Cheesy Black Bean Chicken Enchiladas

I've made this recipe a few times and it always goes over great! If you want a tasty Mexi dish, try this one!!

Cheesy Black Bean Chicken Enchiladas

1/2 jar salsa
~1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1" chunks
1 can no salt added black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 red onion, diced
1 jalapeno, diced
1 4 oz. can green chiles
2 garlic cloves, minced
5-6 flour tortillas
shredded cheese
dash olive oil

Drizzle a little olive oil in a large skillet and brown the chicken chunks. Add the onion and jalapeno and sweat for about 5 minutes. Add in the salsa, black beans, green chiles and garlic. Let this combine for about 10 minutes over medium heat. Take a few heaping spoonfuls and place in the middle of a flour tortilla and roll it up and place seam side down in a sprayed casserole dish. Repeat until there is no filling remaining. Top the enchiladas with shredded cheese. Bake in the oven at 400 for about 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and everything is nice and warm. Serve immediately with your favorite Mexi toppings. Enjoy!

Favorite garnishes:

jarred (or fresh) jalapenos

sour cream

Ina's Roasted Chicken

This is a Barefoot Contessa recipe I found online. Some of y'all might not be huge fans of Ina Garten, but most of her food is pretty darn delicious, even if you don't care for her personality. With that being said, I desperately needed a recipe to cook a whole chicken and this roasted chicken turned out great! Enjoy! (For the ultimate experience, you should probably make this recipe in a button down shirt, after you gather the herbs/vegetables from your East Hampton garden and have a meaningless chat with Jeffrey. Then, and only then, could you explain the importance of a "really good" olive oil.)

Ina's Roasted Chicken

1 whole chicken, gibblets removed
1 head of garlic, cut horizontally
1 lemon, halved
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 tbls. unsalted butter, melted
baby carrots
1 onion, rough chop
1 bulb of fennel, rough chop
large bundle of fresh thyme
olive oil

In a dutch oven or a roasting pan, layer in the vegetables, drizzle with olive oil and liberally salt and pepper. On top, arrange approximately 20 sprigs of fresh thyme.

Rinse the bird and stuff with the garlic and lemon halves. Pat it dry and season outside with salt and pepper. Use kitchen twine to tie the legs together if necessary (I didn't do this step and it was fine.) Place the chicken on top of the vegetables in the cookware breast side up. Drizzle the butter on top of the chicken. Use any leftover thyme to dress the inside or top of the chicken and more salt and pepper if needed.

Roast in the oven (uncovered) at 425 F for 90-110 minutes. Check the meat to be sure it is cooked all the way through. When it is done, juices will run clear. (You can see in the photo where I cut the leg.)

Notes: Although this takes a good while to cook in the oven, you really don't have to do anything to it while it's cooking. You could watch TV, take a shower, nap, whatever. It's low maintenance once it's cooking. It will also smell amazing in your kitchen. The chicken turned out beautifully and the vegetables were nice and tender. You could easily add or substitute more vegetables or even potatoes.

This was my first time roasting a whole chicken and I give it an A!! Try it! (Maybe I should just go ahead and buy a long button down shirt...)

Lemon Garlic Chicken

Lemon Garlic Chicken

2 large chicken breasts, halved or in thirds
juice of 1 1/2 lemons
3 cloves of garlic, diced
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tbls. olive oil
8 ozs. baby bella mushrooms (or your favorite kind)
1 large onion, sliced
2 tsps. fresh rosemary, chopped
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
2 tbls. butter
dash worcestershire sauce
4-6 red potatoes, quartered

Combine white wine, lemon juice, salt and pepper and garlic in a small bowl. Place the chicken in a zip top bag and pour the marinade over the chicken. Seal and refrigerate for an hour.

In a medium bowl, combine the potatoes, onion, rosemary, salt an pepper and olive oil. Toss to coat and set aside.

Saute the mushrooms in butter with a dash (or so) of worcestershire over low heat.

Preheat over to 375. Spray a large casserole dish. Spread the chicken in the casserole dish and arrange the potato/onion mixture between the chicken.

Pour the leftover marinade in with the mushrooms and boil to reduce for about 5 minutes. Then pour the mushrooms mixture over the entire dish.

Cover and cook for 1 hour. Remove and sprinkle the grape tomatoes throughout. Bake uncovered for an additional 10 minutes. Remove and enjoy. This could be served with rice if desired.

Notes: Temperatures and chicken sizes will vary so be sure the chicken is adequately cooked. You could easily add some carrots or celery if you wanted extra vegetables. This dish is delicious and definitely a great all-in-one type of meal! Enjoy!