By request, “Worlds Greatest Chicken Enchiladas”

Sorry it has been so long since my last post, but things have been very hectic lately.  I will try and do a few post this week.

A lot of you have at some point tasted my chicken enchiladas, and have then asked for the recipe.  I have never actually written anything down before, and have always just kind of winged it while making them.  Here is my first attempt at a real recipe for everyone that wants to make them at home.  I hope you enjoy them!  Let me know how they turn out.

Ingredients:4 table spoons olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

3 small cans of chopped green chilis

2 small cans of sliced black olives, or 1 small can of chopped black olives

2 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 bunch of chopped fresh cilantro, or a lot of dried cilantro

1 large container of sour cream

2 jars (same size as the regular red salsa) of green salsa, or you can use green sofrito (you’ll need at least three jars of sofrito)

4-6 chicken breast – boiled

10 pack large flour tortillas

at least 2 cups shredded cheese (usually 4 cheese blend mexican)

1. Heat oil in large cooking pot
2. Add onion, spices, olives, and chilis to oil, turn heat down low
3. Shred boiled chicken by hand and add to pot with spices
4. allow to simmer over low heat for at least ten minutes, you may want to add a little additional olive oil to keep the chicken from drying out
5. combine sour cream and green salsa in mixing bowl
6. get a large backing dish, coat inside with pam or oil
7. take one large flour tortilla, place on plate and scoop a serving of chicken/spice mixture onto tortilla, take a tablespoon of salsa/sourcream mixture inside and roll up tortilla, place in baking dish
8. repeat until all chicken/spice mix is gone
9. take the remaining salsa/sourcream mixture and pour over enchiladas in the baking dish
10. top it off with shredded cheese
11. bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes, or until cheese starts to brown…
12. Enjoy!

Consistency, A Key Ingredient to Long-Term Success

I love going to Freeport, Grand Bahama.  It’s not overcrowded, or overpriced, and generally speaking, the locals are much more friendly there than they are in Nassau. 

Michelle and I have been there several times this past year, most recently to celebrate our anniversary, and have started to learn our way around the island pretty well.  The first place we have always gone is Billy Joe’s.  The locals call it Joe Billy’s, and it is a little open air shack on the edge of the Port Lucaya Resort, right on the ocean.  We found out about it on our first visit to the island through a cab driver, and fell in love with it right away.  Their conch salad was made right in front of you, the conch still squirming as fresh lime was being squeezed over it right before it was cut up and placed in your bowl.  They had grilled lobster tails, starting at $12, that were a treat at any time of the day, and they made sure they had hamburgers and hot-dogs for the younger ones.  All of this with some icy cold Corona’s or Kalik’s, and the proximity to the ocean, created the feeling of being in paradise.  This spot was the main reason we went back so often. 

Over the past couple of years we noticed some minor changes to Billy Joe’s.  A new menu board, a paint job, and Big John the one-man band started playing there daily.  All of this was a bonus, because the core product remained in-tact.  Prices had gone up marginally, but not to the point where we felt like we were being taken advantage of because we were tourist.  

This past visit, all of those great memories and feeling’s for the place were blown away.  The prices of the food had almost doubles since our last visit in May.  The cheapest Lobster tail was $20, and when I got one it was smaller than the shrimp I had for dinner the night before.  Michelle got the conch salad, and instead of being the treat it usually was, there was a lot of the scrap meat included in the salad that is normally cut off, and when not removed, makes the salad hard to enjoy.  While service at Joe Billy’s is usually slow, there is no real rush, this time it took over thirty minutes to get a beer and a Pina Colada. 

We left after our first visit, and instead of returning every day for lunch as is our usual custom, we did not return until our last day, just to give them one more chance to redeem themselves.  They did not.  Now, instead of Joe Billy’s we will find another spot, maybe on another island, to dream about when we need to get away for a long weekend.

I spoke to our cab driver about Joe Billy’s on our way to the airport, and he said that he had heard the same complaint from many other visitors recently.  It seems that they have become complacent in their business, taking for granted that there location will drive them a steady stream of business.  While this is partially true, it does not guarantee them a long future.  Travelers now have the advantage of sites like tripadvisor.com  where they can read reviews of local attractions, and a few bad reviews later, Joe Billy’s will be in trouble.

Contrast this experience at Joe Billy’s with a visit to Starbucks.  Doesn’t matter which one, choose any state, any location (strip mall, airport, kiosk), and your experience is always the same.  Same greeting, same service, same quality… I’m not saying that Starbucks has the best coffee in the world (I think Dunkin Donuts is better), but my expectation of what I will get when I walk in that door is met every time.  I have never been disappointed by a trip to Starbucks.  That is exactly what we consumers look for in a product.  No surprises, just consistency.

A great product offering will win you customers, but a lack of consistency will not earn you the repeat business that will ensure your success.  Only through consistent service and quality can you be sure to keep the customers you work so hard to attract.