Epicure Enchiladas with Turkey & Refried Beans

Sorry I haven't had many new recipes for you lately.  After a somewhat expensive weekend in Las Vegas, I decided to make some economical meals that would allow me to use up stuff in my freezer/pantry and have enough leftovers to feed us for days.  I made a turkey on Monday and then used some of the leftovers to make these delicious enchiladas, which gave me the opportunity to try out two of the new seasonings from Epicure (Refried Beans and Enchilada Sauce).  I'm happy to say that they turned out really well!  (And we still have a lot of leftover turkey, so I might have to make more enchiladas!)

TURKEY & REFRIED BEAN ENCHILADAS
1 can (540 ml) kidney beans, drained and puréed/mashed
2/3 c. water
1 pkg. Refried Beans Mix
2 c. leftover turkey, diced
Taco seasoning
salt
grated cheese
5 tortillas
1 1/4 c. water
1 pkg. Enchilada Sauce Mix
more grated cheese

Simmer first three ingredients in a frying pan until heated through.  Add turkey, Taco seasoning, and salt.  Scoop some of the mixture into each tortilla, top with grated cheese, roll them up and lay them seam-side down in a baking dish.  Pour Enchilada Sauce Mix into water and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.  Pour over enchiladas and top with more cheese.  Bake at 350 F for 15-20 minutes.  Top with green onions before serving.

I really loved the refried beans - they were far less gelatinous than the canned refried beans you get from the store.  "Less gelatinous" is always a good thing, unless you're making jello.

I thought the kids would revolt at the sight of bean-filled tortillas smothered in sauce, but they ate them without any complaints.  Even William!  (He did scoop out some of the filling, but he didn't it without whining, and he ate the majority of it, so I think after those few months of horrible supper times with him, I have finally broken him!)

So this week we've eaten turkey dinners, turkey enchiladas, and turkey soup.... and we still have a small roaster filled with leftover turkey.  Remind me never to cook a whole turkey again unless we have company, because clearly our little family can't eat it all!  (But damn the house smelled good on Monday night when that turkey was roasting!!!)

Epicure's Cha-cha Chicken Chili

I tried the Tortilla Soup. I tried the Pulled Pork. I tried the Jambalaya. They were all amazing, and tonight's Cha-cha Chili was no exception. These are all from the "What's For Dinner" collection in the new Epicure Selections catalogue. This chili was ridiculously fast and simple to make, and pretty darn healthy too! It takes less time to make this meal than it would to go through a drive-thru at McDonald's, and it only cost me $4 for the ground chicken, less than $2 each for the beans and tomatoes, and the seasoning package costs $3.95. The packet says it makes 4 servings, but I think we got about 6 servings out of it. So it works out to less than $2 per serving!

EPICURE'S CHA-CHA CHILI

1 lb. ground chicken or beef (I used chicken)

1 package Cha-cha Chili seasoning mix

1 - 19 oz. can kidney beans (rinsed and drained)

1 - 28 oz. can diced tomatoes (I used low-sodium)

1 c. frozen corn (this isn't part of the recipe on the packet, but I think it adds a nice touch!)

Brown the meat (and drain if necessary), add the remaining ingredients, and bring to a simmer. Cover and let it simmer for 15 minutes. Serve with sour cream and grated cheese if you like.

I love the list of ingredients for this seasoning packet: onion, red bell pepper, spices, green bell pepper, tomato, garlic, salt, ancho chili. Since I rinsed off my kidney beans and used a low-sodium can of tomatoes, this meal had almost no salt in it at all! But it had tons of flavour, and you could easily spice it up with some chipotle or cayenne powder if you like it muy caliente!

Chocolate Chili

This summer I had a 10 year reunion with some of my old roommates from Mexico. We had a great time reminiscing and gorging ourselves on margaritas and fajitas. Food (and drink) was a big part of our time in Mexico, and a decade later I can really see how it has influenced my palette and my cooking style. Tequila, lime, cilantro, jicama, beans, chilies, tortillas -- these are some of my favourite things. (Except for chicharrón - I never learned to like that stuff!) Another thing I never learned to love was mole (the sauce, not the animal, although I wouldn't like that either.) So when my friend PJ told me about this amazing chili recipe that uses unsweetened baker's chocolate, I was a little skeptical. I trust PJ though, and she didn't let me down!

