Enchiladas again--Chicken Enchiladas

Chicken Enchiladas
The Best Light Recipe Copyright 2006

1 medium onion, chopped fine
½ teaspoon vegetable oil
Salt
3 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed
3 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons sugar
2 (8-ounce) cans tomato sauce
1 cup water
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Ground black pepper
8 ounces 50% light cheddar cheese, shredded
1 (4-ounce) can pickled jalapeno chiles, drained and chopped
½ cup minced fresh cilantro leaves I omitted this
12 (6-inch) soft corn tortillas
Vegetable oil spray
1 lime, cut into wedges (for serving) I forgot this

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 400 degrees. Combine the onion, oil and ½ teaspoon salt in a large saucepan. Cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until the onion has softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic, chili powder, cumin and sugar and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato sauce and water, bring to a simmer, and cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
2. Nestle the chicken into the sauce. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook until the chicken is no longer pink in the center and the thickest part registers 160 degrees on the instant read thermometer, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate; set aside to cool. Strain the sauce through a medium-mesh strainer into a medium bow, pressing on the onions to extract as much liquid as possible; discard the onion. Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred into bite-sized pieces. Toss together the shredded chicken, ½ cup of the enchilada sauce, 1 cup of the cheddar, jalapenos, and cilantro and season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Stack the tortillas on a microwave-safe plate, cover with plastic wrap, and microwave on high until warm and pliable, 40 to 60 seconds. Spread the warm tortillas out over a clean work surface. Place 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture evenly down the center of each tortilla. Tightly roll each tortilla around the filling and lay them seam-side down in a 13x9-inch baking dish.
5. Lightly spray the tops of the enchiladas with vegetable oil spray. Pour 1 cup of the remaining sauce over the enchiladas to them 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 to 25 minutes.
6. Remove the foil and continue to bake until the cheese browns, about 5 minutes longer. Serve, passing the remaining 1 cup sauce and the lime wedges separately.

Serves 6. Per serving: 350 cal, 10g fat, 4.5 sat fat, 65mg sodium, 37g carbs, 33g protein, 7g fiber, 980 mg sodium
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I know, I know. You're thinking 'how many times can this lady make enchiladas?' Well, plenty because I really like them.

I took some shortcuts with this recipe since I was short on time. I cut up the chicken into small pieces and put it in the sauce right off. When it was cooked, I took out the chicken (and onions) with a slotted spoon and mixed it with the other filling ingredients. Shredded meat would have been better but these were still damn good. Cook's Illustrated scores another win.

This is short because I have work to do. I need to get some nesting done. Don't panic, I don't exactly have the urge to nest but I'm afraid that by the time that hits, I'll be too big to move around. I don't remember ever getting the nesting urge with my first son either so I don't want to wait for it in case it never comes.

Question of the Day: Do you clean on schedule or on an as-needed basis?

More enchiladas

Family-Friendly Chicken Enchiladas
101 Things To Do With a Casserole Copyright 2005

3 cups cooked and shredded chicken
2 cans (10.75 ounces each) cream of chicken soup*
1 cup sour cream
1 can (4 ounces) diced green chiles, drained
¼ cup dried minced onion
2 ½ cups grated cheddar cheese, divided
10 medium flour tortillas I used corn tortillas
1/3 cup milk*

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine chicken, 1 can soup, sour cream, chiles, onion and 1 ½ cups cheese. Fill tortillas with 1/3 to ½ cup chicken mixture. Roll filled tortillas and place seam side down in a greased 9x13-inch pan. combine remaining soup with milk and spread over tortilla rolls. Sprinkle remaining cheese over top. Cover and bake 25 minutes. Uncover and bake 5-10 minutes more, or until heated through.

Makes 6-8 servings.

*Variation: 1 can (10 ounces) enchilada sauce can be used to top enchiladas in place of soup-and-milk mixture. I used the enchilada sauce instead of the second can of soup and milk.

