Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

I like Mexican food. I'm from Texas. I think it's a requirement.

I love my previous chicken enchilada recipe, but I wanted to try something a bit different this time. I hope enjoy it!

Ingredients:
-1 cup diced raw tomatillos (about 3 to 5 tomatillos)
-3 tablespoons butter
-2 tablespoons flour
-1/2 cup heavy cream
-1 cup milk
-2 cups shredded monterrey jack cheese
-3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
-1 tablespoon garlic powder
-1 teaspoon onion powder
-1 tablespoon chili powder
-1/2 teaspoon cumin
-tortillas (at least ten)

Directions:
Spread the diced tomatillos out in a single layer on a baking sheet.

Spray with cooking spray and roast at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes, or until the tomatillos are soft but not overly browned.

Set aside.

In a medium size pan, place the shredded chicken. Add just enough water to barely cover the chicken. Add the spices and stir to combine.

Heat over medium heat and simmer, uncovered, until most of the water has cooked out. Set aside.

In a regular skillet, melt the butter over medium/medium low heat. Whisk in the flour to make a roux and cook another couple minutes, stirring frequently. Add the cream and whisk to combine. Cook for a few more minutes until starts to thicken. Add half the milk and whisk to incorporate. Allow to cook, stirring frequently, until thickened slightly. Add the rest of the milk and repeat process. When the sauce is heated through and has started to thicken again, add the tomatillos. Then add 1/3 of the cheese and allow to melt, stirring frequently, until well combined.

Set the rest of the cheese aside to top the enchiladas. Reduce the heat to low to keep warm while assembling the enchiladas.

Spoon a line of chicken into the center of a tortilla. Wrap the tortilla around the filling and pace seam down in a large casserole dish. Repeat until all the chicken and tortillas are used up.

Pour the sauce over the rolled tortillas.

Top with the remaining shredded cheese. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes,

until the cheese is melted and everything is hot and bubbly.

Serve and enjoy!

Italian Chicken and Pastry Stacks

I bought some puff pastry dough not too long ago for something, but I didn't use it all. So as I was making up my meal plan, going through what I had in my kitchen, I came across the leftover dough. I decided to figure out something to make for dinner with it, and this is what I came up with. My husband has already asked that I make it again. I guess that means it was good. Haha.

This does take a little time, but not because it's complicated. I used cooked and shredded chicken, so that took a little time before assembling the end product. Frozen pastry dough also takes about an hour to thaw, but you can also put it in the fridge in the morning and it'll be pretty much ready to go at dinner time. If you do the chicken in advance and put the dough in the fridge in the morning, this would only take about 10 minutes to assemble and 15-20 to cook in the evening. Super simple and easy. One pastry sheet made 3 stacks, so adjust accordingly.

Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:
-1 frozen puff pastry sheet
-2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
-approximately 1 cup seasoned tomato sauce (jarred pasta sauce works)
-6 sandwich-sized slices mozzarella cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a bowl, mix together the shredded chicken and the tomato sauce.

Lay the pastry sheet out flat. Cut into thirds, then cut each third in half, creating six equally sized rectangles of pastry dough.

Lay three of the pieces out on a baking sheet.

Place one slice of the mozzarella on each piece of dough.

Scoop equal portions of the coated chicken on each piece of cheese covered dough.

Top the chicken with another slice of the mozzarella.

Finally, place each of the other three pieces of dough on top of a stack.

Bake the stacks for 15-20 minutes, until the pastry is flaky and golden, and the chicken and cheese bubbly.

Serve immediately and enjoy!

Chicken Cordon Bleu Rollups

This meal was a result of boredom and ingenuity. I was bored with everything I had been cooking, and this was all pretty much stuff I already had in my pantry and fridge.

I used thin-cut chicken breasts, purchased that way from the store. They're thinner and cook more quickly, and in the case of this meal, are easier to wrap around things. If you only have regular chicken breasts available, just butterfly them all the way through to make thinner pieces. Basically, one chicken breast would become two thinner ones.

