Chicken Enchiladas 2

Donald and I had some friends over for dinner and games this week. I was really excited for multiple reasons. 1) They're really fun to hang out with. 2) Dinner and games is our kind of evening. 3) Excuse to use fancy china. 

One of our friends is allergic to garlic, which while I think it is tragic in a way, it pushed me to find some great recipes that don't use garlic at all. I decided to go with mexican and make a chicken enchilada using a tomato based sauce with gobs and gobs of chili powder, which oddly enough didn't make it all that spicy but full of flavor. 

Chicken Enchiladas 2

Ingredients: 

• 3 tbsp veggie oil
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 10 oz tomato paste
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 tsp oregano (omitted, by accident)
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 10 tortillas
• 2-3 large chicken breasts, boiled and shredded
• 1 1/2 cups cheese

Directions

Heat the oil just a little bit in a small saucepan, then add the flour. Stir into a paste, then add the chili powder. Mix and heat for 1-2 minutes. Add the tomato paste, chicken stock, spices, and salt and allow to heat for 15 minutes. It ill thicken a little during this time. 

Mix 1/2 cup of sauce and 1/2 cup of cheese with the shredded chicken. If you need, you can make the sauce and chicken ahead of time and store for 1-2 days in the fridge.

Take about 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture and place into a tortilla, then fold up sealing on both ends. Place into a baking pan. Top all the enchiladas with additional sauce, about 1 cup worth but more if you like them saucy. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top of the enchiladas. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until the cheese is really melted and the enchiladas are hot. 

Classic Stir Fry

Donald and I really love stir fry. They are easy, full of veggies, decently healthy, and so flavorful. Chicken ones are the easiest beceause I find chicken to be so much more forgiving than beef or pork. This is a very basic one, sometimes we're more adventerous. 

The best things about stir frys is that you can substitute and add whatever veggies you want. A few tips: 

- If you add carrots, on the veggie cooking step, but the carrots into the wok before the other veggies by 2-3 minutes. They take much longer to cook than peppers, onions, etc. 

- I hate water chesnuts, but I think these go in very late in the process should you want to ruin... I mean, erm, change your dish with them. 

- Chinese mushrooms. Yumm.

Enjoy!

Classic Stir Fry

Ingredients:

1.5 - 2 lbs chicken breast cut into bite sized pieces

3/4 c soy sauce

2 tsp fresh minced garlic

2 tsp minced onion

1 heaping spoonful brown sugar

1 medium green pepper, sliced

1/2 onion (or one full small onion) sliced thin

2 c white rice (or lettuce for lettuce wraps, according to my friend Monica, this is very good!)

Directions:

In a bowl, mix the soy sauce, garlic, dried minced onion, and brown sugar and stir, then add the chicken. Mix well, stir, and cover, then put the bowl into the fridge for 30 minutes or so. Consider stirring the mixture once in the middle. 

Slice the green peppers and onions, set aside. In your wok, heat 2 tbsp peanut oil until spitting hot. VERY CAREFULLY add the veggies into the wok. Cook for 3-4 minutes, longer if you like your veggies more well done. 

Remove the veggies from the wok and set aside. In the same wok, cook the marinated chicken for about 6-8 minutes or until it is fully cooked. Add back the veggies and allow the sauce to coat everything. 

Serve over rice or in lettuce wraps.

Chicken Parmersean

I love this dish and it is one of our staple dinners. I don't know how this never made it onto the blog before, but it didn't!  This is a modified recipe from cooking light magazine and its really good. Feel free to tweak the sauce, that part is really up to you. 

Chicken Parmersean

Ingredients

• 1 chicken breast
• 1 egg
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 2 tbsp parmersean cheese
• 1 tbsp italian seasoning
• Pasta sauce, made to your specifications
• Spaghetti
• Mozzerella cheese

Directions

Cut the chicken breast into filets, really as thin as you can get them. 1 chicken breast should make 4 full sized filets, which easily serves 2 people. Scramble the egg in a bowl, and in a second bowl, mix the breadcrumbs, pamersean cheese, and italian seasoning. 

