Monday, April 12, 2010

Cooking Marathon, New Recipe, Book Review

Thanks you guys! I DO feel a little bit better today. And honestly, while I felt terrible yesterday, I scraped myself out of bed after writing the blog post, showered and me and Reuben headed out to get gas, get some new audio books and head over to Decatur to see my mom’s new kitchen renovations in her carriage house, and my sister’s new purchases in her new house (she bought a house but hasn’t moved in – but is buying stuff and having it delivered there – exciting!). I had a great afternoon with them visiting, seeing their spaces, meeting my mom’s new rescue dog Gracie and having Yogurt Tap, nothing like outdoor sweet treats! And so nice to have Reuben with me all day – Decatur is so dog-friendly! We got home and Austin had done more work on the flowers in the front – so pretty! I’ll have to take pics when he finishes up! Then it was time for a cooking marathon! I made the following:

4 servings chicken tetrazzini New!
4 servings bacon ranch slowcooker chicken (love it…)
4 servings Italian Pasta Bake New!
4 servings sour cream chicken enchiladas New!
8 servings Mexican-flavored chicken New!

So for the Mexican-flavored chicken, I just threw 2 pounds of chicken, a can of hot rotel, a pack of taco seasoning and a diced jalapeno in the slow cooker. Then I shredded the chicken. The idea behind the chicken is that I’ll have it on hand for numerous recipes – like tostados, to use in an enchilada pasta bake, for a chicken taco salad, etc. So the “meat” part (or the hard part to me!) will be done. We’ll see how this works out!

For dinner we had the sour cream chicken enchiladas. Forgive the picture – you know fat-free cheese doesn’t always melt! :(


Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas
Adapted from Mom of 5 - another new, great blog I found!

Sauce:
1 can fat-free cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
1/2 tsp salt
1 (4 oz) can diced green chilies
1 pound chicken, cooked and shredded
Combine all ingredients and stir until smooth.
½ cup onions

Other ingredients:
12 mission corn tortillas
1 (10 oz) can green enchilada sauce
1 cup fat-free grated cheese
2 tsp cooking oil

Spray 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Drizzle ¼ to 1/3 of enchilada sauce on bottom, spreading with soon. Dip corn tortillas in hot oil to soften. Spread sauce across center of each tortilla. Roll each tortilla and place seam-side down in sauce in baking dish. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over the top. Sprinkle with cheese, cover with foil and bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 15 more minutes until bubbly hot.

My serving - I couldn't even eat it all!


Nutritional Information: 461 calories, 51 carbs, 9 fat grams and 39 protein grams.

Review: Loved it! Super creamy and very filling. I will say that I’d rather mix less fat-free cheese and “reduced fat” so that it will melt better (for looks!), but other than that I’d make it as is next time!

After dinner we just hung out, watched TV, chilled with Reuben - the usual - nice little Sunday! I ended up at 1,774 calories, 242 carbs, 42 fat grams and 89 protein grams. Here's what I ate.

And here is my book review of Stephenie Meyer's The Host. The Host is about a time when aliens have taken over human bodies, their "hosts." All is good, aliens are "correcting" the mistakes humans had made and life is seemingly perfect. However, there are "wild" humans trying to take back their lives and their planet, and some humans who are taken over by aliens aren't letting their hosts be happy - they're still in there heads trying to get aliens to help resist the alien takeover. This is a story of Wanderer who took over the body of a wild human. Her job was to tell the "seekers" where other wild humans are hiding, but instead she sympathizes with her host, Melanie, and instead of turning in those who Melanie loves, she falls in love with them herself and tries to help Melanie find them. There are SO many interesting themes that come up in terms of torture, racism, right vs. wrong and more - it's a VERY interesting story that is more than explained and examined in its more than 600 pages. I loved it! If I changed anything, I would just make it easier to get into - it's VERY hard to get into and once I read it I realized it needed a "star wars" type beginning to give the back story (similar to the one I gave above but much more high level!). 5 out of 5 for me - very different from the Twilight series but awesome nonetheless!

My Monday was pretty standard: worked, walked 4 miles during lunch, worked, walked 2 miles after work and did an upper body circuit. I'll post the circuit and the new recipe I had for dinner tomorrow - it was SO good!

Any other enchilada fans out there? What's your favorite Mexican dish? I love them all - burritos, nachos, tacos, tostados, taco salads, enchiladas, fajitas and more - if I had to pick... i'd probably pick enchiladas or chimichangas - sinful!

Anyone seen The Ghost of Girlfriends Past? I watched it yesterday and thought it was SO cute - I love Jennifer Garner and little Lacey Chabert - she's still Claudia Salinger circa Party of Five to me!

27 comments:

homecookedem said...

Your enchiladas look great!! I love enchiladas verdes. As a kid my favorite mexican dish to order was a beef chimichanga. Now I'd say my favorite dish would be a chicken quesadilla or a spicy shrimp dish.

