Great Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients
ENCHILADA
- 2 tbs avocado or olive oil
- 1½ lbs. chicken breasts - skinless, boneless
- salt and pepper
- 2 teaspoon cumin powder
- 2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Mexican spice blend - see note
- 1 red onion - chopped
- 2 cloves garlic - minced
- 1 cup frozen corn - thawed
- 5 canned whole chilis - seeded and coarsely chopped
- 4 canned chipotle chilis - seeded and minced
- 1 28 oz can stewed tomatoes
- ½ teaspoon all-purpose flour
- sea salt and freshly cracked pepper
- 16 corn tortillas
- 4 cups Mexican-blend shredded cheese - mild cheddar, Monterey jack, queso quesadilla, asadero cheeses
- 1½ cups enchilada sauce - Authentic, Quick Easy, or store bought
OPTIONAL TOPPINGS
- fresh cilantro
- chopped tomatoes
- scallion - chopped
- sliced or diced avocado
- sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare your enchilada sauce.
- Coat large sauté 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.
- Sauté onion and garlic in chicken drippings until tender. Add corn and chiles. Stir well to combine. Add canned tomatoes, sauté 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 ¼ cup chicken mixture in each tortilla, top with a handful of Mexican cheese mix, 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.
Notes
- You can make the beans from scratch or Rosarita Brand Refried Beans are easy and excellent.
- If you don't want to go through the effort of making your own enchilada sauce (although it's worth it), there are many great canned and packaged ones available at the market. My favorite is Frontera available at Whole Foods.
- A roux is both a seasoning and a thickener, and the longer a roux is cooked, the darker and more flavorful it becomes.
- Mexican Spice Blend - https://robslittlekitchen.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=1331&action=edit