Food week continues, and I’ve got a double chicken post for you today!
The first recipe is for Chicken Enchiladas. In the past, I’ve gone to those ‘we-prep-everything-you-put-together’ cooking places. I was curious at first, and did it a second time, but I realized 1) I don’t mind the prep work 2) I think it’s a bit expensive for what you get 3) they were recipes that I could make at home. I’m not dissing these places, I think they’re great for busy families, or people who don’t like to cook. I had made Beef Enchiladas at one of these places, and realized I could do this at home.
I decided to make chicken enchiladas with pulled chicken made in the crockpot. I thought this was the best way to ensure the chicken had a lot of flavour and wasn’t just grilled and cut into strips.
I made up this recipe, so feel free to add other ingredients as you like. Because this uses a crockpot, you can cook the chicken overnight and then put it together the next day.
You’ll need:
- 2 chicken breasts- boneless/skinless
- one can of diced tomatoes
- 1 pkg taco or fajita seasoning mix
- wraps- I used whole wheat
- salsa
- cheddar cheese
- crockpot
- foil freezer pans
I’m not a big fan of cooked peppers, but feel free to add red, green or yellow peppers, and maybe some jalapeños for heat.
Combine the can of diced tomatoes, with the juice and the taco or fajita seasoning in the crockpot.
Add your chicken (you can add more if you want a bigger batch of enchiladas). Cook on low for 8 hours (or high for 4 hours, I guess. I’m still learning this whole crock pot thing).
When the chicken is ready, take it out and shred it with a fork. It will fall apart on it’s own it’s so tender!
Shred your cheddar cheese. 
Is there anything better than a mountain of shredded cheese? I think not.
Place a tortilla/wrap in your foil pan and fill with the chicken, salsa, some of the diced tomatoes from the slow cooker and top with shredded cheese.
Roll up and place seam down to keep it rolled. I put two in each pan, but this will depend on your serving size and the size of your pan. Cover with shredded cheese.
I was afraid to put any more of the salsa or diced tomatoes on top of the wraps at this point because I don’t want them to be soggy. I plan to add the salsa before I cook them. Thaw the night before serving in the fridge. Bake at 350F until the cheese is melted and it’s heated through. Enjoy!
The second recipe is for Chicken Rollatini with Zucchini, and this is not my recipe. I found it on Skinny Taste, a recent discovery in my food blog travels, and it looked so good I had to try it. Gina’s recipes are compatible with Weight Watchers, which is fantastic. You can see her detailed recipe with specific amounts. It’s hard for me to adapt the imperial measurements to metric, especially with ounces, so I just eyeballed my ingredients.
I often ask my Italian grandmother for her recipes, and am left mystified when I ask “how much” because she always says, “oh, you’ll know”. So follow my Nonna’s advice. You’ll know. I think it makes for more authentic cooking anyhow.
I love breaded chicken, and often bake it, but typically I use salad dressing before I bread the chicken. This recipe calls for olive oil mixed with lemon to dip the chicken in before breading, and I was intrigued!
You’ll need:
- thin chicken breasts- I buy my chicken in bulk, and they are very large, so I cut them lengthwise in threes, and then pounded the chicken flat
- Olive oil
- minced garlic
- grated Parm cheese
- shredded mozzarella
- Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
- lemon juice
- cooking spray
Shred your zucchini using a cheese grater. I used the smaller size, but you can use either.
Shred your mozzarella cheese. I used a ratio of approximately 2 parts zucchini to 1 part cheese, if that helps you.
The only thing better than a mountain of shredded cheddar cheese, is a mountain of shredded mozzarella cheese, am I right?
Sauté your garlic in some olive oil, and add your zucchini, and the grated parm cheese. Cook for a few minutes and then when it’s cooled off, add your mozza cheese. 
You don’t want the cheese to melt completely, so you have to wait.
Now spread some of the zucchini mixture onto the flattened chicken and roll up. Gina is a pro, so she doesn’t need toothpicks to hold the rolls together, but I did. There’s no shame in toothpicks.
In a small, but wide bowl, combine equal parts of olive oil and lemon juice. In a 2nd bowl, dump your bread crumbs in here (Gina’s recipe calls for more parm in the breadcrumbs, but my Italian breadcrumbs already had cheese, so I didn’t add any extra). You’ll dip your chicken into the lemon juice/olive oil, then into the bread crumbs to coat. Place them in a baking pan. Now you can remove the toothpicks and they could look something like this. Spray them with the cooking spray.
Bake in a preheated 450F oven for 25-30 minutes.
Wait in agony patiently as the smell of breaded chicken, cheese and zucchini fills your kitchen.
The olive oil and a spritz of cooking spray ensures that the breading is nice and crispy. The lemon adds just a hint of flavour and works really well with the zucchini and the cheese. I tried a little roll before I portioned these guys and put them in the freezer and they were incredible. A little bit of prep work has a big pay off.
Enjoy!
Only one recipe left to finish off food week and it’s a sweet dessert- see you tomorrow!
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