Enchilada Lasagna

Where's Kelly?

That is what everyone keeps asking me.  I should change my outfit to horn rimmed glasses and a red & white striped shirt and change my name to Waldo right?!! lol....

It seems that summer has just whizzed by.  I am not complaining that is for sure.  Have had a great summer so far.  A few ups and downs, but so far so good.  Just hoping for an Indian Summer so I can recoup some of my wasted time.

My awesome sister came and visited during my week at the fair with the Cheerleaders.  Sure wish we could've spent time golfing, but I enjoyed her company at the Fair.  She bought me my first pair of bling bling capris and a pair of bling bling jeans.  She is the best ever.  Oh and for anyone who wants a pair of these awesome jeans contact Kory Olsen at the Cascade Farmer's Flea Market, her business is called Tracks and Racks and her prices are to die for.  She has the cutest pants, capris, shorts, purses, belts, hats and all kinds of really super cute bling bling clothes.

I have not spent a lot of time in the kitchen at all and it's really getting to me.  I need my Zen and I am not getting it.  I did place the Lemon Blueberry Coffe Cake into the fair and won first place in my division and 3rd place overall, that was a good accomplishment.  I sold the delicious Carne Asada Tacos and Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches at the Fair and SOLD OUT!!!!  Learned some things to do and not to do next year that is for sure...

One thing I will NOT to do is spray Eazy Off Oven Cleaner in my stove, forget to wipe the excess off of the heating element and leave it overnight.  The morning of my first day of fair and had to get the coffee cake into the fair by 1:30pm, I went to clean out the oven and uh yeah the oven element disintegrated in my hands!!! Oh all I could do is laugh about it because really what else was there to do.  UGH!  Thank goodness for Ebay, got a new one a week later and back to cooking for me.  A week some of you say?  Well I live over an hour away from any major store so a week is good timing.

So for the first time tonight I actually cooked in my semi new oven.  I found this delicioso recipe today and fed it to the family and the extended family (Joey and Tucker).  It was a hit and its all gone already, bummer, no left overs for work tomorrow.  Oh well everyone is stuffed and happy...... My job is complete for the day.

 Photo by Kelly Taylor

Enchilada Lasagna

adapted from mogwaisoup.blogspot.com

2 Tbsp. virgin olive oil

1 lb. chicken breast, chopped into bite size pieces

5 cups mexican blend cheese

1 can cream of celery

1 can cream of chicken

1 can cheddar cheese soup

1 1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup canned and chopped green chilies, drained

small corn tortillas

1 tsp ancho chili powder

1 tsp granulated garlic

1 Tbsp parsley flakes

1 tsp cumin

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cracked black pepper

Preheat oven to 425°

Brown chicken in a pan with the 2 Tbsp of virgin olive oil; season with salt, pepper, cumin, ancho chili powder, garlic and parsley.

In a bowl combin cream of celery, cream of chicken, sour cream, cheddar soup mix and green chilis.

Prepare a bowl of water to do dip the corn tortillas in.  In a 9 x 13 in. baking dish, put 1/2 cup of the cream mix on the bottom of the baking dish and spread.  Layer a row of tortillas followed by cream mix, chicken and cheese.  Repeat.  Make three layers of this.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until the cheese is nice and melted and golden brown on top.

Enjoy!

Black Peppered Chicken

Who doesn't love the Panda Restaurants?  This is the closest I have come to their black peppered chicken and it is too die for.  You will notice that there is no celery or onions pictured in the recipe, my children are not big fans, however it's very easy to add and I would suggest that you do so.  Remember if you are wanting to make this gluten free, it's all in the soy sauce.  You can purchase gluten free soy, but La Choy is in almost every supermarket and it is gluten free.  I love chinese food because a lot of it is naturally gluten free and if it is battered in some way, its usually done with cornstarch. 

If you don't own a rice steamer, you are missing out.  My daughter came home one day and informed me that her boyfriend's mother made her some of the best rice she ever had, "sorry Mom, no offense, but it was really good."  So the next time I went to Boise I bought a rice steamer and she was right!  I now make all of my rice in my trusty steamer, including the one's that come from a box.  Which by the way are not too many, with the whole gluten free thing, it's hard to find anything from a box anymore.
Note: Its very easy to overdo on the pepper, so if you don't like spice, then cut back about a 1/4 tsp. of the white pepper, a little goes a long way.

So here is my take on Black Peppered Chicken ~Enjoy!

 

Photo by Kelly Taylor

Black Pepper Chicken

Sauce:

1/4 C. oyster sauce

1 tsp. soy sauce

1 tsp. black pepper

1/2 tsp. white pepper

1 tsp. rice wine

1 lb. boneless chicken breast

1 white onion, sliced into strips 

2 celery stalks, sliced into strips

oil for frying

Mix together all of the sauce ingredients in a bowl and set aside.  Cut chicken into 2 inch strips. Heat about 2 Tbsp. of oil in pan and cook chicken until done.  Drain the chicken on paper towels.  Clean out the pan, heat about 1 Tbsp. of oil.  Add the onion and celery and cook for two minutes.  Add the sauce mixture and heat until bubbly.  Add the chicken stirring to fully coat with the sauce mixture. 

Serve with steamed rice.

~ENJOY!~