Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas
(serves 8)

• 4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, cooked and shredded
• 2 8oz Bricks Cream Cheese, softened
• 1 Cup Half & Half or Full Fat/Whole Milk
• 2 7.5oz Cans Chopped Mild Green Chilies
• 2 Tsp Garlic Powder, divided
• 2 Tsp Ground Cumin, divided
• 1 Tsp Mild Chili Powder
• 2 Tsp Kosher Salt, divided
• 1/2 Tsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper
• 1 8 Count Pkg Large Flour Tortillas (often labeled Burrito Size)
• 3-4 Cups Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese (or Mexican Blend)
• 1 Tbls Butter, Vegetable Oil or Cooking Spray
• Salsa & Sour Cream for serving

Pre-heat your oven to 350°F.
1. Cook and shred your chicken and set it aside in a large mixing bowl. You can poach, bake or pan saute it, which is my preferred method. Just make sure that it's cooked all the way through, but don't overcook them either. It will be cooking a bit more in the oven when you bake the dish.

The chicken can be cooked a day ahead and placed in an air-tight container in the fridge. Or you can purchase a rotisserie chicken from the store and shred that. Just bring the meat up closer to room temperature before rolling the enchiladas.

So how do you know when your chicken is done, but not overdone? (See Tip #1 at the end of this post)

I wasn't cooking in my own kitchen on this occasion, so things were a bit discombobulated and I didn't get a picture of the shredded chicken before adding the sauce to it. I think you can still tell from the photos what the shreds look like.

2. Place the two bricks of cream cheese, the two cans of green chilies, 1/4 cup of the half & half, the black pepper and 1/2 of your other seasonings, except the chili powder, in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook the mixture slowly, stirring often, until the cream cheese has melted and the mixture is combined and heated through, but not bubbling.

This step might take a little while, but no matter how tempted you are to speed things up, do not turn the heat up any higher. Cream cheese can scorch very easily and if that happens, the sauce will be ruined and you'll have to start over. This is why you want to have the cream cheese softened before you begin.

3.  Take approximately 1 cup (maybe a bit more, if needed) of the cream cheese mixture and add it to the cooked chicken. You might need a little less or a little more, depending on how much meat the chicken breasts you've used actually yields. Mix well with a heavy large spoon. You want to coat all of the meat and bind it together a bit, but you don't want the chicken swimming in the sauce.

4. Line a 13x9x2 baking dish with aluminum foil. This isn't mandatory, but it helps a lot with clean-up.

5. Lightly grease the bottom and sides of the dish with a bit of butter or cooking spray. (You want to do this even if you're using foil, so the enchiladas don't stick to anything when it's time to serve them.)

6. Open your package of flour tortillas and place it at one end of a fairly long expanse of countertop, or on your kitchen table. The best way to put this dish together is to lay all of the components out in an assembly line fashion.

7.  Add the remaining cream cheese mixture to another mixing bowl.

8. Pour the half & half, the second teaspoon of each of your seasonings and all of the chili powder, into the mixture and stir very well to combine.

9. I pretty much just eyeball it at this point because I've made this recipe so many times, but what you're looking for is a relatively loose consistency that will flow easily across a flat dinner plate when you tip and turn it slightly from side to side. Start with 1/2 cup of half & half and stir it in slowly, so as not to splash it all over yourself or the kitchen.

10. Gradually add the rest, as needed. The one cup should easily do it, but if you do need a bit more (or a bit less) to get it to the right consistency, it's best to add it only a tablespoon or two at a time. I find that a whisk works best for this part. The only lumps you should see are maybe a few bits of the chopped green chili. If you have quite a lot of those pieces, remove them with a teaspoon and add them back into the bowl with the bulk of the thicker cream cheese mixture in it.

11. Pour or ladle out some of this liquid-y mixture onto a large flat dinner plate that has a slight lip on it and is large enough in circumference to fit your tortilla. If you don't have a dinner plate that's large enough, you can use any good sized shallow dish. What you need is a vessel that will keep the liquid inside and is big enough to hold the tortilla, without having to bend or fold it. A 9" or 10" pie plate or tart pan works very well, too. You also want to use tortillas that are very fresh because they are the most pliable.

