Chicken Enchiladas - 5 stars

these were by far the best enchiladas i have ever made! and there is no dairy in the dish above! :) (i made a separate dish for tony with real dairy though.)

the only thing that was bad was that it took longer than i expected to assemble and bake the enchiladas. this was meal # 2 from the stressful week of time consuming meals.

i used the leftover shredded chicken from the taco soup meal to make these. i sauteed some red onion and garlic, then added a can of stewed tomatoes, a cup of frozen corn kernels (thawed), a can of chopped green chiles, a couple chopped chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, and some cumin and sea salt. once that was all simmered together, i added the chicken to the pan.

i tried something new when assembling these enchiladas. i like to use corn tortillas in my enchiladas, if possible, because flour have so many more calories and grams o' fat - and they're so much more processed than corn. in the past, however, the corn tortillas always cracked, and they tasted dry. when i made these enchiladas, i warmed the tortillas up first, dipped them in the enchilada sauce, put the shredded chicken filling in them, and rolled them up. warming the tortillas up and dipping them in the sauce completely changed the dish for the better! and only one or two of the tortillas cracked out of the 20 or so that i rolled.

to finish it off, i dumped a can of green enchilada sauce over the top, covered that with shredded cheese and popped them in the oven until they were gooey and bubbling.

instead of making guacamole or pico de gallo to serve with them, i made a combo of the two - hunks of avocado, red onion, fresh tomato and fresh cilantro tossed with some sea salt and fresh lime juice. i shredded some iceberg lettuce and had that on the side as well. soooo good!

the recipe that i based this off of is below, just in case you would like to make something similar. :)

Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 pounds skinless boneless chicken breast
• Salt and pepper
• 2 teaspoons cumin powder
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon Mexican Spice Blend
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup frozen corn, thawed
• 5 canned whole green chiles, seeded and coarsely chopped
• 4 canned chipotle chiles, seeded and minced
• 1 (28-ounce) can stewed tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon all-purpose flour
• 16 corn tortillas
• 1 1/2 cups enchilada sauce, canned
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar and Jack cheeses
• Garnish: chopped cilantro leaves, chopped scallions, sour cream, chopped tomatoes

Directions

Coat large saute pan with oil. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Brown chicken over medium heat, allow 7 minutes each side or until no longer pink. Sprinkle chicken with cumin, garlic powder and Mexican spices before turning. Remove chicken to a platter, allow to cool.

Saute onion and garlic in chicken drippings until tender. Add corn and chiles. Stir well to combine. Add canned tomatoes, saute 1 minute.

Pull chicken breasts apart by hand into shredded strips. Add shredded chicken to saute pan, combine with vegetables. Dust the mixture with flour to help set.

Microwave tortillas on high for 30 seconds. This softens them and makes them more pliable. Coat the bottom of 2 (13 by 9-inch) pans with a ladle of enchilada sauce. Using a large shallow bowl, dip each tortilla in enchilada sauce to lightly coat. Spoon 1/4 cup chicken mixture in each tortilla. Fold over filling, place 8 enchiladas in each pan with seam side down. Top with remaining enchilada sauce and cheese.

Bake for 15 minutes in a preheated 350 degree F oven until cheese melts. Garnish with cilantro, scallion, sour cream and chopped tomatoes before serving. Serve with Spanish rice and beans.

(Courtesy of Tyler Florence)