I had a can of cream of chicken soup, a container of sour cream, chicken and corn tortillas already on hand when I decided to make this. I only needed to pick up the enchilada sauce, chiles and cheese. I'm not sure if the soup adds anything to this - the Chicken Enchiladas I made without it were just as good. The dried minced onion was slightly overpowering, reminding me of onion soup mix but it didn't ruin the dish for me. I think less onion and some added spices would have perked up the filling. I used basic mild cheddar here and I wish I had used a colby/jack blend.

I served this with rice I freestyled - I sautéed (in Promise margarine - something else I'm trying to use up) some green onion and some of the marked down jalepeños that I had frozen, added some cooked white rice and a bit of taco sauce for flavor.

Everyone is this family liked these but I'm not sure why these are any more 'family-friendly' than any other enchiladas. The soup? I don't know. I don't name these recipes, I just make them.

Question of the Day: Do you shop at a warehouse store? If you do, do you do it to save money or just because it's fun?

A definite 'wow' for me

Enchiladas Suizas
Fiesta Southwest Entertaining with Jane Butel Copyright 1987

The Chicken:
3 chicken thighs and legs, or 2 chicken breasts I used the thighs and legs
1 large carrot, cut into thirds
1 celery rib, quartered
1 medium Spanish onion, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
½ teaspoon salt

The Sauce:
2 tablespoons sweet butter
4 tablespoons flour
2 cups rich chicken stock from cooking the chicken
1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro
½ cup chopped green chiles (3 to 4 parched and peeled)

The Casserole:
12 corn tortillas
Vegetable oil
The cooked chicken removed from the bones and pulled or shredded
2 cups coarsely grated Monterey Jack and sharp full cream Cheddar, tossed together
1 cup whipping cream
¼ cup finely chopped purple Spanish onion I left it out

1. Place all the chicken ingredients in a large pot, add water to barely cover over the tips of the meat, cover, and simmer until chicken is tender. The bones should wiggle and the meat should be very tender to the touch of a fork.
2. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. (Meanwhile? You need the broth from the chicken, how can you make the sauce while you're still making the chicken.) Melt the butter, add the flour, and stir together until slightly brown. Then slowly stir in the chicken stock, a little at a time, until a rich, thick sauce develops. Stir in the cilantro and the green chiles. Taste and adjust seasonings.
3. Heat about an inch of oil and lightly fry the tortillas. Drain well. Then dip each tortilla in to the sauce, place a strip of the cooked chicken and a sprinkle of the cheeses in the center, and roll, placing them seam side down in a casserole, preferably an authentic Mexican one.
4. When all are rolled, distribute the remaining sauce and cheeses evenly over the tortillas. Pour the cream evenly over the entire casserole. Top with a ribbon of the ¼ cup coarsely chopped onion.
5. Either freeze for up to 3 months, well covered in moisture-proof packaging, or bake immediately in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Serve piping hot.

Note: If frozen, bake 30 to 40 minutes or until bubbling hot.
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My original plan was to make my own tortillas using the tortilla press that I picked up for $1 at a yard sale. The press works great but I couldn't find masa anywhere. I should have gone to Wegman's. I tried corn flour but it wasn't working and frankly, I wasn't in the mood to struggle with it, especially when corn tortillas are so inexpensive to buy.

These were different than the spicier enchiladas I've made but oh man were they good. The dark chicken meat added so much flavor. I used really good cheese - Cabot Monterey Jack and their Extra Sharp Cheddar. The cream put this over the top but I think it would still be a good dish without the cream or with a lesser amount.

These were part of an 'Apres Ski' menu so I guess it was assumed that you would burn a lot of calories while skiing before eating these. The menu also included Hot Buttered Rum, Chile meatballs and an apple crisp.

These are a bit too decadent to make on a regular basis but I will make them again someday. I am sure of that.

This is one of my oldest cookbooks, well one that I've owned the longest. I have no idea why I've been ignoring it. I think I might have mentally lumped it in with Diana Kennedy's Mexican cookbooks, which I could find no use for. This book is nothing like that book. While it may have been a challenge to find some of the ingredients in most areas of America when this book was published in the late 80s, now you could find them just about anywhere. There are a lot of recipes in this book that I'm looking forward to trying.

