creamy chicken enchiladas party!

Mexican food is my very favorite. I love it ALL, authentic or Americanized. This recipe isn't authentic Mexican but for a small town Midwestern girl who's favorite treat growing up was going to the big city & eating at Taco Bell, anything made with tortillas equals Mexican food. These enchiladas are mild and delicious, creamy, cheesy comfort food with Mexican flavors and flair. They come together quickly if you have roasted chicken in the freezer like THIS recipe. 

At a Mexican restaurant I almost always order a ground beef taco & a cheese enchilada with rice and beans. YUM! But I could also make a meal out of chips & salsa. I want to eat Mexican food everyday! This is one of my favorite at-home Mexican meals!

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

adapted from www.allrecipes.com

ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
1/2 an onion, chopped
2 tablespoons flour
14.5 ounce can or 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
2  4 oz. cans of chopped green chiles or you can use 1 cup of fresh roasted Anaheim peppers
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
 12 (8 inch) corn tortillas
1/4  cup vegetable or canola oil for frying
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese, or more
1 cup shredded mild Cheddar cheese, or more
2 cups roasted or cooked chicken, shredded
1/2 pint heavy cream

directions

1. Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Saute the onion for a few minutes until soft. Stir in the flour. Add the broth, chiles, garlic, salt, and cumin. Simmer about 15 minutes to blend flavors. Remove from heat & stir in the cream. Set aside.

 2. In a small heavy skillet, heat the oil on medium heat & lightly fry tortillas one at a time, only for 5-10 seconds per side. I only add half the oil, fry 6 tortillas then add the other half of the oil & fry the rest. That way the first ones are overly oily with no oil at the end. You just want them to soften. If they crisp you won't be able to roll the enchiladas. Place tortillas on a paper towel lined plate as you fry each one.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C.) 

4.  Combine the cheeses and keep 1/2 cup aside for topping. 

5. Assemble enchiladas one at a time by dipping a tortilla in the green chili sauce (both sides). Place 2 heaping tablespoons chicken and 2 tablespoons cheese down the center of each; roll and place seam side down in a shallow dish. I prefer to use a large cookie sheet because I don't like my enchiladas to touch each other. If you put them in a 9x13 pan they seem to squish together and make more of a casserole where you can't really separate 1 enchilada from another.

6. After all the rolled tortillas are on the pan, spoon the additional green chili sauce over them. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese mixture.

7. Bake uncovered in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Garnish with chopped green onions, black olives, chopped tomatoes, sour cream, guacamole and salsa.

roasted chicken party!

What makes you feel like a Domestic Diva? For me, it's roasting 8 pounds of chicken breasts, then shredding & freezing the extra meat to create delicious dinners for my family. I do this every week or two & it gives me a head start on a few "busy night dinners".

After roasting, I freeze the chicken in 3 cup ziplocs, which is a great size for our family. I can easily put together a chicken pot pie, chicken chili, chicken garlic pizza, wild rice & chicken soup, chicken fettuccine alfredo or Mark just pulls some out of the freezer for a quick protein hit if he needs it. (He warms it up first!) The possibilities are endless & with the roasted chicken, half the work is already done.

You can season this up however you'd like. Today, I used kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper, dried thyme leaves, fresh chopped rosemary, garlic powder & a few shakes of cayenne pepper.

I completely understand the "I-only-buy-boneless-skinless-chicken-breasts" philosophy. I like it that way too & I buy it boneless, skinless for things like stir-fry, fajitas, chicken parm, etc. But bone-in, skin-on is soooo much tastier for roasting. The chicken turns out more flavorful, tender and moist than the boneless variety. And, oh, the smell in your house will be divine! I roast mine low & slow but you can crank up the heat for a shorter cooking time. The skin will keep it tender if you don't overcook it.

This post is more of a cooking method than a step by step recipe to follow. You can use whatever herbs & spices you like. I keep them versatile so that the roasted chicken is nicely seasoned but can be used in almost any cuisine.

Roasted Chicken

I used 8 large bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
a few sprigs of fresh rosemary, chopped
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
several shakes of cayenne pepper

1. Mix desired seasoning. Place chicken breasts on baking sheet, pat dry with a paper towel. Rub seasoning on front & back of chicken but mostly UNDER the skin.

2. Bake at 275 degrees for 2 hours or until meat thermometer measures 165 degrees.


3. Discard skin & pull chicken from bone Shred and freeze the extra chicken as desired.

 And I almost forgot to mention the cup of liquid gold that is in the bottom of the pan after you roast your chicken. Chill it so you can easily skim off the fat & freeze it in a separate ziploc with your chicken. Add the whole cupful of stock to the next thing you make that calls for chicken broth (like the chicken pot pie linked above) & you'll be boosting the flavor by about a kajillion times! You don't get that with boneless, skinless!


I'm thinking Creamy Chicken Enchiladas, Chicken Pot Pie and Chicken Chili!

chicken pot pie party!

Remember the frozen pot pies from the 70’s? They were a big treat at our house. I loved the individual servings in the mini pie tins & I loved that I could bake them myself. After they baked, I always tried to turn mine upside down on a plate without any of the gravy spilling out. Then I would carefully eat the very outside edge of the crust, that was usually a little burnt, still trying to keep the pie intact. Then I would stick my fork right in the middle. I can just see all of the steam coming out as I break it open to find the gravy as hot as lava & turkey, carrots, peas & potatoes. My favorite part was the gravy & the potatoes. There was something special about those little pies.

This recipe is reminiscent of those 50 cent pies but so much better. It has all of the same basic ingredients that qualify it for comfort food and it’s definitely on my list of favorites. What’s your favorite comfort food?

We'll be having this again soon with leftover turkey from Thanksgiving!

Chicken Pot Pie

ingredients

1/2 cup butter
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups turkey or chicken broth
1 cup milk
3 cups cooked seasoned turkey or chicken, cut into bite sized pieces
1 1/2 cups carrots, cut into bite sized pieces
2 medium potatoes, peeled & cut into bite sized pieces
1 cup frozen peas
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes, if desired
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, if desired
Double recipe of pastry crust FOUND HERE or use 2 unbaked refrigerated pie crusts.

directions

1. In a small saucepan, cook the cut up carrots in about a cup of boiling water. After simmering for a few minutes add the cut up potatoes & simmer for 5-7 minutes. I cook them together but the carrots take a couple of minutes longer to cook than the potatoes. You just want the carrots & potatoes to be PARTIALLY pre-cooked, since they will finish cooking while baked in the pot pie. Drain carrots & potatoes & throw in the frozen peas. The heat from the cooked carrots & potatoes will be enough to thaw the peas. Set aside.

2. In large saucepan, heat butter over low heat until melted. Add onion & celery & saute for 2 minutes. Add flour, salt & pepper. Cook, whisking constantly, until mixture is bubbly. Stir in broth and milk. Heat to just a simmer. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir in chicken, vegetables, parsley & thyme.


3. Prepare pastry. Roll 2/3 of the pastry to fit the shape & size of the pan you are using. You can use 9x9 square or a 10" round pie pan. Today I used an 8x11 rectangle & had the perfect amount of crust.

4. Pour chicken mixture into pastry lined pan.


5. Roll remaining pastry into the size & shape of your pan and place over filling. Turn edges under & flute as desired. Cut slits into the top of the crust to vent.

6. Bake in 425 degree oven until golden brown, about 35 minutes.


P.S. Feel free to use a box of frozen peas & carrots or frozen mixed vegetables.