The Rolling Dinner - Part 2 1/2 - Spanish Rice

The thing that I love about cooking is that there are very few hard and fast rules. I love feeling my way through a recipe. Of course there are mistakes to be made that way, but I've found some very delicious ideas when I let my tummy do the talking.

This is probably what I am liking about this blog so far. I'm learning as I go and feeling my way through the process. There don't seem to be many hard and fast rules. I'm sure I'll make some mistakes. One so far was thinking that I could do this rolling dinner post in a 3 part series.

Try as I may, the posts just become too long if I include the Spanish Rice recipe with a second recipe. So this is part 2 1/2 of my 3 part series. ;)

As I mentioned last time, I've sought out recipes to cook from scratch what I had previously made from a box. This recipe is also adapted from Simply Recipes. Feel your way through the recipe. If there is a spice that you'd like to include, toss it in with the liquid and tell me about it.

Spanish Rice:
Adapted from Simply Recipes

Total cooking time: 30 minutes
Active cooking time: 10 minutes
Servings: 6 - 8

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Cup White Rice
1/2 White or sweet onion - diced
1 Clove of garlic - minced
2 Cups Chicken Broth
1 Pinch of oregano
1 tsp cumin
1 large pinch of salt (non-iodized or Kosher)
1/2 can diced tomatoes (no salt added) or 1 cup diced fresh tomatoes

Tools:
1 medium saute` pan and lid
1 small sauce pan
1 spatula
1 knife
1 cutting board

Method:
In medium saute` pan heat oil over medium to medium-high heat. Add rice, stirring occasionally until it is slightly toasted.

Add the diced onion and garlic and stir occasionally until soft.

Meanwhile in a small sauce pan bring chicken stock, oregano, cumin, salt, and 1/2 diced tomatoes to a boil.
Pour the broth mix into the rice mix slowly, being careful not to splash yourself with the mixture. It should boil immediately.
Turn down the burner to low, maintaining a simmer and cover. It should take approximately 20 minutes, or until rice is tender.

Note: I have made this recipe with brown rice too. It is very good, but you have to adjust the liquid amount for the type of rice you use.

We will be using the left overs for the Tortilla Soup!

The Rolling Dinner - Part 2 - Chicken Enchiladas

This is a recipe that I adapted from a blog that I love and frequent (Simply Recipes). I have a sensitivity to iodine. So about the time that I found this recipe, I was eliminating processed foods (as much as possible) from my diet. I had to find a substitute that I liked for enchilada sauce in a bottle. This recipe is amazing. I have adapted the spice mix in the sauce and cut back on the onion a bit, but that is about it.

If you are wondering what makes this part two of "the rolling dinner" series, it is the second use for the fall apart chicken meat that you made for "Italian Chicken Noodle Soup". The soup chicken is full of flavor after being cooked in the tomatoes and celery of the soup stock. However if you did not join us for soup, you can use any cooked chicken meat.

Total cook time: 1 hour
Active cook time: 45 mins

Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients:
2 Cups shredded or cubed chicken
Olive oil or Canola oil
2 cloves garlic - diced
1/2 white or sweet onion - diced
1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes - no salt added or fire roasted - pureed
2 Tablespoons chili powder
1/2 Tablespoon paprika
1/2 Tablespoon ground black pepper
8 Wheat tortillas
Canola oil
2-3 Cups grated cheese

Tools:
2 medium saute pans - about tortilla size in diameter
Spatula
Blender
Tongs
Dinner plate
9x13 inch baking pan
Rubber spatula


Method:
Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Prepare your sauce. Heat 2 Tablespoons cooking oil over medium heat in one of the saute pans. Add diced onion and cook until softened, 2 - 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute more.

Add the pureed can of diced tomatoes to the onions and garlic and heat. Alternately you can use a can of tomato sauce instead. As a pantry shortcut, I do not keep tomato sauce. I keep only diced or whole tomatoes canned. You conserve space and break down the contents depending on what you need.
Add chili powder, paprika, and ground black pepper. Make sure the spices are well combined in the sauce.
Add 1/2 cup grated cheese and 2/3 cup enchilada sauce to the chicken meat and mix.

In the second saute pan add canola oil to be 1/4 inch deep. Heat over medium heat. If it starts to spit turn it down. My stove top gets really hot. I keep my burner at medium low.

Prepare the tortillas one at a time. Dip into the oil for only a few seconds until the tortilla is heated. The tortilla will begin to fill with air. Remove from the oil with tongs and transfer to the enchilada sauce.

Push the edges of the tortilla down into the sauce and then flip, coating each side of the tortilla with enchilada sauce. Note: As the sauce continues to stay warm on a low burner, it will need to have small amounts of water added if it becomes too thick.
Remove tortilla from sauce and onto dinner plate.

