Chili Con Queso

Football season is here!  I am not a huge football fan but I do enjoy a good football party.  Here is a great recipe to take to your next party or pot luck!  It is a crowd pleaser!  My husband recently took it to a work lunch!  We got it all ready, put it in the slow-cooker and he plugged it in at work.  So, I didn't get a good picture of it when the cheese had melted.  This picture is from my husband's cell phone so it is not the best quality.

I just noticed I had posted this recipe before with less meat and spice.  I think this version could easliy be used as a main course with chips.  The other one can be found here as a side dish Chili Con Queso (EF, GF).  Also, the version used as a side is gluten-free.  It just uses a gluten-free taco seasoning packet and not the chili packet.  It is very hard to find a chili seasoning packet without gluten.

Chili Con Queso

2 lb ground beef

1 taco seasoning packet

1 chili seasoning packet

2 lb Velveeta cheese, cubed

2 cans tomatoes with green chilies

Brown ground beef in a skillet until no longer pink and crumbly.  Drain.  Place cooked beef in the bottom of a slow-cooker.  Top with taco and chili seasoning, Velveeta and tomatoes.  Cook on high for about 4 hours, stirring every hour, or until cheese is all melted.  For best results, turn your slow-cooker to warm while serving.  Serve warm with tortilla chips.

Mexican-Style Roast Chicken {Slow-cooker}

I combined flavors from two of my favorite chicken recipes, to season this whole chicken.  I was very happy with the results.  Plus, my house smelled AMAZING as it was cooking.  You can serve this shredded for tacos or sliced with some Spanish rice and beans.  Enjoy!

If you like this recipe, you may also like Shredded Chicken {Slow-cooker} (EF, DF, GF) and Shredded Chicken Tacos (EF, DF, GF).

Mexican-Style Roast Chicken {Slow-cooker}

1 whole chicken

2 t salt

1 t black pepper

2 t garlic powder

1 t onion powder

1 T cumin powder

1 T chili powder

¼ t cayenne pepper

In a small bowl, mix all spices together and set aside.  Roll about four foil balls and place in bottom of slow cooker.  Rinse chicken and drain.  Place chicken over foil in slow cooker.  Rub seasoning all over top and under the skin of the chicken.  Cover and cook on low for about 8 hours.

Smothered Burritos and/or Enchiladas

Who doesn't like their Mexican food smothered in a delicious sauce.  I make various kinds of smothered Mexican goodness!  These meals are some of my favorites to make for a friend in need of a dinner, especially if I know they are a fan of Mexican food.  I give them the following choices:

• Corn or Flour Tortilla
• Shredded Chicken, Shredded Beef, or Ground Beef
• Red Sauce, Green Sauce or Queso (aka Cheese Sauce)

My favorite combinations are as follows:

•  Flour Tortilla, Shredded Beef with Red Sauce, as published in Smothered Shredded Beef Burittos.
• Flour Tortilla, Ground Beef with Queso using my recipe for Taco Meat, as pictured below.
• Corn Tortilla, Shredded Chicken with Green Sauce, as published in Easy Chicken Enchiladas. I recommend only using the green sauce on the corn tortillas.  I think most green sauces make the flour tortillas kind of squishy, probably due to the lower fat content in the sauce. 

Queso Smothered Burritos are ready to deliver to a friend.

In case you are wondering about my calling them burritos or enchiladas...  Burritos use a flour tortilla and enchiladas use a corn tortilla. 

 

Baked Chicken Taquitos

Taquitos are not health food.  A traditional taquito is made of shredded meat, wrapped in a corn tortilla and then fried to crispy perfection.  I really avoid frying anything at home.  I figure if we are going to indulge in fried food, we will go out to eat.  We really only eat out once a week and try to keep things somewhat healthy or at least healthier at home.

I have been wanting to try a baked chicken taquito.  When I was making this Mexican Chicken Casserole (EF, GF) last month, I kept thinking this chicken mixture would make a great taquito filling.  So, after some changes, I adapted it as such.  I also used flour tortillas as they roll easier.  You generally have heat the corn tortillas in oil to get them to roll without cracking or breaking.  These still aren't super healthy, but they are much better for you than what you would eat out and they would make a great party food to share!!  How about a Cinco De Mayo party?!

Baked Chicken Taquitos

Filling inspired by MexicanChicken Casserole Cooking Light DECEMBER 1998

1 pound cooked chicken, shredded

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

2 cloves fresh garlic, minced

2 (4.5-ounce) cans whole green chilies, diced

1 cup evaporated skim milk

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1/4 cup (2 ounces) tub-style light cream cheese

1 (10-ounce) can enchilada sauce

20-30 fajita size flour tortillas*

Preheat oven to 425° and line a cookie sheet with foil.  Spray foil with cooking spray and set aside.  Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté until soft.  Stir in garlic and green chilies.  Add milk, Monterrey Jack, cream cheese, and enchilada sauce; stir well. Stir in shredded chicken.  Cook on medium-high heat or until boiling.  Cook down some of the liquid for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.  Place 2-3 tablespoons of filling in each tortilla. Roll the tortilla closed and place seam side down on prepared pan. Spray tops of taquitos with cooking spray. Bake the taquitos for about 15 minutes or until edges are golden brown.  Serve with guacamole, salsa and/or sour cream.

