Chicken Enchiladas
I’ve tried a few different enchilada recipes. I definitely prefer a red sauce over green sauce. This recipe evolved using a few things from those base recipes, with my own couple of additions. And like much of my cooking, it’s an overall guideline that can be easily played with depending on what you have on hand or what flavor you might be in the mood for that day.
Here’s what you need…
1 pound cooked, shredded chicken
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic
1, 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
4-6 tablespoons season-all
2 cups shredded cheese
1 cup frozen corn
8, taco size flour tortillas
For the chicken, you can start with uncooked chicken and cook.. either in a skillet… grill it or whatever… the last few times I just get a deli rotisserie chicken and let it cool, then pull the meat off and shred it up by hand.
Take the tomatoes and puree in a blender or food processor. The fire-roasted tomatoes add a bit of extra flavor. Mix in the season-all - how much you put in is up to your own tastes. Start out with about 4 tablespoons and taste test to get what’s good for you. If you want to add extra kick, add some extra cayenne pepper. And if the tomatoes are a bit on the bitter side, toss in some sugar, bout a teaspoon or so.
Mince up the onion and garlic, sautee the onion for a couple minutes in a bit of olive oil, add the garlic and sautee for another minute or so and then add the tomato puree and simmer for a few minutes. Add a bit of water to thin it out if it is looking too much like tomato paste. I actually used some V8 to thin it out last time I made some.
Once the sauce has simmered a bit, mix about 1/4-1/2 cup of the sauce with the chicken, 1 cup of the shredded cheese, and the frozen corn, mix it all up in a bowl. You should end up with about 4 cups of chicken mixture at this point. On the cheese side, my personal fave is colby-montery jack mix. Go for cheddar or whatever you like if you want.
If you don’t want to, or don’t have time to make the sauce, use a large can of store-bought enchilada sauce.
Preheat your oven to 350, and spray some non-stick spray in a 9×12 baking dish.
Take the tortillas, 4 at a time, put them on a plate and microwave for 30 seconds. Scoop about 1/2 cup of the chicken mixture along the middle of a tortilla and roll it up, putting them in a row in the baking dish. Repeat with the other 4 tortillas, all 8 should fit snuggly in the pan. Spoon the rest of the sauce over the top of enchiladas, followed by the rest of the cheese. Pop this in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is nice and bubbly.
Seve with a dollop of sour cream and a bit of hot sauce on top, and some shredded lettuce lightly sprinkled with a bit of cider vinegar. Then maybe add a side of refried or black beans and some chips and salsa. This makes four servings. Store leftovers covered in the fridge for a few days, they re-heat fairly well.
Tags: cheese, chicken, corn, diced tomatoes, garlic, onion, salsa, season-all, sour cream, tortillas