Copycat Chicken Enchilada Helper

The weather this month has been incredible and we've been outside soaking it all up, instead of inside cooking or cleaning or mixing it up for the blog. Who wants to do house work when you could be at the park or picking apples or on a long walk or boating on the lake?

I did manage to force myself inside one day last week and try something new. This meal was perfect for us because we generally eat chicken instead of beef and rice instead of pasta with my husbands gluten free diet.

Copycat Chicken Enchilada Helper

1 tablespoon corn starch
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon dried red bell pepper
pinch cayenne



What else you'll need

1 pound diced cooked chicken breast
3 cups (or more) cooked rice
1 cup milk
1/2 can tomato paste
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

I've started making my 'helper' mixes in a new way. I no longer use powdered milk and water because let's face it- most people, especially parents have at least some form of milk in their fridge, but very few have powdered milk in their cupboards. I also cook the meat, rice/pasta first and then whip up the sauce and add it all together instead of cooking everything in the sauce. This stops everything from sticking to the bottom of the pot while it's cooking and also allows you to add as much rice or pasta as you want to stretch out the meal. I find 'helper' recipes tend to be way too heavy on the meat, and they just don't feed enough people!

Combine mix with milk and stir well, adding in tomato paste and stirring until it dissolves. Cook on medium heat in a large pot, adding in chicken and rice and stirring until sauce thickens. Add cheese and stir until it melts.





I added some steamed broccoli on top to balance out the meal. Delicious and almost worth dragging myself away from the sunshine for!

Copycat cheesy beef taco hamburger helper mix

I've been busy experimenting with hamburger helper mixes the past couple months and loved this one because it's gluten free (my husband is sensitive to wheat and has been trying not to eat it lately). Instead of pasta it's made with rice and topped with corn chips.

Copycat cheesy beef taco hamburger helper mix

1 cup rice
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes
2 tablespoons powdered milk
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt



This will be quite salty. I would suggest using 1/2 teaspoon of salt if you don't like salty food.

What else you'll need

1 pound cooked ground beef
3 cups water
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
corn tortilla chips

Combine mix with water in a saucepan and stir well. Add in beef and simmer on medium heat until rice cooks and sauce thickens. Stir in 1 cup of the cheese and stir until it melts.



Top each serving with remaining cheese and a handful of crushed tortilla chips. I served mine with a delicious salad to balance it out.

Mexican Rice Mix

They weren't joking when they said your second child would be nothing like your first. Our second born LOOKS exactly like her sister, and eats like her too. But that's where the similarities end. Our firstborn never slept, had colic and hated being held. Emma sleeps beautifully day and night, hardly ever cries and wants to be held ALL THE TIME.

As you can imagine, I find it hard to find time in the day where I have free arms. I have been using a lot of my well stocked freezer meals. Or ordering take out. And lately my husband has been into making his famous baked chicken legs from his bachelor days. But a woman cannot live on chicken alone, so today I came up with an easy side dish mix to go with it.

Mexican Rice Mix

1 cup uncooked rice
1 teaspoon dried onion flakes
1 teaspoon dried cilantro
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon nutritional yeast
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried garlic flakes
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper flakes

What else you'll need

2 cups water
2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon tomato paste

Combine mix with water, oil and tomato paste in a saucepan and simmer until rice is tender.

This made a delicious side dish for my husband's chicken legs, and our eldest daughter loved it.

This recipe is similar to my Spanish rice mix, but that one is much sweeter and this one is savory and a bit spicier.

Guacamole seasoning mix

It's been a rough week for morning sickness and a busy week for me. It involved throwing a surprise party for my husband's birthday, which included teaching myself to make sushi rolls (which after 3 hours of painstaking work were dumped over by my daughter because I turned my back for 3 minutes) and a secret ultrasound appointment. When my husband opened his birthday gift in front of everyone he found a pair of pink booties inside!

Things are back to normal finally and that means mixing it up!

I've been on a HUGE avocado kick this week. I love to spread them on toast with salt and pepper or put them in my wraps. But the problem with avocados is the window of ripeness is ridiculously short. It seems like they are rock hard for days, good to eat for about half an hour and then all brown and rotting right after that! It's hard to time them, especially when you don't feel like going shopping every day, or if you want to buy one of those bags of them to save money. Which is why a lot of people use them to make... guacamole! It keeps nicely for a few days in the fridge, which greatly extends your window of avocado ripeness.

Guacamole seasoning mix

2 teaspoons dried cilantro
1 teaspoon dried onion flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried garlic flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried chili pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon pepper

What else you'll need

2 ripe avocados
1 diced tomato (I didn't use it simply because I didn't have one and there was no way I was running out in this weather to get one! But it tastes amazing with tomato in it!)
1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice

Mash the avocado with a fork and stir in lemon juice and seasoning and mix well. Add tomato and stir.

