Chicken Enchiladas

This is a very healthy version of chicken enchiladas. Most homemade enchiladas call for cans of cream of soup, cans of enchilada sauce and lots of sour cream. This recipe has none of those things!! These enchiladas are bursting with flavor yet it is very easy to change them based on what you love or are not a fan of and parts of it can be made ahead of time and then just combined and baked. It's important to note that bell peppers are not spicy, green chilies are typically very mild and the small about of jalapeno does not have a lot of spice either so if you are making these for kids they are not spicy. My oldest daughter will not eat anything spicy and she had seconds of these! However, if you love spicy by all means load it up with spicier chilies, jalapenos, and chili powder.  Lets get started!

First start with shredded chicken. I baked about 1.15 lbs of chicken and then shredded it.  While the chicken is cooking this is a perfect time to get everything else ready to make the filling and sauce for the enchiladas. Now this recipe may seem overwhelming with tons of ingredients (and it does sort of have a lot) but they are all very cheap ingredients full of flavor! Slice a lime in half, dice 1 green bell pepper, 1 red bell pepper, half an onion, 1 clove of garlic and chop 1/4 cup of fresh cilantro. I also finely diced half of a jalapeno just for the little bit of flavor, make sure you remove all of the seeds because this is where the heat is. You will also need green chilies for these enchiladas but there are lots of options for this. You can either buy canned green chilies or fresh green chilies. I wanted fresh green chilies but my grocery store was out of them so I bought yellow chilies (also called Sante Fe chilies) and these tend to be a little bit spicier than green chilies which are not spicy. I bought 4 chilies, removed the seeds and diced them as well. 



 Ok, we are finally done dicing everything Whew! Heat 1 Tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet and then add half of the green bell pepper, half of the red bell peppers, the onion, garlic and jalapenos. Saute them for about 3-4 minutes. 

Then add in the shredded chicken, half of the chilies, 1/2 cup of chicken broth, and squeeze the fresh lime juice over the chicken. Stir it all together. Season the chicken mixture with 1 teaspoon of each of the following; salt, pepper, cumin, and paprika. Stir it all together and heat over low heat for about 5-10 minutes or so stirring occasionally to let all of the flavors come together.



While the chicken is sitting melt 2 Tablespoons of butter in a sauce pan with 2 Tablespoons of flour (I used whole wheat flour). Stir it together constantly as the butter melts so it turns into a smooth paste. Slowly pour in 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth stirring constantly making sure it turns into a smooth gravy. 







Add in 1/2 cup of plain greek yogurt and the chopped cilantro.  Stir it together so it turns into a creamy sauce. Then add in the rest of the chilies and 2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese. Stir them into the sauce until the cheese melts.



Half a cup of greek yogurt has 130 calories, 11g of fat, 15% of daily calcium requirements and 4g of protein.
Half a cup of sour cream has 240 calories, 24g of fat and 8% of the daily calcium requirement.

Now it is time to assemble the enchiladas. I used 10 white corn tortillas because I think they add a really nice flavor. You can either fry the tortillas to make them softer or just microwave them for about 30 seconds. If you don't like or have corn tortillas you can use whole wheat tortillas. Although, if you use flour tortillas these with technically become burritos (yes the type of tortilla used is pretty much the only difference between enchiladas and burritos). Fill each tortilla with a large spoonful of the chicken mixture, roll up and lay seam side down in a 9 x 13 pan until the pan is full.

Once all of the tortillas are full pour the cheese sauce over the enchiladas. I top the cheese sauce with the remaining red and green bell peppers, this is more to just make it look prettier :) Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes or until the edges just start to brown and the cheese sauce is bubbling. 


 There you have it! A whole pan of super delicious cheesy chicken enchiladas. I also mashed up an avocado and served the enchiladas with that. The creaminess of the avocado can also be used in place of sour cream and they are full of nutrients and vitamins, fiber and monounsaturated fats (which are the healthy kinds of fats).

Cost Break Down!!