Dip the filet into the egg so it is coated, then transfer immediately to the breadcrumbs. Shake in the breadcrumbs and turn over a few times until it is fully coated. In a frying pan, heat up 3 tbsp of olive oil. Once heated, transfer the breaded chicken into the frying pan. Cook for 3 minutes on each side (you may need to add more oil). Pull out of the frying pan and set it on a paper towel. Check to make sure the chicken is cooked completely. 

In a 11x7 baking pan, put pasta sauce along the bottom so it is coated thinly. Layer the cooked chicken breasts on top of the sauce.  Then scoop additional sauce onto each filet. Sprinkle mozzerella cheese on the top, as much as you'd like!

Bake at 350 degrees until the cheese is fully melted and beginning to bubble a little which is about 15-20 minutes. (I forgot to take a picture after taking out my dinner pieces! Oops)

While this bakes, boil the water and cook your pasta. Serve the chicken on top of the pasta with a little excess sauce and a veggie side.

Quesadillas

Another one of my favorite easy dinners, and the best part is that you can do lots of different toppings on them. Enjoy!

Chicken and Black Bean Quesadillas

Ingredients:

• Tortillas
• Cheddar cheese, or cheddar/pepper jack cheese blend
• Chicken
• Black beans, canned and rinsed
• 1tsp garlic
• 1tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• Olive oil
• other possible toppings: green onion, red beans, pineapple, steak, etc

Directions:

1. Slice chicken breast into thin strips, put into frying pan with small amount of heated olive oil
2. Add the spices to the chicken and cook until the chicken is done (5-6 minutes)
3. Remove chicken from the pan, set aside
4. Put tortilla in the bottom and sprinkle a small amount of cheese onto the tortilla
5. Place chicken and toppings on the cheese, then add an equal amount of cheese
6. Place other tortilla on top and watch for the bottom of the tortilla to brown slightly
7. Flip the tortilla and allow cheese to melt completely
8. Store in a 200 degree oven until ready to serve, and serve with salsa and sour cream

Side suggestions:

• Dirty rice
• Red beans and rice
• Refried beans

Sweet and Sour Chicken

I love chinese food. I've been eating it my whole life. Donald and I have perfected a few recipes, this is one of mine. Homemade sweet and sour chicken is nothing like what you get from the store, the sauce is far superior, a little saltier, but so good.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp flour
  
• 2 tbsp olive oil
  
• Cubed chicken breast
  
• 1/2 c soy sauce
  
• 2 tbsp thick soy (optional)
  
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
  
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
  
• 1/3 c pineapple juice (from can of pineapple, you'll also use the pineapple)
  
• 1 c pineapple in chunks (see, told ya)
  
• Sliced vegetables of your choice, I recommend carrots and possibly onions, but this is totally up to you. 
  
• Peanut oil (you can't use olive oil for this step, veggie or canola is also OK but peanut works best)

Directions:

1. In a small sauce pan, add the soy sauces, rice vinegar, brown sugar, and pineapple juice and heat thoroughly, but do not allow to reach a hard boil. Heat for 10-15 minutes. 
2. In a bowl, mix the olive oil and flour and mix to create a paste. Put the chicken into the paste and coat thoroughly. NOTE: This is called velveting, which is a way to coat chicken so a sauce holds without deep frying and adding calories!
3. In a wok, heat enough olive oil to cover just the bottom of the wok. Once heated, add the veggies and cook for a few minutes. Do not cook thoroughly or you'll end up with mushy veggies... gross. Remove the veggies from the oil and set aside.
4. Add the chicken to the heated wok and cook completely.
5. Once the chicken is done, add the veggies back and then the pineapple chunks. Pour the sauce over the entire mixture and allow to heat, which will only take 1-2 minutes. If you want to thicken the sauce, toss a spoonful of flour into the mixture.
6. Serve over rice!

Baked Chicken with Garlic and Shallots and Random Chili

I appologize for my absence, I was kinda... GETTING MARRIED! 

