Recipe of the week ~ Verde Chicken Enchiladas

While I'm very excited to share with you another family favorite, Verde Chicken Enchiladas, I feel a teensy bit bad about giving away this particular recipe because its in no way my own. However, it's just so darn tasty I simply can't resist!

This is one of DH's all time favorite meals and since I will be out of the house tonight and tomorrow I thought it'd be nice to leave something he'd enjoy for dinner. It's really one of the few "left overs" that he actually enjoys.

I have to thank my mother-in-law, who incidentally is an amazingly wonderful home cook for sharing this recipe with me. It is one of several dishes that she makes for DH that I've attempted to replicate. I say "attempted" because mine never seem to turn out quite as scrumptious as hers do. But that is of course how it should be, as every good daughter-in-law knows!

Verde Chicken Enchiladas

Serves 4-6

1 7oz. can Mexican style Verde sauce

1 8oz. pkg. cream cheese (light is okay)

1 4oz. can green chilies, do not drain

3 C Chicken breast, diced

2 TBS olive oil

2 C Shredded Mexican style cheese

2 bunches green onions, chopped

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

Dash of oregano, parsley, salt & pepper

Flour tortillas

Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees

Mix verde sauce, cream cheese, green chilies, salt & pepper and parsley using a blender or stick mixer then set aside.

Heat olive oil in a non-stick skillet, add chicken, 1/2 of the green onions, garlic, oregano and salt & pepper to taste. Lightly brown and cook through then set aside.

Spoon about 1/4 of a cup of the chicken mixture along the center of the tortilla. Add a couple spoon fulls of the green sauce over the chicken then roll up snugly. Place in a greased 9 x 13 in. baking dish. Continue making enchiladas with the remaining chicken mixture and green sauce placing next to one another in the baking dish. Try to conserve at least a cup of the green sauce to pour over the top of the enchiladas once the dish is full. Cover with shredded cheese and remaining green onions. Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake for 30 mins. Remove the foil after about 25 mins and let the top brown for the last 5 mins. After resting for 10 mins, serve and enjoy!

Here are a couple of variations or really just tips that I've tried and enjoyed in the past.

-using a de-boned rotisserie chicken in lieu of cooking several chicken breasts.

-coating the entire tortillas in the green sauce and then adding chicken mixture before rolling enchilada. Makes the tortillas even softer once cooked.

-using fresh herbs in lieu of dried always makes for a wonderful flavor.

I also highly recommend using a hand held stick mixer instead of your blender. I'm a HUGE believer in the "clean as you go" approach to cooking and therefore wholeheartedly embrace anything that requires less cleaning. And a stick mixer does the same job as a blender and requires much much less effort to clean. It really is one of my all time favorite kitchen tools, in fact I gave away our blender during the last move. I hadn't used it once since our little stick mixer joined the family and it had grown so sad and dusty.

You can add Spanish rice, black beans, re-fried beans or a simple salad to complete this meal.

Happy Cooking!

Cheers,

Ouiser