There are two big deals in the Food Faith Fitness household: Brinner (breakfast for dinner) and Mexican food.
I, like most people, am totally into the "brinner" part of that statement (I'm pretty sure that I could eat oatmeal for every meal of my life, everyday forever and ever) How-ev-er, the Mexican part? It's not really my "thang."
Until these Chicken Egg White Enchiladas.
My hubby and I eat eggs every day because "an egg a day keeps the doctor away"
Or something like that.
But, sometimes (a lot) the hubs requests something a little different than plain, scrambled egg whites. Something with cheese. Something with "BAM" kind of flavor.
And, usually, something Mexican.
So, out on a mission I went. I needed to think of something that had flavor, cheese, BAM, and something Mexican to make the hubs happy. It also needed be healthy, but relatively simple to make, to keep me happy.
When I came across these Chicken Enchilada Stuffed Peppers and these Cilantro Pesto Meatballs In Enchilada Sauce, I had an AHA moment! Great Mexican food did not have to be accompanied by a tortilla, and a ton of carbs to boot. I had a plan.
I thought "let's combine the two big deals in our house into something that keeps the whole family happy." And so, the Chicken Egg White Enchilada was born.
Instead of scrambling my usual egg whites, I let them cook like an omelet, flipping over half way to create a "tortilla." As long as you use enough egg whites, they cook up nice and thick and are the perfect vessel to hold in all the saucy goodness.
Speaking of filling, it's super simple! Mix up some onions, tomatoes, some spices (for the BAM!) and a little frozen corn and pulled chicken. Pop 'er in the egg whites, roll it up, cover it with above mentioned saucy goodness…and cheese. Don't forget about the cheese. It's a key playa'.
Just like that, your dinner, or breakfast, is done.
And, guess what? You won't even miss the tortilla. These enchiladas pleased both my breakfast and Mexican food loving husband AND my breakfast and healthy food loving self.
I could even go out on a limb and call them a fiesta for your taste buds?
Too much?
Ingredients
- 1 boneless skinless chicken breast, shredded (about 1 cup)
- 2 cups egg whites
- 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 small onion, chopped (about 1/4 cup)
- 1/2 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup fire roasted tomatoes, blended in a food processor
- 3 tablespoons salsa
- 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/8 teaspoon cumin
- 1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper, optional
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1/4 cup corn, if frozen, thawed
- 1/2 cup reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese
- 3/4 cup enchilada sauce
For the Avocado Crema: - 1/4 cup avocado, about half a large avocado
- 1/4 cup plain greek non fat yogurt
- salt and pepper, to taste
Directions
For the Enchiladas:
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the chicken breast until it is no longer pink inside, about 15-20 minutes. Using two forks, shred the chicken and set aside to cool.
- Preheat your oven to 400°F and spray a small baking dish (mine was 6x8) with cooking spray, set aside.
- Spray a small, non-stick, frying pan with cooking spray and heat on high. Once hot, turn down the heat to medium/low and slowly pour 1/2 cup of liquid egg whites in, covering with a tight fitting lid. Cook until the top of the whites are just set and slightly bubbly (about 2-3 minutes). Remove the lid, carefully flip the egg whites and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, or until the "tortilla" is cooked. Slide onto a plate and repeat with the remaining 1 1/2 cup egg whites.
- While the egg whites are cooking, heat the 1/2 Tablespoon oil in a large pan on medium/high heat. Cook the chopped onion and garlic until soft, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in the blended tomatoes, salsa, chili powder, cumin, paprika and red pepper flakes, if using. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
To Assemble:
- Take one egg white "tortilla" and place 2 Tablespoons of the tomato sauce in a line along the bottom portion. Top with 1 Tablespoon of the thawed corn and 1/4 cup of shredded chicken. Roll up tightly and place in the prepared baking dish, securing with a toothpick if needed. Repeat for the remaining enchiladas.
- Pour the enchiladas sauce evenly over the dish and top with the grated cheese.
- Bake until the cheese is melted, 8-10 minutes.
- While the enchiladas bake, add the avocado and Greek yogurt into a small food processor, and blend until well combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Serve the enchiladas hot with the avocado crema and cilantro.
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Awesome!!
