Chicken Enchiladas (with a Fast Homemade Enchilada Sauce)

My sister-in-law called yesterday asking for my standby, delicious chicken enchiladas recipe (I still need to share it with you all!) which started my craving for enchiladas. Unfortunately, I didn't have the ingredients to make my usuals (ie., enchilada sauce), but I did remember seeing a recipe in my America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook for not only enchiladas, but a homemade enchilada sauce, which I did have all the ingredients on hand for.

The sauce took about 15 minutes to make and was as simple as sauteing some minced onions with salt in vegetable oil, then adding in chili powder, minced garlic, cumin, and a little sugar. I then added tomato sauce and water and allowed it to thicken a bit. 

If you're looking for a smooth, more authentic sauce, you can strain all the yummy bits out. I chose to leave them in until after I topped the enchiladas, and then removed them from my container of leftover sauce.

*Warm your corn tortillas prior to trying to work with them. Corn tortillas can rip or tear if used straight from the fridge without being warmed in the microwave or a warm pan. 

Lay a tortilla on your work surface and add 1/3 c. of the chicken/cheese/cilantro/green chilies/enchilada sauce mixture to the center of the tortilla. Tightly roll the tortilla around the filling and place side by side in the pan.

Add additional sauce and cheese to the top of the enchilada, cover tightly with foil and bake for 20-25 minutes. 

The results: The sauce was perfectly smoky and delicious and a fantastic compliment to the enchiladas. This recipe definitely ranks about as high as my standby enchiladas (although my husband would disagree), is better than any I've had in a restaurant, and will be ones that I absolutely make again.
*Note: I halved the enchilada recipe and used an 8"x8" pan. The original full recipe is listed below.

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

• 3 c. shredded cooked chicken (approx. 1.5 pounds)
• 12 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (3 cups)
• 2½ cups enchilada sauce (use recipe below or 20 oz. of canned sauce)
• 1-2 (4-ounce) cans chopped green chiles, drained
• 1/2 c. minced fresh cilantro
• 12 (6-inch) soft corn tortillas
• Lime wedges (for serving)

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to four hundred degrees. Combine the chicken, 2 cups of the cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce, the chiles and cilantro. Season with salt & pepper to taste.

Stack the tortillas on a microwave-safe plate, cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high until warm & pliable, 40 to 60 seconds, or use your preferred warming method.

Spread the warm tortillas out over a clean counter. Place 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture evenly down the center of each tortilla. Tightly roll the tortilla around the filling, then lay seam-side down in a 9×13″ baking dish lightly coated with vegetable oil spray. In order to fit 12 enchiladas into the baking dish, you will have to lay four of them on top of the others. Lightly spray the enchiladas with vegetable oil spray (which will help keep the tortillas from splitting after they have been baked.)

Pour 1 cup of the remaining sauce over the enchiladas to coat thoroughly. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup cheddar down the center of the enchiladas. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake until the enchiladas are heated through, 20-25 minutes.

Remove the foil and continue to bake until the cheddar browns, about five minutes longer. Serve, passing the remaining 1 cup of sauce and the lime wedges separately. Other topping ideas include: sour cream, diced avocado, shredded lettuce, and Tabasco.

Fast Enchilada Sauce

Yields: About 2½ c.

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 onion, minced
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3 Tbsp. chili powder (if this amount scares you, start out with less and add it to taste)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tsp. cumin
• 2 tsp. sugar
  
• 2 (8-ounce) cans tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• Pepper

Heat the oil in a 12″ skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and salt and cook until softened, about five minutes. Stir in the chili powder, garlic, cumin, and sugar. Cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Stir in the tomato sauce and water. Bring to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened, about five minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Source: The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

Oh, the places we've gone! (Recipe not included)

From all appearances, we have either been eating out an exorbitant amount, not interested in making new foods, or have given up the blog entirely. While we have been eating out a little more than normal, the absence was in large part to allow me some time to prep for our spring break vacation! While this is predominately a food blog, I wanted to share some personal pics from our recent trip as a lot of you who regularly read this are friends and family.

Your regularly scheduled food pics and recipes will be appearing in the very near future! Thanks for hanging in there with me!

Now on to our adventure... Guess where we went? Here's a hint:

We met with the big cheese himself. My girls are in the Minnie shirts (thanks Aunt Caren!), and the adorable boys are my nephews. My youngest nephew had a massive fear of characters, so he opted not to stand next to the giant-headed mouse.

