Meal Plan Monday #213

Science Bowl is over for this season. My team 1 was narrowly defeated in the finals. My team 2 was defeated by team 1 in the semifinals. It was a good day. Next up are all the senior activities this spring, but this week should be fairly calm. I'm looking forward to it, and a relaxing, unencumbered weekend coming up!

Sunday:  Chipotle Lime Salmon with Rice and Salad

Monday:  Baked Chicken and Rice Casserole with Roasted Cabbage

Tuesday:  Beef and Bell Pepper Curry with Jasmine Rice

Wednesday:  Tutorial Night Takeout!

Thursday:  Bean and Cheese Quesadillas with Roasted Corn Guacamole and Chips

Friday:  Date Night! Lib's Pick!

Quick and Easy Quesadillas

Last night we had chicken quesadillas for dinner. This is the second or third time we've made them recently, and they are really good and easy to make. They start with Darren's chicken. He makes chicken enchiladas, and cooks the chicken in the crock pot with chicken broth, onion, chile powder, bay leaf, cayenne, black pepper, and cumin. I copied his chicken recipe for the quesadillas. Poke some holes in two chicken breasts and cook on low in the broth-seasonings mixture for 4-6 hours. Remove from the crock pot and chop or shred, as desired. [TIP: I have also used Italian seasoning mix to make chicken for pasta dishes, and the seasonings or spices could easily be adapted for all sorts of casseroles or dishes that require chopped, cooked chicken. We used to use those rotisserie chickens from the grocery store to short cut recipes, but this is just as easy, and much less greasy!]

Shred some cheese. We like pepper jack for Mexican and Tex-Mex dishes, but just about any smooth melting cheese will work. Then set up an assembly line! We have a griddle pan that covers two stove burners. I heated it up to medium heat, and lightly oiled it with cooking spray. Then I put down two tortillas flat on the griddle top, sprinkled them with cheese and chicken, and then folded them in half and let them cook a bit. Once they were folded, I moved them to the front half of the griddle and re-sprayed the back half with a touch of cooking spray. Then I added another tortilla to the back half, filled it, and flipped the quesadillas on the front of the griddle. Then I folded over the one on the back, removed the ones on the front to a plate, and moved the back to the front, and kept going. This method keeps things moving for me, and the quesadillas are ready fast. I usually move them onto a foil-lined baking sheet in the oven to keep them warm.

We ate these quesadillas with refried black beans from a can, and roasted corn guacamole that I made earlier in the afternoon. Yummy and easy!

Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas

Lib and I have a really interesting story. I'm part Asian and from the southwest, she's from the south, but we met in the northeast. As a result, we have a pretty eclectic set of recipes (though most involve bacon). This one started as a much different beast in a Rachael Ray cookbook that I got for Christmas a few years ago. I unwrapped it shortly after telling the gifters that I'm not a fan of Rachael Ray. Oops!

At any rate, it has evolved over the years for a couple of reasons. Mainly, I wanted it to be less trouble and more delicious. I think we've achieved both of those goals. 30 Minute Meals my butt.

Like a lot of our recipes, this one is approximate, because we don't really measure. As usual, add or subtract amounts of the ingredients to your taste.

1/2 of a rotisserie chicken, pulled apart

2-3 dollops of sour cream (roughly 2/3 cup)

1 16 oz. jar of green sauce

1 lb of pepper jack cheese

12 corn tortillas

First off, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. To make the filling, combine the chicken with the sour cream, half of the green sauce, and half of the cheese. With two forks, stir/shred the chicken and make sure it is sufficiently coated with delicious dairy goop.

That's just the cheese that didn't go into the filling.

Coat a 9x13 pan with cooking spray, then start rolling the filling up in the tortillas! It helps to have room temperature tortillas, as cold ones tend to crack. I like to place them with the seam down so they don't unroll.

You'll want to pack them pretty closely together in order to fit all twelve into the pan.

Lib asked me why I don't just make two rows of six. It was something I just always did, and I had forgotten why until just now. I made these for a potluck one time, where the vertical enchiladas had chicken and the horizontal ones were straight cheese for the vegetarians in the group. Sorry vegans, you get no dairy-free enchiladas from me.

After they are arranged in the pan, pour the rest of the green sauce on top.

Spread it as evenly as you can. Any piece of tortilla that doesn't get soaked with sauce may end up hard and chewy after it comes out of the oven.

Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top.

Oh yeah, that's the stuff.

Put it in the oven for twenty minutes, then take it out and serve it. As you can see at the top of this post, we served ours with guacamole, but I wouldn't be against serving with refried beans, more sour cream, bacon, or nothing at all.

Get yourself a copy of the recipe!