Whirlwind Day

It's been one of those days. You start out headed one direction and soon find yourself going the opposite way. After a long spell of spinning around right in the middle. It happens.

Amidst the craziness of the day, I did make dinner and took it to a new mama who lives right down the road from us. My favorite kind of meal to take is one that she can put into the oven whenever it suits her. Heat and eat! And one of the easiest is the Baked Bowties w/Tomatoes and Mozzarella. I've posted it before (sometimes made with penne,) but in case you missed it, here is it again:

BAKED BOWTIES with TOMATOES AND MOZZERALLA

3 cups (9 oz.)  uncooked bowtie pasta (or penne pasta)

1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained (this time I used diced w/oregano, basil & garlic)

2 cups Alfredo pasta sauce (I used refrigerated Buitoni sauce)

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese 

2 handfuls baby spinach

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 2-quart baking dish with PAM. Cook and drain pasta as directed on package.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, heat tomatoes to boiling. Reduce heat to medium and cook uncovered for  to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until liquid is nearly evaporated. Stir in spinach just to wilt it.

Put Alfredo sauce into a microwave-safe bowl and heat for about 90-seconds to heat. Stir in shredded cheese. Heat another 30-seconds and stir until cheese melts. Mix in tomato-spinach mixture. 

Put pasta in the baking dish and poured sauce over it. Stir gently to mix it all. 

Bake uncovered, about 30 minutes, or until hot in center.

(I cheated and used a photo of this dish from months ago. Didn't get make a photo today Sorry.)

I watched Mommy make these enchiladas for supper one night the last time I was out there stuck in the snow. While I was putting together the pasta this afternoon, I had chicken breasts cooking, too, so I would be one step ahead tonight.  

It was delicious. It was quick. It was easy. It was NOT low-calorie. But I didn't change a thing from how she made it! (You could opt to use reduced-fat products if you want.) I promised a few weeks ago, I'd share the recipe. It took a little longer than I planned to make it for Daddy-O, but here it is—tonight's supper.

CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

      -- adapted from Annie's Eats,  Cheesy Chicken "Benchiladas"

1 package boneless, skinless chicken breasts (mine had 3 large breasts in it)

1 cup sour cream

1 cup Ranch salad dressing

10 flour tortillas, burrito-style (that's the larger one)

jar of salsa

shredded Mexican cheese, about 2 cups

Cover chicken breasts with water in a large pot. Bring to boil, reduce heat and let simmer until tender. Let cool a bit and then remove chicken to a large bowl and shred, using two forks.

Mix sour cream and salad dressing in a small bowl. Pour half of sauce mix over shredded chicken and stir to mix well. (The other half of sauce is use to spread over tortillas.)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9x13-inch pan. Take a tortilla and top with sauce (about 1 tbsp.) and spread almost to edges. Spoon some of the chicken mixture down center of tortilla. Top with a little salsa and sprinkle with cheese. (Both of these amounts are to your taste.) Roll up tortilla, folding in ends as you go. Place in pan, seam side down. Repeat with remaining tortillas. 

Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes (30 minutes for crisper tortilla). Allow to cool a few minutes before serving.

My dish held 9 of these enchiladas. I put #10 in a small dish and stuck it in the oven on the rack under the big dish. I did have to re-roll the first one when I discovered you should be rolling them up kind of tight.

We had ours tonight with extra salsa and sour cream. I put the remaining enchiladas in a freezer bag and popped them into the freezer for an easy meal later. Because there is no sauce over the top, these are easy to pull out individually. You can freeze them before or after baking.

Thank you, Mommy, for a great new recipe to add to my collection.