I have been CRAVING mexican food all week kids, like seriously. And not the greasy kind, but the real fresh delicious kind. Now normally I would just stop by one of the many mexican restaurants in town to buy something fried and covered in cheese. This usually leads to judging by the people that work there as they wonder how one person could eat 5 tacos. Sometimes I ask for 2 sets of plasticware so it SEEMS like Iam heading over to my handsome boyfriends house to bring him tacos, because Iam the best girlfriend ever ! But, since i have decided to change my habits, i knew this could not happen. So, I decided to make something myself.
I had chicken enchiladas a couple of weeks ago and they were really good, so I wanted to create something similar. I stopped off at the supermarket (I go to the Kroghetto in Frasier.), and a few ingredients (some I had at home):
1 bag frozen chicken breast (recipe calls for 3 breasts)
1 cup fat free plain yogurt
1/2 cup low fat ricotta cheese
1 bag 6-inch corn tortillas (recipe calls for 6)
1 bag shredded cheddar cheese (recipe calls for 1 cup)
1 bag shredded mozzarella (recipe calls for 1 cup)
1 can red enchilada sauce (I use mild but they have hot too)
1 can diced green chiles
* Side-note - The Kroger in Frasier (with it's hand-painted wooden sign) does not stock ricotta cheese. Apparently that is something Memphians do not normally eat. The woman in the cheese section (if you can call a place that carries 4 types of cheese, one of which is American, a cheese section) asked me where it came from. When I told her I was pretty sure it was Italian she giggled. GIGGLED! How dare she mock my love of Italian cuisine. Luckily I remembered I had some at home.
I headed home and got to work.
First, I set the chicken to boil on the stove. I like boiling them when frozen, it is just SO EASY! And we know I am all about easy (bow chica wow wow!). Hehe. Yes, I am 12 (an immature 12).
Next I set out to create my filling. I combined the yogurt, ricotta, and 2 cheeses in a large bowl (setting aside a bot of the cheese to sprinkle on top). I mixed it all together (I use my hands, yes it is weird, but it is easier! PLUS it feels all squishy and weird). I was totally that kid on halloween that loved the way the peeled grapes felt. You know the ones that were supposed to be eyeballs? No? Awesome.
I set that aside and checked on the chicken. It wasn't quite done yet so I sat down to read. A little bit later I checked on the chicken again. I cut one open and they were perfect! I put them in a bowl in the freezer to cool them off really fast before I could shred them. A few minutes later I shredded them and added them to the cheese mixture. I then took a tortilla and immersed it in the sauce, placing it on the bottom of the pan. I repeated this step again so that the bottom of the pan had 2 tortillas covered in sauce side by side. I then spread half of the mixture over the tortillas.
I completed this process again, then topped it off with a final layer of tortillas. SO I had a tortilla layer, then spread, tortilla, spread, tortilla. Everyone got it? No? Well I am moving on anyway. I then poured the rest of the sauce over the top and sprinkled the remaining cheese over it. I added the chiles and it was ready for the oven! If you don;t like chiles (because you are a CRAZY PERSON) feel free to omit them or add something else (even though this recipe is perfection).
20-30 minutes is all it takes in the oven and it is ready to be eaten! Although I might let it sit out a little...seeing as it just spend 30 minutes cooking at 350 degrees. Totally a judgment call (I took a bite right away because I have terrible judgment, just ask my mom...or my parole officer).
I wasn't expecting to love it since it is low fat and honestly, anyone who tells you low fat is as good as real fat is a liar. Except me...cause it was SO GOOD!
Idid the math (cause Iam super smart AND the best at being humble) and it is only 194 calories per serving! The pan serves 8. I gave K a piece and she really liked it, even saying she was full after just one serving. HUZZAH!
So, the moral of this story is that you do not have to have high fat to have high flavor. You can use unconventional ingredients to make delicious food if you know what you are doing (or even if you don't, which is the case here).
