Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas

This is a combination of Nana and me getting a great recipe together for chicken enchiladas. Tried a little of this and that and came up with this:

 6-8 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 16-20 oz. Can Green Chiles (whole)
1 28 oz. Can Green Chili Sauce
2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup
1 8 oz. Can El Pato Mexican Tomato Sauce
1 sm package frozen corn
3 Doz. Corn Tortillas
Mexican Blend of 4 cheeses or a blend of Monterey Jack and Longhorn (cheddar)
1 4 oz. Can Sliced Black Olives

Sour Cream with a dash of paprika for Garnish
1 Bunch Green Onion for Garnish

Grill or Boil chicken breasts and cube or shred. In a large bowl add the green chili sauce, soup, corn and el pato. Drain the green chiles and cut into chunks. If you can find 505 brand diced green chiles they are the best. Add them to the bowl and stir well. Spray a 9x13 casserole dish with non-stick spray. Ladel a small amount of sauce mixture into dish and spread thin. Take a tortilla and lay flat. Place some chicken, some cheese and a little sauce in the tortilla and roll up. Place fold-side down in the casserole dish and repeat until dish is full. Add any remaining sauce over the top and a layer of cheeses.Sprinkle the black olives evenly over top of cheeses and bake at 350º for about 45 minutes. Garnish with sour cream and chopped green onion. Serve with shredded lettuce and tomato, chips and salsa and even some Boracho or Refried Beans for a side.

No current pics, but will try and get some next time I make these wonderful enchiladas. I made several big pans of them along with several pans of beef enchiladas for a funeral a while back. Summer's friend Hope. Her mother passed away and their minister would not allow them to have the funeral in his church. So sad. We put together a nice service for Hope's Mom at our park (while we were still living in our Pomelo house) and our family did the dinner afterward. Kevin sang, the girls and I sang and there were some remarks from Grumpy. We have lost touch with Hope through the years, but we were happy to be of service to her in her time of need.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Soup

Been wanting to try this ever since I found it on LDS Living. I sent it to Taya to try and their family loved it. Made it last night and Grumpy says it's a keeper.
Would easily feed 8.

• 1/2 C. Butter
• 2-3 Garlic cloves, minced
• 1 Onion, chopped
• 1/2 C. Flour
• 5 C. Milk (skim is fine, I used half cream)
• 1 Qt. Chicken stock
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 6 Medium baked potatoes, baked and still warm if possible. ( I would use potato pearls or potato flakes in the interest of time and texture)
• 2 C. Swiss cheese, shredded
• 2 C. Chicken, cooked and shredded (rotisserie would be awesome) Even better would be chicken pieces, bitesize and pan sauteed in butter.
• 2 C. Ham, diced (I used sliced lunch ham I needed to use up. I would love a Costco ham steak diced for a chunkier texture though)
• Parsley flakes (a few just for fun)

In a mixing bowl pour about 2 cups of the milk. Add the flour little at a time stirring constantly with a whisk. When all the flour is in, add about a teaspoon of salt and pepper if you like it. Set aside.

In a large stock pot, melt the butter. Add the garlic and onion and let cook until nice and browned (caramelized). Stir frequently so there's no burning. Add half the chicken stock and heat through. Pour in the flour mixture stirring constantly to avoid lumps. When the mixture is all in, allow the pot to come to a boil. Once there, add the rest of the chicken stock and milk. Allow to heat through stirring occasionally so avoid burning on the bottom. Allow to return to a simmer and soup will thicken. If you like a really thick chowder type soup it should be there. If you want it a bit thinner, add more chicken stock or water. If it isn't thick enough for you, add a bit more flour & milk mixture, but you must make sure the soup comes to a simmer or you will taste the flour.

Now the soup is heated through and is just at a low boil, or simmer. Turn the heat down to medium low and add the flesh of the baked potatoes. If you are using a potato flake product, add the flakes and enough milk or water to make the mixture more soup like. Once you have the consistency the way you like it, throw a few parsley flakes in for color, add your chicken, ham, and cheese. Allow to simmer for about 20 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Great served with garlic toast, or crackers. A side salad would be excellent and it's a fine dinner.

To reheat for leftovers, you may have to thin with milk, chicken stock or water.

Yummy on these cold days we're having right now.

