Chicken Enchiladas

This wonderful dish is so popular, and I'm sure everyone has their own version and recipe on how it should be made. It is in essence a very simple comfort food that is so fulfilling that people love it. There are so many ways and variations to make enchiladas. I've probably made several different ways myself over the years so a definitive recipe is evolutionary. But for this recipe, I will make my current version of pollo (chicken) enchiladas. Which uses pulled or shredded chicken that been braised or slow cooked for hours. 


Ingredients:
4-5lbs Split chicken beast (bone-in or boneless)
8-8" Flour tortillas
1 large Spanish or Vidalia onion half juliened half chopped
3-4 Roma tomatoes diced
8 oz Package of Mexican blend cheese or other.
2-cups Chicken broth
1-8oz can Tomato sauce
1/2 cup Fresh Cilantro, chopped
4 Garlic cloves chopped
1              larger Jalapeno pepper
1 tbs Olive oil
1 tbs Hot sauce
1 tbs Chili powder
1 tsp Coarse black pepper
1 tsp Ground cumin
1 tsp Salt

Instructions
Season the chicken with salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin on both sides, place in a large pan baking or broiling pan skin side down. Add half the julienned onion to the chicken and around in the pan. Add the half of the chopped jalepeno peppers and 1/4 cup of chopped cilantro, pour in the chicken broth 2 of the chopped tomatoes. Cover with aluminum foil and place in the over at 225ºF for 3 hours.
At one and half hours, turn chicken over and baste, continue cooking.

After cooking, the chicken should easily come off the bones, shred with two forks or your fingers, place chicken in a separate bowl. Strain the stock from the pan through a sieve and reserve. I use the bones and remnants to make chicken stock for later use.

Salsa
In a large skillet, under medium high heat, add the olive oil and remaining chopped onions, sauté till tender add the chopped garlic and remaining Jalapeno pepper, add 4 ounce laddle of reserved stock add the diced tomatoes stirring continuously, add more stock. Add the can of tomato sauce and and season with chili powder, cumin salt and pepper. Add a pinch of chopped cilantro reduce heat and simmer.

Laddle 1 cup  of the sauce onto the shredded chicken and mix. Place tortilla on a flat surface and add chicken to the centerfillin it side to side. add a sauce, sprinkle with cheese and fold. Place the enchilada in a baking pan seam side down. Continue the steps until pan is full with enchiladas. Spoon sauce over enchiladas and cover with the shredded cheese. Bake in oven 375º for 30 minutes, serve hot. Bon Appetite!

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Mung Bean Salad

Every once in a while I really enjoy bean sprouts or mung beans, and there's somethng fresh about a mung bean salad with a Asian twist. You can eat warm or cold, either way is tasty.

Ingredients
1 Bag Mung Beans
1/4 sweet onion
1/2 stick carrot shredded
10 ounces firm tofu
1/2 cup dried Shiitake mushrooms
1/4 cup green pepper
1 cup snow peas
1 tbsp Sesame Oil
3 Green onion stalks
2 Garlic cloves

Dressing

2 Tbsps Sugar
2 Tbsps Sesame oil
1 Tbsps Sweet Rice vinegar
1 Tbsps  Mirin
2 Tbsps Soy Sauce
1 Tbsps Oyster sauce
1 Tspn powered ginger
1/2 Tspn coarse cracked pepper
1/2 Tsp red pepper flakes  

Instructions

Dressing
In a bowl, add the dry ingredients, sugar, ginger pepper then the wet ingredients and mix until all incorporated, set aside. Add a stalk of green onions chopped fine.

Beans
While you could eat the beans as they are, I rinse them thoroughly first. In this case I blanched them in chicken stock for about a minute. I also blanch the snow peas while I'm at it. I quench the beans in cold water to stop them from cooking any further. Same with the Snow peas.  I usually blanch the snow peas a little longer, but it depends how crunchy you like them, I like mine medium crunchy. Drain and set aside both the beans and peas.

