Cheese Enchilada Casserole

I usually adapt a recipe to what we have on hand or to our taste. This recipe for instance is no different. It calls for corn tortillas; I used floured, personal preference.  The cheese is Monterey Jack; I had cheddar cheese in the freezer. Barry did point out at the local Mexican restaurant that they don’t use cheddar cheese; they use Mozzarella to top everything.  I didn’t have any of the toppings for serving. I do like avocado and sour cream. I do not like cilantro. It tastes like dish soap to me. You might like it if you try it.  I do eat it if it’s in something like pico de gallo. 

Since it is meatless, the authors offer 3 sauces so it can be customized. I choose Tomato-Jalapeno Enchilada Sauce.  The sauce recipe calls for 1 jalapeno. I don’t have those nor do I want to buy them. Barry can handle some spice, and I can handle even less than that. What I do have is jalapeno jelly from a local gardener that I put in a lot dishes that have similar flavors like chili. I also didn’t have fresh thyme leaves, and I wasn’t about to buy them from the produce section either. I was confused as to why thyme was in the recipe anyway. What I did use for spices was chili seasonings and cumin. I love cumin.  It just adds a depth of flavor, and it smells so good when cooking with it.

The recipe also recommended using a blender but I got lazy and didn’t want to clean it. Barry got us a Cuisinart  Smart Stick Hand Blender. I like Cuisinart. I also own a Griddler by them too. I like it a lot.

Anyway, onto the sauce.  I chopped and put everything into a stock pot. I also included some garlic cloves. If you don't have cloves, don't worry about it. I happen to have plenty on hand. I'll save my garlic for another entry. I stuck in the hand blender and watched the magic happen. Which was just the blender chopping up the tomatoes. It didn’t do a thing to the onion and garlic.   After messing with it, I decided to put it on the stove top as is and added the vegetable oil.  

After everything came to a simmer and the onions soften,  I went back with the hand blender. It turned into a nice sauce. The hand blender did a great job and can't wait to use it this summer when I make tomato sauce and chili starter. Taste test until you get a sauce you’re happy with. You might have to add a little more salt or pepper or maybe some more sugar. Make it your own.  I just left the sauce in the pot because you’re suppose to dip the tortillas in the sauce. They have you pour a cup into the shallow wide dish. I suppose so you don’t dip your fingers into the whole sauce. You’re going to bake it so I didn’t see the need to dirty another dish.  It also has you use an 8x8 pan. There is no way you’re going to fit 8 flour tortillas into an 8x8.  Maybe the corn yes, but flour no. I had to squeeze those puppies in there.

When I had them all rolled up, note mine are not seam side down, I poured the rest of the sauce on top and covered.  I baked it for 10 minutes but it probably could have been in there a little longer. Once it was done, I put on the rest of the cheese and baked it until bubbly goodness. I might have cheated and used the broiler. The broiler is how you get those money shots you see in magazines.

Recipe:

·   1 ½ cups desired enchilada sauce

·   8 corn tortillas (or Flour tortillas)

·   2 cups shredded or crumbled cheese, such as Monterey Jack(or Cheddar)

·   Diced onion, avocado, chopped cilantro, cheese or sour cream (optional), for serving

Preheat oven 350 degree. While the oven is heating up, pour 1 cup sauce into a wide, shallow bowl. Working with one at a time, dip tortillas in sauce shaking off excess, then sprinkle ½ cup cheese down center. Roll tortilla around cheese and arrange, seam side down, in 8-inch square baking dish. Top with ½ cup sauce. Cover tightly with foil and bake until heated through, 10 minutes. Serve with desired toppings.

Tomato-Jalapeno Enchilada Sauce

In a blender, combine 1 can (28 ounces whole peeled tomatoes, 1 cup diced white onion, and 1 jalapeno, quartered (seeded if desired). Puree until smooth. Season with coarse salt and ground pepper. In medium pot, heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil over high until shimmering. Add tomato mixture and simmer, stirring, until thickened, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in ¼ cup fresh thyme leaves, 1 teaspoon white  vinegar, and pinch of sugar. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Refrigerate in an airtight container, up to 4 days.) Makes 2 ½ cups.


