Showing posts with label chicken. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chicken. Show all posts

Thursday, April 30, 2015

Salsa Verde Chicken, Pepper Jack cheese and Sour cream Enchiladas



Happy day before Friday! Today I am sharing one of my absolutely most favorite recipe of all time, Salsa Verde Pepper Jack cheese Enchiladas with Sour Cream. Perfect timing for Cinco de Mayo. A neighbor of mine, when we lived in California, showed me how to make authentic Salsa Verde. This is it, minus the onions. What I love about this salsa verde, isthe fresh flavors of the cilantro, the heat from the Serrano chilis, (which are spicier than  jalepenos), and the tanginess from tomatillos.


Sure you can cut time by using a jar of Salsa Verde, but the taste of the homemade salsa is amazing, it seems to be more cohesive, bringing all the elements of the enchiladas together. I've noticed with jar salsa, that it doesn't really soak into the enchiladas, just sits on top. I don't add any water to the salsa verde, I don't want my enchiladas, too soft and mushy, but you can add a Tbls. at a time, until the salsa is to the consistency you prefer. You can blend the cilantro in the salsa to make it greener. I added my chopped cilantro to the salsa (making it easier for my children who don't like the cilantro, to pick it out)!


These have been a great tradition in our family to make. My daughter Lindsay likes to get in their and help me shred the chicken, stack the enchiladas, add the filling, and if she doesn't eat all the cheese by the end, she loves to top the enchiladas with the shredded cheese. 

Here are the enchiladas I am preparing by rolling them. It is a little more time consuming, and I'll be honest, there is more filling used in the stacked version. If you are looking to stretch your filling and make more enchiladas, than rolling is the way to go.  This time I only used one Serrano chili in the Salsa Verde, and added Spicy Pepper Jack cheese. My husband likes his enchiladas a little spicier, so I sliced a fresh Serrano chili and garnished his plate extra special!




Salsa Verde Chicken Pepper Jack cheese and Sour cream Enchiladas
For the Salsa Verde:
1 1/2 pounds Tomatillos
1-3 Serrano chili peppers
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1 tsp. salt (for water) + 1 tsp. salt (for salsa)
1 Tbls. canola oil
1 Tbls. roasted garlic or 3 garlic cloves
For the Enchiladas:
1 Rotisserie chicken, shred the 2 chicken breast
2 cups Shredded Pepper Jack Cheese
2 cups Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
3/4 cup sour cream
12-18 corn tortillas
Avocado, for garnish
cilantro, for garnish
Serrano chili, for garnish
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Peel the tomatillos from their husks. In a saucepan, add the tomatillos, depending on how spicy you want your salsa verde, I only put 1 Serrano chili, but you can add as many as you want, and this time I used minced garlic, but you can add the garlic cloves to the pot. Add enough water to cover, add salt and boil. Just until the tomatillos turn a bright green color, and the tomatillo skin, starts to blister off. Don't over cook, or the tomatillos will become too mushy, and very pale in color.
3. In a blender, combine the tomatillos, chili,  minced garlic or whole garlic cloves, salt and oil together, and puree. If you prefer chunky do not puree until smooth. You could also add the cilantro to the blender, it will give it a deeper green color. I add it to the puree to give it texture. My salsa, may be a paler shade of green, but for some of my children who don't like cilantro, they can easily pick it out, that way!
4. To the bottom of my pan, I spread about 1/4 cup of the salsa, so the bottoms of the enchiladas, soak it up, instead of sticking to the bottom.
5. My nana taught me this trick, you can soften the tortillas, by frying them lightly in a sauté pan filled with canola oil, and cook on low heat for 5 seconds per side, transfer to a plate, and with paper towels, drain the grease off...
OR
You can make extra salsa, heat it up in a sauce pan, and dip each tortilla whole in the warmed salsa.
6. Combine the two cheeses.
7. I roll my tortillas, filling them with a little chicken, cheese and 1/2 Tbls. of sour cream each. Gentle roll them up, do not over fill. Leave seam side down.
OR
8. You can stack the tortillas, 6 for first layer, 6 for middle layer, and 6 for top layer.
9. Between layers, I use chicken, cheese and dollops of sour cream.
10. Cover enchiladas with remaining salsa verde, (should be about 1 cup), and remaining cheese ( should also be about 1-2 cups, depending on if you like a ton of cheese).
11. Bake in oven for 15 minutes, until warmed through and cheese is slightly browned and bubbly.
12. Garnish with avocado, more cilantro, and since I used only 1 Serrano chili, I garnished my husband with another fresh Serrano chili, since he likes his enchiladas on the spicy side.
They are Muy Delicioso!!
Have a great week! Until next time!
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Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Chicken Piccata and Visiting Prescott Part 1

