Chicken Enchiladas

With Cinco de Mayo upon us, I thought it would be appropriate to give you the recipe for one of my favorite go to Mexican-inspired meals.  It is a great dish if you are cooking for a group.  You can easily get 12 servings out of this dish.  Just add your favorite Mexican side dished and your fiesta is ready and waiting for you.  Don’t forget the tequila!

This picture does not do this dish any justice but just trust me.  You won’t be disappointed!

Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients

One medium onion chopped, 4 tbsp butter, 1/4 cup flour, 2 cups chicken broth, 1 tsp. chicken bouillon, 8 oz. sour cream, one roaster chicken (picked and deboned), 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, 4 oz. can green chilies (drained), 1 tsp chili powder, 8 large flour tortillas

Directions

In a saucepan, saute onion in butter until tender. Stir in flour and add chicken broth and bouillon. Cook and stir until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream.

In large bowl, combine 1 cup cooked sauce, chicken, 1 cup cheese, chilies and chili powder. Mix well.

Fill each tortilla with equal portions of chicken mixture. Roll up and arrange in greased 9 x 13 inch pan. Spoon remaining sauce over tortillas.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes, until bubbly.  Enjoy!

Flower Cupcakes

For Fionna’s 5th Birthday, I made her cupcakes to take into preschool. Now I’m with Sandra Lee and make them semi-homemade. I used a boxed devils food cake mix for the cake and made homemade buttercream icing to top it off. She requested a pink and green color scheme a la Lily Pulitzer. I decided that these colors would lend itself to a flower theme. I put a green icing base layer on top of the cupcake. Then I sliced a large marshmallow into five slices and dipped those slices in pink sanding sugar to make the petals. After forming the slices (now petals) into a flower shape, I piped a dot of icing in the center of the petal formation. It takes a bit of time but it’s easy and makes a lasting impression on any crowd. See for yourself!

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“Surprise” Cookies!

The men folk in my family are way into the peanut butter and chocolate combination.  Don’t get me wrong, I love it too, but not like these guys.  My default favorite dessert flavors are more in the vanilla, strawberry, or apple directions.  But I digress…  Anyway, the last time one of my brothers got a year older, I decided to find a good chocolate and peanut butter cookie recipe to try out.  I found a good one from Martha, who else, and have a made it a few times since, because it’s just that good.  It’s a little extra effort because the “surprise” means that there’s a special filling inside the cookies.  But it’s worth it!  My brother can testify!

Chocolate Peanut Butter “Surprise” Cookies

slightly adapted from Martha

yields about 2 dozen

Ingredients

  • 2 cups AP flour
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp instant coffee or espresso powder
  • 1 stick unsalted butter (room temp)
  • 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter

Method

  1. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, dry coffee, and cocoa.  Set Aside.
  2. Use an electric mixer to cream together butter, shortening, white sugar, and 1 cup of the brown sugar. Mix until fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla extract gradually and mix until light and fluffy.
  3. Add dry ingredients gradually to wet, then mix in the chocolate chips until combined.  Chill dough for at least 1 hour.
  4. Mix together peanut butter and 1/4 cup of brown sugar for filling.
  5. Preheat oven to 350.
  6. Spoon chocolate cookie dough onto parchment lined baking sheets 1 Tbs at a time.  Form dough into little cups and fill the cups with a small amount of the PB filling.  Cover up the cookies with more cookie dough and make sure to seal in the peanut butter so it doesn’t leak out.
  7. Bake for about 12 minutes.  Remove and allow to cool.