IN MY KITCHEN

grunting at the dinner table

When I get grunting at the dinner table, I know my meal is pretty good. A few nights ago, I had a hankering for something sort of chicken enchilada-ish–but I had no salsa, no sour cream, no little packet of “taco seasoning”. I knew I needed some kind of cream sauce, so with some help from one of my favorite cooks :), and some googling which led me here, I worked up my own version. We had it for dinner, Dan and I both ate it for lunch the next day, and then we had it as leftovers the next night as well. And I could have eaten it again, it we didn’t polish it off.

Here’s my long-winded recipe:

In a skillet cook up some boneless chicken breasts which you can then shred or cube. To the cooked chicken add a can of rinsed and drained black beans. Place this mixture into flour tortillas, fold and lay them in a 9 x 13 pan.

Meanwhile make your sauce:
In a sauce pan, begin to melt 1/4 cup of butter. When the butter is almost melted, add 1/4 cup of flour. Whisk this mixture together and when it begins to bubble, whisk in 2 cups of chicken broth. Continue whisking this until it thickens. Remove it from the heat and stir in cream cheese. (Okay, I’m not sure exactly how much cream cheese I added. I had a container of whipped cream cheese from Einstein Bagels and one swipe had been taken out of it. I would guess it was 6 ounces.) Stir this cream cheese into the sauce until it is smooth and combined. Pour the sauce over your enchiladas. Top with shredded cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 25 minutes, or until heated through.

Okay. Then, I took the leftover chicken stock (I was using a box of stock) and used it took make a pot of rice. I used one part water and one part chicken stock. This was SO good alongside the enchiladas.

Seriously, this is so good. It’s 9:30 am, I’ve had coffee and oatmeal, and this recipe is still making me hungry.

Try it. You’ll like it.

++++++++++

new glasses

FYI: I’ve added a new email subscription to my posts in the sidebar. All you have to do is fill in your email in the box and you’ll get an email of my latest post, every time I update my blog. Lately, I’ve started subscribing to some blogs by email, and I really kind of like having the new posts popping up in my inbox. It takes the pressure off me having to make sure I’m always staying up to date on my feeds in NetNewsWire or Google. I just automatically get the new post, I can read it, comment on it, and feel good about checking in with my blogging friends.

I’m also having trouble with my comments that come to me from typepad. For some reason, I’m not getting your email address with your blog which means I can’t just hit the ‘reply’ button to get back to your comments. So if I seem like I’m not responding to your comments or questions, it’s because this issue is really annoying. Typepad is working on it for me, so hopefully it will be fixed soon.

Oh, and the picture–those are my new glasses–courtesy of America’s Best and Elizabeth. A few weeks ago, I was bending over the bathtub washing my hair (yes, the only “shower” I get some days). And she reached under my soapy locks and handed me my glasses–in two pieces. But I have to admit, I was kind of looking for a good excuse to update my four year-old frames.

And the beans question–you might notice I’m eating from the Whole Foods salad bar in that picture above (my favorite place to grab lunch to go, when I’m near Baltimore), and reading the latest issue of Mothering magazine. An article in there, that talks about meal planning, among other things, has me thinking about beans. Do you ever have beans as your main dish for dinner meals? What do you make? I’d love some ideas/recipes/links. My girls love beans and I feel like it would be a pretty inexpensive meal to make at least once a week.

….wish I had more pictures in this post but my USB cord is MIA at the moment….

more soon, as always.
xo.

When I get grunting at the dinner table, I know my meal is pretty good. A few nights ago, I had a hankering for something sort of chicken enchilada-ish–but I had no salsa, no sour cream, no little packet of “taco seasoning”. I knew I needed some kind of cream sauce, so with some help from one of my favorite cooks :), and some googling which led me here, I worked up my own version. We had it for dinner, Dan and I both ate it for lunch the next day, and then we had it as leftovers the next night as well. And I could have eaten it again, it we didn’t polish it off.

Here’s my long-winded recipe:

In a skillet cook up some boneless chicken breasts which you can then shred or cube. To the cooked chicken add a can of rinsed and drained black beans. Place this mixture into flour tortillas, fold and lay them in a 9 x 13 pan.

