Something old and something new

So I told you I was working on a new chicken enchilada dish, using chipotle peppers (which is a smoked jalapeno) in adobe sauce (the chipotles being my impulse-buy-ingredient). I found a recipe in The Most Decadent Diet Ever, which seemed ok, but I didn't have/didn't want quite that list of ingredients. I quickly googled "chipotle recipes" and "low fat enchiladas" and came up with this recipe. We loved it and I'll definitely make it again if I can remember exactly what I did!

Chicken Chipotle Enchiladas

3 chicken breasts

2-3 tbl southwest seasoning or taco seasoning

1 big can of mild enchilada sauce (19 oz or so?)

1 can diced green chilies, slightly drained (just get some of the excess liquid out)

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

2-3 chipotle peppers, chopped, and a little adobe sauce (what they're packed in)

1 bunch of cilantro, chopped

2 cups of cheddar or mexican blend cheese (I used fat free cheddar)

8 6-inch yellow corn tortillas

Season chicken breasts with the southwest seasoning/taco seasoning and bake at 350 for 30 minutes (or until chicken is no longer pink) in a greased pan. Let chicken rest while you prepare the rest. In a small saute pan, saute onion until tender and add garlic at the end. Combine enchilada sauce, black beans, onion, garlic, chipotles, and adobe sauce in a bowl. Combine cheese and cilantro in a separate bowl.

Dice chicken breasts and cut or tear the tortillas into bite sized pieces. Spread 1/2 cup or so of the enchilada sauce mixture in a greased 11x8 pan (or bigger if you don't have 11x8). Cover sauce evenly with about a 1/3 of the tortilla pieces. Sprinkle about 1/2 of the chicken over the tortillas, then pour about 2/3 cup of the sauce over the chicken. Then, sprinkle about 1/3 of the cheese/cilantro mixture over the sauce.

Ok, I'm getting confused as I read the layering instructions in this cookbook. Just layer sauce, cheese/cilantro, chicken and tortillas. The only "rule" is start with sauce, end with cheese. It all ends up together so what's the difference? Blah. Done. Moving on. Cover it with foil and bake for 25 minutes at about 350 (sorry...writing a recipe is kind of hard). Remove the foil after 25 minutes and let it bake an add'l 5 minutes to melt the cheese. Remove from the oven and let it stand for about 10 minutes before serving.

Warning...this is a spicy dish. If you don't want all that zip, I'd skip or limit the chipotles, but boy do they add some nice flavor!

Next, something old. I've made these bars at least a hundred times for J. They are his absolute favorite and they're easy, fast and yummy. I think some people call them Special K Bars. Whatever they're called, they're good.

Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Bars

1 cup Karo syrup

1 cup white sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter

6 cups rice krispies

1 cup butterscotch chips

1 cup milk chocolate chips

Mix Karo and sugar together in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil 1 minute. Remove from the heat and add the peanut butter. Mix well. Put the rice krispies in a large bowl and pour the hot mixture over the cereal and stir gently to coat. Pour into a lightly greased 9x13 pan and flatten gently. Melt butterscotch and chocolate together (I do this in the microwave...30 seconds, stir, 30 seconds stir, etc until melted) and spread over treats. Cut when cool.

Rice krispy treats pre-chocolate/butterscotch frosting

The finished product pre-J eating them in one sitting.