Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

Yet another recipe for chicken enchiladas, but this one might be the winner.  The green chile sauce is a nice change from red enchilada sauce.  Published in Southern Living...meaning not authentic but still delicious!

5 T butter, divided
1 med onion, chopped
1 med-size red bell pepper, chopped
2 cups cooked chicken
3 (4oz) cans diced green chiles, divided
3 cups shredded colby-jack cheese blend, divided
8 (8-inch) flour tortillas
2 T flour
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup milk

Toppings:  fresh cilantro, tomatoes, avocados, lettuce

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Melt 2 Tbsp. butter in a large skillet over medium heat; add onion and bell pepper, and sauté 5 minutes or until tender.

2. Stir together onion mixture, chicken, 1 can diced green chiles, and 2 cups shredded cheese. Spoon a heaping 1/3 cupful chicken mixture on 1 end of each tortilla, and roll up. Arrange enchiladas, seam sides down, in a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish.

3. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, melt remaining 3 Tbsp. butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat; whisk in flour until smooth. Cook, whisking constantly, 1 minute. Gradually whisk in chicken broth and milk; cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, 3 to 4 minutes or until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat, and stir in remaining 2 cans green chiles.

5. Remove enchiladas from oven. Pour green chile mixture over enchiladas. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheese.

6. Bake at 350° for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly. Serve with desired toppings.

Peach Raspberry Buckle

I fixed this for Matthew's birthday treat and it was pretty darn good!  The recipe is from The Gourmet Cookbook but originally called for blueberries and nectarines.  Matthew loves blueberries but I despise them and since I wanted to celebrate to we compromised with raspberries.  I used thawed frozen berries from Wal-Mart.  It seems like a lot of fruit to be dumping in but it works well--don't be scared!

For the topping:

• 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

For the batter:

• 1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs
• 2 cups raspberries, picked over and rinsed
• 2 peaches, pitted and cut into 1-inch wedges

• whipped cream or ice cream as an accompaniment

Make the topping: In a small bowl blend together the butter, the sugar, the flour, the cinnamon, and the nutmeg until the mixture resembles coarse meal and chill the topping while making the batter.

Make the batter: In a small bowl with an electric mixer cream together the butter and the sugar and beat in the vanilla. In a small bowl stir together the baking powder, the flour, and the salt, beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture alternately with the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, and fold in the raspberries and the peaches.

Spread the batter in a well-buttered 10-by 2-inch round cake pan or 2-quart baking pan, sprinkle the topping evenly over it and bake the buckle in the middle of a preheated 350°F. oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean and the topping is crisp and golden. Serve the buckle with whipped cream.

Game Birds in a Slow Cooker

Matthew enjoys going quail hunting and it's always a challenge how to make these tough little birds come out tasty.  This recipe from slowcookerrecipes.org.uk is pretty tasty and lets the sage flavor of the bird meat come through.  I usually let it cook longer than the recommended 7 hours if I can.


1.4 kg game bird, cut into pieces or 1.4 kg of smaller birds in parts (3lb)
2 cloves garlic
¼ cup of chopped yellow onions
2 tablespoons of olive oil
¼ teaspoon of thyme
¼ teaspoon of poultry seasoning
salt and pepper
1 cup of chicken broth, bouillon or homemade stock
2 tablespoons of honey
¼ teaspoon of dried rosemary
½ cup of sour cream
2 tablespoons of flour
1 cup of cream, half and half or milk

Peel and finely chop the garlic cloves. Peel and chop the yellow onions. Heat a large heavy frying pan to medium high and add the olive oil (use more if needed). Add the chopped garlic and the chopped onions to the frying pan and sauté them until they are limp but not browned or caramelized.

Remove the garlic and the onions from the frying pan leaving behind the oil and set them aside. Add the pieces of game bird to the frying pan and add a little more oil if needed and lightly brown the pieces on all sides. Do them in batches if you don’t have enough room.

While the game bird pieces are browning, start the covered slow cooker on low heat. Once the pieces are browned, place them in the slow cooker. Pour the chicken stock, broth or bouillon over the bird and add the garlic and onions, the thyme and poultry seasoning, the salt and pepper to taste, and the honey. If you like cooking wine or sherry now is a good time to add a splash or two. Mix everything around well then sprinkle the rosemary over the top.

Put the lid on the slow cooker and cook on low heat for about 6 hours. Remove the lid and add the sour cream to the mixture and stir it around. Replace the lid and cook on low for another hour. Poke the game birds while your adding the sour cream. If they seem tough, you can add more cooking time or increase the heat to high.

In a blender or shaker, combine the cream, half and half or milk and the flour. Make sure the mixture is smooth. Remove the lid from the slow cooker again and pour the mixture in and stir around. Replace the lid and cook for another hour.

