Be Unstoppable!
How have I not published this??? I'm freaking out right now!!

I legitimately thought that I had posted this recipe a LONG time ago, but without as many awesome pictures...only to realize that I have not! This is a food emergency right now, because you all need to try this recipe!!

Okay, hold on...let me compose myself...

So, I pretty much gave you the run down of my vacation home in my last post, Home for the Holidays, where I emphasized the things that I did while I was home to ensure that I was at least maintaining my healthy habits! At the end of that post, I started talking about the fact that something you can do for your family while your home to help yourself stay healthy, help your family get introduced to your lifestyle, and also to take some of the workload off of your family in terms of making dinner! I kind of teased you about a recipe that I made for them...and now I'm going to lay it all out for you...

Introducing...one of my absolute favorite recipes that I've ever made...

I originally got this recipe from Pinch of Yum, and have since modified it by a) adding protein, and b) increased the amount of food with more squash and lots of tortillas!!

But here's the jist....

What you'll need...
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1 jalapeño, chopped, seeds and ribs removed
  • 2 bell peppers, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons of butter
  • 1 small butternut squash, cubed
  • ½ teaspoon chili powder, or more if you prefer spicier
  • ½ teaspoon cumin, or more if you prefer spicier
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 3 chicken breasts, cubed
  • 16 ounces of fresh mushrooms, chopped
  • Corn tortillas, I used 2 10 tortilla packages of the small corn tortillas
  • 2 cups shredded Mexican mix cheese
  • Cilantro
  • 16 ounces Tomatillo sauce (The original recipe called for homemade tomatillo sauce, but I'm all about simplifying so I bought it at the store)
Directions...

Squash Filling
The squash and pepper part of the filling is so beautiful! And - your house will probably smell good by this point! AT this time, aunts and uncle arrived and my Aunt Lesa was gushing about how good this all smelled
  • Over high heat, roast the peppers and jalapeño until just brown
  • Add the onions and saute until translucent
  • Add the squash, 1 T of butter, cumin, chili powder, and salt...and saute until the squash is tender by pricking with a knife. This may take a bit of time depending on the size of cubes you cut your squash into so plan accordingly with time.
  • Once the squash is cooked set this mixture aside
At this time you may want to start pre-heating your oven to 400 degrees.

Mushroom Filling
Chicken and Mushroom part of the filling 
  • Add a tablespoon of butter to the plan.
  • At this time, add the cubed chicken breast and cook chicken through until almost fully cooked.
  • Add the mushrooms and saute until softened and slightly brown
  • Season with salt and additional chili powder if desired
Assembly and Cooking
The prep takes longer than all the actual cooking - only approximately 15 minutes until DELICIOUSNESS!
  • Wrap the tortillas (about 5 or 6 at a time) in moist paper towels and zap in the microwave for 1-2 minutes. This is to make the tortillas soft and pliable so that they don't break during the assembly process. Seriously don't skip this step! Also be careful with the tortillas because they'll likely be hot when you handle them!
  • Combine the squash, mushroom & chicken mixes.
  • Fill the tortillas with the mixture and close, placing them seam side down in the pan.
  • Repeat until you've used all the tortillas. You may have some filling leftover. If you do, just sprinkle it over the top of the tortillas. For me, I was able to make two 9x13 dishes full of tortillas and I split the leftover filling between the two platters.
  • Top the dishes with tomatillo sauce and cheese, spreading evenly between the two dishes!
  • Bake for 15-18 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly!
  • Top with cilantro and serve!
I had planned on making this recipe my very last night home for my holiday vacation. It was supposed to just be myself and my parents, but I knew it would be a LOT of food, so I invited my aunts and uncle, and my grandparents over! We even had a surprise visit from my family friend!  So, altogether, I was able to serve 9 people with very hearty appetites with this and had a little bit leftover! And let me tell you, it was a HIT! Can't you tell?
They busted into the first pan before I could even take a picture, and before I knew it BOTH pans were gone!
My grandma brought over a Chinese cabbage salad, which went surprisingly well with the enchiladas! Let me know if you want that recipe too! It's a family favorite!

Anyways, my family really really really enjoyed this recipe and I hope yours does too! :-)

Happy cooking!


