freezer cooking: chicken enchiladas

One of life's simplest pleasures is sharing a meal with a friend, wouldn't you agree?  There is something natural and inviting about feeding our bodies and our hearts simultaneously.   Freezer cooking has helped me share more meals with more people on days when I wouldn't normally have time to prepare food and invite a friend to join me at my table.  One such meal has made two separate appearances in my kitchen, both times with rave reviews.   Who knew that a late summer project would create a deliciously memorable gathering point in the midst of a busy fall? 
     

South of the Border Chicken Enchiladas:

4 boneless chicken breasts, cooked and cubed

2 Tablespoons butter

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 16oz can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 8oz can tomato sauce

1 4oz can diced green chilies, drained

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

12 corn tortillas or 8 flour tortillas

1/2 cups sour cream

4 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese 

Cooking day:

Melt butter in a medium saucepan, then saute onion and garlic in butter until tender.  Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, green chilies, sugar, cumin salt, oregano and basil.  Simmer on stovetop about 20 minutes, until heated through and seasonings are well-blended. 

To assemble enchiladas, dip each side of the tortilla in the sauce.  Fill enchilada with 1/3 cup of chicken and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of cheese, then roll up and place seam side down on a 9x13 baking dish.  Blend sour cream into the remaining enchilada sauce.  Pour sauce over enchiladas and sprinkle with remaining cheese.  Cover and freeze.

Serving day: thaw completely. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes, until sauce is bubbly and cheese is melted.   

cooking goals

At the beginning of 2011 I sat down with my recipe binder and wrote a list of all of the new food I wanted to make this year.  The list served as a running record of the abundance of recipes I had collected but not yet prepared, some of which had been waiting in the wings for over three years.  The list seemed long and I was unsure if I would actually cook my way through it or not.  After all, as a collection of recipes I have accumulated from the Internet, friends, food magazines and my crock pot Tuesday research, my binder is only one of the many books I cook out of.  I wasn't going to ignore all of my other cookbooks just so I could finally figure out which recipes in my binder I should keep and which ones need to be tossed!

The list was a handy and fun way to menu plan when my sister Anna came to visit and has been a wonderful resource all of the times that I have needed to restock my fridge but didn't know what to make.   The goals are trivial and yet, out of 51 recipes, I have already prepared 37 of them!   For the sake of checking of all 51 recipes in 2011, I am left with three full months to cook the 14 remaining recipes that are bursting with ingredients eager to make it on my grocery list.  Up for trial this week week: saucy chicken lo mien.  

I figure I better get cooking since my 2012 cooking goals are already in the back of my mind.  Next year will be the year I learn how to make my moms shepherds pie, ginger snaps and Salisbury steak!

What's on your list?