Swiss meets Mexican

I discovered this recipe for Swiss Enchiladas on the Cooking Light website a few years ago. If you follow the recipe, you’ll probably find it is better for your waistline. It uses Swiss cheese, which adds a unique nuttiness to the dish. My version might not be so healthy.

You will need:

3 onions diced

2 to 3 cups of skinless, boneless chicken breast

2 minced garlic cloves

2 (4.5 ounce) cans of diced green chiles

1 (14.5 ounce) can of petite diced tomatoes or four to five fresh tomatoes de-seeded and with most of the juice squeezed out of them

2 cups of two-percent reduced fat milk

2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour

6-10 flour tortillas

5-7 slices of Swiss cheese cut into thin strips

Mexican cheese blend

Start things off by cooking the onions in a greased skillet for five minutes or until tender. Stir in chicken, garlic, chiles and tomatoes. Heck, if you’ve got some other stuff to use up in the kitchen, such as scallions or corn, throw those in too! Be creative. Reduce heat and simmer for seven minutes or until the liquid evaporates. Set aside to cool.

In a sauce pan combine the milk and flour and cook over medium-high heat for five minutes or until mixture thickens, stirring constantly with a whisk. Stir in ¼ teaspoon of salt.

Grease a baking pan that’s large enough to fit all your enchilladas, and get your tortillas, chicken mixture and cheese ready so you’re ready to begin stuffing. Fill each tortilla with about ½ cup of the chicken mixture, add a few slices of swiss (and I used Velveeta I had leftover in the fridge), roll up the enchilada and place in the baking dish. Keep repeating until you’ve filled the pan or you run out of tortillas or mixture, whichever happens first. Then pour the milk and flour mixture over the top. If you want to bake them immediately, cover the pan in cheese (Swiss or Mexican blend) and bake for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees. I typically put let the tray sit in the fridge for a few hours to make sure the tortillas soften up, then I top it with cheese and bake it. I find by letting the dish sit for a bit, everything kind of gels together in one delicious gooey mess.

Feel free to take the healthier route for this recipe. Either way, you can’t go wrong.

Presto! Pesto!

It’s that time of year where I attempt to make use of the remaining herbs and vegetables in my garden. I’ll dry any herbs that are left and fry up any green tomatoes. For the basil, it’s time to shine! Pesto is an easy way to use up a lot of basil, and it freezes well, so you’ll be able to enjoy that “fresh from the garden” flavor even when the world is covered in a layer of snow.

You’ll need a food processor for this recipe. And be warned, pine nuts are not cheap. You’re best bet is to find a place that sells them in bulk. This will yield one cup of pesto. You will need:

2 cups of packed fresh basil leaves

2 cloves of garlic

¼ cup of pine nuts

2/3 a cup of extra-virgin olive oil, divided in two

Salt and pepper to taste

½ cup of freshly grated Pecorino cheese

Combine the basil, garlic and pine nuts in a food processor and pulse it until coarsely chopped. I only have a small food processor, so I found the best way to do this was to grind up one cup of basil at a time, along with the garlic, and then I added the pine nuts after that. Add ½ cup of oil to the processor until the mixture is smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

If you’re using immediately, add the remaining oil and pulse until smooth. Transfer the pesto into a large serving bowl and mix in the cheese.

If you’re freezing the pesto, transfer it into an air-tight container and drizzle the remaining oil over the top. (This will preserve the pesto). Freeze for up to three months. When you are ready to use it, thaw it and stir in the cheese. You’ll find many uses for pesto besides pasta. See All Things Quesadilla, use it to make pesto may for sandwiches, or spread pesto over a baguette, add some cheese, and toast it in the oven for an easy and delicious appetizer.