Chimichangas

We love Mexican food....alot. I am always anxious to try out new Mexican recipes to add to our favorite recipes. This is one I found in a Food Network magazine and decided to try out this week. Hubby and I loved it but the littles were less than thrilled with it. I won't give up though. We'll try it again and again. I'm sure one of those times, they'll realize how good it is.

Chimichangas
2 T. butter
4 T. vegetable oil
1 white onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped (remove seeds for less heat) (I didn't use a jalapeno.)
1 1/2 t. chili powder
1/2 t. ground cumin
1/4 t. ground cinnamon
salt
1 small tomato, chopped
2 T. chopped fresh cilantro (I forgot to buy this, so it didn't make it into mine.)
2 1/2 c. shredded, cooked chicken
1/4 c. sour cream
1 15 oz. can refried beans
tortillas (The recipe calls for 4 but I was able to fill 8!)
1 c. shredded monterey jack cheese

Preheat oven to 45o degrees. Melt the butter with 2 T. vegetable oil in a skillet and transfer to a bowl. Heat the remaining 2 T. vegetable oil in skillet. Add the onion, garlic, and jalapeno and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the chili powder, cumin, cinnamon and 1 t. salt; toast 30 seconds. Add the tomato and cilantro and cook until slightly dry, about 2 minutes. Stir in the chicken and sour cream and warm through. Remove from the heat.
Brush a rimmed baking sheet with some of the butter-oil mixture. Spread 2 T. refried beans down the center of of each tortilla, leaving a 2 in. border on both ends. Top with one cup chicken mixture and 1/4 c. cheese. (I didn't use this much chicken or cheese in each tortilla so it stretched farther.) Fold in the ends and roll up. Put the chimichanga seam-side down on the baking sheet; brush with the butter-oil mixture. Bake 8-10 minutes per side, brushing again after you flip.

Serve with more cheese, lettuce, and tomato. Serve with rice, beans, and guacamole.

I think the next time I make these I will do everything the same except I will omit the cinnamon. I wasn't crazy about that taste in it. I like cinnamon in my desserts not main dishes.

The Favorite

My hubby is home in between classes today and will be eating supper with us this evening! This is exciting stuff because usually the girls and I eat alone and my big plans for having something home made and yummy are thrown out the window when supper time rolls around. Tonight though I need to cook since we are eating as a family so I am making a family favorite. It doesn't get made that often but when it does....WOW! Everyone loves it...it is easy....it is so good. I haven't shared the recipe here before so I better get on that.

Chicken Enchiladas
1/2 c. chopped onion
4 T. butter
1/4 c. flour
2 c. chicken broth
1 t. chicken bouillon
8 oz. sour cream, room temp
3 c. shredded, cooked chicken
2 c. shredded cheese
4 oz. can green chiles, drained
1 t. chili powder
10 - 12 tortillas

Sautee onion in butter until tender. Whisk in flour and add chicken broth and bouillon. Cook and stir until thickened. Remove from heat and add sour cream. In large bowl combine chicken, 1 c. sauce, 1 c. cheese, chiles, and chili powder. Mix well. Fill each tortilla with mixture. Roll up and arrange in a 9 x 13 inch pan. Spoon remaining sauce over tortillas. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

YUM! This is a recipe that I have made since the early days of married life and it is still a winner in hubby's heart!

Comforty Food

It is fall. I am basking in the glory of cooking comfort food type things. They go hand in hand with the colors and smells of the season. Tonight for supper I made a recipe from Everyday food : Fresh Flavor Fast : 250 Easy, Delicious Recipes for Any Time of Day. I tweaked the recipe a bit by changing one thing and adding some other things. I will give you my tweaked recipe.

Chicken and Dumplings
3 T. butter
1 onion, diced
4 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1/2 t. sage (or thyme)
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 c. flour (divided into 1/4 c. and 3/4 c.)
1 - 1 1/2 cans of chicken broth
1 1/2 lb. chicken thighs, cut into 2" pieces
3/4 t. dill
1 3/4 t. baking powder
1/2 c. milk
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen peas

Melt butter. Add onion, carrot, celery, garlic, and sage. Cook 5 min. Add 1/4 c. flour stirring into vegetable mixture. Add chicken broth, bring to boil, stirring constantly. Season with salt and pepper. Nestle chicken in the pot, reduce heat to med. low. Cover, cook 20 min.

Dumplings: Whisk 3/4 c. flour with dill, baking powder, and 1/2 t. salt. With fork gradually stir in 1/2 c. milk.

