Cream Cheese Enchiladas

If you purchase those rotisserie chickens at the store or roast your own chicken, this recipe is the perfect one for the leftover chicken. The flavors in this one are delicious. It's quick and easy to put together. I halved the recipe, it made the just the right amount for dinner, with leftovers for our lunches. I made the recipe as written but did bake it at 350 for 20 minutes covered and 10 minutes uncovered, to melt the cheeses.

Enchiladas De Pollo (Cream Cheese and Chicken Enchiladas)

Makes 20-24 enchiladas

Recipe from Paula Deen Courtesy of Tomatoes on the Vine

Ingredients:

4 large chicken breasts, roasted or boiled, skin and bones removed, meat shredded

One 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature

One 10.75-ounce can condensed cream of chicken soup

Two 4-ounce cans diced green chilies, with juice

6 green onions, chopped, including green tops

20-24 four tortillas (7-inch diameter)

Two 10-ounce cans enchilada sauce

2 cups (1/2 pound) grated Monterey Jack cheese

4 cups (1 pound) grated sharp cheddar cheese

Sour cream, for garnish

Shredded lettuce, for garnish

Diced tomatoes, for garnish

Salsa, store-bought or homemade, for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 250 Degrees F. Spray two 13 by 9-inch casserole dishes with vegetable oil cooking spray.

2. Combine the chicken, cream cheese, soup, chilies, and green onions. Spoon 2 tablespoons of this mixture onto each tortilla and roll up.

3. Pour a very small amount of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of each casserole dish and tilt the dish so that the sauce covers the bottom. Place the enchiladas side by side on top of the sauce. When all of the enchiladas have been rolled and placed in the dishes, take the remaining enchilada sauce and pour it over the top of the enchiladas. Combine the Monterey Jack and Cheddar cheeses and sprinkle evenly over the casseroles.

4. Cover the dishes with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 more minutes. To serve, cut between the enchiladas and serve from the dish. Have bowls of sour cream, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, and salsa, for garnish.

I am linking this to Tasty Tuesday's and Tuesday's at the Table.

Pink Saturday - Vacation Time!

In February of 2007, in celebration of my 50th birthday, Tim and I went on Mexican Riviera cruise. One of the stops was Cabo. Having been there before, I knew we needed to make a stop at The Office. The Office is a very well known beach bar in Cabo. You can sit with your feet in the sand, drink a cold one and purchase trinkets from the vendors. I've always loved pink and couldn't pass up the pink cowboy hat. Does it really get any better? Sand, sun, cocktails and shopping!

As you read this, we're on a plane headed to Cabo for a week of sunshine, cocktails and relaxation. Happy Pink Saturday!

I am linking this to Pink Saturday at How Sweet the Sound!

Wild Rice Soup

There's something hearty and almost meaty (or so I tried to tell Tim) about Wild Rice Soup. When I told Tim I was making Wild Rice Soup, he said chicken and wild rice soup? I said no, besides the bacon, there's no meat in this recipe but aren't you happy it does have bacon it? Actually lots of bacon. This recipe called for 1 pound of bacon, I scaled it down to 1/2 pound. Seriously, a pound of bacon?!!

I cooked the rice for this in my rice cooker. It produced perfectly cooked wild rice in about an hour. I don't know about you but I always have trouble cooking rice on the stove top. I love the depth of flavor the red wine adds to this soup. Whenever we have a little leftover wine, I freeze it in ice cube trays. Then when I need a little wine, I just toss in a cube or two. Like many soups, this one is better on day two or even day three.


Minnesota Wild Rice Soup
Recipe Courtesy of Lana Right Here Right Now
4oz wild rice
1 lb bacon
3 T bacon grease
1/4 c chopped green pepper
3/4 c chopped celery
3/4 c chopped onion
2 cans chicken broth
3 cans cream of mushroom soup
1/4 c sherry or red wine, optional

Prepare wild rice as directed on package. While that cooks, fry bacon until crisp. Remove bacon to drain, then crumble. Reserve 3 T for soup. Saute pepper, celery and onion in bacon grease until soft. Add remaining ingredients and simmer on the stove for an hour or more (tastes better the longer it simmers).

