Chicken Enchiladas

Whenever we go to a Mexican restaurant, our go-to dish is chicken enchiladas. They are amazingly delicious... But these are better than any recipe we've ever had eating out. They are super cheesy, creamy and pack a lot of robust flavor. And are super easy to make! So, screw paying to go out. We're staying in, drinking some margaritas and making enough chicken enchiladas to feed a small country. Well... that may be an exaggeration... But they do make for delicious left overs, so by all means- double the recipe.

 

Optional margarita on the side. Highly recommended, makes cooking a lot more fun...
To get salt on the rim, pour some in a small bowl, wet the rim of the glass. Spin the glass in the salt and voila!

Had to take a break from chowing down to capture the process!
The guacamole and sour cream on the side is key!

Jalapeno Popper Mac and Cheese

Ingredients

• 4 ounces dry Radiatore or other small, ridged pasta (elbow or shell shapes also work well)
• 1-3 slices Bacon, diced (optional)
• 1/4 cup diced Red Onion
• 1 clove Garlic, minced
• 8 Jalapeno Peppers, seeded and sliced
• 2 Tablespoons Flour
• 1 cup Chicken orVegetable Stock
• 4 ounces Reduced Fat Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded
• 4 ounces Reduced Fat Pepper Jack Cheese, shredded
• 4 ounces 1/3 Less Fat Cream Cheese, cut into cubes
• 1/4 cup Bread Crumbs

Preparation

1. Preheat broiler. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to directions on the package. Drain and set aside.
2. While the pasta cooks, prepare the sauce. Add the bacon, if using, to a wide bottomed pot over medium heat. Cook until crisp — about 7 minutes. Remove the bacon, leaving behind any drippings, and drain on a paper towel.
3. Add the onion and garlic to the bacon grease and cook until softened — about 3 minutes. (If not using bacon, cook the onions and garlic in 1 Tablespoon of olive oil instead.) Add the jalapenos and cook for another 3 minutes. Stir in the flour. Cook for 1 minute, then add the vegetable stock. Simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Slowly stir in the Cheddar and Pepper Jack cheeses, adding a little at a time and letting it melt completely before adding more. Stir in the cream cheese. Mix in the crumbled bacon, if using.
5. Combine the cooked pasta and cheese in a shallow baking dish. Sprinkle a thin layer of bread crumbs over the top. Broil 3-5 minutes, or until bread crumb topping is crispy and golden brown.

Spinach Cream Sauce Ravioli with Baked Chicken and Mozzarella Balls

This is just a basic white cream sauce with spinach and Parmesan cheese added over fresh home made four cheese ravioli. This time we added a side of homemade mozzarella balls (half-ass mozzarella sticks?) and baked chicken!

Ingredients


For the sauce:

- 3 tsp Butter

- 3 tsp Flour

- 1 cup Milk

- 1/2 cup Heavy Cream

- 4.5 oz Spinach

- 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese (approximately)

-Cheese Ravioli (any brand will do, but fresh ravioli is always better!)

-Skinless/Boneless chicken breasts (3 or more if you so choose)

For the Mozzarella Balls:
- fresh mozzarella cheese (the amount is up to you- depends on how many you want!)
- eggs (2-3)
- bread crumbs
- vegetable oil (1 - 2 cups for frying)
- Salt, pepper, oregano

Instructions for the SAUCE

1. Melt butter and slowly add flour over med-low heat.

2. Slowly mix in the milk. Once all milk is added, add Parmesan cheese slowly and continue to stir and heat for approximately 5 minutes.

3. Stir in heavy cream until well mixed.

4. Drain/dewater spinach and add to the cream sauce. Heat until sauce is warm and bubbly!

5. Prepare ravioli, add sauce and presto! We have delicious, cheesy goodness.

Instructions for the Chicken


There really is no one way to prepare the baked chicken. It's all about the spices you like but here is what we did...

1. Preheat oven to 375

2. Put chicken breasts (3-4) in an oven safe pan

3. Add olive oil, salt, pepper, basil (fresh if you have it), oregano and some cayenne pepper for a little kick!

4. Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until chicken is cooked all the way through. To ensure the chicken is cooked properly, cut into the thickest part of the chicken breast and see if it's pink. A little pink is okay, if it looks rubbery at ALL, throw it back into the oven!

