Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Chicken Enchiladas with Red Chili Sauce

I got this one out of an All You magazine. Really not much good in there besides the coupons, which are many. But I like to make and eat Mexican food (but not TOO Mexican) so I ripped this page out to try it.

Chicken Enchiladas with Red Chili Sauce
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
salt and pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cumin
2 tsp sugar
2 8 oz cans tomato sauce
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
3 tbsp chopped pickled jalapenos (left these out)
1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro (I bought this, but when I went to wash it, so many of the leaves were brown and gross and slimy that I threw it all away...$0.87 into the trash, oh well...better than getting e. coli which I am only slightly paranoid about but still)
12 6-inch corn tortillas (I don't like corn tortillas, I like flour ones...so we used those)

Preheat oven to 425 (but don't do it yet, it will be on for way too long). Grease a 9x13 baking dish. Warm oil in a skillet over med-low heat. Saute onion and 1/2 tsp salt for 8 minutes. Stir in garlic, spices, and sugar. Add sauce and 1 cup water. Reduce heat; simmer 5 mintues.

Add chicken, cover and cook until thickest part is 160, about 12 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. (Preheat the oven now) Shred chicken; place in bowl with 1/4 cup sauce, 1 cup cheese, jalapenos, and cilantro. Spoon 1/3 cup of filling onto each tortilla; roll up and lay seam-side down in baking dish. Mist with cooking spray.

Bake, uncovered, 7 minutes. Reduce temperature to 400. Pour sauce over enchiladas; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover with foil (try to not burn your fingers); bake 25 minutes. Uncover, bake 5 minutes more.

This was really really good. We had an extra Emma over and all 3 older kids ate it all up. I didn't try it with Nathan, he just had chicken nuggets. I forgot to add salt and pepper to the filling like it says, so I thought I would need to add more to eat it, but it was plenty salty enough. Definitely keeping this one!

Grilled Jerk Chops

Before all you ladies think this would be a great supper for your husbands (HA!) or those of you with sweet husbands say you would never make this for your husbands...let me assure you this "jerk" is not a character reference. It has jerk seasoning in it. They ground up some jerks, added some spices, and there ya go. Really I don't know the origin of calling it jerk seasoning. I do know that I love the Pampered Chef Jamaican Jerk seasoning. Every time I go to a PC show, I order some, because I am afraid they will stop making it and I will run out. Before the only thing I made with it was Jerk Chicken Nachos, which are my favorite favorite way to eat nachos. When I saw this recipe in the June/July 2011 Simple & Delicious, I knew I had to make it because it uses my beloved jerk seasoning.

Grilled Jerk Chops
4 medium limes
1 tbsp caribbean jerk seasoning
1 tbsp olive oil
4 bone-in pork chops
1 small fresh pineapple

Finely grate the peel from one lime (this was hard and I didn't like doing it); set aside. Squeeze juice from two limes (one of them should be the one you grated all the peel off of). Cut remaining 2 limes in half; set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the jerk seasoning, oil, lime peel and half of the juice; rub over pork chops. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Meanwhile, peel and quarter pineapple (easier than I expected); drizzle with remaining lime juice.

Grill chops and pineapple, covered, over medium heat for 4-5 minutes on each side or until meat thermometer reads 160 and pineapple is tender. Grill lime halves for 2-3 minutes or until heated through.

Chop pineapple; serve with pork and lime halves.

Of course this was really fabulous. Only Sam ate his lime, and Emma's half too. Steve did squeeze his lime juice over the pork. But I think you could get away with only buying 2 limes here. Also I used my George Foreman grill instead of the outside grill, which apparently is on the fritz. I had to go to work after, and I asked Steve to wash it so it wouldn't be waiting for me when I got home in the morning. The great news is, Steve found a GF grill at Target with removable plates!! Wahoo! So I'm going to get that really soon. Can't wait.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Easy Molasses Sticky Buns

I made these this morning. They start with frozen bread dough, but I think you could easily use bread dough from scratch. I thought they sounded and looked yummy, and we had some extra kids here this morning so I thought it would be a fun special breakfast we could have. It's from a Taste of Home magazine my mom gave me. I did not say that they were called "molasses" anything because I thought that would make them not want to eat them. I told them they were like caramel cinnamon rolls.

