Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas

Hi there!

Did you have a nice Christmas? I did!

I took last week off from blogging to spend some time with my family.

It was wonderful.

Did you get any great presents?? I got an ice cream maker!! I'm so excited! Now I just need to get a recipe book for it.

So what was your favorite present this year???

Now that we are looking to the New Year, I've started thinking a lot about my health and losing weight again now that Baby N is a little older and gives me some time to do anything but feed him.

I've also been thinking about this blog a lot. I had a friend tell me that she doesn't look at my blog anymore because she was trying to lose weight and everything I was posting was so unhealthy.

When did this happen? When did I let go of the healthy, fitness crazed person I was?

No matter when it happened, it's time to get it back.

So that is your warning. I'm looking to overhaul this blog and try to make it more health minded.

Sure, I will have cakes. After all, I love to bake. But they may not be every day anymore.

With that being said, I do still have a few treats to post still. Including the most obnoxious cake in all of the land.

Today though, I'm bringing you something a bit more healthy. I figure you all are either tired of turkey and ready to move on, or you can use any leftover turkey you have in this recipe if you so desire.

A while back I made these buffalo chicken enchiladas. I love that whole wheat tortillas were used in the making of this dish.

I never post about the healthy changes I make to the recipes I create. But luckily, this one I had to change nothing, except the cheese. The original recipe calls for gorgonzola on top but I don't dig on that so I used more monterey jack cheese.

These were the perfect combination of two of my favorite foods. Enchiladas. And buffalo wings.

They were spicy and cheesy. The cilantro gave a fresh flavor. They were gooey and delicious. Don't believe me? Go make them yourself!

Mix together your enchilada and buffalo wing sauces. Then add together the chicken, some cheese, the onions, and some of the sauce mixture.

Drizzle some sauce into the bottom of your baking dish.

Fill each tortilla with the chicken mixture and place in the baking dish, seam side down. Finish filling the tortillas until the mixture and tortillas are all used up.

Top the enchiladas with some sauce and cheese then bake it up baby!

Immediately after removing from the oven, top with the remaining cheese and cilantro. Let stand about 10 minutes.

Serve and enjoy!!


Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas
Adapted from How Sweet It Is

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Ingredients:

• 8 large whole wheat tortillas
• 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
• 1 (28 ounce) can red enchilada sauce
• 1/2 cup buffalo wing sauce (or more, depending on desired heat)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese, divided
• 5 green onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the enchilada and buffalo wing sauces. Start with 1/4 cup of the buffalo wing sauce, taste, and add until desired taste and heat are achieved.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine chicken, green onions, 1/2 cup cheese, and 1/2 cup of the sauce mixture. Mix until well coated and fully combined.
4. Drizzle a bit of the sauce mixture into the bottom of the baking sheet.
5. Place a few heaping tablespoons of the chicken mixture into each tortilla. Roll the tortilla over the filling and place in the baking dish, seam side down. Repeat until all tortillas and filling are used.
6. Pour another 1/2 cup of the sauce mixture over the enchiladas. 
7. Top with another 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese.
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
9. Immediately after removing from the oven, top with the remaining cheese and the cilantro.
10. Let stand about 10 minutes.
11. Serve and enjoy!!

Whole Wheat Gingerbread Pancakes with Brown Sugar Whipped Cream

I don't know about you, but I'm ready for this holiday season to be over!

I have been so insanely busy that I can barely think straight anymore.

However, I think it's all down hill from here. I have one more Christmas gift to find and I'm done. But I do still have to finish wrapping everything.

How are you doing with your holiday shopping??

One of the great (or maybe not so great) things about the holidays is all the food!

I had my first annual Christmas Cookie Club meeting last night. It was a fabulous time and I have a ton of amazing cookies to enjoy!

AND! I get to make things like gingerbread pancakes! You can't go wrong there!

What I liked about this recipe is that it is a bit healthier than other pancake recipes. The whole wheat flour did not take anything away from the taste of these pancakes. In fact, I think it added to their enjoyment.

The brown sugar whipped cream was just sweet enough to really enhance the spicy flavor of the gingerbread pancake. The whole breakfast was amazing!

Let's do this!

Whisk together your flour with a few choice spices.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, milk, egg, and yogurt.

Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated.

Cook up your pancakes.