Question of the Day: White or dark meat? Lately I've been choosing dark meat more often. For some reason, I haven't been in the mood for chicken breasts for a while. I think I just needed a break since they were a regular staple for so long.

Chicken enchi-way-too-much-as

Chicken Enchiladas
Favorite Brand Name Slow Cooker Casseroles and More Copyright 2002

2 cups chopped cooked chicken I used more, probably 3-4 cups
2 cups shredded Wisconsin cheddar cheese, divided
2 cups shredded Wisconsin Montery Jack cheese, divided
1 cup Wisconsin dairy sour cream
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground red pepper
10 (6-inch) flour tortillas my tortillas were bigger, maybe 8 inches. I used 7-8 of them.
1 ½ cups enchilada sauce
½ cups sliced black olives
½ cup minced green onions

Combine chicken, 1 cup cheddar cheese, 1 cup Montery Jack cheese, sour cream and seasonings; mix well. Spread ¼ cup chicken mixture on each tortilla, roll up tightly. Pour ½ cup sauce on bottom of 12x8-inch baking dish, seam side down; top with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheddar cheese and 1 cup Montery Jack cheese. Bake at 350 degrees F, 20 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Top with olives and green onions.

Makes 5 servings.

One word describes this recipe - excessive! Four cups of cheese?! One cup of sour cream?! And only 2 cups of chicken?! These enchiladas were good of course but hard to enjoy knowing your arteries were hardening with every bite. I liked the bones of the recipes - the creamy, cheesy chicken filling worked nicely with the spicy enchilada sauce but I wouldn't duplicate this exact recipe in the future. I would halve the cheese, add more chicken (which I did this time), maybe cut back on the sour cream and use corn tortillas. I prefer corn tortillas for my enchiladas and I wish I hadn't been trying to follow this recipe faithfully and used them instead of the flour tortillas here.

This was another brand name cookbook but again, lots of scratch recipes are included. I guess the brand here was Wisconsin dairy products but I didn't check if my cheese and sour cream came from Wisconsin. I sort of hope not as I'm sure we have plenty of cows in this state.

Damn these were good

Chicken Enchiladas
Living The G.I. Diet Copyright 2004

2 tablespoons canola oil
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
2 onions, sliced
1 red bell pepper, stemmed seeded and thinly sliced I used 1/2 red, 1/2 orange
1 green bell pepper, stemmed seeded and thinly sliced
1 jalapeño pepper, stemmed seeded and minced
1 cup diced tomatoes I used canned organic diced tomatoes
½ cup shredded light-style Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese I used Cabot's Light Pepperjack
8 large whole-wheat tortillas I used multi-grain

Toppings:
½ cup shredded light-style Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese I used Cabot's Light Pepperjack
½ cup light sour cream

1. Combine 1 tablespoon of the oil, the chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt and black pepper in a medium-size bowl. Add the chicken and toss to coat it with the mixture. Heat the remaining oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until no longer pink inside, about 10 minutes. Remove to a plate.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
3. In the same skillet over medium heat, cook the onions, bell peppers, and jalapeño pepper until tender, about 10 minutes. Set aside.
4. Add the chicken, tomatoes and cheese to the pepper mixture and stir to combine. Divide the filling among the tortillas and roll each of them up. Place them in a shallow 9x13-inch greased baking dish. At this point I refrigerated them overnight. Cover with aluminum foil and bake until the filling is hot, about 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 5 minutes, or until the tortillas are crisp.
5. Sprinkle with cheese and dollop with sour cream before serving.
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This recipe is basically the same as my freestyle quesadillas. So why did these blow me away? I have no idea. Maybe because all the effort was expended the previous evening. When I make quesadillas, I make the filling the night before but I put the quesadillas together the night we eat them. I'm always in a rush since I can only make about 2 at a time on the GF grill. I only needed to pop these in the oven after work. The tortillas got nice and crispy and they had a sweetness to them (I used Mission whole grain tortillas). The flavors in the filling had melded together nicely overnight. I was really in heaven, and I have leftovers for lunch today. Yay!

