Pumpkin Chicken Enchiladas

I found this recipe here.
We had a pumpkin ripen early from our garden and it's too hot (117 this weekend) to even think about making pumpkin rolls or pie.
So we tried these instead. I've got to admit, I thought for sure this would be a little too funky. We'd eat it once and never again. But, we were pleasantly surprised. These were awesome!

8 corn tortillas (the corn flavor goes really well with the pumpkin, I promise)
a few tablespoons of cilantro (I subbed this for the 6 scallions, diced-sometimes I add both)
leftover chicken, shredded (maybe a pound)
optional: roasted green chiles, chopped small
6 oz. of white sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
Sauce
1 can of pumpkin puree (15 oz)
3-4 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 jalapeno (remove seeds and membranes if you don’t need extra heat)
1 teaspoon chile powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin (I added this too)
2 teaspoons of salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
1 1/2 cups of chicken stock

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. In a blender, puree pumpkin, jalapeno, chicken stock, garlic, chile powder, cumin, salt, and pepper. Place 1 cup of this sauce in the bottom of an 8 inch glass casserole dish. In a bowl, combine shredded chicken with green chiles, cilantro, and/or scallions and season with salt and pepper. Place some of the chicken mixture on each tortilla and then lay the tortilla seam side down in the casserole dish. Pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas. Top with cheese. However, if you are casein-free, this recipe is fine without cheese. Martha recommends placing your casserole dish on a baking sheet in the oven to prevent any spills. Bake for 20-25 minutes until cheese is melted and casserole is bubbly.

I used fresh pumpkin in stead of canned. It was a small pumpkin, so I also added a small butternut squash. *You will need to cook your pumpkin first. I always do mine in the crock pot.
And I didn't need as much chicken broth.
Also, I didn't have any corn tortilla's so I just used flour. They turned out really great, but I can see how the corn would compliment the pumpkin. Next time I make them I will definitely use corn tortilla's.

**After making them with corn tortilla's, I actually prefer the flour. I just don't like the texture of corn.**

Crock-Pot BBQ Chicken

This is one of our favorite fall back meals.

1 Whole Fryer Chicken (thawed)

BBQ Rub ~
1/3 cup kosher salt
1/3 cup sugar
* You want to have equal amounts of kosher salt & sugar to create your rub. Everything else is up to you. This is what I normally use, but we like our food to be extra spicy.
2 Tbsp ground chili powder
1 Tbsp ground garlic
1/2 Tbsp ground cumin
2-3 tsp cayenne pepper
Mix together.

Clean, rinse, & dry chicken inside & out. I also pull all the skin off & throw it away, but if you like it you can leave it. It just gets all soggy & gross in the crock-pot but you can throw it under a broiler right before serving to crisp it up.
Rub the chicken inside & out with your rub.
Cook in a crock-pot on Low for 6-8 hours or on High for 4-5 hours. You'll know it's done when the meat starts to fall off the bone.

Fried Buttermilk Chicken

This is a total comfort food... It tastes like chicken fried in a buttermilk biscuit. Yum!

2 cups buttermilk
1/3 cup kosher salt
2 Tbsp sugar
4 chicken breasts (or the equivalent... any meaty piece of chicken will work, especially legs & thighs. Boneless skinless breasts just happen to be my favorite)
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 cup buttermilk
Cooking oil

Combine buttermilk, salt, & sugar. Cut up chicken breasts in 1x2 or 1x3 inch pieces. In a large bowl, pour buttermilk mixture over chicken and refrigerate for 2-4 hours.

Mix four, salt, pepper, & garlic powder together. Drain buttermilk off of chicken and discard. You can pat the chicken dry with paper towels if you want, but I like to leave a lot on to get a thicker crunchier crust. Coat chicken in flour mixture. Dip in fresh buttermilk, and then coat in flour mixture again.

In a large skillet, heat oil. Cook chicken on both sides until golden brown. Place on a baking sheet and finish cooking at 350 for about 15 minutes (You could also use a deep fryer).

