Rotisserie Chicken Series: Chicken Enchiladas

I'm ba--ack!  Does life ever get the better of you?  Gah....it sure does me.  The last couple of months have been stressful and as much as I wanted to write blogs and be all Super-Woman-y, I just couldn't.  But tonight, I shall continue my Rotisserie Chicken Series with my FAVORITE chicken enchilada recipe.



I used to subscribe to Cook's Country Magazine and found this little gem a few years ago. This recipe is so easy and SO good!  It's my go-to recipe to take to my friends when they have babies.  It freezes well and everyone loves it.  (One time, a friend's husband emailed me for the recipe because he loved it so much!)

Chicken Enchiladas

2-10 oz. cans green enchilada sauce
1 c. chopped cilantro
3 c. chopped rotisserie chicken
2 1/2 c. shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese
12 (6 in.) corn tortillas

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease 13x9 baking dish.  (You can use a foil pan for freezing.)  Puree enchilada sauce and 1 cup cilantro in food processor or blender.  Combine 1 cup of the pureed sauce, chicken and 1 1/2 cups cheese in a large bowl.

Wrap tortillas in clean kitchen towel and microwave until pliable, 30-90 seconds.  Top each tortilla with 1/4 cup chicken mixture and roll tightly.  Arrange, seam side down, in prepared baking dish. Top with remaining sauce and cheese.  Bake until cheese is melted and enchiladas are heated through.  15-20 minutes.  Garnish with cilantro and top with sour cream, if desired.

Edited:  I forgot to mention that I double the recipe to get two pans; one for us and one for someone else.  You only need one chicken if you roast one yourself or get one at Costco (if you can).

Rotisserie Chicken Series: Chicken Pot Pie Crumble

I'm kicking myself because I forgot to get a picture of the whole pie!  This dish is perfect for a weekend or a dreary day or anytime you're craving comfort food.  It's not necessarily quick, but it is worth the effort.  (That's why I think it would be best on a weekend...mmmmm Sunday dinner.)                                               

I followed the recipe here pretty closely.  Her picture is way better and much more appetizing.  I just need more practice!

 

Chicken Pot Pie Crumble

 

2-3 cups chopped rotisserie chicken (you could use turkey, too)

1 (14.5 oz) can low-sodium chicken broth

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 cup peeled and diced carrots (about 2 large carrots)

3/4 cup diced celery (about 2 large stalks)

3/4 cup finely diced yellow onion (about 1/2 medium onion)

2/3 cup frozen peas

3 Tbsp butter

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup milk

1 tsp lemon juice

1 1/2 tsp dried parsley

1/4 tsp dried thyme

 

For the crumble:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour  (I used white whole wheat flour.)

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/4 tsp garlic powder (use 1/2 tsp for a slightly stronger garlic flavor)

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

1/4 cup butter, cold and diced into small cubes

2 oz. finely shredded Parmesan cheese (about 1/2 cup packed)

3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp heavy cream

 

For the crumble:

Preheat oven to 450°F. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, garlic powder and optional cayenne pepper. Using your finger tips, cut butter into mixture until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in Parmesan cheese. Pour in heavy cream and mix just until combine. Break and drop mixture into 1 - 2-inch pieces onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes until golden, longer if you like it a little more toasty like me! Remove from oven, set aside and lower oven to 400°F.

 

For the filling:

(I used 1- 14 inch cast iron pan for everything.) Heat olive oil over medium high heat. Once hot, add diced carrots, onion and celery. Saute vegetables, stirring occasionally until lightly golden and tender, about 10 minutes. Pour vegetables into a bowl and set aside. Reduce heat to medium, melt butter in saucepan, then add flour and cook, stirring constantly for about 20 seconds (it will be very thick). While stirring, slowly add in milk followed by chicken broth, lemon juice, parsley, thyme and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring mixture just to a boil, then slightly reduce heat and allow to cook about 1 minute longer until thickened, stirring constantly. Remove sauce from heat and add sauteed vegetables, frozen peas and diced chicken to sauce, then toss to evenly coat. Pour mixture into a 9-inch pie dish and sprinkle with baked crumble topping (mine fit perfectly in my pie dish but if yours is coming close to the top edge you may want to sit it on top of a cookie sheet to prevent spills in your oven). Bake until nicely golden about 12 - 14 minutes.

 



Rotisserie Chicken Series: BBQ Chicken Pizza

Oh the things that can be done with a store bought rotisserie chicken!  Swing by on your way home from work and dinner's basically done.  I've added 'rotisserie chicken' to my grocery list for the last few weeks.  Not only is it a good snack, it's so versatile and one chicken can give you enough poultry for two pans of enchiladas, a few chicken pizzas, soup, salad....endless possibilities here! 

