Tastey Tuesday Recipe Exchange---Adios to 2010!

So, what are those few things that you didn't cook up these past few weeks?
If you're like me, there's not a meat, a dairy product, a fruit, a grain or a vegetable that you didn't bread, broil, bake or fry. And then some.
Between the cookies and the dips and the fancy drinks and the huge platters of meats and seafoods and the ginormus bowls of pasta and goopy delicacies.....it's been one cookathon after another.
Followed by eatathon after eatathon.
Just how many pots and pans and dishes can you wash in a 24 hour period?
From where I'm sitting, I'm pretty sure I'm at the head of the pack on that one....

So.....
I guess this means that we are sick and tired of cooking and entertaining and eating and scrubbing pots and doing dishes and cooking and entertaining and eating and scrubbing pots and doing dishes and cooking and entertaining and eating and doing dishes and scrubbing pots?
Right?
Not so fast, my friends. Not so fast.
It ain't over till it's over.
The Holiday Season is still upon us.
Quit bitchin' and get back in the kitchen!!!
It's the final Tastey Tuesday of 2010!
Let's shake it up a little!!!

I'm thinking about going Mexican........how about you?

This first recipe is a keeper! And, it's great for the holidays when you are sick and tired of ham, turkey and sausage. It's easy, it feeds a crowd and it looks pretty (just like all of us!)!

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Ingredients

2 cups cooked chicken, meat only, shredded
10 (8- inch) flour tortillas, warmed
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1 can (10.75 ounces) condensed cream of chicken soup
2 cups sour cream
1 can (4 ounces) roasted green chilies, diced
1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
1 can (2 ounces) sliced black olives
kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 can (15 ounces) enchilada sauce, mild or hot - your choice

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350F. Wrap the flour tortillas in foil and get them warm.

In a large bowl, whisk together the cream of chicken soup with the 2 cups of sour cream. Add the finely chopped onion, diced roasted chilies and the sliced black olives. Fold in the cooked chicken and season this mixture with the kosher salt and black pepper.

In a separate bowl, mix the 2 cheeses together. Add half of the mixed cheeses to the chicken mixture.

Place a half cup of the chicken mixture off center on each flour tortilla. Roll each one up and place it seam side down in a baking dish large enough to hold all 10 enchiladas.

When all the enchiladas are in the baking dish, pour the enchilada sauce over the top, making sure to coat each enchilada. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and bake for about 30 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and the enchiladas are warmed through.

This next one is a seafood nacho platter recipe version that I find easier to make when I have a few other dishes to prepare. It's not as time intensive, it goes together very easy, has a nice wow-factor when it's put on the table and it's damn good!

Seafood Nacho Platter

Layer the following in order on a foil lined cookie sheet pan:
1-Whole wheat tortilla chips
2- One can lump crab meat (picked free of shells)
3-Half pound of cooked shrimp--cooked, tails off
4-One jar or can of mexican cheese dip
5-Half jar of mild and chunky salsa
6-1 can black olives, chopped
7---Sprinkle liberally with Old Bay Seasoning
8-Half bag of shredded mexican cheese (for tacos)

Directions
Once assembled--bake in oven for about 10 minutes at 375--until cheese melts, heated through
Serve with Sour Cream and Limes

Now, here's one, you may not have tried before! It's a nice and hearty soup for any time of the year but it's especially great when it's cold and blustery outside! The friend who shared this with me says it's a traditional Mexican Christmas food. Since I never spent Christmas in Mexico, I can't confirm that! It's a very easy and quick recipe but if you are short on time, you can make it even easier and quicker with a purchased roasted chicken--just shred and skip the chicken cooking directions. Also, you can certainly take the heat up or down a notch by increasing or decreasing the chili powder. The more chili powder you use, the more margaritas you may have to consume! Nothing bad about that.....

Chicken Posole

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 1/2 quarts chicken broth
• 3 cups water
• 1 can ROTEL diced tomatoes with green chiles
  
• 1 teaspoon crumbled dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon cilantro
• 1 tsp cumin powder
  
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 tablespoons chili powder, or to taste (it can get very spicey)
  
• 3 cups white hominy, rinsed and drained
• 10 tostada shells

Directions

1. Heat 2 tablespoons canola oil in a deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts, and cook until no longer pink and juices run clear, about 20 minutes. Remove from skillet, drain, and cool. When completely cooled, shred chicken with a fork.
2. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons canola oil in the same skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir onion and garlic until soft and transparent, about 5 minutes. Return shredded chicken to the skillet. Stir in the chicken broth, water, oregano, salt, and chili powder and other seasonings. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook about 90 minutes. Stir in the hominy and cook until tender, about 15 minutes more. Taste to adjust seasonings, adding more salt and chili powder, if desired. Serve in soup bowls with1 tostada shell per serving. Garnish as desired (I use sour cream, shredded cheese, chopped olives and chopped onions).

As far as I am concerned, a party always needs a martini!!! And, what's the use of going Mexican if you can't have a little tequila! Here's a Mexican Martini that will get the amigos going.....

Ole Martini

1 ounce premium tequila
1 ounce Grand Marnier
1 ounce fresh lime juice
salt

lime wheel

1. Place all ingredients, except salt, into a cocktail shaker half filled with ice.
2. Shake ten times and strain into chilled glass with salted rim and ice, both optional.
3. Garnish with lime wheel.

Until next year's Tastey Tuesday Recipe Exchange.... here's one more for The Road.....

I just couldn't wait to share this recipe with you! They are so damn good and so damn easy. Yes, I saved the best and the easiest for last!!! 4 4

Mexican Sweet Potato Fries

Servings Size

1 pound bag of frozen sweet potato fries--defrosted
1 large egg white
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
2. In large bowl whisk together egg and spices until frothy. Add potatoes; toss to coat well.
3. Place on nonstick baking sheet in single layer.
4. Bake until golden brown and crisp. About 20 minutes stirring once during baking.

Serve these with Ranch dressing for dipping...fantastico!!!



Feliz cocina!