She said she got the recipe from allrecipes.com, but I couldn't find the actual link for it. I made a few changes to it anyway, so here's my version:

PJ'S CHOCOLATE CHILI
1 lb. ground beef chuck
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 Poblano chili, seeded and diced (I think I used a ginormous jalapeno, but I'm not entirely sure - my pepper identification skills are limited)
1 red pepper, chopped
2 - 28 oz. cans diced tomatoes
1 tbsp. granulated sugar
1 c. chicken stock
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tbsp. chili powder (I used 1 tsp. Louisiana Hot & Spicy Dip Mix, 1 tsp. Pueblo Bean Dip Mix, and 1/4 tsp. Chipotle Chili Powder)
1 cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
1 oz. Baker’s unsweetened chocolate or Mexican chocolate
15 oz. black beans, drained
15 oz. red kidney beans, drained
15 oz. romano beans, drained
1 c. frozen corn
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
6 limes, juice only (I only used 3 limes because my husband doesn't like lime as much as I do)
sour cream, to garnish
grated cheddar cheese, to garnish

Brown beef over high heat and set aside. Reduce heat and sauté onion, garlic, chili, and red pepper until soft. Add beef and stir in remaining ingredients (except for beans, corn, cilantro, and lime juice). Cover and simmer for 2 1/2 hours. Add beans and corn and simmer for another hour. Remove cinnamon stick and bay leaves. Stir in cilantro and lime juice, and serve with sour cream and cheese on top.

This was delicious! There was just the tiniest hint of chocolate and lime - you wouldn't even notice it if you weren't looking for it, but it adds a little something. With the exception of the beans, my kids both loved this chili. And hey, even I picked out the beans when I was a kid.

Tequila Lime Drumsticks with Southwest Layered Salad

Tonight I thawed out some Tequila Lime Drumsticks that I had marinating in the freezer. After they were thawed, I put them in a non-stick, oven-safe grill pan and put it in the oven at 400 F for 15 minutes. Then I turned the drumsticks over, cranked up the heat to 450 F and cooked them for another 15 minutes. We ate it with some Southwest 5-Minute Layered Salad. Super easy supper, and it was delicious!

Meatball Chili

After a day or two of rest, we were ready to tackle one last meatball recipe. I already had the meatballs for this recipe - I made them and cooked them when I did the Meatball Sandwiches, and put them in the freezer until we were physically and psychologically ready to eat meatballs again. So all I had to do was thaw them out, toss the chili ingredients in a pot, and let everything simmer.

MEATBALL CHILI

For the meatballs:
1 lb. ground beef
1/4 c. bread crumbs (I used crumbled crackers)
1 garlic clove, minced
1 egg
1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
pepper, to taste

Combine all ingredients and roll into small, 1-inch balls. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 375 F for 20 minutes, turning once.

For the chili:
2 tbsp. oil
1 onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
2-3 carrots, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
14 oz. can of diced tomatoes (I think I used a 19 oz. can)
14 oz. can of tomato sauce (I just realized that I'm pretty sure I forgot to put this in. Oops.)
2 c. frozen corn (I opted to use 2 c. corn instead of 1 c. corn + 1 can black beans. I didn't want the kids to complain more than necessary.)
1 bottle Canadian lager beer
2 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. Cuban Seasoning
1 tsp. dried oregano

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, green pepper, carrots, and garlic, and cook for 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, along with cooked meatballs. Bring to a gentle simmer for 30 minutes. Serve with avocado, cilantro, green onions, sour cream, and/or grated cheese.
First, let me say that this was very good chili. Second, let me say that I had higher hopes for my artistic display. When I envisioned chili flowing out of an avocado bowl with a meatball in the middle, it looked much prettier in my head than it did on the plate. Now that I re-read the recipe and realize I forgot to put in a can of tomato sauce, well, that just ticks me off because maybe if the chili were thicker, it would have been more esthetically pleasing. However, it did taste great, and it had booze in it, and I guess that's what's really important.

This gots a nice flavour!

