Thursday, July 22, 2010

My Chicken Enchiladas!

If there is any dish I get asked to make over and over again, its this one!  These are so simple to throw together & I think my little added touches are what makes them so darn tasty. The ingredients I'm listing, since I wing this, is enough for 4 people + leftovers (approx 20 enchiladas). 



4 Large Chicken Breasts
1 Large can Las Palmas Green Sauce or La Victoria Red Sauce - Only sauce's I use. (With any Red Sauce you have to poor EXTRA over the top of the enchiladas since red sauce dries out easily in the oven)
Corn Tortillas
Extra virgin olive oil or Vegetable Oil 
Mexican Blend cheese - Shredded
1 Chicken Bullion Cube (or 1 tspn of Chkn Bull Pwdr)
Garlic Salt
Pepper



Preheat Oven to 350


- I start by boiling the chicken with 1 bullion cube, S&P for seasoning.  Once its cooked, shred it and put in a bowl. I then add leftover broth from the boiling process to the bowl of shredded chicken that way it soaks in the broth while I start making the tortillas. If you want to make this dish QUICK, buy a Rotisserie Chicken & shred it up. 


- In a small pan heat up oil, whichever oil you prefer. If the oil sizzles but does not pop when you put in a tortilla then its perfect! I put a cutting board next to the pan, cook one tortilla at a time until its almost crisp but still bendable then transfer to cutting board and make a stack. Set up your shredded cheese in a bowl.  Coat bottom of baking dishes with a little sauce first before putting the enchiladas in. Then start making the enchiladas ... I put a lot of chicken in mine and sprinkle very little cheese on the inside. Some people add olives and such, I like mine pretty simple.


- After you rolled up all your enchiladas cover the tops of them with the rest of the sauce. Sprinkle a bunch of shredded cheese on top then put in the oven 12 minutes at 350 then Broil on Low 5 min or until it gets that crisp cheese look on top.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Chicken Caeser Wraps


So I got a tid bit addicted (obsessed) with Blimpie's Chicken Caesar wraps! I LOVE Blimpie and there are a ton out here. Anyhow, these wraps are about $5 a pop so I decided to get all the ingredients and do it myself. I now make a healthier version at home & save money!



Spinach Tortilla
Grilled Chicken chopped
Fresh Parmesan (optional)
Romaine lettuce
Tomatoes
Girards Light Caesar Dressing (the BEST dressing ever)
Warm up the chicken then warm the tortilla then throw it all together! Pretty darn easy & healthy.

*** You can probably tell from my recipes, 90% of what I eat is chicken. I buy about 18 breasts every 2 weeks. I throw a bunch on the BBQ or boil in a pot with garlic salt, pepper & a bullion cube and package them up so I can just pull out chicken for whatever I need. If I'm running late getting home for dinner I always know I have chicken cooked & ready to make Quesadillas, Burritos, Wraps etc. ***

Homemade Chicken Pot Pie




I get quite a few people that call me up for this recipe so its about time I post it! Its easy, cheap & very filling ... just like all my other recipes :) I eyeball this one when it comes to how much of everything so I will post the recipe but put to the side what I do differently.


1 Box of Pillsbury Pie Crust (found in the section with the rolls/biscuits)
1/3 cup Butter (I have used "I cant believe its not butter" but real butter is always tasty!)
1/3 cup Flour
1/2 tspn Salt (I do 3 pinches)
1/4 tspn Pepper (I do 4 pinches)
1 cup Chicken Broth
1/2 can Cream of Mushroom soup
1/2 cup Milk
2 Chicken Breasts boiled & shredded
(I boil my chicken with a bullion cube, garlic salt & pepper or if I'm pressed for time I will shred up a rotisserie from the store)
2 cups of frozen mixed veggies (the carrot, corn, green bean & peas blend)
1/2 large onion chopped

Heat oven to 425
Pull out pie crust - set packages out so they get to room temp
Get out a big pot
In the pot melt the butter then add the onion, stir until onions are soft.
Add Chicken Broth, Milk, Salt & Pepper, Flour, Cream of Mushroom until thick & bubbly. Throw in Veggies & Chicken, stir. Do NOT keep cooking. Pull pot off the heat. Lay out pie dough in the pie dish, fill it up leaving 1 inch from the top. Cover with other pie dough mushing the corners all together so there are no holes. Do NOT poke a hole in the top of the pie or you will have a messy oven! Bake 35 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes, this is a must.

If you have extra filling I always save it & the kids have it for lunch the next day! If you have a baby who eats mushy foods, I use to puree this filling and spoon feed it to my kids - They LOVED it!

*** This is what I do differently ... the milk/broth/crm of mshrm combo is what makes the consistency of the filling. If you like it runny then add a little more of each liquid. If you like it thicker then add a little more crm of mshrm & flour. I start adding a little of everything until I get the consistency I like. After I add more, if it looks like I need more chicken or veggies I will eyeball it until theres equal parts of everything. You CANNOT mess up the flavor at all by doing this. If it tastes a little too rich then add some more milk! ***



Sunday, July 11, 2010

Protein Burrito's & Quesadillas

HUGE shout out to whomever came up with the idea of sun-dried tomatoe & spinach flavored tortillas. I mean seriously, I cant get enough of them. I make this AMAZING spinach chicken ceaser wrap for lunch about 5x a week ... but I can post that recipe later! These two recipes in this post have got to be the easiest and I mean easiest recipes EVER that are both filling & healthy. Not to mention very cost effective and can be readily available in your pantry! Each takes about 10 min to throw together from start to finish.





Here's the mix (base) I use for both the burrito and quesadilla:
1 can Black beans
1 can Corn
1 can Diced Tomatoes & Green Chili's
(if you don't like chili's, use plain diced tomatoes)
1 lime squeezed
* You can always add cilantro, I do this when I just eat it with chips!


Drain all cans and dump into microwave safe bowl (or pot) squeeze lime in there and heat up! Lime takes the edge off "hot" flavors and I love the flavor it gives this mix.



Protein Burritos :
Grab a Tortilla (I use flavored ones), heat up and add mix, cheese, lettuce. You can of coarse add Chicken, Steak, Fish or shrimp to this. Its very filling either way!


Protein Quesadillas :
Tortilla (flavored of coarse!) Add Mix, Mexican cheese blend (meat optional)




Chinese Chicken Salad


2 large Chicken Breasts - Boil with garlic salt/pepper/1 bullion cube (Shred)
Green Onion - As much as you like
Slivered Almonds - Toast in the oven, Broil on Low for 3min
1 head of Cabbage chopped up
Dressing:
2/3 Cup of Seasoned Rice Vinegar (I use Nakano - original)
1/3 Cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (or oil of your preference)
Pinch of Salt
Pinch of Sugar
2 Pinches of Pepper

Mix all together and there you have it! Some people put top ramen noodles in this, I choose not to because I eat this salad over the coarse of a few days and if the noodles are in there it gets very soggy. Lightly drizzle in the Dressing and taste test as you add more to see how much you would like.