Avocado and Chicken Enchiladas

Avocado Creamy Good!

When our friend Penny shared this recipe we knew we had to make this dish.

Sour cream, avocado, chicken and cheese can only mean one thing – we’re having seconds.

Foodie Tips:

❤  I like the tasty heat of jalapeño combined with the creamy sour cream sauce. If you’re a little heat-shy you can omit the jalapeño.

❤  We found our Mexican cheese mixture at our neighborhood HEB which was a blend of Monterey Jack, Cheddar, Asadero and Quesadilla Cheeses. You can substitute your favorite cheese – Pepper Jack would work well.

❤  Great sidekicks for this dish can include my spicy stuffed cornbread, chicken tortilla soup or a fresh garden salad.

Ingredients: 

For The Sauce:

1 Tablespoon  |  Unsalted Butter (I suggest Falfurrias)
1  |  Jalapeño, Chopped With Or Without Seeds (optional)
1 Clove  |  Garlic, Minced
1 Tablespoon  |  Flour
1 Cup  |  Chicken Stock
2 Teaspoons  |  Cumin
¼ Teaspoon  |  Salt
½ Teaspoon  |  Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
½ Cup  |  Cilantro, Chopped
1 Cup  |  Your Favorite Salsa Verde (we used Trader Joe’s Salsa Verde)
½ Cup  |  Sour Cream

For The Enchiladas:

4 Cups  |  Rotisserie Chicken Breast, Shredded
4 Cups  |  Mexican Blend Cheese, Shredded And Divided Into Two 2-Cup Piles
3  |  Avocados, Peeled And Chopped
8  |  Flour Tortillas

Directions:

1. Make The Sauce: In a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat sauté the garlic and jalapeño in butter for about 1 minute. Stir in the flour and cook for two minutes. Add the stock, cumin, salt, pepper and stir until everything comes to a boil. Remove the sauce from the heat and add the sour cream and cilantro; combine well and set aside.

2.  Prep Your Baking Dish: Coat the bottom of a 9″ x 13″ baking dish with nonstick spray. Pour ½ cup of your sour cream sauce and spread it to evenly coat the bottom of the dish. Preheat oven to 375°F.

3. Make Your Enchiladas: [Note: For this step only work from 2 cups of cheese for your enchilada filling so you will have 2 cups to sprinkle on top.] Top a tortilla with the chicken, cheese, avocado and a spoonful of the sour cream sauce. Roll up the enchilada and place it seam side down in your baking dish. Repeat this process until all your enchiladas are made. If you have any extra chicken or avocado no worries – you can sprinkle this on top of your enchiladas. Pour the remaining sauce on top of the enchiladas, cover with the last 2 cups of the Mexican cheese mixture.

4. Bake Away: Place in your preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until the cheese is bubbly-gooey. Remove from oven and let rest a few minutes. You can garnish with a little more chopped cilantro or chopped avocado.

Hope you enjoy this dish!

 

~ Joe Paul Reider

Home Style Austin Founder
Austin Realtor®
Keller Williams Realty, Inc.

❤ Love Food? In a click and a scroll you can visit more of my favorite recipes!

Home Style Austin Orzo Salad Recipe

A Great-Tasting Orzo Salad

If you love orzo short-cut pasta as much as I do, you’ll want to try this Home Style Austin house favorite – you might find it becoming a regular side or main dish at your dinner table.

Foodie Tips:

• You can make this salad ahead of time and let it chill in the refrigerator – perfect to take on-the-go for a picnic or to the office for lunchtime.
• You can also serve it warm and introduce some protein to make it a main course meal; adding chicken or roasted rotisserie chicken makes this dish delicious!
• If you’re shy with raw onion you can eliminate it or reduce it to ¼ cup.
• I added goat cheese to lessen the intensity of the blue cheese flavor (sorry, blue cheese); if you prefer one cheese over the other you can go all the way and use ½ cup of your favorite cheese.
• Don’t have – or can’t get – Trader Joe’s Artichoke Antipasto? You can substitute 2-4 ounces of marinated artichoke hearts.

Ingredients: 

½ Cup  |  Orzo Pasta (Prepared)
2 -3 Ounces  |  Trader Joe’s Artichoke Antipasto
1 Medium  |  Tomato, Chopped
½ Cup  |  Celery, Chopped
½ Cup |  Red Onion, Chopped
¼ Cup  |  Crumbled Goat Cheese
¼ Cup  |  Crumbled Blue Cheese
½ Cup |  Black Olives, Chopped
2 Tablespoons  |  Fresh Italian Flat Leaf Parsley, Chopped (Optional)
1 Tablespoon  |  Fresh Lemon Juice
½ Teaspoon  |  Dry Oregano
½ Teaspoon  |  Fresh Cracked Black Pepper

Directions: 

1. Prepare the orzo according to package directions, drain and chill in the refrigerator while you’re preparing the rest of the ingredients.

