"Texas Style" Chicken Enchiladas

Tonight I made chicken enchiladas.  I have never, in fact, made enchiladas for Reid before.  He is somewhat of an enchilada nazi.  However, I managed to take over the enchilada process as he was distracted by something at the computer.

Reid takes pride in his "New Mexico Style" enchiladas, which don't misunderstand me, they are great!  However, Reid needed to taste my Texas Style enchiladas to really appreciate what they are truly about. So, here they are... TDF (to die for).

"Texas Style" Chicken Enchiladas

• 2 chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
• 1/2 sweet yellow onion, rough chopped
• 1 clove of minced garlic
• 1 can of fat free refried beans (Old El Paso, please; FFRB)
• 1 can of Original Rotel
• 1 can of Old El Paso Mild Green Chile Enchilada Sauce
• 1 1/2 cups of Mexican blend shredded cheese (2% milk is great!)
• 1 large hot roasted Hatch green chile (if you don't have this, amp up the heat with Hot blend Rotel)
• tortillas (I used flour tonight but next time I'm trying the corn/wheat blend)
• cumin
• dried cilantro
• paprika
• S&P

Now time to get to work...

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Saute onion and garlic in a large skillet with salt until just softened. 
3. Add the chicken, and about a TBSP each of cumin, dried cilantro, and paprika.
4. Add S&P and cook chicken through.
5. Drain Rotel, then add to the skillet.
6. Kill the heat. Stir in chopped Hatch green chile.
7. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
8. Take one tortilla at a time, and spread a thin layer of FFRB across one side of tortilla.
9. Spoon in filling.
10. Roll and add to the pan.
11. Repeat this process until you are out of filling or out of space, whichever happens first. (P.S. The enchiladas can be packed tightly into the baking dish. You'll probably run out of filling first.)
12. Pour entire can of Green Chile Enchilada Sauce over the rolled enchiladas.
13. Sprinkle the cheese on top.
14. Bake in preheated oven for 15 - 20 minutes. 
15. SERVE AND ENJOY! 

You can add diced tomatoes or shredded lettuce on top. Maybe even a dollop of Daisy. Dressed or undressed, these enchiladas are amazing. 

For ultimate dining satisfaction, serve with a Michelada.

Enjoy!! I sure did. 

All Seasons Chili

Chili? In the summer? If you ask me, chili is for all seasons! This one is super quick and easy. It's also worth noting that you can make this ahead of time and reheat. You can also double the recipe and freeze in serving size portions.

All Seasons Chili

- 1 lb of extra lean ground beef (98% fat free)
- 1 medium sweet yellow onion
- 1 minced garlic clove
- 1 can of dark red kidney beans
- 1 can of pinto beans
- 1 can of Old El Paso Enchilada Sauce
- 1 can of diced tomatoes
- S&P
- Ground cumin
- Cayenne pepper
- Garlic powder
- Dried cilantro leaves

1. Rough chop the sweet yellow onion.

2. Saute in a medium size pot with olive oil over medium heat.

3. Add the minced garlic and saute until softened and almost translucent.

4. Add the ground beef and S&P. Cook until meat is brown and crumbly.

5. Drain and rinse both cans of beans.

6. Drain can of diced tomatoes.

7. Add cumin, garlic powder, cayenne, cilantro leaves, and S&P to taste.

8. When meat is seasoned appropriately, add beans and tomatoes. Stir.

9. Add enchilada sauce. Stir.

10. Taste. Add seasoning where appropriate.

Best served with finely shredded Mexican blend cheese (2% milk, of course!) and maybe a little dollop of light sour cream.  See?! You CAN enjoy chili no matter what the weather is outside!

Bon appetit!

Spectrum Breakfast Smoothie

Here's another smoothie option for those of you who like smoothies for breakfast or as meal replacements. It is one we used to make when I worked at the Spectrum, a gym back home. Oh! Did I mention I used to work for Jamba Juice?!

Here's what you put in your blender:

- 1/2 cup of plain low-fat or non-fat yogurt
- 1 cup of frozen strawberries, unsweetened
- 1 ripe banana
- 1 T (tablespoon) of honey
- 1/4 cup of instant oats
- 1 T of peanut butter
- 1 cup of ice

Blend baby, blend!

