Suiza Enchiladas with Tomatillo Sauce

1 dozen corn tortillas
12 oz cream cheese, softened
¼ c diced green onion
12 oz cooked, shredded chicken breast
¼ tsp garlic
¼ tsp chili powder
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp white pepper
½ cup grated Jack cheese

Tomatillo Sauce
3 pounds tomatillos, remove husks
¾ c diced onion
9 oz corn tortilla chips, crushed
2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1 ¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp white pepper
¼ tsp cumin

Sauce: In Dutch oven or stock pot, bring tomatillos to a boil in 3 cups of water. Simmer tomatillos until soft, about 30 minutes. Mash tomatillos with a fork, add diced onions, crushed tortilla chips and spices/simmer for 20 minutes and set aside.

Enchiladas: In mixer, blend cream cheese, onions and spices. Fold chicken in by hand. Warm corn tortillas until pliable. Distribute the chicken mixture evenly among the 12 tortillas. Roll each tortilla then arrange single layer in a 9x13 pan.

Cover with tomatillo sauce and Jack cheese as desired. Bake at 350 F until heated through, about 15 minutes.

Lemon Asparagus Chicken Stir Fry

This is yummy and really easy to prepare
-Makes about 4 servings

• 1 large lemon
• 1 1/4 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into thin strips
• salt and pepper
• 4 tablespoons of veggie oil
• 1 pound thin asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 inch diagonal slices
• 1 small red pepper, thinly sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2/3 cup chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Grate 2 teaspoons of zest from the lemon, squeeze 2 tablespoons of juice, and set aside. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over high heat. Stir-fry the chicken, stirring constantly, until golden and nearly cooked through, about 4 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the chicken to a plate.

Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the skillet and cook the asparagus and bell pepper, stirring constantily, until crisp-tender, about 1 minute. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add the broth, soy sauce, pepper flakes and the reserved lemon juice and zest. Return the chicken and accumulated juices to the pan. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 2 mintues. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Giada's Chicken Cacciatore

I saw her make this on TV and thought it looked easy enough for me! It's easy, delicious, and dressy enough for dinner guests (who always ask for the recipe). It seems coating the chicken in flour and browning really makes the chicken tender. I now use this method to cook chicken with various veggies and jar'd simmer sauce if I need a really quick and easy meal. You can't over cook this either, I've left it simmer for over an hour and it's great. Of course if simmer'd longer the veggies are soft (which is fine for us) but the chicken just falls apart. Yummmmm!

I use 4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts and serve with pasta. It was served with mashed potatoes on the show that featured this recipe.


Prep Time:15 min
Cook Time:40 min
Ready In:55 min
Servings:4

Ingredients
4 chicken thighs
2 chicken breasts with skin and backbone, halved crosswise
2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
1/2 cup all purpose flour, for dredging
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3/4 cup dry white wine
1 ( 28-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
3/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons drained capers
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves

Directions
Sprinkle the chicken pieces with 1 teaspoon of each salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour to coat lightly.

In a large heavy saute pan, heat the oil over a medium-high flame. Add the chicken pieces to the pan and saute just until brown, about 5 minutes per side. If all the chicken does not fit in the pan, saute it in 2 batches. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.

Add the bell pepper, onion and garlic to the same pan and saute over medium heat until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juice, broth, capers and oregano.

Return the chicken pieces to the pan and turn them to coat in the sauce. Bring the sauce to a simmer. Continue simmering over medium-low heat until the chicken is just cooked through, about 30 minutes for the breast pieces, and 20 minutes for the thighs.

Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a platter. If necessary, boil the sauce until it thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Spoon off any excess fat from atop the sauce. Spoon the sauce over the chicken, then sprinkle with the basil and serve.

Cashew Chicken

Serves 4

• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 8 scallions, white and green parts separated, each cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 3/4 cup raw cashews (4 ounces), toasted
• White rice, for serving (optional)

In a medium bowl, toss chicken with cornstarch until chicken is coated; season with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Cook half the chicken, tossing often, until browned, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Add remaining oil and chicken to skillet along with the garlic and white parts of scallions. Cook, tossing often, until chicken is browned, about 3 minutes. Return first batch of chicken to pan. Add vinegar; cook until evaporated, about 30 seconds.

Add hoisin sauce and 1/4 cup water; cook, tossing, until chicken is cooked through, about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in scallion greens and cashews. Serve immediately over white rice, if desired.

Prep: 30 minutes
Total: 30 minutes

Skirt Steak with Garlic Cilantro Sauce

This is also good on chicken breasts . . .

For Sauce:
1 medium garlic clove
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup coarsley chopped cilantro
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon cayenne

For Steak:
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 lb skirt steak, cut crosswise into 3- to 4-inch pieces

Preparation:

Make Sauce:
Mince garlic and mash to a paste with salt. Transfer to a blender and add remaining sauce ingredients, then blend until smooth.

Grill Steak:
Stir together cumin, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Pat steak dry, then rub both sides of pieces with cumin mixture.

Heat an oiled well-seasoned ridged grill pan (can also be done on the BBQ) over high heat until hot but not smoking, then grill steak in 2 batches, turning over occasionally, about 2 minutes per batch for thin pieces or 6 to 8 minutes per batch for thicker pieces (medium-rare). Serve steak drizzled with sauce.

Salsa Verde Chicken Soup

Great soup and super easy to make in a crock pot.

- 1 to 1 1/2 lbs. of skinless, boneless chicken
- 32 oz. chicken broth
- 2 jars (16oz each) salsa verde
- 1 can (4 oz.) chopped chilies
- 12 oz. can of corn
- tortilla chips (topper)
- shredded cheese (topper)

Add chicken and 2/3 of the broth to crock pot.
Cook on high for about 3 hrs.
Add salsa verde, corn (drained) and chopped chilies.
Cook on high for 1 more hour (make sure chicken is cooked). If it looks too thin or thick - add more broth and/or salsa. You can add or cumin, salt and pepper to taste, but the broth is usually super salty.

Serve with tortilla chips and cheese in the soup, also good with sour cream and cilantro.