COOKING THURSDAY ~ GRILLED CHICKEN ENCHILADAS ~ BLOG 365. 267C

Cheesy, savory, ooey gooey, sweet and spicy and more importantly super easy to prepare make these chicken enchiladas comfort food that will leave you craving more! Grilling the meat and cooking enchiladas directly on the grill adds a smokey flavor that’s hard to resist.

Make the filling your own by adding fire roasted corn, black beans or ????

GRILLED CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

1 pounds chicken thighs
2 tablespoons taco seasoning
8-10 flour taco sized tortillas
2 cups red chile enchilada sauce
2 cups shredded cheese Mexican blend
Sour cream, for serving
Chopped cilantro, for serving
FRESH cut lime wedges, for serving
FRESH crumbled
Cotija cheese, for serving

  • Season both sides of the chicken thighs with taco seasoning.  

  • Heat grill to 450° direct heat. 
  • Grill chicken 4-5 minutes per side getting a good sear on each side until cooked through.
    Once the chicken is off the grill and has rested 5-10 minutes, chop it up into very small pieces.

  • In a large bowl, mix together the chopped chicken, half of the shredded cheese and 1 1/4 cups of the enchilada sauce.
  • Add a spoonful of the grilled chicken filling to each tortilla and roll it up. 
  • Spread 1/4 cup enchilada sauce on bottom of baking pan.
  • Place each piece seam side down onto sauce.
    Spread any extra filling over the the enchiladas.  

  • Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over top.
  • Generously cover with remaining shredded cheese.

  • Lower heat and place pan on the grill cooking 20-25 minutes until sauce bubbles and cheese is completely melted and golden brown.
  • Serve with garnishes.

NOTE:

  • Green sauce easily substitutes for the red sauce. Sometimes we use a combination of both sauces 🙂
  • Chicken thighs make for a juicier texture.

COOKING THURSDAY ~ SMOKEY BAKED BEANS ~ BLOG 365.267B

SMOKEY BAKED BEANS

1/2 pound bacon, chopped into small pieces
1 medium onion, FINELY chopped
2 cloves garlic, FINELY minced
2 cans navy beans, drained and rinsed
12 ounce can dark beer
1/2 cup plain ketchup (jalapeno flavor optional)
1 tablespoon chili powder
Pinch cayenne pepper
1/4 cup PACKED brown sugar

  • Heat a LARGE deep skillet over medium heat.
  • Add bacon, cooking JUST until turning crispy.
  • Add onion and garlic, sautéing 2-3 minutes.
  • Stir in beer, ketchup, brown sugar, chili powder and cayenne pepper until well mixed.
  • Fold in beans.
  • Simmer 15 minutes or so until sauce thickens and clings to the beans.

COOKING THURSDAY ~ BLUEBERRY BOUNTY CAKE ~ BLOG 365.267A

From grams old magazine scraps I found a recipe for Blueberry Bounty cake. I wondered where the term “BOUNTY” came from and going down the rabbit hole I found that the “BOUNTY” description comes from the moist, golden, butter rich cake packed tightly with a generous “bounty” of FRESH juicy blueberries!

BLUEBERRY BOUNTY CAKE
CAKE
1 1/2 cups butter (3 sticks), softened
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 LARGE eggs
1 tablespoon lemon zest (grated peel)
2 teaspoons PURE vanilla extract
3 cups CAKE flour
2 /12 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup lemonade
1 1/2 cups FRESH small wild blueberries

  • Preheat oven to 350°.
  • In a large bowl beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
  • Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
  • Mix in lemon zest and vanilla.
  • Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
  • Add flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with lemonade, beating well.
  • Gently fold in blueberries.
  • Pour into a greased and floured tube pan.
  • Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
  • Cool 20 minutes before removing from pan and cool.

SAUCE
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 cup sugar
Juice of 1 LARGE lemon + enough water to make 1/4 cup
1 cup FRESH small wild blueberries

  • In a small saucepan, combine cornstarch and sugar.
  • Stir in lemon juice and water until smooth.
  • Add blueberries and bring to a SLOW boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook until thickened.
  • Serve warm with cake.

NOTES:

  • Cake flour will make a lighter, fluffier cake. But in a pinch, you can use AP flour instead of cake flour. Make sure to remove 2 tablespoons from each cup.
  • If using frozen berries, DO NOT THAW!! Toss frozen berries with a bit of cake flour before folding into the batter.

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY ~ week 38 of 2026 with MENU & RECIPE LINKS ~ BLOG 365.264

Be sure to join us at Happy Homemaker Monday with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

LAST WEEK RECAPPED

GOOD MORNING I feel like I lost a HUGE chunk of time with this last trip. Coming back to a busy week was NOT ideal!! I did manage to get the laundry done and was “forced” to glean the garden with the weather change, not to mention the massive amount of rain they had while we were gone. If I hadn’t done the tomatoes immediately I would have lost them to rot 🙁

I’m really sorry I didn’t get around to visit everyone last week, but am hoping to get caught up this week with you all.