This is from a GI diet cookbook. I don't follow any certain diet but I am aiming to add more good carbs and less fat so I find that the cookbooks from a lot of the popular diets are very helpful to have around. The particular low-carb books I own tend to have recipes very high in fat and calories but the GI-diet, South Beach diet, carb addict's diet, etc seem to suit us rather well.

A Blast From the Past: Chicken Enchiladas from September 2005 - one of the first recipes I blogged. They were very good too, but definitely not as healthy. They could be lightened up though, if you like a creamy enchilada.

Question of the Day: Have you ever tried a 'name-brand' diet (Weight Watchers, Atkins, South Beach, etc)?

These did NOT agree with me--Enchiladas

Enchiladas
Our Favorite Meats Copyright MCMLXVI

3 tbsp. flour
4 tsp. chili powder
3 tbsp. oil
2 c. water
1 lb. hamburger
½ c. chopped onion
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
½ tsp. garlic salt
1 lb. grated Cheddar cheese I used Monterey Jack cheese
12 tortillas

Brown flour and chili powder in oil. Gradually stir in water; simmer for 30 minutes (I added some cayenne, cumin and salt). Brown hamburger and onion. Season with salt, pepper and garlic salt. Dip tortillas in sauce until softened. Fill center of tortilla with meat and cheese; roll and place in baking dish. Sprinkle remaining cheese over top. Pour sauce over enchiladas. Bake at 350 degrees until cheese is melted. Serve hot.

Yield: 4 servings
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There was really nothing wrong with these. The sauce was a bit bland but I added some things to spice it up. They ended up rather delicious actually but I really paid for them later on. I don't know what it was and they only seemed to have that effect on me.

I chose this recipe because I only needed some tortillas and cheese to make it. I've learned my lesson and I don't think I'll be making anything this heavy for a while!

I have to make a cake tonight. I have when I have to do anything, when it comes to cooking. I really want to do it but I'm just running low on energy this week. If I don't have a post tomorrow, I just got overwhelmed, that's all.

Blast From The Past: Chicken Enchiladas from October 2006 - my favorite enchiladas. I was actually going to make those but I came across this recipe while I was looking for something to make with ground beef.

Question of the Day: Are there any foods that you avoid because you know you'll pay for them later?

Satisying but not worth repeating

Manhattan Turkey (or Chicken) al la King
Passport To Flavor Copyright 1993

8 ounces wide egg noodles I used an entire bag of whole wheat egg noodles
1 pound boneless turkey or chicken, cut into strips I used chicken
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 can (14 ½ ounces) pasta style chunky tomatoes I used diced organic tomatoes
1 can (10 ¾ ounces) condensed cream of celery soup I used 98% fat-free
1 medium onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, slices
1 cup sliced mushrooms

Cook noodles according to package directions; drain. In large skillet, brown turkey in oil over medium-high heat. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Add remaining ingredients, except for noodles. Cover and cook over medium heat 5 minutes. Remove cover; cook 5 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Serve over hot noodles. Garnish with chopped parsley, if desired.

Makes 6 servings.
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This dish in no way resembles traditional chicken a la king but it wasn't bad. It was definitely healthier than the traditional version. It was a satisfying weekday meal but not something I would make again. There are just too many chicken recipes out there. I only remake the very best ones. Also, there are lots of reports of peanut allergic kids getting mystery reactions after eating Cambell's soup and I felt a little weird after eating this which could purely have been psychological or maybe it was the MSG. I'm still a little hypersensitive after my mysery reaction. My son was fine but he didn't eat a lot of the sauce. I think the fat-free version probably has more weird stuff in there than the full-fat version, to make up for the fat.

We have slippery roads today and for some reason I can't seem to work up the nerve to get out there and get to work. I hate driving on slippery roads but my fear isn't usually this debilitating. I tried once but traffic was a standstill from an accident and I got nervous and came back home. I'm such a wuss.

Blast From The Past: Chicken Enchiladas from October 2006. Now that is a chicken recipe worth making over and over.