Happy Tuesday friends! Hope you all had fantastic weekends! Not to get off topic, but I am learning things about blogging, since this is my second time around. When I first started blogging, I truly felt the need to blog everyday (and I knew bloggers that even posted twice, maybe three times a day), with three small children and a tween, it was a task, that was fun at the beginning, visiting bloggy friends and checking on what was going on in their corner of the blogosphere. Then after a while, I wouldn't say it got harder to keep up, and it wasn't burnout, I think it was just trying to balance family with blogging. I'll admit, that while this is my online journal, and while it's my inspiration, I hope that it also inspires the tens of readers that my small blog has. Even though I really wanted to blog yesterday, it just wasn't meant to be, and I'm ok with that. There is a time and a place for everything, and yesterday's post, is today's inspiration. That your blog is your blog, and you can write when you want, how you want, and those loyal readers will be there for you! With that note, onto today's post!

Today I am sharing our weekend visit up in Prescott, and my search for a rose bush. There are some rose bushes left here in the Valley, but as we get our shipment in at the beginning of the year, by this time, picking are slim, and as I mentioned one of my favorite nurseries in Phoenix, apparently closed at the end of 2014!

Our first stop was Watter's Garden Center. As we walked through the front gates, roses were arranged by color, red, purple, orange, yellow.
My grandmother is wanting a (affiliate) Neil Diamond Hybrid Tea Rose.

 Other than for the obvious reason, that Neil Diamond is one of her favorite singers, this striking rose has stunning blooms with unique speckled and striped patterns of various shades of red, from Cherry, to dark raspberry and then to blush white, or maybe it is the roses sweet fragrance she's after.

For me, my favorite is and always has been yellow roses. This one, I remember in my mother's garden growing up, it always reminds me to keep the 'Peace'!


My daughters and I meandered down the whimsical paths, admiring all the gorgeous and strange plants, I say strange, because in Phoenix, we rarely get to see delicate plants like peonies, camillas, and pussy willow trees, which my daughter, kept running her fingers over the blooms, saying how soft they were, there was even a pink jasmine plant that caught my eye. These plants are chosen by Watters that are specific for Prescott only. The staff at Watters are very helpful and friendly. They also offer Saturday garden classes. My mother even emailed me one of their 'Taking care of roses newsletters'. Other plants we were investigating were all the colors of snapdragons, stock and violas.

(Watter's Garden Center)

Personally, I could buy these plants at Lowe's, HomeDepot or Walmart, for half the price, and as the roses were a little more than I was willing to pay. We left, for our next stop to have dinner with my mom, her husband and my grandparents at Genovese's .

Genovese is a charming fine Italian restaurant in Prescott's town square, specifically on the famous Whiskey Row. It being Saturday night, you can imagine the place was packed. The room was filled with conversations and laughter, as the dining room guests were enjoying not only their delicious meals, but the pleasure of their dinner company! I can't tell you how long it's been since, I had an enjoyable dinner out with family. After we ordered, and around the time our salads were served, that's when the real ambiance started, as the lights were dimmed, as I wasn't able to get a really good picture of my meal. I ordered the Chicken Alba. The chicken breasts were cooked to perfection and covered lightly with a wine sauce that had capers, red peppers, artichokes, and mushrooms. On the side I had large macaroni pasta with the most amazing alfredo sauce I've ever tasted. The only two things, that we had to criticize were the garlic bread, was pretty crunchy, and I am used to ceasar salad dressing being very creamy, and I was surprised when the dressing on my salad was mostly olive oil, with a ton of garlic. Thank goodness my husband didn't come on this trip, because I seriously doubt I'd be getting a kiss good night from him!


