new enchilada recipe

My husband and I love green enchiladas and I love my mom's recipe. But sometimes I try to mix it up with a new enchilada recipe, usually they aren't better than my mom's...but this one just might have hers beat.

Sorry mom!

I found this recipe and was very intrigued but knew we wouldn't like a couple things in it. So I changed it up a bit and I'm posting my variation on the recipe below. I took out the serrano pepper and also the avocado, we love avocado...but didn't want them in our enchiladas.

Sauce Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp flour
1 cup chicken stock
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
3/4 cup medium salsa verde
1/2 cup fat free sour cream

Enchilada Ingredients:
shredded cooked chicken, however much you prefer (I used one large breast)
Shredded cheese, however much you prefer
8-10 corn tortillas

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F.
In a medium sauce pan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Saute garlic, for 1 minute. Stir in flour, constantly stirring, and cook for 2 minutes. Whisk in the chicken broth, cumin, salt and pepper and bring to a low boil. Once boiling, whisk in the sour cream, salsa verde and cilantro. Remove from heat.

Spray/grease an 8x8 baking dish. Add 1/4 cup sauce to the bottom of the pan. Add chicken and cheese to the center of each tortilla and roll, placing seam-side down in the dish. Pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas (sauce may be thin at this point but will thicken a lot in the oven). Top with leftover cheese and bake for 15-20 minutes or until bubbling.

These cook much quicker than normal enchiladas since the sauce is already warm. I highly recommend this recipe!

Mexican Lasagna

I just tried this recipe for the first time last night and we really enjoyed it. I hope you do as well!

Mexican Lasagna

recipe source

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef

3/4 c. salsa

1 pkg. taco seasoning

4 flour tortillas

1 can pinto beans, drained & rinsed

1- 1 1/2 c. grated cheese (I used cheddar)

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Brown your beef and drain. Add salsa and taco seasoning (may not need the whole pkg, season to taste) and simmer for 10 mins.

Grease an 8x8 square pan and spread 1/2 c. meat mixture across bottom of pan.

Layer 2 tortillas on top of that.

Pour half the remaining meat on top of the tortillas.

Pour half of your can of beans on top of that followed by half of your cheese.

Layer once more with tortillas, beans & cheese.

Cover and cook for 30 minutes, let sit for 5 minutes after removing from oven.

We ate this with a little sour cream on the side and a salad.

You could easily do more layers with only one tortilla and less of your meat & beans per layer. You can experiment with it.

Chicken Enchiladas with Red Chile Sauce

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I love chicken enchiladas.  I was partial to a creamy white enchilada that my mom made all growing up. It was one of the first recipes that I learned to make all on my own and I haven't branched away from it at all.  I saw this recipe a long time ago, but didn't make it until last week.  I think it is definitely going to be added to our rotation. Making your own enchilada sauce seems intimidating, but I think the extra little bit of effort was worth it. And cooking the chicken in with the sauce is genius since it added flavor and saved me a pot :)

Chicken Enchiladas with Red Chile Sauce

1 medium onion, chopped fine

1 jalepeno, seeded and chopped fine

1 teaspoon oil

3 medium garlic gloves, minced

3 Tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

3 teaspoons sugar 

2 8 oz cans of tomato sauce

1 cup water

1 large tomato, chopped

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 large pieces)

1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

1 cup mozzarella or monterey jack cheese, shredded

1/2 c minced fresh cilantro

6-8 flour tortillas

cooking spray

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 425.

Combine the onion, jalapeno, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and oil in a large saucepan. cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until the onions and peppers have softened, 8-10 minutes. Stir in the garlic, chili powder, cumin, and sugar, and cook until fragrant, less than 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato sauce, water, and chopped tomato. Bring to a simmer, and cook until slightly thickened, 5 minutes.

Nestle the chicken into the sauce. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until chicken is cooked through (thickest part is no longer pink in the middle), about 12-20 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate, and set aside to cool.

Shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces and add 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce, 1 cup cheese, and the cilantro. Toss to combine.