Easy Molasses Sticky Buns
2 loaves (16 oz each) frozen bread dough, thawed (the store bought frozen loaves have to thaw for 5-8 hours, so I took them out of the freezer last night before I went to bed)
1/3 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Molasses Sauce:
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, cubed
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup molasses

Roll out each loaf of bread dough into a 10 inch square. Spread with butter to within 1/2 inch of edges. Combine sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over butter. Roll up jelly-roll style; pinch seams to seal. Cut each loaf into 6 slices.

For sauce, in a small saucepan, bring the brown sugar, butter, water, and molasses to a boil. Pour into a greased 13x9 baking dish. Place rolls, cut side down, in molasses sauce.

Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in dish for 5 minutes; invert onto serving platter (at this point, if you want, you can spill the sauce all over the counter, the floor, your feet and your flip flops. It's really hot, but it will make a great morning even greater if you try it). Serve warm.

So these were SO sweet that I couldn't even finish one. The girls (we had an extra pair of children here) barely touched theirs. The boys ate a bit more, but it seems like nobody was crazy about these. So, not a keeper. It was easy though.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Picnic Potato Salad

This recipe is my sister's, too. Don't worry, she is not taking over New Recipe Night. I don't do much for new recipes when Steve is gone, because the kids are so picky that it's not a fair indicator of the recipe. Most of the time they don't like it, so I don't bother. When he is gone we eat such gourmet things as ravioli, mac & cheese, and chicken. But a new recipe was made in my kitchen anyway! My sister and my niece spent the night on Saturday night, and she made this recipe to take to my dad's church on Sunday for Father's Day, where we always have a pot luck lunch after the service. His church is in Oceanville, which, as you might suspect, is near the ocean. It has a long history of fishermen families. Usually there is seafood there. So Jess and I always make sure to bring things that at least our 2 families will like, since none of us like seafood. We hope the church people don't notice that none of their food is on our plates....She got this recipe from allrecipes.com.

Picnic Potato Salad
10 medium red potatoes, cubed
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
4 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/4 teaspoon dried mint (she couldn't find this, and in the past I haven't been able to either)
dash cayenne pepper (I don't know if she put this in, I didn't watch her make it...)

Place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat; cook for 15-20 minutes or until tender. Drain and place in a large bowl. Combine the remaining ingredients; pour over potatoes and toss to coat. Cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate until serving.

This was really really good!! The herbs, or spices (I don't know the difference between the two, really) gave it a really different flavor. Definitely a keeper.

Apple Pie Filling

This is my sister's recipe. One of her friends at work does this. At apple-picking time, she makes huge batches of this and freezes it, and then whenever she wants to make an apple pie, she defrosts one and throws it into the crust and you have an apple pie whenever you want it. My sister did a bunch of this last fall, and gave me one, enough for one pie. It has been in my freezer these many months, and then I made it for home fellowship last week. I made it then because I had one pie crust left over from my package of 2 that I had bought for another recipe. I made it as a "Dutch" apple pie, because I only had the one crust. So I made the same topping that you would make for apple crisp or blueberry crisp, with oatmeal, brown sugar, and flour. It looked great. Then I got pink eye and couldn't go to home fellowship, so that was great. Steve stopped and got some vanilla ice cream to go with this. I would have gotten whipped cream in a can. But that's the difference between him and me. He brought me home a piece of the pie so I could try it and it was very good. Here's my sister's recipe:

Apple Pie Filling
6 cups sliced apples
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

I combined all these together and cooked it down on the stove for about 15-20 mins and then put it in a gallon size bag to cool and then into the freezer, where it sits for months on end until the sister finally decides to use it.