My mother's husband ordered the lasagna, Katelyn ordered, the cheese tortellini with marinara, my mom and grandfather ordered pizzas that they bake fresh to order and shared with Lindsay. My grandmother and I have very similar tastes, I almost ordered the exact same thing, except that I had made Chicken Piccata for dinner last week. Of course it came with angel hair pasta, and had a strong lemony flavor, that makes it so wonderful. Dinner was perfect, and the staff were extremely nice and very attentive, making Katelyn's birthday dinner a very memorable one.

For today as well, I am sharing my quick recipe for Chicken Piccata!



Chicken Piccata

Ingredients
  • 1 pound chicken breasts
  • salt and pepper
  • flour for dredging
  • 3 Tbls. unsalted butter
  • 2 1/2 Tbls. extra-virgin olive oil
  • Juice of 1 lemon (more if you prefer)
  • 1/2 cup white wine ( I used chicken stock)
  • 1/4 cup brined capers
  • Pound of pasta, cooked as directed (angel hair, fettuccini, thin spaghetti)
Directions

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, 1 Tbls. of the butter with half of the olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add 2 pieces of chicken and cook for 5 minutes per side. When chicken is browned, flip and cook other side for 5 minutes minutes. Check the internal temperature of the chicken should be 175F with a thermometer, and the juices should run clear. Remove and transfer to plate.

 Melt the other 1 Tbls. of butter and half of the olive oil. And repeat, cooking the remaining chicken in the same manner.

Into the pan add the lemon juice, stock and capers. Return to stove and bring to boil, scraping up brown bits from the pan for extra flavor. Check for seasoning. Return all the chicken to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove chicken to platter. Add remaining 1 tablespoon butter to sauce and whisk vigorously. Pour sauce over chicken.

Until next time, I hope you all have a great week!
Happy 12th Birthday to Katelyn Rose!



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Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Greek Lemon-Basil Chicken soup


When my oldest daughter had the flu, she only wanted Minestrone soup. Even to this day, when she's sick this is what comforts her and gets her feeling better. This is also one of my husband's favorite soups, and while I'm not a huge fan of Minestrone, when I added my touch of a Lemon-Basil butter to finish the soup, it changed my whole world, simply for the fact that I love anything with lemons in it.




The first step is to make the Lemon-Basil butter. Basically it's about 1 cup of Basil chopped, 1/2 cup butter, softened, but not melted, the juice of 1 lemon, 1 Tbls. minced garlic and a pinch of salt. All mixed together, and refrigerated for an hour.


In two small batches, sauté half the bag of spinach with 1/2 Tbls. lemon butter. Wilt the spinach, until it is reduced in size by about half. Repeat with the remaing half. Set aside.


Usually I use chicken breast or tenders, but this week, chicken wasn't on special, so I picked up some chicken thighs. Again, if I buy thighs I usually buy boneless, but couldn't find any. Truth be told, I like chicken thighs, their fat, adds so much flavor to a dish, that I thought this would be perfect for the soup. I sautéed the chicken thighs on medium high heat, in 1 Tbls. of lemon-butter for about 12 minutes on each side, until the skin is a crisp golden brown, and the juices run clear. I cooked six thighs, in two batches.



While the chicken is cooking. To a large stock pot, I added the chicken stock, tomatoes, white beans, spinach and shells. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to medium, and cook the shells for about 8-10 minutes.


After the chicken is fully cooked,  the juices run clear, set aside for 5 minutes to cool. After slightly cooled, shred the chicken off the bone and add to the soup. Then add the Kalamata olives.

I love this part. One day I will share my Nana's Clam Chowder recipe, but this is what I love about finishing soups. She told me that her mother told her, after ladling the soup, and before serving the soup, place about 1 tsp. of butter on the top of the soup. She told me it's this loving touch that gives the soup it's rich flavor. And she was right. Every time I do this, it really makes the soup complete with the added extra touch of butter and basil. Hope this soup warms you up on a cold winter's day!

