Green Chicken Enchiladas - October Secret Recipe Club

Fall has started to creep into our little town. The leaves have started to change, fall and leave a delicious crunch under our feet. Today we took full advantage of the cooler weather for a family walk.

After everything that happened in our small town, Roseburg, OR this past week, I thought a little extra family time was called for. It has been amazing to see our area really come together with fundraisers, blood drives, and candlelight vigils. It will be a long road ahead for healing... or to feel completely safe again. But, I am still happy to raise my children here.

Of course, my favorite contribution to our family quality time is our family meal. for my October Secret Recipe Club selection, I found and chose the Green Enchiladas from Leslie's blog, La Cocina De Leslie.

Oh, boy! being assigned to Leslie's blog was quite a treat. Sadly, there are not as many peppers available in the fields right now, but I have so many of her recipes I want to go back and try next season. Next up I will be making her Swiss Chard Enchiladas... really! I have never thought to use Swiss Chard that way... but I have a never-ending in a neighboring field. Mexican cuisine is not something I have had many chances to make, but I always enjoy trying.

I hate to gush, but my selection this month is one you have to try! This Secret Recipe Club selection is going to be on heavy rotation this fall/winter. I had a green enchilada recipe in my box before, but this one knocked it out of the park. It had less cheese, but much more flavor with the homemade sauce. It is also a great dish to make and share with friends in need of a meal.

Since going back to work, I have needed to meal plan better and making up a few trays of these Green Enchiladas was perfect for helping to stock my freezer! I now have 2 extra pans settled in next to a few kinds of soup, freezer mac and cheese as well as an eggplant and pasta bake.

To make this meal go even faster, I grabbed a rotisserie chicken to shred. I love simple tricks to make meal assembly go faster. No, if you want to make everything from scratch, you can find recipes for corn tortillas and all sorts of other great dishes on Leslie's blog. Next time I want to try her recipe for red chicken enchiladas.

After creating the sauce, I warmed up the tortillas, dipped them in the excess sauce and layed them out for assembly.

This recipe called for Mexican crema or sour cream... and since I had sour cream, I went with that. I did try using Queso Fresco inside the tortillas though and it was fabulous! I don't think I will go back to boring old Monte Jack again.

Like I said, I was able to create 3 pans of enchiladas, one we devoured right away and the others I froze for future weeknight meals. I topped mine with more cheese, sauce, and olives. For serving, I garnished them with thinly sliced green onions.

The olives and green onions were my own addition. That is just how my family of 5 rolls. Feel free to add your own flare at the end. It's your dish, right?

They were gobbled up the first night. No leftovers. Is there a much better compliment than that? And luckily, since I have another 2 pans in the freezer, we have more Green Chicken Enchiladas in our near future. Many thanks to Leslie for her recipe!

Green Chicken Enchiladas
recipe from La Cocina De Leslie

You Will Need:

• 1 lb. shredded chicken (I used rotisserie chicken)
• 3 Tbsp. onion, finely chopped
• 1 c. sour cream
• 2 Poblano peppers
• 1 lb. tomatillos, husks removed
• 1/2  medium yellow onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 sprig cilantro *optional
• 3 c. chicken broth
• 1 doz. corn tortillas
• Queso Fresco
• Montey Jack cheese
• sliced black olives *optional
• sliced green onions for garnish

In a bowl, combine the chicken, sour cream and 3 tablespoon onion. Toss with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate until ready to use.

In a large skillet, heat the tomatillos. They should begin to soften and char slightly. Transfer to a blender or food processor.  Then in the same pan, char the poblanos, 1/2 an onion and garlic. When the pepper is blackened on all sides, let it sweat in a covered bowl and remove the skin and seeds.  Add all this to the blender along with the chicken broth and optional cilantro. Pulse up till smooth and pourable. 

Cover the bottom of a 9"x13" pan with 1/3 cup of the sauce. Then get everything layed out to assemble the enchiladas. Start by warming a tortilla in a small skillet. Dip the warmed tortilla in sauce, then top with a scoop of the chicken mixture and a generous amount of Queso Fresco.  Roll up tightly and place the seam side down in the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.

Top with more sauce, Montey Jack cheese, and sliced black olives... if you feel so inclined.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 - 35 minutes. Just before serving I like to garnish with fresh green onions.

Enjoy!

