Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

These enchiladas are made almost weekly in my home. They are easy, relatively healthy and delicious. The recipe is from the AHA's Low-Salt Cookbook but I've adjusted it to bring back the flavor and fat (although I still wing it with the salt). You can substitute reduced-fat cheese, fat free milk and take the salt out of everything (including the chili powder) and still have a very good meal but, come on, why punish yourself if you don't have to.

Sauce

1 C milk

1/2 C chicken broth

2 Tbs all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 C Monty Jack cheese (Cheddar is also good)

1 tsp lime juice

1 pinch salt or to taste

Enchiladas

8 6-in corn tortillas

2 C cubed, cooked chicken (about 10 oz cooked)

1/4 C thinly sliced green onions (regular onions work too)

1-2 medium garlic clove(s), minced

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp chili powder

1-2 pinches salt or to taste

1/2 C Monty Jack cheese (again, Cheddar is just fine)

2-3 Tbs canned chopped mild green chiles (I use an entire 4 oz can)

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly spray a 13x9x2-inch baking dish with vegetable oil spray. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the milk, broth, flour, pepper and salt. Bring to a simmer over med-high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5-6 minutes, or until the mixture thickens slightly, whisking occasionally.

Whisk in the 1/2 C cheese and lime juice. Remove from the heat. Set aside.

To soften the tortillas, wrap in aluminum foil and warm in the oven for 5-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, stir together the chicken, green onions, garlic, cumin, chili powder and 1-2 pinches of salt.

To assemble, place the tortillas on a flat surface. Spread 1/4 C chicken mixture and 1 Tbs cheese in the center of each. Roll up jelly-roll style and place with the seam side down in the baking dish. Pour the sauce over the enchiladas. Sprinkle (or spoon over) with the chiles.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the filling is warmed through.

Recipe Update

Awhile back I posted a recipe for Very Easy Quesadillas and I wanted to report that kind of by accident last night I figured out how to make them even easier! I had plans of making shredded chicken tacos and kind of just threw a bunch of leftover stuff with 2 (frozen) chicken breasts in the crock pot. I had a green chile salsa, rotel, mexicorn and a tupperwear of leftover diced tomatoes and black beans from a dinner last week. I think there was even a little wild rice in there, not sure. The end result was an even more flavorful mixture for quesadillas that only required me to scoop into tortillas and bake 20 minutes before we ate. I even used cheddar cheese because that's all I had. I have a lot leftover too for tacos or soup or whatever. I am finding more and more these days that I can stretch 4 chicken breasts into at least 2 meals. Enjoy!

Roast Chicken with Two Lemons

This is a staple in our house - always moist, simple, easy and delicious. It's self-basting so no oil or butter is required - it will not stick to the pan. Great for chicken salads and anything that requires cooked chicken without extra flavors interfering. This is a shortened version of the recipe from Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.

Whole Chicken (3-5 lbs), giblets removed

2 Small Lemons

Salt

Pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Pierce the lemons 5 times with a fork. Pat the chicken dry.

3. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper inside and out. I sometimes put s & p inside the skin of the breasts.

4. Stuff the bird with the lemons and close the cavity up with a toothpick to prevent the lemons from falling out (don't do it too tightly or the chicken will burst). Although, honestly sometimes the lemons are just too big so I go with one and a half or I leave the cavity open and hope for the best.

5. Place bird breast side down on roasting pan and roast for 30 minutes. Turn the bird over and cook for another 30 minutes (or leave it - the turning is just for color on the skin of the breasts which is nice for presentation).

6. Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees and roast until the bird is done, about 20 minutes more. Allow for 20-25 minutes of total cooking time for each pound.

The juices from the bird are delicious - I spoon them over pieces of the chicken when serving.

Curried Noodles and Chicken with Coconut Milk

This is the best Asian recipe I have come across since starting my culinary relationship with the cuisine a few months ago. If you like yellow curry dishes, this is for you. It's sweet yet spicy and wonderfully aromatic. It is also sinfully fattening but you could probably use a lower fat coconut milk. Substituting store-bought curry paste will not yield the same delicious results in my experience; the homemade paste is worth the effort. This is slightly altered from the recipe in Basic Asian which calls for tofu, no chicken.