As far as enchilada sauce goes, I liked this. I buy the stuff in the can and it either tastes funny or it's too spicy.  This a great way to control what you put in, specially the spiciness. Maybe later this  summer when peppers are ready to be picked I'll be brave and try a jalapeno, seeded and ribbed.I think also when cheese goes on sale I'll pick up a bag of Monterey Jack and try that.

I would like that with ice, please.

I wasn’t expecting the thunder storms this morning and neither was Jasper. I think he spent the majority of the night under the couch. When he did come out to visit, he slinked around ready to dash back under the couch.  We called him Slinky today. The weather/ice/rain also brought some changes to our weekend plans. Instead of having company, we just chilled. I got caught up on my YouTube subscriptions and we worked on our minecraft server. http://www.minecraft.net/. It also gave me the chance to edit my food pictures. The big thing was Barry and I tackled the recipe box, and it is now organized into categories. The categories include cake and frosting, cookies and bars, pies, desserts, beverages and snacks, poultry and fish, ham and beef, salads, and this and that.  I was surprised at how many baking recipes there were and that a lot of the recipes were the same. I’m not sure if Grandma remembered what recipes she had. I also saw some reoccurring food fads:  marshmallows, jell-o, crushed pineapple and cool whip/dream whip. I’m thinking they had a lot of church functions where everyone bought a dish and everyone wanted recipes of each. I was hoping for some more casserole dishes but instead ended up with quite a few canned pickle recipes. Everyone must have had their secret recipe for pickles. I was pleasantly surprised by what I’m going to call Heritage Recipes. They’re recipes that had family names on them that I recognized.  I think those are the recipes that I will start with even though most of them involve baking. Baking is not my forte, plus I have to decipher Grandma’s handwriting and fill in the blanks.  She also rarely marked the baking temps and times. It’s like she got the basics of the recipe and that was good enough. We sat there at the table trying to read these recipes out loud. It was rather humorous. This will truly be a food adventure.

I have two new entries that I will type up and send to my editor to correct. If anyone knows me from my college days, I do not like to edit. I’m also planning in my head more recipes this week. I need to go grocery shopping. These next set of entries will be from EveryDay Food March 2011. I don’t remember how I got onto to this subscription. I know my mother-in-law was getting them, oh maybe 4-5 years ago. I would have to look at them to see how far back I have them. I like to wait until I get a very good deal on them before I renew, I mean cheap cheap, plus a free gift never hurts. It’s a Martha Stewart Magazine but without Martha. They also have a show on PBS on Saturday mornings that I like to catch when it’s my weekend off. 

I’m still experimenting with the blog page. You might see things in different places when you come back or different fonts. I’m still learning and reading the tutorials and help pages. Let me know if you have questions or if I’m not clear on something.

Crisp-Skin High-Roast Butterflied Chicken with Potatoes

This is a combination of two America’s Test Kitchen recipes.  I butterflied the chicken and then used a baking powder rub and let the chicken sit naked in the fridge for 24 hrs. I really wanted to try the crispy skin but I didn’t want to brine it like the recipe said. I also watch a video on ATK on using baking powder and the chemical reaction it does on the chicken, but darn if I can find anything on their website.  I never butterflied a chicken before so I found a video on YouTube and was easily enough to follow. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-8tMEwBnSA.   The potatoes on the bottom were amazing. They were crisp and had the flavoring from the drippings of the chicken.  The potatoes not only work as a tasty side dish, it also works to trap the grease so it doesn’t start smoking in the oven. Though I did have some the second time and might have set the smoke alarm off.  My cat, Jasper, thought the world was ending.

