Best Enchiladas

Pin It Now! Yes you read that recipe title correct.  The best.  As good as if not better than most restaurants.  Mr. Wright said these were the best enchiladas he has ever had.  EVER.  Which means I will be happily employed and have job security for life.  WOOHOO!  Please try these and after eating them first thank Ree Drummond for the recipe and then you can thank me for taste testing the recipe and insisting you try it too.

Prep Time: 1 Hour30 Minutes

Cook Time: 20 Minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 6

Ingredients

• FOR THE SAUCE:


• 1 Tablespoon Canola Oil


• 1 Tablespoon All-purpose Flour


• 1 can (28 Ounce) Enchilada Or Red Sauce


• 2 cups Chicken Broth


• ½ teaspoons Salt


• ½ teaspoons Ground Black Pepper


• 2 Tablespoons Chopped Cilantro


• _____


• FOR THE MEAT:


• 1-½ pound Ground Beef


• 1 whole Medium Onion, Finely Diced


• 2 cans (4 Ounce) Diced Green Chilies


• ½ teaspoons Salt


• _____


• FOR THE TORTILLAS:


• 10 whole (to 14) Corn Tortillas


• ½ cups Canola Oil


• _____


• TO ASSEMBLE:


• 3 cups Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese


• ½ cups Chopped Black Olives


• 1 cup Chopped Green Onions


• ½ cups Chopped Cilantro

Preparation Instructions

Step #1 – The Sauce
In a large saucepan over medium heat, add oil and flour and whisk together to make a paste, cooking for one minute. Pour in the red sauce, chicken broth, cilantro, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 30-45 minutes.

Step #2 – The Meat
Brown the meat with onions in a skillet. Drain off fat. Stir in 2 cans diced green chilies and seasoned salt. Set aside.

Step #3 – Tortillas
Heat canola oil in a small skillet over medium heat. One by one, using tongs, fry tortillas in oil until soft, not crisp – about 30 seconds per side. Remove to a paper—towel lined plate. Repeat until all tortillas have been fried.

Step #4 – Assembly
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour ½ cup red sauce in bottom of baking pan. Spread to even out. Dip each tortilla into red sauce, then remove to work surface. Spoon meat, a little grated cheese, a little black olives, and green onions in the center of tortilla. Roll up and place, seam down, in baking pan. Repeat until pan is filled. Pour extra red sauce over enchiladas. Top with remaining cheddar cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes or until bubbly. Sprinkle cilantro over enchiladas before serving.

Ancho Chili Chicken with Black Beans and Yellow Rice

Pin It Now! My favorite part of this recipe was the yellow rice.  I personally didn’t love the flavor of the ancho chili, but if you like a smoky pepper taste this recipe is for you. 

Recipe per Cuisine at Home:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts ( 5 oz. each)
1 tablespoon dried oregano leaves
½ tablespoon ground cumin
½ tablespoon black pepper
2 dried ancho chilis, stemmed, seeded, broken into pieces
1 ½ cups tomatoes, chopped
½ cup onion, cut into chunks
3 garlic cloves, smashed
1 corn tortilla, torn
1 cup chicken broth
Salt to taste
1) Season chicken with oregano, cumin and black pepper.  Saute in 1 tablespoon oil in large sauté pan over high heat until brown, about 2 minutes per side.  Transfer to a plate.

2) Toast chilis in 1 tablespoon oil in the same pan over medium heat, 2 minutes.  Add tomatoes, ½ cup onion, garlic cloves, and tortilla; simmer 3 minutes.  Stir in broth, bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium low, and return chicken to pan.  Cover and cook until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees, about 5 minutes.  Remove breasts; puree tomato mixture in a food processor or using an immersion blender. Then season with salt.  I used an immersion blender and would recommend transferring the sauce to a big pot or else it will splash everywhere!

For black beans
¼ cup onion
1 tablespoon garlic
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1) Saute ¼ cup onion and 1 tablespoon garlic in 2 tablespoons oil in a small saucepan over medium high heat.  Stir in beans to heat through, then season with salt to taste. 

For the rice
¼ cup onion, minced
½ tablespoon garlic, minced
½ tablespoon turmeric
½ cup dry brown rice
 1 ¼ cups chicken broth
Salt to taste

1)      Saute onion, garlic and turmeric in oil in a saucepan over medium heat 1-2 minutes.

2)      2)  Stir in rice; cook 1 minute, then add broth and bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer until rice is tender, 30 minutes.  Season with salt.

Serve beans with chicken, sauce and yellow rice.

Tip:  Read through the entire recipe before cooking.  There are a lot of steps, but it isn’t hard if you read through all the steps before cooking.  Prep all ingredients together before cooking.

Nutritional Info: Per breast with 1/4 cup sauce, 1/2 cup beans and 1/2 cup brown rice
Calories: 575 Fat: 26(saturated 4 grams) Carb: 45g Sodium: 373mg Fiber: 8g Protein: 42g Iron: 4mg

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Pin It Now! My favorite chicken tortilla soup ever is at a restaurant at the Beaver Creek Lodge in Beaver Creek Colorado.  It is definitly a fancy schmancy super swanky lodge, but oh so worth it!  Mr. Wright took me there for Mother's day a few years back.  I had ordered their tortilla soup and it was creamy, tasty and pure heavenly bliss.  This tortilla soup recipe isn't creamy, but it is SO good! Garnish with some cheese and sour cream and you've got yourself one yummy dinner.  It tastes great leftover and the leftover chicken can be used to make chicken quesdadilla's for dinner the next night.  Enjoy!

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1/2 teaspoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1 jalapeno, deseeded and diced

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth

1 cup frozen corn kernels

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 cup chunky salsa

8 ounces corn tortilla chips

1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (optional)

Directions

1. In a large stock pot get some water boiling (enough to cover chicken breasts).  Throw in 1-2 cloves of garlic and boil until chicken is cooked through, about 10 min. Remove the pot from burner and place  chicken on a plate and shred with two forks.  


2. Pour the water out of the pot. Return stock pot back to burner over medium heat.  Add olive oil and sautee onion until tender.  Add the garlic and sautee for 15 seconds then add the cumin, chili powder and shredded chicken and mix well. Then add the broth, corn, lemon juice, diced jalapeno and salsa. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 30 to 40 minutes.


3. Break up some tortilla chips into individual bowls and pour soup over chips. Top with the Monterey Jack cheese and a little sour cream.

Recipe adapted from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chicken-Tortilla-Soup-V/Detail.aspx