Meanwhile make your sauce:
In a sauce pan, begin to melt 1/4 cup of butter. When the butter is almost melted, add 1/4 cup of flour. Whisk this mixture together and when it begins to bubble, whisk in 2 cups of chicken broth. Continue whisking this until it thickens. Remove it from the heat and stir in cream cheese. (Okay, I’m not sure exactly how much cream cheese I added. I had a container of whipped cream cheese from Einstein Bagels and one swipe had been taken out of it. I would guess it was 6 ounces.) Stir this cream cheese into the sauce until it is smooth and combined. Pour the sauce over your enchiladas. Top with shredded cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 25 minutes, or until heated through.

Okay. Then, I took the leftover chicken stock (I was using a box of stock) and used it took make a pot of rice. I used one part water and one part chicken stock. This was SO good alongside the enchiladas.

Seriously, this is so good. It’s 9:30 am, I’ve had coffee and oatmeal, and this recipe is still making me hungry.

Try it. You’ll like it.

++++++++++

new glasses

FYI: I’ve added a new email subscription to my posts in the sidebar. All you have to do is fill in your email in the box and you’ll get an email of my latest post, every time I update my blog. Lately, I’ve started subscribing to some blogs by email, and I really kind of like having the new posts popping up in my inbox. It takes the pressure off me having to make sure I’m always staying up to date on my feeds in NetNewsWire or Google. I just automatically get the new post, I can read it, comment on it, and feel good about checking in with my blogging friends.

I’m also having trouble with my comments that come to me from typepad. For some reason, I’m not getting your email address with your blog which means I can’t just hit the ‘reply’ button to get back to your comments. So if I seem like I’m not responding to your comments or questions, it’s because this issue is really annoying. Typepad is working on it for me, so hopefully it will be fixed soon.

Oh, and the picture–those are my new glasses–courtesy of America’s Best and Elizabeth. A few weeks ago, I was bending over the bathtub washing my hair (yes, the only “shower” I get some days). And she reached under my soapy locks and handed me my glasses–in two pieces. But I have to admit, I was kind of looking for a good excuse to update my four year-old frames.

And the beans question–you might notice I’m eating from the Whole Foods salad bar in that picture above (my favorite place to grab lunch to go, when I’m near Baltimore), and reading the latest issue of Mothering magazine. An article in there, that talks about meal planning, among other things, has me thinking about beans. Do you ever have beans as your main dish for dinner meals? What do you make? I’d love some ideas/recipes/links. My girls love beans and I feel like it would be a pretty inexpensive meal to make at least once a week.

….wish I had more pictures in this post but my USB cord is MIA at the moment….

more soon, as always.
xo.

28 comments on “grunting at the dinner table”

  1. We've recently found a great recipe for chicken enchiladas that we love, but your recipe sounds great for when you don't have all the regular ingredients right there with you – thanks for sharing it!

  2. I love black beans. I cook them from scratch, then add in sauteed peppers, onion, garlic and spices and freeze them. I use them in enchiladas, tacos (it's good to smash them a bit), and just warmed up and served with mexican rice with some cheese on top. So good!

  3. that sounds good! We make something similar, but with a red enchilada sauce that we make ourselves.

    Beans. We make red beans & rice, a Caribbean flavored black beans & rice, black bean soup with sausage, chickpea & quinoa salad, Tuscan white beans. I love beans.

    The glasses are cute! I, for one, would love to see them on you. 🙂

  4. we have bean tacos with all the fixin's. i also make chili or soups with beans as the main ingredient. i try to get in a good whole grain to make the meal a little heartier- like some spanish rice or good bread.

  5. One of our favorite, yet oh so simple ways of eating black beans is with baked garnet yams, a bit of goat cheese and rolled into your favorite tortilla. Enjoy.

  6. I make this from PrudencePennywise.blogspot.com …yum, yum, yum! My husband doesn't even complain about the lack of meat when I make it.

    Slow Cooker Cowboy Beans:
    Estimated Cost: $2.50
    Notes: Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, chopped tomatoes and cilantro.
    3 cups dried pinto beans, washed
    4 slices raw bacon, chopped, optional
    1 onion, minced
    4 cloves garlic, minced
    4 teaspoons chicken bouillon, or substitute chicken or vegetable broth for cooking water
    1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained

    Place beans in slow cooker and cover with water to within three inches of top. Add bacon, onion, garlic and bouillon. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 3-4 hours, or until beans are fork tender. In the bowl of a blender, process tomatoes with juices. Add to beans; season mixture to taste with salt and pepper.

