Chicken and Black Bean Enchiladas

Food. It's a necessity. It can become a drag to make. I have a love hate relationship with it. I love to eat...well, I love to eat TASTEY food. I also hate cooking. I would love it...but there is just too much going on right now. My favorite meals are ones that I don't have to cook. And that doesn't happen often. I have not had time to work on my freezer meals...or a meal plan in general, so I took to Pinterest recently to help inspire me. I found this handy blog. http://thrivinghomeblog.com There are some freezer meals in there and I tried one last night and it was gobbled up. I personally used ready made taco seasoning because I had it on hand. I didn't have enchilada sauce on hand so I did make that from scratch. Both recipes are posted so that you can choose what you want to do. The enchilada sauce recipe does make enough for two batches of enchiladas so make it easy on yourself, double the enchilada recipe and have an extra meal in the freezer!

Chicken and Black Bean Enchiladas 

(Direct link here http://thrivinghomeblog.com/2009/11/cheesy-chicken-and-black-bean-enchiladas/)

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• ¼ cup chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (4-ounce) can diced green chiles (Optional. I did not use these)
• ⅓ cup prepared salsa, mild, medium or hot (I used Pace mild Picante sauce)
• homemade taco seasoning (see recipe below) I just used about 1/8 cup of ready made taco seasoning that I bought in a large container at Sams.
• ½-1 cup red enchilada sauce (For homemade, see recipe below)
• 4-6 (8-inch) tortillas
• 1⅓ cups shredded Monterey Jack and or Cheddar cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a 9x9 casserole dish with cooking spray.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute 2 minutes. Add chicken and saute 5 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through. Add taco seasonings to the meat mixture.
3. Stir in black beans, green chiles, and salsa and simmer 5 minutes, until sauce thickens and reduces.
4. Put half of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9x9 casserole dish. Arrange 4-6 tortillas on a flat surface. Top each tortilla with an equal amount of chicken/bean mixture and 1-2 tablespoons cheese. Roll up tortillas and place side by side in a shallow baking dish. Add remaining enchilada sauce to the top. Then, top tortillas with remaining shredded cheese.
5. Bake enchiladas 15 minutes, until cheese is golden.
6. Note: You can easily freeze these before baking. Just be sure to thaw them out before baking. To make cleanup easy, use a disposable pan...you can get them at the Dollar Tree or Sams. Great for freezing or days that are hectic.

Homemade Taco Seasoning

 

Ingredients

• 1½ teaspoon chili powder
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon onion powder
• ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
• ¼ teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

1. Combine the ingredients and use according to your taste in the enchilada recipe.

Enchilada Sauce http://www.thegardengrazer.com/2013/05/enchilada-sauce.html

Ingredients
3 cups organic low sodium vegetable broth
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup all purpose flour (or gluten-free flour)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. chili powder
Salt/pepper
Optional: cayenne pepper, ground chipotle, smoked paprika, etc.

Directions
In a small bowl, combine flour, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, and chili powder.
In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat.
Add tomato paste, and the bowl of flour and spices.
Cook 1 minute, whisking continuously.
Whisk in broth, increase heat, and bring to a light boil.
Reduce to simmer. Cook about 8 minutes or until slightly thickened, whisking occasionally.
Salt/pepper to taste.

More freezer prep

I have a minimum (hopefully) of 3 more weeks before baby boy makes his appearance. Needless to say, I have started to become more and more anxious. I sat down the other day and made a list of all of the meals that still are tasty after freezing and tried to plan some of them into a meal schedule for the next two weeks. I'm going to try to share all of them throughout the next few weeks.

For starters, I made chicken pot pie. I found this recipe on Pinterest and it is amazing. It can be found among some other great freezer meals here http://melissafallistestkitchen.blogspot.com/2012/02/freezer-cooking-2.html. Now one thing I think I do differently than a lot of people who make freezer meals, is that I do freezer meals one at a time. I just feel like for me, it causes less stress and also I can prepare meals based on what is on sale. As an example, this time I paid full price for the pie crusts but ideally I would be making this meal when pie crusts are on sale...usually sometime around a holiday of some sort.

