I had some chicken breasts the other day that I wanted to use up, but I didn't necessarily want to eat them as chicken breasts. Know what I mean? I was wanting to make a kind of a casserole with them. I am a huge fan of the casserole!
I love making and eating casseroles. They are a fabulous opportunity to get rid of the bits and pieces in your refrigerator or larder!
I had been eyeballing a recipe for a Chicken Enchilada Bake casserole that I had seen in a book I have by Taste of Home, entitled 201 Recipes You'll Make Forever.
How could you possibly resist a cookery book with a name like that. If its a recipe that you'll awnt to make forever, I'll have a piece of that one please!
I love the Taste of Home Cookbooks. I fell in love with their magazine when it first came out way back when. The recipes were in the form of recipe cards and I used to religiously clip out the ones I liked and popped them into a little metal recipe box I had.
Sadly, I had to leave that behind me in the UK. Kind of a shame really because that small tin recipe box was one that I had had since I was 19 years old. It was a wedding gift from the older woman I used to board with when I had my first job away from home.
Her name was Mrs. Boates and she lived in an old Victorian house at the top of a steep hill. I rented a bedroom and board in her house when I had my first away from home job. She was such a good cook and made the best Corn Chowder.
She would make me homemade sandwiches for my lunch every day using the loveliest homemade bread. I remember thinking she was a really old lady, but in all reality, I am probably older now than she was then! Funny how that goes!
Anyways, I digress. This recipe comes from that cookbook. It was posted by Melanie Burns of Pueblo West, CO. The original recipe made enough for 10 people.
I am only one person and so I adapted it to make enough for just two to three hearty servings. I love Tex Mex, and I am sure I could have frozen some of it, but I don't have a lot of space in my freezer at the moment either. If you are wanting to have the full recipe, just ask me and I will be happy to oblidge.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE CHICKEN ENCHILADA BAKE
Five simple ingredients simply layered. It doesn't get much easier than this!
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, poached and shredded
- 8 ounces (227g) green enchilada sauce
- 1/3 cup (40g) dairy sour cream
- 3 corn tortillas cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 1/4 cups (163g) shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
It is very easy to poach your own chicken breasts to use in a recipe such as this one, or you could just use the equivalent of leftover cooked chicken breast meat. To poach them, I just pop them into a saucepan and cover with a mixture of half chicken stock and half water.
Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes, then take off the heat and leave to cool in the liquid. Always tender and juicy and perfectly cooked, ready to cube or shred or whatever and really tasty.
The Green Enchilada Sauce I had was Frontera Green Chili Enchilada Sauce. It comes in just the right size of pouch for this recipe. I buy it at Foodland/Sobey's. Its delicious.
I used pre-grated Jack cheese for expediency. Full fat sour cream, and some corn tortillas I had in the cupboard. I don't think flour tortillas would work that well and might get soggy in the long cook time. I do think that you could use crushed tortilla chips however!
HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN ENCHILADA BAKE
Nothing could really be easier! I know I say that a lot, but it's true! I am rather lazy and if I can find something that is not only quick and easy to make but delicious, I'm making it!
Preheat the oven to 375*F/190*C/ gas mark 5. Butter a 4 by 8-inch baking dish.
Whisk the enchilada sauce and sour cream together in a bowl.
Layer half of each of the following into the dish: chicken, sauce mixture, tortillas, cheese. Repeat the layers.
Cover tightly and bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 minutes longer.
Let stand for 15 minutes and then serve.
I enjoyed mine with a kale salad that I had purchased at the shops. It was the steakhouse flavor with a blue cheese dressing. Ideally it should have been the Mexican one, but I had to use what I had!
It was really tasty. Hearty, cheesy, not overly spicy, rich and delicious. I will make this again sometime in the full version when I am having my sister and Dan over for supper. My father wouldn't like it as he doesn't like anything that is out of the ordinary!
I really hope you will want to give it a go and like I said, if you want the full recipe just let me know! E-mail me or whatever!
CHICKEN CON QUESO BAKE - A tasty casserole bake loaded with plenty of spicy chicken, cheese and rice in a spicy rich cheesy sauce. Delicious!
EASY MEXICAN CORN CHOWDER - Corn Chowder was something I made frequently for my family when they were growing up. For this recipe, I updated it with some fresh and lively Tex Mex Flavors with most delicious results!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com
Yield: 2-3
Author: Marie Rayner
5-Ingredient Chicken Enchilada Bake
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 45 MinInactive time: 15 MinTotal time: 1 H & 10 M
A simple, cheesy southwestern casserole bake. If you like Tex Mex, you will love this!
