Every day, Steve’s telling me about how certain items have been either discontinued or are out of stock at our local grocery store. When I’m not home, one of his favorite “go-to” quick-making dinners is the pre-packaged frozen Enchiladas. I told him, the first chance I had, I would make him my Chicken Enchiladas With Salsa Verde.

We know there have been some supply chain issues with all kinds of products lately. I feel like we are living in different times.

The only shortcut I’m taking for this recipe is using store-bought flour tortillas instead of corn. Both are delicious when making Enchiladas. I’m going to be making my salsa verde from scratch, and the chicken is poached in a seasoned chicken broth. This is going to be extremely delicious.

The other thing I want to mention is, this dish is a labor of love, and it’s just as easy to make 2 pans as it is to make one. Enchiladas will last in the freezer for up to 3 months and still taste delicious when thawed and baked again. Directions for freezing Enchiladas are at the bottom of this post.

If you didn’t want to go through all the trouble of making everything from scratch, you could save prep time by buying a Rotisserie chicken and jarred tomatillo salsa. This would work for a weeknight meal.

If you’re using corn tortillas for this recipe, you’ll need to soften the tortillas before filling them. I’ve posted the directions for softening corn tortillas at the bottom of this post.

Prep  Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Yields: 18 to 20 Enchiladas (10 servings)
Equipment: blender, chef’s knife, paring knife, meat-safe cutting board, 2 rimmed baking sheet pans, 1 large mixing bowl, 3 plastic containers with lids, 2 forks, pair of tongs, small ladle, 1 (4-quart) saucepot 1 (9 x 13 x 2 -inch) baking dish, 1 (8 x 11 x 2-inch) baking dish, aluminum foil, plastic squeeze bottle

Ingredients For Poached Chicken:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, room temperature
1 quart of chicken broth, unsalted, or substitute water
1 tablespoon of Kosher salt
1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons of dried oregano
1 tablespoon of ground cumin

Ingredients for the salsa verde:
2 pounds of tomatillos, papery husks removed, rinsed, and roasted
2 Poblano peppers, roasted
1 jalapeno, roasted
1 large Spanish (white) onion, peeled and cut in half, roasted
1 bulb of fresh garlic, cut in half and roasted
1/4 cup olive oil, for roasting the garlic and the vegetables
1 teaspoon of Kosher salt, for the garlic and the vegetables
1/2 teaspoon of fresh-ground black pepper for the garlic
1 bunch (2ounces) of cilantro, stems intact for salsa verde
1 tablespoon of Kosher salt, for the salsa verde
2 tablespoons of lime juice for the salsa verde

Ingredients for the Enchiladas:
2 packages (10 per pack) of 8-inch flour tortillas
16 ounces of Monterey Jack cheese (yields approx. 4 cups freshly grated)

Optional Toppings:
1 1/2 cups of Queso Fresco, crumbled
1/4 cup of Mexican Crema
1/2 cup of red onion, finely diced; the remaining is used for serving
1/2 cup of Cilantro leaves
4 limes for serving, cut into wedges as needed

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Instructions for the Poaching Chicken:
Start by placing the 4 room-temperature chicken breasts in a single layer, in the bottom of a large saucepot. Cover the chicken breasts with at least 2 inches of chicken broth. Add ground cumin, dried oregano, Kosher salt, and fresh ground black pepper. Over medium heat, allow the cooking liquid to come up to a boil. This takes a few minutes.

For the most tender chicken, don’t rush this process. Once the cooking liquid starts to bubble, lower the heat, and cook the chicken at a low simmer for 12 to 15 minutes or until the internal temperature reads 165°F. Or the juices run clear when you pierce the chicken with a knife.

Times may vary depending on the thickness of the chicken breasts. Move the chicken to a cutting board. Using two forks, finely shred the chicken and transfer it to a bowl. Cover to keep warm until ready to use.

Instructions for Roasting Vegetables:
While the chicken is poaching, lay out the tomatillos, top side down, onto 1 baking sheet pan, refer to pictures above. On the other baking sheet, arrange the peppers and the onion halves. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with Kosher salt.

For the garlic bulb (I’m doing all the garlic I have on hand, but only 1 bulb is needed for this recipe), slice the top end off lengthwise as seen above. Place the garlic on a small piece of foil. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil and lightly sprinkle with Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper.

