Spinach Mushroom (Chicken) Enchiladas

Holly posted on Instagram about this #boostyourlifechallenge and it sounded interesting, so on a whim to kick-start my birthday month I decided to join her.

I’ve actually stuck with it each day (so far) and so when Day 5 came (Spinach Creativity), I wanted to not only hit that day’s prompt but also hit one of my goals for August – trying a new recipe.

First thing I did was hit up Pinterest and I quickly found this recipe from Taste of Home. It looked phenomenal and I was pretty sure I had mostly everything already in my pantry at home. I figured what I didn’t have, I could swing. I don’t talk much about cooking on this blog but it’s a small hobby of mine – I really enjoy finding & trying new recipes & even tweaking old recipes. I probably don’t talk about it much because as a blogger, it feels like if you post a recipe you MUST include very fancy, photogenic food materials – and I ain’t interested in all that. The picture below – yeah, not mine. But it’s the one that totally convinced me this recipe was worth trying.

I’m going to post the ingredients/directions from the recipe in black and then my substitutions/additions in red. You can check out the regular recipe by going here.

Spinach Mushroom (Chicken!) Enchiladas

Ingredients:

• 1 pound baby Portobello (bella for me) mushrooms, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 chicken breast fillets, chopped – it was about 9 ounces
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 garlic cloves, minced (we love garlic, so I minced 6 cloves)
• 1/4 cup white wine or chicken broth (I used broth, the only wine in my fridge was something that resembled old grapes I clearly need to throw away)
• 12 ounces chopped fresh spinach, coarsely chopped (I only had a 10 oz bag)
• 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt, divided
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1 tablespoon chicken bouillon granules
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) sour cream ( I only had 8 oz of sour cream)
• 4 oz Greek Yogurt Vanilla
• 1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro (I didn’t have any)
• 12 corn tortillas (6 inches), warmed (I only had 8 & they were flour)
• 1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack Cheese (I didn’t have any)
• 1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Cook chicken breasts. I buy these quick & easy ones for lunch on days (note: they’re HEB brand which is a grocery store only found in Texas) when I’m rushing out the door. Since adding chicken was a last minute addition for me I just threw them in the microwave for the recommended amount of time. But you can cook the chicken however you want – I’d go ahead and get started on it though.
2. While they’re cooking, chop up your vegetables. (I chopped the spinach by hand) I bought this Ninja Master Prep a couple years ago after seeing how amazing a friend’s was – I love it. Highly recommend. It comes with the little one and I use it all the time.
   
   I also chopped them boobs up when they were done cooking in the Ninja like I was communicating Will Smith/Wild Wild West style.
   
3. In a large skillet, sauté mushrooms and onion in butter until tender; add garlic, cook 1 minute longer. Set aside half of the mushroom mixture for sauce.
   
4. Add wine (or chicken broth) to remaining vegetables; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add spinach and 1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt; cook until spinach is wilted and liquid is evaporated. Add chopped chicken and mix. Add water as necessary to keep the vegetables from burning.
5. In a large saucepan, bring the water, lime juice, chicken bouillon, garlic powder and remaining seasoned salt to a boil, stirring to dissolve bouillon. Stir in the sour cream, yogurt, cilantro and reserved mushroom mixture; heat through.
   
   
6. Place a scant 3 tablespoon spinach mixture down the center of each tortilla; roll up and place seam side down in a greased 13 in x 9 in baking dish. Spoon sauce over top; sprinkle with cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350° F for 14-18 minutes until heated through. I did not use all my spinach mixture in the enchiladas – it was really good all by itself and since I only had 8 tortillas, I just saved it in Tupperware and have been eating it like that all week.

The original nutritional facts: 1 serving is 2 enchiladas at 427 calories, 24 grams of fat, 879 mg sodium, 36 grams carbs, 5 gram fiber, 16 gram protein.

My version nutritional facts (or as close as I could get with MFP): 1 serving is 1 enchilada at 492 calories, 19 grams of fat, 1019 mg sodium, 47 gram carbs, 3 gram fiber, 32 gram protein.

I didn’t take a picture of the final product because I was much more concerned with stuffing my face. Both Alfred & I, not so much Lillie, agreed it should be added to our regular dinner line-up.

