Chicken Enchiladas

Chicken Enchiladas! Well, sort of. I made this into more of a Chicken Enchilada Stew. Whoo! Yummy! Who wouldn't like a little cheesy goodness for St. Patty's Day?

I really messed around with this recipe from Eating, Etc. because 1) I was hungry 2) It was already late and I wanted to eat 3) I was hungry and 4) When I'm hungry I'm irritable and cranky.

So, if your looking for an easy, quick Mexican/enchilada recipe, it don't get much easier than this. And really...cheese and sour cream? Sign me up!

New Mexican Chicken Enchiladas adapted from Eating, Etc.

1T olive oil

1lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, chopped in bite-sized pieces

1/4tsp salt

1/4tsp black pepper

1/4tsp cayenne pepper

1T olive oil

1 chopped onion, coarsely chopped

3 green onions, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

1 7oz can chopped green chiles

1 clove fresh minced garlic

1/2tsp salt

1/2tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp oregano

1/4tsp cayenne pepper

1 c sour cream

2-1/2c grated colby cheddar-jack cheese

white corn tortillas

In medium skillet, over medium heat, sauté chicken in olive oil, with salt, black & cayenne peppers.

In a large skillet, over medium heat, sauté onion, green onions, green pepper, green chiles, garlic, salt, black pepper, oregano, & cayenne pepper.

Reduce heat to low and stir in sour cream & the cheese until cheese is melted & well-mixed.

Add chicken and mix well.

In medium skillet coated with olive oil, over medium low heat, warm tortillas on both sides until softened.

Place tortilla in a bowl and top with chicken and cheese mixture.

Green Cupcakes

What better way to celebrate St. Patrick's day than dying your food green? I'm not talking about dying mashed potatoes or corn green. That would be gross. But cupcakes? Sure, dye 'em whatever color you want! I'll still eat um!

Big surprise there.

This will be my third St. Patrick's day in the city and I can tell you now its not my favorite holiday here. It becomes yet another excuse for cra-zay people to go a little crazier. Fun times. Just count me out this time. I'm going to go eat a cupcake! =)

These were very light cupcakes and the frosting was good, without being too sweet! I goofed around decorating with the icing and figured out some new techniques. And I have to say...green sprinkles always make everything a little bit better!



White Cupcakes from Martha Stewart's Cupcake Book
1 3/4 cups sifted all purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup plus 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar
5 large egg whites, room temperature
Green food color

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Sift together cake flour, baking powder and salt. Stir vanilla into milk.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and smooth. Gradually add sugar, beating until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixutre in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk and beating until just combined after each.

In another bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold one third of the egg whites into batter to lighten. Gently fold in remaining whites in two batches. Carefully stir in green food coloring.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Firmly tap the tins once on countertop to release any air bubbles. Bake until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, 18-20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 10 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely.

Fluffy Vanilla Frosting from Martha Stewart's Cupcake Book
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
1 pound (4 cups) confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

With an electric miser, beat butter on medium-high speed until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes.

Reduce speed to medium. Add the confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Frosting should be pale and fluffy. Add vanilla and beat frosting until smooth.

Wedding Sugar Cookies

I helped Spice with these guys all week. We made them for her friend's wedding shower this weekend. 40 of each kind: a ring, wedding cake and wedding dress.

So purty =)

Cookie and Royal Icing Recipe

Chili-Spiced Chicken Soup with Avocado Relish

One of the great things about living in New York is having a lot of young professionals for friends. So many of my friends here in the city are working for great companies, on the road to their dream jobs. I am so proud of all of them, and although they tend to relate their lives to The Devil Wears Prada sometimes, they know they are just paying their dues and slowly making their was to the top of the food chain.

I am so proud of all of them sitting in their offices working their butts off in high heels while I put on my sweatpants and go to dance class.

My friend Lisa works for a major corporation and has quickly made her way up in the office rankings. Of course, I always knew this would happen. She is probably the most dedicated and focused person I know.

