Week 49 – Enchilada Sauce and Chicken Enchiladas

Happy Sunday everyone!  It’s our first anniversary and we’re loving life and having a relaxing day together.  I’ve decided a few things since we’ve made it about a year on here (I know it’s only week 49, not 52…we got started a little late due to honeymoon and vacations):

1. I’m going to stop keeping the posts numbered by week
2. I will no longer post recipes that we don’t like/won’t make again.  At least not the actual recipes.  I may post a pic and give you all a link, since some peoples’ taste buds are difference, but since we’re out of the one new recipe a week year I’m no longer posting sub-par recipes to get “credit” for trying a new recipe that week.
3. I’m going to post as we make things (hopefully).  So no more posts with multiple recipes anymore (unless they go together, like this week).

First things, first.  Our anniversary was wonderful!  I got Matt a cookbook that I made with all the recipes from the year in it.  I’d been saving them all on my computer, and then in May when I went to looking into how to pull this together I stumbled across blurb.  They have premade templates and stuff so I just had to get all the recipes into the program, and formatted, then I threw in some pictures and finalized it.  Sounds a lot less time consuming than it was… but the result is super worth it!  The book is really great quality stuff, and having our own pictures in it is amazing.  Next time you’re at our place ask me to see this and you’ll be my favorite person.  There is also an option to order your own copy on blurb (crazy) but this thing wasn’t cheap, includes pictures of the two of us, and one of the first pages includes a sappy note from me to Matt so that’s not a real option for our book…but if you make your own it sure is!

For Matt’s gift to me he planned a whole (relaxing) day for just the two of us.  Just what we needed in the midst of me studying like a mad woman.  We actually started the celebrations when class got out yesterday (I had CFP review class Wed-Sat from 8AM -6PM, a great use of 3 vacation days…).  I gave Matt his cookbook a night early (because it’s easy to keep a secret when I’m distracting in CFP review class all day, but once it ended, at 4:45 Saturday, there was no hope for me).  Then Matt started making fancy drinks from his anniversary drinks menu (the cucumber press is new for him and amazing and pictured below) and we ate a delicious dinner (the enchiladas) and watched some TV to close out the night.  The weather is making a lot of his options today on the afternoon itinerary look not appealing, so we’re hanging out inside.  We’ll finish off the night with dinner at le Diplomate (we had to get this reservation like 3 weeks ago…craziness!) and then it’s back to real life tomorrow 😦

The Cucumber Press.  With freshly made cucumber juice and whatever other stuff this recipe told him to do.Lunchtime picnic on the balcony.  I love how much trouble he went to to make this look perfectly adorable for me 🙂

Matt made us fancy itineraries and menus for the day

So this recipe is quite delicious.  In Matt’s anniversary cookbook I explained that the bad recipes that we didn’t like were in it, but at the end of the book and not in the table of contents.  They’re in the book getting credit for being made, but that’s about it.  So when he had his first bite of recipe he exclaimed that we need to put it in the front of the book (which is impossible, because it’s a hard bound book), because he loved it so much.  He also asked when we’re making it again.  So there’s that.  Enchiladas aren’t something I’d ever order when out to eat (hello, fajitas!) but I’m pretty excited to make these again soon.  I recommend making this homemade enchilada sauce if you have the time, it was pretty amazing.  We would have made a double or triple batch and frozen it (as suggested) but we ran out of chili powder.

Red Enchilada Sauce (recipe from here)

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. vegetable or canola oil
• 2 Tbsp. all-purpose or gluten-free flour
• 2-4 Tbsp. chili powder (*not cayenne!)
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. cumin
• 1/4 tsp. oregano
• 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add flour and stir together over the heat for one minute.

2. Stir in the remaining seasonings (chili powder through oregano). Then gradually add in the stock, whisking constantly to remove lumps. Reduce heat and simmer 10-15 minutes until thick.

3. Use immediately or refrigerate in an air-tight container for up to two weeks.

Chicken Enchiladas (Recipe from here)

Makes: 4+ servings*

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 small white onion, peeled and diced
• 1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, diced into small 1/2-inch pieces (*or see substitution below for using pre-cooked shredded chicken)*
• salt and pepper
• 1 (4-ounce) can diced green chiles*
• 1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans or lentils, rinsed and drained*
• 8 large flour tortillas*
• 3 cups Mexican-blend shredded cheese*
• 1 batch red enchilada sauce, or 1 can store-bought enchilada sauce
• optional: 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

*We made a smaller batch in a smaller than 9×13 pyrex pan so we used 2 chicken breasts, less beans, 8 small/medium sized corn tortillas, less cheese, and about 1/2 cup Trader Joe’s green Hatch Valley Salsa instead of green chiles.  This made enough fr the two of us, plus 2 servings of leftovers (2 enchiladas per serving).

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare your enchilada sauce, if making homemade.

2. In large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add diced chicken (if uncooked)* and green chiles, and season with salt and pepper.  Saute for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the chicken is cooked through.  Remove from heat and set aside.

3. To assemble the enchiladas, set up an assembly line including: tortillas, enchilada sauce, beans, chicken mixture, and cheese. Lay out a tortilla, and spread two tablespoons of sauce over the surface of the tortilla. Add beans in a line down the middle of the tortilla, then add in a spoonful of the chicken mixture, then sprinkle with 1/3 cup cheese. Roll up tortilla and place in a greased 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.  Then spread the remaining enchilada sauce on top of the tortillas, and sprinkle on the remaining shredded cheese.

4. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and serve immediately, garnished with chopped fresh cilantro if desired.

*If you are using pre-cooked chicken, just leave it out of the saute and cook the onion and green chiles for 1 additional minute (instead of 6-8). Once you remove the onion and green chiles from the heat, stir in the chicken (which should be shredded or chopped into bite-sized pieces).