This was actually very tasty. My hubby enjoyed it, and so did I. I served this with fresh green beans and some rolls. Yum! This was easy and delicious, and didn't take very long. Great weeknight meal!

Ingredients:
-thin-sliced chicken breasts, enough to feed everyone.
-ham lunch meat (any kind will do, really)
-swiss cheese, sliced thin for sandwiches
-toothpicks, for securing the rolls

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Lay the chicken out flat.

Place a slice of the swiss cheese in the center of the breast.

Next, layer on a couple slices of the ham,

followed by another slice of the cheese.

Carefully roll the chicken around the cheese and ham, securing with a toothpick.

Place on a greased or non-stick baking sheet. Spray with cooking spray to keep the chicken from drying out while baking.

Bake until chicken is cooked through and cheese is melted, approximately 15-20 minutes.

Serve immediately and enjoy! Yum!

Rolled Chicken Florentine

I've been out of the habit of cooking lately. Hence my lack of posts. So when I started back up, I wanted something pretty easy, but different than our everyday fare. This was what I came up with.

I think anything "Florentine" is pretty tasty. It is usually some combination of tomatoes, spinach, and mozzarella. Red, green, and white, after the colors of the Italian flag. I just like the culinary combination. Haha. I used thin chicken breasts so I could roll them around the filling, but if you just have regular ones, just butterfly them and cut them at the seam to make two thin breasts from the one regular one.

This worked out really well. My husband and I both enjoyed it. I served it with some seasoned potatoes and crusty bread. Carb overload, I know, but it was awesome.

Ingredients:
-thin chicken breasts, enough to feed everyone
-Roma/plum tomatoes (each tomato makes about 5 slices, and you'll need about two slices per chicken breast)
-frozen chopped spinach (I probably used a tablespoon for each chicken breast)
-mozzarella cheese, shredded (a used about 2 tablespoons for each filling, and a little more to sprinkle on top)
-garlic powder (about 1 teaspoon per chicken breast)
-Italian seasoning (about 1/2 teaspoon per chicken breast)
-cooking spray
-toothpicks

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with foil. Spray with cooking spray.

Lay out each chicken breast.

Top with tomatoes,

then the frozen spinach.

No need to thaw the spinach. Sprinkle with some garlic powder. Top that with a generous pinch of mozzarella.

Carefully roll the chicken around the filling, securing with a toothpick.

Repeat for each chicken breast. Place on the baking sheet.

Spray the chicken with a bit more cooking spray.

Bake for about 15 minutes. Remove the chicken from the oven. The chicken should be just about cooked through, although maybe not completely. Sprinkle on a little garlic powder and Italian seasoning.

Top with a little bit more mozzarella, and return to the oven. Bake 5 more minutes until cheese is melted or until chicken is cooked through.

Serve hot and enjoy!

Italian Chicken

We had someone bring us dinner recently, and it was amazing. It was some sort of breaded chicken with tomatoes on top of it, with some sort of Italian-type dressing type thing. I know, incredibly descriptive. Haha. Anyway, it was amazing, so I decided to see if I might be able to replicate it. This isn't exactly the same as what our friend made but it was pretty good anyway.

I made some flavored rice to go with it, as well as some ciabatta rolls. You could add to that fare if you want, that's just what I did. Away we go!

Ingredients:
-chicken breasts, enough to feed everyone
-flour, for dredging (probably about 1/2 cup for2 or 3 chicken breasts)
-egg wash for dredging (1 or 2 eggs with a little water or milk, scrambled together)
-breadcrumbs for dredging (I used plain breadcrumbs since there was a lot of flavor elsewhere)
-Roma/plum tomatoes (I used one and a half, because it gave me enough slices for 3 chicken breasts-each tomato will give you about 5 slices or so...)
-Italian dressing (I used probably about 3/4 cup, maybe up to a full cup)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pour in a couple tablespoons of Italian dressing into a glass baking dish, just enough to coat the bottom so the chicken won't stick.

In three separate shallow dishes, place the flour, egg wash, and breadcrumbs.

Dredge each chicken breast in the flour, shaking off any excess. Then dredge in the egg wash, and finally in the breadcrumbs. Place the chicken in the baking dish.