One perk of Lisa's job is that she (read: I) get a lot of free stuff. This includes but is not limited to: makeup, magazines, cd's and clothing. Jealous yet?

It gets better. I got an entire subscription to Cooking Light about 6 months ago viciously discounted. So I get to perruse my Cooking Light each month almost free. I've been swimming in delight for months now.

The only point I have is that my recipe today is from the Cooking Light magazine. I just loved this soup. It has a pretty good kick to it and is just perfect to sit on the couch with after a long, tiring day. Lots of vegetables make it a pretty hearty soup.

Chili-Spices Chicken Soup with Avocado Relish adapted from Cooking Light 

Spice Blend:

2 ½ teaspoons chili powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 ½ teaspoons ground coriander

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon cracked black pepper

½ teaspoon kosher salt

Soup:

1 tablespoon canola oil, divided

1 ¼ pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into ½-inch wide strips

2 cups chopped sweet onion

1 chopped red pepper

1 chopped yellow pepper

1 chopped orange pepper

1 cup chopped carrot

1 cup chopped celery

1 tablespoon minced garlic

½ teaspoon salt

1 32-oz carton less-sodium chicken broth

1 28-oz can fire-roasted crushed tomatoes, undrained

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Relish:

½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/3 cup chopped green onions

1 teaspoon grated lime rind

1 diced, peeled avocado

Cilantro sprigs

To prepare spice blend, combine first 6 ingredients in a small bowl.

 To prepare soup, heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick saucepan over medium-high heat. Add chicken; sprinkle 1 ½ tablespoons spice blend over chicken. Sauté 8 minutes or until done; cool. Chop chicken; set aside.

 Heat remaining 1 teaspoon oil in pan over medium-high heat; add onion, bell peppers, garlic and ½ teaspoon salt. Sprinkle vegetable mixture with remaining spice blend; sauté 8 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Stir in chicken, broth and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 15 minutes. Add lime juice.

 To prepare relish, combine chopped cilantro and next 4 ingredients (through avocado).

 Ladle 1 ¼ cups soup into bowls; top with ¼ cup relish. Garnish with cilantro if desired.

Molasses Spice Cookies

Everyone's different tastes for things astound me. These cookies are super soft and almost break apart if you hold one up. I was a little dejected because I like cookies a bit sturdier and chewier. Bananie told me yesterday, however, that they were the best cookies I've made.

"Um. Really?? Are you sure you aren't thinking of that chocolate chip cupcake I made yesterday? Those were pretty good...but the cookies? Meh."

But that's just how Bananie likes her cookies. As soft as they can be! Ok, I'll go with that.

I got in an argument with Spice this weekend about what color her fleece was. I thought it was cherry red and she said it was magenta. Call one of us colorblind.

To each their own, I suppose. I'm not gonna fight about cookies or fleeces. I'll save my fights for who has to unload the dishwasher =)

Molasses Spice Cookies from Cook's Illustrated The New Best Recipe

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1/3 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1/3 cup granulated sugar, plus 1/3 cup for rolling cookies

1 large egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup unsulphered molasses

Preheat oven to 375°F. Mix together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice and pepper together in a bowl and set aside.

Use an electric mixer and beat the butter for 2 minutes. Add the brown sugar, and granulated sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes with mixer set at medium speed. Add egg yolk, vanilla extract, and molasses. Beat until combined, about 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula.

Add dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds.

Place remaining 1/3 cup of granulated sugar in a shallow bowl. Working with 2 Tbsp of dough each time, roll dough into 1 3/4 inch balls. Roll balls in sugar and place on ungreased cookie sheets, spacing them 1 1/2 to 2 inches apart.

Bake until the outer edges of the cookies begin to set and centers are soft and puffy, about 11 to 13 minutes. Cookies will look raw between the cracks and seem underdone. Cool cookies on sheets for 2 to 3 minutes before transferring them to cooling racks .