Enchiladas

Fall is now here and cooking is more about comfort and warmth.  I really enjoy making personal dishes for my boyfriend and I whenever I can.  It's kind of fun and easy on me when doing the portions.  Tonight was personal chicken enchiladas.

Dinner for two...

1 chicken breast chopped up

1 onion

1 bell pepper

1 avocado

1 lime

1 garlic clove

1 can of green chili's

1 bottle of enchilada sauce

1 cup of gradated cheese

10 corn tortilla's heated up in olive oil

1/2 cup of olive oil

1/2 cup of salsa

sour cream

sea salt

fresh ground black pepper

2 personal backing dishes (oven safe)

With all these there is even enough to make your own quick guacamole.

I started by cooking up the breast of chicken with a bit of olive oil half the onion, chopped up garlic clove, half the bell pepper, half the lime squeezed on top.  Once the meat is cooked all the way threw then add the can of chili's and salt pepper to taste.  Then splash in just a quarter of the enchilada sauce.  Turn down onto a simmer or low heat and let it set until ready to fill the tortillas.  After getting the chicken cooked up then start a pan on medium heat with the olive oil and pan fry them up 30 seconds on each side.  Cooking one at a time then setting them on a towel after cooking then repeating until all ten are cooked!

After finishing up the tortillas your now ready to put a small amount of enchilada sauce on the bottom of each backing dish. This is a good time to set the oven on 325 to preheat.   Taking one tortilla at a time adding the chicken filling into each one rolling them up setting them into the backing dish.

Once you have finished up filling all the corn tortillas now your ready to add the rest of the enchilada sauce to each backing dish evenly.  Then split the cheese up evenly between the two backing dish's as well.  Add as little or as much cheese as you like.  I just gave a ball park idea of a 1 cup.  You can even add olives to the top if you like.  Now put them into the 325* preheated oven for 15 min.  to heat everything evenly and melt the cheese on top.

While the enchiladas are backing now  you can put together your guacamole.  Putting the other half of the chopped onion, bell pepper, and squeezing the other half of the lime into the bowl.  Then chop up all of the avocado and add that.  Sometimes I use a fresh tomato chopped up but tonight I didn't have one.  When I don't have a fresh tomato I use a spoon full or two of salsa.  I add salt and pepper to taste as well.  Mix well and it's ready to be part of the topping!

When the time is up pull the backing dishes out and set to cool for 5/10 min.

Time to top with sour cream, salsa and that yummy fresh guacamole you made!

We were only able to eat about half and that is part of what I love about meals like this.  There are seconds or left overs for each person in one dish no mess and perfect for covering and setting in the frig for later.

Hope that you all enjoy this one.  It's quite simple and yet looks like you spent a lot of time and effort to make dinner.  The only thing we were missing with this dinner tonight was a Patron margarita on the rocks.

Eat, Love, & Live

Chicken Potsticker Soup

Dinner doesn't have to be boring or take over an hour to be amazing!

Soup is a perfect dinner meal all in one.  Simply full of flavor, color, and totally healthy.  

Finding fun and easy quick meals doesn't have to mean you go to a drive threw or pick up pizza on your way home from work.  Fresh veggies and a few healthy short cuts to help whip up something warm filling and tasty is right before your eyes.

I must give credit to Trader Joe's for this idea I took a spin off from them and just ran with it. Giving it my own twist adding and changing a few things along the way.  Hey, that's what great chefs do, get fantastic ideas for others and change it up!  Here is my take on it.

Chicken Potsticker Soup is a perfect meal in one bowl that's full of flavors that pop in your mouth yet delicate with a hint of heat.  Really fresh veggies are the way to go and with your favorite filled potsticker make this meal all yours.  You can use veggie filled, chicken, pork, or shrimp!  I'll totally recommend Trader Joe's frozen potstickers.  Most of the time I tend to shy away from boxed, canned, frozen, anything processed, however with Trader Joe's I have found that I don't have to worried about the frozen products.  They are good and all healthy.  Everything in moderation people.  

I have to cook just for two so most of my meals I create I cook up for two but anyone can double the recipes and a lot of the time we end up with leftover for lunch the next day.  This was perfect for the two of us.  I made just enough for us to both have plenty of soup for dinner.  We both really like trying new fun things when it come to food and I plan on sharing some of our fun with all of you.