When all the chicken is coated in breading, place two to four slices of the tomato on top of each chicken breast, depending on how big it is and your own preference.

Pour the Italian dressing over the chicken and tomatoes.

Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.

Serve hot with yummy sides ans enjoy!

Southwest Chicken Stew

This is relatively similar to another recipe of mine, the White Chicken Chili (found here). However, it is different, so I named it Southwest Chicken Stew. It was yummy. I know, I know, another soup. I can't help it. It's winter. :)

I think this is another pretty simple meal. It seems like simple is best for me these days. You pretty much just dump all the ingredients in a pot and let it work its own magic. So without further ado...Southwest Chicken Stew.

Ingredients:
-3 cups chicken broth
-1 cup water
-1-1.5 cups cubed raw chicken breast meat
-3/4-1 full cup chopped tomatillos (the little green things that look kinda like tomatoes)
-1 can whole kernel corn, drained
-1 can white/Navy beans, drained (you can use a little less than a full can if you're not a huge bean fan)
-southwestern seasonings to taste (I used 2 tablespoons garlic powder, 1.5 tablespoons onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1.5 teaspoons chili powder)

Directions:
In a large pot, bring the broth and water to a boil over high heat. Add in the chicken and tomatillos and let cook for about 5 minutes.

Add in the corn, beans, and seasonings. Stir to combine.

Continue cooking for another 5-10 minutes until everything starts to meld together. Reduce the heat to medium low and let simmer for another 10 minutes. This will let the chicken cook all the way through and the tomatillos to basically be fall apart tender, as well as letting the broth cook down a bit to make it less soupy and more stewy.

Serve immediately and enjoy!

Some cornbread or tortilla chips would be a great addition to this meal. Mmm.

Garlic Chicken

This meal is really easy. My husband really liked it too, which is always a plus. Haha. I will preface this recipe by saying that you really need to like garlic. It's very garlicky. But...very tasty. :)

I served this over rice that I cooked in chicken broth for extra flavor, and it was awesome. You can also do it over plain or buttered rice, and I'm sure it would still be tasty. Egg noodles or some sort of pasta, or even roasted potatoes, could work well with this. It's pretty versatile, so have fun with it and enjoy!

Ingredients:
-Chicken breasts, enough to feed everyone (I used two)
-At least 1/4 cup butter. I added a little bit as it started to cook away a bit. (You could also use olive oil if you really wanted to, but I think butter adds a good flavor)
-2 tablespoons garlic powder per chicken breast
-2 tablespoons flour
-1 cup chicken broth
-A starch to serve under the chicken (I used rice)

Directions:
In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium/medium high heat. Sprinkle one tablespoon of garlic powder over each of the chicken breasts, then place garlic side down into the butter. Sprinkle the top-facing side of the chicken with the other tablespoon of garlic powder.

Let the chicken cook for about 5 minutes, then flip over to the other side.

Cook another 5 minutes. Flip again, and cook for 5 minutes. Add a little more butter at any point that it starts to too brown. You want a decent layer of butter in with the chicken the whole time it's cooking. When the chicken is close to being cooked through, I remove it and cut it into bit sized pieces. You can leave it whole if you'd rather. After I cut it up, I return it to the skillet to finish cooking. If you leave it whole, just flip it over again and cook another 5 minutes or so. Just make sure it's cooked through.

Remove the cooked chicken from the skillet, leaving behind all the leftover butter and garlicky goodness. Reduce the heat to medium low. Whisk in the flour to make a roux. Continue cooking the roux, whisking frequently, for a couple minutes. Add in the chicken broth and whisk to incorporate. Continue cooking for 2-5 minutes or so, letting the sauce thicken slightly. It doesn't need to be super thick, but you don't want it to be runny like broth. Add the chicken back into the skillet with the sauce. Stir to coat the chicken.

This will make sure the chicken is piping hot for serving, too.

Spoon the saucy chicken over your starch (or to the side of it if you prefer).

Enjoy immediately, while it's still hot and yummy. :)