Chicken Enchiladas

Story time:  Not long after we moved into our log cabin in the woods, we invited Tom's daughter and her husband out for dinner.  This dish is what we served.  After a very late night, lots of Corona, several games of pool, and an awesome dinner, we headed for bed.  All I can say about the mess in the kitchen the next morning is OMG.  But it was worth it.  Wash as you go.  You'll use every dish in the kitchen.

Ingredients

1 whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces

12 corn tortillas (better if you make our own – see our recipe on this blog)

1 large tomato, seeded & chopped

1 medium onion, diced

3 Poblano peppers, roasted,seeded, and peeled

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbl. chopped fresh cilantro

¾ tsp. salt

¾ cup chicken broth

1 ½ cup half-and-half cream

½ tsp. ground cumin

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 small lime

½ cup roasted red peppers, sliced for garnish

1 bunch green onions, diced for garnish

Directions

• Prepare corn tortillas if using home-made (see recipe on this blog)
• Put chicken pieces in a deep 12” skillet
• add chili peppers, tomato, onion, garlic, salt, cumin & cilantro
• add chicken broth & squeeze fresh lime over chicken mixture
• Bring to boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until chicken is tender, about 1 hour
• Remove chicken pieces using tongs (shake veggies off chicken back into pan)
• Let chicken stand until cool
• Skim fat off top of stock mixture in skillet
• Heat stock to boiling, then boil gently on high, stirring often, until reduced to about 2 cups (8 min)
• Put stock into a 13”x9”x2” baking dish
• Skin and bone the chicken, then shred chicken using 2 forks
• Heat oven to 375°
• Heat the half-and-half cream in a saucepan over medium heat until almost boiling.  Remove from heat.
• Using tongs, dip each tortilla in the cream until limp (about 5 seconds)
• Spread 3 to 4 tablespoons of chicken on the tortillas, about 1/3 of the way down from one edge
• Roll up the tortillas and place seam-side-down in the stock mixture in baking dish
• Pour the remaining half-and-half cream over the enchiladas
• Sprinkle with the Monterey Jack cheese
• Bake at 375° until bubbly and cheese is melted, about 30 minutes
• Garnish with green onions and roasted red peppers 

 

Chicken Enchiladas, ready for the oven.

Chicken Enchiladas, fresh out of the oven, ready to eat!  Serve with Mexican rice and a salad.