Madison House Chef

Skinny Enchiladas

 

One of the tasty advantages of living in the Rio Grande Valley is the abundance of quality ingredients to create favorite Mexican recipes. High on the list of my favorite Mexican dishes are enchiladas pollo (chicken enchiladas). Unfortunately, when enjoying them at any of a number of local establishments, the enchiladas are high on fat – they are certainly very high taste, but they just aren’t on my skinny list.

Time to get into the kitchen and see if I can make something equally tasty, but well within range for counting calories.

Now the purists and true connoisseurs of Mexican fare, and many an abuelita (sweet grandma) may correctly argue that these are not true enchiladas … I accept their criticism and pray that they invite me to their table on a non-counting day as my penance. But to get the taste of enchiladas without having to count all those calories, these are a tasty, satisfying stand in and, added benefit, there are vegetables hidden inside next to the chicken and they may even be nutritious

Chicken & Rice Casserole

Comfort food … any casserole with rice! Delicious, but I avoid them due to the high carbohydrates and because I am not a big fan of cream-of-anything soup. What to do the at least improve the nutrition? Brown rice. Boneless, skinless chicken breast. Basic white sauce with onions to replace soup. Easy on the fats; no cheese. 

This will either be really good … OR really bad!

Turns out it was really good and worth keeping in my MHC digital recipe box.

Next time I can reduce the calories by another 20 to 25 by dropping the butter drizzle on the cornflakes and by switching to 2% milk without losing any of the creaminess.

Read on... 

Moroccan Style Chicken (with photos)

After experimenting with a new Moroccan Chicken recipe the family requested I make the “original” version that dates back to the early days of Madison House Chef. Knowing that I wanted to blog the recipe I went in search of my original copy.

However, I couldn’t remember it’s original source.  A website? A newspaper clipping? A cookbook? 

What to do??

 

Moroccan Chicken and Lentils

 

 

Bon Appetit ~ January 2004

The original recipe that inspired my Moroccan flavored lentils, plus commentary on preparation and personalization.

 

 

 

 

Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeno Chicken Bites

These bacon wrapped jalapeno chicken bites were extraordinary. 

The technique for preparation was quite easy and the result a combination of salty, creamy, and spicy. By grilling them over a medium heat the bacon becomes crispy and the chicken perfectly done without being overcooked or dry. The other benefit of the charcoal grill is the smoky flavor that impacts all three tastes.

 

Tortilla Soup (with photos)

This is a reworking of our original version of Tortilla Soup. This recipe is incredibly flavorful and since it’s an easily modifiable recipe, the ‘heat’ is determined by your preference.

Enjoy my homemade tortilla strips in this luscious soup.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

It’s Sunday … which means it’s Pizza Day at The Madison House.

Today’s specialty pizza is Buffalo Chicken.

The local Double Dave’s pizza has (or more precisely had) a Sunday afternoon buffet.  Often times (back in the day before chef Ken began making pizza) we went there after church to enjoy the great variety of slices, their stromboli (not quite up to PA standards, but good in it’s own right) and an overly sweet dessert pizza. On a whim, I tried the buffalo chicken pizza – what the heck, live dangerously, I’ve eaten stranger things.  It was good, quite good. Sadly, Double Dave’s went belly up and since then, we’ve been hungry for Buffalo pizza.

One Protein – Three Meals (Roast Chicken)

I’m finding that there is certain satisfaction, a savings of time, and a savings of money when it comes to taking one protein and being able to stretch 3 meals from it.  This has been a new and wonderful challenge for me, especially in a household that doesn’t enjoy leftovers.  How do I make and remake this single, simple protein into multiple meals? It begins with choosing a protein that adapts well to different flavor profiles and continues with making enough of it to last a day or two and combining that with a little creativity.

 

Balsamic Roasted Sausages & Chicken with Red Vegetables (with photos)

 

Serves 4
Prep Time 5 mins
Cook Time 30-45 mins

This recipe is a slight variation of the BBC GoodFood August 2010 issue, Balsamic Roasted Sausages with Red Veg.