08.23.10 12:46PMThat's a lot more fiddly than my method. I microwave the milk for 5 minutes, then check to see if a skin has formed. If no, then I go in one minute increments until it happens. Let the milk sit on the counter for about fifteen minutes in a metal bowl to cool to a bit above room temperature. Fish out the skin with a spoon (and eat! Yum!), whisk in a couple of tablespoons of the last batch of yogurt, strain (maybe, if I feel like it), and put it in the oven overnight. Let it sit for 8-12 hours. Done. No preheating, risk of scorching, wrapping, thermometers, or anything of that sort required.
Also, the best yogurt is made with barely pasteurized or raw milk if you can find it. And if you use non-homogenized milk you get this fantastic cream top that can be stirred in and seems to make it more creamy and delicious.
08.23.10 12:48PMMy one attempt at making yogurt at home wasn't a wild success - and the amount of energy (and time!) used to heat the milk and incubate the yogurt made me seriously question the cost-savings.
Don't get me wrong - I'm a rabid DIYer who cans tomatoes from her garden, bakes bread from scratch, etc - but unless you're using cheap homogenized milk, I don't see how this is time or cost effective.
08.23.10 12:51PMI sort of agree that this is one of the more "fiddly" recipes - although, I've seen some that go into great detail! Frankly, I learned to make yogurt with a friend from Afghanistan and it was a super-easy, no-monitoring, no-stress way to do it.
I just whole milk in in a heavy pot (I use a LeCreuset dutch oven) until bubbles slightly break on the edge (~just before boiling), let it cool "until the tip of your pinky, when dipped, feels warm to the touch" (quite technical) - stir in some plain yogurt (few scoops/ about 1/2 c) and then I just wrap the whole thing in a huge bath towel and let it sit in the oven (off) for the day or overnight. It's always worked for me - maybe if I were using raw milk, I'd use a "real" recipe to be sure I wasn't throwing it down the drain later on!
It's so easy that I hardly think about the time it takes to heat, cool, stir & sit.
08.23.10 1:03PMI'm all for DIY methods but this seems like a lot of work for saving only 75 cents.
08.23.10 1:21PMHuh, just for the record -- I think you guys may be confusing "fiddly" with precise. This isn't any more fussy than most other methods online; Emma just went to the trouble to give actual temperatures and times.
People often complain about homemade yogurt being too thin; this precision helps get the thick yogurt most people prefer.
08.23.10 1:34PMI've been making yogurt from a local dairy for quite a while. I follow the "recipe" from A Year Of Slow Cooking, and along with the 1/2 C. of starter yogurt, I add 1/4C. dry milk powder (NOT instant!), as I then strain it in a Donvier Yogurt Cheese maker. It's pretty convenient to just keep straining out the whey in the container. There's a more "pure" taste when you make it yourself - or maybe it's just my imagination! I just love it!
08.23.10 1:41PMOh, I forgot to mention that I use a Crock Pot.
It just doesn't get much easier!
The recipe I've been using calls for the addition of some dry milk powder to the heated milk. I don't know what the purpose of this is, perhaps the extra denatured milk proteins helps the yogurt set better ? A French colleague routinely uses half and half for his yogurt - seriously good stuff and distinctly detrimental to the waistline.
08.23.10 1:46PMSwitch on the oven light and it will stay warmer.
08.23.10 1:55PMI've been wanting to do this for a few years. I cook lots of Indian food and go through a quart or more of yogurt a week. May finally give it a try, as this sounds really easy.
08.23.10 2:05PMWow, I had no idea - making yogurt always seemed really intimidating to me but after I read through the directions I think it's totally manageable! thanks!
08.23.10 2:09PMI've been meaning to try this - we eat more than a quart of yogurt a week, sometimes, it seems - and with fall on the way, I'm much more likely to turn on the stove and oven (incubator). Bookmarked for later!
08.23.10 3:20PMif it fails to set, which happens to me occasionally in the winter, you can actually warm it up again and add in more yogurt. a dried red chili pepper added on top helps too.
my method is simple too. i microwave the milk until it boils, let it cool down to 115 degrees, stir in 2 tb of yogurt and leave it in the microwave or oven (turned off) over night.
08.23.10 3:29PMWow-I love this post! I didn't know you could just save 1/2 cup from your homemade yogurt to make another batch--I thought you had to keep buying the commercial kind to get it going. Great news!
