Chicken Enchiladas

The chicken enchiladas I made last week were delicious! However, my husband is not a fan of sour cream. I personally love sour cream, and knew that he would enjoy the dish as long as he didn't know beforehand that it had any in it. ;) I had planned to make them for dinner when he was on day shift, so that he wouldn't be home when I was cooking. Well, to my surprise he came home extra early. It became a bit tricky, especially since he walked into the kitchen to chat right after I pulled the tub of sour cream out of the fridge! Luckily, I am super sneaky and managed to pull it off. After dinner, I did admit what the sauce was made from (and even disclosed how he almost caught me!) and while he quickly said "I still don't like sour cream," he did say that they were good. So, this recipe is a keeper.

Ingredients:
10 tortillas (corn or flour) 
3 chicken breasts, shredded
2 cups chicken broth (I just use the broth made from the water I boil the chicken in)
1 cup sour cream
3 TBS all-purpose flour
3 TBS butter
2 cups shredded cheese (Tex-Mex blend or Monterrey Jack)
4 oz can diced green chillies (I actually used rotel, instead)

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees
-Mix 1 cup cheese with shredded chicken
-Fill tortillas with chicken/cheese mixture and place in greased casserole dish (9x13)
-Melt butter in a saucepan, stir flour into butter and whisk for about a minute, add broth. Cook until mixture gets thicker and starts to bubble up.
-Take off heat and  mix in sour cream and chillies (making sure the sour cream doesn't curdle)
-Pour mixture over rolled tortillas
-Top with remaining shredded cheese
-Bake in oven for 20-23 minutes, then broil for 2-3 minutes to brown cheese

These really were easy to make and tasted great-- they were even better the next day!

I hope you enjoy!
xox Amber

Meal Plan Aug 25th - 31st, 2013

Lots of yummy dinners planned for this week!

Meal Plan for August 25th - 31st, 2013

Sunday- Pizza Balls (will include recipe later)
Monday- Red Beans and Rice with Smoked Sausage
Tuesday- Smoked Pork Chops, roasted red potatoes, lima beans
Wednesday- Crockpot Cool Ranch Chicken, rice, veggies
Thursday- Leftovers
Friday- 15-bean soup with ham
Saturday- open (eat out, meatball subs, hot dogs, breakfast..)

What is your family having for dinners this week?

xox Amber

Meal plan: August 18th - 24th, 2013

Good morning, everyone! Yea, I know. I haven't written a post in over a month and instead of an explanation, I just decide to share this week's meal plan?! Haha. I have been meaning to write, but everytime I sit down to do so, I get busy with other things. It's not a good excuse, but it's what I got. My summer work schedule is much different than it is during the school year, James and I went on a mini vacation to San Antonio (I will share pictures soon!), and I have been busy with my Paparazzi business. Plus, I have been spending 2+ hours at the dog park every night with my new neighbor friends and our pups. :) But school is about to start back up, and my routine will be somewhat back to "normal."

Well, I'll just get right to it. Here's what is on the menu at the Biddinger home for this week!

Sunday: Chicken Enchiladas (I recently got this recipe from a friend who RAVED about them. I will share the recipe after I try it myself!)

Monday: Leftovers (James switches to nights, and I work from 7:15am-4:30pm. We probably won't even see each other this day)

Tuesday: Sloppy Joes 

Wednesday: Rice with ground sausage & cheese casserole

Thursday: Chili Cheese Dogs

Friday: Subway (I work all day and have a vendor event early Saturday morning. I figured I'd give myself a break from the kitchen and enjoy some nice sandwiches loaded with veggies. :) )

Saturday: Not sure. I don't know when we will be getting home from the event in Galveston. (James is going with me!) I have some soup in the freezer we could thaw out. We'll just play this day by ear. 

We recently received a $100 Visa giftcard from rent.com for putting them down as a referral when we moved into our apartment. It was going to expire in October, so I decided to go ahead and use it so I didn't forget. I ended up only paying $1.06 of my own cash for this week's groceries! Very exciting. :) When making the menu, I was trying to utilize what we already had (hamburger meat, hot dogs, etc) while taking our schedules into consideration. When James is on nights, I try to cook "quieter" meals so I don't wake him. It's what works for us. :) I am excited that he will be joining me at my event. He's never been to one with me, because he is normally working. But he is off and it should be a fun day. The event will benefit the Galveston Food Bank, and each vendor booth will have some sort of activity. I am going to have yarn and macaroni noodles/beads for the kids to make necklaces with at my booth. I can hardly wait!

Well, I better finish this second cup of coffee so I can take the dogs out to play for a bit. I hope everyone's having a wonderful weekend!

xox Amber

Crockpot Chicken & Oven Roasted Cabbage

Last night's dinner was quite tasty. Being the first time I had ever made the chicken or cabbage this way, I decided ahead of time to take pictures as I was preparing dinner-- just in case it was share worthy. And it was! So, I'll get right to it.

I didn't take pictures of how I made the chicken, but it is super easy. I simply heated up some chicken broth and water in the crockpot (I didn't measure-- but it was about half and half) and mixed in a packet of taco seasoning and a ranch packet. I then added 3 thawed chicken breasts and cooked on high for 4 hours.

As for the cabbage; I normally steam it on the stovetop. Last night, I made it in the oven. It took longer this way, but was incredibly flavorful. Here's how you make it:

Take a head of cabbage, and cut it into 4 wedges (you could cut it into smaller wedges if needed). Rinse/wash it, careful to keep the wedges together.

Next, place one wedge on an individual piece of aluminum foil. Drizzle a little oil (again, I didn't measure. I used vegetable oil, but you can use olive or any other type of oil you prefer) and add salt and pepper.

Wrap the wedge in bacon. I used smoky maple flavored bacon, but any kind will do. I used 3 pieces for each wedge.

Lastly, wrap the wedge in aluminum foil. Repeat the process for the remaining wedges, wrapping each in their own piece of foil. Place wedges on a cookie sheet and bake on 425 for 30-40 minutes (I believe I took mine out after 35).

I should have taken a final picture, but everything smelled so good, and we were so hungry, that we scarfed it down before I had a chance. In an attempt to sneak some more fruit into my husband's diet, I served the chicken and cabbage with a side of mixed fruit. ;) 

What is your favorite way to cook cabbage?

xox Amber

Settled In and Back to Normal

Good morning! A lot has been going on since my last post. We are finally moved into our new apartment.. which I absolutely love! Boxes are finally unpacked and it is feeling more like home every day. The dogs couldn't be happier with the dog park practically right outside our front door. Overall, really happy with our move. :)

I have been staying busy with the move, vendor events, nannying, and freelance writing. I have met some really awesome people at these past couple vendor events, but I must say it is way too HOT here in Texas to be outside all day. I am already looking forward to holiday events! Although I must admit, the profits do make up for the heat-induced migraines. ;)

Speaking of heat.. my car overheated on the way home Monday. Luckily, James took care of it after his long work day for me. Here's to hoping that doesn't happen again!

This is going to be short. I am going to take the dogs to the dog park for a bit before heading to work. I love that "going to work" really means playing Monopoly and going swimming for me. What a hard life, right?

Now that we are settled, I will be posting more frequently, meal plans included. I am so happy to be back to my normal routine! 

xox Amber

Papa's Sisters

Hi everyone! I know, I know... I said I would update more frequently. Life has just gotten so busy lately - in a good way! We are still staying with my inlaws, but will be all moved into our new place in a week and a half. By then, my schedule will have slowed down quite a bit and I will have more time to post. I have gained a couple new freelance writing clients and have several vendor events booked for June for Five to Accessorize. I am so excited! 

For those of you who don't know, my sister and I have always talked about going into business together. Since we now live so far away from each other, it's been quite difficult to accomplish that goal. When I started my Paparazzi Accessories business, I quickly saw that this would be perfect for us to do together! Since our inventory is constantly changing, we have created a facebook group here. Please feel free to request to join! ALL adult items are just $5, and children's items are $1!!

I have been staying busy with the kids I care for and we have gotten to do a lot of fun things lately, including the Nasa Space Center. Once their mom gets out for summer break, I won't have them quite as much and will devote more of my focus onto writing and booking jewelry parties. This summer is looking to be a great one!

James has been working an insane amount of hours lately. He told me he will have over 90 hours logged for this week after his shift tonight. I am so thankful for him-- but will be glad when he finally gets his 3 day break starting tomorrow!

Well, I think that's about it as far as updates go. I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!

 ♥ Amber

Homemade Fabric Softener

Many of you know that I make my own laundry detergent. I also make my own fabric softener (thanks to my sis, Jennifier, who gave me the recipe!). I've been meaning to post this for quite some time now. It is SUPER simple!

Needed:

2 cups of your favorite scented conditioner (I use Sweetpea & Violet)

3 cups of white vinegar

6 cups of hot water

a container to mix and store it in (I use a tea/beverage pitcher, shown above)

You simply mix all of the ingredients together, stirring for about one minute or until all conditioner is dissolved. (Don't shake!) Use 1/4 cup per load and it works great! 

I've never done the math myself, but have heard that this comes out to be about $.08 per load. Not a bad deal!

♥ Amber