Chicken Enchiladas

  

Ok so I know that I said that I would be M.I.A. *but* I was flipping through my pictures on my camera and I found one that I liked of the chicken enchiladas that I made for my grandparents on my last visit. On a side note, I made them my AWESOME SAUCE blueberry pancakes (ever so handily featured on this blog as well), and they loved them!

My friend Brittany first made these for me and they completely blew me away. Not only are they easy, but you can claim that they are legit since the guy who gave her the recipe is her dad's friend and is from Mexico. That makes them legit in my book at least.

I've made these loads of times for my family since they are stupid easy to make and have quickly become a favorite in our house. I've slightly modified the original recipe by baking the chicken breasts instead of boiling them. This makes them more flavorful (I think), and you can also bake them ahead of time if you're going to be in a rush or just plain tired when you get home from work.

These are a must-make. Go ahead and add them to your dinner planning list for the week and save yourself the time and trouble of thinking about it. They are YUMMY!

Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 bar cream cheese, ~8oz.
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 package shredded Monterrey jack cheese (or one brick, shredded)
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 10oz. can Old El Paso mild green chile enchilada sauce
• 1 package yellow corn tortillas

Sprinkle salt and pepper over and then bake chicken breasts at 350 degrees F for 30min or until done but still moist (no pink centers!).

Once chicken breasts have cooled, take two forks and shred into pieces. Dump shredded chicken in a large pan. On a low heat setting, put chunks of the entire bar of cream cheese into the pan with the chicken. You want to keep it on a low heat setting so that it will mix with the chicken, but not cook the chicken more or melt the cream cheese into a sauce. Mix the shredded chicken and cream cheese until everything is thoroughly coated (it'll be chunky).

Wrap several corn tortillas (about 5-6 at a time) in a wet paper towel. Warm up the corn tortillas in a microwave, ~20 seconds. Spoon shredded chicken and cream cheese mixture into tortillas, roll up, and place in a glass 9x13 dish.

With the amount of shredded chicken, you can usually get between 12-13 enchiladas.

Pour cream of chicken soup over enchiladas. Make sure that it's evenly spread over them. Pour green enchilada sauce over next. Sprinkle shredded cheese last. I use the entire bag.

Cover with foil and cook at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes. Uncover and cook for an additional 15 minutes or until cheese is slightly browned and bubbly.

Serve with a salad. Enjoy!

I'm Alive!!! Ahhhhh!!!

I've fallen off the face of the blogosphere but I *am* alive. I've done a lot of cooking but nothing new to post on the blog and the recipes that were new that I've made were very unappealing and unappetizing to look at.

However, all that aside, my mom is having a birthday party soon and as a special treat, I'm putting together a really nice brunch. I'm trying out a couple of new recipes and I know that they'll make killer blog posts so I'LL BE BACK SOON IN CAPS.....just nothing until then probably.

Brunch is on October 16th, see y'all then or soon after!

Happy eating!

<3

P.S. Part of the reason why I've been M.I.A. is below. His name is Henry and he's tiny and adorable and awesome!

 

 

Brussel Sprouts

I left my camera at home -- better pic coming later!

I feel like I've been posting about comfort food a lot lately but there are just so many yummy things that remind me of my mom or dad and give me the warm and fuzzies. This recipe is one that my mom found a couple of years ago because my dad LOVES brussel sprouts and she wanted to make something nice for him.

Just to divert for a second....

I brought a large tupperware container full of my brussel sprout leftovers to share at work (and later drop off at my parents' house) because the recipe makes a ton and it's all too much for just one person. That being said, a lot of people at lunch were reluctant to try them just because they were brussel sprouts! The conversations each went the same:

Me: "Oh my gosh you have to help me eat these there are so many! I'm not one to eat my greenies and I really love these so I think you'll like them."

Person: "Oh I don't like brussel sprouts."

Me: "Have you ever actually HAD brussel sprouts....?"

Person: "Umm...no..."

I guess I'm just lucky that my first real experience with brussel sprouts was when I was older, more open to actually TRYING them, and they are really really good.

Speaking of good, what makes these so tasty I think is the slight sweetness that comes from the golden raisins. It balances out the salty goodness of the pancetta and everything comes together so well in your mouth. These remind me of my dad, but they also make me think of my mom and her thoughtfulness that one holiday. I request these over and over again. :)

Brussel Sprouts Lardons

• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 6 oz. Italian pancetta or bacon, cut in 1/4-inch dice
• 1 1/2 Lbs. Brussel Sprouts (2 containers), trimmed and cut in half
• 3/4 Tsp. kosher salt
• 3/4 Tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 Cup golden raisins
• 1 3/4 Cup chicken stock

Heat the olive oil in a large (12-inch) saute pan and add the pancetta. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the fat is rendered and the pancetta is golden brown and crisp, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the pancetta to a plate lined with a paper towel.