Toss your heavy cream, brown sugar, and vanilla in a chilled mixing bowl and whisk the heck out of it until soft peaks form.

Serve your pancakes with a dollop of the whipped cream and some maple syrup if you desire.

Enjoy!!

Whole Wheat Gingerbread Pancakes
Adapted from One Ordinary Day

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Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 Tablespoons light brown sugar
• 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 (8 ounce) container Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 1 large egg

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, salt, cloves, nutmeg, and brown sugar. 
2. In a separate, medium mixing bowl, combine the egg, melted butter, yogurt, and milk.  
3. Combine the wet ingredients and the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.  
4. Heat a griddle or a large skillet over medium heat (I set my electric skillet to 325 degrees F) until drops of water briefly dance on the surface before evaporating. Lightly oil the griddle. 
5. Working in batches, pour 1/4 cup of the batter onto the griddle for each pancake, spacing them about 1 inch apart. 
6. Let cook undisturbed until bubbles rise to the surface and the edges look dry, 1 to 2 minutes. Check the underside of each pancake to make sure it’s nicely browned; then flip. Cook until the second side is nicely browned, about 1 minute more. 
7. Transfer the pancakes to a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven (set oven to 200 degrees F) while you repeat with the remaining batter.
8. Serve with brown sugar whipped cream and maple syrup. Enjoy!!

Brown Sugar Whipped Cream

Adapted from The Cake Book

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Ingredients:

• 1 cup chilled heavy cream
• 2 Tablespoons firmly packed light brown sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In the chilled bowl of an electric mixer, using the whisk attachment, whip the cream, brown sugar, and vanilla on high speed until soft peaks form. 

Easy Buttermilk Drop Biscuits and Giveaway Winners

Hello there!

I am writing to you from my spanking new computer!!

Do you feel different?? I do! It's so sleek and pretty.

In case you are wondering, I got an HP Envy14 with an i5 processor. His name is Zelos and we were made for each other!

He came all the way from Shanghai China just to be with me. It was meant to be.

Anyway, enough about me and my new beloved.

Let's talk about you. Let's talk about the giveaway I recently hosted. This giveaway was pretty easy to figure out the winners. Only 2 people entered in the giveaway correctly so those are the 2 winners!

Amy Beth Marantino and Avril!! 

Please send me your addresses ladies. You can email me at mannadonn[AT]msn[DOT]com

Now, onto the biscuits!

My Baby Sis started staying with me recently and she loves breakfast. But what she REALLY loves for breakfast is savory foods. So, whereas I make pancakes, she makes eggs with sausage and veggies. 

She decided one day that it would be awesome for us to have some biscuits with our biscuits so I quickly set about to finding us a recipe.

My Baby Sis was doing great making the biscuits, until she started cutting the butter into the flour that is. I ended up taking over and making the biscuits myself. Now she teases me constantly and says I refuse to let her bake anything. (We won't mention how I took over the next thing she tried to bake either)

So we made biscuits. And they were good!

They were flaky and buttery yet dense and moist all at the same time.

The best part about these biscuits though?? Not having to wait for yeast to rise! These biscuits are quick and easy and can be whipped up any morning while you are making your savory breakfast. 

Let's bake!

Whisk together your dry ingredients.

Then mix up your butter and buttermilk. Combine with the dry ingredients.

Drop the biscuits onto a parchment lined baking sheet. At this point the recipe said to bake them THEN brush with butter...but I didn't read the recipe right so I brushed them with butter BEFORE I baked them.

Either way. Bake these babies up until they are golden brown and crispy.

Smother with jam, serve, and enjoy!!


Easy Buttermilk Drop Biscuits
Adapted from Lick The Bowl Good

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Ingredients:

• 2 cup unbleached, all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup cold buttermilk
• 8 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus 2 Tablespoons, melted, for brushing on biscuits

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt.
3. In a small mixing bowl, combine buttermilk and butter.
4. Pour butter mixture over dry ingredients and mix with a rubber spoon until just combined and dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
5. Using a greased 1/4 cup measurement, measure and drop dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Space dough about 1 1/2 inches apart.
6. Bake biscuits until tops are golden brown and crisp, about 12 to 14 minutes.
7. Brush biscuits with remaining 2 Tablespoons melted butter (I did this step before baking), remove biscuits to wire rack and allow to cool completely.
8. Serve and enjoy!