Baked Chicken Chimichangas

A few weeks ago I saw this recipe pop up on the weekly menu post on a message board I frequent.  I clicked over to the recipe and couldn't figure out why I missed it the first time it was posted!  I knew we would love this and it met all of my "weeknight" requirements.  I filed it away knowing it would come up on our rotation soon.  Sure enough, a short work week following vacation was the perfect time.

I used my lazy crockpot recipe for the chicken filling, since I wanted to have extra chicken for lunches and even used some on a Mexican pizza one night.  But the chicken isn't what makes this dish.  It is the sauce.  The sauce...was just fantastic.  I used light sour cream, so I didn't feel quite as bad about wanting to lick the spoon.  Fortunately, half of the sauce went into the freezer meaning I'll be making these again soon.

Baked Chicken Chimichangas with Creamy Tomatillo Sauce adapted from So Tasty, So Yummy

• 2 lbs chicken tenders
• 2 packages taco seasoning
• 2 cans Ro-Tel
• burrito size flour tortillas
• shredded Mexican style cheese (about 1/2 cup per serving needed)
• 1 28oz can tomatillos, drained
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 t cumin
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 T cliantro, chopped
• 1/2 jalapeno, seeded & diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/4 t sugar
• 1 cup light sour cream

In a crockpot, combine the chicken, taco seasoning & Ro-Tel (you may need to add an additional can of water).  Cook for 4 hours on high or 6-8 on low.  Shred the chicken and stir until combined.

Spoon about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of chicken on to each tortilla.  Add 1/2 cup shredded cheese and roll up, burrito style.  Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray, place the burrito on the sheet & spray with cooking spray.  Bake in a 425 degree oven, for about 20 minutes.

In a large Dutch oven, combine the tomatillos, broth, garlic, cliantro, jalapeno, lime juice & spices.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat & simmer for about 20 minutes.  Remove from the heat and use an immersion blender to puree the mixture.  Return to a low heat and stir in the sour cream.

Serve each chimichanga with about 1/3 cup of tomatillo sauce.

Beef Fajitas & Grilled Corn Salsa

The three of us are huge fans of corn on the cob.  I get giddy when I start seeing it in the grocery store - especially at the super low price we get around here.  A few weeks ago, though, Bridget brought some "real" corn - fresh and juicy.  As much as I love the corn on the cob from the grocery store, this was night & day different.  I decided to grill the corn and make some salsa to go with fajitas.  Frankly, I could eat fajitas on a weekly basis.  Now that we're in the dead middle of summer, I feel like this recipe will come around again and again at our house.

Beef Fajitas adapted from Southern Living

• 2 sirloin steaks, removed from the bone & fat trimmed, sliced into thin strips
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• zest of one lime
• 2 1/2 T lime juice
• 2 T Worchesterchire sauce
• 1 1/2 t ground cumin
• salt & pepper
• 1/2 t dried oregano
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 14oz can beef broth
• 1 handful of cilantro, rough chopped
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and rough chopped
• onion, sliced
• bell pepper, sliced

In a large zip-lock bag, mix the olive oil and next 10 ingredients (through the jalapeno).  Add the steak and marinate for 4 hours, or overnight, in the refrigerator.  Turn the bag occasionally.

Grill the fajitas, onions & bell peppers over a medium-high heat.  Serve with corn or flour tortillas, grilled corn salsa & sour cream.

Grilled Corn Salsa

• 5-6 ears of corn, shucked
• 3-4 large tomatoes, seeded & diced
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 1-2 jalapenos, seeded & diced
• 1 handful of cilantro, chopped
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 t olive oil
• salt & pepper

Grill the corn over medium-high heat for 15 minutes, or until done.  Cut the corn from the cob.  Mix in remaining ingredients & season to taste.

Crispy Chicken Taquitos

This recipe has been floating around the cooking board I frequent for a while, so we finally tried it out.  I was in love.  It really is a great recipe to keep on hand for nights we want something that tastes like it should be bad for you, but isn't.  And it can be manipulated a dozen ways!  I've got a laundry list of ideas...I should probably buy a few more packages of corn tortillas!