Sherry's Chicken Salad

This is a recipe I got from a friend and then tweaked it my way. We have taken this yummy sandwich filling to the lake countless times, to the dunes, made it for wedding showers, wedding receptions, baby showers, and many and varied luncheons. It is a crowd pleaser and we have enjoyed it well.

Quantities are just guidelines as we all have our personal tastes. I will try to estimate, but just make it to your taste.

• 10 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts.

In a large pot, put about a quart of water. Rinse the chicken off and put into pot. Bring to a boil and reduce heat a little. Let it simmer on a low boil for about an hour so you know the inside gets done. Remove from heat. Take the chicken out and put in a colander to drain. (This way you can save your chicken stock if you need some) If you have a Bosch, put on the wire whips and put one chicken breast in the bowl. Hit the moment speed a few times. Add a couple more breasts and repeat. You can do about 5 breasts before you have to empty the bowl. (I put the chicken in ziplocks to cool). Try not to get it too fine, chunkier is better. Repeat until all the breasts are shredded. This only works if the chicken is hot. Once it cools it is too dense and will damage your wire whips and your Bosch. Pretty amazing though - I love doing this.

After chicken has cooled put it in a large bowl. Add in:

• 4 C. shredded Cheese (I use longhorn or Colby) I like the fine grate, but regular works well too.
• 2 Bunches chopped Green Onions (just the green part)
• 1 C. diced Celery (this is optional as some my family hates celery)
• 1 Can (around 14 ozs) Dole Pineapple tidbits or crushed pineapple (drained) Do not use fresh pineapple. Found out the hard way the acids react to the chicken badly. Very badly.
• 1 large Bunch Red Seedless Grapes (cut in half lengthwise). We like a lot of grapes, so this is definitely personal preference on quantity.

Mix well.
In a medium mixing bowl combine:

• 4 C. Mayonaise
• 1 T. Salt
• 1 t. Granulated Garlic
• 1 1/2 t. Curry Powder
• Pepper if you like it, but not much

Pour over chicken mixture. Work into mixture thoroughly. Consistency should be loose with enough mayo, not compacted. You may need to add more mayo to get the right consistency. Refrigerate overnight and let the flavors combine. When you get it out to use it, you may have to loosen it up. A little more mayo maybe thinned with a bit of milk or cream works well.

Serve in croissants, on your favorite bread, or just in a bowl on a bed of lettuce.

The quantity above will serve a family, plus. When I do this recipe for the smaller cocktail size croissants, I plan a regular size ice cream scoop for a serving size. You can get about 50 servings from this quantity.

Chicken Poblano Soup

Found this wonderful soup recipe on the LDS Living (Magazine) site. They do a contest every year for the best soup recipe and this year's winner is this tasty soup by Wendy Stock from New Mexico. I made the recipe as she wrote it and have put my ideas in as well.

Chicken Poblano Soup

The advance prep ingredients:
1 Roasted Chicken (I used 3 boneless, skinless breasts)
3 Poblano peppers, veined, seeded, and diced
2 cups cooked rice (I put a little chicken bouillon in with the water in my rice cooker)



Roasting the chiles in the oven on Broil-Hi (top rack about 4-6 inches from the top element). Turn the chiles over to ensure a good blistering on all sides. After roasting, pull the foil around to completely enclose and let sit for about an hour. This sweats the skins loose. I cut around the tops and pulled out the seed pod and veins. Then I hold the chile under cold running water and remove the blackened skins. Now they are ready for dicing. You can also roast them on a BBQ or gas stove burner. Just check the internet for how to roast chile peppers. These chiles are very mild. I will probably add in some green chiles for some more hot in the future. I like Hatch chiles too. The Orange Patch in Mesa gets them in once a year, already roasted and ready to skin. They freeze well and are wonderful.





I had chicken breasts, so I put them in the oven for 45 minutes covered and then took the foil off for 30 minutes so they would brown a little. Left-over Lipton chicken (I make that for dinner on Sundays often) would work well here, or even chicken bottled in the pantry. I'm going to try a rotisserie chicken next time.



The rice is in the rice cooker, and I assembled the rest of the ingredients. (not all pictured) Once the chicken, chiles and rice were done, the rest went pretty fast.