08.23.10 3:39PMI also use my microwave to heat the milk, however I have a different method for incubating it: I leave my yoghurt jars (usually mason jars) overnight in a small cooler with about an inch of warm water.
Occasionally it's not yet set by the next morning, but a couple of additional hours always do the trick.
The beauty of this method is that the cooler can be placed out of the way (I leave mine outside) where it won't be accidently disturbed.
08.23.10 4:10PMWhat about making soy yoghurt or other non-dairy yoghurt at home. Same basics?
08.23.10 5:10PMHmm, I agree with Faith. I've been making my own yogurt for quite a long time now and none of the methods mentioned here are any more or less "fiddly" than any other.
We're all doing essentially the same thing but some rely on visual cues or tactile ones and some like the accuracy of a thermometer. And clearly making yogurt is a very flexible process since you can get it done with a thermos, a cooler, a slow cooker, an oven, a heating pad, or a dedicated yogurt maker.
Also, I just read that if you use whole organic ultra-pasteurized milk with a yogurt maker you can successfully make yogurt without ever heating the milk. Pour the milk in with the yogurt and place in yogurt maker. I can't vouch for this method but I'm trying it soon.
08.23.10 5:26PMIn my experience you can use your last batch of yogurt to start the new one, but only for a couple times...I think there are fewer bacteria in each successive batch, maybe? Anyway, I haven't had much luck using my old yogurt over and over.
Also, I put the inoculated milk into pint mason jars, and then submerge them in a big pot of warm water on the stove. I put a steamer basket in the bottom of the pot and stick a thermometer in. When the water temp drops below 95 degrees I turn the burner on for a minute. I only have to do that a few times during the culturing process. This way I can make 4 or 5 pints of yogurt at a time, and because they're sealed until I open them I think they stay fresher longer.
08.23.10 7:33PMmmm... what if you want to make vanilla yogurt? just scrape the seeds from a vanilla bean into the milk while it's reaching the 200f? or mix it when you had the yogurt and send it to the oven?
08.24.10 8:38AMYou can also heat the milk and the yogurt in a crock pot for two hours, then turn off the crockpot, wrap in a towel, and let sit overnight. I did this for a few weeks, but I ultimately decided that the time and dishwashing wasn't worth 75 cents
08.24.10 11:05AMI've been making homemade yogurt for years not so much because of any cost savings, but because just it tastes so much better and provides more active cultures. Most commercial yogurts aren't incubated/cultured properly and then need fillers to make them thick. To get a thick yogurt that is also full of all the beneficial cultures and nearly lactose free to boot (the cultures eat the milk sugars), the trick is keeping right temperature during the incubating. If it's too cool the yogurt will come out watery and sour. Between 105-110º it will be thick, creamy and sweet. I found that wrapping a heating pad on low around a glass canister (or mason jar) and leaving it overnight keeps a consistent temperature and works perfectly every time.
08.24.10 11:12AMMy dad did this for several years going through a gallon a week. He placed his atop the fridge with a warmed blanket wrapped around it. That was when our now 40-year old kids were babies. The first words out of my nephew's mouth were, "More 'ogurt, mama." He dropped the practice for several years but when he contracted a rare stomach viral infection he started making and eating it again. The bug had plagued him for weeks, going un- and misdiagnosed. Within days of eating yogurt again the virus was gone.
08.24.10 11:14AMThis is basically the recipe I use successfully except that I incubate mine overnight on a heating pad (I put it in the crock from my crockpot and wrap it in a beach towel). I usually incubate for at least 8 hours, sometimes 10. I've also found that my previous batch gives varying results as a starter, so I usually buy a fresh cup of yogurt to start every new batch. It's very disappoint to wake up and find that your batch didn't yogurtify because your starter was too weak!
08.24.10 1:36PMyou can just put it in the oven with the light on. you don't need to actually turn the oven on. i think that's what's throwing people and making them think it's hard.
08.26.10 2:26AMI think people are missing the point here. The point is not to save money, it's to play with something that may seem unobtainable to others. I never knew how to make yogurt before, and well, now I know. And hey, if I can save a few pennies here and there along the way, awesome. And when you think about saving .75 cents, PLUS not having to buy a yogurt maker? you're definitely coming out ahead.
