Tweaked Chicken Enchiladas

Old Mother Hubbard
went to her cupboard
to get her poor doggy a bone.
But when she got there
the cupboard was bare
and so her doggy got none.

We have all had the Old Mother Hubbard moments when we stare into the pantry and wait for inspiration to hit only to find slim pickins' in the inspirational food supply. We've all heard, too, the plaintive cry, "There is nothing to eat!" from the family....what they are really saying is, "There is nothing easy already made just for me to eat."

Such was my experience early this morning when, on a writing break, I contemplated dinner for tonight. Sunday I made a large lasagna. We had it for dinner with our friends and I sent lunch the next day with my Honey. Still, I had one half the lasagna, so I divided it into two healthy meal size packages for two and put it in the freezer for another time. No matter how much he liked the lasagna, my Honey's appreciation for it would have waned quickly had I served it again now.

I made chicken and dumplings for dinner last night. Being the self-proclaimed Queen of Food Tweaked a Bit, I used the ricotta cheese mixture I had left over from making the lasagna in lieu of milk in the chicken and dumplings. It worked like a charm. I didn't add it until the dumplings were done so as not to over cook the ricotta and the result was a rich stock base. I'll remember that trick.

My Honey claims to have been traumatized as a kid by his mother making a month's worth of meneudo at a time and having to eat it until it was gone. Most mothers, at one time or another, have gone overboard on something and the family starts to revolt when it is served again!! With my mother, it was pinto beans. I say all that to say there is nothing wrong with serving leftovers but it goes much better with the family if it doesn't look the same every time. Shake it up, change the presentation, use the leftovers but serve it in a new way. I learned this a long time ago. We cannot afford to waste food and none of us are too good to eat leftover foods. Thus my determination to find ways to use common foods in new ways. Tweak them a bit, don't you know.

I had an idea of how to use the leftover chicken and dumplings, I'm going to make chicken enchiladas from them. I thought about making a different kind of stew by adding veggies but that would be more like the presentation used last night when served in a bowl. I stood and looked into my pantry and nothing jumped out at me so I came back to my desk thinking about how I would have used leftover chicken...then the flash of brilliance, chicken enchiladas. Hmmm....this might be tricky but I believe it can be done!

Then I pondered the ingredients needed for enchiladas. Tortillas - check. Mexican cheese - nope, but I do have some awesome Vermont white cheddar and let's not forget the dumpling stock already has the ricotta, so I think I make that work. Green chilies - nope but I do have some chilies from my garden, both hot and mild that will be a sufficient substitute and add some color.

Here's my plan...I'll drain the chicken and dumplings from the stack base and heat the base in a pot while I shred the chicken. Then I'll chop the dumplings up and mix them with the shredded chicken. I used a thinned rolled dumpling this time so it should work out better than if I had used biscuits or made a softer dumpling. I'll dice of the peppers, adding some to the chicken mixture and some to the stock. I'll also add some of the cheese and diced onion to the chicken mixture. From there things go back to normal enchilada preparations.

Unless I tell him or he reads this post, my Honey will probably not know the enchiladas were made from chicken and dumplings. As long as it works and turns out well, he wouldn't care anyway but the whole idea is to use our food supply efficiently and provide nutritious meals for the family. This is being a good steward of the blessings God has bestowed upon us. This, Friends, is Food Tweaked a Bit!!!! 

I'll let you know how it turns out.