Monday, March 16, 2009

so good to be back!

100_2470 I am so glad to finally have my computer back and running smoothly.  I’ve really missed the blog world!  The HP service was actually very timely and I got my laptop back within 4 days.  Wow!  Talk about quick customer service.  I also got a laptop surge protector for added protection.

While I don’t have a brand new website (still in the works!), I have much to make up for my absence and several yummy recipes to post ASAP!  Well, both of my midterms are finally over with and I’m glad to get started a new.  The first one for my adv exercise physiology class was quite the challenge, but the human physiology one was not as bad as I had anticipated.

Rotisserie chicken can be a great asset to quick and delicious meals because it’s always tender, juicy and already all cooked!  Sometimes it is even cheaper than the un-cooked bird.  While it’s not the leanest choice, it’s nice to mix up the white with the dark meat sometimes.  For this post, I feature rotisserie chicken in two really great recipes:  Chicken Enchiladas Verde and Chinese Chicken Salad.

 

Chicken Enchiladas Verde

Ingredients

  • 4 oz. low-fat cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup non-fat Greek yogurt
  • 1/2 cup green salsa (I use Trader Joe’s brand)
  • 1 large can (28 oz) Green Enchilada Sauce (I like the Macayos brand)
  • 2 cups grated 2% Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
  • 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
  • 1 cup canned no-salt/no-sugar corn kernels
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
  • Salt and pepper
  • 4 scallions, thinly sliced
  • handful of cilantro chopped plus more for topping
  • 12 to 14 soft round 6 to 8-inch flour or corn tortillas

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In a medium bowl cream together the cream cheese and the Greek yogurt. Stir in 1/2 cup of the salsa. Stir in 1 cup of the grated cheese. In a second bowl toss together the chicken, the corn, cumin, cayenne, salt, pepper, cilantro and 1/2 of the scallions. Add the chicken mixture to the cheese mixture and stir to combine.

In a large baking dish spread about a 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce over the bottom. Place the rest of the enchilada sauce in another wide, flat bowl.  Dip a tortilla in the sauce to coat and shake off excess.  Place about a 1/3 cup of the filling on a tortilla, tuck the sides in, roll up and transfer to the baking dish with the seam side down. Repeat process for remaining tortillas. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over enchiladas, spreading to coat all of them. Sprinkle remaining grated cheese over the top.  Transfer to preheated oven and bake for about 30 minutes until hot and bubbly; increase oven to 400 for about 5-10 minutes until nice and golden.  Sprinkle with remaining cilantro and serve with Greek yogurt (I like to add lime zest/juice) and non-fat refried beans!

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These are delicious for leftovers too!

 

Chinese Chicken Salad

Ingredients

(I don’t have exact measurements, because I just threw things in!)

  • 2 heads Napa Cabbage, finely sliced
  • bell pepper, diced – You could use all kinds of veggies
  • small can mandarin oranges
  • slivered almonds, toasted
  • corn (leftover from the enchiladas)
  • rotisserie chicken (leftover from the enchiladas – about 1 1/2-2 cups)

For the Dressing:

  • 1/2 cup Non-fat Greek yogurt
  • couple splashes rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • small handful chopped cilantro
  • salt and pepper to taste

Simply mix everything together!  This is really refreshing, especially with the warm weather approaching.  Yea, for sunshine!  If it ends up being a little more ‘wet’ than you would like, it’s great as a topping for salad greens like romaine too. 

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Do you miss it when you can’t blog, or if you aren’t by a computer to peruse your favorite blogs?

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

those both sound like great uses for rotisserie chicken! i recently did a robin miller quick fix morph meal where you bake bone-in chicken breasts day 1 and use the leftovers to make other things. i made chicken quesadillas and they were quite good! i'll have to keep your recipes in mind next time! :)

kristen :) said...

That's an awesome idea! Then you get all the good white meat too :)

Thinspired said...

I definitely miss blogging and other blogs when I can't do it! Glad you're back!
I often wonder how healthy a rotisserie chicken is. I am glad to see an RD eating them ;) Both recipes look great. Thank you for sharing with us!

kristen :) said...

While it's not the leanest choice, I always take off the skin and try to get all the extra fat off as I can. You could also marinate chicken breasts and grill or gently boil and chop into pieces for a even leaner option :)

Mo said...

Yum, that salad looks so good. I love all Asian. I agree that rotisserie chicken can be a great fast fix!

Emily said...

Glad your computer is fixed!

Love those enchiladas. We eat a lot of Mexican food in my house. :-)

Mica said...

Ooh, glad your computer is fixed! Thanks for the yummy recipes!

kristen :) said...

Thanks so much! I'm going to have to get one of those laptop lunch boxes :)

Emily said...

My thesis is on soysaponins and intestinal health. I did one set of experiments on their impact on cholesterol absorption (micellarization, digestion, uptake) and another on their effects on adherence and invasion of Salmonella. I'm so ready to be finally finished! I'm actually working on writing my thesis today...

kristen :) said...

wow, that sounds fascinating and a lot of hard work! Let me know your findings.

-kristen