Repeat these steps until all eight tortillas are warmed, coated in sauce and standing by on the dinner plate.
Assemble the enchiladas. Place a sauce coated tortilla in the 9x13 inch pan. Put one eighth of the chicken mix in the center of the tortilla creating a line down the center. Fold over the tortilla and roll into a cigar shape, ends open.

Repeat with the rest of the tortillas using up the chicken mix.
Please excuse my finger in the shot. I was holding the camera precariously, fingers covered in sauce. Haha. I'm sure you get the point though.
Scrape any left over sauce out of the pan, off of the plate, and out of the chicken mix bowl. Make sure it gets on the enchiladas as it is scrumptious and not to be wasted.
Top the chicken enchiladas with remaining grated cheese.
Place in the heated 350 degree oven and wait for cheese to melt and bubble.

While the enchiladas are cooking make Spanish Rice. Also a recipe that I've adapted from Simply Recipes. I will include my adaptation for Spanish Rice in part 3 of "the rolling dinner" because that is what we will use to make the oh so easy Tortilla Soup recipe.

Thanks to Simply Recipes for a blog that is awesome. I just keep coming back for more.

The Rolling Dinner - Part 1 - Italian Chicken Noodle Soup

It is becoming a trend for cooking show hosts to cover making dinner for a week all at once. I've been doing a varied version of this in my own kitchen for a few years now. I call it "the rolling dinner".

I'd like to share with you my technique and recipes for my favorite rolling dinner in three parts. Each night of the process I use part of the previous dinner to make the next.

I start by making a mild, tomato based "Italian chicken noodle soup" of sorts. I've adapted this recipe from one that my mother has made for as long as I can remember. I've thickened it up quite a bit and added pepper. It is the simplest soup you'll ever make and a great beginners recipe.

Italian Chicken Noodle Soup
Total cook time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Active cook time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken
4-5 lbs tomatoes
1 whole celery head
Water
Salt
Pasta

Tools:

• The largest soup pot you have. If you don't have a large soup pot, you can make the soup by reducing the tomatoes, celery and only using 2 split chicken breasts.
• Another large pot
• Large bowl
• Kitchen tongs
• 2 Large Slotted Spoons
• Large colander
• Blender or immersion blender
• Several freezer safe containers for storage of leftover stock.

Method:
Remove giblets from chicken cavity and rinse chicken inside and out.
Place chicken in soup pot
Cut top and bottom off of celery head and discard.

Cut celery head into 1 - 1 1/2 inch chunks. Place in pot with chicken.
Cut tomatoes into quarters and add to pot.

The tomatoes should completely cover the chicken. The more tomatoes, the thicker your soup.

Cover the chicken, celery and tomatoes with water. Do not use more water than you need to just cover the ingredients. Too much water will make your soup thin and watery.

Add 1 Tbs salt to the soup.

Bring soup to a boil, turn down heat and continue to simmer until the chicken leg bone will pull off with a gentle tug. (Use kitchen tongs to pull on the chicken leg.) This usually takes a little over an hour but can vary somewhat wildly depending on the size of chicken you use. Any size chicken will do just fine though.

Remove the chicken with slotted spoons. This is easier said than done as the chicken is fall apart tender. Just do the best you can and know that getting it out in pieces is just fine too. Place in a large bowl. Set aside.

Using the slotted spoon sieve out the chunks of tomato and celery into your blender bowl or another large pot if using an immersion blender. Blend cooked tomatoes and celery until smooth.

Place colander into the second large pot with the tomato and celery puree. Carefully pour the soup stock into the second pot. Remove the colander and scrape any remaining chunks of tomato and celery into your blender bowl, blend until smooth and add to stock. Your stock should be somewhat thick and you will have significantly more than you can eat at one time.

Place only what you want to eat tonight back into your original soup pot. Put the rest of the soup into containers and freeze for another time.

Bring the stock for tonight to a boil and add whatever pasta you'd like for noodles. Cook until noodles are tender. The stock will thicken as the pasta cooks.
Tip: I only stock a few types of pasta in my cabinet. For this soup I take wheat spaghetti noodles and break them up into 1 inch pieces by grasping a bunch (about a quarter size in diameter) and twisting to break them off, starting at the top and working my way down.

Meanwhile, remove the chicken meat from the carcass. Add just what you want to your broth for tonight and set the rest aside. Cover the meat in the bowl, and refrigerate. You will use some of the left over tomorrow and the rest for the third dinner.

Salt and pepper the soup to taste.

Note to readers: This recipe is an old (adapted) family recipe. I am used to making it by feel, look and taste rather than exacting measurements. It is nearly impossible to go wrong. However, if you have notes or suggestions on how to make this recipe more user friendly, please comment. I will be sure to read and respond. Thanks for giving this a whirl!