I used about 1.15 lbs. of boneless skinless chicken breast that I got for $2.39 a lb so it cost me $2.75. A green bell pepper cost me $0.45 and a red bell pepper cost me $0.50. A whole onion cost $0.52 and I used half so it was $0.26. A clove of garlic costs maybe $0.02. A jalapeno cost me $0.05. The yellow chilies I used were $0.77. 1 lime was $0.20. A bunch of cilantro cost me about $0.49 and I used less than a quarter of it but I'll say it cost about $0.10. 1 tablespoon of olive oil cost me $0.08. A 2.12 oz jar of paprika cost me $1.95 but that's ounces of weight not volume so converting it to teaspoons is quite tricky so I would estimate that the paprika and cumin I used cost maybe $0.20. For the roux I made 2 Tablespoons of butter costs me $0.15 and 2 Tablespoons of whole wheat flour is $0.07. The 2 cups of chicken broth I used cost $1.52. A 24 oz container of greek yogurt cost me $2.50 so 1/2 cup cost $0.40. An 8 oz. block of cheese cost me $1.99 and I shredded maybe 2/3 of it so the amount I used cost me about $1.50. 30 corn tortillas cost me $1.33 and I used 10 which cost me $0.44. 

All together I made a 9 x 13 pan of enchiladas for $9.46!

Sweet and Sour Chicken

This recipe is a healthy variation on a classic take out food. I have never really liked Chinese food but this is one of my all time favorite dinner recipes. In this variation of sweet and sour chicken I do not bread the chicken. It is healthier this way and significantly easier to cook but if it is not sweet and sour chicken to you without breaded chicken you can bread and fry that way as well. 

This is definitely one of those recipes that getting everything out and ready to go before you start cooking will make everything go much smoother! Remember from the carrot top and potato soup post this is called mise en place.



I start by dicing 1 green bell pepper and 1/2 onion. Also clean and cube about 1 - 1 1/2 pounds of chicken and cook. I usually cook it in a nonstick skillet since it is faster than baking it.



While the chicken is cooking start making the sauce. You will need a 20 oz. can of pineapple chunks in 100% juice. Drain the pineapple and save the juice; you will need 2/3 cups of pineapple juice. Add the pineapple to a large skillet with 1 Tablespoon of butter; melt the butter and cook the pineapple for about 3-4 minutes. 


Then add in 1/3 cup of reserved pineapple juice and the diced peppers and onions. Saute for another 3-4 minutes. 

 Add in 1/4 cup of honey, 2 Tablespoons of vinegar, and 2 Tablespoons of soy sauce and stir it all together.

 Mix 2 Tablespoons of cornstarch into the remaining 1/3 cup of pineapple juice and then pour into the pineapple mixture. Add 1 cup of chicken broth. 





Add the chicken into pineapple sauce. Let it simmer for about 15-20 minutes if you like it be more like a sauce or 30 minutes if you want it to be a glaze for the chicken. 

Serve over brown rice and with steamed vegetables for a delicious, healthy "take out" meal from home. 

Cost Break Down!! 

1 Tablespoon of butter costs me $0.08. The 20 oz can of pineapple cost $1. 1 green bell pepper cost $0.45 and 1 onion cost $0.52 so the half I used cost me $0.26. 32 oz. of honey cost me $6.09 so 1/4 cup cost me $0.38. 2 Tablespoons of vinegar cost me $0.05 and 2 Tablespoons of soy sauce cost me $0.18. The 2 Tablespoons of cornstarch cost me $0.13. 1 cup of chicken broth cost me $0.50. I used about 1.25 lbs. of boneless skinless chicken breast that I got for $2.39 a lb so it cost me $2.98. I cooked 1 1/2 cups of brown basmati rice to serve the sweet and sour chicken over; this cost me $1.50.

All together sweet and sour chicken and brown rice for my family of 4 cost me $7.50. Cheaper and healthier than take out!

Whole Wheat Rosemary-Garlic Focaccia Bread

I love bread. I don't think anything makes a house smell better than fresh baked bread. I also enjoy "fancy" bread, the kind you would buy in a bakery something like a nice french baguette. The problem with these breads is that they are expensive and most of them are made with refined white flour. White flour is highly processed and has had the bran removed from the grain. Whole wheat flour is significantly higher in fiber and vitamins than white flour and it also has a lower glycemic index. This index is determined by how fast a food causes your blood sugar to rise after eating it. White flour has a higher GI, this results in a blood sugar spike and than crash after it wears off. Wheat flour has a lower GI so food is absorbed slower which helps prevent the spike and then crash. It also helps make the food you eat more filling; it takes less food to fill you up and it helps keep you feeling full for longer. 

Focaccia is an Italian bread that is flat and oven-baked. It can be eaten by itself, made into a sandwich, or even used as a pizza crust. I served ours with minestrone soup. It is very versatile and can be easily customized to have all sorts of different flavors added in. I decided to go with rosemary and garlic. 

