Eat Like a Rabbit

Don't get nervous, I use a soybean based vegetarian alternative to regular chicken. It comes in large rolls from health food stores and is very versatile. We find many uses from slicing like lunch meat to dicing for enchiladas to shredding for chicken salad.

As many people may notice, I don't serve anything during the week that takes longer than 25 minutes to prepare. Most of these meals fall under that category. But the chicken enchiladas are special. They can take over an hour to prepare, but do well when prepared a day in advance and cooked immediately before serving. I'll tell you how I made them. I'm sure there are many variations out there. Change as you wish.

Recipe for Chicken Enchiladas

• 1/3 roll Worthington Chicken, diced into long strips
• 2 pounds Cheddar Cheese, shredded
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 24 Corn Tortillas

Put 8 tortillas in a glass, microwave safe, bowl. Cover halfway with water. Put a paper towel over the bowl and heat in microwave for around 30 seconds. Our microwave is a convection oven. Traditional microwaves may take longer. The goal is for the corn tortillas to be moist and warm enough to roll without cracking. Repeat with other corn tortillas.

Layer a few strips of chicken parallel to how you will roll the enchilada. Top with a spoonful of onions and a good handful of cheese. Roll enchilada away from you, pick up with both hands, and place on its seam in a non-greased baking pan. I can fit 12 rolls in a 9 x 13 inch pan. Top with enchilada sauce before baking at 350 degrees Farenheit until sizzling.

Recipe for Enchilada Sauce

The basis for this sauce is just like with a Cajun roux. It is fairly forgiving and allows for much creativity. You start with a 2:3 tablespoon ratio of oil to all-purpose flour. Stir continuously with the bottom of a large spoon. Heat on medium to medium-high until it is very thick and browned. Gradually add water until the mixture is thinned down. About 1 cup per tablespoon of flour. When you are done adding the water, you can experiment with seasonings. I added a tablespoon of McKay's Chicken Style Seasoning (vegetarian), 1/2 tablespoon each chili powder and sweet paprika, 3/4 tablespoon onion powder and 1/2 a tablespoon garlic powder. Certainly you can substitue soy sauce for the salt flavor and chili paste for a hotter flavor. The options really are endless.

Recipe for Mexican Rice

• 1 can of diced tomatoes
• 2 limes, juiced
• 1 tsp. salt
• 4 cups brown rice, cooked
• 1 tablespoon Cilantro, dehydrated

Because the enchiladas had so much strong flavor, I chose to make a mild Mexican rice with lots of focus on lime and cilantro. I put the first three ingredients in a blender and blended just a few seconds on the low setting to mix well, but keep the sauce chunky. I stirred the sauce into the rice before serving.

The black beans were Goyas straight out of the can and dumped into a pot.