Category Archives: What’s 4 Dinner Solutions
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Friday Recipe Exchange: Enchiladas
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Quick note: I’ve been playing with the layout of the blog, so it may change several more times over the weekend. Please standby.
JeffreyW has been teasing with some impressive looking South of the Border treats lately, so I thought it would be a good night to focus on them. The featured recipe is an enchilada pie. It is kid friendly and a breeze to put together. Perfect for an easy weeknight dinner.
JeffreyW makes a similar dish, called Enchiladas Montadas (recipe here), which is pictured above.
Also from JeffreyW, a quick and easy Chicken Enchiladas (click here), including his terrific photos.
From frequent visitor, Joshua De Mers (you may know his as Yutsano), his Pork Enchiladas (recipe here).
All of that should give you an idea how to create your own enchilada to satisfy your tastes. Hit the comments and share some of your favorite enchilada, nacho, burrito or other favorites. And if you need more inspiration, click here for a complete photo gallery of JeffreyW’s enchilada creations.
Finally, tonight’s featured recipe:
Enchilada Pie
- 1 pound ground beef
- ½ large onion, chopped
- salt & pepper to taste
- ¼ teaspoon oregano
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- 20 oz. enchilada sauce
- 8 oz. tomato sauce
- 10 corn tortillas
- 8 oz cheddar cheese, grated
skillet & 8×8 glass baking dish, lightly oiled
Add beef and onion to skillet and cook until beef is browned and onions are translucent. Add spices and sauces; let simmer while you prep tortillas. Tear tortillas into strips and use some to cover the bottom of a well-oiled casserole dish. Layer a portion of the beef mixture and cheese on top, then repeat (tortillas, beef, cheese) to fill up casserole; finish with layer of cheese. Bake 30 minutes at 350°
Friday Recipe Exchange: Chicken Piccata
I think because winter moved back into the neighborhood (seriously, Tuesday’s forecast was for honest to goodness ‘ice pellets’, can ‘raining frogs’ be far behind?) I am finding myself in a berry and citrus mood. I bought 3 lbs of strawberries over the weekend and they are gone. I stocked up on oranges yesterday and I’ll have to do it again by the weekend.
I was going to do a sirloin roast tonight. I had made a really nice one last week, but didn’t get around to photographing it, so I was going repeat it yesterday. But when it came down to it, I just didn’t feel like roast. Instead I grabbed a bunch of lemons and some chicken breasts and decided on Chicken Piccata, tonight’s featured recipe. I like the tangy sauce with the crispy, moist chicken and the herb noodles are a nice side to accompany it.
If spring ever arrives, what do you look forward to most in the produce aisle? Do you crave certain foods by season? Hit the comments and complain about the weather and share your favorite spring foods.
Of course, once I found my recipe, I went hunting to see what JeffreyW might have in the way of lemons and chicken and found a Chicken with Lemon Curd, that sounded yummy. You can see it here, along with a nice slideshow of the prep and final dish.
Now, tonight’s recipe:
Chicken Piccata with Herb Noodles:
Chicken Piccata
- 1 cup Italian breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp basil, crushed
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 1/8 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp crushed garlic
- ½ tbsp olive oil
- 4 boneless chicken breasts, pounded flat
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lemon, sliced into very thin slices*
- ½ cup water
- 2 tbsp fresh snipped parsley
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
bowl, skillet
Combine breadcrumbs, basil, zest, and pepper in bowl. Mix ½ tbsp oil and garlic together. Coat both sides of chicken with oil/garlic and dredge in breadcrumbs. Over medium-high heat 1 tbsp ea. of butter and oil in skillet, add chicken and cook 4-5 minutes on each side. Remove chicken – keep warm – add lemon slices to pan, sauté 30 seconds, add water, parsley and juice, boil for 1 minute, spoon over chicken.
*Scrub well before slicing.
Herb Noodles
- 12 oz egg noodles
- 2 tbsp butter
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- ½ tsp basil, crushed
- ½ tsp oregano, crushed
- ½ tsp rosemary, finely crushed
- ¼ tsp crushed garlic
- Sesame seeds, opt
saucepan, serving dish
Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain well. Melt butter in saucepan, add spices, mixing well. Toss with noodles. For an extra touch you can add 1 tbsp of sesame seeds.
Friday Recipe Exchange: Blood Oranges
Tonight’s recipe exchange is going to be a quick one. It’s been a stressful week – the little company I work with is downsizing (you can read about it here) and I’m busy helping them restructure. The weekend cannot come soon enough. Time to get out and ride and maybe do some gardening.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, it’s Blood Orange season and I thought I’d take advantage. I know we just did oranges, but that’s actually one of the reasons for tonight’s theme. I received an email question about using blood oranges instead of Clementine’s in the Orange Bread recipe. That reminded me to go looking for blood oranges. Usually I have a difficult time finding them, but a new Sprouts Market opened in my neighborhood and they have a great fresh produce section where I’ve been able to find all kinds of fun stuff. Including some beautiful and flavorful blood oranges.
If you haven’t ever had them, they are sweeter than navel oranges, a little bit of a raspberry flavor, I guess, to them. A nice mix of sweet and tart flavors. Here’s a bit of an explanation over at Sunkist. Really anything you do with oranges, you can do with blood oranges and get a really pretty display in the process.
So with that, I have three recipes for you and, sorry, no photos, it took all the energy I had left just to put together the recipes.
First up: Blood Orange Salad (click here)
Next: Blood Orange Coleslaw (click here)
What’s going on in your kitchen this weekend? Anything fun? Anyone firing up the grill yet?
And finally tonight’s featured recipe:
Blood Orange Glaze and Salsa
This was originally meant for a firm white fish, but it works well with chicken, salmon and pork. So I thought I’d give you the basics and you can experiment with how you use them.
If you can’t find blood oranges, you can substitute ruby red grapefruit, or use all navel oranges, maybe add some raspberries for a nice flavor.
Blood Orange Glaze
- 1/2 cup blood orange juice
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tsp orange zest
- pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
- salt & pepper to taste
Warm honey and orange juice until the honey is completely melted. Stir in zest, pepper flakes, salt & pepper. Broil (set rack at second level from the top) or grill fish fillets, pounded chicken breasts or boneless pork chops, basting with the sauce and turning frequently until cooked through and glaze is carmelized. Top with salsa (recipe below).
Blood Orange Salsa
- 4 blood oranges, peeled, sectioned and chopped
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 1 naval orange, peeled, sectioned & chopped
- 4 green onions, chopped
- 1 small jalapeno, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 tbsp limejuice
- Salt & pepper to taste
large bowl
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and set aside for about 30 minutes.