Instructions for Mozzarella Balls
This is where cooking gets messy, but in a totally fun way!
First- get out one bowl for the bread crumbs, another bowl for the eggs and a plate for resting the cheese balls on post-dredging and pre-cooking.


1. Using a knife to cut into chunks (or your fingers if you're feeling up to it), separate the fresh mozzarella into little balls of cheese- size is up to you. Mainly- not too big, not too small. 


2. Mix up the eggs in a small bowl, add a pinch of salt, pepper and oregano for some added flavor. Feel free to add more spices if desired- it certainly can't hurt. (i.e. cayenne pepper, garlic salt, etc.)


3. Roll the cheese balls into the egg getting it thoroughly covered, then roll in the bread crumbs, but on the plate and repeat. (I recommend performing this step twice to ensure a thick layer of breading so the mozzarella balls are less likely to come undone while being fried)


4. Preheat the oil in a small pot until it sizzles when you splash water into it. 


5. Slowly place about 6-8 cheese balls in at a time. Cook until golden brown. Have a plate ready with a few napkins on it to soak up the access oil. Doing this makes the breading more crispy.


6. After all the mozzarella balls are cooked and spent at least 5 minutes on a napkin- they are ready to be eaten!! Just pick your favorite dipping sauce and you're good to go!

Italian Baked Chicken Wings and Rice

So, last time I checked, you really can't go wrong with a delicious batch of chicken wings. They're sure to please a crowd or, in this case, make a satisfyingly scrumptious dinner dish! Robust in flavor and smothered in Italian dressing, baked until tender and juicy then poured over a bed of flavorful rice... Yum.
If you're simply looking for wings to bring over to a friends house, or just want a tasty appetizer, ditch the rice! The wings can hold their own.
These guys are super easy to make. Very little headache, preparation and ingredients for a LOT of awesomeness.

So, here's what you're going to need:

- Chicken wings (they usually come in packs of 8 or 16 pre-cut. Here, I used 16-- so, 32 chicken wings and drummies when all was said and done. If you don't want to cut the wing into the two parts, I'm sure you can purchase them already prepared.)

- One bottle of Italian dressing (I usually use Kraft Robust Italian dressing, but any Italian dressing will do!)

- One box of chicken flavored Rice-a-Roni (I usually use the family size- the leftovers are delicious)

- Parmesan cheese

- Oregano, salt, pepper and Cajun seasoning for some spice!

- Some large sized Zip lock baggies to marinade the wings in. Make sure they are the kind that completely close otherwise there will be a huge mess on your hands. (You can also use Tupperware but since it's raw chicken, I prefer to use something I can just throw away afterwards)

Preparing the Chicken Wings:

1. Separate the wings into 3-4 baggies. Fill each bag with an equal amount of Italian dressing. Put enough in each bag so the wings are completely covered. Don't be shy with the dressing, it's what makes the dish so good. And it's all going to end up in the same dish, so you can use all the dressing right off the bat in this step if you'd like.

2. Let the chicken marinade for about 30 minutes.

3. Preheat the oven to 375. Take out two oven safe baking dishes, one usually isn't big enough depending on how many wings you're preparing.

4. Evenly lay the chicken wings on the dishes, then poor all the excess dressing on all of the wings. Try to make it even so each wing has lots of juices to bake in! And if you have any dressing leftover in the bottle, just go ahead and pour the remaining on the wings. It may seem like a lot, but the extra dressing after baking will be used as a sauce for the rice.

5. Add on the parmesan cheese, sprinkling a little bit on each wing.

6. Then add a pinch of salt, pepper, oregano and cayen pepper.

7. Throw 'em in the oven and bake for about 35-40 minutes or until golden brown and cooked throughout. To make sure they are safe to eat, pull the wings out and cut the largest wing to the bone to make sure it's cooked.

*Helpful hint- I like to line my pans with aluminum foil. It makes clean-up WAY easier.

The Rice:

Simply cook the rice according to the directions on the box. Begin cooking the rice about 10 minutes after you put the wings in the oven.

When the rice is done, pile some on a plate, scoop the wings on. And, of course, add the best part!! The extra dressing and juices that have baked in the oven. I like to just use a big spoon and pour healthy amounts of sauce over the bed of rice and chicken.

Voila! You have a delicious dinner that is finger licking good!

P.S. Make sure you have lots of napkins on hand... It's a little messy!