Hot Cheesy Chicken

And I'm back with another chicken recipe! This one's pretty easy. :-)

1. Take your chicken breasts and cut them as though you were going to butterfly them. However, don't cut them all the way through. You are ultimately going to "stuff" them so you'll fold the chicken back over the ingredients.

2. "Stuff" your chicken with 2% cheddar or 2% pepper jack cheese. Fold back over so that the cheese is in the middle of the chicken breast.

3. Preheat a skillet or cast iron pan with olive oil. As with yesterday, try to use regular olive oil as opposed to extra virgin.

4. Season your chicken breasts. You want to season with salt, black pepper, and a little bit of garlic powder. I prefer kosher salt. Great flavor and not super expensive. If you're using garlic salt (as opposed to powder), skip the salt.

5. Sear each side of the chicken breast until brown. Probably about 3 minutes on each side with a hot pan.

6. After you sear the chicken, turn the heat down to medium or medium low and leave the chicken in the pan.

7. Dump an entire can of Rotel into the pan. I like the "Hot" version, but "Mild" or "Original" will also work just fine.

8. Drain a can of diced tomatoes. Dump the drained tomatoes into the pan with the Rotel and chicken.

9. Cover and let simmer in the pan with the chicken until the chicken is completely cooked. Probably another 5-8 minutes.

10. Serve with a tossed green salad over brown rice. Layer the rice, chicken breast and top with some of your sauce.

This one's pretty easy and also relatively quick. Should be simple enough to do after work. :-)

Happy cooking!

How many ways can you cook a chicken breast?

I lied. I wasn't back "sooner than later." I have an excuse. I'm getting married! Since Chef Boyar-Reid and I have gotten engaged, lots has happened. Life, you might say, has happened. Our big day is December 18th. We can't wait! I can't believe that it is already August.

Another development is our decision to build a house. YAY! We are super excited but now suddenly feel loads of our disposable income is no longer "disposable." It is making it's way into our savings accounts. Which brings me to my post today.

Did you know that you can get chicken breasts for $1.99/pound? Fresh, all natural chicken breasts. This equates to filling meals all at relatively low costs. Which finally means, more left over to feed the pig. Who doesn't want that in this economy anyway?!

So... since we've been cooking so much chicken lately, I've had to get creative so as not to be bored to tears with it. Not to mention, Chef Boyar-Reid has always been a beef eater. Creative chicken recipes are a necessity!

My next few posts will likely be about chicken and my creative chicken recipes. Here's one of our recent favorites...

Parmesan Crusted Lemon Chicken


1. Get a couple of bowls or pie pans out. Fill one with a couple of beaten eggs to use as an "egg wash." Fill the other with grated parmesan cheese, a little bit of garlic powder, a little bit of flour, and a very small amount of cayenne or chili powder. Make sure to mix these ingredients together.

*Tip: Do not use garlic salt in the mixture and do not preseason your chicken breasts with salt. Parmesan cheese is very salty on it's own, and preseasoning with salt will result in something that will taste way too salty.

2. Preheat a cast iron pan with olive oil. Use regular olive oil if possible. It has a higher burn point.

3. Dip the chicken breasts in the egg wash. Make sure all sides are covered. The egg wash will help the parmesan mixture to stick.

4. Dredge the chicken breasts in the parmesan mixture making sure to cover all sides.

5. Take the chicken breasts and put them in the hot pan. Sear the chicken breasts on each side for about 5 minutes per side.

6. Keep a lid over the chicken. It will keep steam in making the chicken cook more quickly and stay more moist and juicy.

7. Throughout the cooking process, open the lid and squeeze lemon juice into the pan. This will infuse the lemony flavor and help keep the chicken moist.

8. Once cooked, serve with steamed veggies or a salad and some wild rice.

More chicken ideas to come...

Bon appetit!

Back in the Saddle with a Quick and Easy Breakfast

Okay, people. Long over due doesn't even begin to describe it. If you're still here, thanks. If not, I can't blame you!

I'm back in the saddle with a super easy breakfast. Figured I better work my way back into this blogging thing carefully. :-)

1/2 cup of plain yogurt
6 frozen strawberries, no sugar added (NSA)
10 frozen blueberries, NSA
1 Tbsp honey
8 raw almonds
3/4 cup of milk

Blend to perfection.

See, wasn't that easy? Maybe a little too easy. I'll be back sooner than later this time.

