Green Chili Chicken

Mexican food is just about my favorite.  I prepared this last night to have for lunch today.  I wanted it to sit overnight so that the tortillas would soften up and absorb some of the liquid from the green salsa.

You don't need much sour cream in the layers.  It does add a nice compliment to the tartness of the salsa and the sweetness of the corn tortillas.  You could substitute plain yogurt or Greek yogurt for the sour cream.  I had sour cream on hand so that's what I used.

Williams chili seasoning is my favorite blend but regular chili powder would work.

This would make good filling for tacos if you used chicken breasts or thighs and shredded the meat once it was done. 

The fastest way to shred cooked chicken is to use your mixer.

I'm also going to try this as filling for chicken enchiladas with sour cream sauce.  The recipe made quite a bit so I have plenty left over to have a couple more meals.

GREEN CHILI CHICKEN

1 lb. chicken – I used ground Smart Chicken

1 jar Herdez green salsa

½ c. chopped onion

1 tsp. Williams chili seasoning

Salt and pepper

Sour cream

Corn tortillas

Put chicken, salsa, onion, chili seasoning and salt and pepper into crock pot.

Mix well.

Cook on high until chicken is done.

In a casserole dish layer:

1. some of the liquid

2. tortillas

3. chicken mixture

4. sour cream

Repeat layers.

Since I cook for just myself, I used two tortillas and less than half the chicken mixture.  That made a really large serving for one!

Salisbury Steak Meatballs

After seeing this recipe on Facebook, I decided to give it a try.  I'm not a fan of mushrooms.  There's something about their texture that is unappealing to me so I decided to mince them up to avoid getting big slices in each bite.

Have you noticed how many recipes call for 1 - 2 tablespoons of tomato paste?  Really?  It comes in cans!  I dislike wasting food so I scooped out what was left over after this recipe onto waxed paper using a tablespoon and put it in the freezer.  Once it's solid, I'll store it in an airtight container to use later.

Because I wanted to use as many of the mushrooms I bought, I added extra to the meatballs as well as the sauce. 

The original recipe called for ground turkey.  I prefer ground chicken.

The meatballs were pretty soft because of the extra mushrooms and bread crumbs but held together well during browning and simmering in the sauce to finish.

SALISBURY STEAK MEATBALLS

2 tsp. olive oil, divided

½ c. minced onion---I used closer to 2/3 cup

½ lb. ground beef

½ lb. ground chicken

1/3 c. seasoned bread crumbs---I used about ½ cup

1 egg, beaten

2 T. tomato paste

1 T. flour

2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

¼ tsp. dry mustard

1 tsp. red wine vinegar

5 oz. mushrooms, finely minced

1 ¼ c. beef broth – I used my homemade bone broth

Finely chop 1-2 ounces of mushrooms and set aside.

Saute onion in 1 tsp. olive oil until golden.  About 5 minutes.

Divide onions in half.

Combine ½ of the onions with meats, chopped mushrooms bread crumbs, egg, 1 T. tomato paste, ¼ cup broth, salt and pepper to taste.  

Blend flour with 1 cup broth until smooth.  Mix in remaining onions, 1 T.

tomato paste, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and mustard.

Form meat mixture into 20 meatballs.  Brown in 1 tsp. olive oil.

Pour sauce over top.  Add remaining minced mushrooms. 

Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Chicken Enchiladas with Chili Sauce -- 5 Smart Points

I'm never quite sure how to figure the points on foods that have zero points per serving when you use the entire package.  For this recipe, I used the entire can of chili sauce.  It is zero points per tablespoon but the entire can contains 180 calories which makes it 5 Smart Points for the entire can..  It is zero saturated fat, sugar and protein per serving --1 tablespoon.

Mixing some of the chili sauce with the meat adds flavor and I honestly couldn't tell it was ground chicken and not ground beef.

These are the products I used:

Chicken Enchiladas with Chili Sauce

5 Smart Points each

8 oz. ground chicken breast

1/3 c. diced onion

1 – 10.5 oz. can Great Value Hot Dog Chili Sauce

3 Mission yellow corn tortillas, super soft

¾ oz. finely grated Cheddar cheese

In small skillet, brown chicken with onions.  Stir in 3 T. of chili

sauce, reserve rest to top enchiladas.

Divide the chicken and chili sauce evenly between 3 corn tortillas,

roll up and place seam side down in casserole sprayed with Pam.

Spread remaining chili sauce on top of the rolled-up enchiladas.

Top with grated cheese.

Bake until heated through and cheese melts.

Smart Points

Corn tortillas    6

Cheese              3

Chili sauce        5