Chicken Enchilada Yumminess

A week or so ago I shared a recipe on my FB page for a chicken enchilada dish that I wanted to try.  It was really good and I made TONs of changes, so I'm going to write my own version here.  Mostly for me, but you feel free to try it if you want.  You can see the original recipe by clicking here.

Here are the ingredients that I changed and why:

• 4 bone-in chicken thighs, skinned; I used three boneless, skinless breast tenderloins (because that's what I had)
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed; I used 2 cups. (I like corn)
• 1/3 cup (3 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened; I used about 2/3 of a block of full-fat. (I love cream cheese AND the newest studies are showing that fat from dairy is actually good for you.  Yay!)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper; (I took this out- don't like hot)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (doubled.  I like cumin)
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt  (doubled.  It needed salt.  I used regular table salt)
• 1 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth; (I just used normal broth- what I had in the cupboard)
• 2/3 cup salsa verde (I used green enchilada sauce)
• 1/4 cup water (I replaced this with broth)
• 2 tablespoons chopped pickled jalapeño pepper (didn't use this- again, don't like hot)
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) shredded sharp cheddar cheese (seriously?!?!  1/4 cup for four servings?  That's a TABLESPOON per serving.  If you're counting calories hard-core, be my guest.  I used a total of 1.5 cups of cheese.  It was delicious, but I'll probably dial it down to 1 cup next time, as a nod toward health)
• I used less chicken than they said because I didn't have that much.  I supplemented with an 8 oz box of small white button mushrooms (I just learned that mushrooms contain a savory flavor called umami, which our brains associate with meat.  Plus I'm trying to get in more veggies)
• I would have put in a can of black beans for extra protein and deliciousness (because black beans go with anything Mexican) but I was out.  There was some weeping and gnashing of teeth)
• I added some medium salsa.  More veggies and added flavor.  Maybe 1/2 cup?

Ok, so here's my version:

 Leslie's Chicken Enchilada Casserole Recipe

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 3 skinless, boneless chicken breast tenderloins
• 8 oz mushrooms
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided
• 2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed
• 2/3 a block cream cheese, softened
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cups chopped onion, divided
• 6 garlic cloves, minced and divided
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 10 oz can green enchilada sauce
• 1/2 cup medium salsa
• 9 (6-inch) corn tortillas
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Directions

-Preheat oven to 425°F.

-In a medium sauce pan, boil the chicken until it's cooked through and tender.  Drain and set aside to cool.  

-Use a food processor to dice separately onions, mushrooms, and cilantro.  (you can do it by hand if you prefer).  Will only take a couple spins so you don't puree it.  By this time, you chicken should be cool enough to handle. Put it in the food processor for just a couple spins to chop/dice. (don't worry about rinsing out the food processor between foods; everything's getting put together anyway)

-In a large skillet, saute 2/3 of your onion with 1/2 the garlic, all the mushrooms and chicken in about a 1/4 cup olive oil.  Toward the end, add the salt, pepper, cumin, and salsa.  Last, remove from heat and stir in 1/2 the cream cheese and 1/2 the cilantro.  Set aside.

-In the sauce pan you used for the chicken, mix together the green enchilada sauce, the remaining 1/3 of the onions, the chicken broth, the remaining garlic, and the rest of the cream cheese.  Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 10 minutes.  Set aside to cool.

-Back to your skillet, rinse it out and spray with cooking spray.  Over medium-high heat. Add 3 tortillas; cook 1 1/2 minutes on each side. Remove tortillas from pan; repeat procedure with remaining tortillas. Cut tortillas into quarters.

-Go back to the cooling sauce.  Carefully pour it into a food processor with the rest of the cilantro.  Blend until smooth.

-Spread a thin layer of the salsa mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 or 8x8 baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 12 tortilla quarters over salsa mixture. Spoon half of chicken mixture over tortillas. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the cheddar cheese.  Repeat tortillas, meat, cheese, and then tortillas again. Pour remaining salsa mixture over tortillas; sprinkle evenly with cheddar cheese. Bake at 425°F for 15 minutes or until bubbly and lightly browned.

It makes four servings and from start to finish took about an hour.  AND during the 15 minutes of cooking, I got all the washing up done, which is a fantastic bonus in my world.  Mmmm....

Family Dinner ~or~ Sharing Life

Today I read a friend's Facebook post about laughing with her family at the dinner table.  It triggered a whole slew of memories.

Dinner at the dinner table was an every-night event when I was growing up.  If you were on the property at supper time, you ate with the family.