Question of the Day: What dish do you make for dinner most often?

Muffins for the teachers--Chocolate-Chocolate Chunk Muffins

Chocolate-Chocolate Chunk Muffins
Baking: From My Home to Yours Copyright 2006

¾ stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups buttermilk
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter or spray the 12 molds in a regular-size muffin pan or fit the molds with paper muffin cups. Alternatively, use a silicone muffin pan, which needs neither greasing nor paper cups. Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet.

Melt the butter and half the chopped chocolate together in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water; or do this in a microwave. Remove from the heat.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk the buttermilk, egg and vanilla extract together until well combined. Pour the liquid ingredients and the melted butter and chocolate over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don’t worry about being thorough – a few lumps are better than over mixing the batter. Stir in the remaining chopped chocolate. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. I sprinkled a bit of sugar on top.

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted into center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold.
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I decided to make muffins at the last minute for my son's 'teachers' (he attends a daycare center) and this recipe that I had just seen posted at Cook. Craft. Enjoy. immediately came to mind.

Unfortunately since I gave them away to the teachers, I only tasted a small sample that I baked off in a custard cup. I know I enjoyed it and I can say that these muffins are intensely chocolate but I wish I had been able to sample an entire muffin. Or two. I'm going to have to make these again because I want my share!

Not much else to report this Monday morning. We spent the weekend visiting mothers and grandmothers. I didn't cook a thing.

Blast From The Past: Chicken Enchiladas from September 2005. I don't make this heavy version of chicken enchiladas anymore but I won't lie - I'd eat them up if I could do it without guilt.

Question of the Day: How did you spend Mother's Day?

October 2006 Cookbook Giveaway

The first cookbook that I gave away, Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen, came to me by way of a mixup in a cookbook order. This time I had to select one on my own. That's not easy since there are so many cookbooks out there. I decided that this month I would give away one of my most used cookbooks, Favorite Brand Name Slow Cooker, Casseroles and More. I was fortunate to pick up a nice new copy of this for one of you.

Now, this isn't a fancy celebrity chef cookbook but I can't imagine that anyone couldn't find a few recipes that suited their tastes in this monster of a book. There are over 500 recipes on almost 400 pages. Lots of photographs too.

Don't let the Favorite Brand Name title fool you - most of the recipes aren't loaded with convenience products. I own quite a few Favorite Brand Name cookbooks but if I could only have one, this would be it. The name is a bit misleading in that I don't think there are any more slow cooker recipes than there are casseroles, skillet dinners, etc. This book would be useful even if you don't own a crockpot.

These are some of the recipes from this book that I've tried so far:

Barbara’s Pork Chop Dinner
Bayou-Style Pot Pie
Chicken and Linguine in Creamy Tomato Sauce
Chicken Enchiladas
Ham and Egg Enchiladas
Jambalaya Stir-Fry on Cajun Rice
Milwaukee Pork Stew
Sausage and Mushroom Pasta
Spanish-Style Couscous
Sweet Jalapeño Mustard Turkey Thighs

This is how it works - just leave a comment on the giveaway post pledging that you'll use the cookbook for your own pleasure (cooking, reading, staring at it on your bookshelf) and you won't turn around and sell it on E-bay, at a yard sale, etc. No, you don't have to write that out - if you comment, I'll assume your motives are pure. I just need an e-mail address (if your profile links to an e-mail, you don't need to type it out, I'll find it). Entry is open until the last day of the month. First chance I get after that, I'll put all the names in a hat and pick two names. The winner will have a week to give me their address after I contact them. If I don't hear from that person, the book goes to the second name I picked. I'll pay the shipping, of course.

As I said, this is a MONSTER of a book so I'll have to limit this to US mailing addresses only again.

*****The winner was Anette********

Weekly recap

Phew! I made it through another week and now I have a long weekend. Yay!

Let's see, what did we eat this week? Monday we had Baked Ziti and garlic bread, with salad.