I like to buy my rotisserie chickens at Costco, it seems like the ones in smaller grocery stores are really tiny.  Plus, it's cheaper than buying one to cook myself!  I pull the meat off and chop it up, keeping white and dark meat together.  A lot of recipes call for just chicken breast (white meat), throwing some dark meat in there adds a little more fat and a lot more flavor.

Pizza is big in our house.  We love to order it, we love to make it and this is one of our favorite's.  This recipe assumes your pizza dough is ready to go.*

BBQ Chicken Pizza
Makes 1- 12in. pizza; or 8 slices

1 c. chopped chicken
2 T  (heaping) Cilantro, chopped
1/2 c. thinly sliced red onion
1/2 c.  sweet BBQ sauce (We like KC Masterpiece.)
2 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella or jack cheese, divided
Your choice of pizza dough.*

Preheat oven to 425°F. 

Pour BBQ sauce in the middle of dough. Using the bottom of a ladle, make circles to spread the sauce.  Cover sauce with 2 cups of cheese.  Top with chicken, cilantro, and onion.  Add remaining cheese.  Bake for 12-18 minutes.

After pizza is out of the oven, let it rest for about 10 minutes, then slice and dig in! 

Yum!

*I make my own dough, or use frozen bread dough for the crust.  Here's my method; on a large, lightly floured cutting board, roll dough to desired diameter (about 12 inches).  Pick dough up and sprinkle board with cornmeal, replace dough. Shake to make sure dough isn't sticking to the board.  Add toppings, shaking every so often to keep dough from sticking to the board.  I use a stoneware pizza pan and I leave it in the oven while it's preheating.  I very carefully scoot the pizza on to the stone. 

Fresh Strawberry Bread

 

I am ready for Spring.  Living in the Pacific Northwest, we really don't see the sun a whole lot.  But when we do, it's glorious.  I can't wait to soak up some rays (as long as it's not too hot)!  On my grocery run this week, I saw them....beautiful red strawberries.  We've been snacking on them, but I'm saving some aside for one of my favorite strawberry recipes. 


This is, hands down, my favorite thing to bake in spring and even summer! 
I got the recipe from My Baking Addiction, my favorite baking blog.


Fresh Strawberry Bread
Makes 1 loaf

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups strawberries, rinsed, dried and chopped

Large sugar sprinkles, optional. (They add a fun crunch to the crust!!)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

With electric mixer cream butter, sugar and cream cheese until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Mix in vanilla.

In separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Blend flour mixture with butter mixture just until blended. Add buttermilk and only stir until just combined; do not over mix.

Carefully fold in strawberries. Batter will be thick.

Pour batter into prepared pan.  If desired, top with sugar sprinkles.  Bake for 50 to 60 minutes.

I like mine warm!  With coffee.  :)

Vacationing Without the Kids

Right before Christmas, my husband and I took a long over due vacation.  A 5 day trip to Disneyland. Alone.  Without our daughter.

{I know what you're thinking.}

We had always wanted to go Disneyland together but life just got in our way and we were never able to make it work.  But that all changed when we started planning for our trip in June.  Our daughter knows about Disneyland, but doesn't really know what it is and we wanted to go before she knew what she was missing!  (We plan on going back with her in 2 years.....I can hardly wait!)

My parents were generous enough to come stay at our house while we were gone.  Our girl was over the moon.  She loves her Grandma and Papa and doesn't get to see them often.  I completely trusted my mom and dad with her, but in 3 years, we had never left her for even a night.

6 months was plenty of time for me to worry about leaving our daughter for that long. I scoured the Internet for tips to make it easier on her and her caregivers. There wasn't a whole lot out there, so I did it myself. I thought I'd put it out there for anyone else in the same situation!

Be advised, I found all kinds of ways to offend grandparents while they are watching the kids!  There's even an entire forum dedicated to the subject!  I called my mom to ask her if she minded if I put something together. She thought it would be helpful, so I went for it. I didn't schedule every moment, I didn't lay her clothes out for every day, I didn't leave cooking instructions for Macaroni and Cheese; all no-no's according to that forum!  I was more concerned with letting my parents know about our girl's quirks and emergency information.

I bought a cheap red pocket folder and just put the paperwork in the pockets.

All of the emergency information was in the left pocket:

• Emergency contacts
• Doctor info
• Our address (very important)
• The address and phone number of where you're staying, flight info, etc.

(All of that was on one sheet of paper). 