We did not watch TV.  We did not have our cell phones.  (ok, true confessions- there were no cells phones.  BUT I am 376% sure that would be the rule, had my mom lived to the age of cell phones)

Mom grew up in a German family, so we had meat, potatoes (referred to as a "starch"), and a hot vegetable.  At every meal.  (well, nearly every)  Bread and butter if you didn't want what was served, or if you were still hungry.  Dessert was usually fruit.  Oh man, home-canned peaches and plums.  My favorite.  My mouth is watering...

ANyway, the point of this blog isn't food, yummy though it was (the college cafeteria was a harsh reality check).  It's about family.  Living with people.  I miss living with people.  It's messy- don't get me wrong.  But it's rich.

It's having Your Seat.  And relishing the week that your chore was setting the table- CLEARLY the best of the three (clearing and washing both being more work).  It's talking about your day, even through the years when the conversation goes a lot like this:

Dad: How was school?
Kid: Fine.
Dad: Anything exciting happen?
Kid: No.

Every.  Single.  Night.

(sorry, Dad)

It's about those nights when you have real conversations where minds are expanded and values are shaped.  And the nights when you laugh until you can't breathe and milk shoots out your little brother's nose.  And some nights when absolutely nothing of interest occurs.  A thousand meals.  A million conversations.

There are stats that show that kids who eat meals at the table with their family succeed more that those who don't.  This probably surprises no one who ate meals at the table with their family growing up.  Dinner with the family isn't just sharing food or space or conversation.

It's sharing life.

Best. Citizen. Ever.

Today is election day!  Once I got a postcard in the mail that had my voting record for the past five years (whether or not I had voted, not how I had voted) and it make me think, "Hey, someone's paying attention to that!"  You know, usually whether you vote is secret, sort of like whether you floss or whether you really wash your hands after EACH trip to the bathroom.  We all know we should do it, but no one really asks you or holds you accountable.

While living in Ecuador I learned that there, if you're a registered voter who doesn't vote, there are consequences.  The government will take your ID card which means you can't get a legal job; you can't get a passport so you can't leave the country legally.  In short, it's a pretty big deal.  It's called "obligatory voting" and this little tidbit should be considered when looking at those self-satisfied lists of countries where the voter turnout is better than the US.

Here in the US we try to be a little cooler about it than that.  After all, we're big on individual rights , including your right to be a slacker and not care.  Is that wise?  THAT's another blog post.  Meanwhile, the result of this is that our voter turnout tends to run at about 58%.  As a participation grade, that's a solid F.  But I'm not really here to write about the people who don't vote.

Today whilst using the snazzy electronic voting device at Redeemer Lutheran Church, it crossed my mind that maybe we don't really WANT everyone to vote?  I mean, when it comes to running a country, maybe we should aim a little higher than just showing up?

Let me give you a little peek into my decision-making process as I voted today.

[disclaimers that make me feel slightly less guilty for my level of bad citizenship:  Please note that I'm fairly new to my community and therefore don't know most of these people.  Furthermore, I live in a city of about 250,000, so "knowing everyone" isn't ever going to happen.  Ever.

I also didn't plan to vote because I expected to be working from 8-5 and then grabbing supper in time to arrive at my 6-9pm class, neither of which is close to my polling location, so I didn't even bother to try to guilt myself into doing research about issues or candidates.  I fully recognize that these are both shameless, overcome-able excuses]

Ballot question samples:

-Should we restructure the local government to put everything in one central place?  (this isn't the real wording.  the real wording read like an excerpt from the declaration of independence and must certainly have excluded a big chunk of the populace by simply preventing them from understanding the question itself.  seriously?  that makes me mad)

Leslie thinks:  Uh...    Hmm.  Well, consolidation can be good; can help everyone be aware of what's happening in other areas of the office.  On the other hand, re-organization is a lot of work and prevents other productivity while it's happening so if it's not really needed, it could just be a waste of time and resources.  Will this involve buying or remodeling property?  Will it cost money?  Will it cost jobs?  Who's in charge?  How long will it take?  What's the argument against it?  IS there an argument against it, or is everyone involved for it?  WHY AM I MAKING THIS DECISION?!?!

This is only the first question.  Off to a banner start.

On to the people.  I was sad there was nothing about funding for schools, police, firefighters, or other help-the-community stuff.  I'd ALWAYS rather throw my money at that stuff than at a re-organization project.  Those are the only issues I ever feel confident about.  But alas.  On to the people.

-Vote for one city counsel member.  I pick the woman.

-Vote for three school board representatives.  I picked one from each party (they should balance each other out, right?).

-I actually voted for one guy because his name was a word for a flower, and I figured that anyone growing up with that kind of challenge is either a criminal or chock-full of character.  Since he's on the ballot, it's probably the latter.  He gets my vote.

