Showing posts with label shrimp. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shrimp. Show all posts

Friday, July 15, 2011

Muy Bueno!


One last dish with the shrimp and I will find something else for a while. We had recently 'found' a restaurant nearby a tack shop we used to go to a lot, over the Christmas holiday a few years back. It's also conveniently located near one of the equine clinics....

They had sour cream enchiladas with either shrimp or chicken. I had them on a few different occasions. Both were equally as good. Then the restaurant changed hands and was back under old ownership. One visit and the food was just not as good. Completely lost all the appeal and flavor. I was on a mission to find a way to make my own enchiladas.

Which I did on All Recipes.

Sour Cream Enchiladas

Ingredients
  • 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 12 (10 inch) flour tortillas
  • 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
  • 1 (3 ounce) can chopped green chilies, undrained
  • 1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
  • 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

  1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place chicken breast into skillet and cook and stir until no longer pink in the center, about 10 minutes. Divide chicken, 1 1/2 cups Cheddar cheese, and onions evenly among the tortillas then roll up each tortilla and place seam side down in a 9x13 inch baking pan.
  3. Heat the cream of chicken soup and green chilies in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in sour cream. Continue stirring until heated though, about 10 min. Pour sauce over tortillas and sprinkle remaining Cheddar cheese on top. Bake in the preheated oven until sauce is bubbling and the Cheddar cheese is melted, about 25 minutes.               

As usual we made some adjustments-

Doubled everything but the chicken and cheese
1 package of precooked shrimp, thawed and cut in half
1 lb of pepper jack cheese, grated
a fair amount of lemon zest

The shrimp & pepper jack makes up one part of the enchiladas, chicken & cheddar the other. The color of the cheese helps determine which enchiladas you are eating if someone doesn't like chicken or shrimp... (See the first pic above) These freeze well and making a few pans of enchiladas for another day or even a party, is not a problem.


First one made it out of the pan...

The picture on the website shows black olives, but I didn't see them in the ingredients. I'm sure you can add them if you like. 


on the plate...

I also use a flat pan to warm the tortillas making them more 'flexible' when rolling. Also spooning in a thin layer of sauce before putting enchiladas in the pan, helps keep them from sticking later on.   If using corn tortillas, you can layer them like lasagna noodles. Some parts of Mexico- this is how they make their enchiladas. 

Friday, July 8, 2011

He sells sea shells,

Down by the seashore...



I recently found a recipe that I have to admit is Divine. It is something that I will make again and again because the first time around? It tasted like something you would order in an expensive five star restaurant. It was THAT GOOD!  Even my picky teen aged daughter who doesn't think she likes shrimp- ate this and asked for seconds. This was one of the other recipes I had bought the shrimp for.


Kevin's Sea Shells

I read all of the reviews, the way people had tweaked it for their own tastes, decided how I would tweak it for my family's and gave it a try.  I am Soooooo glad I did! The flavors stood alone as well as blending together, complimenting the others beautifully.

Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 3/4 cup shredded Swiss cheese
  • 36 jumbo pasta shells
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1 cup sliced mushrooms
  • 1/2 cup chopped green onions
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
  • 1/4 cup white wine
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 2 cups half-and-half cream  (*note here- 16 oz carton = two cups)
  • 1 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese  (*8 oz pkg if buying it pre-shredded/grated)

Directions

  1. Fill a pot with water, bring to a boil, and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook the shrimp in the simmering water until they turn pink and opaque, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain the shrimp, and cut in half; mix the shrimp, sour cream, and Swiss cheese in a bowl.
  2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x12-inch baking dish.
  3. Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, stir in the pasta shells, and return to a boil. Cook the pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through, but is still firm to the bite, about 13 minutes. Gently remove the shells with a slotted spoon. Stuff 18 shells with about 1 1/2 tablespoon of the shrimp mixture, place them in the prepared baking dish, then cover each stuffed shell with another shell to enclose the filling.
  4. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir the mushrooms and green onions until the mushrooms give up their juice, about 3 minutes. Stir in the flour, white wine, salt, pepper, and half-and-half cream. Cook, stirring often, until thickened and smooth. Pour the sauce over the stuffed shells. Sprinkle the top with Parmesan cheese.
  5. Bake in the preheated oven until the cheese has melted and begun to brown and the sauce is bubbling, about 25 minutes.


Alternatives-
I used the frozen cooked shrimp- saved time. Thaw under cold water and cut in half.
Skipped the mushrooms- I just don't like them. Instead I used fresh spinach, rinsed, chopped it up and added it before pouring the sauce on. It gave it some color, another added flavor and is my serving of veggies. Broccoli would work too.
I also skipped putting a shell on top and instead, I loaded them up and made twice as much. There was plenty of 'stuffing' and sauce for all of it.