Enchiladas

Originally posted in October 2008, this has been a regular in our household. Brook’s friend Melissa taught her how to make these, and Brook taught me. It’s an extremely flexible recipe, a little iffy on the measurements. It’s one of those recipes that gets better with a little experimentation.

Ingredients:

• Chicken marinated or seasoned however you like (ranch dressing, cumin, salt, garlic powder, taco seasoning, etc.), cut into 1-inch chunks (Last time I made this, I used four large chx breasts and it made enough for 10 enchiladas)
• Onions
• Green peppers
• Beans (refried beans or black beans or refried black beans)
• Cheese
• Tortillas
• Enchilada sauce
• More cheese

Directions:

1. Cook chicken and onions and peppers with seasonings until the chicken is done and the vegetables are on their way to soft.
2.  Spoon beans into a tortilla and add chicken mixture and a sprinkle of cheese. Roll up the tortilla and set seam-side down in a baking dish. Repeat until you run out of filling.
3. Pour enchilada sauce over the tortillas. Add more cheese on top.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Cilantro Lime Rice

This is a copycat recipe for Chipotle’s rice — and, yeah, I think it’s pretty close. The quantities are approximate, so you can tweak it according to your tastes, but this should get you started.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups cooked rice (in theory you could use leftover rice, but I think it’s probably better to prepare the rice fresh for this recipe)
• 1-2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves
• juice of 1 lime (2-3 tablespoons if you’re using the bottled stuff, which works just fine IMO)
• salt to taste

Directions:

1. Ummm . . .  mix it all together when the rice is still hot.

Creamy Salsa Dip

From the Dannon yogurt lid, a yummy dip recipe (and a good way to use the rest of the plain yogurt orginally needed for Chicken Tikka Masala).

Ingredients

• 2 C plain yogurt
• 1 C salsa
• 3 1/2 T chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 t sea salt

Directions

1. In a bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well.
2. Cover and keep refrigerated until ready to use.

Chicken Tortilla Stack-up

Ingredients

• 8 ounces sour cream
• 1/2 package taco seasoning
• 1 cup cheddar cheese
• 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped green onion
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken
• 4 (8-inch) tortillas

Directions

1. Combine sour cream and taco seasoning.
2. Spread 1/4 of this mixture on tortilla in glass pie plate.
3. Top with 1/2 cup chicken, 1/4 cup cheese, and 2 tablespoons green onion.
4. Repeat 2 times.
5. Place tortilla on top, spread with sour cream mix.
6. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and onion.
7. Microwave on high 3 to 4 minutes.
8. Garnish with shredded lettuce, chopped tomato, and salsa.

Taco Soup

I like soups. I like simple, easy-to-make soups even better. I like simple, easy-to-make, delicious soups best. This one makes enough for a crowd.

2 – 32oz cans chopped tomato
2 – 16 oz cans black beans
2 – 16oz cans corn
1 – 14oz can green chilies
1-2 cans black olives
1 lb ground beef, browned & drained (then add 1 pkg taco seasoning)

Mix well in a large pot and heat thoroughly OR mix in a slow cooker and heat on high for 3-4 hours, or low for 6-8 hours.

**You can drain all the cans, or use some of the juices to create a thinner soup.

**If you’re the type who eats leftovers from the freezer, this soup can easily be packaged and frozen for later.

Chimis*

I originally got this recipe from a Weight Watchers cookbook (they called it “Skinny Chimichangas”), but I stopped looking up the recipe long ago — it’s one of those where measuring isn’t too important and experimentation often pays off. It’s been a staple in the household for a long time. These chimis are also the original source of the oft-mentioned “ground turkey betrayal” (according to Jason).

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef (or, and I cannot emphasize this enough, ground turkey works just as well)
• 1 onion, finely chopped (I often forget about the onion)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon chile powder
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 16-ounce can tomato sauce (more often, I skip the sauce and add a can or two of diced tomatoes, not drained)
• 1 small can chopped mild green chiles (or, just get the can of tomatoes with chiles already in there)
• 1 16-ounce can of white or black beans, drained (optional)
• 2/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• flour tortillas (8- or 10-inch)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray; set aside.
2. Brown the hamburger (or turkey).
3. Add the onion, garlic, chile powder, oregano, and cumin, and mix well.
4. Add the tomato sauce (or canned tomatoes), chiles, and beans, and bring to a boil. Let simmer until the flavors blend (about 5 minutes).
5. Warm the tortillas 2 or 3 at a time in the microwave (about 15-20 seconds).
6. For each tortilla, add a bit of cheese (maybe 1 tablespoon?), then about 1/2 cup of the filling. Fold in the sides and then fold the top and bottom in to enclose the filling. Place seamside down on the baking sheet.
7. Spray the tops of the chimis with nonstick spray (it makes ‘em crispy); bake until golden, about 20 minutes.

* This recipe contains no butter.