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Chicken Enchiladas Recipe

11 Jan posted by
This Chicken Enchiladas recipe is the result of many batches in my household.  I make it once or twice a month.  Slow simmered homemade enchilada sauce is so much better than ready-made sauces, you will never use them again, once you have made enchilada  sauce from scratch , you will never go back to jarred.

Chicken Enchiladas Recipe
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Recipe type: Entree
Author: Robin Gagnon
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 2 hours 20 mins
Total time: 2 hours 35 mins
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 to 2 lbs of boneless chicken (either use tenders or cut up other boneless chicken to roughly that size)
  • 1 medium sweet onion (diced)
  • 2 tbs. oil
  • 1/2 tsp minced garlic (or one crushed/minced clove)
  • 3 tbs chili powder
  • 2 tbs dried cilantro
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp. cayenne
  • 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
  • large (29 oz) can of Hunt’s tomato sauce (add another small can if you like extra sauce)
  • 8 – 12 oz shredded cheddar or Monterrey Jack cheese
  • approx. 12 corn tortillas
Instructions
  1. Saute onion and chicken in shallow stock pot or dutch oven, over med-high heat. Add the spices once meat is starting to brown. Stir. Cook another minute to open up the spices, then add the tomato sauce.
  2. Cut the burner down to simmer and cover. 1 hour
  3. Remove cover simmer another 40 min.
  4. Take pan off burner. Remove the chicken pieces from enchilada sauce, with tongs and put in a bowl to cool.
  5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
  6. Once chicken is cool enough to handle. Shred it by hand.
  7. Mix half the shredded cheese in with the chicken.
  8. Coat the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish with a layer of the sauce.
  9. Put 5 or 6 corn tortillas in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 1 minute.
  10. Remove wrap carefully, and flip over the tortillas. The ones on the bottom should be soft & flexible enough to work with now. By the time you get to the others, they will also be ready.
  11. Make about a 1 inch circumference “log” of chicken/cheese mix 1/3 up from edge of tortilla and roll.
  12. Place the enchilada loose end down in the pre-sauced baking pan.
  13. You should get 2 rows of 5-6 chicken enchiladas, across the 9″ span.
  14. Top with the remaining enchilada sauce and cheese. (If you made extra sauce reserve it, to top the finished enchiladas or side dishes.)
  15. Bake for 25 minutes.
Google Recipe View Microformatting by Easy Recipe

Serve these chicken enchiladas with the usual accompaniments.  I usually make my Spanish Rice & some black beans for side dishes.

2 Comments
Filed Under: Recipes

No Better Deal on a Play Kitchen

11 Jan posted by

About 3 weeks ago, I won a $50 gift code from NoBetterDeal.com, during a twitter party.  The code was promptly sent a few days later.  I browsed around at the time, but decided to hold off til after the holidays.  Last week, I went on the site and saw a Pink Retro Play Kitchen from Kid Kraft.  It was open box and priced $51 with $3.95 shipping.  After 10% off from a discount code, my total was under $50.  This play kitchen is normally sold as a two piece set with a refrigerator for around $200.  I ordered the kitchen and it arrived via UPS within a week.

It appeared as if a label had been cut off the box, but other than that, it looked undisturbed.  As you can see in the picture, the kitchen pieces were still in all their original packing materials.  Once I pulled out all the pieces and inspected them, I did find a crack in one of the burners and one corner had lifted on the medallion on the top center of the stove.  The cabinets themselves were in perfect condition and all hardware was present.

The play kitchen could have been assembled as is, but I decided to glue the plastic pieces.  After my simple repairs with Elmer’s Glue All, the only thing you can see is a faint hairline crack in the burner (and that is only noticeable if you are looking for it).

After the glue dried, I assembled the kitchen.  The only tool required is a phillips head hand screwdriver.  The instructions were easy to follow and it took me a little over an hour to put together, going at a leisurely pace.  The kitchen is adorable and the extra toy storage it can provide will come in very handy.   My daughter likes opening the doors and playing around with the sink.  She’ll get the whole play cooking concept soon, I’m sure.

Verdict: I will be checking out the deals on NoBetterDeal again in the future.  They offered many more categories than toys.  As far as Kid Kraft goes, I wish they used a more resilient plastic.  It seems odd that they have such well made cabinetry for a child’s toy, but use a plastic that seems prone to crack.  I would buy from Kid Kraft again, but would avoid items with many plastic components.

Disclaimer: This is in no way a full review of either company mentioned here.  These are my honest opinions and no compensation was given.  I was under no obligations to NoBetterDeal, from the gift card I’d won, through a third party.