Tuesday we had chicken and filling (also known as dressing or stuffing). I make great filling if I do say so myself. I just had some plain chicken breasts so I decided to cook them - in canned soup! Ha! Take that, nasty commenter. I mixed cream of chicken soup with milk and some parmesan cheese. It kept the chicken moist. Important since it cooked the night before and reheated when we ate it.

Wednesday was a delicious rerun - Sweet-Sour Pork on Rice.


I used the last of my peach preserves from last year in that recipe. I'm sad I didn't get to can anything this year but I just couldn't get any canning done with the new baby.

Last night we had the enchiladas which turned out better than I expected. I knew the enchilada sauce tasted good but there wasn't much else to them - just multi-grain tortillas, queso fresco and shredded chicken. I wanted sour cream but I didn't have any. I used some thick ranch dip instead and it wasn't a bad substitution. They would have been better with corn tortillas but at least the multi-grain ones didn't get too soggy, which I was worried about. Cooking ahead is always a crap shoot.

Tonight will be pizza.

Today is my birthday. I turn 39 for the first time (but possibly not the last time LOL!). All I want for my birthday is a comment, from each of my regular commenters and from every other single person reading this. Is that really too much to ask? Please, pretty please.

Busy weekend

Oh, the recipes I could be posting about right now - 'big' oatmeal cookies, those famous World Peace Cookies, Asian glazed chicken drumsticks, strawberry bread, orange-zucchini bread, the most incredible coffee brownies. But, I don't have any of those blog posts ready - sorry! Stay tuned.

I cooked up a storm this weekend. Why would I do that on one of the hottest weekends in recent history? Well, we have air conditioning and it was too hot to do much outside so why not? I've been on a cooking ahead tangent since I am tired of rushing home to make dinner during the week and I am also tired of spending so much money on food. Planning and cooking ahead saves time and money.

I made a variation of Enchiladas Suizas last weekend and I put together two meal-size pans of them, one we ate last week and one was put in the freezer. Instead of using one package of boneless thighs for one dinner, I easily stretched it out to cover two dinners. I bought a pack of corn tortillas for $1 on sale, that had 30 tortillas in it. Not only did I make those two pans of Enchiladas Suizas, I also free-styled a Mexican lasagne with the last of them, using some ground beef I got on sale and using my homemade taco seasoning (scroll down on that link for the recipe).

I made enough Venison in Sauce for two meals last weekend too. This weekend I made Crockpot Pulled Pork. That wasn't planned but I came across pork shoulder on sale. One shoulder roast yielded three containers of pulled pork, for sandwiches or recipes like Barbecued-Pork Burritos and Barbecue Pork Pot Pie.

I cooked a lot of rice since I find it freezes well and I can use it for fried rice or as a quick side dish. Speaking of fried rice, I cooked some chicken thighs to be used in fried rice or stir-fries. It stretches a lot further that way.

I roasted beets. I bought some on a whim on Friday and I didn't want to forget about them like I forget about much of the produce I buy on a whim. I love beets and they really aren't hard to prepare except for the time it takes to peel them, which isn't an incredibly long time.

I sautéed a lot of cabbage. My favorite produce lady at auction had large heads of cabbage for $1 so I grabbed one. They weren't great cabbages - not very green like I prefer for cole slaw but perfect for cabbage and noodles later in the future. I never tried freezing the sautéed cabbage separately but I think it's going to work.

I made sloppy joes. I roasted chicken drumsticks.

The next couple of weeks should go a bit easier.

Not spicy but still delicious

Spicy Vegetable Quesadillas
Favorite Brand Name Mexican Copyright 2003

1 small zucchini, chopped
½ cup chopped green bell pepper
½ cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon ground cumin
8 (6-inch) flour tortillas I used Mission multi-grain tortilla wraps
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese I used a blend of odds-and-ends 50% Light Cheddar, regular cheddar and American
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro I omitted this

