Tuesday, January 17, 2012

One Great . . . lighter casserole

Everyday Food, the magazine from Martha Stewart's kitchen staff, does a good job of quick, straight-forward recipes. Now the magazine's lighter recipes, with less than 500 calories, have been gathered in a cookbook. If you're still tackling a better eating plan in 2012, it's a handy book for getting dinner on the table.

So today, we're offering a two-fer: A lighter version of Chicken Enchiladas, suitable for a good weeknight meal, and I'll give away a copy of the book. To enter the drawing, send an email with Everyday Light in the subject line to me, at kpurvis@charlotteobserver.com. I'll announce the winner Wednesday afternoon.

And to get the recipe, just look here:

Lighter Chicken Enchiladas
I tried two changes when I made this. I added about 1/2 cup green tomatillo salsa just to increase the amount of sauce. And I used pepper jack instead of regular Monterey Jack. The first change was a good one, but watch out for the pepper jack. It was too hot even for me. I also saved time by microwaving frozen chicken breasts, rather than steaming them.

2 to 3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 to 2 tablespoons minced canned chipotle en adobo (freeze the rest for later)
1 3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth (or a 14.5-ounce container)
1/2 cup water
8 (6-inch) corn tortillas, wrapped in damp paper towels and microwaved briefly
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack

Bring 1 inch of water to boil in a large skillet. Add chicken, cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer 5 minutes. Remove skillet from heat. Let chicken steam, covered, for 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. When cool enough to handle, shred with two forks and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat while chicken is steaming. Add garlic. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add flour, cumin and chipotles. (Chipotles may clump; they'll smooth out later.) Cook, whisking, about 1 minute. Whisk in the broth and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, whisking occasionally, until thickened, 5 to 8 minutes. (Stir in about 1/2 cup tomatillo salsa if needed.)

Transfer 1 cup sauce to the bowl with the chicken and toss to coat. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread 1/4 cup sauce in the bottom of an 8-inch-square baking dish. Fill each tortilla with chicken mixture; roll up and place snugly in baking dish with the seam down. Top with remaining sauce and cheese. Bake 15 to 20 minutes. Cool 5 minutes before serving.

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