 Being silly in Downtown Disney:

 

Do people go to Disney World and not ride Dumbo?! For the record, I was the dumbo on this ride. I was so concerned about trying to get the below picture, that I didn't realize that we actually controlled the ups and downs of the ride and was convinced ours was defective until almost the end. Not one of my brighter moments. The rest of the day went much smoother.

My youngest and I:

Grandpa and my youngest nephew skipping along together:

A couple of the grand kids cuddling up with Grandma and Grandpa in Tomorrowland:

 My oldest dancing with Chip:

And the youngest enjoys dancing with Grandpa:

 Trapped by the Evil Emperor Zurg:

Big hugs from Pooh Bear:

The two oldest cousins loved Space Mountain. As you can see, they gave it two thumbs way up. This was my 6-yr.-old daughter's first official roller coaster and I loved her fearlessness as she was whipped around in the dark. :)

Nap time for the youngest cousins:

What visit is complete without a Mickey Mouse ice cream bar? (Thanks Grandpa and Grandma!)

We bought the girls neon mouse ears and they were so cute in the dark:

The girls were so excited to see the castle lit in one of their favorite colors: PINK!

Taking a boat taxi to Epcot:

The girls were wearing shirts that said "Epcot" on them, so the Tinker Fairies pretended that the girls' names were Epcot 1 and Epcot 2. The girls thought it was hysterical.

My little viking:

A highlight of the trip was our lunch with the princesses / Mary Poppins. We didn't know which princesses would be at the lunch and were shocked when Mary Poppins came out! Both girls were super excited to see her and didn't seem to mind that she wasn't a true "princess".

I ♥ this picture:

My family ♥:

After Disney, we visited with friends who currently live in Florida. They are incredibly kind and hospitable, while also being terribly ornery and we love them for it. ;)

Then we headed to Bradenton to reconnect with Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle Chris, Aunt B.J., and the cousins. The kiddos (and us!) enjoyed some delicious orange soft serve at a local market. 

Enjoying the beautiful waters in the Gulf of Mexico! What beach trip is complete without some boogie boarding?

And some cuddling with Daddy?

And the obligatory burying-Nate-in-the sand pic:

Enjoying a tasty pre-Easter ham dinner together in Chris and B.J.'s vacation house. The amount of wood paneling in the rental was impressive. :)

We also:

And said a big, fat "awww..." when we peeked at the boys and saw this:

On our way home, we made a stop in Atlanta and decided to climb the face of a mountain. My youngest whined her way onto Uncle Chris' back part of the way up (thank you Chris!!), but walked with Aunt B.J. the entire way down.

The vacation ended with my baby getting sick (5 times) in the last 60 miles, resulting in 6 additional stops and an extra hour added to the already 11-hour trip home. Poor baby. :( Fortunately we were able to contain it all and none got on the car we borrowed from my mom to make the trip! (Thanks for the car and hotel at Disney, Mom!)

Now that we're back and I've hit three grocery stores in the last two days, I have a feeling you'll be seeing a new recipe on here soon! Stay tuned!

Feta Chicken in Phyllo

After the birth of each of our girls, a number of our friends lovingly brought us over the most delicious dinners. I remember them fondly, and  have re-made several of them over the years. Paula (of Paula's Black Bean and Corn Salsa) brought us this Feta Chicken in Phyllo that was savory, crispy, and just perfect. It visually looked impressive, traveled well, and tasted great. But because the recipe used phyllo pastry sheets (which I had never used) and believing phyllo to be finicky, I was a bit intimidated to recreate Paula's delicious dinner.

Boy am I glad I finally got up the gumption to tackle phyllo. It was not nearly as scary as I had made it out to be. Following the recipe and keeping the sheets covered with saran wrap and a wet towel kept the phyllo from drying out and putting the dish together was as simple as sauteing a couple ingredients, brushing the pastry with butter and breadcrumbs (repeat), adding the filling, rolling and baking.

The phyllo sheets I purchased were actually much shorter than the recipe indicated, so I ended up making three Feta Chicken Rolls instead of the two the recipe states. Pictured above is about 1/3 of one of the rolls. Also, I strongly suggest that the white wine is not omitted or substituted. It adds a really nice flavor to the dish, and you can either drink or freeze the remainder. I vote for drink, but there is something to be said for having smaller quantities in the freezer when you need it.

If you have a fear of phyllo, this is a great recipe to conquer it with. You'll be rewarded with not only the confidence to tackle other phyllo dishes, but also a delicious dinner.