1. Spray large nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Heat over medium heat until hot. Add zucchini, pepper, onion, garlic, chili powder and cumin; cook and stir 3 to 4 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Remove vegetables and set aside; wipe skillet clean.
2. Spoon vegetable mixture evenly over half of each tortilla. Sprinkle each evenly with cheese and cilantro. (I like to stir the shredded cheese right into my quesadilla filling for even cheesiness.) Fold each tortilla in half.
3. Spray same skillet with cooking spray. Add tortillas and heat 1 to 2 minutes per side over medium heat or until lightly browned. I used my GF grill. Cut into thirds before serving. I cut them in half - I'm a rebel.
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These quesadillas weren't spicy but I loved them anyway. These could easily be spiced up adding a bit of chopped jalapeños, using a spicier chili powder or substituting pepper jack for the cheddar cheese. I would definitely increase the heat and spice next time because I think that would play off the sweetness of the vegetables very well.

I freestyled chicken quesadillas along side this for my husband and I thought I might resort to eating a chicken one too if these veggie quesadillas weren't satisfying but they were very satisfying.

This is my contribution to Sweetnick's ARF/5-A-Day Tuesdays. I think everything in this recipe except the regular cheese that I blended with the low-fat cheese is on the list of the World's Healthiest Foods. And I only added the regular cheese to stretch out my cheese since I forgot I used half of the Cabot 50% Light Cheddar on a pizza a few days ago.

Anyone (in the U.S.) who hasn't jumped in can still enter the cookbook giveaway. We still have almost 2 weeks until the drawing.

A Blast From The Past: Ham and Cheese Enchiladas from October 2005. I've made these enchiladas several times since then, taking liberties and still getting great results. I use any color of bell peppers and if I don't have green onions I use sweet onions. I throw in jalapeños if I have them. I use any whatever appropriate cheese I have on hand. It's a brunch dish but I make it for dinner. The leftovers are great for breakfast.

Question of the Day: How spicy do you like your food? (I almost asked 'How spicy do you like it?' but that might open the door for inappropriate comments!)

I'm glad I didn't change my mind--Pork & Peppers Mexican-Style

Pork & Peppers Mexican-Style
Good Carb, Better Carb Cookbook Copyright 2004

2 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup chopped green onions
¾ pound lean pork, cut into ¼-inch pieces I used pork tenderloin
3 bell peppers, preferably red, green and yellow, diced (about 2 cups)
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
Salt and pepper
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon dried chipotle pepper (optional) I used this
½ cup shredded Cheddar cheese I used Cabot 50% light cheddar
¼ cup sour cream I used lite sour cream

1. Heat oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Add green onions; cook and stir 2 minutes. Add pork; cook and stir 5 minutes or until browned. Add peppers and garlic. Cook and stir 5 minutes or until peppers begin to soften.
2. Season with salt and pepper. Add mushrooms, cumin, chili powder and chipotle pepper, if desired. Cook and stir 10 to 15 minutes until pork is cooked through and vegetables have softened.
3. Serve with topped with shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream.

Makes 4 servings. Per serving (without the tortilla): 271 cal, 9g carb, 17g fat, 6g sat fat, 63mg sod, 98mg sodium, 3g fiber, 22g protein
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I didn't really want to make this last night but the clock was ticking on the fresh mushrooms so I went ahead and made it. I really liked it. It reminded me a lot of the chicken enchiladas from Living the GI Diet. I added more peppers and mushrooms. You could really play around with the vegetables in this. I picked out whole wheat tortillas to go with this.

My grocery bill was record setting last night and I didn't even get all of my produce (the garlic and onions were sickly as were the mushrooms). I can't figure out of if it was just higher prices or if I went overboard. I did buy a few expensive items that I don't buy regularly - Pull-ups, sunscreen, flank steak. That's almost $25 extra right there. The sad thing is that I barely blinked. I just shook my head.

Blast From The Past: Find your own in the archives. I'm almost caught up with updating the archives. There are over 650 recipes! I have just about the last week of recipes to enter and it will be completely up-to-date. When I'm out on maternity leave I hope to fine tune it a bit. It's a bit sloppy right now.

Question of the Day: Do you like the flavor of chipotle peppers?