Baking homemade bread can take awhile; it is sadly not a 10 minute process. However, even though it takes several hours to make most of that time the bread is just hanging out and rising while you go about your day. This bread needs to rise twice; one of the times it was rising I ran to grocery store. Just because from start to finish it may take 3 hours it doesn't mean you have to spend that entire time with the bread. I think the entire amount of time I actually spent working with the bread was maybe 20 minutes. It's just important to note the complete length of time the bread takes because if you want to have this with dinner you can't just whip it up as you're making dinner it does require some planning ahead. That being said it is totally worth it! 

Start by dissolving 1 1/2 teaspoons of active dry yeast in 1/4 cup of warm water. The warm part is important (105-115 degrees), it should be warm to the touch but so hot it burns. If the water is too cold it will not activate the yeast; if it is too hot it will kill the yeast. Once it is dissolved add in 1/2 teaspoon of sugar (or honey if you try to stay away from refined sugars). Let it stand for 5 minutes. The yeast will eat the sugar and foam; this is means the yeast is activated yay!

While the yeast is doing its thing lets saute the garlic. Finely mince 2 cloves of garlic, if you are not a fan of garlic you could use onions instead or if you love both use both! You could also skip this step and add in chopped olives instead. It's all up to you and how you want your bread to taste. 





Heat 3 Tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet and then add the garlic to it. Saute the garlic until it is a light and toasty brown, about 3 minutes or so. Once it is done pour the olive oil and the garlic into a separate little bowl. You want to do this because the pan is still hot and will continue to cook the garlic even if you remove it from the stove and it could end up burning your garlic.

Once the yeast has foamed add in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1 1/4 cup of warm water. 

 Place 2 cups of whole wheat flour into a mixing bowl and then pour in the water and yeast mixture. This can be done in a standing mixer with a dough hook or it can be done by hand. Today, I decided to do it by hand quite frankly because I didn't even think about using my mixer until I had already started stirring the dough by hand. You want to stir the dough until it is all mixed together and then slowly add in another 1 - 1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour until it turns into a soft dough. You want it to be soft and pliable without being dry. 

Place the dough on a floured surface and kneed for about 5-6 minutes. Then flatten the dough out and pour the olive oil and garlic onto it along with 1 teaspoon of rosemary. If you wanted to go with olives instead of garlic you would add them here, or you could do garlic and olives. You can also change up the spices as well. If you are making this to use as a pizza crust you could mix in oregano and basil. Chopped sun dried tomatoes and oregano would be really good in this bread as well. Once you have all your extra goodies on the dough kneed it for another minute or so, you want to make sure they get incorporated all throughout the dough. 

Form the dough into a ball and then place in a bowl that has been lightly greased. Turn the dough over once so the top and bottom are both greased. This is to prevent the dough from sticking to anything. Cover the bowl with either a clean towel or plastic wrap and let it rest someone warm away from drafts for about 40 minutes. 

The dough should have doubled in size. Punch it down in the bowl and then place back on the floured surfaced. Cut the dough in half and flatten it out a little bit. And let it sit for about 5 minutes. Place each half of dough onto a greased baking sheet and stretch in out until it is a circle 10 inches across. 


Cover the dough again and let it rise for another 40 minutes. When it is done use about 1 Tablespoon of olive oil to brush the tops of the bread and then sprinkle with another 1 teaspoon of rosemary (or whatever spices you used) and a little bit of salt. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. Once it is done immediately transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Cost Break Down!! 

A 4 oz jar of yeast costs $3.49, There are 13.32 Tablespoons in 4 oz of yeast and 1 1/2 teaspoons is equal to 1/2 a Tablespoon so 1 1/2 teaspoon would cost about $0.13. The half of teaspoon of sugar and half of teaspoon of salt I used together don't even cost a penny. 2 cloves of garlic cost me about $0.04. All together I used 6 Tablespoons of olive oil which costs me $0.48. A 5 lb. of flour cost me $2.99, which is $0.56 a cup, so the 3 1/2 cups I used cost me $1.96. I bought a .62 oz jar of dried rosemary for $1.62. I'm not positive on how to calculate weight of rosemary to teaspoons because I don't own a kitchen scale but I'm going to estimate and say I used a 1/4 of the jar to make it easy although I would bet it was less than that. I would estimate the rosemary cost me $0.40. 

