Chicken Enchiladas

This recipe brings me back to high-school.  My friend Emily's Mom would make these, and they were always awesome! It's a pretty simple recipe, and makes the house smell warm and friendly. I can still picture all of us girls crowded around her kitchen table giggling about silly things, and eating way too many of these.  Back when we could eat whatever we wanted, and gaining weight was never an issue = good ole' days.

Cut up two medium sized chicken breasts and cook them on the stove until cooked through.  Two chicken breasts equals around 4 enchiladas, so depending how many you're cooking for you can add or take away.  I usually eat one and half, C can eat two, so it was the perfect amount!

This sauce comes in mild/medium/hot.  I usually go for mild and add some cayenne pepper to make it a little more spicey.  This is a 10oz can and I used all of it.

Add around 3 tablespoons of cream cheese and a little sauce depending how creamy you want the mixture to be.

To assemble the enchiladas, pile on the chicken, add a little sauce, and cheddar cheese.  Then roll them up and lay in a baking dish. After all of the chicken is used, pour the remaining sauce on the tortillas and top with shredded cheese.  *Note:  I ususally coat the bottom of the pan with some sauce so the tortillas don't stick.

If you need to make a quick dinner, you can construct the enchiladas the day before.  Instead of sticking it in the oven, keep it in the fridge covered over night.  Then, when ready to eat, bake in the oven for around 20 minutes at 350 degree F. 

All done! 

A little extra thing I like to make with enchiladas is homemade guacamole.  It's very simple, and a great addition to the meal.  I smash up one avacodo, add some garlic salt, pepper, chopped onion, and tomatoes.  Mix it all together well.  Tastes great on top of the enchilladas or with tortilla chips!

My stomach starts growling just looking at this picture. Hope you all enjoy :)

Chicken Enchiladas

10oz enchilada sauce

2 chicken breasts chopped into bite size pieces

2-3 tablespoons cream cheese

4 tortillas

1/2 cup shredded cheese

Chop chicken breasts and cook on the stove over medium heat until cooked through.

Add sour cream and 4 tablespoons of enchilada sauce.  Mix together until creamy.

Assemble enchiladas - place chicken in the middle of the tortilla, add a little sauce and shredded cheese.  Fold sides in and roll like you would a burrito.

Place in a baking dish, pour remaining sauce and cheese on top.

Cook in the oven at 350 degrees F for around 20 minutes.

Let cool for 2 minutes, then serve.



Turkey and Saffron Rice

In an effort to cook healthier, I've been cooking with turkey more often.  I've tried a couple recipes that call for ground turkey, but also substituted turkey instead of beef, and found that it tastes just as good, if not better.  I got this recipe on one of the blogs I read, Picky Palate. Serving size is 12, so I cut it in half, and still had a ton leftover!

I used brown rice instead of basmati rice, not sure how different the taste was, but I thought brown rice worked well.  Plus it's what I had in the pantry :)

Begin by heating oil in a large pan/pot/dutch oven.  Saute onions until they're soft, and then add garlic. I added the whole 2 tablespoons (if not more) of garlic, despite cutting the other ingredients in half; you can never have too much garlic!  Add turkey, salt and pepper and cook until cooked through. 

Stir in beans, rice, tomato sauce, and the other spices.  Stir until well combined.  Make sure you give yourself a quick taste, if you feel the need to add more spices please do so!  I was pumped to use the new deep skillet that I got for Christmas.  I've found myself looking for recipes that I can cook in my skillet.  It's very heavy, and not cheap to ship from Michigan (where I spent Christmas) to Texas, but well worth it.

Reduce heat until low until you're ready to serve.  I let it sit for a few minutes to let all the spices absorb, then plated it up!

The "red strings," not sure how else to describe them, on top are Spanish Saffron threads.  They're very full of flavor, and I think really make the dish.  Unfortunately they are a little costly.  I choked a little when they rang up at the check out, but swallowed hoping it would be worth it, and it was.  I researched a little to find a cheaper substitute for those who don't want to go all out, and it looks like turmeric is the next best thing.  You might have to use a greater amount of turmeric to get a similar taste to saffron, but your walle will thank you.

I had a decent amount leftover, despite cutting the recipe in half.  It's great for lunch leftovers, throw some in the microwave and vuala!

Turkey and Saffron Rice

2 cups uncooked basmati rice (I used brown rice)

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 cup finely chopped white onion

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 lb turkey breast

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper

2 15oz cans green beans, drained

8oz tomato sauce

1 tablespoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

1 heaping tablespoon Spanish saffron threads (or turmeric)

Cook rice according to package directions.

Heat oil in a large dutch oven or pot over medium heat.

Saute onions for 5 minutes or until translucent and soft.

Stir in garlic and stir for about 1 minute.

Add turkey, salt, pepper and cook until cooked through.

Stir in green beans, rice, tomato sauce, cumin, paprika, garlic salt, and saffron threads. 

Stir until well combined, taste and season to your liking.

Reduce heat to low until ready to serve.

Garnish with saffron threads. 

Food Heaven

"Vegetables are a must on a diet.  I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie."  Jim Davis

I would like to welcome everyone to my favorite place in Texas, thus far anyway, CENTRAL MARKET. Some might deem me sad that I'm calling a grocery store my favorite place, but that only tells me you haven't been there yet!  Over the weekend C and I took a trip to this magical place, and as always I spent way too much time, and money.  I just can't help myself.  I don't grocery shop here normallly, so it's a special treat when I need something special.  In this case cheese, for a recipe I'm making later this week.  And cheese, my friends, they have... in abundance.

You can go food crazy in this store.  They have a great assortment of fresh cheese, bread, meats, as well as great pre-made selections. One of my favorite things is "Dinner for Two."  In a brown bag they combine some sort of meat, fish, or pasta with veggies and a starch.  Just the right serving amounts for two people, and all you have to do is pop it in the oven.  Did I mention it tastes amazing?  Perfect for a night when you don't have time to cook a homemade meal, but are in the mood for one.

Walking around this store is entertaining, many things to see!  They also usually have tasters out, which can be dangerous aka "I need to make this!" which leads to buying way more than planned.

 Oh, hello carbs.

The beer and wine selections are my favorite.  There is always an employee wandering around asking if you need helping finding something; a great way to get exposure to some new wines! 

Here we have it - the reason for the trip.  I will be using this in a recipe I'm making later this week, so look forward to that!  It's four cheeses all mixed together - can't go wrong.  This one includes romano, parmasean, mozeralla, and gruyere. 

After three days of being lazy, I'm starting back at the gym tonight. Hopefully this will help in an effort to not feel guilty when enjoying my purchases!  We'll see how it goes :)