Chicken enchiladas are nearly a comfort food. They come together quickly, can be prepared cheaply, are nice and cheesy and hot and filling and tasty and a run-on sentence. I haven’t specifically talked about comfort food in a while (though the Potage is a good example), but this definitely fits my criteria.
Considering the relatively few ingredients, these enchiladas pack quite a bit of flavor. Using chili powder is a handy shortcut for flavor as it is really a mixture of several spices. For extra tender chicken, use thigh and leg meat. I ended up with breast meat for two reasons, first, it’s a bit healthier, and second (and this was the deciding factor), it was on sale for a ridiculously low price. I also used whole wheat tortillas instead of corn or white flour ones. Personally, I’m a fan of the earthier taste of whole wheat so I tend to eat whole wheat breads fairly often (the one big exception is hearth breads and baguettes, but that’s another story). I’m not sure that those changes really classify as making this a healthy dish anyway, so I won’t claim it is. But it’s not unhealthy and it was tasty. Really tasty.
Chicken Enchiladas
Oddly enough, I had never made enchiladas before. Now that I have, I am confident that it is something that I will make again. I even like how it lends itself to a lot of advance preparation. This would be a great dish to serve for a casual evening with some Mexican beers and margaritas. When it comes time to prepare it, all that would be left to do is move the dish from the oven to the fridge for 25 minutes or so.
Chicken Enchiladas
Makes 12 enchiladas-serves 4 to 6.
Serve with the regular sides of wedged lime, sour cream, avocado, lettuce, beans, and/or rice if desired.
Ingredients
1/2 tsp oil
1 onion, diced
salt, pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbsps chili powder
2 tsp cumin
1 15oz can tomato sauce
8 oz (1 cup) water
1 lb chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
2 cups cheddar cheese (about 8 oz)
1 4oz can minced jalapeños
12 6-in whole wheat tortillas
1/2 cup cilantro, minced (optional)
Directions
Preheat oven to 400F.
1. Add the diced onion, 1/2 tsp oil, and 1/2 tsp salt to a large pot or saucepan over med-low heat. Cook for 10 minutes, or until the onions have softened, stirring frequently.
2. Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin and cook for 30-60 seconds. Pour in the tomato sauce and water. Increase the heat to bring the mixture to a simmer. Cool for 5-10 minutes.
3. Add the chicken to the liquid so it is mostly submerged. Cover and reduce the heat to low. Cook for 15-20 minutes on low heat until has just cooked though (160F in the thick part of the meat). Remove the chicken. Once cooled enough to continue, shred/pull the chicken with forks. Try remove all chucks of chicken as they can tear through the rolled tortilla.
4. In a large bowl, combine the chicken, 1/2 cup of the sauce, 1 cup of the cheddar, and the can of jalapeños (if using cilantro, add it now). Season with salt and pepper if needed (taste it, don’t worry, it’s cooked).
5. Loosely cover the stacked tortillas with plastic wrap and heat in the microwave for one minute (to soften and warm them). Add about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of the chicken mixture to each round and roll tightly (12 will have to fit into a 9×13 pan, so roll tightly). Place each on seam side down onto a very lightly greased 9×13 baking dish. Can be prepared up to a day in advance to this set. Cover and refrigerate until ready to continue.
6. Pour the remaining sauce over the center and into the base of the dish. Spread the remaining cheese over the center of the enchiladas. Cover loosely with for and bake for 25 minutes. If desired, the foil can be removed and the enchiladas cooked for 5 minutes more to brown the cheese.
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