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

Baked Chicken Taquitos

I’ve had this recipe bookmarked for way too long. Luckily Cinco de Mayo came around and I had an excuse to make some Mexican food. I’ve made beef taquitos in the past, but never with chicken. No matter how many times I will make taquitos the corn tortillas always crack. I’ve tried the microwave version with damp paper towels and in the oven covered in tin foil. Crack, crack, crack. This recipe had a different version of softening the tortillas. By dipping them in warm chicken broth for 1 to 2 seconds. I know this method is used for enchiladas but with oil instead. I liked the idea but do you think it worked? No! The tortillas actually broke in the broth and I had to fish them out. Baked taquitos are delicious but you have to put a lot of toppings on top to cover their cracked mess. ;)

I needed one of these to relieve the stress of cracked tortillas!

The best guacamole ever.

My boyfriend and I enjoyed these taquitos with a loads of homemade guacamole, plain Greek yogurt, salsa and spinach. He is not a fan of those store bought roasted chickens but when time is limited they are great to pick up. I love using them in recipes like this because it makes the meal come together quickly. The additional seasonings added to the chicken enhanced the flavor for a more inspired Mexican dish. I had extra seasoned chicken left over and it worked great as a salad topper that I took to work during the week. (I only ended up baking 9 taquitos, but the recipe does make 12 whole taquitos.)

Baked Chicken Taquitos

Adapted from Wholefoods

Ingredients

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1 cup chopped sweet onions

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp paprika

Dash of ground cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 cup chopped cilantro (makes the dish)

2 cups shredded cooked chicken breasts

2 cups low-sodium chicken broth (I had vegetable broth on hand instead)

12 (6-inch) corn tortillas

1/2 cup shredded pepper jack cheese or crumbled queso fresco

Toppings: chopped spinach, homemade guacamole, plain Greek yogurt, green onions, chopped tomatoes, salsa and/or hot sauce.

Direction

Preheat oven to 425 degree F and oil a 13x8 glass baking dish. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a skillet. Add onion and cook until starting to soften and turn translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper and salt. Stir to combine and cook 2 to 3 minutes longer, until fragrant. Take from heat and stir in cilantro and chicken. Set aside.

My little work station, right to left. Apartment kitchens can be so complicated sometimes!

Bring chicken broth to a simmer in a skillet or pot wide enough to hold tortillas. When broth simmers, dip tortillas briefly, one at a time, just to soften, 1 to 2 seconds. Lay tortilla on a work surface and spread 2 or 3 tablespoons chicken mixture over bottom third. Top with a tablespoon of cheese and roll up. Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Spray or brush tortillas lightly with oil and bake until crisp and lightly browned, 12 to 15 minutes. Serve immediately.

Enjoy,

Fallon

TSRC: Lime Chicken Tacos

I’ve been holding a secret for a few weeks now and today I’m going to tell you what it is. I’m now a member of The Secret Recipe Club! Our wonderful host Amanda from Amanda’s Cookin came up with this idea to be assigned a blog, you can cook/bake any recipe from the assigned blog and then on a certain date reveal the blog that was given to us and the recipe we made. The catch is we can’t share with anyone who’s blog we have, it has to remain a secret. I like how simple the system is and figured it be a good fit for my first “blog club.” If you’d like to become a member of The Secret Recipe Club click this link and fill out the form.

My first secret blog comes from a very talented lady, Tessa from The Cookin’ Chemist. Let’s just say I had a hard time choosing which recipe I wanted to make. Everything looked so delicious and I will be trying out more recipes. I went with Tessa’s Lime Chicken Tacos because #1 they sounded good and #2 it comes together quickly. I’m back to work and my boyfriend likes a good dinner each night, I knew this would be the perfect meal. I don’t mind spending extra time in the kitchen on a day off but when I’ve been working all day and being on my feet the whole time, I want to be in and out of the kitchen quickly!

I made several substitutes to the recipe. I actually didn’t have sugar (don’t worry I picked up some the following day after I made these tacos) and used this Stevia as a substitute. You couldn’t even tell the difference.



Instead of shredded lettuce, jack cheese and sour cream, I used shredded baby spinach, avocado and plain Greek yogurt. I also added a bunch of fresh cilantro to the chicken.


Lime Chicken Tacos
From The Cookin’ Chemist

Ingredients
1- 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into small pieces
1/8 cup red wine vinegar
1 lime juiced
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 green onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
10 (6 inch) whole wheat flour tortillas
1 tomato, diced
1/4 cup shredded baby spinach
1/2 avocado, diced
Salsa, Hot sauce
Plain Greek yogurt

In a medium sized bowl combine vinegar, lime juice, sugar, salt, pepper, green onions, garlic, cilantro and oregano, Set aside. In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat add a little oil and cook chicken until done.

Next, add the liquid lime mixture to sauté pan and simmer for 10 minutes. Warm tortillas and add chicken mixture evenly to each one. Top with avocado, tomato, salsa, spinach and Greek yogurt.

I served my tacos with a side of cilantro lime rice.

 

Delicious meal. My boyfriend enjoyed it a lot. He said he never had chicken tacos with so much flavor and juiciness! I enjoyed the leftover chicken on top of salads for work lunch. I will definitely keep this in rotation with weeknight dinners.

Can’t wait to see what everyone else will be posting. I wonder who has my blog this month? :)

Fallon

Cilantro Lime Rice

I literally didn’t put May 5th and Cinco de Mayo together today. That was until I was grocery shopping this morning and saw all the Hispanic food out! I’m planning on making chicken taquitos with this recipe on a bed of raw spinach and a nice cold Dos XX as a side ;). I’ll follow up in a few days with how dinner went. I’m also planning on a special dessert, cross your fingers it turns out good!

Rice is probably one of my favorite side dishes. At home I always use brown rice but when I go out white rice just always sounds better! I figure it is a treat and something I don’t eat all the time. I think Chipotle has some of the best rice! Very tasty and flavorful. I saw this recipe on Two Peas and Their Pod for Cilantro Lime Rice, and it reminded me of the rice from Chipotle. I was making tacos that night for dinner and made this rice dish as my side.

It turned out delicious but definitely did not look like white rice. It turned out yellow and I’m blaming the vegetable broth. It was a thick and fragrant broth. Next time I will try chicken broth and see if that makes a difference. For someone who use to despise cilantro, I love how fresh and flavorful it makes dishes. If you have time today you should make this rice, it will go great with all the Mexican food that will be served!

Head on over to Two Peas and Their Pod for their recipe on Cilantro Lime Rice.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Fallon