blogging about it. I took last week of to spend with my kids while they were on spring break. I thought that it might inspire me.....  I haven't been bitten by the inspiration bug just yet. I'm working on getting it back!

I made it a point to plan simple meals this week.
I'm still trying new a couple of new recipes. :)

Our Family Menu

M - beefy vegetable soup (made with leftover beef roast from last week)

T - Campbell's chicken & cheese enchiladas

W -crockpot bbq roast beef sandwiches & pasta salad

H - Mexican tortilla pizzas* & salad - new recipe

F - blueberry pancakes, scrambled eggs & turkey bacon

A - stuffed pepper soup* (if I can find a deal on green peppers - if not, plan on chili)


I'm back to strictly low carbing again. I was really off last week.

My Low Carb Menu

M - beefy vegetable soup with cheese crisps

T - chicken salad

W - roast beef  roll ups & mashed "faux"tatoes

H - Mexican pizza crisps* & salad - new recipe

F - omelet & turkey bacon

S - sloppy joe stuffed pepper ( could change depending on family meal)


I hope that you are having a great week!

For more menu ideas, check out Menu Plan Monday.

Cookie Carnival - March Round Up!

Welcome!

Check out all of these wonderful versions of Hershey's Walnut Mint Bars from our creative Cookie Carnival blogger friends:

Carol @ No Reason Needed says "I was never a fan of walnuts in baked items but these bars were wonderful - maybe even more so because of the walnuts!"

Tiffiny @ The Bake-Off Flunkie took a chance on baking this recipe with no altitude adjustments and ended up very happy with the results!

Amanda @ Amanda's Cookin switched out the walnuts & mint for almonds in her almond cheesecake bars!

Tessa @ The Cookin' Chemist also left the nuts out of her bars, calling them mint cream cheese bars!

Michelle @ Something New is Cooking celebrated her 200th post with the Cookie Carnival!

Tami @ Tami's Kitchen Table Talk  switched out the walnuts for pecans in her pecan mint bars!

Carrie @ Carrie's Sweet Life says that she was not a mint fan...until lately. She said that she loved these mint bars!

This was a great round-up, everyone!

I look forward to seeing everyone at the end of April!

If you'd like to join in on the fun at the Cookie Carnival, here's what you need to do! 

Happy Baking,
Tami