12. Once you have each of these components ready, line the various plates and bowls up on your countertop. (**See Tip # 2 at the bottom of this post for the best working order in which to line them up)

13. Take your first tortilla out of the package and lay it flat in the dish with the thin liquid. Leave it there for just a couple of seconds and then using tongs or your fingers, turn it over in the plate and leave it for another couple of seconds. You want the tortilla to be lightly coated with the liquid on both sides, but you don't want it to become too soggy. The liquid will slowly dissipate with each of the tortillas, so just add a little bit more and continue.

14. Place the dipped tortilla on the clean "rolling" plate (you could also use a large sheet of parchment paper, a plastic cutting board or a cookie sheet for this part) and with a spoon, scoop out about 1/3 cup of the shredded chicken and place it in the center, but slightly closer to the end nearest to you. Sprinkle a handful of the shredded cheese on top of the chicken mixture and roll up the enchilada. (if you've never done this before, you can watch the short video below to learn the best way to roll and wrap)


This is a very short video, just to give you an idea about how to wrap an enchilada, burrito or a sandwich wrap. For enchiladas, the flour tortilla will need to be pretty pliable, but that shouldn't be an issue because it will (hopefully) be fresh and it will be dipped into the half & half mixture before rolling.

Yes, I know. Your hands do get a bit messy by dipping the tortilla first, but trust me... it really does make a difference in the texture of the finished enchilada and you'll be glad that you took this extra, but pretty easy step. If you're just not a big fan of even temporarily messy fingers, just keep a large damp tea towel or paper towel on the counter next to you and you can wipe your fingers clean in between rolls.

15. As I mentioned before, since I wasn't in my own kitchen when I made these, I missed photographing a couple of the steps here and there. But, I think it goes without saying that as you finish rolling each enchilada, you want to place it in your prepared baking dish. I'm usually able to easily fit all eight enchiladas in a 9"x13"x2" pan. (see the photo below to get examples of how to place them in two different ways)

16. Once you have all of your enchiladas in the baking dish, pour the remaining cream cheese and half & half mixture over the top and sprinkle on the remaining (about 2 cups) of shredded cheese.

If you don't have much of the liquid left over mix about 1/4 cup of sour cream with 1/4 cup of half & half, season it with a half teaspoon of each of your seasonings and mix well. Then pour that over the top before adding the cheese. It's not that you want the enchiladas swimming in liquid, but you do want them to have some moisture.

17. Bake, uncovered, at 350°F for approximately 30 minutes or until the enchiladas are heated all the way through and the cheese is bubbly and lightly golden brown in color.

18. After removing the pan from the oven, allow the enchiladas to rest for about 5 minutes, so they can set up a little. You should be able to see the outline pretty clearly of where each of the enchiladas ends and the next one begins, to provide you with a guideline for cutting and serving, nice equal portions. In a buffet setting where there will likely be several other dishes for your guest to choose from, you can even cut each enchilada in half to make them go twice as far.

If you're not making these for a group, the leftovers freeze quite nicely. I just cut the remaining pieces into full or half-sized portions, wrap each one in plastic wrap and store all of them in a large covered plastic container or a large tightly sealed zip-top freezer bag.

I serve these with lots of fresh salsa and sour cream on the side and make at least a tossed green salad to go along with them. A little bit of chopped fresh scallion sprinkled on top makes a nice garnish and adds a bit of freshness to the finished dish as well.

If I'm making these for a Cinco De Mayo party, I'll also cook up some refried or ham hocks & pinto beans and some Mexican rice, as well as several of our other favorite Mexican themed appetizers and sides. I serve it all buffet style.

*Tip # 1:  When you're cooking boneless, skinless chicken breasts, (no matter which method you decide to use) one of the best tips that I can give you is to make sure that the pieces of chicken are of an even thickness and size. You can actually reduce the overall cooking time and make it easier to tell when or if your meat is done, in a couple of ways....

A) You can always pierce cooked meats with an instant read meat thermometer to test them for doneness, but although I think it's a great method for large pieces or whole roasted meats, I don't really like doing this with smaller cuts. It can allow too much of the natural juices inside of the meat to seep out of the holes that are left behind when the thermometer is removed.