All together I made 2 loaves of whole wheat focaccia bread for $3.00. At a bakery you will pay more than that for just 1 loaf! 

Homemade Gravy

Gravy is so easy to make there is really no reason to buy it in a jar anymore. It can be made in less than 10 minutes with 3 ingredients. If you read the post on how to make Potato and Carrot Top Soup you learned how to make a roux; if not you are about to learn how. If you have cooked meat, like a turkey, and have pan drippings you can use those to get extra flavor in your gravy if not you can just substitute butter. 

Place 2 Tablespoons of butter and 2 Tablespoons of whole wheat flour in a sauce pan. Whisk together as the butter melts. You want to keep the mixture moving so it stays nice and creamy, no lumpy gravy here. This is a roux. Keep the butter and flour moving until it thickens a little. 





Stir in 1 - 1 1/2 cups of broth depending on what kind of gravy you want. For example, I needed beef gravy so I used beef broth. Whisk the flour mixture into the broth as you pour it in. Bring the broth to a boil and simmer for about 5 minutes or until it has thickened whisking almost constantly.

That's it - you have homemade gravy. If you want to add some more flavor to it you can add finely diced onions to the butter and flour while making the roux. You can also add salt, pepper, or herbs, like sage or thyme, to the gravy as it is simmering.

Cost Break Down!!

2 Tablespoons of butter costs me $0.15, 2 Tablespoons of whole wheat flour is $0.07, and 1 1/2 cups of beef broth cost me $.75

All together I made about 1 cup of gravy for $0.97! 

Minestrone Soup

At least once a week if not more I try and make a vegetarian meal for dinner. Meat is expensive so this is one way to help us cut down on costs plus it can be much healthier. I have seen recipes that add ground beef to this Minestrone but I like to keep my just beans and veggies. This is a really healthy soup because it it basically just a big bowl of veggies and beans. You may be thinking that your children will never eat this but trust me the flavor of it is amazing! My oldest daughter is not a fan of beans but you put cheese on anything and she'll eat it. Topping the soup with parmesan cheese is a great option and it makes taste even better! Minestrone is one of my favorite kinds of soup so it makes me very happy that making it is super easy. If you can put stuff in a large pot and let it boil you can make this soup! 

Heat 1/4 cup of olive oil in a large pot. Dice half an onion, 3 stalks of celery, 2 cloves of garlic, and 1/4 cup of fresh parsley and add to the pot. Saute them until they are tender, about 3-4 minutes. 





 Peel and slice 3 carrots and add them to the pot. Add in 5 cups of beef broth (if you want to keep it completely vegetarian use vegetable broth instead), 1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes, 15 oz tomato sauce, and 2 teaspoons dried basil. You can also season it with a little salt and pepper if you like. Bring to boil then reduce the heat to low and cover. You want it to be simmering for 1 hour.

Slice 2 zucchinis length wise and then into slices so they are half circles; add them to the pot after it has simmered for an hour. Also stir in 1 can of kidney beans, 1 can of garbanzo beans (rinse both of them first) and 1 cup of uncooked ditalini pasta. I have not been able to find whole wheat ditalini so if you really want to use whole wheat pasta you can use whole wheat spaghetti that is cut into 3 inch pieces. Cover the pot again and simmer for another 15-20 minutes or until the pasta is cooked. 

If you like you can top the soup with parmesan cheese. And there you have it - hearty, warm, delicious minestrone soup!

Cost Break Down!!

1/4 cup of olive oil cost me $0.32. 1 onion cost $0.41 so half an onion is $0.20. A bag of celery was $1.29 and 3 stalks was about half so $0.65. A garlic head is $0.25 so 2 cloves is about $0.04. My husband and I grow our own parsley so I'm not even sure how much parsley costs but I think it's pretty cheap, especially only a 1/4 cup. A 1 lb bag of carrots was $0.40 and I used about half so it was $0.20. The can of diced tomatoes cost me $1.00, the tomato sauce was also $1.00, and the beef broth cost me $2.50. The 2 zucchini cost me $0.87. The kidney beans cost $0.69 and the garbanzo beans were $0.95. The entire box of pasta cost me $0.99 so 1 cup was about 1/4 of the box so it cost $0.25.

All together the soup cost me $8.67 and it made a huge pot of soup! It made about 14-15 cups of soup. It was enough to feed my family of 4 dinner and lunch the next day (and my husband had 3 bowls for dinner) for less than $10!