Chicken Enchiladas

*Disclaimer* I am in NO WAY going to pretend that this is healthy, and no, it will not fit in your diet. And no, these are in no way "traditional." Like everything else on my blog, you'll have to look elsewhere if you want traditional.

This has been a long time favorite in my house. I don't make it very often *BECAUSE* it is not all that good for you, and it's just not the same if you omit the cheese, but it is worth it once in a while. You could easily substitute low fat cheese if you know of one that melts and browns well, though. :)

It was late last night when I was making this, so I spaced and forgot to take a big ingredient shot. I did, however, take photos as I chopped things up....that counts, right? NO? Dang. Oh well....what is that phrase my kids are chanting these days? Ah, yes...."You get what you get and you don't throw a fit!" ;)

You'll need: 1-2 bell peppers, whatever color you like (I used a whole green, half a yellow and half an orange since that's what I had on hand); one medium sized onion, white or yellow; 1 1/2 lbs of chicken breasts (you can use thighs if you prefer dark meat, which I do not); 1 can of sliced olives; approximately 12 small flour tortillas, give or take depending on the size of your pan, the size of the tortillas (I like 'fajita size' by Mission), and how full you stuff them; cheese--1 pound of monterey jack and half a pound of medium cheddar; 1 packet of Lawry's fajita seasoning and 1 packet of McCormick taco seasoning (I know, for SHAME....and I almost always use a home made mix for everything else....but I've been making these since I was about 15 or 16 and they just aren't the same without store bought sodium-laden sauce packets....you can use a homemade mix if you'd like since you have no emotional attachment to this recipe like I do....but you'll need 2-3 times as much as you'd normally use for tacos and the like); chicken broth (or chicken base and water...whatever); water. Optional: Sour cream.

Start by cutting up the peppers, onions and chicken. I like the chicken pieces to be about twice the size of the vegetables. Shred all the cheese (enlist your husband for this part....I always tell him if he WANTS lots of cheese he has to be the one to SHRED lots of cheese!).

(Note: I am *STILL* swooning over that vintage Corelle pattern. Those who know me on Facebook understand why. Maybe I should blog about it? Hrm....)

Heat a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat w/ a tablespoon or so of whatever oil you like. Add the peppers and onions. Cook them until they are translucent, but not browned. Don't worry if you cook them a little too long...you really can't screw it up.

Remove the peppers and onions from the pan (or most of them...don't stress getting every last one), and add the chicken to the pan (feel free to season it liberally w/ black pepper and whatnot...don't use much salt if you're opting for packet seasonings later, though...). Now, I SUPPOSE you could cook all of it together, but quite frankly, this is how I've always done it and it's hard to undo almost 15 years of habit. Plus I like the peppers and onions to not be browned and the chicken to be browned, so this is my way of making sure it's just to my liking. Shoot me. ;)

When the chicken is done, remove it from the pan. Set up a "station"--tortillas, cheese, olives, vegetables, chicken, pan (oh, and you should totally line your pan with pan lining paper so you don't have to scrub the pan afterwards....).

When you're ready to assemble....

3-4 pieces of chicken, a handful of veggies, a few olives...

Sprinkle with a handful of monterey jack cheese...

Roll them up tightly, and place it in the pan. Stuff as many as you can get into the pan. I probably could've put another 2-3 in this pan, but I ran out of tortillas because *SOMEONE-who-shall-remain-nameless* has been using the package I bought for this for breakfast burritos all week....

At this point....remember the pan you cooked everything in? Yeah, put that back on the burner and turn it up to medium high. Throw in your taco and fajita seasoning...add some garlic powder, some cayenne, whatever you like, really. Stir the seasonings all around a bit to toast them....then pour in 1 cup of chicken stock and 1/2-3/4-ish cup of cold water to deglaze the pan (remember...browned chicken=yummy pan drippings!). Use a whisk to scrape all the good bits off the bottom of the pan and mix the seasonings with the water. Let it boil a few minutes to reduce slightly...not real necessary, but again, I've always done it, so I still do it. At this point, if you wish, you can mix in a few tablespoons of sour cream...I do it sometimes, but I'm not a huge fan of sour cream, so I didn't this time. Mix together about a tablespoon of flour and 1/4 cup of cold water in a cup with a fork and then pour it directly into your sauce and mix it up--this will help thicken it in the oven. Turn the heat off and pour the sauce directly over the pan of rolled up tortillas. I use a small measuring cup and pour it a little bit at a time to make sure the tops are all evenly covered, and then pour the rest into the baking pan.

