Barrack’s Cooking: Chicken Enchilada Casserole

I planned on doing very little this Labor Day weekend, and still I feel that the first day of this four-day has kept me busy, yet somehow unproductive. It feels like all I’ve done this morning and throughout the day is pick up the place, cook some stuff (mostly Jack’s baby food), take care of the little one, and pick up some more. But I still feel like I got nothing done. Hopefully the rest of you have gotten a more productive (or at least relaxing) start to your Holiday weekend.

Well, I did manage to break out the slow cooker today.

 

iPhone Update: Dinner and a night cap

During the weekdays, dinner tends to be simple and easy at our house. And after all the baked treats I’ve been consuming as of late, I think it’s time to go back to the high protein diet, saving my carb consumption for just dinner time.

Well, Japanese style noodle dishes are somewhat of a staple for us, as they are both simple to prepare and generally healthy. This iteration is no different.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of chicken broth
• 4 tablespoons of white miso
• 2 chicken thighs, roasted at 400 degrees F for 25 minutes, cooled, and pulled apart
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 eggs, hardboiled and halved
• 1/2 carrot, thinly sliced on a bias
• 1/2 cup thin sliced cabbage
• 1/3 cup frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed of liquid
• 1 package of fresh ramen or yakisoba noodles. If using dried noodles, pre cook them and discard seasoning packet
• 1 scallion, sliced thin

Directions:

1. whisk together broth, miso, and soy sauce and bring to a boil
2. Divide noodles in half and place in two large soup bowls.
3. Divide all ingredients in half and neatly arrange in bowls over noodles.
4. Ladle hot broth in each bowl. Garnish with scallion.

Later in the night? Hot cocoa! Now I have a use for the leftover marshmallow! Kind of defeats the point of a healthy dinner though 😉

Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa
• 4 Tablespoons of sugar
• 2 cups of milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine in a sauce pot, whisk together, and heat!

 

Chinese Chicken Wings

UPDATE 11JAN2012: Playing with some div tags to try to make the recipe more visually appealing. WordPress’s editor only allows so much customized HTML, which can make things difficult. Still trying to figure out if there is a way to add a print button that will only print the recipe. Don’t know if javascript will work, and javascript isn’t really my forte anyways.

I’m trying to touch up on my HTML skills, so bear with me as I try to figure out how I want these entries to look. There may be a theme change here and there, as well.

I usually buy chickens whole. It’s cheaper that way. I’ll cut the breast meat off and separate the thighs from the drumsticks. I’ll even use the leftover carcass to make chicken stock for soups or sauces later. But then there are the chicken wings. I can’t make a meal out of just 2 chicken wings, so I usually just throw them in a zip lock bag and freeze them. I do this every time. Eventually I accrue so many in my freezer that I have no choice but to cook them.

But how?

That was the question I was faced with this afternoon as they were thawing in my refrigerator. How, especially, can I turn them into an actual meal, rather than just a cheap tasting appetizer?