I cook once a week, 10 meals or more at a time. It's portioned into Chinese take-out dishes and frozen. During the week, we nuke them back to life and eat well.
November 2004 Thanksgiving
September 2004 Lasagna
Rice with Chicken and Sausage
August 2004 Chicken Noodle Casserole
Chicken Pot Pie
July 2004 Chicken w/Couscous
When I Don't Cook
Apple Smoked Chicken
June 2004 Grilled Chicken
Bratwurst
Chili
May 2004 Red Beans
Chicken Salad
Chicken Creole
I 'Cue, Too
(barbecue chicken}
April 2004 Roast Chicken Greek Shrimp
March 2004 Shrimp with Grits Scamorza Baked Ziti Oyster Dressing Stuffed Turkey Breast
February 2004 Shrimp Paprikas Chicken Paprikas Polenta
January 2004 Rosti Stock Roast Turkey
What Do YOU Cook?
The next time you're cooking something fun, shoot a few digital photos and write up a few paragraphs. Email it here: whaticook@comcast.net, and I'll share it with everyone.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Chicken Enchiladas and Spicy Black Bean Cakes
I made chicken enchiladas this weekend, with spicy black bean and sweet potato cakes on the side. It was the second time I cooked this dish, so I kind of did it from memory. I did check an enchilada recipe from Tyler Florence and noted that he OK'd canned enchilada sauce. The black bean cake recipe I got from one of those recipe-of-the-day sites that are downloaded to my Palm.
It was all delicious. I am quickly getting hooked on the rich depth of flavor in Mexican cooking, and making my own corn tortillas is likely in the not-too-distant future.
'K, here it is (the GF calls it Mike-Mex...):
Chicken Enchiladas Makes 20
2 tablespoons butter 2 red peppers, 1 green pepper and 2 yellow peppers, cut into strips 3 yellow onions, chopped 3 cloves of garlic, chopped salt and pepper 2 t. each of cumin and oregano 1/2 t. each of cayenne and crushed red pepper 4 whole boneless skinless chicken breasts, poached and rough chopped 20 corn tortillas 2 cans enchilada sauce 1 can chopped jalapeño 1/2 lb. Fontina cheese, cut into 20 strips 1/2 lb. each of Colby Jack and Cheddar cheese, shredded
- Sauté the peppers and onions with salt and pepper in the butter, until soft. - Add the garlic and seasoning and continue to sauté for 5 minutes. - Add the chicken and mix well, sauté until the chicken is heated through. Remove from heat. - Microwave tortillas, 5 at a time, between dampened paper towels, 45 seconds on each side to warm and soften. - Cover the bottom of a large casserole dish with a 1/2 can of enchilada sauce. - Working with one tortilla at a time, place a healthy 1/4 cup of chicken/onions/peppers filling on each tortilla, cover with a strip of Fontina, roll up and place in casserole. - Pour remaining 1.5 cans of enchilada sauce and 1 can of chopped jalapeños evenly over tortillas, and cover all with the grated cheese. - Put into a 375-degree oven for 25 minutes, until sauce is bubbly and cheese is melted.
Spicy Black Bean Cakes Makes 10
1 tablespoon butter 1 large onion and 1 jalepeno chopped 4 cloves of garlic, minced 1 t. each of cumin, cayenne and oregano salt and pepper 2 medium sweet potatoes, grated 2 cans of black beans 2 eggs, whisked 1/2 cup bread crumbs
- Sauté onion and jalepeno in butter with salt and pepper until soft. Add garlic, cumin, cayenne and oregano. Sauté for 5 more minutes and turn off the heat. - Add black beans and mash them well with the onions and pepper. - Mix in sweet potatoes, eggs and bread crumbs. Stir well. - Refrigerate for 30 minutes. - I used a 3" cookie cutter to form the mixture into 10 patties, or you can roll them into a ball and flatten. - Place on a well greased (butter or spray) baking pan. - Broil 4 inches from the heat for 8 minutes, then turn over and broil 4 minutes more.
That makes a total of 10 meals, each with two enchiladas and a black bean patty. Serve it with salsa and a kicked-up sour cream (whisk one finely minced jalapeño and the juice of one lime into 2 cups of sour cream).
Easy to make and it freezes well. The leftovers taste even better as the flavors soak into the tortillas.