MORE FOOD!!!!!!!! I know you're just really upset about hearing about more delicious recipe awesome-ness, right? **wink wink**

Have you ever stumbled across a recipe on pinterest and you just started salivating immediately?!?! Ya...that happened to me last weekend when I found this one--Chicken, Mushroom, and Spinach Enchiladas from the Girl Who Ate Everything.  If you just take one peak at these pictures, I dare you to tell me these don't look delicious! These just looked delicious and whether or not they were really cheese heavy (ya they kind of are...why do you think I didn't 21 day fix approve them?)...I still had to try these! Because you know what, sometimes you deserve a cheesy treat!

So, for today's meal of the week...Spinach, Mushroom, and Chicken Stuffed Enchiladas! I know some people have strong opinions about mushrooms. So, if you're not a mushroom person, or eating spinach makes you feel like Popeye, than feel free to substitute!  

For mushroom substitution...You'll need another meaty vegetable! Cauliflower or eggplant would probably be sufficient for that. I do not have much experience cooking with eggplant, so I personally would suggest cauliflower, since I anticipate it would hold its shape better than eggplant would and would therefore make a more appetizing consistency for your filling.

For spinach subsitution...I would suggest chard or kale! I personally looooooooove kale, so that would be by personal suggestion!

First things first, what do you need at the grocery store?

Grocery List:
  • Sweet Onions - $0.45
  • Mushrooms - $3.99
  • Kroger Low Sodium Chicken Broth - $1.55
  • Fresh Baby Spinach - $4.99
  • Philadelphia Cream Cheese - $0.41
  • Chicken breasts - $10.49 (used approximately half for this recipe and half for Veggie & Chicken Crockpot Chili recipe)
  • Limes - $0.39
  • 8 ounces Daisy Low Fat Sour Cream - $1.39
  • Cilantro - $0.89
  • Kroger Flour Tortillas -$1.99
  • Kroger Shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese - $0.69
Things I already had:
  • Butter
  • Garlic Powder
Total = $16.25 total for recipe

Directions...
Start by preheating that oven to 350 degrees and greasing your baking pan. I used a 9 x 13 glass Pyrex baking dish.

Then cook your chicken breast - about 1 1/2 chicken breasts if you haven't already. I kind of forgot this step (oops) so my filling was sitting around while I was cooking the chicken! After you're done, let it cool and then dice it. Once I realized I hadn't cooked my chicken yet, I personally let mine cook while I was preparing the rest of the filling.

For the filling...
  • 1 tablespoon of butter
  • Small Onion, minced
  • garlic powder
  • Mushrooms - 1lb approximatley, coarsely chopped
  • 10 ounces of coarsely chopped baby spinach
  • 1/4 C of low-sodium chicken broth
  • 4 ounces of cream cheese - low fat
  • cooked and diced chicken

Melt the butter down in a large skillet over medium to medium high heat, add minced onions, garlic powder, and mushrooms until soft. About 5 minutes or so should do it.  

Remove half of the mushroom mixture and set aside.

Add 1/4 cup of chicken broth and cook for a couple more minutes.

Add the coarsely chopped spinach and cook down until soft. Then add in 4 ounces of the cream cheese (this was half of my block of cream cheese) until melted, mixing into the mixture as it melts.  Season with salt to taste, and also mix in chopped and cooked chicken.  

For the sauce...
  • Juice of one lime
  • 3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
  • Garlic powder - I didn't measure but 1-1.5 tablespoons should be good
  • Low Fat (or Fat Free) Sour cream - 8 oz
  • Cilantro, chopped

Combine juice of one lime, 1 cup of chicken broth, and garlic powder (about 1 tablespoon or more if you really like garlic).  Then add the reserved mushroom mixture, 8 ounces of low fat sour cream, and chopped cilantro. Simmer until the sauce thickens. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Assembly...
  • Filling
  • Sauce
  • 8 flour tortillas
  • 1.5 cups of Monterrey Jack cheese (This was about 6 of the 8 ounces of Monterrey Jack in the bag of shredded cheese)
Divide filling between the 8 tortillas, fill and roll with seam side down...seriously make sure the seam is down! Pour the sauce over the top of the enchiladas, and then top with the shredded cheese.

Bake for about 10-15 minutes!

Enchiladas should be bubbling and golden brown!

Then, enjoy!

Seriously, these enchiladas are AMAZING! I totally look forward to them at the end of a long day! To offset the heaviness of these, I'll usually pair them with a large salad. And purely to offset that they are a little on the high-fat side, I have not been having them back-to-back days for dinner! I usually alternate between these and my veggie-heavy chili or a large salad with some grilled chicken or hard boiled egg for dinner! But seriously you should check them out! SO DELICIOUS!!

Happy Eating! 



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