Chicken Salad

Sunday night is generally bbq night at our house. In addition to the dinner, I often bbq a few boneless/skinless chicken breasts that are lightly seasoned with salt and pepper. I then have cooked chicken to use throughout the week in various recipes. Every once in a while, I like to toss together a quick chicken salad for sandwiches during the work week. Below is my favorite chicken salad recipe. I learned it while working at a chocolate shop/cafe during high school. Please do not hesitate to alter the ingredient amounts as they may vary largely by personal preference. For example, I'm not a huge fan of mayo, so I tend to make my chicken salad on the dry side.

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1 cup celery, chopped
1 cup seedless grapes, halved
1/2 cup walnut pieces
start with 2-3 tablespoons mayo
dried tarragon, to taste
freshly ground pepper, to taste
salt, to taste

Combine shredded chicken, chopped celery, walnuts and halved grapes. Add mayo-- start with less and add until you have reached the desired consistency. Season to taste with tarragon, salt and pepper. Store in a tightly sealed container in the fridge until chilled. Serve on your favorite sandwich bread (mine is oatnut). I really enjoy these sandwiches with a couple thick slices of homegrown tomatoes. Enjoy!

Walnut Feta Dip

I shouldn't even be sharing this recipe as it has become one of my favorite "wow them" party recipes. However, I like it so much that I simply couldn't resist ;). This dip is sophisticated, delicious and stupidly simple to make.

1 cup walnuts
1 medium handful fresh parsley (very easy to grow)
1 cup feta cheese
1/2 cup water

In a food processor (I have a mini), combine walnuts and parsley and pulse until finely chopped. Add feta and water and blend until smooth. Serve with high quality pita chips or another classy dipper. This would also make a delightful sandwich spread.

Enjoy!

Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

I feel that I should preface this post with the fact that I've lived in the Southwestern United States for the majority of my life. More specifically, my childhood (through high school) was spent in Albuquerque, NM. Anyone from New Mexico considers themselves to be a "Mexican food connoisseur" of sorts, and anyone who's never been there thinks that New Mexicans are simply pretentious and perhaps a bit loony about their food. I went to college in Arizona, and I can't tell you how shocked I was when I ordered "green" on my enchiladas and received a tomatillo-based travesty! That being said, currently living in Austin, I have slowly learned to appreciate TexMex for what it is rather than expecting my beloved New Mexican cuisine at local restaurants. I have had to expand my Mexican food horizons and refrain from ordering my favorite New Mexican fare. Consequently, I never EVER order green chile chicken enchiladas. Recently, I found cans of Hatch green chiles in my local grocery store (Yes, there is a difference), and I was stoked. I tried a few different enchilada sauce recipes, and I have finally settled on one from my newly acquired cookbook, Red or Green: New Mexico Cuisine by Clyde Casey. It is actually a recipe for green chile stew, so you can just stop with the sauce if you'd like. I suggest making the sauce/stew the day before assembly for a couple of reasons.
1. Cold sauce is easier to work with.
2. It thickens a bit.
3. The flavors have been given a chance to meld.
Now that I have ranted on and on about expecting traditional New Mexican food, I'm going a bit nontraditional here with my use of a stew as an enchilada sauce. Sorry, but I promise it's good. The stew itself is quite healthy, although that is somewhat negated in the enchilada assembly portion. At any rate, enjoy!

Green Chile Stew/Sauce:

2 lbs chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces (I use kitchen scissors for this)
3 tbls all purpose flour
2 tbls butter
1 cup white onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups tomato, chopped
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cumin
water, as needed
4 4-oz cans of Hatch green chiles, chopped

1. Toss chicken with flour to cat. In a Dutch oven, or similarly sized pot, heat butter and add chicken. Stir until slightly cooked through. Add onion and garlic, and cook until soft (stirring frequently).
   
2. Add tomatoes, salt, oregano and cumin. Cover and simmer for ca. 1 hour. Add water as needed to achieve desired thickness (I add about one cup of water at the beginning).
   
3. Add chiles and simmer for 30 more minutes.

Enchilada Assembly:

12+ corn tortillas
Canola oil
Lots of cheese (I use a "Mexican blend," but there are a lot of options . . . cheddar, colby-jack, etc.)
Green chile enchilada sauce

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
2. Heat a thin layer of oil in a small skillet and gently fry tortillas for a couple of seconds on each side. Remember, you want them to remain pliable. Drain well.
   
3. Add a spoonful or two of sauce and a sprinkling of cheese to each tortilla and roll it up. Transfer to a 9x13" pan as you go. Sorry about the lack of measurement specifics, but you want enough filling so that it is full without being impossible to roll-up. Don't worry about spillage.
4. When the pan is full of tightly packed enchiladas, poor the remaining sauce on top and cover with as much cheese as you like.
5. Bake until the cheese on top is melted and everything looks bubbly, about 20 minutes.

Serve with Spanish rice and refried beans. If you want to be truly authentic, follow the meal with warm sopapillas served with honey. Perhaps I will attempt those in the future. Please feel free to post comments and suggestions about this or any recipe posting.