Phelps ENCHILADAS

CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

(Yulia Phelps)

There are a lot of ways to make delicious Mexico-originated enchiladas. This is OUR way.

Try it and you might be making it as often as we do.

You will need:

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cooked and shredded - recipe follows - chicken cooked this way is very moist and flavorful)
1 can black bean (I add black beans for extra nutrients)
1 can enchilada sauce (We like Green Chile)

1 can green chiles (if you buy whole chilies, you will need to chop them)

8 oz Monterey Jack Cheese (half goes inside and half on top of enchiladas)

8 oz half-and-half
10 tortillas (I buy my tortillas uncooked in the refrigerated section in Costco. They are All Natural tortillas and have 44 per pack. When I come home, I divide the pack into four 1-gallon freezer bags - 11 tortillas each. Then I freeze them. When it is enchiladas day, I move one bag of tortillas into the refrigerator in the morning. It will usually thaw in time for dinner prep. It takes a couple of minutes to cook all 11 of them. Be careful while cooking them on the skillet - they can burn fast.)

cilantro

sour cream

Here is how to make them:

Cook the tortillas.

Mix these ingredients together (Remember half of cheese goes inside).


Add shredded chicken.

Make enchiladas by rolling filling mixture into tortillas.

Arrange them into 9x13 greased dish. Pour half-and-half (or more Enchilada sauce) over enchiladas.

Bake at 350 F for 30-35 min. Sprinkle with remaining cheese right away and let it melt.

Serve them hot with chopped cilantro and sour cream (my husband likes to add a little kick with some hot sauce).

ENJOY!



Shredded Chicken for Enchiladas

3 chicken breasts

3 cups of water or chicken broth (or more if necessary)

3 clothes of garlic, minced

1/4 small onion, chopped

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp oregano

salt and pepper

Mix together in a pot and boil for 20 minutes. Let the chicken cool and then shred it (either with two forks or hands).

Weekly menu planner

I have a goal of going grocery shopping only once a week. Most of the weeks I succeed. I am also not stressing out wondering what to cook for dinner every day. Why? Because I use a weekly menu planner.

I LOVE IT!

Here is how I do it:

1. I have a special menu planner book. Not just a piece of paper that can get lost easily.

I use it all the time. The only thing you need to do on any specific day is to look into it and know exactly what's for dinner.

Here is how mine looks like.

I downloaded a print out on Above all fabric. Then I printed as many copies as I needed. I think my book has all 54 weeks in it. I took my pages to a copy center (I used Stevenson Geneology center) and for pennies bound the sheets together into a book. EASY!

2. On Friday night I open a new page. I ask my husband what meals he would want to see on the menu. He usually says he doesn't have any specific requests. My husband likes pretty much everything I cook. Sometimes her will help me out.

When I first got married, I only had recipes from back home (from Belarus). I needed to learn how to cook here in America. I watched Food Network like crazy. I made a new recipe every day. After trying so many recipes for almost 4 years of marriage, I realized that I found favorites. So now it takes me only a couple of minutes to fill out the blanks in the planner.

3. Then I write down a shopping list. DO not go to the store without one. You will save time, money, and additional trips to the supermarket when you realize you forgot to buy something.

My lists usually consist of wholesome foods. Very rarely do I buy frozen dinners. I used to do that for a very short time, because my husband took them to work. They didn't taste as good as homemade foods and had tons of additives. Now I make and freeze lunches for my husband and we love it that way.

Sometimes I will open the book on a certain day and won't feel like the planned meal for that day. SO. I just cook a meal from a different day. You already have all the ingredients for that meal. A lot of the times I will live one day open without having any meal scheduled for that day. It covers left overs, possible eating out, and last minute dinner invites.

That's all. I hope it will be helpful to some of you.

Feel free to ask any questions or leave your tips.

The best and the easiest white rice

I have never been too good at cooking rice on the stove top. Guess what? I don't do it on the stove top anymore. I cook my rice in the oven. PERFECT every time.

My friend shared this recipe with me. Try it out and you will never go back to the stove top.

I usually make a double batch and freeze half of it.

It is really good for quick lunches or even dinner. Just warm it up before serving.

Oven-cooked rice

1 1/2 cups boiling water

1 Tbsp butter (unsalted)

3/4 cup uncooked long grain rice

1/2 tsp salt

In a 1-quart casserole dish combine boiling water and butter; stir until butter is melted. Stir in rice and salt. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in a 350 degree F oven about 35 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed (I always set my timer for 35 minutes - turns out perfect every time). Fluff with a fork before serving.

Enjoy!

I am back

I am back from a long sabbatical and intend to do more homemaking blogging.

So come often and check it out.

Yulia

Borsch

I usually don't measure anything. Yesterday, I tried to take approximate measurements, so I could share the recipe.

I adapt the recipe to make the soup as thick or sweet as I am in the mood for.

