Stacy's Easy Chicken Enchiladas

Recipe for:    Chicken Enchiladas                       Serves:  4-5                  From:  Stacy

Ingredients:
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 ¼  - 1 ½  lb)
1 package white corn tortillas (at least 15)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (or use a mixture with mozzarella)
1 large can (20oz) Las Palmas green enchilada sauce
1 small can diced green chilies
1 small can sliced olives

Directions:
1.    Simmer chicken breasts 20-30 minutes until done.  Let cool in water.
2.    Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3.    Shred chicken, place in large bowl.
4.    Add to bowl: 1/2 cheese, 1/2 enchilada sauce, can of chilies.
5.    Warm tortillas in microwave until soft (wrap in wet paper towel to keep moist).
6.    Place a small scoop of chicken mixture (maybe 1/4 cup?) in each tortilla and roll.
7.    Line enchiladas in a 9 x 13 baking pan.
8.    Top with remaining enchilada sauce and cheese.  Sprinkle with olives.
9.    Bake at 350 degrees uncovered for 45 minutes.

Lemony Ice Cream

My friend Rene had a huge harvest from her lemon trees.  Time to make Lemony Ice Cream!

Ingredients:

1 cup milk
1 cup cream
1 cup sugar

juice and grated rind of two lemons


Mix the milk, cream and sugar until the sugar dissolves. Put it in a metal pan and into the freezer. When it's mushy, take it out, add the juice and rind and beat with an electric hand mixer until it's smooth. Return to freezer and let freeze solid.  This recipe is easily doubled.

Adapted from "Catered Affaire"

NOTE from Rene:  I like it lemony so I always add more lemons.

Knitionary

Twelfth Night Gingered Carrot Soup

My friend Karen served this as one of the 3 soups she served for her Twelfth Night soup party.  You'll love the complex flavors in this simple-to-make soup. 

2 Tbsp. butter

1 onion, chopped

4 cups chicken stock

4 cups cubed carrots

2 tsp. grated fresh ginger

1 tsp. ground coriander

1 Tbsp. grated orange rind

2 Tbsp. dry sherry

1/4 tsp. white pepper

1/2 cups half and half

salt to taste

Saute onion in butter for 10 minutes, or until soft.  Add carrot, chicken stock, ginger, and coriander and simmer for 30 minutes or until carrots are very tender.  Cool.  Puree in blender and return to clean pot and add pepper, cream, orange rind and salt.  Heat gently without boiling, add sherry and garnish with chervil or chopped parsley.

Serves 6 to 8.

Knitionary

Iceberg Wedge

Wedge salads were very popular in the 50s and 60s, and they're back!  I'll often order a wedge salad at a restaurant and I'll make them for ourselves for dinner, but until recently I haven't thought of serving them to guests.  But it was time to change all that, and at a recent buffet party, I made small salads and presented them on a platter.  They were a big hit!

To serve 6 as part of a buffet, or to serve 4 as a first course:

One head iceberg lettuce, cored and cut into 6 (4) wedges.  Generously ladle homemade or storebought blue cheese or Roquefort dressing (I use Bob's Big Boy Blue Cheese Dressing, because we're native Californians and that's what we grew up loving!) on top.  Sprinkle on some crumbled blue or roquefort cheese, chopped black olives, grated egg, chopped crispy bacon and cherry tomatoes.  Be generous with all! 

Lemon Curd

The Cuisinart is something that I've had on my kitchen counter for 40 years.  I still have my original machine.  It is used several times a week if not more, and I've only had to replace the bowl one time.  I've had to replace almost everything else, buy not my beloved Cuisinart!  I use it for my daily chopping and mixing chores, when it's appropriate.  Lemon curd is perfect for the food processor or blender. The recipe is pretty much fool-proof and the food processor makes it easy.

1 C sugar

3/4 C freshly squeezed lemon juice

4 eggs

1 stick butter (1/2 C) but into pieces

pinch of salt

Combine ingredients into processor bowl and whirl until mixture is smooth (ish).  It will look curdled and lumpy, but don't worry.  Pour into saucepan and cook on medium heat until thick and glossy, stirring constantly. It will only take 5 minutes or less.  The consistency will be more like gravy, but as it cools, it will thicken.  Store in a covered container in the refrigerator, where it will thicken even more.  If I'm serving this in the evening I will make it in the morning. 

I'm sure this would last a week in the refrigerator, but it's never lasted that long.  It's great over cake or fruit, even on toast! 

This is my own recipe, but the photo source is kitchenconfidante.com

Speedy Cheese Souffle

Speedy Cheese Souffle

Freelance writer Casey Ellis likes to serve this dish with a large green salad that includes some bitter greens to play against the souffle's slightly sweet undertone. She uses a 13- by 9-inch ceramic oval dish, but any shallow dish will work as long as the souffle batter fills it no more than 1-inch deep.

INGREDIENTS:

Butter for greasing baking dish
Fine-grated Parmesan cheese for coating baking dish
6 ounces cream cheese, preferably at room temperature
2/3 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons honey
Salt to taste
3 egg yolks
4 egg whites

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375°. Generously butter a 10-cup baking dish and coat it with a thin layer of the grated Parmesan. Put the dish in the refrigerator while you prepare the souffle mixture. In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sour cream, honey and a pinch of salt. Add the egg yolks and beat until mixture is smooth. In a separate bowl, with clean beaters, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add another pinch of salt and continue beating until soft peaks form, about 3 minutes. Do not over-beat. Stir about a third of the beaten egg whites into the cream cheese mixture and then gently, but thoroughly, fold in the rest. Ease this mixture into the prepared baking dish, set the dish in the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 350°. Bake 17-20 minutes, until the souffle is puffed, set and golden brown on top. Serve immediately.

Cowboy Cookies

 

Cowboy Cookies

Crispy and chewy!  I always make a double batch to have some logs on hand in the freezer.

Cream together:

1 16 oz. box brown sugar

2 cups granulated sugar

1 lb. (4 sticks) butter

Add in order:

4 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

2 C. oats

3 C. cornflakes

2 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

4 C. flour

Refrigerate for a few hours until firm enough to roll into 3 or 4 logs, then wrap in wax paper.  Refrigerate again until firm, slice into 1/4" slices.  Bake at 350 on greased cookie sheets for 10-14 minutes.  Let cool for one minute then transfer to wire rack to cool.  Uncooked logs will store easily in freezer.  Makes about 4 dozen.  They also make great ice cream sandwiches!

Click here for printable recipe.