Smothered Baked Chicken Burritos

Burritos got that much better smothered in a cheesy green chile sauce and loaded with toppings.

Occasionally, I like to make something that is maybe a little more involved and this recipe is that. The shredded chicken for the burritos, I'm sure, could be made ahead before the day you make the actual burritos. But they are also fine for the day of. The chicken is in the crockpot - so set it and forget it. Then you assemble the burritos for baking and prepare the cheese sauce while they bake. It's a lot of ingredients, but not as much work as much as prep.

Buffalo Cheeseburger Tatortot Casserole

A spicy version of a childhood favorite!

Tatortot hotdish was a staple in my childhood and food bloggers have created some amazing variations that I was so happy to collect and try. This one doesn't have any veggies and there is some buffalo sauce and cheddar cheese mixed into it versus the cream of chicken/mushroom and green beans of the traditional version that I'm used to. We all really loved it but it's got buffalo sauce in it, so what's not to love.

Spicy Chicken Salad Wraps

When you want a quick meal with loads of flavor and a kick of heat!

Occasionally, I put wraps on the meal plan and it's often for days I know are going to be super busy. I really liked this recipe because a lot of the flavor comes from the dressing which is one of my all-time favorites: Caesar! We loaded ours up with all the fixings and they were so great. I love the croutons especially so you get a good bit of crunch!

Baked Chicken with Tomatoes, Basils, and Red Chillies

The easiest oven-baked chicken recipe with loads of flavor from fresh tomatoes and basil and spicy red chile peppers!

I love this recipe because it's ridiculously easy to make with few ingredients but it doesn't skimp on flavor. The chicken is tender, the bursting tomatoes are juicy, the peppers add the perfect amount of heat, and the charring on the basil leaves adds so much dimension to the flavor. It really is a great recipe and so so easy. We paired ours with roasted potatoes and steamed broccoli.

Prado's Flatbread Copycat

Check out the Mexicali and Blanca flatbread pizzas inspired by a restaurant in San Diego.

One of my favorite things to do (if you didn't know by now) is to come up with copycat recipes of foods in restaurants or that I've seen on the internet. This particular recipe is from a restaurant in San Diego called (The) Prado. My husband spent 2019 traveling to San Diego for work and he loves it. He actually lived there when he was really young for a few years and so it's a bit nostalgic for him too. One of his favorite foods he ate (outside of all the amazing Mexican food) was the Mexicali flatbread pizza at Prado. He sent me a picture of the menu and I immediately went to the Blanca flatbread pizza with goat cheese and spinach. As I have not had these pizzas and cannot speak to how close the recipes actually are...these are just loose copycat recipes that I made on what little information was given on the menu. Both were crazy delicious.

Crockpot Mississippi Chicken

"The Pot Roast" got turned into one of the best crockpot chicken recipes ever!

So we have had Mississippi Pot Roast more times than I can count. It's everyone's favorite pot roast - there are never leftovers - and it's literally called "The Pot Roast". I was excited to try this chicken version with me needing to eat less red meat. I will say that I had the expectations that this is going to be as good as pot roast because what is better than pot roast?! However, this is a great alternative AND it's a little easier on the wallet and cholesterol. It's slightly different with au jus instead of dry onion soup mix, but still tasty!

Spicy Touchdown Chili

A three meat chili with beans, tomatoes, and a good kick of jalapeno and cayenne will warm you right up!

I thought I would put this spicy chili on the meal plan in hopes it would be spicy because I have some spicelords in the house who have very high spice tolerances and sometimes when things claim to be "spicy", they aren't spicy enough. I will say that this was the perfect amount of heat. You have hot Italian sausage, Rotel, jalapeno, and cayenne in it. My family likes beans in our chili, although I've heard there are people who don't like it. This is such a hearty recipe and it makes a good amount - I want to say we ended up freezing some of ours.

Best Chili Ever

Bacon makes everything better including this chili!

 I like trying new chili recipes and I feel like I often stumble upon a lot of "best ever" "family favorite" "world's best" type recipes and one of these days I need to do a huge chili cook off and find the best best one. I really like this one because of the added flavor the bacon adds and the added smokiness from the ancho chili powder and smoked paprika. Nothing too crazy and out of the ordinary, but a super solid recipe!

Mexican Meatball Soup

If you've ever wanted tacos in soup form with all the toppings, this soup is for you!

In these recipes, I can find the ingredients list a little overwhelming. However, what I like to do for prep is get all the spices measured and mixed together in a bowl. I like to get all my ingredients out and separated by where in the recipe I need them. It makes it so much more efficient when all is said and done to make the recipe when a little bit of preparation is done. I love how packed full of veggies this recipe is and I think the toppings work together with the soup so well too. It's like tacos but in soup form and I love it!

Cheesy Ground Beef Enchilada Chili

This enchilada chili can be made more like a soup or even more like a dip - depending on what you want!

I posted my first pumpkin recipe of the season on Wednesday, but another reason I'm excited for fall is that I get to share soup recipes again. My family eats soup or chili each Wednesday, even throughout the summer, but I try to be a little more seasonal here on the blog. I want good recipes to get the right attention, so it makes more sense to post soup when people want soup! This chili is more soup-like to me, but the original recipe noted to add 1/2 cup each beef and chicken broth to make it thicker or even omit the broths altogether for a dip. It has so much flavor for such a simple recipe.