    Serve with cornbread or tortillas or whatever you have! Oh, I don't process the tomatoes, just dump them in.

  7. we recently bought deborah madisons vegetarian suppers cookbook. She has some awesome recipes with beans. We've been using it for our meal planning and we look forward to making dinner every night. There's a good pasta and chickpeas with parsley and garlic (might have sage too). Then really good wine-braised lentils over toast. Thee lentils are cooked with red wine,carrots,onions etc and served over crusty bread. Another great one is chard and white beans, all cooked with plenty of garlic, and salt and olive oil. We've had this twice, once on toast and another night on polenta.
    Anyway, I'd highly recommend her cookbooks. I have a lot of vegetarian cookbooks and hers are the best!

  8. OOOh yummy.
    We've liked the "Feeding the Whole Family" cookbook by Cynthia Lair. Lots of good, kid friendly recipes in that one. We're not vegetarian and we like it alot, so that's saying something!

  9. this is totally making me hungry, and I've already eaten! I love the whole foods lunch bar. I could just spend the whole day eating there.

    we love beans around here. I love to make black beans, corn, tomatoes, red onion, cilantro w/ red wine vinegar, s&p, cumin and a little chipotle hot sauce.

  10. ooh, that sounds *great*. we love black beans. i'm printing this out & putting it in my backpack for the next trip to the grocery store.

    the new glasses look great! man, i need new glasses.

  11. I've been making black beans and rice for years. It's simple and delicious and doesn't require alot of ingredients.
    Soak 1 1b dry black beans. Rinse and drain. Cover with water, bring to a boil, and reduce heat to medium. Allow the beans to cook for about an hour.
    Meanwhile, chop 1 onion, 1/2 a green pepper, and 1-2 garlic cloves.
    Heat 1 TBS olive oil and saute onions and green peppers until tender. Add garlic, 1 TBS oregano, 1 tsp salt and some pepper (how much ever you like). Stir this around a bit, then add 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar. Stir around to get all the bits mixed in, then dump all this into your beans. Simmer for an hour or two or until beans are fully cooked. Make some rice and you're done. I freeze the leftover beans to serve with tacos or make soup.
    Also, check out my method for cooking West Virginia pintos on my blog.

  12. My dad always makes the girls pasta fazol when he comes. Basically sautee onions and garlic in olive oil. Add 2 cans of tomato sauce, oreagano salt and pepper. Let cook for about 30 minutes then add a can or two of cannelli beans and mix in some cooked ditalini pasta. It's yummy and comforting. I'll send you a better recipe if I can find it.

  13. There are a lot of great bean recipes in Alice Water's The Art of Simple Food. The Cranberry Bean Gratin is so comforting and delicious. (page 80) I'm sure I just used dried white beans-not even certain what cranberry beans are-and it was amazing and definitely main-dish worthy.
    PS-I love your new glasses! Very hip.
    Best wishes, Tara Thayer

  14. that sounds really good! I need some new dinner ideas, this one comes at a good time.

    typepad is doing the same thing on my comment emails too, I thought it was just my googlemail, but I will email typepad and ask for help. strength in numbers!

    love the emails for new posts idea.

  15. I cook like this frequently! Most times it turns out quite good but now and then I'll have a bomb. Anyway, I *just* posted my recipe for Cajun Red Beans and Rice on my blog today! Its a bit time consuming but perfect for a weekend of working(or lazing if you're lucky) around the house.

  16. Beans– we make a pot of pintos once a week and use some for bean enchiladas. So tasty! I normally just use a can of Enchi sauce but will try your sauce with them this week. 🙂

    Bean Enchis:
    mushed pintos
    can Enchi sauce
    flour tortillas
    shredded cheese
    —grease casserolle dish, pour 1/4C Enchi sauce on bottom of dish, use 1/3C mushed beans per tortilla, roll & line in dish. Combine 1/3 cup mush beans, 1/4C water and remaining enchi sauce – pour over rolled enchis. Sprinkle cheese on top & bake 350/30mins.

  17. Black beans & rice. So easy! Beans in the crockpot, rice in the cooker.
    Cut up tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, lettuce, cheese. Then stack it all on top of the rice. Throw on some sweet & spicy sauce and it's heaven. Kid's love it and it's so easy!

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