Last night I pulled out some chicken from the freezer. I think (though I can't be certain) that it was Teriyaki Chicken that I made back in December. (For those to lazy to click on the link, here's the marinade recipe:)

1 tbsp. Teriyaki Seasoning
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tbsp. peanut butter
1 tsp. lime juice
3 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. ginger paste
1 tsp. minced garlic

I sliced up some carrots and tossed them in my bamboo steamer along with a clove of garlic, cut into 3 or 4 pieces. (I'm not sure if the steamed garlic really added any flavour to the carrots or not, but I didn't feel like mincing it.) If you haven't used a bamboo steamer before, it's very simple: Put some parchment paper down and lay your food in the steamer. Close the lid, and place the steamer in a wok. Pour enough water in the bottom so that it just comes up the side of the steamer a teeny bit. Turn it on medium-high heat, and let the steamer work its magic! My carrots were done in about 10-15 minutes.

This chicken was delicious! I grilled it up in my new grill pan for about 15 minutes (sorry, I didn't time it, so that's just an educated guess.) My daughter thought the whole meal was awesome. She was especially excited over the Teriyaki Sidekicks noodles that I served along with it. She said they gots a nice flavour. She's my little homie.

Contest Entry #4

Today's recipe comes from my friend Lisa. We met back in university, likely in Biology 100, when Lisa was an aspiring Microbiologist, and I was an aspiring Enligsh Major who just didn't realize it yet. (That's how you end up with an English Major and a Biology Minor.... you suffer through 2 years of science classes before smartening up and realizing that you do not belong in a Genetics lab every Thursday afternoon, totally buggering up your fruit-fly experiment and hoping that the prof will take pity on you because of your excellent writing skills.)


Anyway, I have lots of fond memories of Lisa (like a road trip to Saskatoon to see Sarah McLachlan!) and I'm glad our paths have crossed again now that we're "all grown up". Lisa often mentions a blog called Dinner with Julie, and she sent me a recipe from there to try out.

I started prepping for tonight's recipe this morning, and decided to just make it for lunch instead, so we're having leftovers for supper tonight!

SAUSAGE AND SPINACH BAKED PASTA
2 lean chicken and apple or Italian sausages, squeezed out of their casings (Lisa uses 2-3 mild turkey sausages, and I used 5 pork sausages - half spicy and half mild. I bought 1 pkg. of spicy and 1 pkg. of mild (5 sausages each) and split them up into ziploc bags so that I could use one portion for this recipe and the other portion today.)
1 onion, chopped
3-5 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes (undrained)
1 can tomato paste
1/4 c. pesto (I used about 1/2 c. of leftover basil from this recipe and put it in the food processor with 2 tbsp. each of pine nuts, parmesan, and olive oil)
3 cups penne or rotini pasta (preferably a whole wheat)
1 10 oz. bag baby spinach leaves, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 c. grated mozzarella
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese

In a large saucepan, heat a drizzle of oil over medium-high heat and cook the sausage, onion and garlic, breaking up the meat until the sausage is cooked through. Add the tomatoes and tomato paste and simmer for 5-10 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Stir in the pesto and some salt and pepper. (I didn't add any salt and pepper.) Cook the pasta until al dente, drain it well and toss it with the spinach, mozzarella and about half the Parmesan cheese. Stir in the hot tomato sauce, which will slightly wilt the spinach. Divide among baking dishes or aluminum containers (it should be enough to fill one 9”x13” pan) and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan. (At this point the dish can be cooled completely, covered and frozen for up to 4 months. Bake from frozen.) Bake at 350°F for about 30 minutes (40 if frozen) until bubbly and golden.

My family loved this (although my son hasn't tried it yet... he was at a birthday party for lunch today.) It's like a lasagna without all the fuss of layering the ingredients. I love hiding spinach in anything, so this recipe was definitely a hit. My apologies for the pictures.... it's really hard to make baked pasta look pretty, but trust me, it's very tasty and easy to make, and it would be a great meal to throw in the freezer.

Thank you Lisa!!

More Freezer Meals

Here are a couple more things I tossed into freezer bags this week. I bought a big pack of chicken drumsticks on sale, and separated them into two bags (approximately 12 drumsticks in each bag.)

GREEK DRUMSTICKS
olive oil
lemon juice
Greek Seasoning and/or Souvlaki Seasoning


TEQUILA LIME DRUMSTICKS
1-2 oz. tequila
lime juice
olive oil
brown sugar
Cuban Seasoning (or any sort of fajita-flavoured spices... cumin, chili powder, cayenne, etc)

Sorry I don't have measurements.... I filled a cereal bowl with each marinade, and that seemed to cover the chicken when I poured it into each bag. I was pretty generous with the spices, maybe 3-5 tablespoons altogether. Same with the lemon and lime juices. I don't think you could really go wrong, as long as you don't put too much oil (you want to get all the flavour from the other ingredients).

