Enchilada Casserole from Cooking Light

This is a recipe I’ve had saved from forever ago. The printed date on the copied recipe is 2007 and I’ve never once attempted to make it! I know I’m not the only one that does that, or am I? I knew this past weekend would be the perfect time to make this dish. It has been very cold in Las Vegas and I’m looking for a meal to warm me right up.

What I love about this recipe is the use of corn bread as the topping! I don’t know if you know but I love corn bread. I could eat it everyday if I could. Which in reality I can ;). I used my favorite gluten free mix from Bob’s Red Mill.

I made a minor mistake of not reading the directions because once I started I noticed this is suppose to be done in the SLOW COOKER!! Doh! So I improvised and cooked it on 375 degrees for about 35 minutes. I’m sure it be real tasty from the slow cooker because the corn bread would be a lot more crumbly and moist. Other then that the flavors were spot on and this dish had a good kick. I added pepper jack cheese to the top along with cheddar and mozzarella. I didn’t miss the fact that there was no beef or chicken in this dish. It was a really hearty meal with the black beans and roasted corn.

When I make this again I’m going to try the slow cooker method and see how it turns out. I’m usually really good about following directions.

To get the recipe for Enchilada Casserole please visit Cooking Light.

  

Enjoy,
Fallon

Eggplant Ricotta Bake

This is a dish I’ve made many times back home with my family and a little before I started my own blog. I found the recipe for Eggplant Ricotta Bake from the Proud Italian Cook. Her food is absolutely fresh and always delicious. I love this dish she created because it is light and so easy to put together. After we enjoyed several leftover nights of eggplant parmigiana, I still had 2 massive eggplants to cook or else I’d have to throw them away. You know me, I don’t waste food at all. I whipped up this fabulous meal in no time, served with some flatbread crackers and artichoke dip from Trader Joe’s and a huge green salad with chickpeas to round out the entire meal.

 

To get this wonderful recipe please head on over to one of my favorite blogger’s the Proud Italian Cook and get her recipe for Eggplant Ricotta Bake. I of coursed used my homemade red sauce for this recipe and I encouraged you to do the same. Unless you know a store brand that taste just as good as homemade. Then go for it!

Buon Appetito!

Fallon

Enchiladas de Pollo

If you are having a hard time figuring out what the title says it is simply Chicken Enchiladas ;). Living in El Paso, the Spanish language is really popular out here. The only Spanish I remember is from high school and college. I’m telling you now, I WISH I continued learning the language because it would be so helpful to know. Plus it be cool to know another language. If you have the opportunity to take on Spanish, do it!

I transferred my job out here and it is very close to the Mexican border. We get a lot of Mexican citizens and all they know is Spanish or broken English. So I’ve been forcing myself to remember what I know and I’m always asking how do you say this etc. It is a challenge but I’m happy to accept it! Como se dice…

During the super bowl my boyfriend’s SIL decided to make some Chicken Enchiladas. She is Mexican and learned a lot from her family to carry on their Mexican traditions in the kitchen. I told her teach me true Mexican food! I knew she makes killer enchiladas, so I was excited when she told me that was what we were having for the super bowl. I took some notes, along with pictures and followed her in the kitchen. It honestly is easy to make a homemade enchilada sauce! I won’t ever by the canned stuff again, unless it is a true emergency. The taste was authentic, smoky, slightly spicy and had the freshest taste you could imagine.

She will cook up the onions and garlic, while she is rehydrating the red peppers in boiling water. Everything will then be transferred to a blender and pureed. Adding in some of the red pepper liquid to make for a smooth consistency. Some salt and pepper can be added for taste. Once it the way she wants it, not too thick or thin, she will strain it. Takes out all the pepper skins, to make for a perfectly smooth sauce.

This is a “secret” ingredient. You know how Italians put sugar in red sauce to cut the acidity… Well Mexicans use chocolate!

Her chicken breasts are seasoned and baked. Once they are cooled off, she shredded the chicken and mixed it in with some red enchilada sauce.