It's going to look soupy, don't worry. Most of that liquid will be absorbed by the tortillas when you bake it.

Top with cheese--now, I prefer just a little bit of cheese on top, but my husband likes lots, so since these were for my husband by request....well....avert your eyes....

Bake at 400 degrees for approximately 30 minutes. It won't kill it if it's a little over, and it won't kill YOU if it's a little under since everything inside is pre-cooked, but you want to give the cheese inside a chance to melt and the tortillas a chance to absorb the sauce. The last 3-5 minutes, turn the broiler on to thoroughly brown the top.

As you can see, it'll still be a little saucy when you take it out of the oven, but it's enchiladas...they're supposed to be saucy! ;) Plus, that sauce should have thickened up by now and not be super runny. It will thicken further upon standing as well. I cut them with a serrated knife and serve in squares like a casserole. If you want to, you could try to cut the individual enchiladas out of the pan....but that's more effort than I tend to want to take. :)

In a word, NOM!

Chicken Taco Salad

In a word, NOM!

Everyone in my house loves green salad--even my super finicky 8 year old with severe feeding issues will eat salad, so we usually have some variation of a salad as a main course 3-4 nights a week. This is one of our favorites.

The chicken is very similar to my crock pot taco chicken. I basically do the same thing, but instead of salsa, I use a large can of diced tomatoes (you could totally use 2-3 cans of Rotel) and a bag of frozen Southwest mix veggies. I also use lime zest instead of a tangelo peel for this.

The salad is nothing special. Whatever greens that are on sale--romaine, cabbage, arugula, butter, green leaf, baby spinach, just whatever you like; tomato, onion, cucumber, etc. etc. etc. Just make a salad. ;) You could totally serve this on top of tortilla chips or even in a tortilla bowl if you're in the mood. I normally don't, though. Toss a handful of cheese on top and a spoonful of the chicken and you're good to go! My husband tops his with salsa and sour cream.

Pollo Loco

*Update* I made this on the grill last night and it worked out so much better! Take 4 sheets of tin foil and fold them together so they are 2 wide and 2 thick. Fold up a lip all around, and put it straight on top of the grates on your grill--if you have wire grates with 1" or so spacing like on the top rack pictured below, you might want to make it 3 layers thick; my grates are cast iron with about 1/3-1/2" spacing and this worked perfectly. Spread your charcoal evenly across the whole thing and raise it up almost as high as the charcoal carrier will go. If you have a gas grill, just turn it on as high as it'll go. Add a little bit of oil to prevent sticking, and cook the same way on the grill as you would in the pan, but this way you have a huge surface to work on and you can just throw the mess away! :)

My family frequents this Mexican restaurant in our town, and they make a dish they call "Pollo Loco." It is basically just peppers, onions and chicken charred like for fajitas, and served over spicy rice with some shredded lettuce and a little bit of mozzarella (yes, mozzarella) cheese, tomato and green onions. They serve it with 3 flour tortillas. As simple as it is, it is one of my favorites and I always order it when we eat there. I've been meaning to make it at home for a few weeks now and finally got around to it last night.

Here's what it looked like in the restaurant the last time I ordered it....it came out a little underdone, and kinda greasy...I wasn't real pleased, but it was still pretty yummy. Horrible cell phone pic...sorry....

What you need to make it at home:

Pretend there's a bowl of rice and a can of Rotel in that photo for me, ok?

Shredded iceberg lettuce (I'd much prefer romaine, but who am I to argue?), mozzarella cheese (again, I'd think monterey jack would be more appropriate, but even their menu says they use mozzarella, so....), onion, green onion, tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapeno pepper, white chile, poblano pepper, (you could really use any variety of peppers you want or can get your hands on....this is what the Safeway near my house had....so I grabbed one of each), tortillas (flour!), chicken breasts--this is about 1 lb, and you can use thighs if you prefer them.