Spread the tortillas on a clean work surface, and spoon 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture evenly down the center of each. Tightly roll each tortilla and lay seam-side down in a greased 9x13 inch baking dish.

Lightly spray the tops of the enchiladas with cooking spray. Place in the oven, uncovered, for about 7 minutes, or until the tortillas start to brown slightly (skip this step if you don't like the crunch).

Reduce heat to 400. Remove enchiladas and pour sauce evenly on top. Top with the remaining cheese. Cover dish with foil, and bake an additional 20 minutes, or until heated through.

Remove foil and bake another 5 minutes, until cheese browns. Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Serve with sour cream, guacamole, salsa, additional cilantro, etc.


Recipe adapted from Tide and Thyme, but originally from America's Test Kitchen

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I hereby declare that this is the easiest meal EVER.  This is serious. I said EVER.  For one, you probably already have everything on hand.  And the original directions for the recipe pretty much consisted of "open up cans, dump everything in, heat through".  If that doesn't sound easy, well then I don't really know what to do for you.

I originally got this recipe from my Aunt Jenny.  I made a few adjustments to make it a little more hearty, but still - easy peasey.  Since the weather is rather dreary outside today, I thought it was the perfect day to share it.  It tastes similar to a taco soup, but with chicken and my addition - rice.  I used to defrost the chicken, cut it up, maybe even BBQ it. Then I eliminated the BBQ step and would throw the defrosted chicken chunks into the soup to cook. Last night? I just pulled a chicken breast out of my freezer and threw it in. When it was thawed enough, I just pulled it out of the soup, shredded it and threw it back into the pot.  I also used to add in rice I had previously cooked, but then I just started throwing in raw rice and adding extra water.  Give it a try tonight! You know you don't know what to make and going to the store doesn't sound fun!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 can diced tomatoes
1 14.5  oz can green chili enchilada sauce
1 14.5 oz chicken broth
1 can black or kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn (or about 1.5 cups frozen or fresh corn)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 chicken breast (thawed, frozen, cooked, whatever)
1 envelope taco seasoning
2/3 c. white rice (optional)
1-2 cups water

 Combine all ingredients in a medium stockpot. Bring to a simmer.  If you use raw chicken or rice, simmer until cooked through (about 25 minutes). Add water as needed when the rice starts to soak up the juices. Stir consistently - especially the bottom of the pot as all of the heavy ingredients fall there.  Serve with sour cream, guacamole or avocado (my favorite), cheese, and tortilla chips

Natalie's Menu

David started school today so we are back into the normal swing of things. However, we are probably moving into our own place this weekend so that will probably stir things up, right when I thought they were going to slow down :) Here's what we're having this week:

Sunday: Sonoran hot dogs, grilled corn (recipe coming this week!)
Monday: Crock pot chicken tacos + easy mexican rice
Tuesday: Teriyaki salmon, rice, roasted veggies from the garden
Wednesday: Creamy chicken taquitos + raw veggies
Thursday: Stuffed zucchini (filled with sausage, tomato sauce + mozzarella. Probably a variation of this recipe.) + green salad
Friday + Saturday we will be out of town because Davids family will be visiting for our nieces 1st birthday and our other nieces baby blessing.

Photo is of the pretty cupcakes my mom made for a bridal shower she threw. They were DELICIOUS! Now I want to make a chocolate mayonnaise cake tonight. Have you ever had a cake made with mayonnaise in the batter. THE BEST!

Menu for the week

Now that I have access to Food Network, I keep craving whatever I see the chefs making. Last week my mom had a bunch of leftover ground beef and for some reason all I could think of making was empanadas. David served his mission in Argentina and always raves about how delicious the empanadas were. He loved these! This is the recipe I used: How to make classic beef empanadas

The crust is definitely the best part. The cream cheese and butter makes it flaky and it melts in your mouth. I plan on using it for chicken pot pie crust soon!

As for my menu for the week, here it is!

Monday: I made bbq chicken salad last night. Here's what I put in it:

Chopped lettuce + spinach really small, top with black beans, fresh cut corn, tomatoes, avocado, bbq sauce drenched chicken (ours was leftover from a barbeque), ranch dressing and tortilla strips. YUM!

