Chicken Enchiladas

Chicken, tomatoes, corn, and cilantro, wrapped in a corn tortilla and smothered with enchilada sauce and topped with gooey cheesy goodness.  What could be better then that?  I have tried many enchilada recipes and this is by far my favorite.  I adapted this recipe from an episode I saw of Tyler's Ultimate Cooking.  The original recipe calls for a can of Chipotle peppers, but these are way to spicy for me so I leave them out.  If you like spicy flavor, you could certainly add them or any other pepper you might prefer. 

Cooking Tip: 
Don't overfill the tortillas as they might fall apart during cooking

INGREDIENTS

1 pound boneless chicken breast
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp flour
1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 14.5 oz can corn, drained
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
2 roasted whole green chiles, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
12 corn tortillas
1 10 ounce can enchilada sauce
1 cup grated Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated pepper jack cheese
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp Mexican seasoning


To make your own Mexican seasoning, combine a pinch of each of the following:
onion powder
garlic powder
paprika
cumin
oregano
chili powder

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Flatten chicken with a meat mallet for even cooking.  Season with salt and pepper.  In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add chicken and season with cumin and Mexican seasoning.  Cook until no longer pink, about 7-8 mins.  Remove chicken from pan and shred with a fork.  In same pan add onion and garlic.  Cook until softened, about 3-4 mins.  Add corn, cilantro, peppers, and tomatoes.  Cook until heated through.  Add shredded chicken and cook for another 2-3 mins.  Add 1 tbsp flour to thicken mixture and stir well.  Pour enchilada sauce in a shallow dish.  Wrap tortillas in two damp paper towels and microwave until soft, about 30-45 seconds.  Dip tortillas in enchilada sauce and place on a flat surface. Fill tortilla with chicken mixture while being careful not to tear it. Roll tortilla and place in 13x9 baking dish.  Continue with remaining tortillas.  Pour remaining enchilada sauce over tortillas.  Cover with cheeses and bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes.  Remove pan from oven and let cool for 5 minutes.  Sprinkle top with cilantro and serve with sour cream if desired.
Serves 4

Chicken Noodle Soup

So, I roasted a chicken on Sunday night (only the second time I have attempted such a feat).  The chicken turned out marvelous but the hour long process was extremely nerve racking!  The butter in the bottom of the roasting pan kept sizzling and smoking, causing havoc with the smoke detector in my kitchen!  My husband laughed at me as I stood by the stove with our fire extinguisher ready in case my stove caught fire!  Needless to say it did not, and actually the chicken was delicious.  Anyhow, I had tons of chicken left over (my husband and I are a small family of two) and decided to attempt chicken noodle soup with the left overs.  I found this very tasty recipe in "Anyone Can Cook". It is very basic, I added some extra oomph for flavor.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups chopped, cooked chicken
• 1 cup chopped carrots (about 3 med. carrots)
• 1 cup chopped celery (about 2 stalks)
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cups wide egg noodles
• salt to taste (the recipe did not call for salt, but I added it for more flavor)

Directions:

Place carrots, celery, onion, and chicken broth in large pot.  Add oregano, bay leaves, and pepper and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and cover, simmer for about 5 minutes.  Add the egg noddles and bring back to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer until noodles are done, about 8-10 minutes.  Add chicken and cook until heated through, about another 5-6 minutes.  Ladle and serve.  Serves about 4 main dishes.