Greek Lemon-Basil Chicken soup
Lemon-Basil Butter:
1 cup basil chopped
1/2 cup (1 stick) of softened butter
Juice of one lemon
pinch of salt
1 Tbls. minced garlic
Soup:
6 chicken thighs, sautéed and shredded
6 cups chicken broth
1- 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
Salt and Pepper
1- 15 oz. can white beans, drained
1- 16oz. box of shell pasta
10 oz. fresh spinach
1/4 cup Kalamata olives
1. In a small bowl add 1 cup of Basil chopped, 1/2 cup butter, softened, but not melted, the juice of 1 lemon, 1 Tbls. minced garlic and a pinch of salt. All mixed together, and refrigerated for an hour.
2. In two small batches, sauté half the bag of spinach with 1/2 Tbls. lemon butter. Wilt the spinach, until it is reduced in size by about half. Repeat with the remaing half. Set aside.
3. Sauté the chicken thighs on medium high heat, in 1 Tbls. of lemon-butter for about 12 minutes on each side, until the skin is a crisp golden brown, and the juices run clear. I cooked six thighs, in two batches.
4. In a large stock pot, add the chicken stock, tomatoes, white beans, spinach and shells. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to medium, and cook the shells for about 8-10 minutes.
5.  When the chicken is fully cooked,  the juices run clear, set aside for 5 minutes to cool. After slightly cooled, shred the chicken off the bone and add to the soup. Then add the Kalamata olives.
6. Ladle the soup into bowls. Just before serving add 1 tsp. of the Lemon-Basil butter to melt on top.
Serve with crusty Italian bread!
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Wednesday, January 28, 2015

East Meets West Chipotle-Lime Sticky Wings





Good morning! Today I am sharing, the most amazing baked wings. Seriously, these are so addicting,  allcovered in a sticky, sweet and spicy sauce (with the combination of two secret ingredients) my East Meets-West Chipotle Lime sticky wings, will not only make a great appetizer for your
Game Day party, but a delicious meal anytime.

What I love about these wings, is that you can adjust the heat of spiciness.

Why East Meets- West you ask?

If you like Chipotle like I do, then you more than likely know, that a little chipotle peppers in adoboe sauce goes a long way.

For example, it's tradition in our family for Christmas dinner to have  Enchiladas and Spanish rice. I have a super, easy recipe, for Spanish rice, that I will share, and my husband loves it because it calls for 3 Chipotle peppers, which is too HOT for me. If it's too hot for me, than it will definetly be too hot for my mother who was coming for dinner.

When I was getting my ingredients together for the Spanish rice,  I came across, Chipotle sauce (salsa, I found it in the Latin food section). It's pureed chipotles without seeds. The pepper seeds is where the spiciness comes from. This was just the puree. I found that when I used it in my Spanish rice, it gave that smoky chili flavor and was way less spicy than if I used even 1 pepper.

Ok,  this puree on it's own is perfect for my mother to enjoy my Spanish rice, but I do like spicy, and to me it's just not spicy enough. I didn't want to add a hot sauce like Tabasco or Frank's Red Hot sauce. When it hit me, I love my Chinese Garlic Chili sauce, again a little goes along way, but it was just enough to kick up my wings a notch.

They turned out perfect! Not burn your lips off hot, but hot enough for the spicy food lover in your family! These will definitely be a Game Day winner!

East Meets- West Chipotle Lime Sticky Wings
3 lbs Chicken wings/ or drumettes, with the skin on
Salt and pepper
2 Tbls. + 1 Tbls. butter melted 
1/2 cup honey 
1/2 cup soy sauce 
1/4 cup rice wine vineagar 
The zest from one lime
1 Tbls. minced garlic
 1/3 cup chipotle salsa
1 Tbls. Sambal chili garlic sauce
 ( add more of less depending on how hot you want them)

2 green onions, sliced


1. Preheat oven to 425F. Spray a large rimmed sheet tray with nonstick spray.

2. Place chicken on sheet tray. Brush with 1 Tbls. melted butter. Season with  salt and pepper.

3. Bake for 35 minutes, until golden brown.

4. Meantime, combine the 2 Tbls. melted butter, honey, soy sauce, vinegar, lime zest, garlic, chipotle salsa, and chinese garlic sauce in a sauce pan over low heat. Simmer, until it becomes syrupy and you can coat the back of your spoon with it, for approximately 15 minutes. Some stoves heat up faster, keep an eye on it, to make sure it doesn't burn.

5.  After 35 minutes, I baste the wings with a little sauce, reserving the rest for when they are done cooking.

6. Bake 5 more minutes. Then remove from oven carefully. Coat chicken with remaining suce. Garnish with green onions.

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