  

In a saucepan she heats up a thin layer of extra virgin olive oil, to heat up the corn tortillas. I asked her if this was a step to skip and she explained to me it the best way to make the corn tortillas more pliable and the sauce will stick to it  better. The chicken mixed in sauce is placed in a corn tortilla and rolled into a casserole dish. Top with shredded cheese and baked in an oven preheated to 400 degrees F, to heat it through and melt the cheese.

  

We placed our chicken enchiladas on top of romaine/spinach, green onions, diced tomatoes and a squeeze of lime juice.

            

It was face rocking delicious! I hope to try this out on my own one day, if I can remember all the steps. ;)

Have you ever made your own enchilada sauce? I honestly think it is worth the extra time in the kitchen to make it fresh. The canned sauces put all this weird stuff like corn/soybean oil and flour?!?! The only oil in her sauce was from cooking up the onions and garlic (extra virgin olive oil) and no added flour to thicken it up. All natural baby!

Enjoy,

Fallon

Chicken Sorrentino Penne

Usually on Sunday I like to have a drink while I cook! I think it makes the food taste extra better. ;) My choice was rum and coke, one for me and one for my babe!

Sundays around here are lazy days for us! We all sleep in and end up lounging around the house the rest of the day. The girls are cleaning, doing laundry and thinking of what to make for dinner. While the guys well, they play video games the majority of the time. I try to get in a workout, bake something and/or get dinner going. Like this meal for Chicken Sorrentino Penne (I couldn’t find fusilli, so penne it is). My favorite Cake Boss now has his own TV show called Kitchen Boss. I love his show because he makes original Italian recipes and his taste is right on when it comes to flavors.

This particular recipe he made called Chicken Sorrentino Fusilli immediately caught my eye because it is casserole style, has a good amount of protein, breaded eggplant and pasta. This meal has everything and more you could ask for. The only thing is, it is VERY time consuming. I literally spent 5 hours making it (with prep work involved) and we spent 30 minutes eating it. This meal is so delicious but be prepared to spend most of your day in the kitchen making it. It requires several steps but in reality it is simple to prepare once you do get through all the steps. My favorite part about this meal was the breaded eggplant, prosciutto and fresh mozzarella cheese. I also made the Roasted Asparagus with Crispy Breadcrumbs to go with it and a caprese salad minus fresh basil (it was bad at all the stores we went too). I can’t wait to make this meal again when I have extra time for it.

Cut tips and use a potato peeler to peel the ends a little. No strings!

The theme of this show was Date Night. It clearly was only enough for 2-3 people. I ended up doubling this recipe so it could serve at least 6 people.

Chicken Sorrentino Penne

Adapted from Kitchen Boss

Ingredients

2-3 halves boneless, skinless chicken breast

3 crushed clove garlic

2 small eggplants

4 thin slices prosciutto

1 cup seasoned bread crumbs

2 large eggs

2 large egg whites

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 pound fresh mozzarella, sliced

1/4 cup grated parmesan

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt

4 cups marinara sauce (homemade or a favorite store brand)

1 pound penne pasta, cooked al dente

Few leaves torn fresh basil

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a baking sheet with foil and cooking spray to bake the eggplant on.

Sprinkle the chicken breast halves with salt, pepper, drizzle with olive oil and turn to coat with the crushed garlic. Let rest while you prepare the sauce and eggplant.

In a small saucepot, heat the tomato sauce and warm through.

 

Peel the eggplant and slice across the width into 1/4 inch rounds ( I ended up cutting them horizontal). Please the breadcrumbs and the flour each in two shallow plates. Crack two large eggs into a bowl; separate the yolk from the two large egg whites and beat. Dip each piece of eggplant first into the flour, tapping off excess, then into the beaten egg, allowing excess to drip off, then lastly, coat in crumbs. Place the eggplant onto your baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray into the preheated oven. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until lightly brown and crisp edges. Take out and set aside while finishing the chicken.

Heat a cast iron grill or skillet pan oven medium high heat. Grill or sear the chicken breast on each side until nicely marked but not cooked through. Set aside.

In a bowl, toss the penne with 1/2 of the marinara sauce- enough to coat well and sprinkle with a little grated parmesan. Place in the bottom of a 9 x 13, lightly oiled baking dish. Place the chicken pieces side by side on top of the pasta. Top each piece of chicken with a slice of prosciutto, then place the eggplant on top and the sliced mozzarella. Bake until the cheese is melted and the chicken is cooked through- approx. 10 minutes. You can brown the cheese with a quick turn under the broiler. If desired, top with remaining sauce, parmesan cheese and fresh basil.

