Chicken Enchiladas

Another delicious chicken enchilada recipe! I'm not sure I've made it clear how very much I love chicken enchiladas. I try almost every recipe I come across. Often these recipes are all very similar, with maybe one different ingredient than the recipe before, but this one just happened to catch my eye.

It has a nice twist from the more 'wet' baked enchiladas which, in-turn, also makes it taste a little lighter, but still ends up being quite filling. I love the spice level and the suggested trimmings. Overall a really great recipe, easy and quick to make and a nice way to switch things up!

Ingredients

3 cups chopped cooked chicken
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese with peppers (Pepper Jack)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
8 (8-inch) flour tortillas
Vegetable cooking spray
1 (8-ounce) container sour cream
1 (8-ounce) bottle green taco sauce
Toppings: diced tomato, chopped avocado, chopped green onions, sliced ripe olives, chopped cilantro

Directions

Stir together first 5 ingredients. Spoon chicken mixture evenly over each tortilla, and roll up. Arrange in a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Coat tortillas with vegetable cooking spray.

Bake at 350° for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown.

Stir together sour cream and taco sauce. Spoon over hot enchiladas, and sprinkle with toppings.


Recipe Source: MyRecipes.com

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Pepperoni Pizza & Mushroom Penne

Bored, hungry and have leftovers from last night's home-made pizza? Here's a quick and easy recipe I devised one day with leftover ingredients! My family and I made French Bread Pizza's one night for a quick pizza fix. There was plenty of ingredients left over and the options are limitless! For my recipe I used mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, penne pasta, marinara sauce and mushrooms. But sauteed peppers, onions and anything pizza-loving heart desires can be added to this little fix.

Recipe makes 2 portions (can be doubled)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups uncooked penne pasta
1 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup cremini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes (optional)
1 cup marinara sauce (chose your favorite! I used Prego Spicy Sausage Sauce)
2 oz cream cheese
3/4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
12 (or more) slices of pepperoni, sliced into quarters

Directions

Cook pasta according to package directions and set aside.

Turn oven on to Broil.

In a pot over medium heat, add olive oil and the sliced mushrooms and garlic powder and sauteé for 2-5 minutes (adding half of the sliced pepperoni mid-way through the process). Add dried basil, oregano and the marinara sauce and bring to temperature. Once the sauce has begun to heat, add in the cream cheese and stir until it has blended with the mushroom sauce. Add in 1/4 of the mozzarella cheese and stir to combine. Finally add in the pasta and remove from the heat.

Place the pasta sauce mixture into ramekins. Layer pasta and remaining cheese in two layers, finishing with cheese later. (Pasta, cheese, pasta, cheese). Top with remaining pepperoni.

Broil until cheese is beginning to bubble and become golden. Top with freshly sliced basil if desired.

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Jalapeno Fresco Spicy Chicken Sandwich - Wendy's - ITS BAAAAACKKK

Jalapeno Fresco Spicy Chicken Sandwich - Wendy's - 2016

ITS BAAAACK!! Hands down one of my all time favorite fast food choices. Wendy's gives you spicy and delicious in more ways than one and brought it back with their limited time Jalapeno Fresco Spicy Chicken sandwich. Please never leave the menu (wishful thinking of course).

Absolutely nothing has changed about this sandwich- everything is still delicious and unique. I wish I could recreate the cheese sauce on this sandwich so I can make it at home-- time to crack that mystery.

This spicy sandwich is a tasty contender, made with delicious, hot crispy chicken with extremely fresh-diced jalapenos, colby jack cheese and served with a bold tasting ghost pepper sauce all nestled upon a warm, red-jalapeno bun.

Still impressive are the choice to serve this spicy sandwich with crunchy, fresh jalapenos.

I can't help but cash in on as many of these as possible while they are still on the menu! So far I've had four of them-- I grab one for lunch and bring a second one home to have for lunch the next day! Even re-heated or cold from the fridge these babies still rock my world. 

