Enchiladas...oy!

 

As I have mentioned before, I am a member of "The Fresh 20". It is a family meal plan planner that you can get online. I purchased mine because Groupon had it for $20, and I thought what can I loose? Nothing! =o)
I actually don't use it all the time, but there are some good recipes on it. I pick and choose which ones I want, so I don't really follow the meals planned. =o) But they do have some appetizing things and it is nice that that make the shopping list, prep work, and any make ahead directions. 

So moving on to the delicious enchiladas. 

I have NEVER made enchiladas before, but these looked REALLY yummy. I love trying to use dark leafy greens in anything since a lot of the time, they are looked over. I thought that this was a great idea to incorporate more veggies in with usually meat heavy enchiladas. =o)

Recipe adapted from : TheFresh20

INGREDIENTS

For chicken corn & kale enchiladas

Splash of olive oil

6 cups kale leaves, about 4 handfuls roughly chopped with stems removed 1 cup frozen organic corn

¼ cup (4 oz) organic, no salt added tomato paste

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 garlic clove, minced or pressed

½ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper 3 Tablespoons olive oil

¼ cup white whole wheat flour

2 Tablespoons mild chili powder (or ground New Mexico chili powder of your choice)

3 ½ cups low sodium chicken broth, warmed

3 cups shredded chicken * I just bought a rotisserie chicken from the super market.

1 ½ cups loosely packed,  Mexican blend shredded, ½ cup reserved for top, about 5 ounces

12 - 6” organic corn tortillas

¼ bunch fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
4 Tablespoons plain Greek yogurt

For black beans

1 -14.5 ounce can organic, no salt added black beans

Pinch of dried cumin

Pinch of salt & black pepper

 

This meal can be made 2-3 days ahead and refrigerated until dinner night. Serving size is two enchiladas per person; you will have 4 enchiladas left over. Try to resist eating them!

DIRECTIONS

For chicken corn & kale enchiladas

1.        Heat a large, nonstick sauté pan over medium heat and add in oil.

Once the oil is hot add the kale and corn. Cook until kale is wilted and most of the moisture has cooked out, about 4 – 6 minutes.

2.       Remove the kale and corn from the pan and set aside on a plate lined with paper towels to absorb any remaining moisture.

Meanwhile

1.       Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2.       Lightly oil 9x13 inch baking dish and set aside.

3.       In a small bowl, mix tomato paste, cumin, oregano, garlic and salt & pepper – stir to combine and set aside.

4.       Heat a large, nonstick sauté pan over medium heat. Add in oil, flour, and chili powder; stir to combine until it becomes a thick paste. Add in tomato paste mixture and stir to combine.

5.       Slowly add in hot broth while whisking to dissolve the flour mixture.

Continue whisking while adding in all the broth.

6.       Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.

7.       In a medium bowl, combine chicken, cooked kale & corn, 1 cup of cheese, and 1 cup of sauce.

8.       Stack tortillas and wrap in damp paper towels or a clean dish towel; microwave on high for 2 minutes.

9.       Spoon 1 cup of enchilada sauce on the bottom of the prepared baking dish.

10.    Fill each tortilla with a heaping 1/4 cup of filling; roll up tightly and

arrange, seam side down, in prepared baking dish.

11.    Pour remaining sauce over the top of the enchiladas and sprinkle

with remaining ½ cup of cheese.

12.    Cover with foil and place into the preheated oven for 10 minutes.

Remove the foil and bake uncovered for 5 additional minutes to melt the cheese. Serve 2 enchiladas per person. Garnish with fresh cilantro and a dollop of  Greek yogurt.

For black beans

1.     In a small saucepot warm beans with liquid and seasoning.  Simmer for 5 minutes and serve warm.

Chocolate pancakes!

My little Lexi has been quite the chocolate monster. Pretty much anything that has chocolate in it, she will gobble up in seconds! So I really try to make anything and everything look like it's chocolate! =o)
So to change up breakfast on the weekends, I usually make pancakes, waffles, omelets, or anything that we are in the mood for.
I love chocolate chips and sprinkles (so does EVERYONE I hope.. =o)), so these pancakes were perfect for a nice Sunday morning.
The pancakes, as I hope you predicted, went over VERY well with Lexi.




To make life a little easier, I usually keep a bag of my own pancake mix on hand.
I chose my favorite pancake recipe and I just added in all the dry ingredients to a bag.
As you can see mine has:
1) 4 Cups of flour [I sometimes mix it up and use white whole wheat flour or a 50/50 mix of all purpose and whole wheat.]
2) 4 tsp baking powder
3) 2 tsp salt

I usually only use 1 cup of the mix at a time since it gives us plenty (2 adults and 1 toddler) of pancakes.

For each 1 cup of mix I use:
1) 1 egg beaten
2) 1 cup of milk
3) 1 tbsp vegetable oil

 For the chocolate chip sprinkle pancakes I also added in:
4) 1/4 cup of dark unsweetened cocoa powder
5) 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
6) 1 tbsp Chocolate Chips for EACH pancake
7) 1 tsp rainbow sprinkles for EACH pancake

Directions:
1) Mix in the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients (including the cocoa powder and the vanilla!) until JUST barely combined.
[***You really don't want to over mix pancake batter because the pancake gets too tough.]
2) Heat a griddle pan (frying pan) while the better is resting.
3) When the pan is hot, start adding 1/4 cup of batter to the pan.
4) Sprinkle chocolate chips and sprinkles on the pancakes.
5) Flip each pancake when bubbles start to form at the top.
6) Cook until pancakes are done
7) Put pancakes in a warmed toaster oven (lowest heat setting possible) to keep pancakes warm.
8) Repeat until batter is finished.