Chicken Pot Pie (my adaptation)

   6 chicken breast

   2 onions

   6 carrots

   3 stalks celery

   3 potatoes

   4 tablespoons butter

   42 oz chicken broth

   3 cans cream of chicken soup

   3 premade pie crusts

        Wash & Trim ALL the Chicken Breasts.  Put (6) Breasts in a pot of water on the stove and cook on med-medhigh heat for about 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. 

·         While the Chicken is cooking chop vegetables  Melt (4) tablespoons butter in large sauce pot and add all chopped vegetables EXCEPT potatoes. While the veggies are sautéing, shred the cooked chicken breast with two forks and set aside.   Add Chicken Broth (42oz) & diced Potato to pot with sautéed veggies after about 5 minutes and let simmer over med-med high heat until reduced by half.

·         Remove pre-made pie crust from fridge.  It will need to sit for (10) minutes before placing in round foil pans.

·         After the Chicken Broth has reduced by half with the veggies- stir in shredded chicken, 3 cans peas and 3 cans cream of chicken. At this point you can add any sort of seasoning you would like. I usually add a bit of thyme and rosemary.

·         Evenly distribute chicken/veg mixture into each pie pan.  Top each with pie crust.  Pinch sides of each together using your fingers or a fork.  Cut 2-3 vents in the top using a sharp knife.  WRAP WELL with plastic wrap.  Using a permanent market- write on each one “Chicken Pot Pie, the date and 350 degrees 45 minutes” *or until golden and bubbly.  Place in Freezer. In my case I keep one and bake one for dinner. 

     So now I have 2 meals ready for me. I already have some chicken enchiladas, hamburgers, and lasagna. Woohoo!

     While scouring Pinterest (I love that site) for meals, I came across some freezer meals recommended by the Pioneer Woman. I know that she has some good stuff so I had to pin it and look for some new recipes. Well. I found one. But not for a meal. More for a yummy breakfast. Sweet rolls! Let me tell you. They were yummy! I followed her recipe, but for some reason I got a LOT more rolls than she said. I got 4 pans instead of 2! I was planning on freezing 1 and eating 1. Well, we ate 2 and froze 2. I also altered it a bit (because I needed more fruit filling) so I did half of them lemon raspberry and half lemon blueberry. I found the recipe here http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2013/07/freezer-cooking/

     Ingredients

•  FOR THE DOUGH:
• 4 cups Whole Milk
• 1 cup Sugar
• 1 cup Canola Oil
• 2 packages Active Dry Yeast, 0.25 Ounce Packets
• 8 cups All-purpose Flour
• 1 cup (additional) All-purpose Four
• 1 Tablespoon (heaping) Salt
• 1 teaspoon (scant) Baking Soda
• 1 teaspoon (heaping) Baking Powder
•  FOR THE FILLING:
• 1 stick Butter
• 3/4 cups Sugar
• 2 whole Lemons, Zested
• 2 cups (Heaping) Fresh Blueberries
•  FOR THE GLAZE:
• 1 whole Lemon, Juiced
• 2 whole Lemons, Zested
• 3 cups Powdered Sugar
• 2 cups Whole Milk, Or As Needed
• 1 dash Salt
• 3 Tablespoons Melted Butter

Makes 24 rolls.

For the dough:
Mix milk, 1 cup sugar, and canola oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Heat over medium heat until very warm but not boiling. Remove from heat and allow to cool until warmer than lukewarm but not hot. 

Sprinkle yeast over the surface of the liquid, then add in 8 cups flour. Stir gently until totally combined. Mixture will be very wet and sticky. Cover with a tea towel, keep in a draft-free place, and allow to sit for 1 hour.

After 1 hour, add in an additional cup of flour, as well as the salt, baking soda and baking powder. Mix until combined. Refrigerate dough, covered, until you need it. (Refrigerating the dough helps make it easier to handle.)