So I believe the above is enough for one pie, but I will have her confirm in a comment. I will definitely use this recipe. So much better to peel piles and piles of apples during one day and make this ahead, then just throw it in the oven. I followed a basic apple pie recipe for cooking directions, which said to cook it for 35-40 minutes at 400. My sister thought you didn't need to cook the pie as long, since the apples were already partially cooked, so I did it for like 25 minutes, then looked at it and decided it needed 5 more minutes. But the pie crust was still a bit under-done. So next time I will cook it for the full time. Very very good!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Thai Turkey Salad Pitas

We had this tonight with the leftover turkey from last night. It was so so so so good, and I like how there are two totally different meals out of the turkey (not to mention the amount I have leftover to make a pot pie with). It came together really quick, and no cooking so perfect for a hot night.

Thai Turkey Salad Pitas
2 cups cubed cooked turkey breast
2 cups coleslaw mix (I don't like cabbage, so we used lettuce)
1/2 cup golden raisins (I just happened to have some of these, but if I didn't, I wouldn't have bought them, I just would have used regular raisins)
1/3 cup chopped unsalted peanuts (I bought these at the NLC, just the amount I needed, for $0.24...woot!)
1 green onion, chopped (forgot to buy)
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup honey
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tsp chili sauce
1/2 tsp garlic powder
8 pita pocket halves

In a large bowl, combine first five ingredients. In another bowl, combine remaining ingredients (except the pita pockets). Pour dressing over turkey mixture and toss to coat. Fill each pita with 1/2 cup turkey mixture.

Okay, like I said, fabulous. E & N just had plain turkey leftovers, but Steve & I and Sam had this. Sam said he didn't like it, so I asked him to just pick the turkey out. When he started doing that, he said, "oh, maybe it's just the bread I don't like" and he ate all of the filling (it will now be much harder to use up the remaining pitas with Steve gone and Sam not liking them...I'm sure Jill has some ideas for me =o)). This one is definitely a keeper. Tastes like something from a restaurant.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Butter & Herb Turkey

I love turkey, and turkey leftovers. So I definitely wanted to try this recipe because it's for turkey, and then another recipe for the leftovers (which I will post separately). Also it's a crock pot recipe so that's easy too. If, that is, the turkey breast you buy will fit into your crock pot...from Simple & Delicious April/May 2011.

Butter & Herb Turkey
1 bone-in turkey breast (6 to 7 lbs)
2 tbsp butter, softened
1/2 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp pepper
1 can (14 1/2 oz) chicken broth (I used homemade)
3 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp cold water

Rub turkey with butter. Combine the rosemary, thyme, garlic powder, and pepper; sprinkle over turkey. Place in a 6-qt slow cooker (mine must not be 6 qt, or the shape is funny or something...mine didn't fit very well...it was like 2 inches from the lid fitting on all the way...I got on a stool and squashed it down as hard as I could...it took like an hour of cooking before the lid would close all the way). Pour broth over top. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or until tender (not sure I believe this is long enough. I did it on high for that long and it was barely done).

Remove turkey to a serving platter; keep warm. Skim fat from cooking juices; transfer to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Combine cornstarch and water until smooth. Gradually stir into the pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve with turkey.

This made, of course, SO MUCH turkey. I estimate we ate about 1/4 of it for this meal. Tomorrow I'm going to make the leftovers recipe, and I will still have enough to make a pot pie later in the week, because there is a lot of gravy left too. So on the whole, very successful. It did make the skin slimy, so we didn't eat that part. A keeper.

Monday, June 6, 2011

Black Bean-Chicken Quesadillas & Red Pepper Corn

Because I'm so Mexican, I wanted to try this recipe. We love quesadillas (emphasis on the diLLas). We have a yummy Corn & Black Bean recipe for them that we love, and also if it's Steve's night to cook (like once every couple of months)(not because he's not willing but because I love to cook...he only has to if I'm SO tired...) he makes a delightful quesadiLLa with chicken nuggets and taco cheese (sounds funny but it's soooooo yum and he made it up himself). This one is from Simple & Delicious April/May 2011.