Ingredients
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, poached and shredded
- 8 ounces (227g) green enchilada sauce
- 1/3 cup (40g) dairy sour cream
- 3 corn tortillas cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 1/4 cups (163g) shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375*F/190*C/ gas mark 5. Butter a 4 by 8 inch baking dish.
- Whisk the enchilada sauce and sour cream together in a bowl.
- Layer half of each of the following into the dish: chicken, sauce mixture, tortillas, cheese. Repeat the layers.
- Cover tightly and bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 minutes longer.
- Let stand for 15 minutes and then serve.
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This recipe for Washington Pie I am sharing today is actually a cake recipe, not a pie. It comes from the pages of an old cookery book of mine. Woman's Day, Old Fashioned Desserts by Barbara Myers.
It is a recipe I have been making for a very long time, however. I first tasted this lovely cake when my friend Leona baked it to serve as a dessert when we were invited to her place back in the early 1980's. We fell in love with it. It's a cake that I baked for my children often when they were growing up.
But how does a cake get called a pie? I was intrigued and so this morning I did a search to find out the history behind this delicious cake.
The recipe made its first appearance around 1850 in Mrs. Putnam's Receipt Book. So people have been baking this cake for almost 200 years now.
But why call it a pie when it's actually a cake? From what I have read, it all boils down to equipment used. In the mid 19th century most home cooks often baked their layer cakes in pie tins resulting in many referring to cakes baked in pie tins as "pies."
It is actually a cake that is very similar to the traditional Victoria Sandwich Cake. Both are layer cakes and both have those layers sandwiched together with jam.
Both are also dusted with confectioners' sugar rather than being iced.
The Victoria Sandwich cake however is created by creaming together margarine or butter and caster sugar, and then having eggs beaten in, along with a quantity of self-raising flour. Generally speaking, the sugar, eggs, flour and butter are of the same weight. This enables you to bake a Victoria sponge of almost any size quite easily.
Washington Pie, in contrast, uses white vegetable shortening and much more sugar than its British counterpart. In North American generally this means Crisco and in the UK you would use white flora or a vegetable fat called Trex.
I have to confess I prefer the British version over the North American cake, but both cakes are very good. My tastes have changed since living in the UK for as long as I did. I no longer have the same sweet tooth I had prior to moving over there and find North American desserts and cakes quite sweet in comparison.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE WASHINGTON PIE
Simple everyday baking ingredients. You will also need two 8-inch round layer cake tins.
- 2 cups (249g) sifted cake flour (see note)
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup (200g) sugar
- 1/3 cup (73g) vegetable shortening
- 3/4 cup (180ml) milk
- 1 large free range egg
For filling and topping:
- Red raspberry preserves
- Icing sugar (confectioner's sugar)
There is no such thing as cake flour as far as I know in the UK. In its place just measure out the flour, removing 1 TBS of flour per cup of flour used (or 2 TBS for this recipe) and then replace it with 2 TBS corn flour/starch.
That's what I did as I didn't have any cake flour in the house.
I think I would prefer to make this cake with butter. I know others have and it works fine. I have lost my taste for shortening through the years, I think. I did do a search to try to find a version where they used only butter but came up short.
I even checked Rose Levy Berenbaum's cookbook, Rose's Heavenly cakes, and Martha Stewart's Bakig Bible, but there were no Washington Pie Cake recipes in either. I cannot say how it would work with butter rather than shortening.
If you are wanting to make a cake with butter than shortening, I would recommend that you use the Victoria Sponge Cake Recipe. I know that recipe works perfectly. It actually uses equal parts margarine and butter, but I have made it with all butter, and it works.
HOW TO MAKE WASHINGTON PIE
If the use of shortening doesn't bother you then this is the cake for you! It is really a relatively simple cake to make.
Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter and flour 2 (8-inch) round cake tins, tapping out any excess flour.
Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar into a mixing bowl. Add the shortening, vanilla and 1/2 cup (120ml) of the milk.
Beat for 2 minutes with an electric whisk, or 300 strokes by hand.
Add the remaining milk and egg. Beat for 2 minutes longer, scraping down the bowl as needed.
Divide the batter between the two prepared pans.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean or the tops spring back when lightly touched.
Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then tip out onto the rack and cool completely.
Place one layer (bottom side up) on a plate. Spread generously with jam and then top with the second layer (top side up). Dust with some icing sugar to lightly cover the top.
I really hope that I haven't put you off this cake with my ponderings on butter versus shortening. This really is a lovely cake. I just find it a bit sweet for my taste. Hasn't stopped me from eating it and enjoying it however!
The mark of a true Glutton!
As you can see it is a very nice cake, light and fluffy with a beautiful crumb. It really doesn't need any frosting in my opinion although I do know some people that frost the top layer only and sprinkle coconut on that. I think it is pretty perfect just as is.