Stir peas in the pot. Return to simmer and drop batter by heaping tablespoonfuls, leaving space between dumplings. Cover and simmer 20 or until dumplings are cooked.

***Tonight I boiled a whole chicken for one hour then took the meat off the bones. I used about half of the meat in this recipe so I didn't need to cook the chicken for 20 minutes. It worked fine!

Curry

I am having a love affair with Indian food. There are a bunch of ethnic restaurants in our new community. The first one that I was taken to was the Indian place and I loved it. I didn't think I would but I did. I have no idea what most of it is but it is good!

So on Sunday I was going through my recipe box looking for recipes to plan my menu and found a recipe for Curry from a friend back home. We were in a small group with her and her husband and a few other people from the church we were attending at the time. They had invited us all over one evening for supper as they had guests in town from Australia. She made this recipe and it was so good. I had never had curry before so I asked for the recipe. I stashed it away in my box and never made it until now. Can you believe this? We are talking about 8-10 years of it just sitting in my box waiting to be used. Don't you feel sad for this little recipe? I have a dear, sweet friend who would have tossed it out after a week, ok maybe a few days of just sitting there not being used and especially if it wasn't on the cute recipe cards. (Love ya, Friend!)

I pulled the recipe out due to my new love affair with Indian cuisine and desire to learn to cook some of the dishes. I made it tonight and my family LOVED me. They got on their chairs and they chanted, "You rock our world! You rock our world!" Ok...maybe not...but they devoured it all except for one small bowl that I finally had to put aside so Hubby would have something to take for lunch tomorrow. I won't mention how many helpings Hubby had...4....oh wait...I guess I did mention it. I love that though. I love cooking from scratch and cooking something that they love. AND it was healthy and very cheap!

Curry
Sautee 2 T. oil, 2 onions, minced, and 1-2 cloves garlic, minced (I used 3. Love garlic! Thanks Rachael Ray!)
In a bowl mix 2 T. lemon juice (or vinegar) and 2-4 t. curry powder to make a paste. (I only used the 2 as I'm learning and wasn't sure what to expect. Will use more next time.)
Stir the paste into the onions and fry for 2 minutes.
Add 3 lbs. diced chicken. Stir fry briefly.
Add 1 c. tomato sauce, 1 t. salt, and 1-2 c. chicken broth or water. (I used 1 1/2 c. chicken broth and it seemed perfect.)
Simmer 1 hour. Add more liquid if needed.
Serve with hot, steamed rice.

Other options to serve with are:
pineapple
peanuts
coconut
raisins
bananas

I didn't do this but if we were having company I would. I remember those extra additions making it even more scrumptious. I think maybe next time I'll dice up some carrots and potatoes to add to the onion mixture as it is cooking...because there will be a next time!

Now on to figuring out naan!
Also I am a total newbie at Indian cuisine so if you are an expert, please, please do not tell me if I am totally off from real Indian fare. I'm learning. I'll get there...maybe.

Lighten It Up

So I promised to be back with a recipe and to lighten the mood. Geesh, it got kind of heavy here. Ha! I am ashamed to admit that I am not a frugal poultry consumer. I will always buy the skinless boneless chicken breasts or thighs that cost more before I would even think about looking at a whole chicken. Can we say MESSY? BUT I did buy a whole chicken back in....ummm...well September. She had a nice spot in my freezer and I kept meaning to cook her up but she just sat there. Finally I cooked her today and boy was I excited at how she turned out. The meat was oh so tender and yummy and it was so easy. Lesson learned...that whole chicken isn't as big a pain as I thought it would be. My next attempt will be to make homemade chicken stock from that nice carcass. Here is the recipe that I found on All Recipes and used.

Juicy Roasted Chicken
1 (3 pound) whole chicken, giblets removed
salt and black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon onion powder, or to taste
1/2 cup margarine, divided
1 stalk celery, leaves removed

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Place chicken in a roasting pan, and season generously inside and out with salt and pepper. Sprinkle inside and out with onion powder. Place 3 tablespoons margarine in the chicken cavity. Arrange dollops of the remaining margarine around the chicken's exterior. Cut the celery into 3 or 4 pieces, and place in the chicken cavity.
3. Bake uncovered 1 hour and 15 minutes in the preheated oven, to a minimum internal temperature of 180 degrees F (82 degrees C). Remove from heat, and baste with melted margarine and drippings. Cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest about 30 minutes before serving.

YUM! Even the baby liked the tender meat. This will be happening again very soon. I have a Martha Stewart recipe for Lemon Roasted Chicken that I think I will have to attempt soon.