NuM NuM

• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 8 oz leftover chicken, shredded
• 1 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 1 cup corn or 1 whole corn roasted, kernels removed
  
• 1/2 cup black beans, drained
• Green salsa verde to taste (La Costena Green Mexican Salsa Verde)
  
• Salt
• 4 (6 inch) corn tortillas
• 1 1/2 cups Mozzarella or Monterey cheese, shredded

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Preheat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add olive oil. Add onions and saute until soft. Add chicken and season with chili powder, cumin. Add black beans and corn. Add salsa verde sauce to taste. I added about a cup but add as much as you want until the dish is seasoned to your liking. Just make sure you do not add too much of the sauce and make the dish watery. Heat the mixture through, 3 to 5 minutes then season with salt, to your taste.

Coat a shallow baking dish (I used a large souffle dish that fit the tortillas perfectly) with cooking spray. Heat tortillas over an open flame until pliable and toasted. (Cook them as much as you would to eat a taco) Build layers starting with tortilla, chicken mixture then cheese. Continue to build the layers ending with the cheese so it can melt on top. Bake 12 to 15 minutes until cheese is brown and bubbly.

please excuse the unattractive photo - enchiladas are not photogenic

• 1 pound tomatillos, husked
• 1 white onion, peeled, and quartered
  
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 jalapenos, stemmed and deseeded
  
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves
• 1/2 lime, juiced

Enchiladas:

• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups chicken broth
• Chopped cilantro leaves
• 1 deli roasted chicken (about 3 pounds), boned, meat shredded*
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 10 corn tortillas
• 1/2 pound Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
• 2 cups sour cream
• Chopped tomatoes and cilantro leaves, for garnish
• Guacamole, optional

Directions

For the salsa:

Enchiladas:

Meanwhile heat a 2 count of olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and caramelized - this should take 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cumin then cook for a further minute. Sprinkle on the flour and stir to ensure the flour doesn't burn then gradually add the chicken stock to make a thick gravy sauce. Continue stirring over a low simmer until the flour cooks and the liquid thickens. Turn off the heat, add half of the roasted tomatillo chile salsa, some additional fresh chopped cilantro and fold in the shredded chicken meat. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Change the temperature of the oven to 350 degrees F and begin assembling the dish. Take a large baking dish and smear the bottom with some of the reserved tomatillo salsa. Now take the tortillas and briefly flash them over the stove-top flame (or put them briefly under the broiler if using an electric stove). Put a scoop of the shredded chicken-enchilada mix on top of the tortilla followed by a sprinkle of the shredded cheese. Fold the tortilla over the filling and roll like a cigar to enclose it. Using a spatula place the tortillas in the baking dish and continue to do the same with all the tortillas. Finally pour over some more of the salsa and top with the remaining shredded cheese. Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes until bubbly and cracked on top. Garnish, cilantro and tomato.

Serve hot with Spicy Black Beans and Yellow Rice, the remaining tomatillo salsa, sour cream and fresh guacamole, if desired.

*I poached 1 lb of skinless boneless chicken breasts instead. To poach the breasts you put them in one layer in a sauce pan. Cover them with water until just barely covered. Bring water to a boil. Then as soon as water boils, take it off the heat, put a lid on it and let it sit for about 15 minutes depending on how large your chickens are.

Ole!!! Tonight we traveled to Mexico for some nummy enchiladas. I'm not usually a fan of Mexican food but these were light, super flavorful and spy-say. One enchilada only has 160 calories if you follow the recipe from the website. Que bueno!! Alright, that's about the extent of my Spanish. You might be thinking it's strange to put brisket in enchiladas but I had some leftover from the other night so I morphed the ingredients and made these. It's so nice to take one ingredient and instead of having the same meal twice, you make something entirely new and different. The first night we had brisket sammies, tonight was enchiladas, and manana will be tacos. As you can see we're getting our Mexican fix for the year. I served these with a cold black bean salad and it was a nice contrast to the smokin' hot enchiladas. The salad was decent but a little too "beany" for my taste so next time I would definitely use less beans. If you'd like the recipe you can find it here. Ooh come to think of it, I'll pair these with a refreshing mango salsa next time around. So whenever the mood strikes you for some Mexican food, try these on for a lighter fare.


