Recipe - Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas

Beware, they are loaded with cheese!

I have been making these enchiladas for several years now. My family loves them and asked for this meal frequently. You can also prepare these, cover in foil and freeze until you are ready to cook. I normally make extras for this reason.

Sorry about the poor picture quality.


Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas

24 Corn tortillas
Large bag grated sharp cheddar cheese
Green onions (chopped)
2 Onions (finely chopped)
Nacho cheese (2 cans)
4-5 Skinless boneless chicken breasts
Cooking oil
Plenty of paper towels
2 Shallow foil pans (Coated with PAM Cooking Spray)

First boil the chicken breast and then let them cool. Once cooled, shred and place in a bowl.

In preparation, I put the shredded cheese, onions and shredded chicken in separate bowls. Fold a couple of paper towels and place on a cutting board or whatever you are making the enchiladas on so that you can soak the oil from the tortillas. I keep a couple of folded paper towels in hand to pat the top as well.

Now, put enough cooking oil in a skillet to cover the bottom (then a little more) and heat over a low-med heat.

Once the oil is hot, place a tortilla in the oil for about 10 seconds then using tongs flip it over and put the other side in the oil for another 10 seconds or so. Without gripping the tortilla too hard (or you will put a hole in it), lift it from the oil and let it drain a few seconds. Place the tortilla on the paper towel and pat the oil.

Next get about 1/2 tbsp of nacho cheese and spread on the half of the tortilla closest to you. Put some onion, chicken and grated cheese on it then roll it up fairly tight.

Place then rolled up enchilada down in the foil pan. Repeat until pan is full. I normally get about 7 enchiladas in one row for two rows to a pan. This is a total of 14 enchiladas per pan.

Once you have all of the enchiladas are in the pan(s) spread a layer of nacho cheese on top. Sprinkle some onion, grated cheese then green onion on top.

Place in a preheated oven at 425° for about 20 minutes or until the cheese is good and melted.

Recipe - Charra Beans

I'm not a fan of refried beans, but I do like Charra Beans. I hope that you like these.


Charra Beans

1 pound of pinto beans (about 2 cups)
4 or 5 slices of bacon
1/4 cup juice from canned jalapenos
1/4 tablespoons of minced garlic (about 3 large cloves)
1/2 medium onion
3 or 4 jalapenos (chopped)
1/2 bunch of cilantro (chopped)
1/4 pound of fat back (or salt pork)
1 can of Rotel
32 oz beef broth
Salt to taste

Sort and rinse your beans then soak overnight.

Drain the beans, place them in a large stock pot and cover the beans with the beef broth and 3 cups of water for a total of 7 cups liquid.

Add the garlic, onion, jalapeno juice and fat back. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce to a simmer. Be sure to stir occasionally.

After an hour and a half or two, check the beans for the desired texture. If they are not tender enough, keep cooking them.

While the beans are cooking, cut the bacon into 1" pieces and cook in a skillet.

Once the beans are tender enough, add the bacon, jalapenos, Rotel (with juice) and the cilantro. Cook for another 30 minutes or so.

Remove the fat back and serve.

Recipe - Pico de gallo

Pico de Gallo is very easy to make and goes great with so many dishes. I prefer mine with cilantro, but I know some people don't like cilantro. If your one of those, just omit it from the recipe. In the pictures, I mixed 3 vine ripened tomatoes with one roma tomato. Use whatever type of tomatos that you prefer. All ingredients can be adjusted to taste.

Pico De Gallo

3 or 4 Fresh ripe tomatoes (diced)
2 Jalapenos (diced)
1 Small onion (diced)
4 or 5 Sprigs cilantro (chopped)
1/2 Lime

Mix all ingredients except for the lime together in a bowl. Squeeze in the juice of the lime and mix well.

Recipe - Carne y papitas

This is a quick, easy meal to make. When I took the pictures, I had to make a couple of substitutions, but hopefully you get the idea.

Recipe courtesy of Brian Spagnola

Carne y papitas

1 Lb ground beef or stew meat
2 Small potatoes sliced fairly thin
1 Can chicken broth
1 Can Rotel
2 Cloves garlic (chopped)
1 Tbsp cumin
Salt
Pepper


Brown the meat in a skillet, preferably cast iron. Drain the fat and add all ingredients with enough chicken broth to cover the mixture. Cook until potatoes are soft.

Eat with tortillas and jalapenos.

Recipe - Chicken Fried Steak

My favorite meal is Chicken Fried steak. I just can't get enough of it. Hope that you like this as well as I do.

Chicken Fried Steak

Cubed Steak (Several good sized pieces)
Milk
Flour
Eggs (3)
Lawry's Season Salt
Garlic Powder
Cooking oil

Mix the eggs with about 1/4 cup of milk in a bowl. Put about a cup of flour in another bowl.

Dredge a steak in the flour, then in the milk/egg mixture. Season both sides with season salt and garlic powder then dredge in the flour again.

Do this to all of your steaks, place them in a single layer on a platter and into the refrigerator for about an hour.

When the hour is up, pour cooking oil into a skillet so there is about 1/4" oil in the skillet. On med-high, heat the skillet and place the steaks in the grease once it's hot.

Don't crowd the steaks. Give them room.

Cook them for about 5 minutes each side or until golden brown. Place on paper towels to soak the grease.

Gravy

Dispose of most of the oil in the skillet. Add flour to the hot oil to make a paste. Slowly add milk and keep stirring to eliminate the lumps. Once it starts to boil, reduce to a simmer. Add milk until desired thickness is obtained.