Food network here I come!! Next stop, cohost with Tyler Florence. We will call our show "The Florences Do Dinner," oh did I forget to mention we would be married? Well we would be. Cause we are in love...he just doen't know about it yet.
Let me know if you like the recipe, and if you have any good ones to share!
PS - Lost 2 more pounds in the last 4 days. BOOM!
I had chicken enchiladas a couple of weeks ago and they were really good, so I wanted to create something similar. I stopped off at the supermarket (I go to the Kroghetto in Frasier.), and a few ingredients (some I had at home):
1 bag frozen chicken breast (recipe calls for 3 breasts)
1 cup fat free plain yogurt
1/2 cup low fat ricotta cheese
1 bag 6-inch corn tortillas (recipe calls for 6)
1 bag shredded cheddar cheese (recipe calls for 1 cup)
1 bag shredded mozzarella (recipe calls for 1 cup)
1 can red enchilada sauce (I use mild but they have hot too)
1 can diced green chiles
* Side-note - The Kroger in Frasier (with it's hand-painted wooden sign) does not stock ricotta cheese. Apparently that is something Memphians do not normally eat. The woman in the cheese section (if you can call a place that carries 4 types of cheese, one of which is American, a cheese section) asked me where it came from. When I told her I was pretty sure it was Italian she giggled. GIGGLED! How dare she mock my love of Italian cuisine. Luckily I remembered I had some at home.
I headed home and got to work.
First, I set the chicken to boil on the stove. I like boiling them when frozen, it is just SO EASY! And we know I am all about easy (bow chica wow wow!). Hehe. Yes, I am 12 (an immature 12).
Next I set out to create my filling. I combined the yogurt, ricotta, and 2 cheeses in a large bowl (setting aside a bot of the cheese to sprinkle on top). I mixed it all together (I use my hands, yes it is weird, but it is easier! PLUS it feels all squishy and weird). I was totally that kid on halloween that loved the way the peeled grapes felt. You know the ones that were supposed to be eyeballs? No? Awesome.
I set that aside and checked on the chicken. It wasn't quite done yet so I sat down to read. A little bit later I checked on the chicken again. I cut one open and they were perfect! I put them in a bowl in the freezer to cool them off really fast before I could shred them. A few minutes later I shredded them and added them to the cheese mixture. I then took a tortilla and immersed it in the sauce, placing it on the bottom of the pan. I repeated this step again so that the bottom of the pan had 2 tortillas covered in sauce side by side. I then spread half of the mixture over the tortillas.
I completed this process again, then topped it off with a final layer of tortillas. SO I had a tortilla layer, then spread, tortilla, spread, tortilla. Everyone got it? No? Well I am moving on anyway. I then poured the rest of the sauce over the top and sprinkled the remaining cheese over it. I added the chiles and it was ready for the oven! If you don;t like chiles (because you are a CRAZY PERSON) feel free to omit them or add something else (even though this recipe is perfection).
20-30 minutes is all it takes in the oven and it is ready to be eaten! Although I might let it sit out a little...seeing as it just spend 30 minutes cooking at 350 degrees. Totally a judgment call (I took a bite right away because I have terrible judgment, just ask my mom...or my parole officer).
Idid the math (cause Iam super smart AND the best at being humble) and it is only 194 calories per serving! The pan serves 8. I gave K a piece and she really liked it, even saying she was full after just one serving. HUZZAH!
So, the moral of this story is that you do not have to have high fat to have high flavor. You can use unconventional ingredients to make delicious food if you know what you are doing (or even if you don't, which is the case here).
Food network here I come!! Next stop, cohost with Tyler Florence. We will call our show "The Florences Do Dinner," oh did I forget to mention we would be married? Well we would be. Cause we are in love...he just doen't know about it yet.
Let me know if you like the recipe, and if you have any good ones to share!
PS - Lost 2 more pounds in the last 4 days. BOOM!
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