Classic Chicken Enchiladas

Without a doubt, chicken enchiladas are my guilty pleasure. I have a slight obsession with Mexican food to begin with, but I rarely make it at home (with the exception of beef tacos, which happens every.single.week).

Now, I do have a fantastic crock pot chicken enchiladas recipe posted on All Kinds of Yumm, and while that’s always my fall-back, this has a more authentic taste to it. My friend, Terri, mentioned that I should use corn tortillas in my enchiladas. I ignored her advice for the longest time, until all I had were corn tortillas, and I had forgotten to put the chicken in the crock pot. But on that particular day, I wanted-no, I needed-chicken enchiladas. I had to make due.

I decided to wing it and came up with this fantastic recipe.

Ingredients (makes about 16 small enchiladas and feeds about 4 people):

• Corn tortillas
• 8 oz. bag Mexican cheese
• 28 oz. Las Palmas enchilada sauce
• 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• Oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

We’re going to start with the chicken. Place it in a bag and, using a tenderizer, flatten it to about ½ inch thickness. Place in a pan on medium-high heat. Top with half of taco seasoning and cook each side for about 5 minutes, taking turns on each side until chicken is completely cooked.

Chop into small pieces.

In a small pan, heat 1 tbsp. oil (I used peanut oil) on medium-high heat. Now, pour about half of your enchilada sauce into a large bowl and (one at a time) dip a corn tortilla into it.

Place in the pan with oil.

Let cook for about 10 seconds on each side, or until it starts to bubble.

Set aside and continue with the rest of the corn tortillas. You’ll need to do this with about 16 tortillas. If one or two fall apart, don’t think about it-just eat it.

Now we’re going to arrange the chicken enchialdas. Start by topping the tortilla with chicken. Don't overload it-a little bit goes a long way here.

Top with about 1 tbsp. cheese.

Lightly drizzle with enchilada sauce. Wrap it up tightly and place in a 13x9 pan. Continue until chicken is gone.

Once they’re all lined up, top with all the rest of the enchilada sauce you have and cover with remaining Mexican cheese. Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

Serve warm with sour cream or your other favorite toppings.

Love and the classics,

-->

Oreo Truffles

It happens to all of us: the Christmas Cookie Exchange party invitation. The source is unpredictable. It could be your mother-in-law, a co-worker...maybe even your pastor's wife.

Or, in this case, your mechanic's wife.

Our mechanic, Chuck, who owns Certified Automotive in Taylors, SC, is a dear, dear man. I can't count the number of times I've shown up, tears in my eyes, after some random tire-puncture or unintentional off-roading session. We are very blessed that he and his wife, Trish, attend our church.

So Trish invited me to a Christmas Cookie Exchange Party at their place. It turns out half the church had RSVP'ed. People know about my blog, and sometimes, I feel this crazy pressure to make the most awe-inspiring dish in the place.

I stuck with truffles.

The beauty about these truffles is that they're no-bake, and more importantly, they're affordable when every woman in the church is attending. Chocolate. Ain't. Cheap. I'm making 6 dozen, but the recipe below is for 2 dozen.


Ingredients:

• 32 Oreos, crushed
• 8 oz. cream cheese
• 16 oz. white baker's chocolate (you can also use the equivalent in white chocolate chips)
• Toothpicks

Directions:

• Using hands, combine crushed Oreos and cream cheese.
• Roll into small, round balls. Place on cookie sheet lined with wax paper and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
• Either in microwave or a pan, melt the white chocolate. 
• Using the toothpicks, stab each Oreo truffle and roll into melted chocolate, covering thoroughly. Place on wax paper. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes once they're all covered in chocolate.
• Using remaining melted chocolate and a spoon, drizzle onto truffles in a zig-zag pattern until all the chocolate is gone.

Love,

-->