*I made 20 of these but towards the end they were getting kind of fat because I saw I had too much filling left.  I even had some leftover.  Next time, I plan to make 30.  I liked the ones rolled a little tighter best.

Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup

I have a great recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup that is a little time consuming.  To cut back on the preparation time, I started looking for a version that uses a rotisserie chicken or precooked cooked chicken from my freezer, like the recipe for Shredded Chicken {slow-cooker} found on my blog.  I found this recipe for Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup online and was pleasantly surprised by the result.  Delicious!! 

I made it pretty much the same as written.  I reduced the vegetable oil to just one tablespoon and cooked the onion in the oil first, until translucent, prior to adding any other ingredients.  I also used reduced fat cream cheese.

If you like this recipe, please try Taco Soup (EF, GF) or Chicken Taco Chili {Slow-cooker}.

Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup - Click the link for the recipe.

Gluten-free notes:  This recipe could easily be made gluten-free.  Check the ingredients on the corn tortillas and chicken stock/broth to make sure they are gluten-free.  Rotisserie chickens could be tricky for a gluten allergy, so use my recipe for Shredded Chicken {slow-cooker}.

Chicken Taco Chili {Slow-cooker}

I made Chicken Taco Chili this week.  It was pretty easy and the kids really liked it.  I think it will be a new family favorite that I will definitely be making again.  It is also really allergy-friendly.  The chili by itself is egg-free, dairy-free and gluten-free.  Our meal was just egg-free, as we topped or chili with cheese and served it with cornbread.  Enjoy!

Chicken Taco Chili - I pretty much made this recipe as directed on this blog so I will just link to it.  I did omit the bell pepper and cilantro.  I don't care for bell pepper and I just didn't have any fresh cilantro on hand.  I also cooked mine a little longer.  Using raw chicken, makes me a nervous so I wanted to make sure it was cooked all the way.

Chili Con Queso

Just this week, I have made this queso for two separate Christmas parties and I forgot to take a picture both times.  I decided to share anyway because it is so easy and real crowd pleaser.  If you need something for your next holiday party, try it!

I don't necessarily try to promote brand name products with my recipes, but I am going to make brand suggestions for this recipe to help my gluten-free readers.  According to my research, the products listed are supposed to be gluten-free.  Please notify me if you know otherwise.  Enjoy!

I like to cook my chili con queso in the slow-cooker.  That is especially convenient when you are getting ready for a party.  I have even put all the ingredients in the slow-cooker before work, turned it on when I arrived and it was ready just in time for a work luncheon.  You can also cook on the stove top for considerably less time, if you are in a hurry.

Chili Con Queso

1 lb ground beef

1 Old El Paso taco seasoning packet

2 lb Velveeta cheese, cubed

2 cans Rotel diced tomatoes and greenchilies

Brown ground beef in a skillet until no longer pink and crumbly.  Drain.  Place cooked beef in the bottom of a slow-cooker.  Top with taco seasoning, Velveeta and Rotel tomatoes.  Cook on high for about 4 hours, stirring every hour, or until cheese is all melted.  For best results, turn your slow-cooker to warm while serving.  Serve warm with tortilla chips.

Slow-Cooker Chili

I have been making this White Chili for years but I was still wanting a good recipe for Red Chili.  I search all over the internet but didn't find exactly what I was looking for.  So, I kind of came up with my own recipe.  It is most closely inspired by Spicy Slow Cooked Chili on allrecipes.com.   It turned out great!  The recipe below is a little spicy.  If you don't care for spicy food, take out the cayenne pepper and slowly add it in ¼ teaspoon at a time until you have reached your desired level of spiciness.  We had this for dinner the first night topped with cheese and served with Cornbread.  The second night, we made chili dogs.  

[Recipe updated 10/02/2016 to make it a little more kid-friendly.]

   

Slow-Cooker Chili

Inspired by Spicy Slow-CookedChili at allrecipes.com

1 lb ground beef

½ large yellow onion, chopped

1 can chili beans*, undrained
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies, drained

2 8 oz can tomato sauce

4 cloves garlic, minced

3 T chili powder

1 t cayenne pepper (optional)

½ t salt

½ t ground black pepper

In a skillet, brown ground beef and onion until beef is no longer pink and onion is tender.  Drain.  In slow-cooker, combine ground beef, onion, beans, tomatoes with green chilies, tomato sauce, garlic, chili powder, cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours. 

Serves 6

*Make sure the chili beans you use are dairy-free and gluten-free.  Bush's brand are both gluten-free and dairy-free.  I am not trying to promote this brand.  I just know they are allergy friendly. 

We made chili dogs(EF) with our leftover chili.