Tuesday: I'm making Ina's pasta bolognese. I'm using Orecchiete pasta, and making garlic bread and a salad.

Wednesday: Pulled pork sandwiches with coleslaw and fruit on the side. (I'm going to cook the pork plain with salt + pepper and just top the sandwiches with bbq sauce so the pork is plain for tacos).

Thursday: Leftover pork turned into mexican tacos + avocado corn salad.

What are you making for dinner? Have you made Ina's bolognese, or any of her recipes that you loved?

Green Chili Soup - and a new author!

Hello everyone!  My name is Kristine and I am going to be posting recipes on this blog as well.  I wish that I could say that Natalie invited me to post, but she didn't - I volunteered!  If you want to know more about me, you can blog stalk me here.   

Today, I am sharing a recipe for a delicious soup that I adapted last year from my sister's recipe blog here.  With fall FINALLY making an appearance (maybe?), this is the perfect soup to warm you up on a chilly day.

Green Chili Soup

1 chicken breast

2 c. salsa verde/green salsa--I used medium and it was SPICY (the kind that makes your nose run). If you can't handle the heat, go with a mild salsa

1 4 oz. can fire roasted chilis

5 c. chicken broth

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 c. milk

1/4 heavy cream

2 c. frozen corn

1 can black beans - drained and rinsed

salt + pepper, to taste

1 avocado, diced (optional)

sour cream 

grated cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken breast in a baking dish, cover with a splash of olive oil and season with a little salt and pepper. Roast chicken for about 30 minutes or until cooked through. (Or if you have an outdoor grill that you can still use, grill it!)

In the meantime, combine salsa verde, chilis, chicken broth, corn, black beans and cream of chicken soup in a large stockpot. Bring to a soft boil (just heated through and beginning to bubble a little bit--I just let it heat up while I was waiting for the chicken to roast). Once chicken is roasted, dice up and add to the soup mixture. Add cream and milk (only if you want it to be more creamy).  Serve hot with diced avocado, sour cream and your choice of cheese. I also served this with some roasted chips and cheese (aka, chips and cheese that I put under the broiler).

This made enough soup to feed my husband and I for two dinners and I also had the leftovers for lunch a few days. It makes a lot of soup!

Enjoy!

Cilantro chicken quesadillas

I love Guru's but it's a bit expensive. One night Christiana and I decided to recreate their Cilantro Lime Quesadilla so we could enjoy it at home. It was a success! You can mix and match the ingredients but I think the chili powder on the outside of the tortilla really makes it. Here's how to assemble:

Ingredients for 2 large quesadillas (serves 4-ish)

1 bunch cilantro
4-5 garlic cloves, peeled
2 limes
flour tortillas (we prefer the uncooked ones)
1 chicken breast, cooked zn the oven and shredded
2-3 cups of shredded mozzarella and white or yellow cheddar (you can shred as much as you like and combine)
canned corn
black beans

To make the paste that you'll spread on the tortilla, combine cilantro (just the leaves), zest and juice of both limes and garlic cloves in a food processor or blender and blend until it's a paste. I also add a little salt and pepper to this mixture.

Spread the paste on two tortillas. Cover one of the tortillas in chicken, cheese, corn and black beans. Put the two tortillas together and top one side with a little chili powder. Spray your pan and heat. Cook each side of the quesadilla for a few minutes, or until very brown and the cheese is melted. I like to cut mine with my pizza cutter. I served it with the salsa (see below) and sour cream.



We served the quesadillas with Cafe Rio's cilantro lime rice:

1 1/2 cups rice (I like jasmine)
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
2 limes
1 stalk celery, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 stick of butter
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 bullion cubes
3 cups of water


Melt butter in a pot and add onion, celery and rice and the 1/8 teaspoon of salt. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add the chopped cilantro, zest in the lime zest and add the juice of both limes as well. Add the water and bullion cubes. Bring to a boil and cover. Lower heat to low. Cook for about 20 minutes.




I also made Kelsey Nixon's guacamole-tomatillo salsa. It was really good with the quesadillas and with chips.