An InLinkz Link-up

Chile Reno Casserole

This easy Chile Reno Casserole recipe is a great way to enjoy your favorite Mexican Dish deconstructed and without being fried.

Spring is off an running. In our house that means longer hours of farming, dirtier children and a lot of outdoor play. Thank goodness, I think the little ones were tired of being cooped up indoors.

Despite the longer daylight hours in the evening, it seems like my days are shorter. There is so much to do and dinner has to be easy and plentiful. My crew has been working up quite an appetite lately.

A few months ago I tried my hand at chile renos and it was amazing! Fresh is always better, isn't it? Unfortunately, roasting, filling and frying takes a fair bit of time and effort in the kitchen. It was a successful recipe that I filed under "special occasions" because it was more than I can pull off for a typical evening meal. It also created quite a whirlwind of mess in my kitchen!

Chile Renos are my number one thing to order when we go out. I love them! You can ask my husband, I measure a Mexican Restaurant by how good their chile renos are. I prefer them to be fresh, homemade and cheesy.

So the solution was simple... just like the Eggs Benedict Casserole that was perfect for serving up to a hungry crew, Chile Renos could be made into one big casserole. Brilliant, right?  Oh, and this recipe gets bonus points for not needing any frying. I promise you won't miss that part.

It contains all the same great flavors... and cheese... but, with far less fuss. It also means my husband can grab as large of a piece as his heart desires.

Grab a few simple ingredients, along with a whole bunch of beautiful poblano peppers, and let's get started!

This recipe is great for breaking up into separate steps. I roasted all the poblano peppers early in the morning. I rubbed them with a little olive oil and kosher salt and popped it under the broiler till they were all charred.

Then I put them in a big bowl and covered it with kitchen wrap. The steam from the hot peppers helps to loosen the outer skin on the peppers. Once cooled, it is pretty easy to remove with just a paper towel and my hands. Then I sent the sliced and seeded peppers aside till I was ready to assemble the casserole.

Making the sauce is so simple! The tomatoes, garlic, milk and chicken stock all go into a saucepan to simmer through. Then the mixture gets poured into the bottom of a large casserole dish.

Then let the layering begin!

I cut my poblano peppers in half and put a good layer on the bottom to cover the tomato sauce.

Then add a layer of cheese and the remaining peppers on top of that.

Then pour the egg mixture over the whole thing and top with more cheese. I used Monterey Jack and Cotija Cheese in the middle of my casserole and mixed the Monterey Jack with a little sharp cheddar on the top.

This baked for about 45 minutes or until the eggs were done and set.

Enjoy!

Chile Reno Casserole

You Will Need:

• 8 - 10 Poblano Peppers
• Olive oil, enough to rub peppers for roasted
• a pinch or two of Kosher salt
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1/4 c. chicken stock
• 1 c. milk, divided
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. fresh cracked black pepper
• 3 c. shredded cheese (I used a combination of Monterey Jack, Sharp Cheddar and Cotija Cheese)
• 12 large eggs
• 1/4 c. flour
• 1 tsp. cumin

Rub poblano peppers with olive oil and sprinkle both sides with Kosher salt. Place under the broiler for 5 minutes. Keep a close eye on them as they will blister and char quickly. Turn and repeat on the other side. Place charred peppers in a large bowl and cover with kitchen wrap to let them steam. When cool enough to handle, rub off the outer layer with a paper towel, or peel with your hands. Slice in half to remove the seeds and stems. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9"x13" casserole dish with non-stick spray.

In a saucepan, combine the tomatoes, chicken stock, 1/2 cup of milk, garlic and salt and pepper. Bring up to a simmer and soften the tomatoes for about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the sauce cool slightly.

Pour the tomato mixture into the bottom of your dish. Top with half the roasted poblano peppers, then  1/3 of the cheese. Repeat the layers of peppers and cheese.

In a separate dish, whisk up the eggs, remaining 1/2 c. milk, flour, cumin, salt and pepper. Pour this mixture over the casserole and top with remaining cheese.

Bake for 45 minutes, or until the eggs are cooked through. Serve warm and enjoy! 

What do you serve on busy weeknights? Do you have a favorite casserole to make?

Herdez Cocina Mexicana Frozen Bowls

Thank you to the makers of the HERDEZ® Brand for sponsoring today’s post and inspiring me to try the Herdez Cocina Mexicana Frozen Bowls! All opinions and experiences are my own. #HerdezFrozenBowls

I love how everyone has asked me what I am doing with all my free time now that my two oldest children are in school.