1 piece ginger (3/4 in. section), chopped fine

4 cloves garlic, chopped fine

2 stalks lemongrass

2 tsp sambal oelek

1 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp ground coriander seed

1 tsp ground cumin

Salt

8 oz. thin Chinese egg noodles

1 leek, root end and green parts removed

1/4 lb fresh oyster mushrooms (I don't make

the dish with these since Kyle doesn't eat them

so I don't know how they would effect the flavor

but you could probably use button shrooms no problem)

1 red bell pepper, cut into strips

8 oz. cooked chicken, chopped or shredded

Oil for sauteing

1 2/3 cups canned coconut milk (= 1 can)

2-3 Tbs kecap manis (this is sweetened soy sauce;

heat 2-3 Tbs brown sugar with 2-3 Tbs soy sauce for a few

seconds in microwave to dissolve sugar as substitute)

1. Rinse lemongrass, trim ends, remove outer layer, chop coarsely and process along with ginger and garlic in food processor. Mix this paste with sambal oelek, turmeric, coriander, cumin and a good pinch of salt. You can make this ahead of time same day, cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator.

2. Cook noodles in boiling water for 3-5 min or until cooked through. Drain and rinse under cold water.

3. Slit leek open lengthwise and rinse thoroughly. Cut into 2-in lengths, then into narrow strips. Wipe off mushrooms with paper towels, discard stems and slice caps.

4. Place enough oil in the bottom of a hot pan (at med/med-high) to lightly coat bottom - around 1 tbs. - Saute seasoning paste mixture in pan for 2 minutes. Add leek, bell pepper and mushrooms; saute for 3-4 minutes. Pour in coconut milk and bring to a low boil. Stir in noodles and chicken; heat through. Add kecap manis and salt to taste, then serve.

Feeds 4.

King Ranch Casserole (Kate D)

This is a pretty popular Tex-Mex recipe that my grandmother taught me. Emily loves it, but it could be a tad spicy for other kids.


1 whole chicken, boiled and deboned
about 20 corn tortillas
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 can rotel
1 onion, diced
1-2 pkgs Monterey jack shredded cheese (8oz)

Combine soup and rotel in a bowl.
Cut corn tortillas in half.
Saute onion.

In the casserole dish, spread a thin layer of the soup mixture. The next layer is the tortillas. Dip the tortilla half into the chicken broth (from boiling the chicken, or you can also use store bought broth) for just a second. Layer about 6 halves to cover. Spread half of the onion and chicken. Cover with about a third of the soup mixture. Sprinkle about a third of the cheese. Repeat layer once. The last layer is tortillas, soup, then cheese.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.
Serves 6-8

Enjoy!

Chicken Nuggets

You can probably find this on every website possible and your mothers must have made a rendition of this many times but I put this together with a slight twist the other night and Aidan loved it. Normally, he will only eat chicken nuggets from Swansons or Wendy's. The measurements are estimations.

1/3-1/2 C Flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1 lb chicken breasts, cut into nugget-sized pieces (love those kitchen shears!)

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 Tbs milk

1 1/2 C Japanese Panko breadcrumbs (for crunch and flavor - don't substitute - this is the twist! I know, not that exciting.)

Vegetable oil

Combine flour, salt and pepper in shallow dish. Combine eggs and milk in another shallow dish. Place Panko in yet another. Heat enough vegetable oil to coat the bottom of a fry/saute pan (I use a 12in pan with 2in sides) over medium to med-high heat. Dredge nuggets in flour combo, shaking off excess, then coat with egg combo and finally coat with Panko. Place as many nuggets in pan as possible without touching. Turn when golden on the bottom. Adjust the heat as needed (I was on med-low about halfway through cooking). Transfer to paper towel-lined plate. Salt to taste.

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

This is one of our fav meals. It DOES make a ton of soup, so you might want to plan on sharing some or freezing some (or both!). It looks like a lot of ingredients, but all you really do is dump stuff into a crockpot and let it cook. Also, I often dump 'extra' chicken in to cook it for the week ahead - since it's already been cooked in a "marinade" it tastes GREAT in tacos or enchiladas, etc.

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:
1 lb. boneles, skinless chicken (2-3 lbs. if cooking extra)
1 15 oz. can tomatoes (diced/crushed work best)
1 can Ro-tel tomatoes & chilis
1/2 onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
1.5-2 cups chicken broth (or 1 can)
1-2 cups frozen corn (or 10 oz. frozen pkg)
1 can black beans - rinsed & drained (pinto or kidney beans would also work)
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1-2 TB cilantro
water

Tortilla chips
Optional: cheese, sour cream, taco garnishes


Directions:
1. Dump chicken, tomatoes, ro-tel, veggies and beans into pot.
2. Stir spices into chicken broth until well incorporated, then dump in.
3. Add up to 2 cups water to pot until at least 3/4 way full.
4. Put lid on and cook on low 6-8 hours, or on high around 4 hours.
5. Before serving, remove chicken and shred on a dish, then return to the soup. (If you made extra chicken try to take it out as whole as possible and let it cool while you eat dinner).
6. Top soup with crushed tortilla chips, cheese and other toppings.