Feta Chicken in Phyllo

Yield: 6-8 main dish servings, or 12-16 appetizer servings

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
• 10 oz. fresh spinach, stemmed and chopped
• 1 oz. feta cheese, crumbled (about a handful)
• 2 Tbsp. dry white wine
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 3 c. cubed cooked chicken
• 10 sheets (or 15 if the sheets are smaller than 16"x12") of phyllo pastry, thawed if frozen
• 1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, melted
• 2/3 c. dry bread crumbs
• 1/2 tsp. paprika

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook until tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add spinach and cook until wilted, stirring frequently, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in feta, wine, pepper, egg, and chicken.

Preheat oven to 375°. Place phyllo on flat surface. Trim to 16x12 inches. Working with 1 sheet at a time, keeping remaining covered with plastic wrap and a damp towel, brush with melted butter and sprinkle with 1 Tbsp. bread crumbs. Continue layering, brushing with butter, and sprinkling with bread crumbs, for a total of 5 layers.

Spread half (or a third, if using smaller sheets) of the chicken mixture in a 2" strip, along short side of phyllo, leaving 1/2" border. Roll up, jelly roll style, starting with chicken mixture edge. Repeat process with remaining ingredients to form a second (and third) roll(s).

Place seam side down, 2" apart, on large baking sheet. Brush with butter. With sharp knife, cut diagonally, halfway through phyllo layers, in 1" increments. Sprinkle with paprika and bake 15-20 minutes, until golden brown. remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes. Slice along cuts and serve.

Source: Colorado Collage

Cherry Cupcakes Topped with Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream

*I'm gonna apologize in advance for the picture quality. My DSLR battery had died, so I had to pull out the old point and shoot for these.

My girls are little "foodies-in-training" if you will, and enjoy watching the occasional Food Network show with me. Their favorites, Chopped and Cupcake Wars, have a similar premise: cook/bake your hearts out with mystery ingredients, get judged on flavor and appearance, and one person gets eliminated, or "chopped".

Lately, they've gone a step further and have actually pretended they are my panel of judges and have given their commentary on dinner. It was pretty cute until I got chopped. ;) Something about how the flavor of the ketchup overpowered their hamburger.. Sheesh.

Another unexpected byproduct of watching these shows is that they have come up with flavors and cooking ideas that they want to try. My oldest is all about trying a kiwi muffin/cupcake (still working on this one), while my youngest decided she wanted a cherry cupcake. We talked through the concept and she had some very strong ideas about what she wanted: Vanilla cupcake with cherry filling? No. It had to be a vanilla cupcake with pieces of cherry in it. Cherries in the buttercream? No, it had to have a cherry on top with a vanilla frosting.

We set to work. I found a recipe that said it worked for both fresh, frozen, or jarred cherries. We used a jar of Morello cherries we picked up from Trader Joe's, but I would love to try this with fresh cherries... My youngest set to work chopping them.

My peekie-peekerton. She was so excited to find her reflection on the side on the mixing bowl.

We made the batter and stirred in the chopped cherries. 

After scooping them into cupcake liners, they were baked at 350° for about 18 minutes.

They didn't rise too much (probably courtesy of the buttermilk in the batter and the extra weight of the cherries), so next time I may add more batter to each cup and just have fewer cupcakes. We ended up with 18 cupcakes.

I decided to try the Swiss Meringue Buttercream because I thought with such a sweet cupcake, a velvety smooth, rich, subtly sweet frosting would be a nice counter balance. Couple that with the shortage of powdered sugar in our house (this recipe uses granulated sugar), and this was an obvious choice. It was definitely the smoothest, creamiest homemade frosting I have ever had, and one I will make again.

I can't wait to see where our next Cupcake War adventure takes us. ;)

Fresh Cherry Cupcakes

Yield: 16 - 18 cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup finely chopped fresh pitted cherries

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 16 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Blend in the egg, vanilla extract and almond extract until smooth. Working in two or three additions, gradually mix in the dry ingredients, alternating with additions of buttermilk and ending with an addition of the last of the flour mixture. Stir in chopped cherries.

Bake for 16-19 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool cupcakes on a wire rack completely before frosting.

Source: Baking Bites

Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Yield: 5 cups

Ingredients:

• 5 large egg whites
• 1 cup plus 2 tbsp. sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1 lb. (4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

To make the frosting, combine the egg whites, sugar and salt in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water.  Heat, whisking frequently, until the mixture reaches 160° F and the sugar has dissolved.
Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.  Beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form and the mixture has cooled to room temperature, about 8 minutes.

Reduce the speed to medium and add the butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, adding more once each addition has been incorporated.  If the frosting looks soupy or curdled, continue to beat on medium-high speed until thick and smooth again, about 3-5 minutes more (don’t worry, it will come together!)  Stir in the vanilla extract and mix just until incorporated.  Tint with gel icing color as desired.

