Another Winner!

I feel really bad for Laura...I think I ended up getting all of the good recipes!! Tonight's recipe was a delicious empanada recipe. If you aren't from Texas, these are regulars on every Tex Mex menu. Typically they are deep fried and super greasy! I was really surprised when Paula's recipe didn't call for deep frying.

When buying all of the ingredients, I decided to be a little lazy and pick up canned chicken. I feel a little hypocritical simply because I talk to my patients about choosing fresh or frozen items over canned. I think the biggest issue with salt intake is that we often look for the easiest option. What isn't easy about pre-cooked, chopped chicken? Good news is that we didn't add anymore salt to the recipe.

Once everything was all mixed together I started filling and folding the empanadas. This is really where the recipe gets to be a little time consuming. You put a tablespoon sized dollop of chicken mixture in the middle of the pie crust circle. Before you start to fold, I recommend rubbing the pie crust with a little water and then pressing your finger down around the chicken mixture. This helps spread out the crust so it will fold a little better. I decided to also close the empanadas with a fork. Most of the empanadas I have seen have those neat little fork marks and mine were no exception!

These little pockets turned out just right. One thing you could try, would be brushing the tops with a little egg white and turning the oven to broil for a few minutes to give them that crispy brown look.

I decided to put my empanadas on a bed of shredded lettuce and topped them with some fresh diced tomatoes. After I started eating I ended up adding a little low fat ranch. I know that may sounds weird to some of you ... ahem Laura ... but there is a great restaurant, Chuy's, that has a jalapeno ranch dip that is delicious on everything Mexican.

That stats are a little confusing. If you read Paula's original recipe, she makes 16 - 2" circles and only fills them with 1 tsp of meat. Even though I added an extra 1/2 cup of veggies, I had a ton of mixture left over. I made about 18 circles and filled them with 1 tbsp of chicken. I had about half leftover. Not sure where Paula gets her portions from but my calculations are based on her original recipe and serving sizes.

Baked Empanadas (amounts for 16-18 Empanadas w/ 1tbsp filling)

2 cups chopped, cooked chicken
1 cup low fat Mexican blend cheese,
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper, sauteed
1/4 medium onion, sauteed
2 ounces fat free cream cheese, softened
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped, optional (aka I didn't use this)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp salt substitute
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 (15-ounce) package refrigerated pie crusts
Water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine the chicken and next 8 ingredients. Unroll 1 pie crust onto wax paper. Cut out rounds, using a 3-inch cookie cutter. Re-roll dough as needed. Repeat procedure with remaining pie crusts, making 16-18 circles total. Arrange 1 round on the baking sheet. Lightly brush the edges of crust with water. Place 1 tbsp of chicken mixture in the center of the round. Fold the dough over the filling, pressing the edges with a fork to seal. Repeat with the remaining rounds and chicken mixture. (Up to this point, the recipe can be made ahead and frozen for up to 1 month). Arrange empanadas on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. Enjoy!

Mexican Casserole

Casseroles are great! I love being able to put a dish together a day ahead of time and just toss it in the oven for a quick and delicious dinner. The original Mexican Chicken recipe sounded great but it definitely could use a few changes.

I didn’t have the time to put my revised Mexican Chicken recipe together early, so my wonderful husband played sous-chef and started the recipe before I got home!

The original recipe was very quick and easy to put together. To make it healthier Rusty and I had to use a little more elbow grease! I decided to substitute pureed cauliflower for some of the soup. The cauliflower didn't have must taste but it did provide the creamy texture that you would find in a soup, without the fat and sodium.

The final product came out great! The tortillas on top were nice and crispy while the bottom layers were nice and creamy. I recommend using a knife to do the initial cuts when serving.

I added a small side salad and some refried black beans to complete the meal.

Here are the nutrition facts:

Revised Recipe:

Mexican Casserole

1 cup 98% Fat Free Cream of Chicken Soup
½ cup Cheddar Cheese Soup
1 ½ cups Chopped, Steamed Cauliflower
1 tsp Canola Oil
1 heaping cup Sliced Mushrooms
1 ½ cups Diced Tomatoes
1 tbsp Finely Chopped Cilantro
3-4 Chicken Breasts (4 cups cooked chicken)
1 pkt Salt Free Chicken Broth
Canola Oil Cooking Spray
9 Whole Wheat Tortillas
1 ½ cups 2% Cheddar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 13x9 inch casserole dish with Canola Spray.

Mix salt free broth packet in large pot of water (enough to cover all of the chicken breasts). Boil chicken breasts until the internal temp reaches 165 degrees F. Once cooked, set aside 1 cup broth, and cut the chicken into large chunks.

Sautee mushrooms in canola oil until softened. Puree mushrooms and cauliflower in food processor. In a large bowl, stir together the pureed mixture, the 2 soups, the diced tomatoes and the cilantro. Stir in chicken and broth.

Tear or cut the tortillas into long strips, about 2” wide. Spread out one layer of the strips along the bottom of the pan. Spread ½ of the chicken mixture over the strips. Spread ½ cup of the cheese over the mixture. Repeat tortilla, mixture and cheese layer. Top the second level with tortilla strips and cover with last ½ cup of cheese. Bake for 30 minutes.