08.28.10 9:37AMA biologist's perspective:
The purpose of heating the milk is to kill unwanted bacteria or fungal spores - so then your yogurt inoculation will supply the right type of bacteria, and only those will grow.
Bacteria growth rates will depend on temperature and nutrients -- this is why some people like the precision of controlled temperatures and times.
Heating can change protein structure, but generally this leads to curdling, which is not what you want here.
The bottom line is that there are many methods, all of which potentially work. My entire youth (1970s) I made yogurt for the family using a yogurt maker. I eat Nancy's yogurt, which is great, but this post makes me long for homemade.
Everybody - its easy and cheap --lets all just try it!
09.01.10 8:01PMI just made yogurt for the first time ever, following this technique with outstanding success. I appreciated the precise instructions; would not have had the confidence to attempt it otherwise. After chilling the yogurt I also drained it overnight for a super thick, Greek-style result. Fantastic!
09.02.10 11:12AMI visited a friend who served me homemade yogurt, but when I asked her how she just said that she leaves whole milk in a jar overnight. It tasted like yogurt, was a little more runny than the American stuff, and didn't make me sick. But before I try it myself, is this a safe method to make yogurt?
09.02.10 10:47PMDoes anyone know how to flavor the yogurt with vanilla? The extract will kill the bacteria. I've been trying to figure out how to do this.
09.11.10 9:36PMI posted this somewhere else but maybe this is the more appropriate place. I'm only ending up with 16 oz per 1/2 gallon of milk. How are you getting it so thick and not having to pour off/strain off any whey?
08.22.11 11:00PMI make mine in a thermos, the kind you use to keep coffee warm. Lo-tech.
01.20.12 1:09PMJust purchased a yogurt maker on Amazon and now I can make homemade organic yogurt as well as goat yogurt.
04.01.12 4:31PMI just made this recipe exactly as instructed. For the 'incubation' I put it in a bowl that would fit in my crock pot (with warm water in the crock pot) and turned it on warm every now and then for a few minutes. I tasted it at 4 hours as the recipe says and ..... drum roll.... loved it!!! This is my first time making yogurt and I'm ecstatic with the taste and the silky texture. It tastes far better than any I've ever had store bought. I used Dean's whole milk and Voskos Greek Yogurt with honey vanilla bean. Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe! I'll be making yogurt from now on!
04.20.12 3:34AMi'm woeking my third batch right now. what an amazingly easy and valuable guide. i create a homemade double boiler using an inverted metal plate in the lower pot to separate the cooking pot from the direct heat.
it takes about an hour to get the milk up to around 185/190° farenheit and then a couple/three hours to cool to 115°. if i let it go too long, it's easy enough to raise the temperature back to 115°.
i then pull a cup or so of the warm milk and do the whisk thing, using 6 oz or so from the last batch for the primer. i insulate the pot with a couple of towels and throw it in the lighted oven, setting the timer for six hours.
to consume, i mix in blueberry jam and prune butter (leave space at the top of your individual jars and you can eat it just like you'd eat dannon) and stir it up well. today, i tried lime curd from dickenson's. awesomeness defined!
05.06.12 2:52PMFor those who say that this is too much work to only save a few cents... you have to look at the big picture. You are making this yogurt fresh and you know what ingredients went into it, how clean your equipment was, etc. Personally, I love Greek yogurt but it's expensive in those little containers. Also, I hate the idea of those glued on foil lids. What do they use to glue them to the plastic containers? Whatever they use, the glue ends up in the yogurt.
06.28.12 6:53PMPersonally, if I could make this the way that I wanted, I would use fresh cow's milk from a farmer and buy some dried yogurt cultures. But the laws in this state do not allow farmers to sell their milk from their cows to buyers. Instead, we have to buy it as a plastic slurry in plastic cartons at the stores where it only lasts a few days. In cardboard milk lasts longer, but the cardboard is full of chemicals too. I try to stay away from chemicals and plastics as much as I can, I grow a garden--no fertilizers or pesticides, etc. But you can't escape plastics, it is everywhere, even in your carpet, bedding, and storage containers. Sorry to get on my soapbox...
I don't think of this so much as a "savings" issue as a "knowing what goes into my food" issue.
