Indian Summer and Southwestern Chicken Tacos

Indian Summer. Okay, I know that it’s technically still summer but since the kids have already gone back to school {my kids haven’t yet, but most have}, that’s what we {I} call it in northern CA when it’s hot in late August and into September and October. I should have seen it coming because it almost always coincides with the first days of school.

Dominic says to me, “You complain when it’s only 70 degrees in summer and you complain when it’s 98 degrees, I thought you’d be happy with this heat.”

I would be happy with this heat if we had a gradual progression to it. But most of the summer our highs here, have only reached into the 70’s. It was beginning to feel a lot like fall. I was looking forward to soups, hot tea, baking, you know, the things we do in the fall. But noooo, our 70 degree weather had to jump straight to 98 degrees yesterday and today was even hotter.

What’s one to do in this heat? Well if you’re me, you blow up the kiddie pool and fill it with cold water. You try not to melt. You try not to become cranky {this one was difficult for me}, and you drink plenty of cold beverages.

Later in the day, I ventured out to see if I could find any signs of life.

This grasshopper wasn't about to move from the water gun floating in the kiddie pool he was perched on.  This photo is not zoomed in.

This little swimmer was found in the kiddie pool.  I have no idea what it is and how it got there.  Is it a fish?  Is it a bug?  Is it a combination of both?  All I know is that it can stay under water for a very long time and it swims like a fish.

At 7 p.m. in the shade, the thermometer read this....

Later, for dinner I wanted to make something simple that I didn’t have to turn on the oven for. I searched the pantry, and since I shop at CostCo and you can only buy corn tortillas in packages of 3000, I wanted to include those in my decision.

I decided on Southwestern Chicken Tacos.

Here's what you need {plus the chicken I forgot to include in the photo}.

Cut chicken up into one inch pieces.  In a skillet or a large pot, combine chicken, taco seasoning, corn, salsa and water.  Bring to a boil then simmer for 5 minutes covered.  Add black beans, rice and bring back to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered for 10 minutes.

I layer spinach on my corn tortilla and then place the chicken/rice mixture on top and then top with cheese.

This was so easy to make!  It only took about 20 minutes on stove top.  And of course you can add any toppings you like, such as avocado, more salsa, sour cream, etc.

Hope you enjoy the recipe! {see below}

I leave you with the beautiful moonrise we viewed from our house after dinner last night.

Southwestern Chicken Tacos

1 lb. of chicken, cut into one inch chunks
1 package of taco seasoning mix
3/4 cup salsa
1 3/4 cups water
1 can of corn
1 cup of brown instant rice
1 can black beans
Shredded Mexican cheese and any other topping you may enjoy.

In a pot or skillet, combine chicken, taco seasoning, salsa, water and corn.  Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to medium and let simmer, covered for 5 minutes.  Stir in the rice and black beans, bring back to boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered for 10 minutes.  Stir and serve with corn or flour tortillas!  Enjoy!

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Healthy BBQ Chicken Enchiladas

When you have a bunch of leftover BBQ chicken like we did (from Western Weekend), what do you do with all the extra chicken?  I can only eat chicken prepared the same way about five times in a row....no more!

So, I pulled the meat off of four halves and cut it up into chunks to make BBQ Chicken Enchiladas.

Which was about one pound of meat.

Saute 1/2 an onion with 2 garlic cloves, salt and pepper.  Then remove from heat.

Mix diced tomatoes, corn, black beans, broccoli and cumin, and chili pepper if desired.

Add the chicken and sauted onions and garlic to the mixture

I used high fiber, whole wheat tortillas.  Spoon the mixture into the tortilla and wrap it up.  Place into a baking dish that you've poured some enchilada sauce into.

After you've wrapped all the enchiladas and placed them seam side down, pour more enchilada sauce on top and sprinkle with your choice of cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees, covered with foil for 35 minutes.

Top with sour cream, salsa or I used a cilantro, garlic, yogurt dip for lower calories.

I loved these enchiladas.  You could really taste the flavor of the BBQ chicken, which gave them a nice twist.  You can also prepare this recipe using ground beef, turkey, chicken or steak strips.

Healthy BBQ Chicken Enchiladas

1 pkg. corn tortillas – or whole wheat tortillas

1 lb bbq chicken or ground turkey or chicken meat, beef, etc.

1 large can of enchilada sauce-green or red

1 bag of Monterey Jack cheese or the cheese of your choice

1 onion, chopped

1 cup diced broccoli or zucchini

Minced garlic to taste

1 can corn

1 can black beans, rinsed

1 can of sliced black olives (optional)

1 can stewed or diced tomatoes, drained

½ teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

Salt and pepper to taste


If you're using ground beef, turkey or chicken, brown the meat with onion and garlic, drain any fat. Add Cumin, chili powder and salt and pepper and stir.

In large bowl, combine meat mixture, black beans, corn, stewed tomatoes & olives together. Pour enough enchilada sauce to cover the bottom of a 9x13 dish. Fill corn tortillas with mixture and place seam side down in dish. Cover with remaining enchilada sauce and sprinkle with cheese.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees. Uncover and bake for an additional 10 minutes until cheese is melted. Serve with salsa, sour cream etc.


Happy Saturday!

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