RASPBERRY YOGURT CAKE - I love cakes which are made with sour cream and yogurt. Adding sour cream or yogurt add moisture and makes for a lovely tender crumb. This is a beautiful cake, with a lovely moist crumb. Its light in texture and filled with pockets of sweet tart raspberries.
FRENCH ALMOND, PEAR & CARDAMOM CAKE - This is a lovely cake, gluten free, loaded with beautiful ripe pears, ground almonds, and I added a touch of ground cardamom as pears and cardamom are such a quintessentially beautiful partnership and marriage of flavors. It is delicious served warm, cut into squares with either lashings of pouring cream or softly whipped cream on top.
Yield: 6 - 8
Author: Marie Rayner
Washington Pie
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 40 Min
A delicious layer cake which has a layer of sweet jam in the middle and a dusting of icing sugar on top. This is a recipe as old as the hills that I have been making for a very long time.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (249g) sifted cake flour (see note)
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup (200g) sugar
- 1/3 cup (73g) vegetable shortening
- 3/4 cup (180ml) milk
- 1 large free range egg
For filling and topping:
- Red raspberry preserves
- Icing sugar (confectioner's sugar)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter and flour 2 (8-inch) round cake tins, tapping out any excess flour.
- Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar into a mixing bowl. Add the shortening, vanilla and 1/2 cup (120ml) of the milk.
- Beat for 2 minutes with an electric whisk, or 300 strokes by hand.
- Add the remaining milk and egg. Beat for 2 minutes longer, scraping down the bowl as needed.
- Divide the batter between the two prepared pans.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean or the tops spring back when lightly touched.
- Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then tip out onto the rack and cool completely.
- Place one layer (bottom side up) on a plate. Spread generously with jam and then top with the second layer (top side up). Dust with some icing sugar to lightly cover the top.
Notes
You can easily make your own cake flour. Simply remove 1 TBS of the flour per cup and replace with 1 TBS corn flour/corn starch. Whisk well together.
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Wicked cold weather here in Nova Scotia today, but I expect it is the same everywhere. You would expect nothing less at this time of year in Canada. Actually, Winter has been slow in coming this year, so we really don't have a lot to complain about.
I love days like this, when the wind is blowing fiercely outside my front door, whipping the snow back and forth in a frenzy, but I am tucked up all warm and cozy inside with my two pussy cats and the fire burning. It doesn't matter to me that it's not a real fire. It's an electric fire. The feeling is the same. It's flames flicker and they warm my heart.
This is the kind of day I love to do some baking. I am not sure why that is. Perhaps it is the act of puttering and homemaking that do my heart good, or maybe it is knowing that at the end of all of my efforts I will be able to sit down in my comfortable chair with a hot drink and enjoy the tasty fruits of my labors.
My thinking cap goes on and before too long I find myself dragging out the flour and sugar bins and taking the butter out of the fridge. I love the clicking nose my oven makes as I turn it on to preheat. That, too, always holds the promise of something tasty to come.
Today I decided to make some scones. Fresh Ginger Scones filled with Lemon. They are some of my favorite scones of all. The recipe is an old one which I have had for well over 20 years.
I adapted the original recipe from a Betty Crocker cookbook entitled, Eat and Lose Weight. Somehow the idea of eating scones filled with lemon curd doesn't equate with the idea of losing weight, but, nevertheless, it has always been one of my favorite scones to bake.
As far as scones go, they are pretty much the same as other scone recipes. The dough is a tender dough, which might be a bit lower in fat than other scones, but it is moistened with buttermilk, light and flaky.
What sets these scones apart from other scones is that they are double layered scones, filled with a lush rich filling of lemon curd. You can use a good, purchased lemon curd, or you can make your own. I have a great recipe here to do just that.
Today I used a good jar of lemon curd that I bought at a British Supply shop. Wilken & Son's Lemon Curd. Oh boy it is some good. The next best thing to homemade.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE FRESH GINGER SCONES FILLED WITH LEMON
The ingredients may not be simple everyday ingredients, but a quick trip to the shops should take care of that.
- 2 cups (280g)plain flour
- 1/4 cup (50g) white sugar
- pinch of salt
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1/3 cup (80g) butter
- 2/3 cup (160ml) fat free buttermilk (may need a bit more)
- 1 TBS grated fresh ginger root
- 1/2 cup (approx 165g) prepared lemon curd
- demerara sugar (turbinado) for sprinkling on top, if desired
Use the best lemon curd that you can afford to buy or make your own. Both work well. I am inclined to think you could actually use any kind of jam in these tasty scones. Just be careful not to overdo any of them as your scones will not cook properly inside if they are too damp.
