The Daring Cooks May, 2010 Challenge: Stacked Green Chili & Grilled Chicken Enchiladas

I haven't posted or been to the farmer's market for the last three weeks.  Between my neice graduating college and therefore traveling for that and getting ready for inventory at work, I just haven't had time to do anything on my blog.

I recently joined The Daring Kitchen and our hosts this month, Barbara of Barbara Bakes and Bunnee of Anna+Food have chosen a delicious Stacked Green Chile and Grilled Chicken Enchilada recipe in celebration of Cinco de Mayo! The recipe, featuring a homemade enchilada sauce was found on http://www.finecooking.com/ and written by Robb Walsh.

I've been wanting to try making a salsa verde using tomatillas as I've never worked them before and this was the perfect oppurtunity.  I had never made homemade corn tortillas either and decided I would try those also.  I'm glad they worked out as I forgot to buy backups.  LOL

I've looked at several recipes and decided that I'd use my own recipe to make this dish.  I gathered the ingredients that all the different recipes asked for and then just started mixing and working with those that gave the sauce the taste I was looking for.  This was a fairly easy recipe to make and the homemade tortillas tasted wonderful in this.

Stacked Chicken Enchiladas with Salsa Verde
Serves 2
(printable recipe)

Ingredients:
1 lb tomatillos
2 anaheim peppers
2 poblano peppers
6 cloves garlic
1 bunch green onions (white and green parts)
1 small white onion
1 bunch cilantro
1 cup chicken broth
1 large bone-in, skin-on chicken breast
6 oz monterey jack cheese
Salt, pepper and oregano to taste
2 1/2 cups masa harina
1 1/2 cups warm water

Instructions:
1. Place the tomatillos, peppers and garlic on a foil lined pan and place under the broiler until they look burnt.  Remove from the oven and let cool enough to handle.  Remove the seeds and peel from the peppers.  Remove as much of the skin from the tomatillos as possible and peel the garlic.  Place all in a food processor.
2. Dice the onions and the cilantro and add to the food processor.  Pulse all ingredients until the salsa verde is pureed.
3. Place the salsa verde into a sauce pot along with the chicken broth and salt and pepper to taste and cook until the raw onion taste is gone.  Set aside.
4. Turn the oven down to 350⁰.  Add a rack to the foil lined pan and place chicken breast, skin side up, on the rack and season with salt, pepper and oregano.  Roast for 45 minutes or until done.
5. Mix the masa harina and the warm water together and form into a soft dough.  Cover with plastic wrap and let sit until ready to form and cook.
6. Once the chicken is done remove from oven and let cool enough to touch.
7. Heat a cast iron skillet, griddle or comal over medium-high heat.  Form the corn tortillas between two pieces of plastic and press to desired thickness.  Cook on the heated skillet, flipping once until done.  Set aside.
8. Remove bone, skin and fat from the chicken and shred the meat.  Mix the chicken with some of the salsa verde.
9. In a pan able to hold two stacks, place a little of the salsa verde and top with a tortilla, then chicken mixture then cheese.  Top with another tortilla, then chicken mixture then cheese and a final tortilla and more salsa verde then cheese.
10.Bake in the oven (still at 350⁰) until the cheese is melted and browned.
11.Serve with desired condiments.

Chicken and Swiss Chard Lasagna

Here is another recipe for the swiss chard.  I thought about making raviolis but I really was in the mood to try a nice cheesy lasagna.  My DH insisted that he hates swiss chard all week and didn't want me to buy any from the farmers market.  After tasting this he has changed his mind.

Chicken and Swiss Chard Lasagna
Serves 4
printable recipe

Filling Ingredients:
1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast, minced
2 cups swiss chard, minced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 cup white onion, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon italian seasoning
15 oz whole milk ricotta cheese
3 oz grated parmesan cheese

Sauce Ingredients:
14.5 oz can petite diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 cup white onion, minced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pinch red pepper flakes
salt and pepper

3 oz grated parmesan cheese to top

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.

2. Heat olive oil in a small sauce pan. Add onion and saute until translucent.

3. Add minced garlic, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper.

4. Let cook until reduced by 1/3rd. Set aside.

5. In another pan heat olive oil and saute onion for filling until translucent. Add chicken and italian seasoning until nearly cooked. Add swiss chard and wilt.

6. Remove chicken mixture from heat and set aside.

7. Mix ricotta cheese and 3 oz of parmesan cheese. Set aside.

8. Spread a little of the sauce on the bottom of a 8x8 baking pan.

9. Place 4 wonton skins in each corner of the pan and top with 1/2 of the ricotta cheese mixture and all the chicken the mixture.

10. Place another wonton skin on top of each stack, top with the remainder of the sauce and then the remainder of the cheese.

11. Bake for 40 minutes or until brown and bubbly. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy.

First day of the Farmer's Market and CSA pickings!

Today was the first day of this year's farmers market.  My friend BW and I look forward to this every week and really miss it when it closes.  We make a morning of it by arriving at the market about 7:30am, shopping and then having a slow breakfast afterwards.  It's a day of new choices as we try to select something new from the market and we like to find new breakfast places each week.

This year BW and I decided to split a CSA membership.  I had purchased a membership last year for $200 and ended up donating $100 to a local orphanage and then letting BW pick up some produce and still ended up with money left over.  This year we've split it and I'm determined to eat all of my share!!

Today I picked up the following (items I've never tried before are marked as new):

1. Fordhook Giant Swiss Chard (new)
2. Pea Shoots (new)
3. Baby Lettuce
4. Carrots
5. Green Onions
6. Snap Pea Leaves (new)
7. Cilantro
8. Peppered Bacon
9. Ham Slices
10. Nice salad mix of arugula, sliced green onions, sliced kumquats, walnuts, blanched almonds, sliced pears and strawberries with a cream cheese pepper filling (new)

I decided to eat the salad mix with a grilled chicken breast for lunch.  It was absolutely delicious!  I'm so glad I picked this up.  The peppered cream cheese filling the strawberries though very sharp was balanced by the sweetness of the pears and the strawberries.  The sliced kumquats were bittersweet and gave the entire salad a nice sharpness.  I cooked two chicken breasts and the salad mix will definitely make another salad and I think I have lunch for Monday now!  One less meal to eat out!

Chinese Sweet Chicken Thighs

I had some chicken thighs in the refrigerator that I needed to cook.  I wanted to do something different and had some sweet pepper and jalapeno jam in the pantry and thought it would be good on the chicken.  After baking the chicken in the jam I thought it was too sweet so I decided to use some spicy chinese mustard.  The mustard added just the right touch.

Chinese Sweet Chicken Thighs
(serves 3)
printable recipe

Ingredients:
6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
4 tablespoons sweet pepper and jalapeno jam
4 teaspoons lime juice
salt and pepper
4 tablespoons spicy chinese mustard

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350°.  Mix the jam and the lime juice together.  Place the thighs in a small casserole dish, sprinkle with salt and pepper and spread with the jam mixture.

2.  Bake until nearly done and spread with the mustard.

3.  Place back in the oven and continue baking until the mustard has formed a sticky glaze.