They've gone up twenty cents in price since 2015-- I picked up the Jalapeno Fresco Chicken at my local Wendy's for $5.29 each.

-Danno

Here is my review of the Fresco Chicken Sandwich from 2015

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Bagel Shop Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Bagel Shop Chicken Salad on a Cheddar bagel

Basil and garlic create flavorful chicken salad to top fresh bagels to serve or pack.This fresh, tasty rendition of chicken salad is a tasty recipe you'll want to make time and time again! Super easy to make and great to prep for lunch the next day! The basil and garlic pack some great flavor into this lunch (or dinner!) time classic!

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 cups chopped cooked chicken (we used a fresh cooked rotisserie chicken)
1/2 cup chopped precooked bacon (about 6 or 7 slices)
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
2 tablespoons finely chopped green onions (2 medium)
1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
4 bagels (whole-grain, sesame seed, plain, or other bagel of choice), split
Thin cucumber slices or lettuce leaves, if desired

Directions

In medium bowl, mix chicken, bacon, celery, onions, basil, garlic powder and mayonnaise.

Spread chicken mixture on bottom halves of bagels. Top with cucumber slices. Cover with top halves of bagels. Serve immediately, or wrap each sandwich in plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 24 hours.

Recipe Source: [link]

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Spicy Nacho Chicken Sandwich - Jack In The Box

I was driving past our local Jack's the other day and saw their new menu item featured in the window. Spicy? Nacho? CHEESE? Chicken? Alright I'll bite (obviously). I was surprised since I'd literally just tried out their last new menu item which, to me, seemed to breeze in and out pretty fast.

The Spicy Nacho Chicken Sandwich is Jack's current, new feature item in their late-night Munchie Meal. The sandwich features spicy crispy chicken topped with onion rings all, covered in nacho cheese sauce with jalapeños on toasted sourdough bread.

My first impression? Definitely not all I was hoping for. The bread was very greasy for starters. The chicken was crispy (which I assume is supposed to replicate the crunch of tortilla chips?) had tasty onion rings, a good cheese sauce, and as usual with their spicy food, very pleasantly spicy jalapenos (which pretty much had it for me - to be honest I would have loved a couple more). Overall I'm not sure I quite grasp the "nacho" aspect if this sandwich, aside from the crunchy chicken and cheese sauce.

Another funny detail is that I was able to order the sandwich by itself without the munchie meal. The guy at the drive-through  window told me over the mic that each sandwich was $8 before midnight which honestly made my jaw hit the floor, but when I asked for two (one for my mom) he only charged me $4.00 for each.

-Danno

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Black Pepper Cheeseburger - Jack In The Box

Its July 2015 and Jack's menu is rotating through their menu items. I saw a commercial for their Black Pepper Cheeseburger and its looked pretty darn good! So this past week I decided to swing by and pick one up (right before they did another menu change too-- phew!!)

I'm not much for beef burgers and have to be really craving one (or have it advertized as killer spicy) in order for me to even be interested-- this was a real switch in my usual way of things and I'll go ahead and admit, it wasn't a bad switch for a change.

The burger was overall, pretty good flavor. Nice peppery taste as described. Contrary to some sandwiches I've had in the past, I could actually taste the onion rings. It was also a good sized, large burger and wasn't drippy, wet or messy at all. One of the nicest elements was the super soft, buttery bun. I pick up the Black Pepper Cheeseburger at my local Jack in the Box for $4.69 ($5.11 w/ tax).

If it returns to the menu and I were in the mood for it, I'd most likely try it again.

-Danno

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Fajita Chicken Wraps (Paleo)

Paleo! To be honest, it seems like a super healthy food way of life. I recently began digging for info on healthy meals and after reading about Paleo, I decided to look up some recipes! There are some great ones (which you can totally demolish and switch up ingredients- but that would defeat the purpose.. though I'll admit we did make this recipe for dinner and serve it on flour tortillas with guacamole, oops).