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

1 can Cream of Chicken soup
8 oz. sour cream
1 cup pace picante sauce or salsa
2 tsp. chili powder
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 cup shredded cheese
10 fajita size tortillas
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 green onion, sliced
1 can sliced olives

Mix soup, sour cream, salsa, and chili powder. Mix one cup of the mixture with chicken and cheese. Spread about 1/4 cup chicken mixture down center of each tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in 3 qt. shallow baking dish. Pour remaining salsa mixture over enchiladas and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Chicken Pot Pie

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, or 4 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
2 cups mixed vegetables
2 refrigerated pie crusts

Boil or steam chicken until done. Dice (or shred the rotisserie chicken). Mix soup, mixed vegetables, and chicken. Place one of the pie crusts in a pie plate and pour the chicken mixture into the pie shell and cover with the second crust. Crimp the edges and make slits in top. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Chicken Roll-ups

3 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed or shredded
1 8oz. package cream cheese, softened
1 package crescent roll, at room temp.
garlic salt
sliced mushrooms, optional (fresh or canned; maybe around 2 small cans or a couple of cups fresh)
1/4-1/2 cup melted butter
approx. 1 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
2/3 cup milk

Mix the shredded chicken with the cream cheese. Add garlic salt to taste and add mushrooms. Fill each crescent roll with the chicken mixture and fold the corners together and pinch the openings closed. Dip each roll in the melted butter then the bread crumbs. At this point you can freeze the rolls, or continue on and cook them. Cook at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until the crescent rolls are golden brown. While the rolls are cooking, mix the Cream of Chicken soup with the milk and warm over medium heat. Serve the soup over the rolls.

These rolls freeze well. You can either thaw the rolls before cooking and follow the above cooking instructions, or you can increase the cooking time to 30-35 minutes, or until the center of the rolls are hot.

Creamy Garlic Chicken & Rice

4 chicken cutlets (or 2 breasts)
6 cloves garlic, finely minced
Salt & pepper
1 1/2 Tbsp butter
1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 Tbsp flour
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat butter & oil in pan on medium/medium-high heat. Cook chicken until evenly browned, about 5 minutes on each side.

Transfer chicken to a plate & start rice. (Chicken doesn't need to be cooked all the way through yet, you'll add it back in a minute).

Add garlic to pan; lower heat to medium-low and saute until soft; be careful not to burn. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Return chicken to pan and simmer about 30 minutes, turning half way through.

Remove chicken and cover with foil to keep warm.

Add flour to sauce, whisk until it's well incorporated. Add cream and boil about 3 minutes or until thickened.

To serve, plate rice, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and sauce. Add chicken and top with additional sauce and cheese. Garnish with parsley and cayenne pepper, if desired.

Lemon Chicken

I tried this recipe last night after seeing it on my friend Lauren's blog, and she got it from her friends recipe blog, Mmm... Cafe.

2 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into pieces
1 egg yolk
1 dash pepper
1 Tbsp. soy sauce

3 Tbsp. cornstarch
3 Tbsp. flour

Soak chicken breasts in egg yolk, soy sauce and pepper for at least 30 minutes.

Coat each piece of chicken in a mixture of cornstarch and flour. fry chicken in hot oil. Drain chicken on a plate covered with paper towels.

Lemon Sauce:
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 cup water

In medium saucepan mix together sugar and corn starch. Then add remaining ingredients. Bring to boil stirring constantly. Cook until thickened.

Of course I changed it up... I'm not capable of following any recipe exactly.

I actually marinated the chicken in the egg & soy sauce for about 4 hours. I don't know that made a big difference, but I was out running errands and wanted it to be ready to cook when I came home.

I only used about 2 Tbsp of extra virgin olive oil to brown the chicken. Then I finished baking the pieces in the oven at 350. This way it tasted "fried" but wasn't deep fried.

I also happened to have a couple lemons that I needed to use, so I used fresh lemon juice and threw in the zest of about 1/2 a lemon. And because I like my sauce extra thick, I let it reduce down quite a bit... almost in half.

The lemon sauce is pretty sweet, so we topped it with more soy sauce to give it more of a "sweet & sour" taste.

I also served this with a tropical fruit salad (pineapple, passion fruit, mango, etc.) and cabbage sauteed in a little olive oil and salt.

Creamy Italian Chicken

I've been watching my friend Emily's kids while she's temporarily working full time. I threw this in the crock pot the other day for her, and it looked & smelt wonderful all day. I'm making this tomorrow, so I'll let you know how it turns out!

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 envelope dry Italian salad dressing mix
1/2 cup margarine or butter, cubed
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 can cream of chicken soup, undiluted
4 ounces can mushroom stems and pieces, drained
Hot cooked rice or pasta

Place the chicken breast halves and butter in the crock pot. Sprinkle the Italian mix over the chicken. Cover; cook on low for 3-4 hours

Remove chicken and shred.

