CHICKEN 2 WAYS September 5, 2007 Susan Noble Family and Consumer Science Extension Agent

Fancy or everyday? Greek or Mexican? However you like your chicken, here are two great recipes.

The Chicken with Feta is the result of more cooking experiments with my Elizabethtown friends. The chicken is arranged on a bed of fresh spinach and topped with red pepper sauce. Beautiful! You could create four individual plates or do one large platter from which your eaters can serve themselves.

Don't let the red in the pepper sauce scare you. It's not made from hot red peppers but from red bell peppers. Serve the chicken with couscous and top if off with more of the red pepper sauce. I'm betting you'll like the sauce so much you'll find lots of ways to use it.

The enchilada recipe comes from a curriculum we (North Carolina Cooperative Extension) use to teach limited-resource homemakers about nutrition and cooking, so it's easy to prepare, low cost, and healthy. Plus, it's good. I've replaced the old chicken enchilada recipe I use at home with this one.

Notice that the cheddar cheese in the enchilada recipe is reduced-fat (made from 2% milk) and sharp is specified. While sharp may be too tangy for your taste buds in regular cheddar, do go with sharp in the reduced-fat version. The removal of fat removes flavor, so mild reduced-fat cheddar is extremely bland.

The enchiladas are a great way to use up leftover cooked chicken or turkey. And, FYI, turkey is typically less expensive in the summer months.

Or do as I do and skip the cooking the meat yourself. I just pick up a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store to make these enchiladas. After all, a girl needs time to do her yard work.

Place chicken in a large zip-top plastic bag. Combine next 4 ingredients and pour over chicken. Close bag and marinate chicken in refrigerator for 2-24 hours. To prepare sauce, combine roasted peppers and next 4 ingredients in a food processor; process to mostly smooth. Set aside.

Remove chicken from marinade; discard marinade. Grill (I used a stovetop grill pan) about 7 minutes on 1 side, turn, and top with feta. Continue grilling for about 7 more minutes or till cooked through. Arrange spinach on serving plate, top with chicken, and drizzle with red pepper sauce.

Makes 4 servings.

Recipe adapted from Deborah Krasner, Relish Good Food Fast, July 2006.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Add onion and cook till tender. Stir in chicken, 1/4 cup salsa, cream cheese, and cumin. Cook till thoroughly heated through and cream cheese is melted. Stir in 1/4 of cheddar cheese. Remove mixture from heat. Spoon about 1/3 cup of mixture in center of each tortilla; roll up. Place seam side down in a 9- x 12-inch baking dish that has been coated with cooking spray. Top enchiladas with remaining salsa and cheese. Bake for 15 minutes.

Makes 8 servings.

The use of brand names in this column does not imply endorsement by the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service of the products or services named or criticism of similar ones not mentioned.

E-mail address: Susan_Noble@ncsu.edu

Mailing Address:
P. O. Box 2280
Lumberton, NC 28359-2280

Phone: 910-671-3276
Fax: 910-671-6278

Date Created 11/2/07