Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Chicken Enchiladas, Refried Beans, and "Chiplote" Rice

I think we can call this meal Mexican Monday Gringo Style but it's still delicioso. If any of you have a long lost Mexican grandma she'd be mortified so please don't tell her...

Chicken Enchiladas:
4 chicken breasts (kelly I guess you could use tofu or drywall or something)
1/2 onion diced
2 cloves garlic minced
1 bottle of your favorite salsa (we use Pace Medium but whatever)
2 cups cheese (we usually use Sargento 4 Cheese Mexican Blend because it feels more authentic that way)
1 package flour tortillas

Cook the chicken however you like until done (we usually season with S&P or taco seasoning and throw it in the oven) and then let cool and dice it up.
Saute onion for a few minutes until soft and then add garlic and saute for another minute.
Add chicken and 1/2 cup of salsa and cook until most of the liquid is gone.
Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup of cheese.
Spoon evently into about 8 tortillas (sometimes I only get 7) and place seam side down in a baking dish.
Cover with remaining salsa and cheese and cover with foil.
Bake at 375 for 20 mins until cheese is nice and melty.

Ellie's Refried Beans: (pretty sure this was from some chick on the food network)
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 onion diced (see how nicely this works out if you make the enchiladas too?!)
2 cloves garlic minced
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 - 15oz can of pinto beans (drained and rinsed)
2/3 cups of chicken broth
fresh cilantro as a garnish if you want to get fancy

Saute onion for a few minutes until soft and then add garlic and saute for another minute (sound familiar?)
Add chili powder and saute for another minute
Add beans and saute for another minute
Add chicken stock and a little salt and pepper
Simmer for as long as you like (5+ mins at least) and then mash the hell out of 'em with the back of a spoon/spatula/etc.
These beans will hold for hours if needed, just add a little more chicken stock if they get dried out, no biggie.

"Chipotle" Rice
Have you ever watched them make the rice at Chipotle? I love that rice and it turns out there's a reason. Like everything else worth eating they add a little sugar! Bet your abuela (look it up) never thought of that one!

1 cup rice
1 and 3/4 cups water
pince of salt and a little butter/oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 of a lime (juiced)
1 tablespoon cilantro minced

Make the rice as you normally would. When the rice is done remove from the heat and stir in remaining ingredients and tell me it doesn't taste just like Chipotle's.

3 comments:

  1. I have been making an acceptable version of the lime rice, but it never tastes quite right. I'm so glad you posted this with the sugar "hint." Can't wait to try it...maybe for cinco day mayo.

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  2. We had enchiladas on Mexican Monday for dinner too! No chicken in ours though. I'm thinking we'll probably try the refried beans and rice on Cinco de Mayo too. Possibly on a Mexican pizza. Yum!

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  3. Basically tried this tonite. To cook the chicken I boiled it in water with salt, pepper, chili powder and garlic powder and probably a little olive oil. I shredded the chicken with two forks then. I then used my left over boiled chicken water as stock foe the retried beans. I love those retried beans! I also used the tortilla factory corn/flour tortillas which worked better than corn tortillas I've tried in the past. My rice was not a total success, but I'm sure that was due to user error.

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