I adjusted the recipe to make it low fat, but since they are baked you're well off to begin with.  Jason & I were both pleased that they did get pretty crispy without the greasy fried taste.

Crispy Chicken Taquitos adapted from Pink Parsley

• 3oz fat free cream cheese
• 1/3 cup salsa verde
• juice of 1/2 lime
• 1 t chile powder
• 1/2 t ground cumin
• pinch cayenne pepper
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 3 T fine chopped onion
• 2 cups cooked chicken, shredded (I used a rotisserie chicken to make things easier)
• 1/2 cup 2% shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup 2% shredded Mexican Blend cheese
• 12 6" corn tortillas
• salt & pepper
• cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 425 and spray a baking dish with cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, salsa, lime juice & spices.  Mix well and stir in chicken & shredded cheeses.  Add additional salt & pepper if needed.

Warm the tortillas, a few at a time, in the microwave for about 30 seconds.  Spoon 2-3 tablespoons into each tortilla and roll tightly.  Place seam side-down on the baking sheet.  Spray each taquito with cooking spray, add a small sprinkle of salt & bake until they are crisp and golden-brown, about 15-20 minutes.

Weight Watchers PointsPlus: 3 points each, however when I added a serving of 3 it calculated 9 points.  They are very filling and a great low-point dinner if you add fat free sour cream.

Pizza Pizza!!

I found this recipe in one of my Weight Watchers cookbooks years ago.  We've made it any time we've had a bit of leftover something - chicken, taco meat, etc.  Quick and easy!  Plus - you can adjust the ingredients to fit your points for the evening.  Last night I used 5 points.

Mexican Pizza

Whole Wheat Tortilla - 1

2oz cooked chicken - 2

Shredded 2% Mexican Blend Cheese - 2

Salsa - 0

Bake at 350 for 7-10 minutes.

We've also changed this up a bit with jarred pasta sauce and mozzarella.

Swiss Enchiladas

Only they were not Swiss.  Last week Kelly and Eileen came over for the afternoon so that we could cook some dinners for the freezer.  I mean, if you're going to mess up your kitchen you may as well double the recipe and hang out with a friend at the same time.  I chose two recipes and we each went to the store for what we needed.

We also learned a valuable lesson.  This is not something that should be attempted when at home with two children and no husbands.  Especially if one child has boycotted his naps (ahem *Cooper* ahem) and is cranky.  It was like herding cats.  Or something.

In the end, we managed to get two recipes completed to put in our freezers.  This recipe had to be alterted a bit so that it was a little more Weight Watchers friendly.  I thawed it out Wednesday so that Jason and I could have dinner.  It was good the first night when I threw it in the oven, but the second night out of the microwave...it just didn't taste as good to me.  The sauce gets a little funky in the microwave.  Jason and I both decided that it was ok, but we'd rather have some other kind of enchiladas than try this again.

Swiss Enchiladas from Cooking Light

• 1 T olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
• 2 cups chopped cooked skinless, boneless chicken breast (about 2 breasts)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 4.5oz cans diced green chiles, undrained
• 1 14.5oz can petite diced tomatoes, undrained
• 2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
• 2 T all-purpose flour
• 1/4 t salt
• 6 8" whole wheat tortillas (low-fat)
• 2 cups shredded 2% milk Mexican blend cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 350.  In a large nonstick skillet, heat olive oil.  Add onion and cook 5 minutes, or until tender. Stir in chicken, garlic, chiles, and tomatoes. Reduce heat, and simmer 7 minutes or until liquid evaporates. Set aside.
Combine milk and flour in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook 5 minutes or until mixture thickens, stirring constantly with a whisk. Stir in salt.
Warm tortillas according to package directions. Spoon about 1/2 cup chicken mixture and about 2 1/2 tablespoons cheese down center of each tortilla; roll up. Arrange filled tortillas in the bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Pour milk mixture over tortillas, and top evenly with remaining 1 cup cheese. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until cheese is bubbly. Remove from oven.

Serving size: one tortilla, 7pts per serving