Casserole Craze Part II

Ok... I promised. Here is number II!



So there is this thing at the grocery store called a rotisserie chicken? Ever heard of it? Ever bought one? They may be my second favorite thing in the world... Besides shoes... And Gabe... so lets make it third favorite.

Now that I am contributing to society full-time... I am exhausted at night. Insert a rotisserie chicken and some other stuff... and voila!! Tomatillo Chicken Enchiladas... on a weeknight! And yes I know.. enchiladas are not technically a casserole.. but you cook them in one pan.. .thats a casserole to me!

These puppies are pretty delicious if I do say so myself... here is what you need:

Ingredients:
half a rotisserie chicken
greek yogurt-plain
sour cream
5-6oz thawed frozen spinach (excess water squeezed out)
oregano
red pepper flakes 
S&P
cotija cheese (in the specialty cheese case- it looked fun..so I bought it)
small flour tortillas
can of tomatillo enchilada sauce (the green stuff)

First things first.. you must "pick-the-chicken." The picture below shows you my method.. (almost) mess-free. I pick the whole chicken at once even though I only used half of it (the other half- perfect topping to a frozen spinach & feta pizza later in the week). So here is my method...

Leave the chicken in the bag! Discard bad parts to a grocery sack & the deliciousness into a bowl! EASY!

Put the desired amount in a bowl (I used a little less than half for 5 enchiladas). Then I put about a 1/2 cup of greek yogurt & the same of sour cream in the bowl. Double-check you do not have vanilla greek yogurt... that would not mesh well.

Add in the frozen spinach and spices to desired amount. ( I did tsp of oregano and a few sprinkle of red pepper flakes). Stir together then crumble some of this awesome creation in...

This cheese reminds me a lot of feta. So if you cannot find it, use feta or queso fresco. Same diff.

Mix together and spoon into flour tortillas. You can nuke your tortillas for a few seconds to make them more pliable. I filled mine pretty full.. but it all works out in the end.

YUM.

Once you have all your enchiladas rolled, pour the can of enchilada sauce over the top. If you want a thicker sauce, mix your enchilada sauce with a little mexican crema (or sour cream). Either way I think would be stellar. Then crumble more the cotija on top as noted below...

Bake at 375deg until the sauce is bubbling & cheese is an amazing golden color... which conveniently just enough time to make... Mexican Rice!

Here is my recipe for rice:

Ingredients:

1 Tb butter

1 c. rice

1/3 palmful cumin

1/3 palmful chili powder

2 small dashes of cinnamon

S&P

2 c. chicken stock

Toast rice in butter for a few minutes. Add in all spices and toast until fragrant. Add in chicken stock and simmer, covered ~20minutes. It will make your house smell edible!

Serve enchiladas with a scoop of rice... and a margarita if necessary.. after all..it is Monday! 

Hasta Luego!

Xo- Karl 

Leave me a message if you make these or any of my recipes and let me know what you think!

Casserole Craze.

Happy Monday!! 

Do you have a case of the Mondays? Because I do.

Well here are two easy easy easy casserole recipes that you can whip up even if you have a case of the Mondays too.


Up first... Bierock Casserole!
This original recipe I found in a cookbook Gabe & I received as a shower gift. It is called "A Gift of Love- From Heart and Home" by Barbara Bausch. I have to give her credit for the original recipe but here is my version!

Ingredients:
2 lbs hamburger
half an onion
1 can cream of mushroom
1/2 head cabbage, shredded
S&P 
cayenne pepper
shredded sharp cheddar cheese
shredded swiss chess
2 pkg crescent rolls

Brown the hamburger and chopped onion together. Drain off excess grease. Add S&P to taste and as much cayenne as you would like. Once stirred together, add in cabbage and cook until it has wilted a little bit. It should all fit in a large cast iron pan. Then add the cream of mushroom soup and incorporate together until you get a mixture that resembles this...

Once this is done, spread one can of crescent rolls into the bottom of a dish (that is sprayed) like this...

Then spread on the swiss cheese and sharp cheddar like so.......

Then add the second can of crescent rolls on top of the cheese.... I didn't get any more pictures because I was too anxious to get this bad boy in the oven! Bake at 350 degrees for about 30min depending on your oven. Once it is golden brown and oh-so-delicous smelling.. take it out and ENJOY!!!

Stay tuned for post numero dos...

Xo-Karl

Friday is oh so sweet!

Happy Friday all!

Some of you may be heading off to tailgates this weekend (our Cats are away in Austin- Go State!) so I thought I would share something that would be perfect to bring to your tailgate- or if you are in need of just a little fall sweetness!

I made these Chocolate Pumpkin Salted Caramel bars last night and the pan is almost empty... (We have been sharing though!)

The original recipe is from Two Peas and Their Pod and the original is DELICIOUS! I have been taking those bars to tailgates for awhile now... but I thought I would change it up and put my own spin on it.

So here goes-
First, preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

   Here are pictures of most everything you need... minus heavy whipping cream and coarse sea salt.      (If you can't tell I really love my label maker- obviously I know that is brown sugar in the container)

First, combine the 12 Tbs melted butter, 3/4c brown sugar, 1/2c white sugar together in a mixer. Once, mixed, add in one egg, plus one egg yolk. Beat until combined. Add two caps full of vanilla and 3/4 can of pumpkin puree. (NOT pie filling, just the puree).  Once all combined, you have this glorious electric orange liquid.

Then add this much cinnamon.  Sometimes when I bake.. I just guess amounts... Lets call this, 1/3 palm full.

Once that is all together... it is time to start on the dry ingredients. Add in a few pinches of REGULAR table salt, 1/2 tsp baking soda and combine. Then add in 2 1/4 c of flour in small increments. Turn your mixer down or you will be wearing the flour... its not the best look. Once combined, add in 1 1/2 c of semi-sweet chocolate chips. Adjust according to how much you like!

Spread half the batter in the bottom of a baking dish. I think mine is approximately 11x8.
Now comes the fun part.....

Mix about that many caramels ( I used half of a small bag..adjust accordingly) and 3 Tbs heavy whipping cream. Melt in microwave until blended stirring every 30 seconds. Do not forget to stir!! Once it is melted.. Pour over the batter layer and sprinkle with coarse sea salt... like this!

Once you have sprinkled the right amount of sea salt... add the second layer of batter. BE careful! The caramel is still gooey so if you spread the cookie dough, all your caramel will end up along the edge.. the middle will just be sad. It should look like this...

Sprinkle with a little more sea salt and pop this beauty into your preheated oven. I baked mine for about 35 minutes... start checking yours around 25 and go from there!!  Then pull them out of the oven...

....and try to not eat the whole pan in 2 days.... it is hard.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Xo- Karl