Guest Star: Chicken Enchiladas

This recipe comes from Eric, who says: "This is one of a few recipes that I know from heart. It’s a recipe that my mom got from a family friend, but it’s been tweaked over the years. One of the great things about it, is it’s easy to adjust for anybody’s personal taste – just add or eliminate items in the filling (e.g., green onions or olives) as you see fit – or even if you are missing an ingredient in your pantry. It works very well with fat free/ reduced fat ingredients. The enchiladas aren’t very spicy, so you can always add heat to the enchilada sauce or use hotter peppers. In the end, though, this dish is creamy, cheesey, and heats up nicely the next day." Sounds fantastic to me!


Chicken Enchiladas
Serves: 4-6
Time: 1 hour (30 prep, 30 in oven)

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cubed, cooked, and cooled
16 oz. sour cream
2 cans condensed Cream of Chicken Soup (Cream of Celery or Mushroom can work, too)
1 bunch of green onions
1 small can (4 oz) diced green chiles
10 tortillas (12-inch)
Enchilada sauce, red (15-20 oz)
½ - ¾ lbs of cheese (cheddar and jack mix)
sliced black olives and jalapeños (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°. Pour a little enchilada sauce into the bottom of a rectangular casserole dish to coat all sides.

Combine chicken (cooked ahead of time, I usually boil it), sour cream, soup, green onions, and chiles in a medium bowl and mix well. Set 1 cup of the mixture aside.

To assemble an enchilada: pour a small amount of enchilada sauce onto a plate and coat both sides of a tortilla with the sauce. Spoon the filling mixture onto the tortilla (usually 2-3 healthy spoonfuls are enough). Roll the tortilla and place in the casserole dish, seam down. Continue to assemble the remaining enchiladas to fill up the casserole dish.

Combine any remaining enchilada sauce with the cup of filling set aside (and any filling that might be left over). Spread the mixture over the enchiladas in the casserole dish. Cover the enchiladas with cheese, and decorate with sliced olives and jalapeños if desired.


Bake uncovered for 20-30 minutes until the cheese is melted, bubbly, and delicious.

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos

Made this one up after a long week of eating out. For some reason goat cheese really goes well with sweet potato and sweet squashes, like pumpkin. This is completely veggie, by the way.

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos
Servings: 6 tacos (2-3 people)
Time: 25 minutes

6 flour tortillas (about 8")
1 large sweet potato (1 pound; yam, really)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained (14.5oz)
2 small garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 teaspoon cumin
olive oil
1/4 of a small red onion, sliced paper thin
1/4 cup or more cilantro
crumbled feta
lime juice
tomatillo-green chili salsa (optional)

Peel sweet potato and cut into 1/2 inch pieces. Place potato in 2 quart pot, cover with water, bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium-low and cook until tender, about 20 minutes. While the potato cooks, slice onion and chop or pluck (leaves whole) cilantro, setting aside for later. place black beans, garlic, and cumin into a medium frying pan. drizzle with olive oil, stir, and heat through, about 5-7 minutes. When the potatoes are done, drain water. Add bean mixture to potatoes, squeeze in a little lime juice (1 teaspoon or less), and mash roughly with a fork. There should be enough filling for about 6 tacos. Before rolling, top filling with cilantro, onion, and feta to taste. Green chili-tomatillo salsa is nice for dipping or on top, to add some heat!