Freezer Meals

I got some chicken on sale this week, so I made up a couple quick freezer meals. I have no idea how they'll taste... we'll find out in a few weeks/months when I thaw them out!

THAI CHICKEN
3 chicken breasts, cubed
1/2 can coconut milk
2 tsp. green curry paste
1 tsp. ginger paste
1 onion, sliced
1/2 c. frozen bell peppers

TERIYAKI CHICKEN (measurements are approximate)
4 chicken breasts
1 tbsp. Teriyaki Seasoning
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tbsp. peanut butter
1 tsp. lime juice
3 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. ginger paste
1 tsp. minced garlic

Turkey Soup & Homeade Buns

I saw a recipe for Sweet Milk Dinner Rolls on My Fabulous Recipes and decided to try them out today. I could have just eaten the dough without baking them (mmmm, dough!) but I did bake most of them and they turned out pretty good. (No fault to Sook's recipe, I'm just not great at any type of baking, so all my attempts generally fail.) They are nice and sweet (which is why the dough was so good!), but mine didn't rise very much (me and yeast don't get along very well.)

Anyway, I made some turkey soup to go with it. I just sort of tossed in things from the pantry and the fridge that seemed to be appropriate. It turned out better than I expected.

TURKEY SOUP

5-6 slices of bacon, cut into smaller pieces

1/2 onion, diced

2 carrots, sliced

3 celery stalks, diced

1/4 c. lentils

1/4 c. brown rice

8 c. turkey broth

1 c. leftover turkey, diced

Cook bacon in the bottom of a soup pot. Drain most of the fat, then add onion and cook until soft. Add remaining ingredients (except turkey) and bring to a boil. Cover and let it simmer for about an hour. (Maybe less, I wasn't really paying attention to the clock.) Add turkey near the end, just to reheat it.

Perfect meal for a cold, blustery day!

A Perfect Thanksgiving (and some ideas for leftovers!)

We were blessed to have lots of family here this weekend for Thanksgiving. Everyone has gone home now, with a belly full of the best turkey dinner I think I've ever eaten.

This year I tried brining a turkey. It's supposed to make the meat juicier, and let's face it, turkey usually isn't known for being juicy. I used Epicure's recipe for Canadian Maple Brined Turkey. (Instead of ice, I added about 12 c. water to cover the turkey.) I brined it overnight (about 14 hours)and then rinsed it off, patted it dry, and rubbed it with butter and Turkey Rub (even underneath the skin.) I cooked it at 325 F for about 3 1/2 hours, and each time I basted it, I glazed it with maple syrup as well. This made the gravy sooooooooooo delicious!!!(Sorry, that's a terrible picture. It fell apart when we lifted it out of the roaster, plus this is only my second attempt at cooking a turkey, so I haven't mastered the art of a beautiful looking bird yet. But it sure tasted good!)

I also made Cranberry Apple Stuffing, with some slight modifications to the recipe. Instead of bread crumbs I used cubes of french bread (from our wine & cheese the night before.) I also used less Cherries & Berries, more apples and onion, and I used Sage & Apple Stuffing Seasoning. I made it the day before and tossed it into the oven in tinfoil packets for about an hour while the turkey was cooking. It was delicious, although I must admit, I do still love Stove Top Stuffing!

One of my favourite dishes was the Maple Roasted Root Vegetables. These were amazing. When the turkey was cooked, we wrapped it in tinfoil to let it rest, so we just poured the gravy drippings into another container and used the roaster to make the veggies (because this recipe makes a huge batch!) I followed the directions exactly and they turned out perfectly.

We also had some garlicy mashed potatoes that I forgot to take a picture of. I think we all know what they look like. Potatoes, butter, milk, and (perhaps a little too much) Garlic Potato Topper all whipped together.

But the highlight of the meal was my sister's Pumpkin Cheesecake, topped with Crystallized Ginger.

It was as good as it looks... huge, tall slices of rich, creamy cheesecake, topped with real whipped cream. She also made Lemon Meringue Pie from scratch, but I didn't take a picture of that either. It was just as fabulous - my sister is an amazing baker!

