Grilled Chicken & Pasta Salad

My friend Julie passed on this recipe to me, which she originally got from our local ABC channel here. I couldn't find it in the archive to link to it, so I'm reposting it here. Credit goes to Angie Larsen of KTVX here in Salt Lake City. Julie served this at a luncheon that Isabelle attended a few weeks ago, and she raved about it--with good reason! We loved it.

Grilled Chicken and Pasta Salad

For Salad:
1 small pkg. spinach
1 8 oz. pkg. bowtie pasta--cooked, drained, and cooled
2-4 T sesame seeds
1/2 c. sunflower seeds
1 can sliced water chestnuts
3 chicken breasts--seasoned heavily with lemon pepper seasoning, grilled (or baked), and cut into bite-size pieces
1 c. bean sprouts

mix well all ingredients and toss with dressing just before serving.

Dressing:
1/2 c. oil
1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sesame seeds
3 T. soy sauce
2 T. seasoned rice vinegar
1/2 tsp. sesame seed oil (optional)
1 tsp. grated fresh garlic

Stir ingredients well to dissolve sugar, store in refrigerator. Let dressing warm to room temperature before tossing into salad.

This has a real Asian taste to it. You could add strawberries or craisins to it, or even chow mein noodles for a crunchy texture. I added more spinach and pasta and it made a huge bowl. There was plenty of dressing to cover it all. So good, and very pretty.  And homemade breadsticks weren't so bad, either!

Enchiladas Suizas

I first tasted these back in Chicago when our friend Judi Barnhill made them. Her recipe came from an old Southwest Cooking cookbook, and she copied the page for me. Since then, I have made it probably 50 times through many alterations, and we love it every single time. Suizas refers to Swiss immigrants to Mexico who started dairies to make cream and cheeses. These enchiladas are topped with a cup of cream, which gives them a fabulous flavor.

Since burning my foot and hand last year with boiling oil, I've been a bit leery of cooking with the stuff more than I absolutely have to. This led to a much faster way of assembling this dish, with a big reduction in fat grams. I'm sharing both techniques with you, so you can choose whichever you prefer.

This is my version.

Enchiladas Suizas

2 Spanish onions (or 1 yellow/white)
7 oz. can diced green chilies
1 clove garlic
2 T. butter or olive oil
2 T. flour
1 1/2 c. chicken broth
salt to taste
1/4 tsp. ground cumin

2 1/2 c. grated Cheddar-Jack cheese
2-3 scallions
oil for frying (optional--see below)
14-16 corn tortillas
2 c. cooked and shredded chicken or pork
1 c. whipping cream
1 c. diced tomatoes

Chop the onions and mince the garlic. Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until soft, about 2 minutes. Stir in the flour and chicken broth. Add the chilies, garlic, salt to taste, and cumin and simmer about 15 minutes to blend the flavors of the sauce. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 baking dish. Grate the cheese and slice the scallions.

Oil version:
Put about 1/2" of oil in a large frying pan and set over medium-high heat. When hot, fry the tortillas briefly, about 15 seconds, being careful not to let them get crisp. Drain on paper towels. Put some of the meat in a strip on each tortilla. Top with 2-3 T. cheese. Roll up the enchiladas and put in the prepared baking dish seam side down. Pour the sauce over them, and then the cream. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and the scallions. The dish can be assembled several days ahead. Bake until hot and bubbly, about 2o minutes. Serve hot and garnished with tomatoes.


Non-oil version:
Tear the corn tortillas into small pieces and spread 1/3 of them evenly on bottom of the pan. Arrange 1/2 of the meat evenly over the tortillas, then sprinkle with 1/3 of the cheese. Place another 1/3 of the tortilla pieces on top, then the remaining chicken and 1/3 of the cheese. Spread the remainder of the tortillas on the top, then pour the sauce over the top. Pour the cream over the top of that, and sprinkle with the final 1/3 of the cheese. Slice the scallions and scatter over the top. Bake until hot and bubbly, about 20 minutes. Serve hot and garnished with tomatoes.

I can fit 10 rolled up enchiladas across the length of my 9x13 pan, then two sets of two perpendicular to those for a total of 14.

Serve with sour cream, rice, refried beans, and a green salad.