Change this week

Hi Everyone!

Sorry about not posting on Friday! It was super busy!! =o)

But since this weekend is my sister-in-laws bridal shower, I will not be posting on Friday either.

Also, today has beena bit hectic, so I will be changing the schedule a little this week.
I will be posting on Tuesday and Thursday instead, just for this week.

Most likely they will both be recipes, since I haven't had time to do any crafting... :(....

But if you guys have any requests, please let me know!

-Mindie

Funfetti and Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

 As I said on Monday, I made funfetti and mint chocolate chip cupcakes for Lexi's birthday party. I actually only used 4 of the chocolate cupcake part for the Elmo cake, but with the rest I made into the mint chocolate chip cupcakes. (Which BTW were totally AWESOME! Thank goodness I had one before they were all gone! =o)


Since Lexi is a sprinkle MONSTER as well as a chocolate monster, I wanted to try and get both. I already found the chocolate cupcake recipe, so it was time to find the sprinkles one. Funfetti cupcakes were the perfect idea! =o) I really don't like using boxed cake mix so I wanted to find a way to make them.I figured that they would just be a vanilla cupcake with sprinkles mixed in with them. I was right! =o)

I found this interesting recipe that used yogurt, so I gave it a try. They were good, but I think next time I am going to try and find a regular vanilla cupcake recipe. I felt that the cupcakes were a little dry, but maybe I kept them in the oven just a tad too long. Not sure, but I will be trying that recipe again.
Overall both cupcake went over REALLY well with everyone, adults, children, and dogs alike. =o) So I would call these recipes a success.

Just a note, I linked the original recipes since I did change them a little. As I have mentioned in previous postings, I like to cut the sugar a little. These cupcakes had frosting on them so I figured that no one would notice. =o)




Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
Recipe Adapted from:Sally's Baking Addiction

Makes 16 cupcakes. Cupcakes taste best the day of or 1 day after they are made. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Ingredients

Chocolate Cupcakes
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 and 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Mint Chocolate Chip Frosting
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 3-4 cups powdered (confectioners') sugar
• 2 Tablespoons heavy cream (see note below about substitutions)
• 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract (or more, see recipe instructions)
• 4 drops green food dye
• pinch of salt, as needed
• 1 cup mini chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Make the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 375F degrees. Line 16 muffin cups with liners.
2. Over high heat, bowl the water in a small saucepan. Pour the unsweetened cocoa powder into a medium sized bowl and mix with boiling water until smooth. Allow to cool to room temperature by placing in the refrigerator as you prepare the other ingredients.
3. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium sized bowl. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, using an electric hand or stand mixer, cream the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla extract. Slowly add the flour mixture and beat only until just combined. In a steady stream, add the cooled cocoa mixture and stir until smooth.
5. Fill each muffin tin 3/4 of the way full with batter. Bake for 16-19 minutes, keeping an eye on them to avoid even the slightest burning (which will lend dry cupcakes). My cupcakes took 17 minutes and a toothpick inserted in the middle came out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool before frosting.
6. Make the frosting: beat softened butter on medium speed with an electric mixer. Beat for about 30-60 seconds until smooth and creamy. Add 3 cups of powdered sugar, cream, peppermint extract, and food coloring. Increase to high speed and beat for 3 minutes. Add more powdered sugar if frosting is too thin (up to 4 cups) or more cream if mixture is too thick. Add salt if the frosting is too sweet. You may also add more food coloring if desired or more peppermint extract if it is not minty enough. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand.
7. Frost cooled cupcakes. There may be leftover frosting depending how much you use on each cupcake.

Notes

*replacing the heavy cream in the frosting with milk or half-and-half will result in a less creamy consistency.

Homemade Funfetti Cupcakes:

Recipe Adapted from: Sally's Baking Addiction

makes 12 cupcakes or 24 mini cupcakes

Ingredients

• 1 and 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup yogurt (plain or vanilla; or greek yogurt; or sour cream)
• 1/2 cup milk (Skim cow's milk)
• 1/4 cup whole milk 
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup sprinkles (I used the kind you put on ice cream, not the round ones)
Vanilla Buttercream
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 3-4 cups powdered (confectioners') sugar
• 1/4 cup heavy cream (see note above about substituting milk or half-and-half)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• salt, to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt butter in the microwave. Stir in sugar - mixture will be gritty. Chill in the refrigerator for 1 minute. Stir in egg, yogurt, milk, and vanilla extract until combined. Slowly mix in dry ingredients until no lumps remain. Batter will be thick. Slowly stir in sprinkles, but do not overmix because the sprinkles will bleed their color.
3. Divide batter among 12 cupcake liners (or 24 mini) and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Bake for 8-9 minutes if making mini cupcakes. Allow to cool.
4. To make the frosting, beat softened butter on medium speed with an electric or stand mixer. Beat for about 3 minutes until smooth and creamy. Add powdered sugar, cream, and vanilla extract with the mixer running. Increase to high speed and beat for 3 minutes. Add more powdered sugar if frosting is too thin or more cream if mixture is too thick. Add salt if frosting is too sweet (1/4 teaspoon). Frost cooled cupcakes and top with sprinkles. There may be leftover frosting depending how much you use on each cupcake.
5. Store cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days.