I am linking this to Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum , Souper Sunday at Kahakai Kitchen
and Fat Camp Friday at Mangoes and Chutney.

Blogger Secret Ingredient - Hot Sauce

I just ran across a fun blogging event, My Bizzy Kitchen's, Blogger Secret Ingredient (BSI) . This week's host is Debbie of Debbie Does Dinner Healthy. Debbie chose the perfect ingredient for Super Bowl week, Hot Sauce! If you're interested in joining in, check out the details on Debbie's blog.



My favorite recipe using hot sauce, totally Super Bowl appropriate is Hooter's Buffalo Wings. Here's a link to my post for these from Super Bowl Sunday 2010.

Kielbassa and White Beans

Do you shop at a warehouse club, you know Costco, Sam's, BJ's? At my house, we're Costco shoppers. One of the main reasons, their wine selection is fantastic! Of course, a lot of the things you buy are in larger quantities. Perfect if you have a big family. Since it's just Tim and I, sometimes I find myself trying to figure out what to do with something I have in large quantities. This summer we bought a package of kielbasa, perfect for summer grilling. I wanted to find a winter recipe for kielbasa. I found this recipe several months ago, bookmarked it but kept passing it over when planning the weekly menu. Tim's not a big fan of dishes with cooked tomatoes, so I was concerned he wouldn't like this one. With the kielbasa still in the freezer, I decided to give it a try. Tim said he really liked this recipe, the rosemary is delicious with the sausage.

I made the recipe as written below. Next time, I would not use any additional oil to brown the sausage. I would just add a little olive oil, if needed, to the pan before browning the onions or garlic. I used Great Northern Beans but any of those beans or even a mixture, would be delicious!



Recipe courtesy of Food.com
1 -2 tablespoon oil or 1 -2 tablespoon butter
1 lb smoked kielbasa, sliced 1/2 inch thick
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can peeled diced tomatoes
1 (16 ounce) can great northern beans or 1 (16 ounce) can navy beans or 1 (16 ounce) can cannellini beans, drained
Change Measurements: US | Metric
Directions:
Prep Time: 15 mins
Total Time: 35 mins
1 Heat oil or butter in a large skillet, add Kielbasa and cook over medium high heat until lightly browned, remove with slotted spoon.
2 Reduce heat to medium, add onions and cook until transparent.
3 Reduce heat to low, add garlic and herbs and cook 1 minute.
4 Add kielbasa, tomatoes and white beans, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.

I am linking this to Tasty Tuesday and Tempt My Tummy Tuesday's.

Chocolate Nut Loaf - Chocolate With Francois

Most of the recipes we've made so far from Chocolate With Francois have been shall we say a little challenging. I was thrilled when I read this month's recipe. The recipe read like a basic quick bread recipe and except for the almond paste, I had all of the ingredients on hand.

I decided to make my own almond paste, of sorts. I combined the "dust" from the almonds I had chopped for the bread, with a teaspoon of almond extract and a little powdered sugar. As well, I substituted macadamia nuts for the hazelnuts. The baking time for this recipe is 50 - 60 minutes. When I checked my bread at 45 minutes, the butter was bubbling around the sides of the pan and had run over in the oven. Fortunately, I use an oven liner. If you don't have one, I strongly recommend buying one!!! After the bread cooled, most of the butter seemed to absorb back into the bread. It did create an interesting crisp edge around the bread. I decided to skip glazing the bread. The bread was moist and the combination of nuts were delicious.


Thanks to Leslie of Lethally Delicious for hosting this month. You can find the recipe on her blog. The links to the other Chocolate With Francois Bakers can be found here!

Pink Saturday - Vacation Anticipation

I am not very good at taking pictures to have on hand for Pink Saturday posts. Instead of borrowing one from the internet, I try to find one in my own picture library. There's lots of shades of pink and many interpretations of color. To me these buildings have pink roofs, so work with me on this one! This picture was taken from our cabin, before we sailed away from St. Martin on our 2008 Caribbean cruise.



There's nothing better than a warm weather winter vacation, it helps the long winter seem a little more bearable and go a little faster. We leave in a week for warm weather and sunshine. I can't wait!

I am linking this to Pink Saturday at How Sweet the Sound!