Add the Brussels sprouts, salt, and pepper to the fat in the pan and saute over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until lightly browned. Add the raisins and chicken stock. Lower the heat and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the sprouts are tender when pierced with a knife, about 15 minutes. If the skillet becomes too dry, add a little chicken stock or water. Return the pancetta to the pan, heat through, season to taste, and serve.

* Recipe adapted from Ina Garten

Happy eating! :)

Deconstructed Lasagna

I need to buy a lottery ticket or something because lately, I've been pretty darn lucky. Last week, I got to see my bestie Erin three times within a four day period....this is UNHEARD OF with our busy schedules. Not to mention that neither she nor I are phone talkers so we do most of our communicating through email and her sweet husby Ryan (whom I work with and also happen to adore and have a killer friendship with).

Erin and Ryan had me over to their house for one last dinner and hurrah before they move into their first home this upcoming weekend (it's the cutest house EVER and has personality and pizzaz just like them!!!). Since I've known Erin (going on 8 years now WOW!), she's really branched out and explored in her cooking but like me, we both gravitate towards clean, simple flavors. This was a Martha Stewart recipe she found (I can't remember where!) and it really is sensational. Traditional lasagna is typically heavy, calorically damaging, and takes hours to prepare. This was light, full of flavor, and as you can see by the picture above, looks just as good as it tastes. 

Erin did most of the prep work before I arrived and I had the pleasure of sitting at her table (when I wasn't getting in her way to take pictures) and drank wine while she bustled around and finished things up. The globs of creamy deliciousness in the picture are ricotta cheese, the shaved bits are fresh pecorino. I LOVE pecorino cheese -- it has such a nice bite to it when it's hardened and it is equally amazing fresh with a little drizzle of honey...mmmmmm.......

If you're a garlic lover, this is a great recipe for you because this uses seven cloves. Torn fresh basil and sweet tomatoes round out the other flavors with a slight drizzle of buttery high quality olive oil on top. 

I scraped the bowl. Really.

Red and yellow cherub tomatoes, 7 cloves of pressed garlic

Queen of the kitchen!

Finished product!

Deconstructed Lasagna With Ricotta And Tomatoes

• 1 Tbs. + 1 Tsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 7 garlic cloves, thinly sliced (Erin pressed hers; I'll probably use minced when I make this.)
• 3 Cups mixed red and yellow cherry or grape tomatoes, halved (2 pints)
• 1/2 Tsp. coarse salt 
• Freshly ground pepper
• 2/3 Cup chicken stock
• 8 Lasagna noodles
• 2/3 Cup small basil leaves (Erin tore hers)
• 1/2 Cup reduced fat ricotta cheese
• 1 oz. Pecorino Romano cheese, shaved

Heat 1 Tbs. oil in a high sided skillet over medium heat. Cook garlic until pale golden, about 3 minutes. Add 2  cups tomatoes and 1/2 tsp. salt. Cook until soft, about 7 minutes. Add chicken stock. Simmer until sauce-like, about 1 minute. Add remaining cup of tomatoes. Cook until warm, about 1-2 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package instructions until al dente. Drain.

Toss pasta in skillet to coat. Stir in basil, reserving some for garnish.

Divide pasta among 4 plates, top with any remaining sauce. Dot with ricotta cheese and drizzle any remaining olive oil. Top with shaved pecorino cheese and remaining basil. Sprinkle with pepper.

Nutrition Information:

357 calories, 3g saturated fat, 7g unsaturated fat, 15mg cholesterol, 52g carbohydrates, 304mg sodium, 16g protein, 4g fiber

* Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

Cakeball Donation!

Pillsbury Funfetti mix, white icing, vanilla coating

As busy as I was last week, I did manage to squeeze in time to make some cakeballs for my friend Sarah. It was 2am and I was up crafting...what else would I be doing?! Sleeping?! HA!

She was having some people over early afternoon Sunday for a CABI party. Similar to Mary Kay/Tupperware/Jewelry parties, there are usually adult beverages (tee hee!) and food served with lots of chit chatting going on while people shop. Since I couldn't make it, I told her I'd make a little treat for her and bring it over in the morning. As you can see by the picture, it's been a LONG WHILE since I've made cakeballs and my dipping skills are atrocious. These were the best of the lot which isn't saying much.

I went over to my bestie's house last night to give them their wedding gift. IT'S FINALLY FINISHED!!!!! Now that the cat is out of the bag, I'm proud to say that their WEDDING SCRAPBOOK that documents everything from the very beginning (the proposal), to the very end (a bright, happy honeymoon picture) is now in their hands.

Speaking of hands, I'm lending mine to help make dinner tonight at their house. Erin has a great recipe from Martha Stewart for deconstructed lasagna. It's not as heavy and calorically scary as traditional lasagna so I'm very excited to try it out and then blog about it here.

Until then foodies, happy eating! :)