 

 

 

Spinach stuffed Chicken Roulades with Goat Cheese and Pine Nuts

 

Moist chicken with delicious stuffing offers both creaminess and nutiness. 

This recipe can be made ahead and baked within 24 hours or frozen.

 

 

Chicken and Rice Soup

Chicken and rice soup ladled over an extra spoonful of rice.

It’s soup time of year again (read: cooler and wet though not cold as per up north) and I’ve had a taste for chicken and rice soup and thus put this recipe together.  The idea for searing the chicken before putting it into the pot came from a CIA cookbook that I was thumbing through not long ago.  I hadn’t seen any recipes previously that do so, but I figured it was worth a try.  It seemed to add a little extra flavor due in part to the “flavor bits” that adhere to the bottom of the pan while searing. 

 

Chicken Enchiladas Fresca

 

One of the exciting things about living in the Rio Grande Valley is learning about new cuisine.  

It's remarkable how many variations there are on enchiladas. It's a very personal taste whose recipe varies from household to household. 

 

 

Chicken Italiano

This one's for a busy when there's little time to cook ... or when it's 104 degrees out and you don't want to turn on the stove or oven.

Chicken Italiano

1 crock pot
1 bottle of Fat Free Italian Dressing
4 or 5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts  

Before work: Plug in and turn on crockpot (don't laugh...it doesn't work if you don't plug it in...don't ask!); place chicken breasts in crockpot; pour entire bottle of dressing over the chicken breasts; go to work.

After work: Open a bag of salad, remove chicken from crock pot. Serve with a fresh green salad or a seasonal steamed veggie.    

Enjoy! 

It doesn't get much easier than this -- and talk about quick, easy, and low fat/low calorie -- save the extra time, energy and calories for ice cream...oops, I mean walking. 

For what it's worth...make a double batch and make chicken salad for lunch the next day, shred chicken and make enchiladas, or eat with your fingers for an evening protein snack at 125 cal.

The BEST Chicken Wings in the Valley, Perhaps the Nation

Happy Saturday ---

Today is the very first day and definitely the first Saturday that we have had as a family in ages upon ages.  With Lent, Holy Week, First HC classes, History competitions, piano festival... I could go on...it's been a long time since we've had family time on a Saturday morning.

This a.m. we got up leisurely.  I first woke up at 6:15am feeling as if I had slept in, but after a quick trip to check the kids and to check the news I was back in bed and slept until everyone began waking up at 8:00am.  It was glorious.   We took the kids out to breakfast at our favorite breakfast place (Tico's) and amazed GDG with the fact that we had barely settled in when our coffee and decaf arrived without speaking a word to anyone.  (I guess we have breakfast there, and an occasional lunch, fairly often.  Does this make us 'regulars?')  After breakfast and a brief stop home we went to the park (the big one in McAllen) and played for a hour+.  It was delightful.  Once home, MELG laid down to rest (which now I'm beginning to think she's getting Strep...which is going around her school...she's running a fever), GDG worked on his computer a bit and Ken and I proceeded to sweep and straighten the garage a little AND... took all of the recyclables to the Recycling Center.  Impressive, wouldn't you say!  And to think that some people get two days in a row of this kind of thing each and every single week.  What luxury.  Later, as MELG continued to rest Ken went to HEB to pick up a few groceries for the weekend including...   WINGS.  Yes, it's going to be a Hot Wings night!!

Soup of the Day: Tortilla Soup

Ken outdid himself again!  This time with the most delicious tortilla soup.   

This soup clearly deserves an A!     DG:  A   /   KG:  A

 

Look at these beautiful tortilla chips.  These are corn tortillas that Mom brought back from Mexico last week.  Ken baked them in the oven and seasoned them slightly with sea salt.  What a perfect complement to the soup.