Anonymous said...

will you come cook for me? i love the variety you always have!

thanks for the review on The Host. Ive always been curious about it!

Mom on the Run said...

Those enchiladas look so good. I think the family would enjoy them. We love Mexican themed food in this house.

I need to have a cooking marathon! It would make life so much easier.

Anonymous said...

Making chicken in advance is such a good idea! You're such a great meal planner, lady!

Dinner looks fantastic and makes me crave some nachos!

Anonymous said...

i loveeeeeeee mexican food and those enchiladas look deLISHHH!

Big Pissy said...

I agree: your food always looks so tasty! :)

SO glad you read "The Host"! I knew you'd love it. :) I totally agree that it was hard to get into. But once you do you can't put it down.

Great hanging out with you and Reuben!!!

laura dishes said...

I don't understand why fat free cheese doesn't melt?! So weird. I love enchiladas- I used to date a Mexican guy and he always made the best enchiladas. Oh, and I love anything with chorizo... esp breakfast wraps!

april said...

Wow you are a cooking queen!! The most I do to prepare for the week is boil some chicken and sweet potatoes! LOL

Pam said...

Okay, you've convinced me - I am off to put The Host on my must read list.

The enchiladas look super tasty and creamy - yum.

I am so glad you liked the tetrazzi - simple and easy food is the best.

Genesis said...

i was pretty bummed about Ghosts. it was really corny.

you dish looks really good. looks like thats going in my book.

Yelena said...

Wow- you are a cooking machine! I love cooking ahead of time and it looks like we were on the same track this weekend!

I love Mexican food- I'll take anything as long as it's smothered in salsa.

Thanks for the sweet comments on my blog today:)

Anonymous said...

I actually don't love Mexican food but I do love salsa and guacamole. I would be happy going to a Mexican restaurant and only eating those!

Erica said...

Great job with all the cooking! I love your idea for mexican chicken- rotel rocks. I usually make Josh a large batch of protein at the beginning of the week and then use it for his meals throughout as well.Saves so much time!! Have a good week

Vegas Emily said...

The enchiladas look SO good - I'm planning on trying those and the bacon ranch chicken this weekend!

I absolutely LOVED the Host! Isn't crazy how Stephanie Meyers came up with the whole thing? I'm hoping she'll write some more "adult" books =)

Anonymous said...

The food looks great as always. I LOVE mexican food...it's my favorite! Whenever I want to eat bad that's what I go for!! Of course there are healthy ways to make it but my mind is jacked as you know ;)

Pining for Pinterest said...

I have that same recipe for sour cream chicken enchiladas, but I do not do the low fat stuff :( It is a family favorite over here!

Anonymous said...

I love enchiladas, but I don't think I've ever made them.

erica said...

the food looks amazing! Cant wait to hear about your workout! I am trying C25K and not being a running I am in struggle city. So we shall see how that goes. I suppose I just need to focus into fitting into a wedding dress style I probably should have never bought!

I am not a huge mexican fan... I like tacos and nachos and that's the extent of it really.

xo

Kacy said...

I'm glad you still managed to have a great day even though you weren't feeling well.

I love enchiladas, espcially black bean enchis with avocado.

The Blonde Duck said...

I really like your idea for the Mexican chicken. I make mine by cooking chicken breasts with peppers and jalepenos in beef broth with seasonings and shredding it--but your way sounds like it'd be even better!

Lex said...

Thanks for replying about the stove microwavey thingy!
We DO have a built in cupboard thingy for the microwave so I'll probably stick with the hood then. That'll give us much more space it seems!

I'm REALLY liking your bloggie! When I am not at work I have a tonne of catching up/getting to know you! haha!

Gabriela said...

Who doesn't love Mexican food?! I put salsa on EVERYTHING!! My favorite is probably veggie fajitas with lots of guac!!

Lele said...

Nothing makes me happier than cooking marathons :D I just don't bother with fat free cheese- I'd rather not have any cheese for one meal and then splurge on the real stuff very occasionally!

Lele said...

Nothing makes me happier than cooking marathons :D I just don't bother with fat free cheese- I'd rather not have any cheese for one meal and then splurge on the real stuff very occasionally!

Gabriela said...

Who doesn't love Mexican food?! I put salsa on EVERYTHING!! My favorite is probably veggie fajitas with lots of guac!!

Fashion Meets Food said...

the food looks amazing! Cant wait to hear about your workout! I am trying C25K and not being a running I am in struggle city. So we shall see how that goes. I suppose I just need to focus into fitting into a wedding dress style I probably should have never bought!

I am not a huge mexican fan... I like tacos and nachos and that's the extent of it really.

xo

homecookedem said...

Your enchiladas look great!! I love enchiladas verdes. As a kid my favorite mexican dish to order was a beef chimichanga. Now I'd say my favorite dish would be a chicken quesadilla or a spicy shrimp dish.