See:

Ok, so now that I'm married and back from an amazing 2 week honeymoon, I am dying to cook. Last night I made "Hey look, kidney beans" Chili. No pics unfortunately, the camera was still packed (and tired). But here's the basic idea:

Random Chili

Ingredients: 

• 1lb ground beef
• 1 16oz can petite diced tomato
• 1 8oz can tomato sauce
• Appx. 6oz beer
• 2 cans kidney beans
• 1 tbsp dried minced onion
• Chili powder to taste - I used about 3 tbsp
• Red pepper to taste - I used about 2 tsp
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• Black pepper to taste
• Cooking spray

Directions:

1. Spray dutch oven with cooking spray, brown ground beef with 1/3 of each of the spices (peppers) and all of the garlic and onion. 
2. Once browned, add the diced tomatos and tomato paste, along with the beer.  Drain and add kidney beans.
3. Add the rest of the spices. Heat mixture until heated through, then drop heat to low and simmer for at least 1 hour.
4. Serve over rice with sour cream and cheese (if desired)

Ok, and now for tonights dish. We got shallots today at the grocery store, they looked so good and they inspired my chicken dish. I also wanted some Thanksgiving-y food since I missed the holiday due to my honeymoon.

Baked Chicken with Garlic and Shallots

Ingredients: 

• 3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 6 shallots, remove outer skins and cut in half
• 3 tbsp butter
• 2 tsp thyme
• 2 tsp rosemary
• Coarse salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp minced garlic (or 8 pealed garlic cloves, I was just kinda lazy)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425, and while oven is preheating, put the butter into the caserole dish you'll use to bake the chicken in the oven, remove when the butter is melted.
2. In the caserole dish with the melted butter, add the thyme, rosemary, garlic, shallots, salt and pepper, and make sure all onions are coated in the butter. 
3. Dredge the chicken through the buttery spice mixture then line the chicken breasts in the caserole dish. 
4. Bake for 50-60 min or until chicken is baked completely.  Serve and YUMM!

Side suggestions:

- Mashed potatos

- Stuffing 

- Scalloped corn caserole

30 minute dinner: Grilled Chicken and Kashi Pilaf

Another 30 minute dinner night. I was lazy!

Grilled Garlic Chicken and Kashi Rice Pilaf

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
3/4c Salad dressing, oil based, garlic flavored (add cloves of garlic to make it even better)
1 packet kashi rice pilaf

1. Make the rice pilaf according to box directions
2. Heat grill, grill chicken until cooked.
3. Serve.
4. I feel like there should be a 4th direction....
   

Chicken and Onion Enchiladas

This recipe came from my mom. It is really tasty, and easy to make ahead of time. I use canned sauce because it tastes better than my own, but one day I will perfect it.

Chicken and Onion Enchiladas (for 2-3 people with leftovers)

Ingredients:(This picture is of last nights leftovers, plus it is my second dish specifically for lunches this week.
There isn't much cheese because my fiance prefers none on top to reduce the fat content)

2 medium boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 medium onion, chopped
Olive oil
2 cans Old El Paso Enchilada sauce (Medium is best)
1c shredded cheddar cheese, sharp, reduced fat
6 soft Tortillas, medium size or 10 small size (I recommend the lowfat tortillas from Tortilla factory, they're not dry and gross like most lowfat ones)
Salt
Pepper
Sour cream (fat free) and salsa if desired

1. Heat oven to 375c
2. Boil the chicken in water, you may need to add a touch of olive oil to keep it from boiling over.
3. While the chicken is boiling, heat up a small amount of olive oil in a separate pan and sautée the onions until they're not-quite-but-almost soft.
4. Once the chicken is done boiling, remove the chicken from the water and let it drain.
5. Shred the chicken using 2 forks. You can cut the chicken into fajita-like chuncks too, but trust me, its better if you shred it. This is best done right after draining the chicken, its easier.
6. In a bowl, mix 1.5 cans of the enchilada sauce, 1/2 cup cheese, salt and pepper to taste. Then add the chicken and onions. Mix well.
7. Spoon the mixture into the tortillas and wrap, placing the open end of the enchilada facing the bottom of a greased baking dish.
8. Once all the tortillas are in the dish, pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the tortillas. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
9. Bake uncovered in the oven for 15-20 minutes until warm.
10. Serve with salsa and sour cream (fat free) on the side as desired.
    

Side suggestions:

• Meijer Organic's Black Bean Refried Beans with a little cheese and fat free sour cream on top. SO GOOD!
• Regular refried beans
• Red beans and rice, the boxed kind by Zataran's is pretty good
• Spanish Rice (recipe for this soon, but I did not make this tonight)