Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

I grew up on my tias' green chile chicken enchilada casserole, but I never bothered to ask how they made it; I mean, why learn how to cook it when they'll make it for you? Actually, that's not true. I think I did ask—several times—but their recipe included "some" of this, "a little" of that, followed by a dash, a pinch, and a sprinkling of "those." They all swore it was "really easy to make," which is why they didn't have an actual recipe.

I'm the type of person who needs clear-cut directions. Spell it out for me in detail so I can check, double check, and then have someone else make sure I got it all right, otherwise you'll end up with salt cookies instead of sugar cookies. So a few weeks before I moved from New Mexico to Georgia, my mom and I practiced making green chile chicken enchiladas. It turns out making the casserole really is pretty freaking easy.

I've been making this now for more than two years and I'm proud to say I don't use a recipe for it anymore, which is why it's probably taken me so long to share this with you. I have the basics down, but sometimes I'll throw in a little something extra (it's great with an additional 1 cup of sauteed mushrooms) or play around with ingredients (sometimes I use whatever cheese I have on hand, and I love using leftover Thanksgiving turkey in place of the chicken). The recipe also works great cut in half, which is something I like to do when it's just me at home.

Like most casseroles, this tastes better after it's been out of the oven for a few hours and even better the next day. All the flavors have time to sit, mingle, and get to know each other, resulting in a party in your mouth later. If you do make it ahead of time, just pop it back into the oven for a bit to warm it back up. Serve with Spanish rice, calabacitas (coming this week!), and homemade tortillas!

Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

by The Tale of Two Kitchens

Ingredients:
1 pound chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
2 (10 oz) cans cream of mushroom soup
1 batch green chile sauce (or 1-2 cups green chile, pealed and chopped)
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic
8 corn tortillas, quartered
1/4 cup your favorite salsa
12 oz shredded cheese (cheddar or Colby/Monterrey Jack blend)
1/2 onion, chopped (optional, but only if you absolutely, positively HATE onions)

Directions: 
Preheat oven to 350F (180c). Lightly spray a 9x13 casserole dish with non-stick spray.

In a medium-sized pot on medium-high heat, combine soup, chile, and (cooked) chicken. Add ground pepper, cumin and garlic; mix to combine. Once the mixture starts to boil thickly, take off heat, stir, and set aside.

Submerge quartered tortilla pieces in salsa one at a time and place along the bottom of the casserole dish so the whole thing is covered (it takes around three and a half whole tortillas per layer—it's okay if there are some spaces or if they lay on top of each other). Spread half of chicken mixture over tortillas. Sprinkle half the onions over chicken mixture, then add around a 1/4 of the cheese over the onions. Repeat layers with remaining ingredients ending with the cheese.

Bake, covered with foil, for 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking for an additional 15 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly. Let cool, slice, and serve! (It's often not very set when we eat it straight out of the oven, but it still tastes great and will firm up for leftovers!)

Fish "Tacos"

My husband and I have been on the South Beach diet for about 2 weeks now. The first 2 weeks eliminates all grains and fruit, needless to says it's been hard. Also the food has become rather monotonous. Most dinner's consist of a protein and a mound of veggies. Not that it's tasted bad but it's BORING. Which is where these fabulous fish "tacos" come into to play. I certainly can't have tortillas (corn or flour) so I substituted the tortilla with lettuce. I wasn't too optimistic about this but I couldn't stand one more night of grilled fish and a mound of green beans. To my surprise they turned out amazing! I would eat these even if I could eat carbs. SO GOOD! Give these messy (you'll need a few napkins) "tacos" a chance. You'll be a believer.

Fish "Tacos"

Ingredients:
5-8 Fillets white flaky fish (I used Dover)
Cilantro- 1/2 a bunch roughly chopped
Garlic- 2 Tbsp
Onion Powder- enough to season each fillet
Seasoned Salt- To taste
Tequila- 4 Tbsp
Lime juice (2-3 small limes)
Sugar 1 tsp or substitute (I used 1 pkg Truvia)
Olive Oil- Start with a 1/4 cup + more for fish
Diced Tomatoes- 1 15 oz can rinsed and drained
Black Beans- 1 15 oz can rinsed and drained

Directions:
Season each fillet with Olive oil, Onion powder, Seasoned salt, and lime juice. Grill or pan sear each fillet. Set aside. In a small bowl whisk together the juice of two limes, tequila, garlic, 1/2 of chopped cilantro, olive oil and sugar (add more oil and sugar to taste). Set aside. Add 1/4 cup of the vinegarette to a pan over medium heat. Once heated through add rinsed tomatoes and black beans. Once cooked through add another 1/4 cup of vinegarette and flake the fish into the pan. Cook for 5 minutes or until heated through. Spoon the mixture into rinsed romaine leaves and top with reserved cilantro. Enjoy!

Tequila Lime Pork Tenderloin

It's too hot to be heating up the house with a roast or a casserole. Today was a grilling kind of day. Scratch that, this week was a grilling week. Today's grill item- Pork Tenderloin. I was stumped when I pulled it out of the fridge. I've done pork the same way too many times. I didn't want to be boring. So today I made grown up pork, with tequila and lime. So good and so SIMPLE!

Tequila Lime Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients:
Pork Tenderloin- (or 2)
Cilantro- 1 bunch chopped
Lime- Juice 1/4 cup (I used key lime, it has a sweeter quality)
Salt and Pepper- To taste
Garlic- 3 cloves minced
Tequila- 1/4 cup
Olive Oil- Drizzle
Directions: Place pork tenderloin in a dish or ziplock bag. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Mince garlic and rub into both sides of the meat. Drizzle with olive oil, tequila, and lime juice. Cover with cilantro. Place in refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Grill on high rotating so all sides are brown, basting with leftover marinade. Cook until meat is at 140 degrees, or until just slightly pink. Take off heat and let rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing.