Chicken Enchilada Burritos

I know you are thinking, "Wait a second Katie, what's an Enchilada Burrito?"  It's a time saver.  One day instead of dipping the tortillas, rolling the enchiladas, and then baking for 20 minutes, I just wrapped all the yummy insides up in a big flour tortilla.  Saved me about 30 minutes and still tasted divine. 

If I haven't told you before, I'm not much of a recipe-follower but I'm going to do my best to give you the How-To guide to Chicken Enchilada Burritos.

PART I: Spanish Rice

[this is the base for a lot of my dinners]

 

Saute half an onion and 2 or 3 garlic cloves in some oil. 

Add a cup of rice and saute for several minutes over medium high heat.

Add 2.5 cups of water (or 2 cups and a can of diced tomatoes)

Add a heaping tablespoon of Chili Powder, another tablespoon of Cumin, some salt, and 1-2 teaspoons of chili paste or taco sauce to make it spicy.

Stir and Cover.

Once you see it's boiling, turn the heat to low. 

DO NOT TAKE OFF THE COVER.

Set the timer for 15 minutes.

When its done, turn off the heat but LEAVE THE LID ON for another 10 minutes, 

then fluff with a fork and enjoy!

 

PART II: Stewed Chicken 

Here's how I do it: 

Fill a large pot with water, bring to a boil. 

Add half an onion, I don't even chop it.

 If you have any carrots or celery throw that in.

Add salt and several chicken bouillon cubes.

Add the chicken breast and boil 15-20 minutes.

Then shred the chicken using 2 forks to pull it apart. 

[save the broth for the enchilada sauce]

PART III:  Enchilada Sauce

 Take about half a stick of butter and melt it in a large saute pan.

Add 3-4 tablespoons of flour, or until it looks like this:

Sautee over medium heat until the mixture starts to darken, stirring constantly. 

Then add 3 or 4 heaping tablespoons of chili powder.

And 1 heaping tablespoon of cumin.

And salt to taste.

Stir continuously and slowly start adding chicken stock by the cup full.  

As it absorbs the broth, keep adding more 

until you get it to a nice saucy consistency.  

I like mine on the thicker side, and it takes about 4 cups of stock.  

Some people like it thinner.

Wow, looking at these pictures is making me hungry.  I love this stuff.  

You can use this enchilada sauce in multiple ways.  

I'm going to use mine in Chicken Enchilada Burritos.  

PART IV: Chicken Enchilada Burritos

Add your rice and chicken into the pan of enchilada sauce.

Simmer for several minutes.

I like to add sour cream, fresh onions, and cheese to mine and roll it into burritos.

My husband likes to eat his in taco form.

Both are amazing.  Enjoy!

Tomorrow night, I will be making this for dinner. 

 Why tomorrow, not today you ask? 

a) My flank steak is super frozen and meat that thaws slowly always tastes better. If it thaws by tonight, I'll set it marinating till dinnertime tomorrow. 

b) Tonight we are going for a Pre-Easter dinner at The Tomato.  No, I don't know why the Pre-Easter dinner is 3 and a half weeks before Easter.  And no, I don't know why Pre-Easter dinner is actually turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and cranberries.  In Dominica, we take what we can get!

This recipe of Beef with Peppers comes from Ree at The Pioneer Woman, a personal fave. View it on her blog to see step by step photos.  Enjoy!

Beef with Peppers

Ingredients

• 1-½ pound Flank Steak, Sliced Very Thin Against The Grain
• ½ cups Low Sodium Soy Sauce
• 3 Tablespoons Sherry
• 2 Tablespoons Packed Brown Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
• 1 Tablespoon Minced Fresh Ginger
• 2 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1 teaspoon Red Chile Paste (or A Few Dashes Red Chile Oil)
• 2 Tablespoons Canola Oil
• 1 whole Medium Yellow Onion Sliced
• 2 whole Red Bell Peppers, Cored And Sliced Into Rings
• 1 Tablespoon Diced Fresh Jalapeno (or 1 Teaspoon Dice Hot Pepper)
• Red Pepper Flakes, For Sprinkling
• Cilantro Leaves

Preparation Instructions

Mix together soy sauce, sherry, brown sugar, cornstarch, ginger, garlic, and chili paste (or chili oil.) Place sliced beef in the mixture and toss to coat. Set aside.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high to high heat. When it is very hot, throw in the onions and cook for less than a minute. Remove to a separate plate. Return skillet to flame, allow to reheat, and add bell peppers (and hot pepper/jalapeno if using.) Cook for a minute, tossing, until peppers have brown/black bits but are still firm. Remove to a plate.
Return skillet to heat and allow to get hot. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the skillet. Add 1/3 of the meat mixture, evenly distributing over the surface of the skillet. Allow to sit for 20 to 30 seconds, then turn with tongs. Cook for another 30 seconds, then remove to a separate plate. Repeat with remaining meat until all brown.
Reduce heat to low. Add all meat, onions, and peppers to the skillet and toss to combine. Pour in remaining sauce (the sauce the meat marinated in) and stir. Allow to simmer on low for a few minutes. Sauce will slowly thicken. Turn off heat.
Turn off boiling water, then throw in noodles. Stir, then allow noodles to sit in hot water for 8 minutes or so (check package directions to be sure.) Drain, then add 1/2 the noodles to stir fry. Toss together, then add more noodles to taste. Add very hot water if needed to thin.
Top with cilantro leaves. Serve immediately.

 

Island Spice Pork (loins, chops, whatever you can get)

Ladies this has quickly become a Budd family favorite (we sent the recipe back home as well).

Ingredients:

• It's easy to make and all the ingredients are readily available here on the island.
• Pork pieces, chops, etc. can be found at Save-A-Lot and can be frozen to use at a later date.

Time:
This is a quick recipe takes about 30 minutes prep and bake.

Sides:
I made bluecheese mashed potatoes and sauteed greenbeans as sides and fried plantains for dessert!

Whole meal can be done in 1 hour - serve with red/white wine and it's a wonderful dinner date meal for you and the hubby!

Island Spice Pork Tenderloin
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Ingredients:
For the spice rub:
2 tsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 pork tenderloins (about 2-2½ lbs. total)
2 tbsp. olive oil
For the glaze:
½ cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tbsp. (2-3 cloves) finely minced garlic
1½ tsp. Tabasco sauce

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Combine the salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder and cinnamon in a small bowl. Stir together with a fork to blend.  Pat the mixture over the pork tenderloins.

Heat the olive oil in an ovenproof 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat.  Place the tenderloins in the skillet and brown on all sides, turning occasionally, about 4 minutes total.  Remove from the heat, leaving the pork in the skillet.

Stir together the brown sugar, garlic and Tabasco in a small bowl until blended.  Spread the mixture evenly over the tops of the tenderloins.

Place the skillet in the preheated oven and roast about 20 minutes, until an instant-read themometer inserted in the center of each tenderloin registers 140˚ F.  Loosely tent the skillet with foil and let stand 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

http://annies-eats.net/2010/03/17/island-spice-pork-tenderloin/