Now if anyone is wondering what to do with their turkey leftovers, here are my suggestions (and if I don't blog this week, it's because I'm eating one of these three things and the recipes are already on here.)

1. TV Dinners - Get some pie plates and serve up a portion of all your leftovers onto each plate. Pour some gravy overtop, and wrap in tinfoil. These are handy to keep in the freezer and pull out on cold winter nights. They do take a while to heat up in the oven (maybe an hour?) but it's nice to have a turkey meal sometimes without all the hassle.
2. Coq au vin - Instead of cooking the chicken, just add leftover turkey instead. If you boil the turkey carcass to make broth, save some to use in this recipe.
3. Turkey Enchiladas - Another favourite recipe I haven't made in ages, and it's also great for freezer meals (if you don't want to eat turkey all week.)

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!! Enjoy your leftovers!

Cooking classes

I've started taking some cooking classes from our community association, and I thought I'd share a couple photos of the things we've made so far. (I'm going to check with the chef before I post his recipes on here, just to make sure he's okay with it.)

The first thing we made was a chicken breast stuffed with a mixture of onion, figs, and spinach. Then we baked it in a tomato cream sauce that had some garlic and ginger as well. It was delicious! I tried it at home a week later, and it turned out really well. I don't think it was a huge hit with my husband (and I didn't even attempt to feed it to the kids... I gave them an un-stuffed chicken breast with some of the sauce on it) but it was nice to try something new.

Last week we made soups... nothing difficult, just some nice fall flavours (carrot ginger and potato leek) and we swirled them in the bowl together with a homemade crouton in the middle. The soups were delicious though, and I'll definitely make them again.

And here's one more recipe for you. It's not from cooking class, just my standard chili recipe, but I used chicken breasts instead of ground beef. The kids hated it (they are opposed to things such as beans, mushrooms, and tomatoes, so it was bound to be disgusting in their eyes. I thought it was awesome, though.)

CHICKEN CHILI

2 chicken breasts, cut into small pieces

1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 can mushrooms, drained

2 large cans diced tomatoes (I didn't drain them, but I probably should have)

1 onion, diced

Any combination or all of the following: spinach leaves, broccoli, bell peppers, frozen corn

2 tbsp. chili powder

2 garlic cloves, minced

salt & pepper

Throw it all in the crockpot and cook on low for 8 hours. Serve with tortilla chips, sour cream, and grated cheddar cheese.

Tonight I'm making my standard Super Awesome Roast Beef, but I didn't have any Coke, so I'm using white wine instead. I'm also cooking the roast from frozen, since it just dawned on me at 10:30am that I had nothing planned for supper tonight, and no time to cook anything. I hope it turns out, or I just wasted a whole roast and a whole cup of white wine!

Busy busy!

I was a busy girl today... school starts soon (ugh!) and I wanted to get some freezer meals ready, plus I also was inspired by what my sister made last night, so I have two recipes to share with you today.

This hamburger roll was the highlight of my culinary experience at Camp Wabimasquah back when I was a kid. I'm hoping the kids will like it for lunches, because I made a double batch and froze them, so they better eat it!

HAMBURGER ROLL
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 onion, diced
1 pkg. active dry yeast
3 tsp. sugar, divided
2 1/4 c. warm water
2 tsp. salt
5 c. flour
grated cheese
pizza sauce (optional)

Brown beef and onion. Sprinkle with seasonings if you like. Dissolve yeast and 1 tsp. sugar in 1/4 c. water. Let stand for 10 minutes, then add salt, remaining sugar and water. Add flour and combine until dough is soft. Knead for about 6-8 minutes. Place in greased bowl, turning once to coat dough. Cover and let rise in the oven with the light on for about 1 hour. Punch dough down and roll out into large rectangle. Spread with tomato sauce (if using), hamburger mixture, and sprinkle with cheese. Roll up and cut into two loaves. Place in 9x13" greased pan, cover, and place back in the oven with the light on for about an hour. Uncover and bake at 350 F for 30 minutes. Slice and serve.

This is an easily adaptable recipe... try ground chicken with some swiss cheese and bits of bacon for a "Chicken Cordon Bleu" roll, or use the pizza sauce and put your favourite pizza toppings instead of ground beef. There are lots of possibilities!

