Day 19: Chicken Enchiladas

Today was a really good day! I decided that I need to start going to the Farmer's Market again and get some produce from local farmers. Plus, a lot of the food there is organic, which is an added bonus. I went to the Farmer's Market and it was so nice to be surrounded by greens, reds, yellows, and oranges. I didn't get a lot because I already did my big shopping trip for the week and this trip to the Farmer's Market was to see what they had available and to get some fruit. I'm very excited to be going next week and every week thereafter!

Here is what I ate:

Breakfast:
Greek yogurt with granola, blueberries, and maple syrup
Homemade bread with butter
Tea (I have been drinking green tea because I heard that it boosts your metabolism).

Lunch:
Leftover Chicken Katsu
Strawberries (from the Farmer's Market that were huge and delicious!)
Monterrey Jack cheese stick
Homemade Lithuanian Rye bread with butter
Orange (from the Farmer's Market)

Dinner:
Chicken Enchiladas (see recipe below)
Steamed Zucchini

Snacks:
Almonds
Dried Cherries
Trader Joe's mini ice-cream cone

Recipe: Chicken Enchiladas with Homemade Red Enchilada Sauce

I got this recipe from America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook. We have made this recipe before and it is super easy and tastes really good. I think that I have said it before (I could be wrong), but you should buy the America's Test Kitchen cookbooks! We have three of them and they are really great cookbooks. The recipes are really easy to follow and they taste great. I did make some changes to the original recipe and actually got the calories down by 110 per serving, yay me! You really won't be disappointed with these and the Little Bubs ate his whole dinner, which he rarely does!

Homemade Red Enchilada Sauce:
Ingredients:
1 tsp canola oil
1 onion, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp sugar
1 15 oz can of tomato sauce
1/2 water
Salt and pepper

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the onion and cook until softened, about five minutes.

2. Stir in the garlic, chili powder, cumin, and sugar and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

4. Stir in the tomato sauce and water, bring to a simmer, and cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Nutritional Information:
This comes from the cookbook
Serving Size: 1/4 cup (this recipe makes 2 1/2 cups)
Calories: 30
Carbs: 6
Fat: 1
Protein: 1
Fiber: 2

Chicken Enchiladas:
Ingredients:
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts (2-3), trimmed, pounded if necessary
2 1/2 cups enchilada sauce (see above or you can buy the canned enchilada sauce)
1 cup finely crumbled queso fresco or feta cheese (I used Trader Joe's fat free crumbled feta)
1 (4 oz) can chopped green chiles
1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro (I only did 1/4 cup because my husband isn't a big fan of cilantro)
12 (6-inch) soft corn tortillas (I went to the farmer's market and found Nopaltilla's Corn/Cactus tortillas. They were green, beautiful, tasted great, and 20 calories less per serving).
Vegetable oil spray
1 cup shredded cheddar (I used Trader Joe's Lite Shredded 3 Cheese Blend), about 4 oz
Lime wedges, for serving (optional)

Directions:
1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350º. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper to taste.

2. Combine the chicken and enchilada sauce in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, 10 to 15 minutes. When the sauce is simmering, flip the chicken over, cover, and continue to cook until the chicken registers 160º-165º on an instant-read thermometer, 10-15 minutes.

3. Shred the chicken. *I learned this great trick for how to shred chicken on Pinterest and I thought that it was too good to be true, but it wasn't and it amazes me every time we shred chicken! You put your whole boneless cooked chicken in your stand mixer with the paddle attachment. You turn the mixer on to speed 4-6 and keep it on for 20-30 seconds. When the time is up you have perfectly shredded chicken!!! I used to do it by hand and it was a pain, but this is soooooo easy!* Combine the shredded chicken, 1/2 cup enchilada sauce, feta cheese, chiles, and cilantro in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste and cover to keep warm while heating the tortillas.

4. Lightly coat both sides of the tortillas with vegetable oil spray. Place 6 tortillas onto a baking sheet and bake until the tortillas are soft and pliable, 2-4 minutes

5. Working quickly while the tortillas are still warm and pliable, spread them out over a clean counter. Place 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture evenly down the center of each tortillas. Tightly roll each tortilla around the filling and lay them, seam-side down, in a 13 by 9-inch backing dish. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and filling and increase the oven temperature to 450º.
Here are the enchiladas before the final sauce and cheese is put on them. Don't the corn/cactus tortillas look gorgeous?

6. Pour 1 cup more sauce over the enchiladas and sprinkle with the cheddar. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake until the enchiladas are heated through, about 10 minutes. Remove the foil and contine to bake until the cheese is melted, 3 to 5 minutes longer. Serve, passing the remaining sauce and lime wedges separately.

Nutritional Information (including the enchilada sauce):
Serving Size: 6 (2 enchiladas per serving)
My version / America's Test Kitchen
Cal: 310 / 420
Carbs: 35 / 40
Fat: 6 / 8
Protein: 31 / 29