More Enchilada's....

Tonight, I whipped up my husband's favorite Green Chili Chicken Enchilada's. I was originally inspired to make this dish from a recipe that my mom used to make. However, when I set out to make it the first time, I did not have her original recipe. I improvised! The result was a fresh tasting enchilada. Normally, I use corn tortilla's and just stack it up, but since my last recipe used whole wheat tortilla's and it came out so well, I thought I would use those again.

2 green chili's

2 large chicken breasts, cooked and diced or shredded

3 green onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely diced

1 big handful of fresh cilantro leaves chopped

1 jalepeno pepper finely diced

1 roma tomato diced

2 tlbs. softned cream cheese

3 tlbs. sour cream

1 cup jack cheese shredded

1 tlbs. oregano

1 tsp. chili powder

1 can green enchilada sauce (15 oz)

sea salt and pepper

8 whole wheat tortilla's

1 cup jack cheese

Preheat oven to 375. Spray a 13x9x2 inch pan with non stick spray, and spread about half a cup of green enchilada sauce over the bottom of the pan.

Roast chili peppers until charred, and place immediatly in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.

Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine shredded chicken, and the next 10 ingredients. Remove peppers from fridge, and peel and dice. Add to the chicken mixture and stir all ingredients until well combined. Season with salt and pepper.

One at a time, spread a couple of spoonfuls of enchilada sauce on each tortilla, and then top with about 1/2 cup chicken mixture on each tortilla. Carefully roll each tortilla, and place in 13x9x2 pan. Once all enchilada's have been assembled, pour remaining enchilada sauce over entire contents of pan. Top with remaining 1 cup of jack cheese.

Cover with foil sprayed with non stick spray, and bake in oven for 30 minutes. Remove foil and cook for another 5 minutes. Serve with sour cream and salsa.

Mediterranean Chicken Gyro's

I love Greek and Middle Eastern inspired food. So, I thought it would be fun to mix up some flavors and instead of making a traditional Greek Gyro, combine some different spices from the general region and make a Mediterranean Gyro, with spice influences from all over the region. The marinade is especially important, so make sure you let your meat marinade for at least 8 hours, if not overnight.

Marinade:
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Juice and zest of 1 whole lemon
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tlbs. whole leaf oregano, dried.
sea salt and pepper to taste
1 lbs. white meat chicken breast

Mix all ingredients except Chicken in a food processor until smooth and thick. Pour marinade into container with chicken, seal tightly and marinade for at least 8 hours or overnight.

To make Cucumber sauce:

1 cup of whole fat plain yogurt
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 cucumber, shredded (squeeze dry between paper towels)
1 tsp. fresh mint, finely diced
1 tsp. fresh dill weed, finely diced
juice and zest of 1 lemon
salt to taste
fresh cracked pepper to garnish

To make chicken, heat out door gril to medium heat. Grill both sides of chicken until done, about 6 minutes per side. Remove chicken and allow to sit. Meanwhile, prepare fixing for gyro's. Finely slice red onion, tomato, lettuce. lightly grill pita, and serve with chicken, cucumber sauce, lettuce, onion and tomato and crumbled feta cheese. You can also add your favorite olives if you like. I also spread some store bought hummus over the pita before my chicken and fixings.

Mexican Food Night...

I have been obsessed with avocado's lately, putting them on top of just about everything and making guacamole toppings to go with just about everything. I thought, since I am making mexican food tonight, I would share my recipe for guac topping. I get a lot of compliments on it, but one word of warning, it is heavy on the garlic, so if you don't like garlic that much, I would definitely cut back.

Guac Topping: (for food or for dipping chips!)

2 avocado's, pits and skins removed
2 tlbs. Lite Sour Cream
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp. Lime zest
Juice from 1 lime (You should get about 2 tlbs. juice. If not, use another lime)
1 handful fresh cilantro leaves
1 Jalapeño pepper, seeds removed and chopped
Sea Salt to taste
Fresh cracked pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in small food processor and pulse until well blended but not entirely smooth. Serve immediately.

**if you like your guac topping spicier, leave the seeds in the mixture from the Jalapeno! You can also mix everything up by hand using the back of a fork if you prefer a chunkier texture. Just make sure you dice everything up before mixing it all together.

Enjoy. This goes great with any dish that you think needs a little Southwestern kick. I served it with yummy Black Bean and Pineapple enchilada's, a recipe I got from my sister.

Dinner Last Night...

Over the past few weeks, my sister has been sharing other blog's of people who share their love of food. So, after reading some of the exciting recipes out there, I decided that I should share my recipes and love of cooking as well.

Last week, I picked up some Sea Bass, and decided I would make it for dinner on Friday night. I was searching through recipes, and (this happens to me a lot) I came across a recipe that sounded interesting, but I did not have all the correct ingredients. I know typically when I get creative with an idea, it goes one of two ways- either not so great, or it becomes something I am very proud of. Well, this particular experiment was a winner. I was so proud of the outcome, that I even took some pictures that I am going to share with you. I hope you all like the recipe! It isn't terribly healthy, but at least it is low carb, and it is fairly easy for a fancy dinner.

Chilean Sea Bass with Saffron-Cream sauce and blanched Asparagus

1 tlbs. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tlbs. Butter
Sea Salt and fresh cracked pepper
4 4-6 oz. fillets of Sea Bass (or Cod, Halibut, or any other mild flavored white fish)

1/3 cup good quality Sauvignon Blanc
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 good pinch of saffron threads (depends on your taste, I personally love Saffron, so I use a big pinch!)
3 sprigs of Thyme
1/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 pound fresh Asparagus

Fresh Basil, julienne for garnish

Trim aspargus, and add to pan filled with boiling, salted water. Cook for about 1 minute, depending on thickness of spears, and remove from water. Set aside.

Rinse fish fillets, pat dry, and season both sides with salt and pepper.
Heat non-stick skillet over medium heat. When pan is hot, add Olive Oil and 1 tlbs. of the butter. Cook the fish for about 5 minutes on each side. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add the wine to deglaze the pan, and then add the garlic, tomatoes, saffron, thyme and simmer until sauce is reduced by half. Bring heat on the pan down to low, add the next Tablespoon of butter and whisk into sauce until melted. Add cream to sauce.

Place aspargus and fish on plate, and spoon generous serving of sauce over fish and aspargus. Garnish with fresh basil and fresh cracked pepper.

I also decided to add some pasta to this dish, because my husband has to have carbs with each meal. So, i just cooked up some pasta barilla, tossed it with a touch of Olive Oil and chopped garlic, and just topped it with some of the sauce. It was fantastic! We loved it, and we drank the rest of the Sauvignon Blanc that we used in the recipe. Even my two year old son loved the Sea Bass. Enjoy!