Black Bean-Chicken Quesadillas
1 can (15 oz) southwestern black beans, drained (I didn't see the southwestern ones at Walmart so just got regular ones)
1 can (10 oz) diced tomatoes and green chilies, undrained
1 pkg (6 oz) ready-to-use southwestern chicken strips (I did not buy these...I don't want to spend $4 on what would be the equivalent of one chicken breast...I just cooked my own and did not add any seasoning so it wouldn't be too spicy for the kiddos)
1 tbsp onion powder
1 cup (4 oz) shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (I used shredded Mexican [Ole!] because I love it)
8 flour tortillas (8 inch)
2 tbsp canola oil
sour cream, salsa, guacamole (optional)

In a large skillet, combine the beans, tomatoes, chicken and onion powder. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5-8 minutes or until thickened.

In a small bowl, combine the cheeses. Sprinkle half of the cheese mixture over 4 tortillas. Layer with chicken mixture and remaining cheese mixture. Top with remaining tortillas.

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook quesadillas in 1 tbsp oil for 1-2 minutes on each side or until cheese is melted, using additional oil as needed. Cut into wedges. Serve with sour cream, salsa, and guacamole if desired (we only had ours with salsa).

Red Pepper Corn
3 cups fresh or frozen corn
1/3 cup finely chopped red pepper
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp maple syrup
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp chili powder (I left this out, hoping the kids would eat it)

Place the corn, red pepper, and water in a 2-qt microwave-safe bowl. Cover and microwave on high for 8-10 minutes or until corn is tender; drain. Add the remaining ingredients; toss to coat.

Doesn't that corn sound yummy? It really was. The kids didn't like it because of the red pepper. Also mine didn't look as pretty as the picture. But it was so good! The quesadiLLas were great too. The black beans made the chicken kind of black, which freaked the kids out. Nathan and Emma wanted nothing to do with this, so they had nuggets. My dear friend Melissa & her kids ate it with us and they all liked it. It was really SO so good. Definitely keeping this one.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Delicious Whole Slow Cooker Chicken

This is not the recipe I was going to make originally. I had planned to make this Moroccan chicken from the Rachael Ray magazine. It had almond stuffing and sounded very very yummy. It was different than anything I've made before, but didn't sound so foreign that the fam wouldn't eat it. However, you were supposed to season the chicken with saffron. You were supposed to toast the saffron, then mix it with a few other ingredients, and then cover the chicken with it. It seemed like an important ingredient. However, would you like to know how much saffron costs? At the NLC, they do not have it in bulk. They had it in little tiny containers for $8.99. At Hannaford they did not have it at all. At Walmart they had it for $16.99. So when I was in the spice aisle at Walmart I said to myself, "self, we are not going to make this recipe." But I still got the chicken, and figured I could just make something with it out of my "keeper book." I thought it was going to be hot today, so I wanted to make it in the crock pot, but the only whole chicken crock pot recipe I had was for lemonade chicken, which needed frozen lemonade concentrate, which is not something I have on hand. So I went to allrecipes.com and found this one. I had all the ingredients except sesame oil.

Delicious Whole Slow Cooker Chicken
1 (3 lb) whole chicken, skin removed (I had a 4.5 lb chicken, but it's fine...also I HATE getting the skin off chicken...SO gross)
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup olive oil (a lot of the comments on the recipe said this was too much oil, so I only used half of that amount...so basically 1/6 of a cup, but that looks funny)
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp minced garlic

Remove skin from chicken (throughout this process, gag liberally), and empty inner cavity of contents within (how polite that sounds...I almost forgot to take out the giblet bag, that would have been so awful if I had forgotten). Pat chicken dry with paper towels and place in slow cooker.

In a bowl, stir together remaining ingredients. Pour mixture over chicken and cover. Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.

Well, I think calling this "delicious" is a stretch. It was okay. Like almost all crock pot recipes, it smelled fabulous, which in itself might make it worth it. But the chicken didn't seem to have much of the flavor of the sauce. I didn't make gravy out of the drippings like I would normally do, because of the ingredients (gravy with vinegar and honey?). I could have just served the juice (or, the jus, if you are french) with it and that probably would have helped. We had this with Rice a Roni the San Francisco treat because it is Emma's favorite rice and we don't have it very often. So it wasn't terrible, but I'm not keeping the recipe.