Generally, I don't like sweet vegetable like beets and carrots, so I try to mask that sweetness. If you want to bring out the sweetness of beets in this soup, don't add vinegar (you can even add a tiny bit of sugar).

My husband prefers less liquid and more chewable stuff in his soup, so I try to cook the way he likes it. When I was growing up, however, we ate soup with more liquid.

It took about 1 hour to make yesterday. It will all depend on how big your vegetables will be.

I know my pictures are not very good, but that is what you get taking pictures with artificial lighting.

Also, this is the soup I MAKE. I am not claiming to have an authentic recipe. I know in Russia they add cabbage to borsch. I leave cabbage out.

Usually borsch is made with beef that you cook in water to make broth. I tried it a few times, and it is good, but I like adding homemade chicken broth into mine as well as homemade beef meatballs.


So here is the actual recipe.

Ingredients:

2 cans of beets, grated and liquid from cans (make sure you DON'T buy pickled canned beets - you need regular for this recipe - you can buy whole or sliced or even shoestring - I buy sliced, because I think more beets fit into a can when they are sliced - I also like to grate my beets - shoestring is really hard to grate - If you are not a fan of grating slices, buy whole beets by any means - you can also buy fresh beets and cook them in boiling water for about 40 minutes until they are soft)

3 potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 carrots, peeled and diced

2 celery sticks, diced

1/2 onion, diced

2 bay leaves

2-3 Tbsp white vinegar

4 cups chicken broth (can add more)

4 cups of water

a few whole peppercorns (you can use ground pepper if you want)

salt (I use kosher salt, but it you don't have it on hand, just use regular salt)

For meatballs:

1/2 lbs ground beef
1 egg
bread crumbs
garlic powder
salt and pepper

Meatballs can be made adding other herbs or spices that you like.

Sour cream (for serving - I don't like Borsch without it)


Saute diced carrots, onion, and celery in a medium pot with a little bit of canola or olive oil on medium heat until tender. Make sure to stir to avoid burning.


Add chicken stock (I make my own chicken stock and keep it in the freezer, so I add mine frozen) , beet liquid, bay leaves, peppercorns, vinegar, and salt. When comes to boil, add diced potatoes.




It takes some time to cook the potatoes, so you'll have time to make meatballs. To make them, combine all the meatball ingredients in a bowl and mix until combined (don't over mix). Roll meatballs and place on a plate.


When potatoes are tender, add grated beets.

I also add about 3-4 cups of water at this time.
When soup is boiling, add meatballs one at a time.

Let cook until meatballs are cooked through.


Plate and add sour cream to taste. You can sprinkle borsch with fresh parsley before serving.

Frank Asch - kids author we love

Frank Asch. I think he is a excellent writer. His books are so kind and simple, just like the children we read them to.
We took a few of his books from the library and read them over and over.
I wanted to share these two books.

"Just like Daddy" - this book is simple and funny.


"Good night, baby bear" - I love this book, because it's about mommy and baby relationship - care, kindness, and hugs.

Медовик or Honey cake

This is seriously the best cake I have ever had. Every time I make it for a party, my friends ask for a recipe.

This cake is easy to make and doesn't require any fancy ingredients.

Ingredient:

1 cup butter
3 Tablespoons honey
1 cup sugar (can add more)
2 eggs
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cup sour cream
1/2-1 cup sugar

Melt butter (I use a microwave). Add honey and sugar and mix together. Let it cool to room temperature if it is hot. Add eggs, flour, and soda and mix well.
I take two round cake pans; divide the dough into 4 pieces; I can't ever roll this dough, so I put one piece into a spayed pan and with my fingers press it in the bottom of the pan into an even layer. Repeat with the second pan. Put two pans into preheated 350 F oven and cook for about 12-14 minutes (it should be golden brown). Remove cakes from pans to cool down. Put the other two pieces of dough into pans (be careful not to burn yourself, since the pans are hot) and into the oven they go for 12-14 minutes.
NOTE: you can divide the dough into 6 pieces, but make sure to decrease the baking time, because they will bake faster and can burn.
I let all the layers cool down. In the meantime, place sour cream and sugar into a bowl and beat with hand mixer (this helps to dissolve sugar). Usual proportions are 2 cups sour cream and 1/2-1 cups of sugar. I try to use the least amount of sugar, so I taste it before I add more sugar.
Start assembling your cake. Place the first layer on a serving platter; liberally cover it with sour cream and sugar mixture; cover with the next cake layer; smother with sour cream mixture again... Repeat until all the layers are used.
You can leave the top plain or cover with sour cream mixture and crumbled cake.
Leave the cake in the refrigerator for a couple of hours (the more the better) for layers to absorb cream.

NOTE: I LOVE DOUBLING this recipe to get a higher cake and have an extra layer for crumbling.

Don't worry about having left-overs of this cake. There either are not going to be any, or you will be glad there is a piece left just for you for after the party treat.

ENJOY!