Copycat Marion's Pizza

This pizza copycat is straight out of Dayton, Ohio - an okay imitation at best - the real thing is too good!

When I had first met my husband, all I heard about was this amazing pizza place in Ohio called Marion's Piazza (and Skyline too). We met in 2004 and it took me until 2016 to actually go to Marion's and have this infamous pizza. In particular, my husband's favorite is the one with Italian sausage and banana peppers. It's a thin crust pizza that's cut into squares. Marion's crust reminded me a lot of the pizza crust at my childhood favorite pizza place, Pizza Ranch. :) I'm still trying to find a good thin crust recipe that tastes like the ones at restaurants and it's driving me bonkers.

Cuban Chicken & Black Bean Quinoa Bowls

Quinoa and black beans topped with spicy, tangy chicken, mango, and fried chili bananas!

I cannot speak to the authenticity of this dish that is dubbed Cuban, but I can speak to how delicious it is. I know that not everyone thinks fruit goes with savory dishes, but I feel like those people haven't tried the right dish. I personally love fruit in savory dishes, but I have to admit that I wasn't sure about bananas in a savory dish because I don't really like bananas a ton. However, my skepticism was met with surprise and I enjoyed every component of this dish: the seasoning on the chicken, the quinoa and black beans, and the bananas and mango. It was amazing! I did make a slight adaptation with subbing lemon juice in for the orange juice because my oldest is allergic to oranges.

Chicken Fajita Pasta

Chicken fajitas turned into a one pot pasta dish with a kick of Rotel added in!

I've made some steak fajita pasta dishes in the past, but I think this may be the first chicken fajita pasta recipe I've made. It's an easy dish to make when you want something a little for Taco Tuesday. Or maybe you want to carbo-load up and need a good pasta dish. Either way, this is a keeper! Super simple and fast.

Eddie's Award Winning Chili

Find the recipe on The Recipe Jackpot

Spicy Pepperoncini Chicken Noodle Soup

This chicken noodle soup will knock your socks off with its little kick from the pepperoncinis!

Since I figured out that I liked chicken noodle soup as long as it is homemade, I've been more willing to try out new recipes. We really enjoy pepperoncinis as a family, so I figured this recipe would be a keeper for sure. We all really enjoyed the heat and the little bit of pickley flavor to chicken noodle soup :)

Taco Burgers

Burgers with green chillies cooked into the beef patties and topped with a creamy taco sauce and avocado!

We've had a lot of burgers with taco toppings lately and have been eating a lot of queso burgers when we go out to eat too. Chili's and Applebee's have good queso burgers. This Taco Burger is fairly simple but has a lot of wonderful flavors that work together so well. The ground beef is mixed with green chillies, taco seasoning, and onions.  There is taco sauce that goes on top and don't forget the avocado!!

Crispy Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas

These pork carnitas are slow cooked in a delectable spice mix and broiled for a slight crispiness!

I really appreciate slow cooker recipes the older my kids get. We seem to always have something going on and I feel it's definitely going to get busier when I finish my degree. This recipe has the slow cooking element and then you have to do just a teensy bit of work when you shred it and throw it onto a sheet pan to broil for a little crispiness. I love love love the poblanos added to the mix too. The spice mix is wonderful!

Mexican Shredded Beef Enchiladas

Homemade enchilada sauce with slow cooked Mexican shredded beef transformed into the best enchiladas ever!

I remember when I first saw this recipe and I thought wow! So few steps! Then I realized it was 3 recipe in one. I had to prepare two other recipes before even starting this one. So this is absolutely a labor of love. Realistically speaking, you could prepare the enchilada sauce a few days in advance. I'm sure you could even do the roast a few days in advance if you wanted, but I did all three in one day because I'm home for most of the day. I think every bit of effort put into this recipe could be tasted - it was definitely the best enchiladas recipes I had ever eaten.

Mississippi Pot Roast Cheesesteaks

Cheesesteaks have never tasted so good!

Mississippi Pot Roast is a recipe that has definitely secured its place in a little viral recipe history. It is everywhere I go and there is absolutely a reason for that: it is THE best pot roast ever. We refer to it as "THE pot roast" now because it's pretty much the only one I make. I saw someone post on reddit that they had turned THE pot roast into cheesesteaks and decided that we definitely had to do that too. It's a wonderful way to enjoy the buttery, spicy roast!

Creamy Spinach & Sausage Pasta

This simple pasta recipe is ready in under 20 minutes and not only does it have spinach and sausage, but a little kick to it too!

I'm always so impressed with the Monday pasta recipes I make. I can't remember the last time I didn't like a recipe that was a Monday dish. If you've caught on to my pattern for meal plans, I go back and forth between red meat and chicken (fairly consistent with it), I have one free day/leftover day, and there are some themes for each day of the week. Mondays are pasta recipes because they are quick. For those interested, Tuesdays are Mexican food, Wednesdays are soup/stew/chili recipes, Thursdays are throwbacks or Asian food, Fridays alternate pizza and burgers, and weekends are recipes that take a little longer to make.

This pasta recipe is simple and has a kick. I can't believe as a kid I refused to eat kielbasa or smoked sausage because it's one of my favorite proteins as an adult. I love it!