Brisket Enchiladas
Adapted from Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Makes 8 enchiladas
4 servings
1 enchilada = 160 calories

For the sauce:
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tbsp chipotle chilis in adobo sauce (including inner seeds)
• 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce
• 1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 3/4 cup fat free chicken broth
• kosher salt and fresh pepper to taste

For the chicken:
• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• 8.5 oz cooked brisket (shredded in a food processor) or substitute chicken breasts
• 1 cup small diced onion
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup cilantro
• kosher salt and pepper
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp chipotle chili powder
• 1/3 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 8 (6-inch) Guerrero corn tortillas
• 1 cup shredded Mozzarella or Mexican cheese
• Nonstick cooking spray

In a medium saucepan, spray oil and sauté garlic. Add chipotle chiles , chili powder, cumin, chicken broth, tomato sauce, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Set aside until ready to use.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Heat the vegetable oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté onions and garlic on low until soft, about 2 minutes. Add chicken, salt, cilantro, cumin, oregano, chili powder, tomato sauce, chicken broth, and cook 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Spray a 13 by 9-inch glass baking dish with non-stick spray. Turn on gas range on stove top and heat tortillas until just pliable (this makes them easier to roll) Put 1/4 - 1/3 cup chicken mixture into each tortilla and roll it. Place on baking dish seam side down. Top with sauce and cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in the oven on the middle rack for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 5 minutes. Top with low fat sour cream or scallions if you wish.

I found this recipe on one of my new favorite blogs. She always has new innovative recipes and makes them sound so appetizing. Since I was leaving for a business trip I thought I'd make these egg rolls for lobster so he'd have something to munch on all week. But after I had one, I liked them so much I left him only a few and froze the rest so WE could eat them together when I got back :) Hey, it's the thought that counts! I liked these egg rolls especially because they're a "freezable meal." These would also make a great gift to give a friend who's about to have a baby since they won't have much time to cook with a screaming peaceful, sleeping baby around.


Southwestern Butternut Squash & Black Bean Egg Rolls
Adapted from Cara's Cravings

1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped (about 200gm)
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 lbs peeled, diced butternut squash
3 tbsp canned diced green chilies
2 tsp cumin
dash of cayenne pepper
salt & pepper, to taste
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
juice from 1 lime
1 1/2 packages egg roll wrappers (I used Nanka Seiman Golden Dragon Egg Roll Skins)
Mae Ploy Sweet chili sauce for dipping

Roast butternut squash for 25 minutes at 425F flipping halfway through until you can pierce them easily with a fork. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for about 10 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic, green chilies, cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper, and cook for a few more minutes. Add the black beans, cilantro and lime juice and stir to combine evenly. Remove from heat.

Place the butternut squash and the onion mixture in a large bowl and mash to combine. These will be best if the mixture is left a little bit chunky.

To assemble the egg rolls, place a wrapper on your surface with one corner pointing down (diamond position). Place a couple tablespoons of the squash mixture onto the wrapper, and use a pastry brush dipped in water to wet the edges of the wrapper. Fold the bottom corner up, then fold the outside corners in, and roll it all up. Make sure you place a damp paper towel over the wrappers and finished egg rolls as your making them or else they will dry out. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Continue until squash mixture is used up; I got about 24 egg rolls using a large ice cream scoop for the squash portioning.

To bake: Place a baking sheet in the oven while heating at 400F. When it's hot, remove from the oven, spray with nonstick cooking spray, and place the egg rolls on the sheet. Spray them well with nonstick spray. Bake for 20 minutes, turning halfway through.

Extra egg rolls can be frozen and baked straight from the freezer. To freeze for later consumption place egg rolls in a single layer on a baking sheet and place in freezer for about an 1 1/2 hours. Once frozen place them all in a freezer zip lock bag and keep frozen.

