Week 6, Cooking Day 3: Chicken Enchiladas

[If reading on Wednesday, check back later after I have time to add more detailed "pithy commentary"]

Had a last minute change of plans tonight and no Ice Princess or roast chickey. Which was at first disappointing, but ultimately turned out fine. It was cold and snowy and I decided that I was in the mood for something filling and, boom, Enchiladas came to mind.

I've never made Enchiladas before--if I haven't made it clear yet, I've hardly made anything before. But this is the point, so went again to food.com and found this great recipe from young kid Tyler Lawrence.

Chicken Enchiladas
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 pounds skinless boneless chicken breast
Salt and pepper
2 teaspoons cumin powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon Mexican Spice Blend
1 red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
5 canned whole green chiles, seeded and coarsely chopped
4 canned chipotle chiles, seeded and minced
1 (28-ounce) can stewed tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon all-purpose flour
16 corn tortillas
1 1/2 cups enchilada sauce, canned
1 cup shredded Cheddar and Jack cheeses
Garnish: chopped cilantro leaves, chopped scallions, sour cream, chopped tomatoes

For some reasons, it took E-bad and I visits to FIVE stores before we were able to gather all the ingredients necessary. Which I thought was hilarious because it's not like I live in Sutton Place; but then, maybe that was the point. The recipe said "Prep time: 1 hr / Cook time: 15 min" but it definitely took at least that. Venturing out to the super market began at 7:30 and plates cleaned and dishes washed at about 12:15. Right now I am so full I have literally been contemplating making myself puke so I will be able to sleep (which, for the record, is nothing i've ever done before).

I would say that on all fronts the meal was a great success--everything made came out great, and E-bad made some plantains to go along as a sweet treat quasi-desert. Photos below. Bring on the rest of the week.


Learning to skin a chicken, one flap at a time.


Chicken, post-skinning/deboning; pre-cooking


Una casa hispanica por una noche


Focusing intently to minimize the cuts/burns


Some of the post-prep / pre-cook mess. Definitely helps to begin cleaning midway if you can.


The sweet plantains are coming alive.


This was WAY more food than we needed (there were three of us and we didn't touch the white tray)



Obama sweeping the primaries in the background.


I could use some work on my "plating" skills (umm, yeah).


Shrimp Cracker and E-bad discuss whether or not they will plan to let me make them dinner again.