Chicken Enchiladas

I had a hankering to get busy in the kitchen this past weekend. It was the Jets first real season game against the Cowboys and a festive meal always gets me in the right mood! I decided on enchiladas, spanish rice, and red velvet cake... recipes to follow. :-) The enchiladas were tasty, creamy, and not too heavy.

Chicken Enchiladas via Epicurious:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chicken-Enchiladas-772

Chicken & Dumplings

I got a craving that I probably shouldn't have acted on last week... and this was the result. This was the delicious, hearty, calorie-filled, amazing result! In hindsight, this probably would have been a more appropriate meal for winter time, but what can you do! A craving is a craving. Luckily I had a lot of help in the consumption process. Everyone was a fan, and once again the Pioneer Woman has yet to let me down. Now I hear about her new show that's coming out on Food Network and I can't hardly wait!

Chicken & Dumplings via The Pioneer Woman:

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/12/chicken-and-dumplings/

Crock Pot Rotisserie White Chicken Chili

It was cold and raining here this morning in San Jose so I felt compelled to muster up something warm and comforting. I didn't have time to go home and search for recipes, so I created this little masterpiece just off the top of my head while I was at Safeway. This totally fulfilled my rainy day craving and turned out delicious. Chili keeps really well, usually tastes better the second day and even freezes great. This is a perfect make ahead dish.

Crock Pot Rotisserie White Chicken Chili via the Flick of my Wrist:

(Makes A TON!)

1 lb. dry great northern beans

48 oz. chicken broth

16 oz. hot water

1 diced green bell pepper

1 diced yellow onion

1 diced whole jalapeno (seeds removed)

1 7 oz. can diced green chilies

1 14 oz. can sweet yellow corn, drained

1 tbsp. minced garlic

1 whole store-bought rotisserie chicken, skinned & shredded

1/3 cup half & half

2 tsp. sea salt

2 tbsp. cumin

2 tbsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. cayenne

Combine all ingredients in a crock pot except the half & half. Cook on high heat for about 3-4 hours, or low heat for about 8 hours, stirring occasionally throughout. Do a taste test towards the end of the cooking time to ensure that the beans have cooked through and adjust any seasonings as necessary. Once the beans have cooked through and you are satisfied with the seasoning, finish the chili with the half & half, stir thoroughly to combine the creamy half & half into the mixture evenly. I topped this chili with a three cheese mix: fontina, parmesan & asiago. PERFECT!

Perfect Roast Chicken

The cutest little naked chicken! Everybody always has their different ideas about the perfect roast chicken. This recipe came as a recommendation from two separate sources so I thought I should try it out. Roast chicken is really versatile. There are so many different ways you can dress it up. You can usually find it at the grocery story for fairly cheap, so it can be very budget-friendly as well. This was about a 6 lb. young chicken, for like $3.50. That sounds like a bargain to me. This was really easy, pretty quick, and stayed succulently moist. I do think I might have accidentally used anise instead of fennel... Stater Brothers tricked me! It was great either way. Stay tuned for the perfect side dish: Ranch Mashed Potatoes!

Perfect Roast Chicken via Ina Garten:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/perfect-roast-chicken-recipe/index.html

Simple, Hearty White Chili & Cheddar, Scallion Corn Muffins

It was so cold & windy yesterday. Cold = chili & cornbread in my book! I've been wanting to try out a white chili for awhile now, and this recipe sounded delicious. Delicious it was, AMAZE! This was so tasty and hearty. The batch was huge, so I'll probably be eating this for the next 4 days, and I do not mind. This is the type of dish that actually tastes better after it sits. The next day is really the ideal time to eat it, though I doubt you'll be able to resist it once it's done. This type of dish also freezes well if you wanted to save any for a later time. I fall more and more in love with my dutch oven every time I make something like this. If you haven't made the investment to purchase one, you won't regret it. It has some kind of magical power that causes everything cooked in it to become instantly delicious. Enjoy.

P.S. On the chili: I substituted 1 cup of buttermilk for the whole milk. I also added a whole can of drained corn for some bite, sweetness, & fiber!

Simple, Hearty White Chili via the Pioneer Woman:

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/01/simple-hearty-white-chili/

Cheddar, Scallion Corn Muffins via the Flick of my Wrist:

1 box Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix

1/3 cup buttermilk

1 egg

4 scallions, chopped

1/3 cup grated cheddar

Mix corn muffin mix, milk, and egg until combined. Stir in scallions & cheese until evenly mixed. Divide evenly among 6 greased muffin tins. Bake at 400 F for 12 minutes.

Thai Honey Peanut Chicken

Another recipe that immediately sparked my interest just from title... I've been Thai obsessed as of late. Nothing could be bad about the perfect melody of sweet/salty/spicy. I'm usually a little intimidated to try to make Thai at home, usually because of the addition of unfamiliar ingredients in most recipes (i.e. fish sauce), but this recipe sounded delicious and didn't have any weird accompaniments so I knew I had to try it. Winner, winner, Thai chicken dinner... delectable. I served this chicken over Thai jasmine rice topped with chopped scallions and a side of steamed green beans. Saveur!

Thai Honey Peanut Chicken via Tasty Kitchen:

http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/main-courses/thai-honey-peanut-chicken/

Sticky Peanut Butter & Jelly Wings

This recipe caught my eye immediately and the Noble Pig still has yet to disappoint me. So what more perfect occasion for wings than yesterday... the BCS National Championship game. GO AUBURN! So literally... Winner, winner, chicken dinner! This was actually the first time I've made wings, interesting. I actually used drumettes, which seem to be much less labor intensive than actual wings. Depending on your palate, mine prefers spicy, you will need to add much more hot sauce than the recipe calls for. I really used about ten times as much, nearly 4 tablespoons. Peanut butter + wings + hot sauce = Excellent!

Sticky Peanut Butter & Jelly Wings via Noble Pig:

http://noblepig.com/2009/03/29/classicly-twisted.aspx

Turducken

Until recently, I had always thought that TURDUCKEN was a myth! For those of you unaware of the mysterious turducken, it is a delicacy: a boneless turkey, stuffed with a bonless duck, stuffed with a boneless chicken, each layer seperated by a stuffing flavor of your choice! Just the pure insanity of this concept was enough for me to have to try. Fortunately, I was able to experience the legend of turducken this Thanksgiving at the Williams house. I was thoroughly impressed, everything I had hoped for and more! If you too would like to experience turducken, you can order one here: http://www.hebertsmeats.com/ They are a bit pricey, but worth the fun, and the small size will easily feed 6-8 people. Christmas would be an excellent occasion to test one out!

Oven Beer Can Chicken

I've been doing this diet recently that requires me to consume a ridiculous amount of protein, so I've been forced to scope out some new creative means of consuming protein products over, and over, and over again. Beer can chicken = winner! Normally this is done on a grill, which I don't have, and won't use... because grilling is a man's job, and I don't enjoy my evenly shaped eyebrows being in such close proximity to open flames. This however, is an oven variety, which works quite nicely, contained heat. I used a tall can of High Life for the beer, I really don't think it matters what kind. This recipe is nice too because it gives you the cooking times for various different sized chickens. Make sure you use your meat thermometer!

Oven Beer Can Chicken via e-rcps:

http://www.e-rcps.com/pasta/main/fowl/chick_brcan_ovn.shtml