Tasteful Tuesday

Sorry about no post last week. I wanted to find a fun valentine dinner to post but didn't have anything that really fit what I was looking for. I also hadn't made anything super spectacular. This week though I made at least 2 meals that were a hit. This was the first one. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of it. I mentioned in my notes below that it is a bit spicy (and gave some suggestions to help with that) but the dressing was great for just dipping veggies in later in the week. Also, check the recipe blog later this week for several new desserts (an apple cake and strawberry brunch bread) that were very tastey!
Chicken Taco Cornbread Wedges
Dressing:
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1/2 cup diced tomatoes with green chiles (or salsa verde)
1 cup packed cilantro leaves and stems

Filling:
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped red or yellow bell pepper
1 Tablespoon chopped jalapeno pepper (I used the bottled kind)
2 cups shredded chicken (could use rotissere or canned if you're in a hurry)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 (14.5 oz) can tomatoes with green chiles

Crust:
1 large egg
3/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon Martha White cornbread mix
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup crushed corn chips

Topping:
1/2 cup each mozarella and cheddar cheese
3 cups shredded romaine lettuce
1 cup chopped tomatoes

Mix dressing ingredients together in blender and process until well blended. Cover and refrigerate until serving time. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Heat oil in cast iron skillet. Add onion, bell pepper and jalapeno (if using the bottled ones, add when you add the chicken) and cook until tender. Add in chicken, spices, and canned tomatoes. Cook 5 minutes. Remove from skillet and wipe clean. Regrease the skillet.
Mix egg, cornbread mix, and milk until well blended. Place corn chips on bottom of skillet and top with cornbread mix. Spoon the chicken mixture over the cornbread and sprinkle with cheeses.
Bake for 15-18 minutes. Cut into wedges. Top with lettuce, tomatoes, and dressing.
Recipe Source: Picky Palate
My Notes:
This was a bit spicy for my kids so my suggestions to tone it down would be to buy the smaller cans of diced tomatoes and get one can with the green chiles and one without. You could also leave out the jalapeno. The original recipe called for 1 (7oz) package of Martha White sweet yellow cornbread mix but I couldn't find it. I found a larger bag of the white cornbread mix and just adjusted my recipe for that...I would assume that any cornbread mix would work as long as you have about 7 oz. Also, since I have a glass stove top, I didn't use my cast iron skillet to cook the vegetables and chicken mixture. I just used a regular skillet and then put it in my cast iron skillet to bake. If you don't have a cast iron skillet, just use a round cake pan.

Tasteful Tuesday

I made this recipe a LONG time ago and had forgotten about it until now. I think I will put it on the menu for when our company is here next week (we are SUPER excited to have family coming to town!). The longer you let the meat soak in the sauce the better it is. I usually stick it all together in a ziplock bag in the morning and then it is ready when I make dinner at night. This is really a must try! Honey Lime Enchiladas
1 1/2 lbs cooked and shredded pork roast or chicken
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup lime juice
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 (10oz) cans GREEN enchilada sauce
1 cup sour cream
equal parts mozarella and cheddar cheese
Flour tortillas

Combine honey, lime juice, chili powder and garlic powder and pour over shredded pork or chicken. Let soak for at least 30 min.
Pour enchilada sauce in lightly greased pan so that it covers the bottom completely. Put filling in flour tortillas along with desired amount of cheese. Place in pan and completely cover with a mixture of the enchilada sauce and sour cream. Liberally sprinke more cheese on top. Bake at 350 for 30 min. Turn oven to broil and move the pan closer to heating element. Broil until cheese is golden and crispy.
Recipe source: Sister's cafe
My notes:
This makes one large pan enchiladas plus a smaller pan, like a 9x9.
The first time I made this using a pork tenderloin and didn't like it because the meat was hard to shred and a little dry. When I used a pork roast or chicken it was fabulous.
Sometimes it can be hard to find green enchilada sauce...out here the only place is ACME but for those of you with an Albertson's it is the same. I have substituted green taco sauce and it worked.
This also makes good nachos...but you have to include the enchilada sauce or green taco sauce for it to be stellar.

Tasteful Tuesday

So this post is coming in a little later than I would have liked but I got to spend a wonderful morning with Bronson and his class at the pumpkin patch. Fall is so pretty here and I was glad to be able to take advantage of a nice day.
So, I am back to beans....you know "Beans, beans the magic fruit. The more you eat the more you toot! The more you toot, the better you feel. So let's eat beans for every meal!" We really don't eat them for every meal but we have started to eat them a lot more. My sister Kelly has an on-line fitness blog on which she posts great ways to improve your fitness level. Last year, she did a challenge that encouraged her readers to go for a month without meat. I, at the time, did not participate in that challenge but it really did get me thinking about how much meat we were eating. It turned out that we were eating an awful lot of it....definately more than we should have been. I didn't really think that a meatless meal would go over very well but I tried it one day and it was success. I have since then been trying to use beans more for 2 reasons: 1) they are CHEAP! and 2) they are a good, meatless source of protein. I have come to find that it really isn't too hard to substitute beans in. Here is a recipe idea you can make to your tastes, that is easy and really yummy. Ainslee ate about 3 of them. I guess my next step toward eating healthy needs to be to keep our serving sizes in check! I also have a whole wheat tortilla and a soft wrap recipe that I will hopefully get around to sharing sometime. Hope you are having something quick and delicious for dinner tonight!

Quick and Healthy Wraps

Tortillas or wraps

About 1 cup of cooked rice

About 1 cup cooked beans (I especially like black)

1/2 red pepper (or you can use both green and red or none at all)

1 small can olives, sliced

Any other veggies you want to add

1 package taco seasoning

Cheese, just sprinkle on how much you like

Cooking spray

Tomatoes, Salsa, sour cream

Mix the rice, beans, vegetables, and taco seasoning together. Sprinkle tortillas with cheese, then place good amount of filling in the center. Fold sides in and spray with cooking spray (don't make the mistake I did of folding the ends in as well....they just all fell apart when I tried to turn them. Just fold over the two sides). Place seem side down in dry frying pan and cook over medium heat until it is brown and crispy. Serve with your favorite toppings.