Behind it, I included a medical release form; I just googled it and found one that covered the bases.  It basically authorizes medical staff to treat your child as they normally would if you were there.  There was a place on the pocket to slide a business card, I just slid our insurance card in there.

In the other pocket were several pages:

• Working the TV remotes (why is every TV different??)
• Our daughter's typical meals, snacks and drinks.  At the top, I wrote that it was okay to deviate from 'the list', that it was okay for them to spoil her while they were there.
• Her 'schedule'; this included wake up time, TV time, eating time, nap time...you get the idea.  And again I reiterated that it was okay to do their own thing.  (It really was okay with me, but it made me feel better to leave them with something to go by if they needed it.)
• Discipline; time outs, etc.
• Dosages for medicine in case she got sick
• Leaving the house; what she likes to bring with her, etc.
• A list of stores and fun places to go with their addresses
• The last page was just random stuff like when to give her a bath, her favorite show on the DVR, where kid movies are...that sort of thing.

Another thing I did to make it easier was to have the diaper bag ready with plenty of diapers, wipes and a change of clothes.  I had aspirations to pre-pack snacks for the diaper bag, but that didn't happen. 

Since it was Christmastime, there were all sorts of easy art projects at Michael's.  I bought a different one for each day we were gone.  A 'ready to decorate' gingerbread house, a new awesome coloring book, a few of those 'foam' crafts.  It didn't matter to me if they used them.  I just wanted to make sure my parents had plenty of things to do with her if they wanted.  Turns out they used them all!  We had all sorts of fun art projects waiting for us when we got home

My parents said that they really appreciated having the folder and that they used it every day.  It took a lot of guess work out for them. 

It was hard to leave my little girl for that long; and giving up control.  I cried all the way to the airport!  But in the end, the trip was so good for our marriage; and our girl was no worse for wear when we got back. She had a wonderful time with her grandparents.

Valentine Shortbread Pops

Valentine's Day is right around the corner!  For us, it means Teacher Appreciation at MOMS- a group where I can fellowship with other moms, eat a lovely meal (that I don't have to share), and hear a new speaker every week who encourages me in my role as 'Mommy'.  Last year I waited till the night before to even think about teacher appreciation, so I was determined to put a little more thought into it this year.  I really appreciate that while I'm NOT sharing my meal, my daughter is well cared for!

This is a basic shortbread recipe, it's flaky and delicious.  Making the shortbread into cookie pops is a little time consuming, but the end result makes it worth it!






3/4 lb. butter (yep--that's three cubes!)
1 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
3 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt

cookie pop sticks
1 package of milk chocolate chips
Valentine sprinkles

Combine flour and salt and set aside. Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla. Cut in flour and salt with a pastry cutter or 2 forks. (A stand mixer can probably handle the task with the paddle attachment.) Form into two balls, wrap in waxed paper and chill for 2 hours. Roll out to just over 1/4 inch thick on a pastry cloth, or lightly floured surface. Cut w/ heart cutter.  Carefully insert the pop stick into bottom of cookie, going about 3/4 of the way up. Carefully lay on cookie sheet.

Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and using a spatula, place shortbread pops on a cooling rack. 

Allow to cool completely.  Cover cool cookie sheet with wax or parchment paper.  Melt chocolate according to package directions, usually about 2 minutes on 50% power in the microwave.  You can add a little canola oil to thin the chocolate out if you need to.  Carefully dip the shortbread pop in the chocolate covering the front, tap gently to get rid of the extra chocolate.  Lay pop on covered cookie sheet and decorate with sprinkles.  (Fun for the kids!) 

Out of 14 pops, only one stick came loose, I dipped the stick in chocolate and reinserted it into the cookie.  It doesn't look the prettiest, but it got the job done!  I used a medium sized heart cutter and got about 14 shortbread pops and 6 regular cookies (no sticks).

 **If you roll the dough too thick (1/2 inch or more), the sticks will not stay in...I don't know why, I'm not science-y like that, but I made the mistake!

You can get the lollipop sticks in different lengths to make a cute cookie bouquet, but I plan to wrap them in cellophane and tie with a ribbon.

Off I go to dip one of these treats in some coffee!

What you never knew about Candy Corn...

I'm addicted to Pinterest. Addicted, I tell you! I was browsing last night and came across something very yummy and interesting. Homemade Butterfingers; using candy corn (yes, CANDY CORN), peanut butter and chocolate. My hubby and I were SHOCKED at how good and butterfinger-like they were!

I wish I could say that I came up with this little dandy, but alas, I'm not known for my ability to make up a recipe!  It came from Six Sisters Stuff.  Love them. 

I'm working on my photog skillz....right now it's more like 'faux-tog' skills!  For now, here's a cruddy pic off my iPhone!