White Chicken Enchiladas

We've discussed before that I love Mexican food, right?  Because I do.  So much.  Sour cream, tomatoes, chilis, and cheese are all SO good separately, and even better together.  So, I love Mexican food.

I adapted this dish from a 70's-era family cookbook that I got from a friend - these are easy, delicious, and a GREAT make-ahead dish.

White Chicken Enchiladas

There are a few steps here:  make the filling, wrap the enchiladas, make the sauce, bake, eat.  You could easily make the filling and sauce a few days in advance, then fill and bake the dish when you're ready to serve it.

I don't do any weird tortilla-in-oil maneuvering, I feel that adds tasteless calories and takes up time when I could be wasting calories on boxed wine and cheese.  If you think that you're super duper into authentic Mexican, please feel free to use corn tortillas instead of flour and dunk them in oil before you cover them with cheese and sour cream.  I won't judge you one bit.

For 6-8 servings, here's what we're working with:

• soft-taco size flour tortillas (8-12, depending on how much filling you put in each one)
• ½ onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• ½ bell pepper
• 1 jalapeno
• 1 rib celery
• salt and pepper
• olive oil
• 2 medium chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
• 1 small can cream of chicken soup
• ¾ cup sour cream, plus more for topping
• 1 small (4 oz) can green chilis
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 cups shredded white cheese (melting cheese of your choice, I'm using mozzarella here)
• chicken stock
• 1 cup prepared salsa verde
• shredded lettuce, for serving
• diced tomatoes, for serving
• salsa, for serving

Now, the veggies.  I have garlic, onion, a spicy banana pepper (use a regular jalapeno, this was leftover from the farmers market), half a bell pepper, and celery.

Leave the seeds and ribs in the pepper if you like things spicy - otherwise take them out before you chop everything up!  We're going for a fine dice here - we want everything to come together in the sauce and not be too chunky.

Once the veggies are ready, heat a large pan to medium heat with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and stir together the peppers, onion, and celery with a sprinkle of salt.

Let the veggies soften but not brown for about 5 minutes - turn the heat down if the edges of the veggies start to burn!  When the onion turns translucent, add the garlic, canned green chilis (don't drain them), and cumin.  Stir for 2 more minutes.

While the veggies are cooking, grate the cheese.

8-10 oz should do it for 2 chicken breasts.  Once the veggies are very soft, add in one cup shredded cheese, ½ cup sour cream, and the cream of chicken soup to the pan, and stir together.

And one by one, put a small amount of filling into each tortilla. Then, tuck in the edges and roll each enchilada up, then line them closely in a greased baking dish.

Mine are ugly.   I was in a hurry.  You can use all the filling, but I just make as many enchiladas as I think I'll need (about 2 or 3 per person - they're heavy!) and save the rest of the filling to serve over rice.

In the same pan as the filling (if you're lazy like me), warm the salsa and sour cream, stirring together until just bubbling.  Add some chicken stock if you like a thinner sauce.

Taste for salt, and when the sauce is ready pour all over the enchiladas.

Then cover the whole thing with the remaining cheese....

And broil the whole fabulous mess until the cheese is melted and crispy.Ohhh lookatthecheese. I serve these alone since they have meat, veggies, and bread - I just chop up some veggies for toppings.

Two at a time is plenty for a first serving (and a second, and a third...) and LOOK.

Cheesy, creamy, fabulous.  Don't forget to make your own salsa to serve with it - make these tonight and enjoy!