B) My preferred method of checking for doneness with smaller cuts of meat, is to use the "touch test". When touching the thickest part of the meat with your index finger, it should just barely bounce back from a bit of light pressure. A good way to simulate this, is to use your hand as a guide. (below is a diagram that shows how to do this)

*Tip # 2: I line up my plates and bowls in the following order, to make the process go as smoothly as possible (the order is from left to right):

1. The tortillas
2. Flat plate with thin liquid
3. Bowl of shredded chicken that is coated with sauce
4. Another plate (of equal size or larger) for rolling
5. The shredded cheese
6. Prepared baking dish

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Creamy Avocado Dressing (Cinco de Mayo)

The first time that I ever tasted a creamy avocado dressing (at a local restaurant), I was hooked. The funny thing is... I really don't care that much for avocados. I know. You're probably saying to yourself, "How can anyone not love guacamole?" Well, they can. Or, can not... Oh, you know what I mean.

I don't hate the stuff. I'm not repulsed by it or anything. I actually make it pretty often for parties, or if my husband or our daughter requests it. I've just never felt that avocados had much flavor to them. Plus, I do believe there's a "texture thing" going on as well. They're, well... kind of slippery, if that makes any sense.

Anyway... I only tried the dressing because everyone in my dining party absolutely raved about it. They all said that it was the best dressing they'd ever had, yadda, yadda, yadda. So, I thought 'what the hey' and ordered it on my salad. Wow! Was I surprised! I could have seriously just ordered about three more bowls of salad with that dressing on it and called it a meal. (No, I didn't. But I sure thought about it.)

I looked around in the grocery stores and Walmart and even a couple of prissy little gourmet markets and some health food stores, but couldn't find a decent prepared avocado dressing, so I did what any desperate, food lovin', wannabe chef would do in those situations and set out to formulate one of my own. That was well over 20 years ago, when I really hadn't ventured that far into making my own salad dressings, so it was a bit like a chemistry experiment. It took a couple of tries, but I finally came up with the right mix and I've been making it ever since!

So, since Cinco de Mayo is just around the corner and since this dressing makes a fantastic substitute for sour cream with all kinds of Mexican dishes, I figured it would be the perfect time to share it with you!

Creamy Avocado Dressing
(approx 6 servings - it can easily be doubled)

• 1 Large Ripe Avocado
• 1 Cup Sour Cream
• 1/2 Cup Real Mayonnaise (no salad dressing style, please)
• 1/2 Cup Buttermilk (you can substitute with half & half or milk)
• 1 Lg Shallot, quartered (or 1/4 of a red/purple onion)
• 1 Tbls White Balsamic or Red Wine Vinegar
• Fresh Parsley
• Fresh Chives
• Salt & Pepper

Cut the avocado in half (lengthwise) with a sharp knife. Twist it to pull it away from the pit. Carefully remove the pit with a spoon or with the blade of a large chef's knife, scoop out the flesh and cut it into large pieces. (if you've never done this before, I've included a short video with a quick demonstration, at the end of this post)

Place the chunks of avocado and the shallot quarters into the bowl of a small food processor or blender and pulse several times, until the ingredients are loosely mixed and are in relatively equal sized pieces. Remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl or blender as you pulse.

You could do this dressing in a bowl, by hand... but it would take a very sturdy fork and/or a heavy duty whisk to get it as smooth as it should be. It would also take a whole lot of good old fashioned elbow grease! My shoulders are starting to ache just thinking about it!

Add the vinegar, sour cream, mayo and salt & pepper and process or blend until you have a thick paste.

It will be slightly lumpy at this point and that's fine.

Pour in the about half of the buttermilk, to start and process for a few minutes longer. (If you don't care for the tanginess of buttermilk, or if you don't have it on hand, you can use half & half or milk.)

I forgot to take a picture after I added the chopped parsley and chives, but I did add them here.

I tasted the dressing at this point and felt that it needed about a teaspoon more of the vinegar and another hefty pinch of salt.

Remember... Always taste the food that you're preparing. Our taste buds (and meticulously clean hands) are the best tools that we have in the kitchen!