Preheat oven to 375 F. Butter a large baking dish (or a couple of smaller dishes) generously. you could use a 9x13 or two 9-inch pie pans which is what I did.

Melt 1 stick of butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once melted remove from heat. 

Divide dough in half. Store one half in the fridge for another use (another batch of these, a batch of cinnamon rolls, a batch of dinner rolls). Turn the other half of the dough onto a floured surface. Roll into a large rectangle, about 30 inches wide by 10 inches deep. Roll as thin as possible! Drizzle melted butter over the dough, using your fingers to spread evenly. 

Using your fingers, mix sugar and lemon zest so that it's a nice, light yellow sugar. Sprinkle it all over the butter. Sprinkle the blueberries evenly over the surface.

Beginning at the side furthest from you, roll dough toward you until it’s in the shape of a tight log. Tuck as you go so the roll stays tight. Pinch the edges to seal the seam shut. With a sharp knife, slice into 1/2 thick hick rolls and lay the slices, cut side down, into the buttered baking dishes. Allow to rise for 20 minutes, then place in oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until deep golden brown on top.

To make the glaze: Add lemon juice, lemon zest, powdered sugar, milk, and dash of salt in a bowl. Add melted butter and whisk together until smooth. Taste it and add more of whatever it needs. 

Remove rolls from oven and drizzle the glaze all over the rolls. Be sure to get it all around the edges and covering the surface so they’ll be nice and moist! 

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Freezer Meals

With a new baby coming and whizzing through all of my freezer meals during my super sick first trimester, it's time to start thinking about replenishing my stash. So I decided I should give myself some accountability and start documenting some of the meals that I make.

Since I am supposed to be resting for the next few days I used one of the very last meals in my stash before I start replenishing. It is Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole. This is a great meal to make after Christmas or Easter to use up some of that leftover ham. I got the recipe from Pinterest (of course). Here's the link http://www.madefrompinterest.net/chicken-cordon-bleu-casserole/ . I am copy and pasting the actual recipe just in case for some crazy reason the link is taken down and I lose the lovely recipe.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

recipe adapted from tastykitchen.com

Base:

1 large rotisserie chicken, meat removed and pulled (about 5-6 C) or 5-6 C of chicken breast meat cooked and shredded into large chunks

1/2 pound sliced deli-style black forest ham, chopped or some yummy leftover ham from Christmas/Easter cut into chunks.

1/2 pound sliced swiss cheese

Sauce:

4 Tb butter

4 Tb flour

3 C milk

2 Tb lemon juice

1 Tb dijion mustard

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp pepper

Topping:

4 Tb melted butter

1 1/4 C seasoned bread crumbs

1/4 C parmesan cheese

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9×13 casserole dish with nonstick spray.  Layer the chicken in the bottom of the dish followed by the ham and finally the swiss cheese.

2.  In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.  Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly add the milk, whisking to keep clumps from forming.  Turn the heat to high and cook until the sauce thickens and boils completely, whisking often.  Remove from the heat and add the remaining sauce ingredients.  Pour the finished sauce over the base layer already in the dish.

3.  In a small bowl, mix together the topping ingredients until the butter is evenly distributed over the crumbs.  Sprinkle over the top of the dish and bake for 45 minutes.  Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving so the sauce will thicken just a bit. You may want to cover the casserole for the first 20 minutes or so just so the crumb topping doesn't become too brown. This is just my personal preference.

Now, whenever I make this I try to make two. One to serve and one to freeze. The one to freeze I do not bake and I do not put the bread crumb topping on. In order to serve, I defrost completely and then add the crumb topping and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. I also serve this with potatoes. You can make some freezer twice baked potatoes or use some potatoes that you have on hand (today I had red potatoes) and then just throw them in the microwave and smash them with some butter and salt and pepper. Yummy. I also added some frozen veggies...but that's just me. This recipe is super delicious and well worth it to double and freeze for a lazy day meal...or when you are supposed to be "resting" (have I mentioned that I don't do "resting" very well? But then again, what mom does?