Once that was finished, I moved onto tonight's supper menu. My sister heard about my Peach, Bacon & Chicken Skewers and decided to toss some fresh nectarines onto her pork tenderloin while it was cooking. So I copied her and modified my Cuban Rum Pork recipe and came up with this:

PEACHY PORK TENDERLOIN

1 pork tenderloin

1 tbsp. brown sugar

1 tbsp. Cuban Seasoning

1-2 tsp. lime juice

1/2 peach, diced

drizzle of olive oil

Mix together the brown sugar, Cuban Seasoning, and lime juice and rub it onto the pork in a baking dish. Sprinkle with diced peaches and drizzle with olive oil. Bake at 375 F for about 45 minutes to an hour.

This was so good, and so simple to make. I'm sure it took me less than 5 minutes of prep time. We ate it with some baked potatoes, and by golly, both my kids ate all their supper tonight! There wasn't even any bribing or whining going on at the table. It was a joyous occasion, which we celebrated with some mint chip ice cream.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to try ceviche tacos, after seeing this recipe at Simply Recipes. I don't expect we'll be celebrating with ice cream after that meal, but it looks like an awesome recipe, so it's worth the impending battle with the children.

Homemade Pizza Pops

This is a no-brainer, but it could be used for a variety of other recipes so I'll share it anyway.

HOMEMADE PIZZA POPS
1 c. flour
2 1/4 tsp. instant yeast
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 c. water
1/3 c. butter
1 egg
1/2 c. flour
1/2 small can of pizza sauce
pizza toppings, diced (I used about 12-15 slices of assorted deli meat, but you could use whatever you like)
1 c. mozzarella cheese, grated (next time I'll splurge and buy it already grated. The skin on my knuckle is worth the extra couple dollars!)

Combine the first 3 ingredients. Heat water and butter until butter has melted and liquid is hot to the touch. Add to the flour mixture and mix well. Stir in egg, and then stir in the remaining flour to form a soft dough. Let it rise for about 30 minutes, then roll it out and use a glass to cut out 16 circles. Put some pizza sauce, toppings, and cheese on one circle, then lay another one on top and pinch the edges together. Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
This made a really nice dough. I had to stretch each one a little bit to fit the toppings in, but it wasn't too complicated. I think these would be handy for a variety of other fillings:

-scrambled eggs, bacon, and some grated cheese
-leftover chili, stew, chicken, etc.
-taco meat with some diced tomato and cheese
-mini meatballs
-pie filling

I'm not sure how well these would reheat if you froze them, but you could always try! It'd be handy to have some in the freezer for quick lunches/snacks.

I am an idiot

I phoned my friend Shelley for her awesome Sticky Chicken recipe. It's so simple, but I always forget which measurement goes with which ingredient. Here's her recipe:

STICKY CHICKEN
1 c. ketchup
6 tbsp. soy sauce
6 tbsp. maple syrup

So I get off the phone with her, I have the recipe written down, and I decide I'll make a half-batch. I bought a tray of two fryer chickens, and wanted to put one in a freezer bag with the marinade, and use the other chicken for some yet-to-be-decided recipe tomorrow night. (My friend always does hers with boneless skinless chicken thighs, and bakes them on a tinfoil-covered baking sheet. They are to die for!) So I dump in 1/2 c. maple syrup and 3 tbsp. soy sauce..... and then I realize my mistake.

Thanks to Mrs. Harlton's highschool Algebra classes, this should be no problem.... except that my new proportions require 2 3/4 c. ketchup, and I'm a little short. Luckily, I found some maple-flavoured bbq sauce, so I used some of that as well.

I won't bother giving you my enlarged recipe, since I find that the original recipe is plenty big enough (and if you paid attention in Algebra class as well, you should be able to figure it out on your own anyway!) I ended up putting one chicken in the freezer with 1/2 the sauce, and the other chicken is marinating in the fridge until I cook it tomorrow night.

The moral of the story is: Pay attention in math class, because you actually will use that stuff in real life! Thanks Mrs. Harlton. (Update: Here are the pictures from tonight's supper. The kids loved it - as usual. I served it with roasted veggies, but I think rice would be best with this chicken so you can use more of the yummy sauce!)

