20-Minute Chicken Enchiladas

Colleen's take: "I clipped this Chicken Enchiladas Recipe out of my Cooking Light magazine and it's a good make ahead meal. I've made it earlier in the day, refrigerated it, then just popped it in the oven when it's time for dinner. I've followed the enchilada sauce recipe and i've used canned enchilada sauce, I couldn't really tell a huge difference between the two, so in lue of my laziness problem I choose the canned version. I'd suggest trying this one out, it's tasty and fast."

• 
  
• Ingredients: 
• 1 cup prechopped onion
• 1 cup unsalted chicken stock (such as Swanson)
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 (15-ounce) can unsalted tomato sauce
• 3 cups shredded skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast (about 15 ounces)
• 1 (15-ounce) can unsalted black beans, rinsed and drained
• 12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
• Cooking spray
• 3 ounces preshredded 4-cheese Mexican blend cheese (about 3/4 cup)
• 1 cup chopped tomato
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 6 tablespoons sour cream
• 
  
• Preperation:
• 1. Preheat broiler to high.
  2. Combine first 9 ingredients in a medium saucepan; stir with a whisk. Bring to a boil over high heat; cook 2 minutes or until thickened. Reserve 1 1/2 cups sauce mixture. Add chicken and beans to pan; cook 2 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly heated.
  3. Stack tortillas; wrap stack in damp paper towels and microwave at HIGH for 25 seconds. Spoon about 1/3 cup chicken mixture in center of each tortilla; roll up. Arrange tortillas, seam sides down, in bottom of a 13 x 9-inch glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with reserved sauce and cheese. Broil 3 minutes or until cheese is lightly browned and sauce is bubbly. Top with tomato and cilantro. Serve with sour cream.
  
  

  

  
  

Vegetable & Chickpea Curry

Colleen: "I thought I would give this recipe a go, I attempt to cook vegetarian once a week & I have a new love for curry. I was delighted by this recipe. All the veggies cooked to a great textural consistency & the flavors all melded together. This is one of those dishes where I didn't miss not having meat. I hope that you can try this out and enjoy it as I have."

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
• 1 cup (1/4-inch-thick) slices carrot
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 serrano chile, seeded and minced
• 3 cups cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
• 1 1/2 cups cubed peeled baking potato
• 1 cup diced green bell pepper
• 1 cup (1-inch) cut green beans
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 (14-ounce) can vegetable broth
• 3 cups fresh baby spinach
• 1 cup light coconut milk
• 6 lemon wedges

Preparation: 

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and carrot; cover and cook 5 minutes or until tender. Add curry powder, sugar, ginger, garlic, and chile; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Place onion mixture in a 5-quart electric slow cooker. Stir in chickpeas and next 8 ingredients (through broth). Cover and cook on HIGH 6 hours or until vegetables are tender. Add spinach and coconut milk; stir until spinach wilts. Serve with lemon wedges.

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Mama's Amazing Ziti

Colleen: "I didn't have a dutch oven, so I just used a good old sauce pot & lid, it seemed to turn out alright. This recipe was o.k., I don't think I will make it again though. I didn't enjoy the carrots, I know they were supposed to seem hidden but it seemed to be all that I could taste. What I did enjoy was throwing the ziti in the pan and just letting it go, not to mention I am a huge fan of one pot dinners."

ingredients

• 1
  pound 95%-lean ground beef
• 2
  cups shredded carrot
• 2
  10 3/4 ounce cans reduced-fat and reduced-sodium condensed tomato soup
• 2 1/2
  cups water
• 8
  ounces dried cut ziti pasta (about 2 1/2 cups)
• 2
  tablespoons snipped fresh basil or 2 teaspoons dried basil, crushed
• 1
  teaspoon onion powder
• 1
  teaspoon garlic powder
• 1
  cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (4 ounces)
• 1/4
  cup shredded Parmesan cheese (1 ounce)

directions

1.In a 4-quart Dutch oven, cook ground beef and shredded carrot over medium heat until meat is brown. Drain off fat. Stir tomato soup, the water, uncooked ziti, dried basil (if using), onion powder, and garlic powder into meat mixture in Dutch oven.

