Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

Well, since NO ONE bothered to comment or anything on my last post, I'll try this again... (seriously, where are some of you guys lately?!)

I have to thank the Sisters Cafe for this recipe. I was looking for something easy to make for some guests that were coming into town and this sounded perfect. I was super easy to throw together and tasted fantastic. I boiled and shredded the chicken the night before so all I had to do was assemble it and put it in the oven. The honey makes it sweet and the chili powder gives it a kick but isn't really spicy (I am a wimp when it comes to spices so anyone can make this and be okay with it- ahem, Kelli!)

Picture courtesy of the Sisters' Cafe

1.5 lbs pork or chicken, cooked and shredded (I used chicken)

Sauce:
1/3 c honey
1/4 c lime juice
1 Tb chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder


2 (10 oz) cans green enchilada sauce

equal parts mixed together of:
mozzarella cheese, shredded
cheddar cheese, shredded

flour tortillas


Mix together sauce ingredients then add to shredded pork or chicken. Let the sauce soak into the meat for about 30 minutes.

Lightly spray 2 pans with non-stick baking spray. (I usually use one 9x13 and one 9x9 but it may vary with how thick you stuff your enchiladas) Pour green enchilada sauce into pans to coat the entire bottom. Fill tortillas with shredded meat and desired amount of cheese. Roll and place in dish.


Pour remainder of sauce over enchiladas and sprinkle more cheese on top (I actually used about 3 cups or so of shredded Colby Jack. There is no such thing as too much cheese!). Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Then turn on broiler and place enchiladas nearer the top of oven. Let it broil until cheese is slightly brown and crispy.

I served this with Picky Palate's Spanish Rice recipe and a salad. I'll post the Spanish Rice later!

Garlic Butter Spread

I was making plain old spaghetti the other night and had a loaf of Italian bread on the table too, so I decided to jazz it up a little. I found this recipe on allrecipes.com and loved it! It was super easy and I had everything in the house. I liked that I didn't need any fresh herbs too, which are nice, but expensive! I used this on the bread, but the recipe also says you can use it to brush on fish or chicken dishes too. I don't have a picture yet, because all my pictures were ugly. How do you take a good picture of garlic bread? It's all about the smell, isn't it?

Garlic Butter Spread

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened to room temperature
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic (about 3-4 cloves)
2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 tsp garlic salt (I didn't have this so I subbed about 1 tsp garlic powder and 1/4 tsp salt)
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp paprika

Combine all ingredients together and slather on your Italian bread loaf. I cut mine horizontally so I had two halves, then just put half of the garlic butter on each half. You can slice yours if you want. I won't be offended. I actually broiled my bread on low for a few minutes, but I think next time I will bake it for a little bit to let the whole thing crisp up, then put it under the broiler for a minute or two so it can get extra crunchy on top. It was really yummy and so easy!

Chocolate cookie cake

Chocolate cookie cake

This is my favorite dessert. The cake is so moist and chocolaty and the icing on top makes the cake. It is so super easy and I love that it does not call for melted chocolate. I did not have buttermilk so I made my own by placing 1 T. white vinegar in a liquid measuring cup and then filling with milk until it measures 1 C. Let it sit five minutes and you have buttermilk.

Mix together in medium bowl

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Bring just to a boil

2 cubes butter

1 cup water

4 T. cocoa powder (Use heaping tablespoons and a little extra)

Pour wet mixture into dry and add

2 eggs

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 tsp Vanilla

put into a greased and floured pan bake ( I used a cookie sheet) at 350 for 20 min.

Icing

1 cube butter

5 Tablespoons buttermilk

4 tablespoons cocoa (same as before)

1 pound powdered sugar (3 and ¾ C.)

Boil together for 2 min pour on warm cake. Some of the frosting seeps into the cake making it so moist!

Let the cake cool and the frosting harden. The extra cocoa in the frosting makes it so it has a thin crisp layer on top!