First things first, this is one of those recipes that you cannot prep as you cook, because if you're anything like me, something will burn before you have the next thing prepped, so wash and slice everything before you even heat up your pan. Snip the green onions with scissors and slice up the tomatoes--and set them aside because you want to add these fresh at the end. I wound up using only half of each of the bell peppers, and half of the onion, because it was a LOT once it was all sliced up, and I wanted to actually taste the chicken. haha! Slice the peppers into thin strips--I quartered the bell peppers and then sliced them across the short way into thin little strips. Fillet or butterfly the chicken and slice it into pieces about the same size as the pepper strips, maybe a bit bigger, but not much.

When everything is prepped and ready to go, season the chicken with salt and pepper, and then heat a couple tablespoons of oil in the bottom of a large heavy skillet (cast iron if you've got it...or even a good dutch oven if you don't have a huge skillet) over medium high heat. A griddle would be awesome if you've got one that goes directly onto the stove, too....but I like sides for stuff like this because I'm a messy cook!

Pour a cup of rice, a can of Rotel, and 1 1/2 cups of water in a saucepan (you could totally add taco seasoning or extra cayenne or hot sauce or whatever you like, but I think the rest of the dish adds more than enough flavor) and cook it like you would normally cook rice--bring it to a boil, throw the lid on, turn the heat down and let it simmer for a few mins. Set the rice aside.

While the rice cooks, toss the chicken into your pan first. Cook it a minute or two until it starts to brown, and then add the sliced onion and peppers. You may need a little more oil, add it as necessary. You want that sizzling sound. Stir and cook it all together until everything is slightly blackened--don't be like me and open a beer and walk away while chatting with your husband....because mine was more than slightly blackened (haha!), but it was still good because I was GOING for that charred taste anyway. No seriously, I was...not at all joking.

Awesome....

When everything is cooked to your liking, plate a spoonful of the rice and spread it out to cover half the plate, then take a handful of the lettuce and spread it on the other half. Toss the green onions and tomatoes with the veggie/chicken mix (yeah I just threw mine on top because I'm the only one in my house that will eat a fresh tomato...house full of weirdos, I tell ya!)--I added olives I found in the cabinet, too--and then spoon the veggie/chicken mix over the rice, along with a handful of cheese. Top with cilantro (that I totally forgot to buy...oops!) and serve with warmed tortillas.

mmmmmm....Leftovers for lunch the next day!!!! ;)

Verdict? Even slightly more charred than I wanted, my version was *WAY* better...and for what it costs to eat it at the restaurant, I made enough for 4 people to have for dinner AND lunch the next day. :D

Chicken Tortilla Soup

*updated 06 March 2013*

I've only been meaning to blog this recipe for a month now, but it's so good I keep forgetting to take a photo until it's all gone!

Sorry, no real process photos, but it's really simple! Here's a general list of what you'll need:

1.5-2 lbs chicken breasts (or thighs)
1 small onion, chopped
3-4 big cloves of garlic, minced and crushed into paste
2 12-16 oz bags of Southwest Mix frozen veggies (the one I love is by Birdseye...use what you like)
2 cans of Rotel (Original)
1/2 cup of white rice
1/4 cup sour cream
1-2 teaspoons of chicken base (I like Better Than Bouillon, but you can use a couple bouillon cubes or substitute a can of stock or leave it out entirely, that's fine too....)
2 tablespoons of your favorite taco or fajita seasoning--I love the one over at Give Peas A Chance, as I've said before....but you can use McCormick if you'd prefer...no one will tell.

seasoning to taste (I use salt & pepper, garlic and onion powders, chile powder, lots of cayenne pepper...Montreal Seasoning works well, too)


Start out with a couple tablespoons of oil in a heavy bottom soup pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Toss in the onion and garlic paste and cook till the onions are translucent. Cut the chicken into 1/2" cubes and toss it in with the onion and garlic, and then use your misc. seasonings to season the chicken before turning the heat up to high and browning it a bit. Toss in the fajita seasoning and the chicken base, both cans of Rotel, the rice and the bags of veggies, and add about 2 quarts of water (enough to top off the pot). Bring it to a boil and then reduce heat and cover and let it simmer for 20 mins or so (I know this seems like a long time for those of us who prefer their rice a little firm...but I think soft is better for this....so use your judgment). At the end, mix in the sour cream (I *HATE* sour cream straight up....but I still put it in this. It adds a little something and it doesn't make everything taste like sour cream, I promise!).