In the crock pot, combine the cream cheese and soup until smooth and blended (you don't need to drain the liquid). Stir in mushroom pieces. Add chicken back to crock pot. Cook for another 30-45 minutes, or until heated through. Serve over hot cooked rice or pasta.

If you're using frozen chicken breasts, add an hour or so to the cooking time.

So after making this, I thought that it was pretty good. I did make a few changes though.

8 oz of cream cheese seemed like a lot to me, so I only used 4 oz cream cheese and then about the same amount of sour cream.

Also, when I pulled the chicken out to shred it, I was surprised at how much liquid there was, so I drained that off, and ended up adding about 1/2 cup back into the sauce. I like my sauce thick... like the consistency of glue. So you may want to add more of the juice back in depending on the consistency that you like.

And I didn't add any mushrooms... I totally forgot about them.

I also thought this was fairly salty ~ and I didn't add any salt at all. I'll try using low sodium ingredients next time to see if that helps.

Chicken, Broccoli & Rice Casserole

This is one of my family's favorite recipes. It's quick, it's easy, and a great fall back when I feel like being lazy. It also freezes really well! When I make this, I usually make 2, and throw 1 in the freezer.

It's taken us a while to start eating this again. When our son was born (2 years ago) some wonderful ward members brought us dinner, and we appreciate that service so very much! 4 out of the 5 people brought us this casserole... and enough for 2-3 days of leftovers. Again, we REALLY appreciated having dinner on our table, but after eating chicken, broccoli & rice for 2 straight weeks, I didn't think we'd ever want to look at it, let alone eat it, again. But after a solid year of avoiding it, we started liking it again.

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 small white onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 Tbsp Italian dressing
1 Tbsp flour
2-3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 can (10.5 oz) cream of chicken soup
1 cup (8 oz) sour cream
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 lb frozen broccoli cuts
3 cups cooked rice

Prepare rice according to package directions (remember that 1 1/2 cups uncooked rice = 3 cups cooked rice).

In a medium skillet, cook chicken breasts, onion, & garlic in Italian seasoning. When the chicken is cooked through, add the flour and continue to simmer for 1-2 minutes to cook out the flour taste.

Combine cream of chicken soup, sour cream, cream cheese, broccoli, and 2 cups cheese; mix well. Add cooked rice and chicken. Pour into greased casserole dish and top with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, or until heated through.

*If you like you're broccoli more tender, thaw or bring to a boil before adding to casserole.*

Chicken Enchiladas

2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
8 oz cream cheese, cubed
8 oz salsa, divided
8 (6”) flour tortillas
12 oz Velveeta cheese, cubed
¼ cup milk

Stir chicken, bell pepper, cream cheese, & ½ of the salsa in saucepan on low heat until cream cheese is melted.

Spoon 1/3 cup chicken mixture down center of each tortilla; roll up.

Place, seam-side down, in lightly greased 12x8” baking dish.

Stir Velveeta cheese and milk in saucepan over low heat until smooth. Pour sauce over tortillas; cover with foil.

Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Pour remaining salsa over tortillas.

Chicken Chiles Rellenos

6 Boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ground red pepper flakes
1 egg
1 Tbsp milk
1 4 oz. can green chile peppers, rinsed, seeded, & cut in half lengthwise
2 oz Monterrey Jack OR Cheddar cheese cut into six 2 x 1/2 inch sticks
2 Tbsp butter or margarine, melted

Place a chicken breast half between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Using the flat side of a meat mallet, pound meat lightly into a rectangle, about 1/8-inch thick. Remove plastic wrap. Repeat with remaining chicken breasts.

In a shallow dish, combine the flour, bread crumbs, salt, garlic powder, & red pepper flakes. Place egg in another shallow dish; add milk and beat lightly to combine.

For each roll, place a chile pepper half on a chicken piece hear an edge. Place a stick of cheese on the chile pepper near an edge. Fold in sides; roll up, starting from edge with cheese and chile pepper. Secure with wooden toothpicks.

Dip chicken rolls in egg mixture; coat with flour/bread crumb mixture. Place rolls, seam side down, in a shallow baking pan. Drizzle with butter.

Bake, uncovered, in at 375 for 25-30 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Remove toothpicks. Serve over rice and with salsa, sour cream, etc.