Keep buttercream at room temperature if using the same day, or transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze up to 1 month. Before using, bring to room temperature and beat with paddle attachment on low speed until smooth again, about 5 minutes.

Source: Annie's Eats, originally adapted from Martha Stewart

Tiramisu Sandwich Cookies

If there is a way to further my love of tiramisu, the cookies pictured above would have to be it: Hand-held, portable morsels of mascarpone cheese-laden deliciousness.

It starts with a cookie that by itself is really nothing to speak of, but once they surround the sugary mascarpone cream cheese layer and a coffee spiked chocolate layer, they become something so very good.

Don't be put off by the number of steps or components. I baked the cookies one night, then made the fillings the next. Assembly took about 20 minutes from start to finish.

We also found that they tasted even better after an overnight in the refrigerator. The cookies softened, the mascarpone cheese hardened, and their flavors really developed.

Peabody (whose blog I discovered these on) did not include the chocolate layer, but having tried it both with and without it, my husband and I both preferred the cookies with the chocolate layer on it. But, if you're feeling lazy or want to remove a step, these still are quite tasty without it. We ended up with a lot of the chocolate filling leftover, so I've adjusted the original recipe below.

Tiramisu Sandwich Cookies

Yield: 16 Sandwiched Cookies

Cookie Ingredients:

• ¾ cup plus 1 Tbsp. sugar, divided
• ½ tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 4 oz mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
• 1 egg
• ½ tsp. powdered espresso powder
• 2 tsp. coffee liqueur
• 1 ¼ cups plus 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. cream of tartar
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• ¼  tsp. salt

Cheese Filling Ingredients:

• 4 oz. mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
• 3 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. coffee liqueur 

Chocolate Filling:

• ½ c. confectioners (powdered) sugar (plus more to thicken it as needed)
• 1 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 Tbsp. coffee
• ½ Tbsp. coffee liqueur

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Combine 1 tablespoon sugar and cocoa in small bowl; set aside. Beat cheese and remaining sugar until fluffy. Add egg, espresso powder and coffee liqueur. Stir together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt in small bowl; gradually add to cheese mixture; beat until well mixed.

Drop by teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets (I used my cookie scoop to keep the size consistent). Sprinkle with sugar/cocoa topping. Bake 8-10 minutes (I only went 9 on mine) minutes until lightly browned. Remove from cookie sheets while warm. Cool on wire rack.

For the cheese filling:
Using a stand mixer, or a bowl and electric beaters, beat together the mascarpone and cream cheeses, about 3 minutes. Add sugar and coffee liqueur, and beat for an additional 2 minutes.

For the chocolate filling:
Mix the ingredients together in a small bowl, adding powdered sugar to get it to a consistency where it will spread, but is not too stiff.

Match the cookies together by size. Spread cheese filling on the bottom half of cookies (I used a piping bag). Spread the chocolate filling on the top half of the cookie. Press together to make sandwiches. Store in refrigerator.

Source: Culinary Concoctions by Peabody and the Domino Sugar website

Mixed Greens with Berries and Sugared Almonds

I've shared some great salads in the past (remember the beautiful fall salad, the pear and pecan salad with mustard vinaigrette, or the yummy greek/house dressing), but this one is really something special. The fruit balances perfectly with the blue cheese and the vinaigrette, and the crunch from the sugared almonds gives it some extra texture while adding so much to the overall flavor. It really is as beautiful as it is delicious.

It's a little bit of spring on a plate and I love everything about it.

Orange and Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette:

• 2 Tablespoons honey
• 1 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
• 2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed Meyer or regular lemon juice
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• Salt and Pepper
• 1/2 cup olive oil

Put all of the ingredients in a jar and shake until combined. Or, blend ingredients together using an immersion blender, food processor, or blender. Taste for balance and seasoning.  This dressing will keep for a week in the fridge if there are leftovers.

Mixed Greens with Berries and Sugared Almonds

• Mixed greens
• Raspberries
• Blueberries
• Sugared almonds (recipe below)
• Blue cheese crumbles
• Salt and pepper

Assemble the salad and toss with some of the dressing.  Top with raspberries, blueberries, sugared almonds, and blue cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

Sugared Almonds

• 1/2 c. raw, sliced almonds
• 1/4 c. granulated sugar

In a medium saucepan over medium low heat, cook and stir the almonds and sugar until the sugar is melted and the almonds are coated. Remove from heat, cool, and break apart. Store at room temperature until ready to serve salad. 

Adapted from: Baked Bree