In the last year or so I have really started to take a turn to much more healthy food choices than ever before.  Never eating out hardly ever, mostly only when we travel has it's up sides for sure.  I have become very creative and willing to spend the bit of extra time and money to really enjoy what we eat.  I totally believer it's paying off.  Remember key to a long happy healthy life is a healthy you.  Food plays such a large roll in that.  You are what you eat!

Here is how I did this.

What you will need:

1 package of Trader Joe's Chicken Potsticker's 

1 large box of veggie broth (I use organic only low sodium)

1 small yellow onion

2 small carrots

2 stalks of celery

1 cup of fresh spinach 

1 cup of bean sprouts

small hand full of fresh cilantro 

small hand full of chopped up fresh green onion

1 tablespoon soy sauce 

1 tablespoon sesame oil

4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

sweet chili sauce to taste after serving

You will need about 30 or 40 min. for this meal.

Here is how you put it all together to make a bowl full of yum.  

The first thing I did was set all my items out. Then getting out a large frying pan putting 2 of the 4 tablespoons of olive oil into the pan, setting it at a medium heat.  Once the oil and pan was warm I put 14 of the potstickers into the pan, yes still frozen.  Just having them over the medium heat to lightly brown them. I would keep a close eye on them so that they do not burn, turning them often is what I found worked for best evenly browning. 

I then chopped up my onion, celery, and carrot really quick to put into a large pot that has the other 2 tablespoons of olive oil in it.  Turning that onto a medium heat as well.  Once that is warmed up put in the mirepoix (onion, celery, carrot) to cook until the onion is translucent.  

Now your potstickers should be almost done and if they are all I did was set them off to the side with a cover on them to keep warm.  Then once the mirepoix is ready add in the veggie broth bring up to a gentle boil and also add in the spinach, bean sprouts,  soy sauce, and sesame oil.  Giving that just a moment to combined after coming to a gentle boil.  Then you add in the chicken potstickers.  Quickly chop up your green onion and grab some cilantro for your garnish and your ready to enjoy this fantastic full of flavors soup.

I loved adding the sweet chili sauce to mine after plating, so did my boyfriend.  I think it gave it a nice added bit of sweat and heat.  I sure hope that all of you try this with an open mind and be ready to fall in love with this soup.  We sure did.  

Eat, Love, & Live

Just Starting Out....

This first blog I do will just be a rather short entry, more like an introduction into what will be coming after!  I  tend mostly to focus on dinner meals/menu what it comes right down to it.  Not being home much during the day due to having a full time job like most of us do I am not with much time for cooking breakfast or lunches!  However with that said, yes I still do those meals just not much exiting going on the first half of the day.  When planning out my meals for lets just say a week I try and focus on veggies first then meat.  I then draw out ideas from that.  It can be a challenge to come up with new and fun ideas to keep meal times from becoming the dreaded ho hum boring that can so often take place with busy working home cooks.  

How my cooking obsession really came about was due to my life style change to get fit and be happy and healthy.  I'm a strong believer in you are what you eat!!  Changing portion size to cutting almost everything I had known for 7 years out and starting all over from scratch has not been an easy feat, but I've taken on the challenge facing it head on and not backing down!  This is to the rest of what is going to be a long and healthy happy life!

Lets get right to it....

I happen to be an artist first then a cook!  I love food almost more than anything come to think of it.  With my passion for food and creativity I jump in and take on the kitchen like it's a blank canvas waiting to be painted.  

Color, taste, texture, aroma are so important.  Time is also something to consider when cooking.  Most often I tend to get home late and trying to stay healthy and fit.  It's not a good idea to eat so late or close to bed time.  With that in mind time is of the essence and I feel I'm starting to get a grip on saving time when cooking dinner once I get home.  Trying to keep prep to finish time all together no longer than 45 min. from the time I start is more than a must.  So many times I run into friends, family, strangers that think I've lost it or I'm nuts to cook all my meals at home and never eat out.  Most of them can't believe I can make the meals I do in such a short time too!  Eating healthy and at home doesn't have to mean being stuck in ones kitchen all day or for hours on end.  Now if I could work on keeping my spending down a bit then I feel like I'll have ACED this whole thing.  Still learning and part of that is being lucky enough to have a green house a garden.  However that is only seasonal.  

I invite you all to come along and share with me my goods and bad's, my trails and triumphs in the kitchen.  Food/Cooking is all about enjoyment, healthy living, living a rich and happy life.  Eating right can really set you up for only good, I totally believe moderation and a balance of all fresh, organic, and non-processed foods are a must.  

Looking forward to sharing my creations with you all!

Eat, Love & Live