Hold on, what free time???

Despite sending them off on the bus each morning, my "free time" has all but evaporated as I spend all my time getting two little people ready for school each morning. There are breakfasts to be made, personal hygiene to be checked on (a Kindergarten and First grader are often in too big of a hurry to brush hair and teeth!), then each child to be walked down to the bus stop at their appointed time. My daughter is in Kindergarten which means a half day and mid-morning drop-off.

Yeah, that means I trek down to the bust stop 3 times a day.

Her stop is just before lunch, so I race home to have lunch ready for my husband and baby. That means lunch is now a quick affair. Luckily, HERDEZ® Cocina Mexicana Frozen Bowls give me a fast and easy option.

There are many Mexican food favorites like Beef Barbacoa and Huevos Rancheros available in the freezer section of the grocery store. I grabbed our Herdez frozen bowls in my local Walmart.

I am a huge fan of Huevos Rancheros but rarely have time to go to all that work. This gave me a chance to grab, microwave and finish lunch in time to move on with my day. And the Beef Barbacoa bowl was just as simple, and yummy!

If your lunch and dinner time are as hectic as mine are, you might want to try out these easy and authentic frozen lunch meals and have a few ready to go in your freezer.

HERDEZ® Cocina Mexicana Frozen Bowls come in 10 delicious flavors, and the top three favorites include Beef Barbacoa, Carnitas w/ Charro Beans & Pork Chile Verde. I can totally understand why the Beef Barbacoa Bowls sell so well! It was tender and flavorful.

Want to check out these HERDEZ® Cocina Mexicana Frozen Bowls for yourself? Go ahead and download the coupon for $1.00 off!

Getting Cinco de Mayo Read with Old El Paso Frozen Entrees for Two

Disclosure: The information and prize pack have been provided by Old El Paso® through Platefull Co-Op. All opinions and experiences are my own.

With Cinco de Mayo fast approaching, my palette has been hankering for a little Mexican food. Fajitas just happen to be my favorite, but I rarely can find the time for all that prep and cooking. 

So for a quick and tasty lunch I grabbed the Old El Paso Chicken Fajitas, entree for two. No slicing, dicing or searing necessary. 

One pan and just a few minutes made us a tasty and colorful meal. I added in my own flour tortillas, shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream and salsa. With a side of blue corn chips, we were set. 

It was a fun and festive change from usual lunch leftovers or sandwiches, and it didn't take any more time. 

I loved that the onions and peppers came out tasting like I had grilled them myself. You might find yourself saying, #NoWayThatsFrozen.

I grabbed my bags at my local Walmart, but check your local grocery store's freezer section for Fajitas and other entree options like enchiladas, quesadillas and burritos.

You can connect with Old El Paso on Facebook to stay up on all the latest products and promotions.

And for our Cinco de Mayo? I am planning getting a little help from Old El Paso along with a big pitcher of homemade horchata. What are your plans?

Old El Paso Frozen Entrees - Hey! #NoWayThatsFrozen #spon

Disclosure: The information and prize pack have been provided by Old El Paso® through Platefull Co-Op. All opinions and experiences are my own.

Looking for a new Mexican Food fix from the freezer? Well, Old El Paso has a few new options to stock for those busy week nights.

I headed into my local Walmart and saw there was a new selection of Old El Paso frozen entree meals for two. They had everything from Quesadillas to Burritos, Enchiladas and Fajitas. I grabbed an assortment in beef or chicken and headed home to try it out.

Most of the items are individually wrapped and are microwave ready, the exception was the Steak Fajitas. Those take about 13 minutes in a skillet on the stove top.

Instructions suggest serving with flour tortillas, but I wanted something a bit lighter. I made my steak fajitas into a steak fajita salad. It was delicious!

There were plenty of seasoned and fire roasted onions and sweet bell peppers, along with strips of steak.

Since my husband is the Quesadilla fan, I made his in the microwave and tried a chicken burrito myself.

My chicken burrito was filled with rice, beans and a tangy salsa verde. Very filling for just one. The Quesadillas were filled with meat and cheese.

All the items were ready to go and just needed to be heated before serving. So easy and fast for a quick meal.


You can find all 8 varieties of the Old El Paso Frozen entrees for two in the freezer aisle. Connect with Old El Paso on Facebook for more fun.