For Ruby the Airedale - Margarita Chicken Enchiladas

Abby T. Lab here with Sunday Eats!  This one is For my friend

• Ruby the Airedale

Margarita Chicken Enchiladas!  Mom got creative in the kitchen and made this one up after reviewing a number of enchilada recipes and merging elements of several to get JUST what she wanted.  I didn't get any because of the onion and garlic but I DID get a little scoop of the cheese! From the cheese all the way down to the tortillas Mom tried to use products from small family run companies here in the Midwest. Though there are a number of ingredients and steps it's EASY to make and pretty much fool proof.

It was SO good Mom said, with the moist chicken filling having a very delicate taste of  - ready for it Ruby? - Margaritas! 

And the sauce is SO flavorful and creamy.  This isn't a "spicy hot" dish - but has great flavor and just a tiny bit of heat on the back of the tongue from the jalapeno and hot sauce.

Jalapeno Cilantro Cream Sauce

1 can cream of cluck soup

3/4 cup sour cream (Mom's favorite is Oberweis Dairy)

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 small jalapeño, seeds removed and finely chopped

a dash ir two of Scoville brothers Cowboy Crooner hot sauce (that is their mildest - if you want a little more kick use Singing Smoke or Rockin' Red)

1/3 cup cheddar/jack mix (Mom used a mix of Oberweis cheddar and Oberweis Colby Jack, finely shredded)

Tequila Lime Chicken

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 teaspoons minced garlic

2 Tablespoons mined onion

1/4 cup key lime juice

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1/2 cup tequila

1 jalapeño seeded and diced fine

1 and 3/4 cups chicken stock (Note: Mom makes hers from scratch by boiling down some meaty chicken bones with herbs, no salt added - if using canned omit salt in rest of this section)

1/4 teaspoon Scoville Brothers Cowboy Crooner hot sauce

two dashes white pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt (see note above)

1 and a half pounds boneless/skinless chicken (or unbreaded veggie "chick'n" substitute for our vegetarian friends)

For enchilada assembly:

8 small flour tortillas

1 and 1/4  cups cheddar  jack cheese

Saute onion and garlic in oil until softened. Add remaining chicken ingredients and bring to a gentle boil. Cook chicken 10-15 minutes on each side until cooked completely through (no pink, juices running clear and 165 degrees F with a meat thermometer). Remove to a clean cutting board.

Strain out bits of pepper, garlic and onion from the cooking liquid using a colander placed over a clean bowl and add those bits to the Cilantro cream sauce.  Set remaining liquid aside in bowl (do NOT throw out to wash the bowl!)

Instructions:

Shred the chicken and place in the bowl with the cooking liquid, stirring well and then spooning out most of the liquid so that the chicken is very moist but is NOT "soupy".

Assembly:

Warm the tortillas in a damp towel in the microwave for 15 seconds so they roll up easier. Place 1/4 to 1/3 cup chicken mixture in the tortilla (depending on tortilla size), top with a Tablespoon of the cream sauce and a Tablespoons of cheese.  Roll up and put in greased pan (I used a 8 x 8 and a big glass bread pan for the extras that wouldn't fit as a 13 x 9 would have been too big.)

Cover with remaining sauce, spreading to get all of the tortilla covered, sprinkle with cheese and bake, covered with foil, in preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Mom this stuffie is tasty but it needs some of that creamy sauce!

Link for the Scoville Brothers Hot Sauces (family owned business in my former home state of Indiana):  

• Scoville Brothers Hot Sauces