Chicken Enchiladas

YIELD 6 servings
Bake @ 450 degrees for about 10 minutes

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts (2-3 trimmed, pounded if necessary)
salt & pepper
2 1/2 cups enchilada sauce (20 ounces)
1 cup finely crumbled queso fresca or feta cheese (or mexican shredded mix)
1-4 oz can diced green chilies
1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro
12 (6-inch) soft corn tortillas (or 6 flour tortillas)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
lime wedges for serving

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Combine the chicken and enchilada sauce in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, 10-15 minutes. When the sauce is simmering, flip the chicken over, cover, and continue to cook until the chicken registers 160-165 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 10-15 minutes.

Transfer the chicken to a plate and shred it into bite-size pieces when cool enough to handle. Combine the chicken, 1/2 cup enchilada sauce, queso fresco, chilies, and cilantro in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste and cover to keep warm while heating the tortillas. 

For corn tortillas, lightly coat both sides with vegetable oil spray. Place 6 tortillas on a baking sheet and bake until the tortillas are soft and pliable, 2-4 minutes.

Working quickly while the tortillas are still warm and pliable, spread them out over a clean counter. Place 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture evenly down the center of each tortilla. Tightly roll each tortilla around the filling and lay them, seam-side down, in a 13X9 inch baking dish. 

Increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees. Pour 1 cup more enchilada sauce over the enchiladas and sprinkle with the cheddar. Cover with aluminum foil and bake until they are heated through, about 10 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake until the cheese is melted, 3-5 minutes longer. Serve, passing the remaining sauce and lime wedges separately. 


to make ahead, assemble the enchiladas through step 5, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Before topping with sauce and cheese and baking, spray the enchiladas lightly with vegetable oil spray and bake until warm and lightly toasted on top 10 to 20 minutes.

Italian Chicken and Cous Cous

Sweet & Sour Chicken

2 Chicken Breasts, cubed 
 
marinate for 20 minutes:
2 TBS cornstarch
2 TBS soy sauce
2 TBS Rice Wine

bring to room temp before cooking

onion med-pieces
green pepper med-pieces
garlic minced

Pineapple (optional)

Sauce:
1/3 cup ketchup
1/3 cup sugar

Heat wok on high with oil. Cook chicken, set aside. Don't be afraid to have a little brown/black on the chicken from the heat, same with the veggies. Cook them really hot, they taste better. Add oil, cook vegetables, salt generously, keep green pepper slightly firm. The salt helps the sauce taste more sweet. Remove veggies. Turn down heat to Med-high, Heat oil. Have sauce on hand, add garlic to pan, cook quickly until fragrant. Add sauce and quickly mix, let thicken without burning, remove from heat (If adding pineapple, add to pam after sauce is added and let sauce cook for longer to reduce down and to thicken). Add vegetables and chicken and toss in sauce. Serve over rice or noodles.
 

Garlic Basil Mayonnaise

Mayonnaise
Salt & Pepper

Fresh garlic clove
Fresh chopped basil, a few leaves’ worth

For three good-sized paninis, I simply scooped out about three spoonfuls of mayonnaise into a bowl. I threw in some basil, two shakes of salt, two shakes of pepper, and 1/2 of a garlic clove pushed through a garlic press. Mix together and spread on bread for Caprese Paninis.

from Jane Maynard, www.thisweekfordinner.com

  

Caprese panini

Panini bread or any delicious sliced bread (Rosemary olive oil bread is delish!)
Fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
Fresh basil, chiffonaded  

Tomatoes, your favorite variety, sliced
Olive Oil and/or Balsamic Vinegar and/or Garlic Basil Mayo

Salt & Pepper

Place your sliced mozzarella cheese, basil and tomatoes on a slice of bread. Sprinkle some salt and pepper, then drizzle with a bit of olive oil and/or balsamic vinegar, or spread the bread with Garlic Basil Mayo before putting ingredients on the bread. Top sandwich with second slice of bread and cook in a panini maker or on the stove in a skillet with another skillet on top (see below for my oh-so-fancy technique) over medium heat. When side 1 is lightly browned, flip and cook until side 2 is browned and the cheese is melted.

from Jane Maynard, www.thisweekfordinner.com

Blackened Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo

YIELD 4 Servings

9-oz package fresh fettuccine
1 jar Newman’s Own Alfredo Pasta Sauce
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I prefer cutlets)
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon onion powder

be a liberal with the spices so they go far enough..

Lightly spray a 9×13 baking pan or dish with cooking oil. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Pound the chicken breast until quite thin (around 1/4″ thick). Mix all of the spice ingredients together thoroughly. Coat both sides of the chicken breasts with the spices.

Heat a non-stick grill pan or skillet over medium high heat. Place chicken breasts in pan and brown both sides, 45-60 seconds per side. Place chicken in prepared baking pan and bake in oven for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and slice chicken into strips.

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and return pasta to warm pot over medium-low heat. Pour in alfredo sauce and mix thoroughly.

Serve pasta with sliced chicken served on top.

from Jane Maynard, ThisWeekforDinner.com

Simple Tomato Sauce

YIELD about 2 cups

Can be covered and refrigerated for up to 1 week.

1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
4 garlic cloves minced
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
1 Tablespoon fresh minced basil
salt & pepper

Pulse the tomatoes with their juice in a food processor until mostly smooth, about 10 pulses. Cook the garlic, tomato paste, oil, and red pepper flakes in a medium saucepan over medium heat until the tomato paste begins to brown, about 2 minutes. Stir in the processed tomatoes and cook until the sauce is thickened and measures 2 cups, about 20 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the basil and season with salt and pepper to taste.




from the America's test kitchen healthy family cookbook