Spoon out the "good stuff" into a bowl with a slotted spoon, and then use a ladle or a measuring cup to pour the broth over the top of it--this way everyone gets their preferred "stuff to broth ratio." haha!!

Top with shredded cheese (cheddar...must...have...cheddar....monterey jack is good, too, but you simply MUST use cheddar, too! LOL!), more sour cream for those who like it, and tortilla strips or Fritos! I usually add shredded lettuce and chopped tomato and onion to the top as well.

Voila! Tortilla soup.

Chicken Parmesan

Everyone loves Chicken Parmesan, right? RIGHT? :)

What you need:

Grated Parmesan cheese (don't buy the stuff in the can....either get the stuff in the tub at the deli or get a whole chunk of it and grate it yourself); seasoned breadcrumbs; oil to fry in; eggs; salt & pepper; flour; chicken tenderloins (this is a 1.5 lb package....and you can totally use breasts, just butterfly them and/or pound them thin....I just forgot to take chicken breasts out of the freezer, so I stopped at the store on my way home this afternoon, and I said 'hey less work for me!' and grabbed tenders; pasta (I used whole wheat linguine tonight. Use what you like).

Not present for picture day: Mozzarella cheese--and only because I didn't PLAN to use it, but my husband whined, so I sent him to the grocery store down the street while I was breading and frying the chicken. haha!


Start by setting up your typical 3-part breading 'station'. Seasoned flour--heavily seasoned with salt & pepper; eggs (feel free to add some milk to this if you want, not really necessary, though); breading. For the breading, I mixed equal parts grated Parmesan cheese and seasoned breadcrumbs. This was a 5 oz tub of grated parmesan cheese, and I basically dumped it on a plate, filled the tub with breadcrumbs and mixed them together.

If I were you, this is where I'd get a cooling rack out and set it near my breading "station", pour about half an inch of oil in the bottom of either a big skillet or a dutch oven over medium-medium high heat, and then lay out about 4 or 5 layers of paper towels/paper bags/newspaper under an upside down cooling rack next to the stove.

Trim any icky parts off your chicken, then get to dunking. Flour, shake off the excess--coat in egg, let the excess drip off--breadcrumb/cheese mixture, get a good thick coating on there. Then just set the breaded chicken tender on the cooling rack.

Once you get them all breaded, fry them up in small batches--don't overcrowd your pan or they won't brown and it'll be a big icky mess. haha! I find for my dutch oven, 3 at a time is perfect and leaves me lots of room to get in there and flip them over. Fry them until the bottoms are nice and golden brown, then flip them over and cook till the other side is golden brown. Don't worry TOO much about cooking them through, as you're gonna throw them in the oven anyway. Remove to the cooling rack next to your stove. Lather, rinse, repeat until all of your chicken is cooked.

Pile all the chicken up into a glass baking dish (and resist the urge to nibble....or, well, just don't take a photo of that 'step')....

NOMNOMNOM...snag a couple for lunches, these make killer sandwiches!

Pour your favorite red sauce over it. Tonight I used a simple 3-ingredient red sauce (tomatoes, butter, onion) that I made too much of and froze a couple weeks ago. All I added was some oregano. Use whatever you like. Then, if your husband is whiny like mine can be...sprinkle the top with cheese...ugh.

Cover with foil, and bake at 375 degrees till it heats through (about half an hour, 45 mins for tenders, but I'd probably do an hour for breasts). Then remove the foil and put it back in the oven till the cheese browns if that's what you're into. ;)

Serve over pasta, with a nice salad, maybe even some fresh garlic bread. :) NOM!!!!!