Enjoy as a dip with veggies or pitas or as a spread on sandwiches and wraps. I also love to put mine on toast!

Chili Seasoning Mix

We've been trying to buy organic for the dirty dozen lately but it's just IMPOSSIBLE to find organic bell peppers, and I need them to make tasty foods like fajitas, spaghetti sauce and chili.

This summer I grew bell peppers in my garden so I could have some 'organic' ones to cook with and this week a squirrel knocked a semi ripe one loose (those stupid squirrels) and forced me to use it a little early. So I made... Chili!

Chili Seasoning Mix (single use)

2 teaspoons cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon crushed oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
pinch cloves

What else you'll need

1 pound ground beef, browned or vegetarian alternative
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
3 cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 bell pepper, diced

Brown the beef and then throw all ingredients into a stock pot or slow cooker and simmer until peppers are tender.

It was very delicious and my daughter especially loved it. She kept yelling 'It's a chili!' all night.

Mexican Fiesta Dip Mix

It's the long weekend, so I'm sure lots of you will be entertaining company and bring food to parties. This is the second favorite dip tasted at my Mix It Up party during May and would make a good addition to any Canada Day celebration.

Mexican Fiesta Dip Mix (single use)

2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons dried onion flakes
2 teaspoons parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chives
1 teaspoon cumin

What else you'll need

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream

Stir well and let it sit in the fridge for a few hours if you can to let the flavors really blend in. This can be made with either mayo, sour cream or plain yogurt or any combo of them as long as it totals one cup. This means it can be made low fat or fat free.

It's not really spicy but it's got a bit of kick and is good for nachos and other Mexican foods as well as a baked potato topper.

Taco Seasoning Mix

When I worked in Alaska it didn’t matter if I was on a boat or at a shore plant, every Wednesday was taco day. I’ve been thinking a lot about Alaska lately so I decided to make my own taco day.

Taco Seasoning Mix

¼ cup corn starch
3 tablespoons onion powder
2 tablespoons chili powder
4 teaspoons salt
4 teaspoons paprika
4 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons oregano
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon cayenne

Add 3 tablespoons of mix to one pound of ground meat. I mixed mine in advance and let it sit in the fridge for a few hours to let the flavors really infuse.

Fry up the meat, then drain the excess fat. Serve on hard or soft taco shells with your favourite toppings. I used whole wheat tortilla shells with chopped tomato, onion and shredded cheese. They were the best tacos I’ve ever eaten.

Burrito Seasoning Mix

When you’re on a tight budget, burritos make an amazing meal. They are a tasty way to eat beans (which are cheap and high in protein), use up leftovers and feel like you’re eating take out. You can put all sorts of things in them- beans, cheese, tomatoes, onion, chicken, ground beef, avocado….

But they also taste good with just beans, especially if you spice it right…

Burrito Seasoning Mix

¼ cup onion powder
¼ cup garlic powder
1/4 cup chili powder
2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon pepper
1 tablespoon cumin

Use 2 tablespoons of mix for every can of beans.

If you’re only using beans and spices, you’ll need 2 cans of beans to make enough filling. If you plan to add cheese, meat or other toppings one can of beans will do.

My husband refuses to eat beans unless they have been pureed so I used a hand blender to mix them. I find this tastes better anyway and solves the annoying problem of beans flying out of your burrito as you eat them. I added ¼ cup of water when I blended them to make it smooth. I probably could have added more.

You can just buy tortillas, but I make my own burrito dough and then bake them in the oven.

Burrito Dough

2 cups flour
¼ cup butter
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup cold water

Mix flour, salt and butter, then slowly mix in water while kneading the dough until you have the desired texture for rolling out dough.

Divide the dough into 10 balls, and roll each out as flat as you can, stuff with filling and then wrap closed.

I like to brush mine with oil using a pastry brush to make them a bit crispier.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

I used taco sauce for dipping sauce but anything works- salsa, plum sauce, sweet chili sauce.

Fajita Seasoning Mix

Fajitas are something I like to serve to a crowd, so when we have people over I’ll cook a big pan of the filling and lay it out on the table along with the wraps, shredded cheese, salsa, guacamole and whatever else I might have to stuff them with. It makes it easy on me to just let everyone make their own and I can sit back and enjoy our company.

My husband has been begging for fajitas for a while now so I thought I should probably make some tonight.

Fajita Seasoning Mix

1 tablespoon corn starch
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon cumin

Big Batch

6 tablespoons corn starch
4 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
1 ½ teaspoons cayenne
1 ½ teaspoons cumin

What else you’ll need

1 pound boneless chicken breasts cut in strips
Dash of vegetable oil
1 large onion sliced
2 red bell peppers sliced

Toss the chicken strips in about 3 tablespoons of mix and set aside.

Fry onion until tender and then add coated meat.

When chicken is cooked through add the peppers and cook until tender.

Serve with tortillas and your favourite toppings.

Delicious!!!!