11 Comments
Filed Under: Children, Reviews & Giveaways, Shopping

Spanish Rice Recipe: An Easy Side for Your Tex-Mex Meals

10 Jan posted by

Spanish Rice recipeThis Spanish Rice recipe is the one I use  in my home.  I decided awhile back to stop buying  prepackaged rice dishes.  They are overpriced, over salted and nothing spectacular.  This Spanish rice recipe is the result of many batches of rice (we eat Tex-Mex a lot).  I purposely kept ingredients to pantry ready items.  The recipe is quite easy, and I think you will be pleased with the results.  I always make a side of this rice to go with my Chicken Enchiladas recipe.

Spanish Rice Recipe

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups converted/parboiled rice  (holds up well to simmering with the tomatoes without getting too soft)

15 oz can of Hunt’s fire roasted tomatoes

3 cups water

2 packets of powdered chicken base ( I use Goya Cubitos Pollo)

1 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. dried cilantro

1 tsp. chili powder

1/4 tsp. minced garlic

1/4 tsp. Kosher salt

Directions:

1. Put all ingredients except rice into a sauce pan and bring to a boil.

2. Add the rice, allow to come back up to boil.  Reduce heat to simmer & cover.

3. Rice will be done when liquid is absorbed (about 20 minutes)

This Spanish rice recipe makes an excellent side dish for tex-mex food, meatloaf, spicy grilled meats and a host of other meals.  I have also added meat while cooking to make a stuffed pepper filling, as well.

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Filed Under: Food, Recipes

Rolled Pork Tenderloin with Moist Rub

6 Jan posted by

When I buy pork tenderloins, they usually come 2 to the pack.  I often prepare one in a moist rub like this, and the other goes into my pork chow mein recipe.   I’ve found the moist rub to add good flavor throughout, and due to the slicing and fresh ingredients in the rub, the tenderloin tends to cook evenly and maintain moisture.

I make the moist rub in a mini food processor.  Fresh herbs and sweet onion are the primary ingredients of this rub.  There aren’t too many things to harvest during the winter here in New England, but herbs often can be.  Parsley is my usual choice, yet on the pork tenderloin shown above,  I used a handful of lemon balm and a sprig of fresh marjoram, harvested from my garden.  I was pleased with the results.   The rub contained:

  • fresh herbs of choice
  • a 1/3 of a chopped sweet onion
  • 1-2 tbs olive oil
  • a couple pinches of kosher salt
  • a little bit of  lemon juice (or mild vinegar for acid)
  • pickled cherry pepper (I use 4 or 5 minis) .

The mixture is then pulsed in the processor until it is  a loose paste.

Trim the pork tenderloin well, make a slice the length of the loin, about 3/4″ deep.  Open the incision, then begin slicing the pork about that much above the cutting surface.  Rotating, and flattening until you have a relatively flat piece.  Rub the outside with the paste, then place rubbed side down, on a sheet of plastic wrap.  Coat the rest of the pork, and roll it back into its original shape.  Use the wrap to help you, and squeeze it back together gently.  Let the flavors infuse for about an hour.

The unwrapped pork can them either be roasted (375 degree) or grilled, until it reaches 170 degrees, on meat thermometer.  Allow to rest a few minutes, before slicing to serve.

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7 Comments
Filed Under: Food, Recipes

Wordless Wednesday 1/6

5 Jan posted by

There is nothing like an indoor jungle gym in the middle of winter. 

8 Comments
Filed Under: Family

Getting Organized in 2010

2 Jan posted by

Things have gotten a bit disorganized around here lately, and I have decided that it will be my resolution to remedy the situation.  It occured to me that some of the other things I was considering as resolutions, might benefit from a more organized living space, so it  seemed the best place to start.

I started off yesterday, by going through my kitchen cupboards and tossing anything that had been around too long.  Today, I just tossed a few things I no longer “loved” into a donation box and went through some paperwork.  By the end of the week, I should be ready to start buying some storage, and other organizing tools. 

My office will be my biggest project, since I have to plan for an expanding workload.  The other big challenge will be our spare bedroom, which has become a catch-all since renovation work on it came to a screeching halt a few years ago, when my husband broke his ankle, then I became pregnant.  We have vowed the room will be completed this spring, so that we can make it our master bedroom.

 The biggest things I hope to get out of my organizational overhaul, are more effective use of my time and a more serene and easier to maintain living space.  I’ll be sharing  some of the projects and products used in this overhaul, though posts over the next few months.

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5 Comments
Filed Under: Home & Garden, Projects
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