Hubby and our neighbor were finally able to complete a garage lighting project that makes life easier. We had some old fluorescent lights that the ballasts went out in and needed replaced because we could no longer buy bulbs for them so we decided to replace them with LEDs, but the electrical was screwy trying to hard wire in the new fixtures so they had to run new wiring etc… and it turned into an all day project. What a nice thing it is to be able to use the wall switch again instead of a pull chain and have such bright light!!

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE 

It’s official! As of tomorrow Fall is here! Our lows are already down to the 40’s and the foggy “moist” mornings are making for a seriously early late fall feel. Don’t get me wrong, I’M LOVING IT! It just changes up my chore list quite a bit.

They’re predicting an EL NINO winter for us which could hit hard and fast so we’re trying to get all the outside chores done as quickly as possible. This first week of fall should be beautiful. Highs in the mid 70’s, lows in the 40’s with some morning fog and even some rain rolling in around Friday. I’ve already pulled out some flannels for the evenings.

Here’s a handy chart for the rest of the year! You’ll notice the time change is listed as November 1st. For those of us partying on Saturday, Halloween night, might I suggest changing your clocks BEFORE you leave for the party? 🙂

TO DO, APPOINTMENTS, DVR/TV & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS, TRAVEL,  APPOINTMENTS, MENUS & DVR/TV
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING I’m actually caught up – for the moment anyway 🙂
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS I need to sit down and do a new freezer inventory and menu plan
  • PROJECTS & TRAVELS We won’t be leaving until around the middle of October again so I’m trying to get that trip planned.
  • THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY empty laundry baskets… empty dishwashers… finished chore projects… crisp fall mornings… snuggle weather…

READING TIME

LOL I’m still right where I was this time last week, MAYBE a page or 2 ahead of that, but probably not! I’ll work on progressing on THE BAKING GAMES by Rachel Hannah this week.

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

BREAKFAST is always a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt 😀

 9/21 MONDAY 9/22 TUESDAY 9/23 WEDNESDAY
9/24 THURSDAY
 9/25 FRIDAY 9/26 SATURDAY 9/27 SUNDAY
DINNER
CORN/YOYO
clean out refrigerator night or you’re on your own
CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS with SAUTEED BALSAMIC GREEN BEANS
CORN/YOYO
clean out refrigerator night or you’re on your own
MEATLOAF, FRIED POTATOES & GREEN BEANS
9-2-5 PARTY AND my friend’s birthday at the OFFYCE ~
how fun that she’ll have a permanent holiday for her birthday 
CORN/YOYO
clean out refrigerator night or you’re on your own
NEW ENGLAND CORNED BEEF & CARROTS
DESSERT
 
Di asked me to make Banana Pudding in honor of Dolly.
I found Dolly’s very own recipe that they serve at Aunt Grannys in Dollywood 🙂

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

I’m still working on cleaning up physically and virtually around here after the trip. I didn’t even get to the pictures from the trip yet as fall is hitting fast here and I needed to glean the garden before I lost what was still there. I spent Friday and Saturday doing that and making “Sunday sauce” for the freezer. We will have plenty for some yummy winter meals.

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

COOKING THURSDAY RECIPES COMING UP THIS WEEK

  • SMOKEY BAKED BEANS
  • BLUEBERRY BOUNTY CAKE  
  • GRILLED CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

COOKING THURSDAY RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

COOKING THURSDAY ~ HAWAIIAN CHICKEN BOWLS ~ BLOG 365.260D

Think beach side island vibes in paradise and this recipe will take you there! There’s something so enticing about feeling that ocean breeze and the scent of grilled chicken mixing with the tangy sweetness of pineapple dancing in the air to make you think and feel tropical warmth no matter what time of year you make this dish.

HAWAIIAN CHICKEN BOWL adapted from WEEK NIGHT DISHES 

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenders, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tablespoon avocado oil

  • In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil.
  • Add the chicken and cook3-4 minutes per side until browned on all sides and fully cooked through.
  • Remove and set aside.

1 cup canned pineapple chunks, drained and juice reserved
1/2 red onion, sliced thin, divided
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper

  • In the same skillet, add a splash of the reserved pineapple juice and toss in the pineapple chunks, half the red onion and the red bell pepper, sautéing 3–4 minutes until slightly caramelized and softened.

2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup Bragg’s liquid aminos
2 tablespoons QUALITY honey
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

  • In a small bowl, whisk together the liquid aminos, honey, garlic, ginger, 2 tablespoons of reserved pineapple juice and cornstarch until smooth.
  • Pour this into the skillet with the pineapple and veggies, stirring constantly 2-3 minutes until thickened.

2 cups cooked jasmine or brown rice
Reserved 1/2 red onion, sliced thin
1 small bunch green onions, sliced
Thinly shredded carrots, for garnish
Chopped parsley, for garnish
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, for garnish

  • 
Return the chicken to the pan and stir to coat with the sauce.
  • Simmer for another minute or two, letting all the flavors come together.

  • Scoop warm rice into bowls.
  • Top with the chicken-pineapple mixture.
  • Sprinkle with green onions, reserved red onion slices and sesame seeds if desired.

NOTES:

  • I often substitute Yakisoba noodles for the rice.
  • I also like to use tenders and cook them before cutting into chunks.