Chicken Enchilada Casserole

This is another fast and easy weeknight meal that uses leftovers and hardly any effort on the part of the cook. I adapted it from a recipe in Cooking Light, although I'm pretty sure it's not THAT light this way. But it's not too bad if you use the 2% cheese.

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 to 2 cups shredded cooked chicken (tonight I used leftover roasted chicken, which was good, but any leftover chicken will do)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1 28 oz jar of enchilada sauce (I like verde, but use whatever you have/like)
about 12 small corn tortillas
2 cups reduced-fat shredded mexican cheese blend, or sharp cheddar if that's what you can find.

Spray a 13 x 9 baking dish with cooking spray. Preheat over to 350.

In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and saute until tender (about 4 min), then add garlic and saute another minute. Add chicken, salt, pepper, chili powder, and cumin and heat through; remove from heat. Note: You can play with the spices you add, or leave them out altogether, especially if you have a flavorful enchilada sauce. This would also be a good place to toss some leftover veggies. If you chop them up, it's possible no one will notice them.

In baking dish, spread about 2/3 cup enchilada sauce on bottom of pan. Cover with tortillas (I use two whole, then two broken in half, and then I break one of the halves into "fourths" and cover the holes). Place about half the chicken mixture on top of the tortillas. Top with a layer of cheese (about 1/3 of it). Add another layer of enchilada sauce, then tortillas, then chicken mixture, then cheese, then enchilada sauce, then tortillas. Top with remaining enchilada sauce and cheese.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Super easy, super good, and you can assemble it in advance if needed.

The Big Geek and I like this. Well, actually, I LOVE it. The little geek is not a huge fan. She had broccoli for dinner.

Lemon Basil Bow Ties

I think this is from Taste of Home.

This is a quick, easy side dish that could be made into a main course by adding some sliced grilled chicken or scallops (or other protein, although I don't think beef would be very good). It's meant to be served hot, but I served it cold as a pasta salad for a playgroup party today.


4 cups uncooked bow tie pasta (I used "easter" pasta today in the shapes of bunnies and eggs and carrots, but bow tie would work best with this sauce/dressing
1 garlic clove, minced
1-2 Tbsp olive oil (I thought it needed more)
1 Tbsp lemon juice (about 1/2 a lemon)
1 tsp grated lemon peel (if you don't have a plane grater, you should get one, it works way better than my "lemon zester")
1/2 tsp salt (or less, I thought it could have used less)
1/4 tsp coarsely ground pepper
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
1/4 to 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to directions. Meanwhile, in a skillet, saute garlic in oil for one minute. Stir in the lemon juice, lemon peel, salt, and pepper. Drain pasta. Add to skillet. Add basil. Toss to coat. Cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until basil is wilted. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.


I will make this again--it was easy and good--as a way to use leftover chicken in the future.

Also, I hate dishes, so I put the pasta in a colander and did all the dressing in the pasta pot, then put the pasta back in (rather than use a skillet). It worked just fine, although I maybe could have let the pasta pot cool down a bit more.

Update: I made this again yesterday, using bow tie pasta. I used more like 5 tbsp oil, the juice and zest of an entire lemon, 2 Tbsp garlic, and doubled the salt and pepper. I also cut up some leftover chicken breasts that had an Italian marinade on them and tossed them in before I added the pasta. We ate it warm, and it was GOOD. This may become a staple in my house. The Big Geek loves lemon, the little geek likes eating "butterflies," and I just like eating. :)

Two for one: Roast Chicken, then Chicken Chimichangas

I've roasted chickens before, and it usually involved some olive oil or butter, various seasonings, and lemons. However, this time I'd defrosted my bargain whole chicken purchased during a sale, but had forgotten to pick up a lemon. So I turned to google to see what I could find.

And I found this.

I was hugely skeptical. Roast a chicken at 450? With only salt and pepper? I was going to end up with really dry chicken at best, charcoal at worst. However, I always figure I should TRY new things, and if they really turn out awful I can order a pizza.

But let me tell you--it turned out AWESOME and was the easiest chicken I've ever made. This is the method I will use from now on, because why do all that extra work if it's not needed?




This was after we'd eaten half of it. I forgot to take a picture of the whole thing. But even in it's half-mangled state, isn't it pretty? And it was moist and YUMMY as well. I did not do the whole butter/mustard thing suggested on the site, and I didn't have any thyme, either, but it was still good.

One thing I noticed in the comments was that people complained of smoking a lot. I didn't have that issue at all. What I did, beyond what the recipe says to do (you MUST truss the chicken!! I didn't have any kitchen string so I used two bamboo skewers to hold the legs in place, but I've read that unflavored dental floss will also work), is line the roasting pan with foil (mostly b/c I'm lazy) and put some sliced onion underneath the bird. I also didn't really measure the salt or pepper--I just sprinkled it on. And instead of setting the timer, I used the oven thermometer thing (if you don't own a meat thermometer you put in your meat with a temp reading thing that stays outside the oven, go get one, seriously, they are awesome). I took the chicken out when the breast hit about 170. I set it for 165, but things happened.

Here's what the pan looked like after the chicken was removed:



I did notice that a lot of juice pooled inside the (empty!!) cavity of the bird. I just sort of tilted the pan to let it pour out, and then took a silicon brush and "basted" the bird before letting it rest, uncovered, while I made some mashed potatoes with roasted garlic (remember the roasted garlic from the other night?).

Then I put the half we didn't eat in a ziplock for dinner the next night, as roast chicken chimichangas. I also saved the carcass and all the junk from inside the bird to make chicken stock with, but I haven't gotten around to that yet.

So, night 2, Roast Chicken Chimichangas, from Cooking Light.

The cooking light recipe says to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts, which I'm sure makes these lighter, but I tend to use whatever leftover chicken I've got. You could also use your leftovers to make enchiladas, which I'm sure I'll post some day.

2 1/2 cups shredded chicken (tip: shred it while it's inside the ziplock, and your hands won't get all chickeny)
1 cup (4 oz) queso fresco cheese. You can use Monterey Jack in a pinch.
1/4 cup chopped green onions. You can use 1/8 cup dried onions if you don't have any green onions on hand.
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1 garlic clove, minced
1 (4.5 oz) can chopped green chiles, drained
1 (16 oz) can fat-free refried beans
6 (8-inch) flour tortillas

Cooking spray
1/2 cup green salsa

Preheat oven to 500.

Combine first 7 ingredients in a large bowl; toss well.

Spread 1/4 cup beans down center of each tortilla. Top each tortilla with 2/3 cup chicken mixture and roll up (this is the part I suck at--anyone want to give me a burrito rolling lesson??). Place rolls, seam side down, on a large baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Coat tops of chimichangas with cooking spray.

Bake at 500 for 7 minutes or until crispy/lightly browned. Top with salsa.

YUM!

Sorry there isn't a picture, but I am self-conscious about my tortilla-folding skills. Oh, and if you have any of the chicken mixture left, you can throw it on top of some lettuce and make a yummy salad with it.

So, from one chicken we got two dinners for all the geeks (who eat real food), and lunch for me for two days. Not bad for a "bargain" bird.