In a large saucepan, or a medium stock pot combine:

1/4 C. Olive Oil
1/2 t. Cumin
1/2 t. Thyme
1 T. Chicken Bouillon
salt and pepper to taste
Mix well.
Add:
1/2 Bunch Cilantro (pull off the leaves and discard the stems). Chop as fine as you like.
2 Cloves Garlic (minced)
1 Medium Onion (diced)
2 C. Carrots (diced or chopped) About 2 carrots depending on size.
The diced poblano chiles

Place pan over medium heat.
Stir often and cook until onions begin to carmelize and the carrots are tender.
(I had to add a tiny bit of water to allow the veggies to steam a little and not burn)



Next add:
3 Quarts Chicken Broth (or Chicken Stock)
1/4 C. Butter (1/2 a stick)
1/4 C. Flour
I mixed the flour with a little of the chicken broth so it wouldn't lump. You could also use cornstarch in place of the flour.
Stir all together.

With two forks pull the chicken into bite-size pieces and add to the soup.

Last, stir in:
2 C. Cooked Rice
1 sm. Bag Frozen Corn

The little tortilla strips available at most stores now would be good garnish. I will most likely use at least 1 more quart of chicken stock for a more brothy soup. So good. Grumpy and I had this last night and it was fabulous.

Broccoli Cheese Chicken

I tried this recipe out last week and everyone liked it. I remember Stacie making this for her family in years past and thought it would be a good menu item. I followed Stacie's recipe except I didn't grill the chicken (no guys were home and I don't know how to grill), and I used fresh broccoli because I didn't have the frozen kind. Oh, and I at least doubled the recipe (and maybe a little more) because we like leftovers for lunches.



Getting the chicken ready to saute. I probably should have cut the chicken up a little smaller, but it was good anyway. I used the wonderful garlic infused oil I got from Bob and Syd. The chicken was pretty darn good just on it's own. Very tasty.

1 cube butter
1 med. onion, diced
1 10 oz. pkg. chopped broccoli
1 1/2 C. uncooked minute rice (don't use regular rice!)
1 c. diced, cooked chicken (grilled is best)
1 c. milk
1 can cream of chicken soup
4 oz. velveeta cheese
salt and pepper to taste
 
Saute onion in butter, then mix in broccoli and rice till coated with butter.  Add remaining ingredients, except chicken, and stir till cheese has completely melted.  Add chicken.  Put into lightly greased casserole dish and bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Some more of the ingredients as I got ready to put this all together.




I took the chicken out and set it aside after it was done.



I grew out of the pan, so after I knew the rice and the broccoli were well coated with butter, and the velveeta was melted, I transferred it all to a big bowl. Then I mixed in the soup and milk until everything was well mixed and then transferred it all to a baking dish.



We all loved the casserole. I think I might try it with real cheese next time, and top it off with a scant layer of cheese because I am not a huge fan of velveeta. And for Grumpy and I, I will not increase the recipe. It would be plenty just the way it is for us.

After talking to Summer, we think either buttered bread crumbs or maybe even crushed up canned french fried onions would be good on top.

Really a good dish for big families too. The broccoli was awesome, and we liked the chicken sauteed too. I really should learn to grill one of these days.

Nana's Fried Chicken

Ahhhh, Nana's fried chicken. So many memories of her wonderful fried chicken. I remember her old square sunbeam electric frying pan. She would pack it up, along with potato salad, chocolate cake, and some bread and off we would go to cook lunch at the barn for Papa when he was farming in Queen Creek. Everything went on a table he had up in the barn and she would fry chicken. When it was done, she would make her wonderful chicken gravy and we would tear up a piece of bread and put that milk gravy over the top. Holidays like the 4th of July, Easter, Father's Day, etc. were often fried chicken with all the trimmings. She made awesome mashed potatoes too. I made fried chicken today for our house full of sickies. It is the second most often requested birthday dinner from the grandkids. I found myself thinking of Nana's advice when I was learning how to make fried chicken, so I thought I would post her tried and true method.

She would start with a cut up frying chicken. We most often use boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but I still think chicken tastes better when I do it with the bones in it. She would do a whole batch of legs once in while as Papa really likes dark meat.