-Should ______ continue to be a _______?  Yes.  I have no idea, but I'll go with yes.  Hopefully if ______ was doing a really crappy job at being a ________ BEFORE, s/he wouldn't be on the ballot again?  I hope.  Yes.

-Vote for one ______.  (there is only one option).  I voted for each of those.  Does this even make a difference?

Do you see what I'm saying?  I'm a terribly irresponsible voter.  Maybe you are, too.

As a fixer, my thoughts after voting were all along the lines of why.  If we know WHY I'm a terribly irresponsible voter, maybe I can work toward solving that problem.  So what's the problem?  I love my country, so that's not it.

Is it simply that I'm lazy?  Well, I am lazy, but I doubt that's the whole answer.

I feel overwhelmed by the time and energy it would take to be informed on every issue.  I'm not even sure if I'm allowed to take a cheat sheet into the ballot with me and I sure know I wouldn't be able to memorize it all!  And if I decided next time to commit to that level of effort, I don't know how I would go about it.  That's not to say that I couldn't figure it out.  I'm pretty smart.  I could figure it out.  But it's just one more roadblock.

I rarely find someone who really represents me.  I'm too liberal on social issues to be a republican.  I'm too conservative on moral issues to be a democrat.  So even after knowing the platforms, I generally end up not really agreeing with anyone.  That's discouraging.

Another piece is that I not-so-secretly feel like my vote isn't really that important, and that notches down my motivation level a bit.

So there you have it.  I voted.  For better or worse, I showed up.  I did NOT get a sticker, which I'm fairly disgruntled about.  But then again maybe the sticker shouldn't say "I voted".  Maybe it should say "I researched the issues and voted informed".  Now THAT would merit a sticker, don't you think?

Zawadi, the Dentist, and Changing Lives

Warning: this post is a shameless (though un-paid) endorsement of the work that Compassion does in the lives of people living in poverty around the world.

I've sponsored children through Compassion since I was 16 and I highly recommend it.  They are a solid organization that strives to help alleviate poverty not through handouts, but rather through education and multi-generational training as well as helping with immediate material needs.  I like that they use local staff whenever possible, that they rarely raise costs (I think it was $24/month when I started in 1996 and it's $38/month now), that they don't write asking more money beyond your monthly sponsorship, and that they encourage and help facilitate site visits of your child when possible.  If you're interested in making a very tangible difference in the life of a child, here's their website, where you can learn more: Compassion 

This weekend I got a letter from my current Compassion kid, Zawadi.  Compassion facilitates these communications to and from the kids and sponsors maybe about 4 or 5 times a year, and it's always fun to read what is sent.  Zawadi is six and lives in Kenya.  One day soon I expect I'll be getting letters that she writes herself, but for now they're often fill-in-the-blank type formats, and they're always written for her by a Kenyan Compassion staff person.  This letter made me laugh (as per usual) and also made me feel slightly ashamed of my feelings about going to the dentist.  I thought I'd share it with you, so you can enjoy it too.

Side One, (fill-in-the-blank) "My Dental Checkup"

My last dental checkup was on June 21, 2014.  The dental checkup was done at our project center.  I went for my dental checkup with went alone.  [editor's note: I personally LOVE doing stuff with Went Alone.  That guy's a laugh a minute.]  I felt very happy about going to my dental checkup.  [another editor's note:  really?  man.  I feel like an entitled jerk for not going to the dentist because it's scary and it always hurts me.  I'm such a crappy adult.]  One thing that was done at my dental checkup was thorough teeth checkup.  [editor is note-happy: Wow, didn't see that coming!  In other news, I'm suspicious Zawadi didn't actually fill this one in herself.]  At my dental checkup I learned that sweety sweet foods are not good for my teeth.

Side Two, Freestyle

The top of the page has a coloring and drawing area.  Here, take a look.  I think you'll agree that it's already obvious that Zawadi is an artistic genius.

Please note the strength of feeling our young artist put into the coloring of that puppy.  Look how well she stayed in the lines!!  Is that good for six?  I have no idea.  I don't have kids, but I'm pretty sure she's a prodigy.  And check out that handbag she drew next to it!  

Under the pictures is says this:

"Hallo Leslie!!  How are you?  How is your family doing?, she asks.  Zawadi says she thanks God for this far he has brought them.  Zawadi says that her family prays for you and always loves you.  They wish you good health and God's blessings in everything you do."

So yah.  Sponsor a kid.  It's pretty fantastic.  You can do it yourself (even if you're a teenage without a job.  I know from experience).  You can do it as a family (what a great way to teach your kids about helping others, yes?)  You can sponsor as a group (youth group?  small group?  quilting circle?  cricket club?  whatever.)  If you want to know more about it, I would love to talk with you.  $38 a month to change a kid's life.  Plus awesome notes like this one above.  How much easier could it be?