Serve the slow cooker game birds over or with rice or stuffing.

Spicy Honey Chicken

Also from Our Best Bites!

8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 2 lbs)
2 tsp vegetable oil

Glaze
1/2 cup honey
1 T cider vinegar

Rub
2 t granulated garlic
2 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/2 t coriander
1 t kosher salt
1 t cumin
1/2 t chipotle chili powder 

Preheat grill to med-high heat or about 400 degrees F.

Combine rub ingredients in a small bowl.

Trim any visible fat off the chicken thights, rinse and pat with a paper towel.  Drizzle oil over chicken and rub it in with your hands.  Rub the spice rub into the chcken thighs.  Grill for 3-5 mins on each side.

For the glaze: while the chicken is cooking, warm honey in the microwave for about 15 seconds.  Whisk in vinegar.  Reserve 2 T glaze and brush the rest on the chicken in the final moments of cooking.  Remove chicken from grill and allow to stand 3-5 mins.  Drizzle reserved 2 T of glaze over the chicken while it's standing.

Black Bean Soup and Tortillas

This recipe comes from the book Our Best Bites.  Delicioso!

1 T olive oil
3/4 c diced carrots
3/4 c diced celery
1 c diced onion
4 large cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 (3.5oz) can diced green chilies
2 (15oz) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 t kosher salt
1/8 t back pepper
1/2 t chili powder
1/4 t cumin
1/2 t dry oregano leaves
1 lime juiced (I used the zest from 2 limes instead)
Optional toppings:  sour cream, tortilla chilps, shredded cheese, hot sauce, chopped cilantro

Heat olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat.  Add carrots, celery, onion, and garlic and saute for 4-5 minutes.

Add the black beans, chilies and beef broth.  Stir to combine and then add the salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and bay leaf.  Simmer uncovered for about 20-25 minutes or until carrots are tender.  Remove from heat.  Remove bay leaf from soup.

Transfer the soup to a blender.  Place lid on blender but remove the stopper in the lid to let heat escape.  Cover hole with a paper towel to avoid splatters.  Or, use an immersion blender.

Puree soup until desired consistency is reached.  Squeeze in the juice from one lime and pulse to combine.

Ladle into bowls and top with desired toppings.  Serve with extra lime wedges.

Flour Tortillas
2 1/2 c flour
3/4 t kosher salt
1/4 c plus 2 T shortening
3/4-1 c hot water

In the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the flour and salt.  Add the shortening and combine until crumbly.

With the mixer running, slowly add 3/4 c of hot water.  Mix until the dough starts to come together, adding more water if necessary; the dough should be about the consistency of Play-Doh.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  While the pan is heating, divide the dough evenly into 8-10 balls.  Roll the balls as thinly as possible into circles.

Place a raw tortilla onto the hot skillet and cook until large bubbles appear and the tortilla looks slightly oily, about 1 minute.  Flip and cook another 30 seconds to a minute or until the tortilla is cooked through but not brown or burned.  Repeat with remaining tortillas, keeping the cooked tortillas under a clean kitchen towel.  Serve immediately.

Sweet Chicken Enchiladas

Yummy enchilada recipe from Katie Tucker!

6 Tbs honey
4 1/2 Tbs lime juice
1 Tbs chilli powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Mix ingredients together and toss with 1 lb shredded chicken (I crock pot the chicken). Fill tortillas with chicken and shredded montery jack cheese. Pour green enchilada sauce on bottom of 9x13 pan and over filled tortillas. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 min.

Canned Spaghetti Sauce

If you have a bunch of tomatoes this is a great recipe from my sis, Melissa.

24 Cups of Blanched Peeled cut up Tomatoes
6 onions chopped up
3 Green Peppers Chopped up
6 tsp minced Garlic
6 Small cans of Tomato Paste
12 Tbs. Chopped Fresh Parsley
6 Tbs. Chopped Fresh Basil
6 tsp. dried Oregano
3 tsp. dried Marjoram
6 tsp. Sugar
3 tsp. Salt
1 ½ tsp. Pepper

Combine all ingredients in a large pot if like chunky sauce and heat to a boil. If you like non chunky sauce, boil just tomatoes, onions, and green peppers for 20 min. and put through a sieve, then add the rest of the ingredients. Simmer for 15 min. Put in bottles pressure can for below times:

Weighted-Gauge Pressure Canner
Pints 20 min. at 15 lbs.
Quarts 25 min. at 15lbs

Dial-Gauge Pressure Canner
Pints 20 min. at 13lbs.
Quarts 25 min. at 13lbs.

Makes 19 pts. Or 10 Quarts

*tip: After blanching and skinning your tomatoes cut them on an old towel to pull away some juices to lessen runny sauce.