Chicken is one of my top favorite proteins and especially because you can do so much with it (seasonings galore!). I bookmarked a ton of great looking recipes which I hope to make, and although I'm currently not sticking to a strictly Paleo diet, having healthier meals every so often could be a great change.

This recipe makes great leftovers and freezes/reheats well! In the photo here I'd used leftovers and ate lunch the 'Paleo' way the next day :)

*I also doubled up on this recipe! We had extra ingredients in the house and it doubles up nicely!

Servings 2

Ingredients

2 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil (divided)
1 White onion (medium, thinly sliced and divided)
1 Green bell pepper thinly sliced
1 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp Chilli powder
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 Boneless and skinless chicken breasts
3/4 cup Tomato salsa
1 cup Chicken stock
Juice of 1 lime
Leafy lettuce (for serving)

Directions

Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a medium saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add half of the diced onion and sauté for 4-5 minutes. Stir in the cumin and chili powder.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Add the chicken, salsa, and chicken stock to the pan and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to simmer and cook, covered, for 15-20 minutes, or until the chicken is completely cooked through.

Meanwhile, melt the remaining olive oil in a separate pan over medium heat. Add the other half of the onion and all of the bell pepper and sauté for 5-6 minutes, or until slightly softened. Set aside.

Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside to cool. Bring the stock in the pan back to a boil and reduce for 5-8 minutes. Once the chicken has cooled enough to handle, shred with two forks. Place back into the pan and reduce the heat to low.

Stir in the lime juice and adjust the seasonings to taste. Serve on leaves of lettuce, topped with sautéed onions and peppers.

Recipe Source: UltimatePaleoGuide

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Mixed Berry Chambord Cake

This delicious, moist, fruity cake recipe was shared with me by an old friend back in the day. The original recipe was from an old cookbook and the only source for the longest time was the scanned page my friend had. She insisted this was an amazing cake and when I tried it? I couldn't possibly have agreed more.

 

Ingredients 

5 eggs
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
20 Tbs. (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room
temperature, cut into small pieces
2 Tbs. Chambord liqueur
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups raspberries
1 1/2 cups blueberries or blackberries
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting (optional)

Directions

Preheat an oven to 325°F. Butter and flour a bundt cake pan.

In a large bowl, blend the eggs and granulated sugar. Using an electric mixer, beat in the butter and liqueur until fluffy. Add all but 2 Tbs. of the flour and the baking powder and salt, and beat until well incorporated and no lumps remain.

In another bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups of the raspberries and the blueberries/blackberries with the remaining 2 Tbs. flour. Toss to coat the berries evenly with the flour. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the berries into the batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the cake cool in the pan for 20 to 25 minutes. Unmold the cake onto the rack and let cool completely.

Dust the cake with confectioners' sugar.

Serves 10 to 12.

(originally edited 6/15/2015)

Adapted from original recipe: Williams-Sonoma.com

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Roasted Garlic Fettucine Alfredo (Life's Ambrosia)

One of my favorite recipes sources online, Life's Ambrosia has some of best recipes I've ever tried and have made time and time again. Great, bold, delicious flavors and fun, unique recipes. I've never been disappointed.

Variation with broccoli!

One of the recipes I love the most is the Roasted Garlic Fettuccine Alfredo. I've made this recipe at least a dozen time now and have done variations adding broccoli and other different veggies- even seasoned, cooked chicken. This is seriously one of the best fettuccine recipes I've ever had and nothing can beat. You've just gotta try it!