Peel a good sized carrot and shred. I have a shredder to shred the carrots in nice long strnads, but you could also just use the peeler to cut long strips. Rehydrate the Shiitake mushrooms (you could also use fresh mushrooms) in a bowl of water, I add a drop or two of soy sauce too.

In a small sauce pan, add a 1 tablespoon sesame oil let it heat up add the tofu which you cubed into 1 inch  squares or however you like them. Season with salt and pepper, Now add the sweet onion which you have finely julienned and sauté for couple of minutes, add the garlic which you peeled crushed and chopped. Sauté just till tender, you don't want them too limp. Remove from heat and let cool.

Place the drained Mung Bean into a mixing bowl being very gentle the beans are very fragile so handle gingerly. Add all the vegetables and mushrooms after draining. Add the dressing and mix by tossing the ingredients in the mixing bowl. You can eat it now or chill it for later... Bon Appetite!

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Mac-n-Cheese

Okay this recipe is NOT heart healthy and it'll make Paula Dean look like a health nut.

This is my classic Mac-n-Cheese recipe using lotsa cheese. It starts with a classic bechamel and yes creamy velveeta cheese, along with extra sharp cheddar, cream cheese and parmesan. I told you it wasn't heart healthy, but it taste incredible... Of course, optionally you can substitute low fat and or non fat products as well I have done both we equal results.

Ingredients:   

1lb Elbow Macaroni or Medium Shells
3 cups Milk
1/2 cup Unsalted butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup Flour
1/2 Onion chopped fine
2 Medium garlic cloves minced
1 tbs Kosher salt
1 tsp Dried thyme
1/2 tsp Paprika
1 1/2 cup Velveeta Cheese cut into cubes
8 oz Shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
8 oz Cream cheese cut into cubes
1/4 cup Parmesan
2/3 cup Seasoned Panko bread crumbs
1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tps Hot sauce


For the béchamel:
Heat the milk in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until it just comes to a simmer, remove from heat and set aside.

In a small sauce pan add one tablespoon of the butter and the onions, sauté   until lightly caramelized, add the garlic sauté for another minut, remove from heat. 

In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk constantly until the mixture turns light brown in color, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat.

While whisking constantly, slowly add the hot milk to the flour mixture until evenly combined and smooth. Season with salt and pepper and add the thyme, paprika, worcestershire and hot sauce. Then add the caramelized onions and garlic.

Return the pot to medium-high heat and while whisking constantly, 

cook until the sauce thickens and coats the back of a spoon, about 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon of the salt, taste, and add the remaining salt as desired. Slowly add the cubed velveeta and cream cheese and stir until creamy smooth reduce heat to low. 
Heat oven 400º place rack on middle level.

Prepare your pasta as usual and cook till al dente, drain and rinse in cold water to stop cooking. 

Spray or coat with olive oil the bottom of a 5-quart baking pan or 16oz ramekins 

Add the pasta to the bechamel sauce and fold into the mixture until incorporated. Fill each ramikin or the baking pan with the mixture, sprinkle the shredded cheddar cheese and panko over each portion or pan and bake until golden brown about 25-30 minutes.

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Japanese Style Cucumber Salad

Wow, it's been a real long time since my last post. I thought I get back on and update the old blog for fun. This was a simple cucumber salad I made to go with the chicken katsu dinner I made. 

I had a nice cucumber wanting me to do something with it so this was the perfect time. I sliced the cucumber with my trusty nakiri, but you could also do it with a mandolin to get nice thin slices. Place the sliced cucumbers in a bowl and salt to draw out the liquid, pat dry and set aside.

I also added slivers of sweet Vidalia onions and along some sliced scallions and ginger.

In a separate bowl I mixed the wet ingredients along with the sugar. You can adjust the ingredients to taste, it's not that critical. Add the sliced cucumbers and toss... Viola!

Ingredients

One English Cucumber 

1 Tbs Sugar

2 Tbs Rice wine vinegar

1 Tbs Sesame Oil

1 Tbs Soy sauce

2 Tbs Mirin

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