Of course the chicken was always washed clean and salted and peppered. Then she would get out a paper sack, put about a cup of flour in it and drop a few chicken pieces in it. Gather up the top of the sack, and shake it a few times. Now coated in flour, put it in a skillet with some hot oil in it. I now use extra virgin olive oil, Crisco Vegetable Oil, or whatever else you like will do. I put the heat on medium and let it heat up before putting the chicken in. I also use a bowl with flour in it, or even a ziplock to dredge the chicken in as paper sacks are hard to come by these days. I occasionally put a little powdered garlic in with the flour for our tastes.

Nana always said to brown the chicken light brown on both sides and then put a lid on the skillet so the inside of the chicken would get done. I assume the steam created by the lid on would cook the chicken through. Don't put it all the way on the pan though. Set it cock-eyed so there is still air getting into the pan. If the lid goes all the way on, too much steam is created and the crusty part of the chicken comes off in the pan leaving you with naked fried chicken. Not good. As she acquired good pans, she moved from the electric skillets to a good stainless steel frying pan with a heavy bottom. The chicken really browns well in those kinds of pans, and some are even called chicken fryers.

She always said to make sure the chicken is on the fire for at least 30 minutes so it is done all the way through. If the chicken is done, but not as brown as you want it, take the lid all the way off and let the chicken get brown. I turn it often so both sides get really brown.

I love all the little crunchies that get left in the pan that make the gravy so good. Once the chicken is all done and out of the pan, turn the heat up a little and if you need to deglaze the pan, now is the time. Just put a little water in the pan and it will loosen all the crunchies that might be stuck to the bottom of the pan. I use the dredging flour to add to the chicken drippings. Brown the flour good and add some milk. I keep adding flour and milk (sometimes some McCormick Chicken Gravy Mix I keep on hand for more chicken flavor) until I get enough gravy to make me happy. Milk will thicken the gravy and water will thin it. If you have the quantity you need, but it is too thick, just add a little water. Salt and Pepper it and you are done.

I have made many memories over the years with my kids and fried chicken. I know it has been on many a lake trip, many 4th of July dinners, lots of Sunday dinners and is very often the choice of grandkids for their birthday dinner. Today it was comfort food for the sickos in the house that are trying to get better. I wish I had thought to take some pics, but I didn't.

Simple stuff. I love that it is something she taught us to love. I will never forget those days eating chicken for lunch with my dad on the farm. She always went "to the trouble" to do those things for us.

Chicken La Paloma

This recipe is from my wonderful mother-in-law. She first made it for me when I had just given birth to Faith and she was in town for a few days helping out. It was so yummy that It has been one of my favorites ever since. Nathan and I don't always have cheesy-casserolish type dishes, but this is a favorite comfort food or for when guests are coming over. Missionaries really love it!

Ingredients:

2 cans of Cream of Chicken Soup

1 cup of mayonnaise

1/2 tsp of lemon juice

1 tsp curry powder (or more or less depending on how much you like)

6-7 chicken breasts, cut into cubes and cooked with salt, pepper, and garlic powder (or can be barbecued on the grill and then cut up and added)

2 pkgs of (8 oz ea.) of California Blend frozen veggies (cauliflower, broccoli and carrots)

1 8 oz package of shredded cheese

1/4 to 1/2 cup of butter or margarine - melted

corn flakes

Blend the soup, mayo, lemon juice and curry. Add the cooked chicken and vegetables and mix until well coated. Spread evenly into a casserole dish (sprayed with cooking spray). Top with the shredded cheese. Crush corn flakes and add to the melted butter until coated, stirring with a fork. Spread corn flake mixture on top of the cheese. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. YUM!

Cream Cheese Chicken

(Forgot to take a picture before we ate it all! Sorry!)

This is always an easy dinner but so very good! I like to make it when we have people over sometimes or when we need a good dinner without a lot of time in the evening to make something because it is in the crock pot. You can serve it over rice or some type of noodles. Enjoy!

6-8 chicken breasts
1 package of cream cheese
1 package of italian dressing seasoning
1 cube of butter/margarine
1 can of cream of mushroom soup

Put all ingredients in the crock pot and cook on high for 4 hours, stirring every now and then. As the chicken becomes tender shred it with a fork and a knife. Continue to cook until done. Serve over rice or noodles. If you would like the mixture to be soupier you can add more soup/cream cheese.


Tawna :)