Serves 4
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

• 1 head garlic
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 pound dried fettuccine pasta
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• salt 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Cut the top 1/4 inch off the garlic. Place garlic on a piece of aluminum foil. Drizzle oil over the top. Wrap in the foil and roast for 40 - 45 minutes or until browned and soft. Remove from oven. Allow to cool. Use a fork to remove cloves. Mash together in a bowl.
3. Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, reserve 1/2 cup pasta water.
4. While the pasta is cooking, melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add in roasted garlic and cook until garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute.
5. Stir in 1/2 of the cheese and cook just until it starts to melt. Stir in 1/2 of the cream and whisk until the cheese melts. Add in remaining cheese and cream. Continue whisking until smooth. Add pepper and parsley. If sauce appears to thick, thin with a little of the reserved pasta water.
6. Add hot pasta and toss to coat. Add salt if needed. Serve immediately.

Recipe Source: LifesAmbrosia.com

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Blazin' Chicken Sandwich - Jack In The Box

Jack's Blazin' Chicken Sandwich - 2014

Jack in the Box's newest creation hit the menu in 2014 with a spicy new twist on a crispy chicken sandwich. Jack's Blazin' Chicken features a zesty, flavorful, ghost pepper ranch sauce and pickled jalapenos for that maximum spice boost. Joining the party is a crispy fried chicken patty, American white cheese, caramelized onions, tomatoes and crisp iceberg lettuce.

Jack's Blazin' Chicken Sandwich - 2015

 This was probably one of my favorite fast food menu items in a very long time. And it must have been a hit- because it returned to the menu this year from April-May 2015. The first year, I enjoyed this sandwich so much that I returned for several more and since then have consumed at least ten of them (which is a LOT for a person who doesn't frequent fast food). I love the flavor of ghost peppers and although the sauce is somewhat mild, the addition of the pickled jalapenos helps pack the punch needed to make this sandwich pleasantly spicy. (They always added at least half a dozen jalapenos to mine!)

Menu board at Jack in the Box featuring the Blazin' Chicken.

While enjoyable, my only complaint is that while the fried chicken patty is good, it is much greasier than it should be. All in all, I loved this sandwich and hope it makes a comeback more than once a year, every year! I always look forward to it. These ran about $4.95 at my local Jack in the Box.

-Danno

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Thai Pavilion Garlic Chili Stir Fry

Here we have a simple winner. One of my favorite "non-home-made" snacks. Usually when I come across grocery store food items labeled "spicy", they very rarely live up to that claim. But these simple, boxed noodles shows up with delicious, spicy, sweet, robust and garlicy flavors and needs nothing extra (although I prettied things up with a dash of crushed pepper and cilantro).

I absolutely love these noodles. There's a delicious alternative on the back of the package to add beef and veggies, as as much as I wanted to try it, the noodles and sauce by themselves was enough for me.

Unfortunately, they no longer sell this item in this format. They do however have a quick-prep, microwaveable version available here on Amazon.com. I can't say for sure if the flavors measure up to this older version- but I'm sure I'll try it and find out someday soon!

-Danno

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Portos Bakery, California (2014)

Fourth of July weekend 2014! Anime Expo's selected weekend every year for many years. I was lucky enough to make it my tenth year, although only able to attend for a half-day (where in previous years starting in 2003, I had attended almost full weekend). But 2014 was a fun year- being able to get out for the summer and enjoy the con with the best people on earth, and in the most fun environment.

The con was long, hot (at times grueling), but never not fun. After the long, fun-filled adventure day, my buds and I went by to meet up with one of our parties family members who was fairly local. That took us from Los Angeles to Valencia, and from there we decided to grab some sweet, sweet grub and a place called Portos Bakery!

Mango Cheesecake - Portos Bakery, Valencia, California.

NO LIE. This place has some of the best baked goods I've ever had and I only wished I'd have had more room for more! The Mango cheesecake was one of the most delicious things I've ever had. I honestly forget some of the stuff I had (some kind of potato cake? And possibly the other things were some kind of arancini?)

I ordered a toasted turkey sandwich and enjoyed some other treats my friends shared with me. One of them had this kind of stuffed, airy, mango cake type of thing- MAN all these things were divine!

If you're ever int he area- you've gotta check out Portos!

-Danno

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