Food Thursday 04.26.12

Food Thursday is dedicated to the premise that if you want to be serious about losing weight and being healthy, you need to cook the vast majority of your meals at home.  Today I will bring you a recipe I concocted last Sunday evening and enjoyed immensely...for days.  I will often cook 4-6 portions of something and have quick meals on hand to grab during the week.  This is a great strategy in setting yourself up for success.  I guess the Boy Scouts were on to one thing at least:  be prepared.

Healthy Chicken Enchiladas
Serves 6

I love Mexican food, so I have been thinking about retooling enchiladas and combining the flavors I enjoy so much with low fat, high fiber delicousness.  By using whole grain wraps in place of the white flour or corn tortillas and brown rice in place of white rice, these bundles of comfort pack a whopping 7 grams each of dietary fiber.  Using a fat free refried bean product and low fat shredded cheese, keeps the fat content around  9.5 grams.  Total calories, about 395. 

I would pair these with a side salad or some sort of green vegetable.  You can make these as spicy or as mild as you like.  I went for 'medium' enchilada sauce (which the wife found too spicy) and added some chipotle peppers, which I always have on hand in the fridge.  Unfortunately, I didn't think to take a picture, so the enchiladas above aren't mine.  So much for being prepared.  Come to think of it, I was a lousy Boy Scout.

For a vegetarian/vegan option, use no chicken and replace the cheese with a vegan variety, like I did.  Spinach would be a great addition, as well.  If you have left over filling, use it for an omelet or mixed with the extra rice as a side dish in another meal.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 bag of Success Boil-in-bag Brown Rice (using 1 cup)
• 8 oz boneless chicken breast
• Salt to taste (optional)
• 1/2 cup white or Spanish onion, diced 1/4"
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced 1/4"
• 1 small can of mild green chiles, drained and diced 1/4" (4 oz.)
• 1-2 Tbs chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, finely diced (optional)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup diced canned tomatoes
• 6 eight inch 100% whole grain tortillas
• 1 cup fat free refried beans
• 1 cup reduced fat shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack
• 1 can enchilada sauce (14 oz.)
• 2 Tbs cilantro chopped

Method

• Boil the rice (8 minutes and set 1 cup aside).  Retain the water.
• Salt the rice water and bring to a simmer. Poach the chicken breast in the rice water for 6 minutes.  Set aside to cool.
• Preheat oven to 350
• In a large skillet coated with cooking spray, over medium heat, cook the onions and red peppers until almost tender.
• Add chiles, chipolte and garlic.  Cook for 2 minutes stirring constantly as to not burn the garlic.
• Add tomatoes, stir and cook for 4 minutes.
• Shred the chicken breast into bite size pieces.  Do not dice the chicken.   The shredding helps soak up the flavors in the sauce.  Add to the skillet, stir and reduce to low.  Cover and simmer for 8 minutes.
• In a 9"x13" lasagna dish, spread about 1/4 cup of enchilada sauce on the bottom
• Divide the refried beans among the tortillas, spreading down the center in about 5" x 1" strips.
• Divide the the rice in the same fashion
• Add about 1/4 cup of the chicken mixture from the skillet to each
• Divide the cheese among the enchiladas
• Roll the tortillas in the same fashion as you would an egg roll (unlike the picture above), not overstuffing, keeping them tight and place seam side down in the lasagna pan.  I get 4 side-by-side in the dish and 2 end-to-end next to them.
• Cover with remaining enchilada sauce, getting even coverage to keep the enchiladas moist.
• Place in in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
• Garnish with the cilantro and serve.

I hope you enjoy these.  If you want to be authentic, serve one for breakfast with an over easy fried egg.  YUM!

Cya tomorrow,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:

Breakfast ~ One leftover vegan enchilada with an over easy egg

Lunch ~ A nice salad with roasted peppers, grilled chicken and olives, lightly dressed with a balsamic vinaigrette

Dinner ~ Tom Yum Soup with chicken

Dessert ~ 1 banana

Exercise ~ I list this each day to remind myself how lame I am.  None today