Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

I've seen these floating around the blogosphere for a little while now and I finally made them. 

Three things:

1. These are PERFECT for football season!

2. They are absolutely delicious.

3. They can be made ahead of time, frozen, and popped in the oven when you're ready to eat.

Need I say more?

From Pennies on a Platter

Makes 12

INGREDIENTS:

3 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup green salsa

1 Tablespoon lime juice

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 Tablespoons chopped cilantro

2 Tablespoons chopped green onion

2 cups shredded cooked chicken (My go-to recipe is here. Just cook it, then shred it.)

1 cup shredded Mexican flavored cheese

Medium-size flour or corn tortillas

kosher salt (optional)

cooking spray

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.

In a large bowl mix the first 7 ingredients. Once combined, stir in the cilantro and green onions. Add the chicken and cheese and mix thoroughly. 

Working with a few tortillas at a time, heat them in the microwave between two paper towels until they are soft enough to roll (about 20-30 seconds).

Spoon 2 heaping tablespoons of the chicken mixture onto the lower third of the tortilla. Roll the tortilla as tightly as you can. Place the rolled tortilla seam side down on the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining tortillas until the mixture is gone. Make sure the taquitos are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle lightly with kosher salt. (For a healthier option, eliminate the salt. It's not necessary.)

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and golden. 

Serve with salsa, sour cream, and/or guacamole. 

For tips on freezing, click here. 

Catherine's Enchiladas

My favorite way to cook involves no recipe. No set rules to follow, no cleaning of measuring cups in between uses, no boundaries. The risk of this is that there is also no guarantee of a delicious meal at the end of the cooking. Fortunately, in this case, there was a very delicious meal at the end of my enchilada cooking venture. 

I hope you try this.

INGREDIENTS:

2 chicken breasts

garlic salt

lemon pepper

olive oil

6 large flour tortillas

16 oz. green salsa (maybe substitute with red enchilada sauce)

1 small can diced green chiles

1/4 cup milk

1/2 onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon cumin

dash cayenne papper

1-2 cups shredded Mexican cheese

DIRECTIONS:

Start by making simple blackened chicken. Using two forks, shred cooked chicken and set aside. 

Heat oven to 350 degrees. 

Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and saute until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add green chiles, green salsa, milk, shredded chicken, paprika, cumin, and cayenne pepper and mix all together. Let simmer for about 5 minutes. 

Warm tortillas in a microwave or oven.

Spread 1/4 cup of chicken mixture in the bottom of the dish. One by one, fill each tortilla. Using tongs, spread chicken down the middle of the tortilla, add cheese, roll and set seam-side down in the baking dish. When finished rolling, top all enchiladas with remaining chicken mixture. Top everything with cheese.

Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. 

Enjoy!!!

Taco Dip

With college bowl season in full swing and NFL playoffs about to start, this is the perfect time for chips and dip. I made this taco dip on New Year's Day and it is de-lish. It's one of those recipes where you start to eat then, 10 minutes later, half of the dish is gone and you're not sure how it happened. 

From Karen Fishback

INGREDIENTS:

1 pint sour cream

1 - 1-1/2 cups guacamole (about two avocados worth)

1 packet taco seasoning

7 oz. salsa

1 large tomato, chopped

chopped olives (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Layer ingredients, in order, on a deep plate, or pie pan, spreading over the entire surface each time. Serve with tortilla chips or Nacho Doritos.

Happy Snacking!

Beer-Battered Fish Tacos

It has been so HOT here lately, it makes me want to lie on the beach all day long. One of my favorite beach-y foods is fish tacos. We find ourselves dining out a lot on Tuesday night for various restaurants' Taco Tuesday deals, but someday I envision making every Tuesday night in my home Taco Tuesday and I will make the tacos. This would definitely be one recipe in my arsenal. It's very fast and simple.

INGREDIENTS:

3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/3 cup beer (may be substituted with milk)

8 oz. tilapia fillet or other white fish, cut crosswise into 1-inch wide strips

Vegetable oil

Corn tortillas

1-2 tomatoes, diced

1 avocado, sliced

sour cream

paprika or other seasoning 

DIRECTIONS:

Combine flour, salt, cumin, and cayenne pepper in a medium bowl. Whisk in beer to create a batter. 

Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat tilapia pieces in the batter and, letting the excess batter drip into the bowl, add fish to the pan. Cook until crispy and golden, about 2-4 minutes per side.

Serve with tortillas, tomatoes, avocados, sour cream, and season with paprika or your favorite seasoning. 

Guacamole and Homemade Tortilla Chips

Happy Labor Day weekend!

(and the start of college football season)

Is there any better snack than fresh guacamole and chips? I submit that there is not. After stocking up on avocados on our bi-weekly grocery trip, I purposely made a point to buy tortilla chips, knowing I would be making guacamole. By Tuesday, the chips were gone, having been devoured with their other lovely friend, salsa. I still had six avocados, but no chips. Thus, my creative mind got to work and I decided to make my own baked tortilla chips--super delicious!