07.21.12 10:22PMIf you like Greek yogurt which I do, and where I live it's $5.68 plus tax for a QUART!!!!! A gallon of 2% milk is around $3.08 Walmart brand, Yes, hate store bought milk, but if you only have to pay that one time fee for a 1/2 cup store bought UNSWEETENED yogurt starter, and $.75 cents for a Qt. of milk which makes your yogurt cost .75 cents compared to $5.60 your not saving .75 cents!!!!! your saving $4.85. I add about a 1/2 cup of half and half, Fat by the way doesn't make fat, Processed white sugar, flour, fake fat, like oil heated to over 200 degrees which turns into plastic makes fat. Yogurt if done right, gives you all the necessary Bacteria you need to eat all the unhealthy sugars you might eat that make bad bacteria that put toxins in your blood AND bad bacteria will make all your sugars grow and cause yeast toxins which will cause you to bloat and get sick twice as fast. Also what you might keep in mind is store bought yogurt with tons of sugar and boiled fruit is not good and counter productive. If you like it sweet, add some Organic Raw Unpasteurized Honey, and fresh or frozen fruit. YUM. So the health benefits of yogurt far outweigh the time of making it. Oh and I used to work at Nancy's yogurt and I loved their yogurt!!!! Proud to work for them.
07.23.12 4:14PMFirst of all, I thought it was a great tutorial. Second, if she wanted to get even more for her buck, she could first use the whey to make ricotta, then she could use the whey leftover after that to make gjetost, a Norwegian cheese. now its not a savings of 70 cents, but worth 10 dollars or more!
05.17.13 10:51PMYUM and super easy!! I had been buying greek yogurt at a steep price for several years before I saw this. Over the past 3 weeks, I have made two batches and wowed the man in my life when he tasted the final product (foodies, we are). The second batch I made during the day and let it sit for about 8 hours, it turned out nice and tangy and smooth. I've been straining it after it cools to get a thicker consistency. I love this!! I can get a gallon of milk for a bit less than $2.00, use half of it for yogurt and the rest for the kid to drink and what not, loving saving money and having better tasting food!
06.20.13 1:03PMI decided to make this at 10pm on a Friday night (I'm impulsive) and it was soo simple!
The recipe sounds more complicated than it is. Boil milk, cool, add yogurt, throw in pre-warmed oven! Because it was my first time making yogurt I sweated over each step, but I quickly realized it wasn't a difficult recipe. I could make it from memory now.
I checked on my yogurt after 4 hours (waking up at 4am to do so) and decided it could sit longer (I had added 2 T. of sugar and 1/2 T. of vanilla extract to the milk during the cooling process and found the yogurt needed more tang to balance the vanilla and sugar). I accidentally slept through my 2nd alarm and to my amazement the yogurt was still perfect after sitting for 10 HOURS!!
I chilled it and decided why not go the extra step of straining the yogurt? This, I think, is what makes it divine. After straining the yogurt it is soo creamy and smooth. The taste and texture was like a whole-milk greek yogurt but I only used 2% milk and non-fat yogurt to start. Definitely a winning recipe with bragging points.
01.29.14 3:56PMI wanted to learn making yogurt after i got to taste some delicious homemade yogurt at my friends place.... it tasted exceptional --thicker and silker... she told me the secret was to make it from scratch to finish in a natural clay pot. She got some from MEC pure-clay pots (http://ift.tt/1iCZxOM)... It was very easy to prepare and no other gadgets needed. I ordered some pots too.. waiting for them to get here so i can make my own.
01.30.14 11:28AMYogurt is definitely one of the healthy food. I recommend its homemade, because you know what in it when its home made. I regularly prepare it at home in a clay pot that I bought from MEC pure clay cookware. When prepared in clay pots it's much more healthier and all the goodness of the yogurt is stored in unlike the store bought ones. Google MEC clay pots and you'll find them.
01.31.14 9:57AMI had a friend who always did everything beautifully and seemingly without any effort. She used to heat the milk, then cool it down add the yogurt. Then she'd put the whole thing in a lovely vintage thermos flask with a woven straw exterior. It always came out perfectly.
But I suppose any thermos flask that you could really clean would work.
04.29.14 12:10PMI make whole milk yogurt a least once a week for the last three years. I use a seven jar eurocusine machine. I have found that organic milk works best. I wonder if antibiotics in non organic milk keeps it from making a good thick yogurt.
04.29.14 12:14PM