The best baby present = Butter Chicken

I am a firm believer that new parents (whether it's their first or fifth baby) do not need toys and clothes and hooded towels and all the baby gear out there. What they need is TIME - to spend with their new family, or to spend on themselves. (Come on, all you moms out there, remember how amazing it is to get an uninterrupted shower while you're on maternity leave? Pure heaven!)

So now when we have friends with a new baby, I like to bring them a meal (or two) to save them the hassle of cooking supper for at least one day. A full freezer = a happy mom.

Tonight I'm making Butter Chicken for one family. I've tried more complicated recipes, and I've tried the jars from Superstore (which are pretty darn good!) but this is my husband's favourite recipe, so I'll stick with it from now on:

BUTTER CHICKEN

4 tbsp. milk + 1 tbsp. lemon juice (let it sit for 5 minutes to thicken)
1 can tomato paste
2 tbsp. Curry Powder
2 tsp. ginger (or mince up some fresh ginger root)
salt, to taste
3-4 chicken breasts, cubed (tonight I'm going to use boneless/skinless chicken thighs instead)
1 onion, sliced
1 c. cream

Mix first 5 ingredients together and marinate chicken for about 30 minutes. Sauté onions in butter until soft, then add chicken and sauce mixture. Cook for 15 minutes, then add cream and heat for another 5 minutes. Serve over basmati rice or naan bread.

Here's a recipe I made for another family that recently had twins:

CREAMY CHICKEN & BLACK BEAN ENCHILADAS WITH MEXICAN RICE (from this website) Enchilada Filling:
2 tsp. Cuban, Fajita, and/or Pueblo Bean Seasoning
4 chopped green onions, green parts reserved
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
1 can of black beans, drained & rinsed

Enchilada Sauce:
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (4 ounce) can diced green chilies
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 c. salsa
2 tsp. Cuban, Fajita, and/or Pueblo Bean Seasoning
1/3 c. sour cream

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
10 tortillas

Rice:
Melt 2 tbsp. butter in a pot. Add 1/2 c. bell pepper strips (I used frozen ones.) When they soften up, stir in:
3/4 c. long grain rice
3 green onions, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tsp. Cuban Seasoning

Let the rice brown for about 5 minutes (stirring constantly). Add 2c. water + 2 tbsp. Chicken or Vegetable Bouillon. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 12-15 minutes.

Sauté chicken over medium-high heat. Sprinkle with seasonings. Add garlic and green onions, and sauté for a couple more minutes. Add black beans and remove from heat. In a medium bowl combine all the sauce ingredients. Add 1/2 c. of this mixture to the chicken and beans and stir to combine. Fill each tortilla with some chicken mixture and roll up. Place seamside down in the baking dish. Spoon the reserved sauce over the rolled tortillas and top with shredded cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 F for 30 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly. Top with reserved chopped green onions, and more sour cream and salsa if you like. Serve with rice.
I saved half of the enchiladas and froze them (without any extra sauce on top.) I've also made them with some frozen corn and refriend beans instead of black beans (because my kids picked all the black beans out the first time, so I was sneaky the next time!) They always turn out delicious.

Mexican Tuna Casserole

My family loves tuna casserole. It's embarrassing how much they love it. The can of mushroom soup, the crushed soda crackers on top.... how could anyone resist?

Tonight, however, I'm messing with their favourite recipe. Inspired by Cat Cora's Southwestern Tuna Casserole and Epicure's Tuna Casserole Supreme, I'm hopefully going to create a tuna casserole that my family will go loco for.

Here's my plan:

2 1/2 c. macaroni, cooked
1 avocado, mashed
1 c. sour cream
2 tbsp. Guacamole Dip Mix
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 c. frozen corn
1 can tuna
unsalted tortilla chips
grated cheese
salsa, on the side

Combine the avocado, sour cream, Guacamole dip mix, and lemon juice. Mix in corn and tuna. Stir into cooked pasta and pour into baking dish. Top with tortilla chips and grated cheese. Bake at 350 F for 30 minutes. Serve with salsa.

I'll add a picture later on, but for now, any guesses as to how this will turn out? Does it sound delicious or disgusting? I'm on the fence, but I think if I can make the guacamole smooth enough that the kids won't notice the green chunks in their casserole, we might be able to pull this off.

Edited: We just ate the tuna casserole.... my son didn't like the "red things" (from the Guacamole Dip Mix) but otherwise it was a hit!