Substitution/Addition notes:

• I’m glad I added chicken to increase the protein and give it a little more substance – maybe more for my husband who is not quite on board with having a meatless dinner. STEAK AND POTATOES FOR LIFE needs to be tattooed on his back.
  I served him two enchiladas but he only ate 1 1/2 citing he was full (we also had steamed broccoli with it). So they are at the very least filling. I had one (along with broccoli) and was satisfied.
• I wish I would not have used Vanilla flavored Greek Yogurt. I could taste the vanilla in it (Alfred said he could not) and was not exactly a fan. When I make this again I will either use all sour cream OR use plain flavored Greek Yogurt.
• I’ll get the recommended number of tortillas (I was sad to see the leftovers vanish) – and I won’t use flour ones. Whenever I make enchiladas I typically use corn tortillas since they hold up so much better than flour ones do – they don’t get quite as “gummy”
• Using chicken broth was fine – but I can definitely see the advantage as far as taste goes with adding some white wine – so hopefully next time I’ll have some to spare and not just an empty bottle from the previous weekend taunting me in the trash can.

So, there you go! My first of five new recipes for August. Let me know if you’ve ever made these (or plan too!) and what you would change about it!

2014 Resolutions

I know I’m about a month late but better late than never, right?

I’ve been publicly announcing my resolutions since 2011 so while it may be an eye roll for you, it’s been a nice way for me to look back over the years to see what I’ve done or haven’t done and where I’ve been at emotionally.

For example, in 2011 one of my resolutions was to not get pregnant. While I didn’t talk about it at the time, I was going through some serious shit adjusting to being a mom for the first time and I can clearly remember how adamant I was about not getting pregnant. But now? I’m in a much better place emotionally & physically to handle that. (For the record, we are not trying. No, seriously, I know people will assume we are because I typed that but we really aren’t.) Anyway, like I said – resolution posts are a gentle reminder for me of how far I’ve come.

So, let’s get to what I hope 2014 will bring me. Or maybe it’s what I’ll bring to 2014. Either way something is being brought-en.

Resolution #1: Time Management

• One of the things I’ve realized as I’ve been training for my first marathon is I am completely disorganized when it comes to managing my time. It’s easy to procrastinate and say I’ll do it later but when later consists of dinner, laundry, dishes, kid time, prepping for the next days workout, husband time, etc – it doesn’t always happen. I think if I get a (flexible) schedule on the books that is fairly routine for our family, I’ll be less stressed and more present for my family, friends and myself.
• The plan: Get an organizer. One I physically write down things in. I can’t seem to bring myself to do it electronically and stick with it no matter how many times I’ve tried. Does anyone have any tips on a good one? Currently, I’ve just been writing things down on a notepad I got as a stocking stuffer for Christmas 3 years ago.

Resolution #2: Meal Prep

• I’m sure y’all have heard of this phenomenon. You know, where you sit down for 6 hours on one day of the week and plan out your entire freaking meal schedule for the rest of the week? I’ve tried this in the past but can’t get ever ‘find the time’ do this. Which is one of the main reasons I want to handle up on resolution #1. I have no intention on making this meal prep one of epic healthy proportions but rather one to make life easier for me on the weekdays. Don’t get me wrong though, I want to eat healthier but this is more for me to focus on how to do it. I’ll focus on healthier alternatives once I’m more comfortable with the change.
• The plan: Focus on lunch, then dinner, then breakfast. I want to make this a lifestyle change rather than something that feels completely unattainable, so I’m breaking it up. I’m going to focus on my lunches throughout the week first, then Lillie’s (hers are usually pretty easy since it’s mostly leftovers or PB&Js & applesauce) and then Alfred’s. I’ve gotten into a bad habit of just ordering food in the cafe in my building, which is pricey and not always that healthy for me – this should help keep that in check. Then, I’ll move on to prepping for dinners throughout the week and then see how breakfast goes. Anyone have any meal prepping tips?

Resolution #3: Get Stronger

• I really enjoy running and what it gives me – time alone to reflect or that great feeling of accomplishment – but I’m also finding that getting stronger physically by weight training with Moj is one of my most fulfilling workouts in the week. I like that I have (a small amount of) definition (in the right lighting – ha!) in my arms and back now and would like to push myself harder by cutting back on my mileage for a while.
• The plan: Increase strength training. Once my marathon is over (in less than a month!) I’m going to go on a running hiatus. I’ll keep up mileage so if I want to run a random 5k I can (I do have a weak spot for them!) I may try to keep it up a little more for a 10k but we’ll see. I want to start by doing another round of Insanity (where I actually complete the full 60 days!) and during my lunch workouts really push it with Moj (my workout partner who introduced me to weights). After that, I’ll reevaluate and see where I want to go next. I’m really excited about this one.

Here’s to trying new things in 2014!