Friday, April 18, 2008

My Chicken Enchilada recipe

Since it's been requested...I figured I'd share with the world. It's based off a Betty Crocker cookbook (that I no longer have), but with some tweaks and side dishes of my own. Enjoy it!

Ingredients:
8-12 corn tortillas
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground coriander
chili powder to taste
pepper to taste
cooking spray (or butter)
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup sour cream (light is OK)
2 cups chicken broth (low sodium)
(optional) 4oz can diced green chilis, drained - add slowly for heat/taste
1 cup of shredded monterey jack cheese (will be divided)
1 lb chicken breast, cut into small cubes
sliced olives, green onion, and diced tomato for garnish
Preheat oven to 350F.

Chicken: Spray pan with cooking spray. Cook pre-cut chicken until done inside and lightly browned. Make sure all pieces are bit sized. Sprinkle with chili powder and pepper to taste. Set aside to cool.

Sauce: In same pan, respray with cooking spray (or melt 2 tablespoons butter). Cook onion, garlic, and coriander until onion is translucent. While cooking, slowly stir flour into sour cream. Add mixture to cooked onion/garlic. Slowly stir in chicken broth with whisk. Add green chilis to taste (start with just a bit) if desired. Cook on medium heat, stiring with whisk, until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup of the moneterey cheese.

Tortillas: Either wrap tortillas in foil and heat in oven 10 minutes, or wrap in moist paper towels and microwave 1 minute to soften.

Creating the filling: Add 1/2 cup of the cheese sauce to the cooked chicken. Mix well. Lightly grease a 9"x13" baking dish. Place 1/8 to 1/4 cup of filling and a sprinkle of monterey jack cheese down the center of each tortilla and roll tightly. Put each tortilla seam side down in baking sauce. When out of filling, cover all tortillas with remaining cheese sauce - be sure to saturate all tortillas well (prevents burning).

Cover dish with foil. Bake covered for 35 minutes or until bubbly. Remove foil, sprinkle remaining monterey jack cheese on top, and return to oven until melted. Remove, sprinkle with olives, tomatoes, and scallions, and let stand 10 minutes.

Sides: Serve with "cheater" mexican rice and beans

Rice: use a white and long-grain mix, add a can of rotelle, a small amount of butter, and a dash of chili powder

Beans: Use canned dark kidney beans. Drain, and cook in a saucepan. Remove 1/2 and smash with a fork. Return to saucepan and mix well. Add 1/4 cup salsa, dash of cumin, and a sprinkle of blue cheese (really, it's the secret ingrediant). Cook until cheese is melted.

Man do I miss this dish...mmmmm...

5 comments:

Unknown said...

i'm from new mexico and chicken enchiladas are one of the things i miss most living in the northwest. i'm totally going to check out this recipe!~

TexasTesla said...

I miss Tex-Mex myself...just don't get that in Oregon. I love this receipe because you can tweak it easily to get the flavors you want. Add more chili powder and a touch of cheddar...tex-mex. More green chilis and tomatillos, new-mexico style.

The trick is finding all the ingrediants!

Bunny B said...

Mmmm... I LOVE Mexican food! Yummy!

Moodwax said...

Sounds good. Oh I love me the cheater rice!

Anonymous said...

Sounds amazing! I must try this soon. I love hearing about other people's recipes, I adore cooking