Serve these with Mae Ploy Sweet Chili Sauce. The sauce goes especially well with the egg rolls since they're kinda spicy and the dipping sauce is a little sweet.

***I also stuffed these inside of a pita pocket and enjoyed them just as much. Simply cut a pita in half, insert the stuffing into one half and roast in a pre-heated 400F oven for seven minutes or until pita is brown and nice and crispy. However, of course this does defeat the purpose of a freezable meal.

Blackened fish


I must tell you about these amazing tacos!! Mexican food and I never really got along but if Mexican food tasted like this, I would eat it all the time...ALL THE TIME! These are not your greasy, fatty, full of lard kind of tacos. Oh no, these are made with fresh tilapia fish and kicked up a notch with a spicy blackened rub, tangy corn and topped off with a sweet and salty salad. With all those flavor combinations, it literally is a party in your mouth...makes you want to do the happy dance. These tacos are not only delicious, but they're healthy for you too. I hardly used any oil and flavored the corn with non-fat plain greek yogurt instead of creme fraiche. I know it sounds weird to cook with yogurt - I thought so too, but the flavor wasn't as strong and tangy as I thought it would be. It just added an extra element to the dish. I also learned a cool trick from another blog and made some hard taco shells too. You simply put however many tortillas you want to eat and wrap them in a damp paper towel and zap them in the microwave for 30 seconds. Once they're pliable put them in a pre-heated 450F oven and slide out the middle rack. Then drape the tortilla between two grates and bake until they become nice and hard and they'll turn out just like the ones in the photo.

Lobster was going nuts over these tacos too. At one point we were almost fighting over one of them and I thought I was going to have to take him out and stab his hand with my fork.

I served these with a grilled corn salad, grilled onions and stuffed them inside the taco shells too. Also make sure you squirt some lime over the top of your tacos because it adds a nice bit of freshness and really makes them POP!! Next time I would also serve these with black beans, rice and pico de gallo to round out the meal. You must try these! Hope you enjoy them as much as we did.


Fish Tacos with Mango and Jicama Salad
Adapted from Cooking Light March 2009
Serves 4

Salad
3/4 cup (3-inch) julienne-cut peeled jicama
1/2 cup sliced peeled ripe mango
1/4 cup sliced red onion
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon sugar (may not need sugar if mango is ripe)
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon salt
dash of black pepper

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and adjust seasonings to taste.


Blackened Tilapia Fish
Adapted from all recipes

1 pound tilapia
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon salt
1 tsp garlic powder

Directions
1. In a small bowl, mix together paprika, dry mustard, cayenne pepper, cumin, black pepper, white pepper, thyme and salt; set aside. Rub fish all over with spices so every bit of the fish is seasoned. Heat a heavy cast iron pan on high heat until extremely hot, about 5 minutes. Sear and cook fish on both sides until opaque and flaky which will probably be a few minutes per side.

To prepare soft tacos preheat oven to 250 degrees and wrap a stack of tortillas in a damp paper towel in a casserole dish and cover with a lid. Place in oven for 20 minutes.


GRILLED CORN SALAD WITH LIME, RED CHILI AND COTIJA – 2 SERVINGS
Adapted from Bobby Flay

• 2 ears fresh corn , husk on
• Canola oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbs to 1/4 cup non-fat plain greek yogurt
• 1/2 lime juiced and zested
• 2 teaspoon ancho chili powder
• 1 tbs chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 2 tbs crumbled feta or cotija cheese

Directions
Pre heat oven to 350F. Place corn on sheet pan and roast for thirty minutes or heat an outdoor grill to high and grill corn until charred on all sides, 10 or so minutes. Remove from the oven and remove the kernels with a sharp knife. While you are cutting the corn, put a cast iron skillet on the grill to heat.
Add the corn and the remaining ingredients to the hot pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until creamy and heated through.

**For this recipe I eye-balled most of the ingredients and seasoned for taste. I ended up using a lot more chili powder, salt and cheese.