Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Enchiladas Done Light

Gobble Gobble! As Turkey Day nears, we at home have been trying to eat a variety of different foods this week. On Monday, we made Five Spice Scallops with Anchovy & Garlic Asparagus on the side. I think the scallop recipe is technically meant to be used as an appetizer and not a main dish, so we basically each had 2 of what they refer to as a "serving" in the recipe (we cut both of the total recipes in half to come up with 2 servings total). Nice and easy recipes for a quick week-night meal and definitely not anything we plan on eating for Thanksgiving. And the whole meal was only 215 calories (= cookies for dessert, yesssss!)

For last night's dinner, Ryan wanted enchiladas. We've made this recipe from Eat Yourself Skinny a couple of times now and it's a big hit! It's hard to believe each enchilada is only 160 calories, but it's true! And the sauce is the perfect flavor and so easy - no more canned sauce for us! Now if only I could find tomato sauce in something other than a can, I've been hearing little birdies talk about how the acid in the tomatoes breaks down the tin, releasing BPAs in the process... yuck! I even just read that BPA levels tested on humans right after eating a can of soup spiked by over 1000%! Yikes! Moral: avoid canned stuff. Guess I'll need to make my own tomato sauce now! Here's the recipe. Try these soon! You'll want them in your meal-rotation, I promise! If you don't have any leftover chicken, we usually poach ours in chicken stock for about 17 minutes (add chicken to a saucepan and cover with chicken stock or water or a combo of both and let it simmer away for 17 minutes). Top these off with some diced up fresh tomatoes, extra cilantro, avocado slices, and a dollop of fat-free plain greek yogurt - YUM!

Skinny Chicken Enchiladas (159.5 calories per enchilada)

For the sauce:
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 can diced green chilis (we use Hot Fire-Roasted Green Chilis)
3/4 cup tomato sauce
1/2 tsp. southwest chipotle seasoning (Mrs. Dash)
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 cup fat-free chicken broth
Salt and fresh pepper to taste



For the chicken:
1/2 tsp. vegetable oil
1 chicken breast, cooked and shredded
1/2 cup diced onion
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 Tbsp fresh cilantro
Salt
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. southwest chipotle seasoning (Mrs. Dash)
8 tsp. chicken broth
1/4 cup tomato sauce
4 (6-inch) reduced carb whole wheat flour tortillas
1/2 cup shredded low-fat Mexican cheese
Nonstick cooking spray

In a medium saucepan, spray oil and saute garlic for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add green chilis, chipotle seasoning, cumin, chicken broth, tomato sauce, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Set aside until ready to use.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Heat the vegetable oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Saute onions and garlic on low until soft, about 2 minutes. Add chicken, salt, cilantro, cumin, oregano, chipotle seasoning, tomato sauce, chicken broth, and cook 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Spray a 13 by 9-inch glass baking dish with non-stick spray. Put 1/3 cup chicken mixture into each tortilla and roll it. Place in baking dish seam side down. Top with sauce and cheese. Cover with foil and bake in the oven on the middle rack for 20-25 minutes. Top with extra cilantro if desired and enjoy!

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