Chicken Enchiladas

I got this recipe from a recently published cookbook (Sam Zien's Sam the Cooking Guy), but found it too heavy in its original make up. So here I have lightened the whole recipe, allowing to be lower in fat and higher in fiber.

Ingredients
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 cup of store-bought salsa verde (green salsa)
One 4-ounce can diced green chiles
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup light whipping cream
8 whole wheat flour tortillas (about 8 inches in diameter each)
2 cups shredded low-fat Monterey Jack cheese
Fresh cilantro, chopped fine for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a bowl, ix the chicken, salsa, and green chiles. Pour half of the cream into bottom of 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Then pour chicken broth into a wide bowl and submerge a flour tortilla until well moistened. Remove and place about 1/8 of chicken mixture in the middle of the tortilla. Wrap it up like a cigar and place it, seam side down, on the cream in the baking dish. Repeat until all the tortillas are filled and side by side in the dish. Spread the cheese over the enchiladas and pour the rest of the cream over the top. Bake until starting to brown, about 3 minutes. When you are ready to serve, sprinkle each portion with some cilantro.

Tandoori Chicken Drumsticks

This Indian-inspired dish is perfect for a cocktail party or a football game get-together. You can also serve this as the appetizer for an Asian-influenced dinner.

Ingredients
4 lbs chicken drumsticks (about 15-18)
1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
1 teaspoon finely minced ginger
2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 cup plain yogurt

1. Remove skin from the drumsticks. Make some semi-deep slits into the each drumstick, as this will quicken the cooking.
2. In a bowl, combine garlic, ginger, paprika, cumin, red and black peppers, sugar, lemon juice, salt, cilantro. and yogurt.
Setting aside a small bowl as the sauce, add the chicken to the rest of the marinade, and toss. Cover the bowl and leave in
the refrigerator for 5-6 hours, preferably overnight.
3. Prepare the grill or broiler of the oven. Grill each side for about 7-8 minutes. If using the broiler, use only about 6-7
minutes on each side.
4. Serve with the reserved sauce.

Wanton Soup in 20 minutes and 4 Steps

Have you ever been in a Chinese or Thai restaurant, and ordered wanton soup, only to be disappointed by how few wantons you get in your soup? My family used to run a restaurant in Asia, and let me tell you this, restaurants make a bucket full of cash from soup orders. It cost pennies (well, almost) to put together a small bowl they give you, and then they go and charge say, over $2.00-$3.00 per bowl. The other problem with restaurant orders is that they overuse sodium, and for the meat filling, use fatty pork.

So here is a quick way to make lots of wantons for your own homemade soup. Also, remember this is a versatile soup--you can add some buckwheat Japanese soba noodles, some cut up fish balls (both purchased from Asian grocery stores), and spinach or any other vegetable of your own choice, and presto, you have a great lunch or even dinner.

Ingredients:
Wanton wrappers (bought from Asian or mainstream grocery stores; avoid picking up a packet that is almost frozen solid)
1/2 lb of ground chicken (if you must use ground pork, then use 1/2 of this and 1/2 of chicken)
2 1/2 tablespoon Light soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon of sugar
1 teaspoon White pepper (use black pepper as substitute if you must, but white pepper has a slight "burn in the mouth" taste that makes the filling taste better)
3/4 cup of chopped scallions
3 cups of homemade stock (or use canned chicken stock)

1. Mix, using clean hands, the ground meat with soy sauce, sugar, white pepper, and 1/2 cup of scallions. Make sure all are mixed thoroughly.
2. Place half a teaspoon of meat filling onto the center of each wrapper. Bring two of the corners of the wrapper together, sealing all edges with some water (use very little, as you are not trying to bathe the wrappers!). You should create a triangle out of each wrapper at this point. Press the edges again a little to remove all trapped air.
3. Now bring the other two remaining corners together, sealing the tips with some water. Press a little on the tips to make sure they do indeed stick together. If you are hard pressed for time, or don't care much about aesthetics, just skip this step and your wantons will taste just as good!
4. Now, with the stock at boiling point, drop the wantons gently into it. Within slightly under 5 minutes, your wanton soup is ready. Garnish with scallions, and if you like, a few drops of sesame oil and soy sauce.

This recipe can make three bowls (3 servings) of about 8-9 wantons in each.

Tips: Do not overcook the wantons. They toughen up if you did that. Remember that they continue to cook even after you have removed them from the heat. Also, you can freeze the wantons per se for up to one week. They can go straight from the freezer to the boiling stock without any thawing necessary.

Finally, if you are using this soup as the basis for a hearty meal, i.e. adding noodles, veggies, and so on, then do not cook all the latter in the same pot that holds the wanton. Cook the other ingredients separately; otherwise, your wanton will be overcooked.

Prep time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 5 minutes
ESTIMATED CALORIES OF 1 BOWl (8-9 WANTONS): 200 CALORIES

Easy Chicken Stir Fry With Broccoli and Cashew in 30 minutes

If you enjoy Chinese food, this is very easy and healthy and fast recipe for a weekday dinner. I learned this dish from my mother years ago, and it is a no-fail recipe. Two important pointers to make this dish a success: very hot wok or skillet (drop a few drops of water onto it, and it should sizzle right away, and that is the correct temperature) plus quick, rapid stirring during cooking, and so never stop stirring!

Ingredients (tip: all must be prepared ahead of time and ready right next to the wok for cooking):
2 Chicken breasts (sliced thinly, the thinner the better)
1 tablespoon of corn starch
Pepper
1 tablespoon of minced garlic (mince your own, don't use those in the jars as the smell is slightly different)
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon light soy sauce (I like lots of garlic, which has healthy benefits for the body, but you can use less)
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon of sugar (I prefer brown sugar)
2 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine (either the white or red one is fine, purchase in ethnic stores), or any cooking wine from mainstream grocery stores
1 head of fresh Broccoli (stems removed, and separated into florets)(do not use frozen, as the water content will alter the taste of your dish!)
Roughly chopped cashew nuts (1/2 cup)
1/4 cup of chopped scallions
Cooking spray

1. Using your clean hands, mix chicken, corn starch, and pepper until all the chicken is covered by the starch and pepper.
2. Spray your wok or skillet thoroughly with the cooking spray, going around it twice. Make very sure your wok is smoking hot. Throw the garlic into the wok and start stir frying it until the garlic is fragrant, but not burnt or even browned; this should take only 1 minute. Add ginger, and stir fry for 1-2 minutes.
3. Empty chicken into wok. Stir fry rapidly for 3-5 minutes, depending on the thickness of your chicken slices.
4. Pour all the sauces into the wok. Add the sugar. Stir fry again for 4-5 minutes.
5. Add broccoli florets into wok. And stir fry for 5 minutes until brocolli is slightly tender, but not mushy or turned into another color. Throw in Cashew nuts. Finish dish with scallions as garnish, and serve dish over brown or jasmine rice.

Note: I omitted salt since soy sauce already has sodium in it. However, you can add 1/2 teaspoon if you so desire.

Prep time: 15 mins Cooking time: 15 mins