GUACAMOLE -- this isn't really a recipe, just a guideline. Guacamole should be made however you like it. 

INGREDIENTS:

3 avocados, pitted and peeled

1/4 onion, finely chopped

juice of 1/2 lime

handful of cilantro

salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Using a large bowl and fork (or pastry blender, if you have it--I don't but wish I did) mash the avocados. Don't worry about leaving some chunks. Add onion, lime juice, cilantro and salt & pepper to taste. Feel free to adjust ingredient amounts to however your mouth desires. 

HOMEMADE TORTILLA CHIPS

INGREDIENTS:

5 tortillas

cooking spray

salt

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. 

Cover two baking sheets with foil and spray with cooking spray. Using a pizza cutter, cut the tortillas into several "chip-shaped" sections. Arrange cut tortillas on two baking sheets so that none of them overlap. Spray with more cooking spray and sprinkle with salt. Bake in the oven for about 5-7 minutes, until chips are browned and crispy.

Enjoy!

Burrito Bowl with Seasoned Ground Turkey

Inspired by Chipotle and the ingredients I had in my kitchen, this burrito bowl was born. Ground turkey is my favorite substitute for ground beef, especially when used in Mexican dishes. With some taco seasoning, I can hardly tell the difference between turkey and beef. 

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. ground turkey

1 Tablespoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (less if you have a more mild palette)

2 teaspoons cumin

1/2 teaspoon oregano

2 garlic cloves, minced or 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 cup water

1 teaspoon corn starch

1 can refried beans (or black beans)

2 cups brown rice

1 tomato

1 avocado

2 oz. goat cheese

1/2 cup salsa

DIRECTIONS:

Prepare rice, according to directions. 

Over medium heat, brown ground turkey until fully cooked. Add next nine ingredients, water, and corn starch and simmer until all spices are cooked into the meat, about 10-15 minutes.

Heat beans in a small saucepan over low heat, until warmed through. 

Make your burrito bowl. In a shallow bowl, pour 1 cup of cooked rice and spread on the bottom. Add 1/2 cup beans, followed by 1/2 cup seasoned ground turkey. Top with chopped tomato, goat cheese, sliced avocado, and salsa. Sprinkle with pepper and garnish with cilantro, if available. Enjoy.

Mango, Black Bean, and Goat Cheese Enchiladas

¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

Mexican food and the Spanish language are two loves of mine. I'll never forget the moment that speaking Spanish finally felt natural for me. After seven years of studying the language, at the ripe age of 20, I found myself sitting on a folding chair in front of the Seville Cathedral in Sevilla, Spain, waiting for a performance about the life of Christopher Columbus to begin. Behind me sat a man from Puerto Rico who muttered a simple, "¡Hola!". We proceeded to speak for about 40 minutes and not once did I need to pause to think of a word or resort to 'Spanglish'. It was one of the greatest feelings and one I hope to repeat in a couple more languages (Arabic and French, please). Thanks to the deep Mexican heritage in Southern California, I am still able to be surrounded by Spanish speakers on a daily basis. I'm very grateful for that.

About the food, this California-ized Mexican dish is just delightful. The combination of sweet, juicy mangoes with rich, creamy goat cheese makes my mouth water.  

 I'm not gonna lie, this recipe took a little more effort than I anticipated, but that was because I actually made the sauce from scratch, instead of just buying green enchilada sauce. While the homemade sauce was delicious, I've revised this recipe to include an either/or option. 

*adapted from quickbeanrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS:

1 15 oz. can black beans

1 cup diced mango

4 stalks scallions, thinly sliced

1 8 oz. can corn

4-6 oz. goat cheese, crumbled

8-10 small corn tortillas or 4-5 larger flour tortillas - I used whole wheat flour tortillas

mozzarella cheese (optional)

salt to taste

cilantro for garnish

(for the sauce):

8-10 tomatillos, husked, seeded and minced

1/4 cup chicken broth

1 garlic clove, minced

1 small onion, minced

OR

1 can green enchilada sauce

DIRECTIONS:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

For the sauce (if making), cook tomatillos in chicken broth with garlic and onions over medium heat for about ten minutes, stirring constantly. Transfer tomatillo mixture to a food processor or blender and blitz to get a smooth, creamy texture. Add salt as desired.

For enchilada filling, cook black beans, mango, scallions, and corn until heated through. Take out from heat and stir in goat cheese.

Over medium heat and using cooking spray, warm tortillas on both sides until lightly browned.

Spread half of the green sauce evenly at the bottom of a cooking dish. One by one, fill each tortilla with filling and roll into an enchilada shape, then place in cooking dish seam side down. Pour remaining green sauce over the enchiladas. Top with any remaining mango/goat cheese filling. If desired, top with mozzarella cheese as well. 

Cook in the oven for 10 minutes until tortillas are nicely charred and cheese is melted. Top with cilantro for garnish. 

Serve with rice and beans, put on your sombrero, and sing "Ayayayay!"