2. When the remaining ingredients are all ready stir them into the orzo and chill 1-2 hours.

Yields: 4-6 servings. Enjoy!

Love this recipe? We want to hear from you!

 

 

~ Joe Paul Reider

Home Style Austin Founder
Austin Realtor®
Keller Williams Realty, Inc.

❤ Love Food? In a click and a scroll you can visit more of my favorite recipes!

 

Hatch-Chicken Mac n’ Cheese Recipe

A Smokey Love Affair

This time of year when the Hatch Chili Peppers make their bountiful cameo appearance, we get weak in the knees for all things hatch. Just perusing almost 100 recipes at Central Market’s website made us break an indoor sweat for this sensationally, seasonal pepper.

With hatches in hand we decided to incorporate these delightfully, smokey-tasting peppers into our interpretation of gourmet Mac n’ Cheese. This dish will take more time than it does to whip-up Mac from a box, but we think the results undoubtedly justify the labor of love.

Foodie Tips:

• We prepare our hatch chili peppers and our chicken ahead of time so assembly time will be efficient; we have Mac n’ Cheese to eat! The roasted rotisserie chicken? We scored ours ready-to-go from our local HEB mere steps from an impressive Hatch Chili Pepper display.
• Not sure how to roast your Hatch Chili Peppers? Here’s a helpful post I found that may help. We roasted our peppers on the outdoor grill. Our local HEB Plus! was even hosting hatch chili roasting events to make things even easier.
• As an alternative to olive oil we have been having fun with avocado oil; it has a high smoke point and can offer various health benefits. We found our oil locally at Salt & Time on East 7th Street.
• You can substitute the cheeses below with your favorites, like with Monterrey Jack or Mozzarella.
• If it’s not hatch season you can use a couple cans of green chiles, although the flavor won’t be as smokey. If you’re out of shallots, try substituting red or white onions. No penne? Try elbow macaroni or your favorite sauce-hugging pasta (sorry, spaghetti, linguini and angel hair – we have other plans in store for you).

Ingredients: 

2  |  Shallots, Peeled, Roasted and Chopped
3 Cloves  |  Garlic, Peeled, Roasted and Chopped
2 Teaspoons  |  Avocado Oil (or olive oil)
2 Tablespoons  |  Flour
4 Cups  |  Heavy Whipping Cream
1 Teaspoon  |  Fresh Thyme, Chopped
2 Cups  |  Jalapeño Pepper Jack Cheese, Shredded
2 Cups  |  Cheddar Cheese, Shredded
To Taste  |  Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 Pound  |  Penne Pasta, Cooked and Drained
4-5  |  Hatch Chili Peppers, Roasted, Skinned, Seeded and Chopped
2-3 Cups  |  Roasted Rotisserie Chicken, Deboned and Shredded
1/2 – 1 Cup  | Panko Bread Crumbs
2 Tablespoons  |  Falfurrias Brand Butter, Melted
2 Tablespoons  |  Italian Flat Leaf Parsley, Chopped

Directions: 

1. Place the peeled shallots and garlic in a small aluminum foil pouch and drizzle with 1 teaspoon of the oil. Roast on the grill (or indoor oven at 425°F) about 25 minutes, until tender. This is a good time to boil the water, prepare the pasta and set it aside after drining. Remove the shallot-garlic medley from oven/grill and give it some time to cool a bit. Remove the veggies from the foil then chop them up.

2. In a large sauté pan over medium heat, add another teaspoon of oil, the chopped vegetables then sauté for about a minute. Add the flour and stir for 1 minute (do not allow to burn). Whisk in the heavy cream and the thyme then stir in the Hatch Chili Peppers. Allow the mixture to reduce by a third.

3. Add your cheeses and stir until melted, creamy and thick. Season with salt and pepper as desired. Hungry yet? :)

4. Remove the cheese sauce from the heat and gently stir in the pasta and chicken. [Note: If your sauté pan is too small you can transfer the sauce into the pasta pot.] Transfer the Mac n’ Cheese into a 9″ x 13″ casserole dish and set aside. Preheat your oven to 350°F.

5. In a small bowl mix together the panko, butter and parsley; spread this mixture over the Mac n’ Cheese. Bake uncovered for about 25-35 minutes, until everything is browned and bubbly. Remove from oven, cool for a few minutes then serve.

Yields: 8-12 servings, depending on your appetite! Enjoy!

Love this recipe? We want to hear from you!

~ Joe Paul Reider

Home Style Austin Founder
Austin Realtor®
Keller Williams Realty, Inc.

❤ Love Food? In a click and a scroll you can visit more of my favorite recipes!