You can make your own buttermilk substitute by whisking together 1 TBS of white vinegar or lemon juice with the amount of milk required. Set aside to clabber. Another way to make it is to whisk together equal parts of plain yogurt and milk. I use the full fat options of each.
HOW TO MAKE FRESH GINGER SCONES FILLED WITH LEMON
These are very simple to make so long as you follow a few rules of thumb. Keep your ingredients cold, and don't overhandle the dough. Also don't be tempted to overdo the lemon curd filling or you will have a blowout of lemon curd when they are baking.
Pre-heat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Line a baking sheet with some baking parchment.
Place the flour, sugar. salt, and baking powder in a bowl, whisking well together. Rub the butter into the mixture with your fingertips until it is well rubbed in, and the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Stir in the gingerroot and mix in well. (A fork does a good job of this.)
Stir in the buttermilk until the dough leaves the side of the bowl and forms a ball. If your dough is too dry, then add a bit more buttermilk. It should be a shaggy dough.
Tip out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently a couple of times to bring together. Divide the dough in half.
Place half of the dough on the cookie sheet and pat out into a 7-inch circle. Spread the lemon curd over top, up to within 1/2 inch of the edge of the circle.
Pat the other half of the dough into another 7-inch circle and place over top of the lemon curd. Gently pinch the edge to seal.
Brush the top with a bit more buttermilk and then sprinkle demerara sugar evenly over top. Lightly score the surface of the dough into 8 wedges, being careful not to cut all the way through to the lemon curd.
Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown on the top and bottom and cooked through.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes before cutting into wedges to serve. Serve warm with your favorite hot drink!
I prettied these up by dusting a bit of icing sugar over the tops when I served them. Oh, I know, there is only me in the house, but I think I still deserve pretty things, don't you?
I don't think anyone will ever be able to accuse me of pretentious presentation. You always get what you see. Sometimes I get it right and sometimes I don't. Most times I am in too much of a hurry, wanting to dig into what I have cooked to spend a lot of time on presentation. It's one of my many weaknesses.
These are so delicious. It's hard to believe that they are lower in fat than most scones. I enjoyed mine with a nice hot cup of lemon, ginger & honey herbal tea. How will you enjoy yours?
Some other tasty recipes using lemon curd on here in The English Kitchen are: (Just so you don't waste any of it.)
LEMON CURD COOKIES - These lush and buttery shortbread cookies are flavored through and through with lemon from the inside out. Crispy edged and dimpled with lemon curd centers, they are real lemon winners! If you love lemon as much as I do, you will love these.
LEMON CURD DRIZZLE CAKE - This is my absolute favorite of all the lemon cakes that I bake. No surprise there! It is moist and delicious and crammed full of lovely lemon flavor.
Yield: 8
Author: Marie Rayner
Fresh Ginger Scones Filled with Lemon
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 35 Min
You can make your own lemon curd for these, or use purchased lemon curd. There are some very good ones out there. Make sure you let the finished scones sit for several minutes before you cut them apart to eat. Hot lemon curd can really burn. These are lovely and, as far as scones go, are relatively low in fat. They're delicious.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (280g) plain flour
- 1/4 cup (50g) white sugar
- pinch of salt
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1/3 cup (80g) butter
- 2/3 cup (160ml) fat free buttermilk (may need a bit more)
- 1 TBS grated fresh ginger root
- 1/2 cup (approx 165g) prepared lemon curd
- demerara sugar (turbinado) for sprinkling on top, if desired
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Line a baking sheet with some baking parchment.
- Place the flour, sugar. salt, and baking powder in a bowl, whisking well together. Rub the butter into the mixture with your fingertips until it is well rubbed in and the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
- Stir in the gingerroot and mix in well. (A fork does a good job of this.)
- Stir in the buttermilk until the dough leaves the side of the bowl and forms a ball. If your dough is too dry, then add a bit more buttermilk. It should be a shaggy dough.
- Tip out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently a couple of times to bring together. Divide the dough in half.
- Place half of the dough on the cookie sheet and pat out into a 7-inch circle. Spread the lemon curd over top, up to within 1/2 inch of the edge of the circle.
- Pat the other half of the dough into another 7-inch circle and place over top of the lemon curd. Gently pinch the edge to seal.
- Brush the top with a bit more buttermilk and then sprinkle demerara sugar evenly over top. Lightly score the surface of the dough into 8 wedges, being careful not to cut all the way through to the lemon curd.
- Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown on the top and bottom and cooked through.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes before cutting into wedges to serve. Serve warm with your favorite hot drink!
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @marierayner5530 on instagram and hashtag it # marierayner5530
Thanks so much for visiting! Do come again!!
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