Chicken Enchiladas

Hey kids! Have you just made the below recipe for slow cooker tacos and realized it was crazy delicious but you made far too much? Not to worry, dear friends! Take that leftover shredded chicken and turn it into some delectable and easy enchiladas! And no canned sauce either - you're going to make that yourself and you're going to like it.

So! The sauce. I found this recipe on about.com and it's really quite simple but develops a great flavor. Heat two tablespoons of vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium heat with two tablespoons of flour and two tablespoons of chili powder. Whisk together for a couple of minutes, then add 3/4 teaspoon of cumin, 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, one teaspoon of garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon of onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, a few grinds of black pepper, one fifteen ounce can of tomato sauce, and one cup of water. Mix well, then simmer for 20 minutes stirring occasionally. You want the sauce to be pretty thin in consistency, so if it looks thick (like marinara) add more water. Taste for seasonings and adjust accordingly - if you want it spicy, add more cayenne. Turn off heat and set aside.

Now for that leftover shredded chicken from the slow cooker tacos. You should have around two cups of meat, place that in a mixing bowl and add 1 cup of thinly shredded cheese (mexican blend!), 1/2 cup of sour cream, 1/2 cup chopped cilantro, and two tablespoons minced chives. Blend together with a spatula, and add a few dashes of your favorite hot sauce if you fancy.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and heat 1/2 cup of vegetable oil in a frying pan. You're going to lightly fry your twelve 6 inch corn tortillas to make them nice and pliable. Cook each tortilla for 20 seconds per side (you don't want them to brown) and drain on paper towels. Time for assembly!

Spread 1/3 to 1/2 cup of your fantastic enchilada sauce in the bottom of a glass baking dish (13x9x2 inch pan), then spoon 1/4 cup of your meat mixture into each tortilla one at a time, roll up, and place seam side down in the pan. Spoon the rest of your sauce over the tortillas, then top with 1/2 cup or so of shredded cheese.

Bake that sucker for thirty minutes, keep a weather eye out and don't burn that cheese! Let cool as long as you can stand to wait and serve those enchiladas up with some sour cream and more freshly chopped  cilantro. Boom. Double duty dinner.

xo,
d

Crock Pot Tacos

Hey ya'll! My awesome brother gave me a crock pot for Christmas, and I've made these slow cooked tacos three times since. They're super delicious and SPICY. Man up for this one, friends.

So obvi, you need to have a crock pot for this one. You could also do it with a dutch oven over medium low heat, but convenience says to get a freaking crock pot, people. They're all of $20-$30 at Costco. Get there.

This recipe is courtesy of the marvelous Martha, with a few adjustments (but you shouldn't mess with perfection ;). Start with two pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Throw those in your crockpot with four cloves of chopped garlic, 2-3 chopped chipotles in adobe (you can find these in a can in the market, use three if you love the spicy, two if you're a little wimpy), one tablespoon of chili powder, 1/2 cup of your favorite salsa (be aware of the spice level; again, if you're a spice champion no worries, but I went with a mild salsa because of the chipotles), 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper. Give everything a good stir, then cover and crock pot on high for four hours, eight hours on low. Between the third and fourth hour, give everything a stir and taste for seasonings - you may need to add more salt. You'll know when the chicken is done because you'll be able to shred it easily with a fork which is what you should do. Right in the crockpot (turn it down to warm), shred all of the chicken up

with two forks, then cover until you're ready to serve.

Now for the accoutrement! The man and I are fond of hard shell tacos, but only if we make them ourselves. No no I haven't made tortillas from scratch yet, but I do like to fry soft tacos and shape them into hard shells. Super healthy (ha!), but it makes a huge flavor difference and I insist you try. It's super easy. Start with a wide frying pan that has fairly tall sides to stop splatter. Pour 1/2 inch of canola oil in the pan and heat over medium-high heat. After pre-heating for five minutes or so, drop one small corn tortilla in the oil with tongs. It should start sizzling immediately - if not, your oil is not hot enough.

Fry on one side for ten seconds, then flip with your tongs and fry on the opposite side for five seconds. Now you need to fold your tortilla in half, and this will take some practice. You don't want to fold too far or you'll have to break the shell in half to fill it with the chicken and other goodies. Use the side of the pan to help you fold, and after one or two you'll get it.

Once you've folded the tortilla successfully, cook it on either side until light golden brown. Transfer to an oven safe plate lined with paper towels in the 200 degree oven. The excess oil will drain off and your fancy homemade hardshells will remain hot and crispy until ready to serve.

To build the tacos you should have your favorite shredded cheese blend, shredded lettuce, guacamole (if buying or making, watch the spice level - you'll want mild guac to help cool the spicy tacos), salsa (ditto), and sour cream.

These tacos are delicious and dangerously addictive. Be brave and give the fried taco shells a try, you'll be surprised at how easy they are. Totally worth the extra effort. Let me know how you do!

xo,

d

Tortilla Soup Deliciousness

Hello again sports fans! It's time once again to make some SND! This week I made tortilla soup (inspired by Ina's mexican chicken soup) and as you can see, it was a rousing success! Let's get into it!

Start by mincing a large yellow onion. I wish I had a secret for tearless onion chopping, but I don't. Waterproof mascara is good for not looking like a nightmare when you're done, but for the life of me I can't make the tears stop when I am chopping those onions. Can you?

Anyhooooo, chop the onion and quit whining. Throw it into a heated stock pot that has a five count of olive oil and sweat those puppies for five minutes or so. Chop four carrots and add them to the onions with some S & P. Cook the onions and carrots together for another ten minutes over medium heat, then add 4 chopped cloves of garlic. Stir, add a few glugs of white wine, and let that cook down for a few minutes. Next add 2 quarts of chicken stock, two 15 ounce cans of tomato puree, two to four (depending on how much heat you can handle, I used two) seeded and minced jalepeno peppers, 1 1/2 teaspoons of cumin, and 1 teaspoon of crushed coriander seed. Salt and pepper to taste here, it just depends on how salty the chicken stock is that you're using is. I also added a pinch of cayenne pepper, but use your own discretion on this. Stir everything together, then add a nice handful of chopped cilantro and the thing that gives this soup it's name: the tortillas! Slice 6 or so six inch fresh flour or corn tortillas in half, then crosswise into 1/2 inch strips and toss those into the soup. Don't worry - they're going to break down, thicken the soup, and give it some great texture. Bring the soup to a boil, then simmer for a half hour.

Whilst your concoction is simmering, shred your chicken. What chicken you say? Well you can cheat like I did and get a rotisserie chicken (ya'll know I love it - time and dish saver, plus you can snacky on the legs!) or you can roast the chicken yourself. I am all for not cutting corners on SND, but I just find rotisserie chickens to be really tender. If you want to roast the chicken, get three bone in skin on chicken breasts, rub them with olive oil and S & P, and throw them in a 350 degree oven (on a cookie sheet) for thirty five minutes. Let cool, then de-skin and de-bone. Same for the rotisserie chicken, de-skin and de-bone.

Okay, so throw your shredded chicken into the soup as well as a can of black beans that you've drained and rinsed, and another big ol' handful of chopped cilantro. Simmer for another fifteen minutes and you're ready to serve! Slice up some ripe avocado and have tortilla chips, sour cream, and your favorite shredded cheese at the ready for toppings. Hot damn! Go try it!

XO

d