Happy Friday, folks!

Cowtown Grill - Beer Can Chicken

Happy Sunday afternoon, readers!

I'm on a long drive back to Cowtown from Roswell and am excited to offer my first post regarding grilling.  "Cowtown Grilling" comes to you complements of self proclaimed "Chef Boyar-Reid."  Since we live a very traditional life, wherein the man does the outdoor cooking and the kitchen is my terrain, he will be assisting me with grilling posts.

Last Saturday Chef Boyar-Reid figured that roasting a chicken over the fire might make a nice dinner while watching Texas Tech's bowl game.  Here's how the roasted chicken came to be incredibly delicious, straight from the horse's mouth.  Please note that we have a stand for making Beer Can Chicken.  While this is not required it is very helpful and can be found for just a few dollars at your local grocery store.

1. Clean the bird.  We picked a bird with a "Pop-Up Timer."  This is very helpful, because it is hard to tell when the chicken is done.  This does the work for you.

2. Put the chicken on the beer can stand after getting the stand set up.  Cut an inch off the top of the beer can you are using.  Different flavors of beer will change the taste of the chicken.  We just used a regular domestic, in our case Colorado Kool-Aid is the choice.

3. Marinate the chicken with olive oil and a chicken seasoning or spice blend.  We used Savory Spices' blend, Reid also suggests "Kickin' Chicken."  Add lemon pepper, kosher salt, and dried basil.

4. Take one lemon and cut it in half.  Squeeze one half all over the chicken.  With the other half, turn inside out and place on top of the chicken (where the neck would be).  This allows the juice to drain out over the chicken while cooking and adds great flavor to the chicken breasts.

5. Using "charwood" (the chef's recommendation over standard charcoal), slow cook the chicken for an hour to an hour and a half, or until the Pop-Up Timer says it's ready.  Make sure to have enough charwood to allow for cooking over this long period and that will stay at a hot temperature.  Ideally you are able to keep the grill at about 300 degrees for the cooking period.

6. The chef also suggests a cast iron smoking box filled with your choice of wood chips.  In this case, Jack Daniels Barrel Chips were used.  Be sure to rotate the bird 360 degrees over the course of the cooking time to ensure an even roast.

7. Once your bird is ready, let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes, then serve warm along with your favorite sides.

Beer Can Chicken can also be done with a BBQ basting, which would take the place of the above mentioned marinade.  Note that this basting will make your bird look nearly black when it is done cooking, so don't automatically assume that your bird is burned.  Chances are good that it's not!

I know this is a very technique sensitive post so feel free to write me with questions or comments.  I'll have Chef Boyar-Reid answer them as quickly as possible.  This is definitely one of our favorite grilling meals!

Enjoy!

Pan Seared Pork

Happy New Year, readers!

I hope that your 2010 is off to a great start.  If you're like me at all, the holidays likely put a damper on making cooking fun for just a little while.  This week I've started to get back into the swing of things.  My apologies for the recent hiatus.  I hope that together we can make 2010 a very successful year in the kitchen!

This past week, I decided to make pork, green beans, and salad for dinner one night.  Did I mention I'm trying to trim the carbs so that my pants button?  At any rate, here's how it went.

I decided to pan sear the pork, prior to baking in the oven until fully cooked.  In doing so, I learned a very valuable lesson.  While eating the pork, I realized that it was strangely tougher and chewier than pork loins of the recent past.  After asking Reid what he thought might be wrong, we realized that the one thing I had done different this time was the pan searing.

Moral of the story... the pork was "strangely tougher and chewier" because the pan searing phase of my prep occurred for too long and at too low a temperature. When pan searing pork, or any other meat for that matter, the key is high temperature, short sear time. The main purpose of searing is to lock in essential juices in the meat.  This is quickly accomplished at high temperatures.

It is worth noting that when pan searing with olive oil be certain to use use standard olive oil as opposed to Extra Virgin olive oil.  The "Extra Virgin" type has a much lower burn point, and this is critical to be aware of when working with higher pan temperatures than normal.

Don't be afraid to try new things in the kitchen this year.  And don't expect that everything I post will be a success story.  If it were, I wouldn't be learning anything and I wouldn't be helping to keep you from making the same mistake in your own kitchens.

Have a "sear"iously great weekend!