Joys of Christmas

Even with Christmas being spent in a city that I'm learning to call home, I really enjoyed my day. It had been planned that we would have to a family get together at mine & Jerry's place. A total of five people which would have been cramped quarters in our tiny apartment, but still possible. My sister and I had planned to make a traditional family dinner of spaghetti & meatballs that is generally associated with Christmas Eve, but that we moved to Christmas Day due to an exam of that my sister had.

For me, the day began with a trip to our morning market to buy tomatoes and green onions for dinner preparations. When I went back home, I began chopping 1/2 a yellow onion, 1 large green onion (Chinese scallion) and garlic into fine pieces. Once chopped, I tossed all the ingredients into my pot with 3 tablespoons of olive oil and began sautéing until the onions had become a little translucent. I added a cup of dry red wine from my collection of wine that I don't drink and only use for cooking. I then added a total of 6 large tomatoes that I had cut into large cubes as well as a 1-1/2 tablespoons of Italian Seasoning spice blend by Tone's. I allowed the mixture to simmer for the day, letting the tomatoes break down as they cooked. Oh my, the apartment smelled wonderful!

Later, I turned off the stove and headed to my local grocery market to acquire meat for making meatballs. I met my sister there and she helped me get 1 kilo of ground beef and 1/2 kilo of ground pork from the butcher. Back at my place, we mixed the meat with two eggs and 3/4 cup of crushed Pepperidge Farms stuffing. Then we formed it into meatballs and baked at 350˚ F for 20 minutes.

We had also made garlic bread rolls using the Buttery Sourdough Buns recipe from King Arthur, using olive oil, Italian Seasoning, and garlic powder instead of the butter and paprika topping recommended in their recipe.

What a wonderful feast!

Chicken Enchiladas

Around our house, we cook all the time. Our kitchen is the social zone of the house. I can guarantee that any time of the year, you can come over to our house and it doesn't take long before everybody is in the kitchen laughing and having fun. Over the weekend, we made chicken enchiladas and they were fabulous! Yes, I did shamelessly steal the recipe from my dad's blog. You can also go to his blog and read more about us!

Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients:

•  4 chicken breasts
•  2 cans chicken broth (14 oz)
•  2 cans black olives (6 oz)
•  mozzarella cheese (1 lb)
•  cheddar cheese (1 lb)
•  cornstarch (2 Tbsp)
•  2 cans enchilada sauce (29 oz, we use mild)
•  ground sweet chocolate (Ghirardelli)
•  flour tortillas (about 20)
•  pot of cooked rice

Directions:

1. Trim the chicken breasts and brown lightly in a large dutch oven with vegetable oil.
2. Simmer chicken with one can of broth until cooked. Do not over cook.
3. Remove chicken breasts from pot, reserving liquid.
4. Chop or shred chicken meat.
5. Add second can of chicken broth to reserved liquid.
6. Thicken broth and juices into gravy with 2 Tablespoons cornstarch mixed into about 1/2 cup water.

Filling (fills about 5 tortillas):

•  1 cup rice
•  1 cup enchilada sauce
•  4 teaspoons ground sweet chocolate
•  1-1/2 cup chopped cooked chicken
•  1/4 cup chicken / cornstarch gravy
•  1 cup cheese (mozzarella / cheddar blend)
•  1/4 cup sliced black olives

Topping Sauce (covers one pan):

•  1 cup enchilada sauce
•  1/2 cup chicken / cornstarch gravy
•  1/4 cup sliced black olives
•  1 cup shredded mozzarella
•  1/2 cup shredded cheddar

Spoon filling into cooked flour tortillas. Roll closed and place into baking dish seam down. Top with sauce mixture. Cover with foil and bake at 350 F until hot, about 25 minutes. You can uncover during the last 5 minutes to reduce the moisture and brown the cheese. This should make enough to fill three 9×13 glass baking dishes.