Greek Chicken Enchiladas

My 7 year old suggested Lemon Chicken Enchiladas. I was looking around for some ideas and I decided to keep with the lemon-y suggestion and take it a bit further with a Greek Flair. I  got a red hot deal on chicken legs so I wanted to start with those. You could use breast or any pieces you like.






Sauce:
16 oz plain Greek yogurt*
2 large cloves garlic, minced
2 TB fresh lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest
1 TB parsley, chopped (fresh is best, but dried is fine too)

Combine all ingredients and allow to mingle for at least 2 hours.

*dont have "Greek" yogurt on hand? Strain regular plain yogurt through a coffee filter for several hours until nice and thick. Stir well. It's not exactly the same, but it is a reasonable substitute




Chicken:
5 chicken legs (about 1.5lbs)
1/4 cup olive oil
juice of 1 medium lemon
zest of 1 medium lemon
1 TB dried oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350
Place legs(I skinned mine, you can leave it on if you like) in a roasting pan or dish, drizzle with olive oil , lemon juice and sprinkle with zest and seasonings.
Bake for 20 minutes, flip chicken and baste well.
Bake an additional 20 minutes until cooked through, min temp of 165

Remove from pan and allow to cool until easy to handle.

Pull all the meat off the bones and shred well.








Remaining ingredients:

1 cup broccoli florets, chopped into small pieces
1/4 cup sweet onion
1 TB fresh lemon juice
Feta Cheese
banana peppers

12 corn tortillas
oil for frying

Combine shredded chicken with the broccoli florets, onion and lemon juice, add in 1/3-1/2 cup of the yogurt sauce and mix well. Set aside

(Preheat oven to 350 if you made your chicken earlier)



In a deep wide pan heat a few TB of oil. One at a time fry corn tortillas 3-4 seconds per side. Add more oil only as necessary, drain tortillas on paper towels and cover to keep warm.








Take the warm tortillas and add a few TB of filling, a sprinkle of feta and a few banana peppers. Carefully roll up and place seam side down in a greased baking dish.








Repeat with remaining tortillas and fillings.









When you have finished rolling, pour/spread remaining yogurt sauce over the top. Sprinkle generously with more feta. Cover pan with foil and bake for 30 minutes.









Uncover and bake 10-15 minutes more.









Allow to set for 10 minutes before digging it!

Hawaiian Ham and Scalloped Potatoes

I different twist on plain old Ham and Scalloped Potatoes.










20 oz crushed pineapple, drained well(2 cups fresh would be better, I couldnt find a decent one)
1 cup diced ham
4-6 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
4-6 potatoes,sliced thin(I leave the skin, you can peel if you like)
1/2 cup sweet onion, chopped fine
1 green pepper, seeded and chopped

3 TB butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup flour OR 2 TB Potato Starch
2 cups milk
4 oz cream cheese, cubed
8 oz mozzarella, shredded
2 TB fresh chives, chopped
1/4 tsp liquid smoke
salt and pepper to taste

In a slow cooker layer potatoes, onion, green pepper, bacon, ham and drained pineapple. Toss gently.








Melt butter in a sauce pan, add garlic and cook until tender and fragrant.

If using flour add it straight to the butter mixture and stir until smooth, then add milk
If using potato starch first whisk it into the cold milk, then add to the garlic mixture
(Corn Starch is an ok substitute for potato starch but it doesnt hold up the thickness quite as well with the lengthy slow cooker cook time)

Cook over medium heat until thickened

Add cheeses and cook , stirring well until they are fully melted. Add Chives, liquid smoke, salt and pepper. Mix well








Pour Cheese mixture over the potato mixture. DO NOT STIR.

Cook on low 6-8 hours, high 4-6 until the potatoes are tender. Stir gently.







Scoop into a dish and top with a few fresh chives.

Faux Pho Tacos

I wanted to do tacos but with a not so typical flair. For some reason Vietnamese Pho jumped into my head. I figured I could slow cook the beef with the Pho-type seasonings and shred it up and make Pho Tacos!


1lb beef roast(cut of your choice)
1 cup beef broth(if you can get/make oxtail broth that is a GREAT way to make it even more Pho Authentic)
1 onion, peeled and chopped roughly
2 inch piece of fresh ginger root, peeled
1 TB coriander seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
1-3 inch stick cinnamon( or 1/2 tsp ground)
5 whole cloves(or 1/2 tsp ground)
3 star anise (1 tsp ground)
2 TB fish sauce*
* soy sauce is an acceptable substitute, but fish sauce if you have it!

Heat broiler to high and on a small sheet char your ginger and onion. It should be nicely toasted.

Combine all the above ingredients in a slow cooker , cook on low 6-8 or high 4-6 until the meat is a minimum of 165.









Remove meat from cooker









Shred well when cool enough to handle.











Strain out the solids from the liquid in the slow cooker....









return shredded meat to the liquid and simmer 30 minutes more.











Scoop meat into taco shells(store bought, or homemade) as desired and top with preferred toppings:

Bean Sprouts
Onion
Chile Peppers of choice(thai, jalapenos, serranos....etc)
Sriracha Sauce
Cilantro
Hosin Sauce
Fresh Lime
Green Onions

Polenta and Cheese Waffle French Dips

Savory waffles made into a delicious french dip sandwich....YUM!







Waffles:
I found this recipe and modified it slightly

1 cup water
1/2 cup polenta(coarse cornmeal works fine too)
1/4 cup butter
1 cup milk
1 egg

2/3 cup sorghum flour
1/4 cup potato starch
3 TB tapioca starch
1/2 tsp xanthan gum

OR sub the above 4 ingredients with 1 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp smoked paprika

3/4 cup smoked provolone cheese, shredded
3 TB fresh chives


In a pot heat water to boiling, add polenta and stir vigorously until thick. Add butter and stir until melted.
Remove from heat and add milk. Set aside

In another bowl combine the flour mixtures and seasonings.

Add egg to milk and beat well then carefully mix the wet ingredients into the dry.

Gently fold in cheese and chives

Cook according to your waffle maker instructions.












Once you have your waffles you can assemble your sandwiches

I made 10 waffles for 5 sandwiches with the above recipe your amounts for roast beef will vary due to personal preference so I didn't bother with measurements

Thin Sliced Roast Beef
Provolone Cheese
Even some Caramelized Onions if you like!!

Place all the ingredients on and heat through. I put mine on the reverse side of my waffle maker and made it like panini.  You can do it in the broiler or however you like
Serve with Au Jus!








You can use a premade Au Jus or if you would like a recipe here is a yummy one:


1 TB butter
1/2 small onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 TB fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 TB fresh oregano, chopped
2 1/2 cups beef broth
1 TB worcestshire sauce
2 TB red wine*
1 TB cornstarch
salt and pepper to taste

* you can just set aside 2 TB of the beef broth if you dont want to use wine

In a pan heat butter over medium heat, saute the onion and garlic until very soft. Add in the beef broth, Worcestershire and herbs. Simmer for 20 minutes. Strain out the vegetables and herbs. Mix the red wine(or reserved broth) and cornstarch together , then add to the beef broth mixture. Heat gently and stir to slightly thicken. Salt and pepper to taste.