Chicken Pinto & Corn Enchiladas

Enchiladas, like quesadillas are so versatile.

You can roll up whatever fillings you want in them.

For these, I used the leftovers from my Pinto Bean & Corn Chicken Quesadillas.

First of all... if I'm using flour tortillas are they still enchiladas?

I have no idea. I usually use corn tortillas, but I had a bunch of small flour tortillas to use up. So that's what I used!

No recipe here either, just using up leftovers.

To start, pull out your leftovers.

Shredded chicken and beans, corn and green chiles.


Toss them together.


A big bowl of shredded colby & pepperjack cheese.


Coat the bottom of a baking dish with enchilada sauce.

Homemade or store bought, whatever you have.


Now it's time to assemble the enchiladas.

Grab a small flour tortilla and sprinkle a little shredded cheese down the center.


Then top the cheese with the chicken mixture.


Roll it up.


Place it seam side down in the baking dish.


Do that until the pan is full or you run out of fillings.


Now cover them with more enchilada sauce.


And top with more shredded cheese.


That's it.

Now bake for about 30 minutes at 350F, until cheese is all melty and everything is heated through.


Mmmm.... doesn't that look delicious??

Enchilada Casserole

I used to make enchilada casseroles all the time. Then I found out my husband really prefers enchiladas. So it's pretty rare for me to make them in casserole form anymore. Last week he had an old friend in town. So we invited him and a couple of other friends over for dinner.

I had planned to make chicken enchiladas with nice fresh made corn tortillas from the Mexican only Mexican market in town.

Soooo I started off by making my Smoky Mexican Chicken and Green Chili Enchilada Sauce the night before.

All you need for chicken enchiladas is tortilla, chicken, cheese & sauce... plus I was adding some spinach (gotta sneak it in where ever you can)

I microwaved the tortillas to soften them up a bit. I've never had fresh corn tortillas to work with before and these were pretty thick... but still pliable.

So I laid out my tortilla, put on some cheese, then spinach, then chicken and rolled it... well... tried to roll it. They were so thick they really didn't roll very well. I did two and decided that enchiladas were just not working out and changed my plan to Chicken Enchilada Casserole. Same ingredients... same taste... different (MUCH easier) preparation.

So I grabbed a casserole dish and spooned in enough Green Chili Enchilada Sauce to coat the bottom.


Then tear the corn tortillas to make a nice layer on the bottom. These were thick enough that I really only needed a single layer. But regular store bought corn tortillas are so thin, I usually double it. (you can see little bits of cheese from when they were rolled)


Then put in a nice even layer of Smoky Mexican Chicken.


Sneak in the spinach... shhhhhh don't tell!


A nice healthy layer of cheese.


Then another tortilla layer.


A nice sauce layer.


More chicken.


More spinach.


More cheese.


Then a final tortilla layer... more sauce... and more cheese.






You want to bake this at 350F until it reaches an internal temperature of 165F.

There are no 'out of the oven' pictures. I think the shots of tequila started... guitars came out... singing...


marriage announcements...


it was a fun night, but no more food pics.


Anyway.... this is a VERY versatile casserole... I like green sauce on chicken or pork... and red sauce on beef... you can top them with green onions and or black olives... add layers of rice and or refried beans... it just depends what you have on hand and what you feel like!

Green Chile Enchilada Sauce

I moved back to Boston from San Diego in Dec 99. Back then, it was pretty hard to find many of the ingredients I had taken for granted living in So Cal. So I had to find a good green sauce recipe. This is it! It can be as mild or spicy as you like by adjusting the peppers. It's great on enchiladas... but would also be a great table sauce or to make a 'wet' burrito.


Green Chili Enchilada Sauce (printable recipe)
6 to 8 Anaheim or Poblano chile peppers
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded & chopped
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 medium onion, cut-up
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
2 cups water

Roast peppers over an open flame or under a broiler until black and blistered.
Place in a paper bag and let steam for 5 minutes.
Remove from bag and gently rub off the blackened skin.
Remove top; slit open and remove membranes and seeds. You should have 1 2/3 to 2 cups of chilies.
Place chile peppers in a blender or food processor bowl with the garlic, onion, flour and garlic salt.
Cover and blend or process on low speed until smooth.
(If mixture does not blend easily, add about 1/2 cup of the 2 cups water to the blender or processor.)
Pour into a medium saucepan; add water.
Cook and stir until slightly thickened and bubbly.
Reduce heat and boil gently, uncovered, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until reduced to 2 1/2 cups.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ok... first you have to roast your peppers. I like to do it on the grill.


Get your peppers ready. I prefer poblanos, but only had a few, so I added some Anaheims.


And a paper bag to put them in. I like to double the paper bag, to keep more steam inside.


Hot & flamy! Ready to go!


Place all of your peppers on the hot grill. (it was dark out... we weren't be invaded by aliens)


Turn them until they are blackened on all sides.


As they all get completely blackened, drop them into your paper bag and roll down the top to keep the steam inside.


As long as the grill is already hot... throw on some burgers!


After your blackened chilies have been in the closed paper bag for at least 10 minutes, you can take them out.


Gently rub, pull off the blackened skin. Some people do this under running water. I don't, because if I went through all the trouble of lighting the grill, I don't want to rinse away any of that yummy grilled flavor.




Now you have a pile of skinned chilies


Now remove the stems & seeds.



Put the skinned, seeded chilies in a pile


And give them a rough chop.


Put the chilies & seeded chopped jalapeno into a blender or food processor.


Add the garlic


Onions


Flour & garlic salt




Blend on low speed until smooth. Add some of the water if you need to.


Pour into a medium saucepan; add water.
Cook and stir until slightly thickened and bubbly.


Reduce heat and boil gently, uncovered, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until reduced to 2 1/2 cups.


Now it's ready for whatever your green sauce needs may be!