2.Bring mixture to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and cook about 25 minutes or until ziti is tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in fresh basil (if using) and mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle individual servings with Parmesan cheese.

nutrition facts (Mama's Amazing Ziti)

• Servings Per Recipe 6,
 
• Calories 420,
 
• Protein (gm) 32,
 
• Carbohydrate (gm) 49,
 
• Fat, total (gm) 11,
 
• Cholesterol (mg) 73,
 
• Saturated fat (gm) 4,
 
• Dietary Fiber, total (gm) 2,
 
• Sodium (mg) 649,
• Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Roast Chicken with Balsamic Bell Peppers

Colleen: "Made this for my mama & honey. It's the perfect recipe for the summer, full of color and crispness from the season. We loved this recipe and I think the big winner was the fennel seeds on the chicken."

Ingredients

• 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 3/4 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• Cooking spray
• 2 cups thinly sliced red bell pepper
• 1 cup thinly sliced yellow bell pepper
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced shallots (about 1 large)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 450°.

2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Combine 1/2 teaspoon salt, fennel seeds, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, garlic powder, and oregano. Brush chicken with 1 1/2 teaspoons oil; sprinkle spice rub over chicken. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons oil to pan. Add chicken; cook 3 minutes or until browned. Turn chicken over; cook 1 minute. Arrange chicken in an 11 x 7–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 450° for 10 minutes or until done.

3. Heat remaining olive oil over medium-high heat. Add bell peppers, shallots, and rosemary; sauté 3 minutes. Stir in broth, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high. Stir in vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Serve bell pepper mixture over chicken.

Recipe sourced from Cooking Light Magazine 

Tilapia Tostadas with Roasted Corn Relish

Colleen's Take: "I loved this recipe, I think I am really taking a new liking to Cooking Light Magazine, I might just have to get a subscription (I've been using old ones that I stole from my mom). First of all this recipe cost me 470 calories for two tacos, uhhhh score!! Second it was delish. My husband loved the chipotle sour cream. I loved the crunchy fish (can you tell I never fry anything?) & the corn relish, it was wonderful. This one did enter into our favorites/repeaters!)"

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 1/4 cup green salsa (I used chipotle salsa)
• Cooking spray
• 1 cup yellow corn kernels (I used frozen)
• 1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper (I used green, didn't have red) 
• 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion (I used yellow) 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced seeded jalapeño pepper (I used pickled) 
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1 cup diced peeled avocado
• 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
• 1 1/2 pounds tilapia fillets, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (I used chipotle chili powder)
• 1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon canola oil, divided
• 8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
• 1 cup packaged angel hair slaw
• Lime wedges (optional)

Preparation

1. Combine sour cream and salsa.

2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add corn, bell pepper, onion, jalapeño, and 1/4 teaspoon salt to pan; sauté 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove mixture from pan; wipe pan clean with paper towels. Combine avocado and juice; toss gently. Stir avocado mixture into corn mixture.

3. Preheat broiler.

4. Sprinkle fish evenly with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and black pepper. Place cornmeal in a shallow dish; dredge fish in cornmeal. Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add half of fish to pan; cook 3 minutes. Carefully turn fish over; cook 2 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness. Repeat procedure with remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil and fish.

5. Coat both sides of tortillas with cooking spray. Arrange tortillas in a single layer on baking sheets; broil 2 minutes on each side or until crisp. Place 2 tortillas on each of the 4 plates. Arrange 2 tablespoons slaw on each tortilla. Divide fish evenly among tortillas; top each serving with about 3 tablespoons corn relish and about 1 1/2 tablespoons sour cream mixture. Serve with lime wedges, if desired.

Original source Cooking Light Magazine