Continue to process until the dressing is smooth and pourable. This is where you would add the rest of the buttermilk or milk, if needed. I used all of it, but if the sour cream you are using isn't very thick or the avocado is more ripe, you might not need to.

The dressing doesn't have to be runny, but you want it to be thin enough to lightly coat the lettuce and other salad ingredients and not run immediately to the bottom of the salad bowl when you pour it on.

Pour the dressing into a bowl or pitcher and cover it with a lid or plastic wrap. Refrigerate it for at least one hour before serving. It will keep, covered tightly in the fridge, for up to a week. Serve this over your favorite salad mix, or use it in place of sour cream. Tip: It's incredible on a baked potato! Of course, you can also use it in place of sour cream with your favorite Mexican dishes, like tacos and quesadillas and... well, the list is endless!

I wish that I'd had some darker greens, so the dressing would have shown up better in my photos. But, all I had on hand was iceberg.

And for all of you "lettuce snobs" out there... you know who you are. Yes, I like iceberg lettuce! Don't get me wrong. I love all kinds of leafy greens, but iceberg absolutely has it's place in the mix. I mean, what would the classic "wedge salad" be, without iceberg lettuce??

Hmmm.... a wedge salad sounds pretty tasty, right now. Let's see. I have bacon. I have enough bleu cheese to make dressing and to use as crumbles. I have tomatoes and green onions and... Well, I'll just leave that for a future post. (um... based on how much my tummy is rumbling and my mouth is watering just from thinking about it, I'd say that it might not be too long before you see that post!)

How To Cut, Pit and Peel an Avocado



Enjoy!!!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

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Ultimate Margarita Chicken With Tequila Lime Vinaigrette (In The Oven!)

The hubbers and I have consumed a Margarita or two in our day... I mean, for folks who enjoy a cocktail every day now and then, who doesn't love the idea of an icy cold, fruity, sweet, yet tart and slightly salty beverage on a hot summer night? (or day) Well, if you happen to be one of those people, then a Margarita is the total package. It also happens to be a particularly popular libation around the 5th of May; also known as Cinco de Mayo.

Since man (and/or woman) cannot live on alcohol-based beverages alone, I thought it'd be kinda fun to merge this much loved seasonal drink with one of my favorite foods. If you know me at all, then you have a pretty good idea of what that food is, but for those of you stopping by for the first time, I'll fill you in. It's chicken! Yup. I'm a bona fide, die-hard, lifelong, card-carrying chicken-holic. Trust me, if you spend even a little bit of time poking around here, you'll get plenty of proof.

So, how did this little culinary experiment turn out? Well, it's definitely a keeper, if I do say so myself.  And I'm not just basing that on my own opinion. Hubbers loved it. I can tell pretty quickly when I have a winning recipe on my hands, by of the sounds that he makes while he's eating. It's kinda like the soundtrack to a... hmmm, well... let's just say a certain genre of films that they keep in the back room at the video store. Not that I'd know anything about that, of course.

Ultimate Margarita Chicken
For the Marinade:

• 4 - 6 Bone-In (Split) Chicken Breasts
• 1/4 Cup Tequila
• 1/4 Cup Orange Juice
• Juice of 1 Lime
• Zest of 1 Lime
• 1/4 Cup Light Olive or Vegetable Oil
• Salt and Pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 375° F

Prepare the marinade by mixing together the tequila, orange juice, lime juice, lime zest, oil and salt and pepper.

Before we go any further, I'll let you in on a little secret for marinating meats and poultry: I didn't invent this little gem. Professional chefs have been doing it for... well, ever. My mom used to do pretty much the same thing with a fork when she would marinate flank steak. I'd completely forgotten this until I stumbled across a video on YouTube a few years ago and I've been doing my own version ever since. It's all about "piercing" the meat before seasoning it. The pros generally use a special little multi-bladed gadget, (I've included a short video at the end of this post, where Chef Steve Binks demonstrates) but you can accomplish the same thing by using the tip of a sharp paring knife to make small slits all over the chicken. Yeah, it's really that simple.