To make the Roasted Asparagus with Crispy Breadcrumbs click this link HERE.

 

As you can see I slightly prepared my eggplant a bit differently from Kitchen Boss’s version. I simply used whole wheat flour, added some egg whites and baked it instead. If you want to fry up your eggplant go ahead, it will be extra delicious!

I hope you enjoy this dinner as much as we enjoyed it here on our lazy Sunday.

Buon Appetito,

Fallon

Trying tempeh for the first time…

It is not that I’m a picky eater and I do believe in trying everything at least once. As for seafood, I’ve tried, I just can’t stomach it. The smell is gross and the word fish just creeps me out! Soy milk, tofu those items also scare me because of so many controversial issues behind these products. It is great to find protein in other sources but when something that is marketed as being good for you can but may actually cause cancer and mess with your hormones, I don’t want to touch it. Then I think about it and everything can cause something to harm your body. So I believe that everything in moderation is best! I drink soy milk on occasion when I’m out if it is a choice to add into my coffee drink. Tofu I really haven’t given a chance and after trying tempeh I’m definitely interested in trying it soon.

I hope this will taste good!

Look’s interesting…

The green onions were a good addition to the casserole!

I’ve seen tempeh on several blogs and all the reactions were quite positive. It definitely has its own unique taste but in a good way. I have the hardest time consuming protein, so  I’ll take advantage of new protein sources like tempeh. I love owning Eat, Drink and Be Vegan. It has opened up my eyes to explore other sources of food and preparing in different ways. Plus vegan recipes are OH SO TASTY!

Tempeh Hashbrown Casserole introduced me to the new protein called tempeh. I figured if it wasn’t up to par, I could mask it with ketchup or cheese. Except, I didn’t have to do that because this casserole was amazing. Just 260 calories a serving, it was very satisfying and tasty. It was also very simple to make as well using Yukon potatoes, tempeh, tamari, apple cider vinegar, green onions, rosemary, paprika and olive oil. You couldn’t taste like there was something soy in the dish, it tasted almost like bacon and potatoes. Thanks to marinating the tempeh in tamari and apple cider vinegar.

     

The recipe is from the book, so you’d have to buy the book to get the recipe. No one is paying me to write this up, I’m just doing it for the sake of Eat, Drink and Be Vegan for being an amazing cookbook. Vegan or not, I love this cookbook and I’d think you’d like it too. If you know someone who cooks and likes different foods, they’d probably enjoy this cookbook as well! It would make a fun holiday present!

I’m glad to say my first attempt at trying tempeh was a success. Do you have a favorite tempeh recipe? If so, please leave me a comment telling me about it!

Let’s start this week off on a healthy note!

Always,

Fallon

Eggplant, Tomato and Chickpea Casserole

Lately I've been wanting to try some new flavors in my food. In particular Indian type cuisines. Just reading about it all over the blogs and how yummy everyone raves it is, makes me very curious! The spices and flavor sound real appealing to me. Plus must of them are vegetarian based meals and I have no problem with that! Vegetables can get boring, so it is always good to spice them up in a new way. I found this Eggplant, Tomato and Chickpea Casserole over at Ashley's blog The Edible Perspective. The dish was easy to put together and sounded delicious with the use of cinnamon added to the tomato sauce. I figured this would be a good start to my new flavors in food. I didn't have any naan bread but I did have my favorite pita toasted and topped with a gooey slice of mozzarella cheese! I had this dish again the next night and it tasted even better! They tell you it always better the next day. Gives a chance for the flavors to marry. If you don't like onions then I definitely wouldn't recommend this dish since it calls for a lot of onions! They are necessary since they make up for the sweetness with the sauce and pairs well with the use of cinnamon.

The recipe actually came from The New York Times Fitness and Nutrition section. There are some REALLY good recipes in there. You can click here for the Eggplant, Tomato and Chickpea Casserole recipe. (Sorry for the photo's poor quality, it was around 7:30pm when this came out of the oven for dinner.)

Fallon