Wrap up the garlic so the bulb is completely enclosed. Refer to the pictures above. Place the covered garlic bulb on the baking sheet with the onion and peppers. Transfer both pans to the oven and cook for 20 to 25 minutes. Halfway through cooking, turn the peppers over to char the other side. You’re looking for the tomatillos to have popped and also be charred. Again, refer to the pictures above.

Once the vegetables come out of the oven, unwrap the garlic to cool. Place the peppers into a large mixing bowl and cover tightly with plastic. Let’s sit for 10 minutes.

To the blender, add the tomatillos with any juice from the pan and the onion. Hold the bulb of garlic upside down and squeeze the garlic cloves right into the blender. Set aside.

Set one of the Poblano peppers on the board, using a paring knife, and remove the skin. If you don’t get all the skin off, it’s ok, you want some of the charred skin. Cut the top off, open the pepper up, and scrape out all the seeds. Repeat this process for the remaining Poblano pepper and the jalapeno.

Drop into the blender. Next, add 1 bunch of the cilantro, stems removed—finally, the juice of 1 lime and 1 tablespoon of Kosher salt. Blend until smooth. Transfer to a bowl.

Add the shredded chicken to a large mixing bowl. Add 3/4 cup of the tomatillo salsa. Using a pair of tongs, toss to combine. Once mixed, transfer the chicken back to its original bowl.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

To the bottom of the large baking dish, add 1/3 cup of tomatillo salsa, and to the bottom of the smaller baking dish, add 1/4 cup of the salsa. Spread the salsa evenly on the bottom of both baking dishes.

Lay a tortilla on a board. On the bottom third of the tortilla, scoop a good spoonful of the chicken and 1 tablespoon of the Monterey Jack cheese. Roll up the tortilla and place the rolled tortilla seam side down into the baking dish. Repeat until all the chicken is finished, and you should end up with anywhere between 18 and 20 filled tortillas.

Using a small ladle, ladle the remaining salsa verde over the tops of the filled tortillas, as shown in the pictures above. I do them in strips lengthwise. Top each baking dish of Enchiladas, divided evenly, with the grated Monterey Jack cheese. Next, add 1/2 cup of the crumbled Queso Fresco to the top of each dish. Add 1 tablespoon of finely minced Cilantro to the top of each dish.

Place into the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese is melted and lightly golden brown.

Garnish with Mexican Crema, diced red onion, more crumbled Queso Fresco, and roughly chopped Cilantro leaves. Serve immediately along with lime wedges, any remaining cheese, and diced red onion.

There you have it, my Chicken Enchiladas With Salsa Verde.

1) Instructions For Freezing Enchiladas;
a) Assemble the enchiladas up to the point of adding the cheese on top.
b) Wrap the pan tightly in plastic wrap a couple of times, then cover with foil…
c) When ready to eat, let the enchiladas thaw in the fridge overnight.
d) Add cheese, cover, and bake at 350°F. For 25 minutes. Uncover and continue baking for another 5 minutes or until the cheese is golden and bubbly.
e) Garnish with Mexican Crema, diced red onion, and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.1) I just happen to have 2 different sizes of baking dishes, 1 (9 x 13 x 2) and one 1 (8 x 11 x 2). If you have 2 of the same size, go ahead and use those, splitting the tortillas up between the two baking dishes.

2) When you roast garlic, the garlic becomes sweet, so it’s not overpowering any of the other flavors.

3) Use a cast-iron skillet.
Instructions For Softening Corn Tortillas:
Heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add a tortilla to the pan a let it sizzle for approx. 10 seconds. Use a metal spatula to flip it to the other side. Let it sizzle for a few seconds. Place another tortilla on top of the one (to soak up the excess oil) and flip again. You can keep going, stacking corn tortillas on top of the tortillas that appear to have excess oil. This way, the new tortillas absorb some of the excess fat from the other tortillas. When the tortillas are heated through, remove them to a plate lined with a paper towel. Add more oil to the pan as needed, continue to heat through, and soften the remaining tortillas.

4) Linda Lou Hamel is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value are important to you, I recommend running the ingredients through the online nutritional calculator of your choice. Calories and values can vary depending on the brands you choose.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://lindalouhamel.com/2019/07/10/summer-time-flowers-and-herbs/