This dish is made on a broiler pan. I happen to find one in the pull out drawer of the oven otherwise I have never worked with one before.  You should look in yours to see if it came with one. You lay your chicken on top and you line the bottom pan with tinfoil and lay your potatoes out in an even layer. The potatoes are cut very thin so they get cooked in time with the chicken, sliced 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. I use a mandolin to get them uniform. You can use a knife, just pay attention and take your time.  The only problem is the potatoes on the edges get really brown because the drippings don’t spread out the far, so you can imagine how good the middles ones are. The chicken is cooked at a high temp. This is another element that helps with the crisping. Since it is butterflied, it helps it cook even and you don’t have to flip it.  You’ll see extra fatty skin areas like along the thigh and breast area just cut little slits in the skin, not the meat. This allows the fat to drip off into the bottom instead of sitting between the skin and chicken and that’s just one more element to making it crispy. You can start to hear it sizzle in oven which can create a bit of panic and you’re afraid you might burn it. It doesn’t though; it does what it’s supposed to do, get crispy.  Once everything is done you let the chicken rest. You should do that with any meat you cook. It lets the juices redistribute throughout and that’s how you get your juicy meat.  I let it set about 10 mins the first time and it was perfect, the second time I didn’t let it sit enough and I could tell it wasn’t as juicy as the first time. I also bought the chicken when it was on sale at my local grocery store with a smile in every aisle. It is called a fryer or young whole bird or both.  Make sure you remove the stuff inside the bird, rinse and pat dry. Cleanliness is a huge factor when working with chicken. Remember to wash your hands when you are done with the chicken and moving on to something else. A great tip is to keep your cutting boards separate, one for meat and one for veggies/fruit to prevent cross contamination. Always cook your chicken to 160-165, use a meat thermometer and stick in the thickest part which is usually the thigh or breast area.

Ingredients

1 Whole chicken, 3-1/2 to 4 1/2lbs

2-1/2 lbs Russet potatoes (4 to 5 medium), or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick
Vegetable cooking spray (nonstick)
1-1/2 Tbsp Olive oil
3/4 tsp Table salt (for potatoes)
Ground black pepper

Butter  (optional)

Baking Powder Rub

1 tbsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp black pepper

Preparation

1. Line the bottom of your broiler pan with foil. Butterfly chicken, flatten and remove breastbone. Run your hands under the skin and loosen it from the chicken. Rub Baking Powder Rub all over the chicken and sit it on the broiler pan with the bottom under because it will leak and the bottom pan will catch it. Let it sit naked for at least 24hrs and let science do its work.

2. 24hrs later adjust your oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat oven to 500 degrees.Cut little slits in the fatty skin along the thigh and leg, you can apply butter (if using) under the skin, and position chicken on broiler pan rack; thoroughly pat dry with paper towels.
3. Toss potatoes with 1 tablespoon oil, salt, and pepper to taste in medium bowl.  Spread potatoes in even layer in foil-lined, spray with nonstick vegetable cooking spray, broiler pan bottom. Place broiler pan rack with chicken on top. Rub chicken with remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil and sprinkle with pepper.
4. Roast chicken until spotty brown, about 20 minutes. Rotate pan and continue to roast until skin has crisped and turned a deep brown and an instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees in thickest part of breast, 20 to 25 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to cutting board. Let it rest! With potholders, remove broiler pan rack; soak up excess grease from potatoes with several sheets paper towels. Remove foil liner with potatoes from broiler pan bottom and invert foil and potatoes onto cookie sheet or second cutting board. Carefully peel back foil, using a metal spatula to help scrape potatoes off foil as needed. With additional paper towels, pat off remaining grease. Cut chicken into serving pieces and serve with potatoes.

Remember that this is a combination America Test Kitchen Recipes that I did to get the results I wanted.  The skin on the chicken was sooo crispy and the meat was moist and flavorful. The potatoes were amazing so tender, it melts in your mouth. There is a similar recipe in the latest Every Day Food that I want to try and see what I like better.  I hope you enjoy my first post!
Inspired by America's Test Kitchen High Roast Chicken