Simple and brilliant. Of course, it's up to you, but you really shouldn't skip this step, because it can make a world of difference in your finished dish. You'll end up with chicken (or steak or chops) that is extremely tender and juicy and full of the flavors from whatever marinade you're using. Just give it a try with this recipe and I'm pretty positive that you'll continue to use this method from now on.

When using bone-in chicken, (breasts, thighs and drumsticks) you can pierce the meat all the way to the bone. Although I would not recommend using the boneless version for this particular recipe, I do pierce boneless cuts of chicken, beef, pork, etc. prior to marinating. I just make slightly more shallow slits (about halfway through) on both sides of the meat.

Place the chicken in a 2 or 3 inch deep, glass or ceramic baking pan or casserole dish. Stay away from metal pans or bowls when using citrus based marinades. The citric acid tends to react with most metals and will give the meat a funky, metallic taste. With the exception of stainless steel, it can also corrode the pan.

Pour the marinade slowly over the meat, so that plenty of it gets down into those slits you've made.

Once you've got all of the marinade in the pan, turn the meat over two or three times, ending with the skin side down in the marinade. Cover the dish with some plastic cling wrap and refrigerate it for a minimum of 30 minutes, but no longer than about an hour. The citric acid in fruit juices breaks down the fibers in the meat and if you leave it in too long, it will make the meat mushy. I don't know about you, but in my book, mushy chicken (or any other meat) is not very appetizing. That's why I avoid buying the "pre-marinated" meats that you often find in the grocery store butcher case. 

When the chicken has finished marinating, remove it from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for a maximum of about 10 minutes. When meats like beef and lamb are coming fresh from the fridge, you want to bring them up to almost room temperature before grilling or roasting them, but poultry and pork can start to "turn" when they get too warm, while still in their raw state. Discard any remaining marinade.

Place the chicken pieces on a rack, placed over a foil-lined sheet pan or broiler pan. Roast it in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes. (depending on your oven and the size of the chicken pieces) Check on it at about the 30-minute mark and if the internal temperature is 165 degrees and the juices run clear, it's done. The days of cooking chicken until it's shriveled up and bone dry are over, folks. Meats continue to cook for several minutes after being removed from the heat source and their internal temperature will rise (up to 5 degrees) as it rests.

While the chicken is cooking, make the vinaigrette.

Tequila Lime Vinaigrette

• 1/4 Cup Tequila
• Juice of 1 Lime
• Zest of 1 Lime
• 1 Tbls Honey (heaping)
• 1 Lg Shallot, minced
• Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley, chopped
• 1/4 Cup Light Olive or Vegetable Oil
• Salt and Pepper

This looks like a lot of shallots, but it's really not. They just float to the top.

Place all of the ingredients in a small mixing bowl and whisk to combine. You can also use a stick blender or put them in a blender or food processor if you want the vinaigrette to be more smooth. If the kiddies will be joining you for this meal, you can leave the tequila out of the vinaigrette or make a separate batch without it for them. The tequila in the marinade will be fine. The alcohol burns off during the cooking process.

You might have noticed that the ingredients in the marinade and the vinaigrette are almost identical ...and they are. Almost.

I used orange juice in the marinade, because honey is very thick and contains more natural sugar. This would have made the skin on the chicken more likely to burn. The orange juice added a perfect balance of sweetness, without the risk of charring the skin before the meat was cooked through.

I served this zesty chicken with a crisp green salad and some Jasmati rice that I prepared "Chipotle Grill" style. We love their rice, so I asked one day when we were in there, just what it is that they do to give it such a bright, fresh flavor. It couldn't be any easier.

Just cook your rice as you normally would ( **I make mine in the microwave) and when it's done and you're ready to fluff it up with a fork, just squeeze in some fresh lime juice, add some chopped cilantro and continue to fluff. And voila! You have Chipotle's Cilantro Lime Rice! (I didn't have any fresh cilantro on hand, so I used flat leaf parsley this time)

Drizzle the vinaigrette over the chicken and pour the rest in a small bowl and pass it at the table. We used it on everything!

**I don't use instant or quick cooking rice. If you do, just follow the instructions on the package and then add the lime juice and cilantro/parsley at the end.

Chef Steve Binks demonstrating the Jaccard Meat Tenderizer


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