Think rustic--Enchilada Sauce

Enchilada Sauce
Mexican Family Favorites Cookbook Copyright 1983

3 Tbsp. oil
3 Tbsp. flour
2 cups water (or use meat stock) I used water
6 Tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. garlic powder

Heat oil and brown flour. To 2 cups of water (or stock) add chili powder and dissolve. Add chili to browned flour and mix well. Add seasonings and blend. Bring to a bubbly boil, stirring frequently. Simmer covered, 5 minutes.

Makes 1 ¼ cups sauce.
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I know these enchiladas didn't photograph very well but try to think of them as 'rustic'. That might help. That's what I did.

I had some chicken, some multi-grain tortillas and some queso fresco. I originally was going to make tostadas since last week when I was standing at the deli in the grocery store, I saw that they had tostadas on the Mission display. So I put tostadas on the menu but when I went back to buy them - no tostadas. Figures. I grabbed the multi-grain tortillas but I wish I had grabbed corn tortillas. I really didn't know I was going to end up making enchiladas like this or corn tortillas would have been better.

Oh well, this post is about the sauce. I'm not a Mexican or Tex-Mex food expert but I can guess this wouldn't compare to a sauce made straight from chilis or even with a good chili powder but it was as good as the canned stuff or better, even using a basic inexpensive chili powder. It was fast and cheap (if you use a cheap chili powder). I was afraid of using all of that chili powder but I should not have been. It had nice flavor, with a bite but not too spicy.

And there were no tomatoes - I know some of my readers will be happy about that!

Question of the Day: Have you ever tried making something from scratch, that you would normally buy prepared? You don't have to name everything because I'm sure many of us have done it more times than we can count. It's fun to make things from scratch sometimes but I'm glad I don't 'have to' do it, KWIM? It's nice having the option to grab things right off the shelf, ready to go. I don't think I'd enjoy food as much if I still had to churn my own butter.

P.S. I added a new background. Is it too 'busy'? It was free and only took a minute to add - check out the link on the upper right of the screen if you're interested in one for your own blog. I never added anything like that before so if it causes any technical problems for anyone reading this blog, let me know (especially if it makes the page load slower for you!)

Something good was hiding in the freezer

Milwaukee Pork Stew
Favorite Brand Name Slow Cooker Casseroles and More Copyright 2002

2 pounds boneless pork shoulder or sirloin, cut into ½-inch cubes
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 large onions, sliced ½-inch thick
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can (14 ½ ounces) chicken broth
1 can (12 ounces) beer
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 bay leaf

Coat pork with combined flour, salt and pepper. Heat oil in Dutch oven; brown meat over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic. Cook and stir 5 minutes. Pour off drippings. Stir in remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Cover; cook over medium-low heat 1 to 1 ¼ hours or until meat is very tender. Stir occasionally.

Makes 8 servings.

I'm really making an effort to be more frugal since my grocery bills are getting out of hand. I haven't been to Costco in ages because I'm spending too much in the regular grocery stores. I miss Costco! So I'm trying to cut back a bit, which is difficult because I don't feel as if I'm buying excessively. So this week I pulled out this stew (and I have enough for another meal) even though I wasn't feeling excited about it but I was pleasantly surprised how much we enjoyed it.

I made this a couple of weeks ago but I ended up freezing it after we had a crazy day and we ended up eating McD's that night. Freezing didn't seem to hurt this at all. While I didn't like it as much as the similar beef stew I made recently, it was still pretty good. I love the taste of caraway seeds. My two year old really enjoyed this too which shocked me because he hasn't show much interest in beef or pork that isn't filled with nitrates. (Why or why do they love the bad stuff?)

I had to put this cookbook aside at one point because I love it and I didn't want to rely on it too heavily (same with the Food and Wine books which are on vacation right now). I'm enjoying getting reacquainted with it. I also made Ham and Egg Enchiladas again this week (a brunch recipe I like to serve for dinner).

I used the red peppers that I bought marked down and then froze. They worked well in this recipe. They let out a lot of moisture but I just cooked that all out and then added the green onions and ham. This is one of our favorites.

Question of the Day: Do you feel that fast food is a treat or a cop-out?