Chicken Enchiladas II

This is the second installment of Chicken Enchiladas and these are totally different than the first. 

These enchiladas are inspired by the Bunny.  These have corn tortillas instead of flour, and they're covered with Mexican Gravy (according to my brother) and cheese.

To be frank, they're awesome.

The white corn tortillas give them great texture and a subtle sweet flavor that pairs perfectly with the creamy chicken filling, cheese sauce and spice from the pepper jack.

So we'll start with the filling.  Break out a large sweet onion.  Chop it up.

And saute it in some olive oil until it's soft.

While that cooks, cook some chicken.

Who doesn't love raw chicken?

When the chicken is cooked through, drain it and chop it up.  Smallish bite-sized pieces is what we're going for here.

Now back to the onions.  Here's what we're going to add:

Cream cheese and sour cream for creaminess and pimentoes and green chiles for flavor.

You can buy chopped green chiles if you want.  It's what I usually do.  But I decided to be different for a change and buy them whole and chop them up myself.





It was life-changing.

Actually it wasn't.

I'll probably revert to just buying them pre-chopped to save me from cleaning my cutting board.

So toss the green chiles, pimentoes, some salt and pepper into the creamy chicken mixture. 

Stir it up.

And we're ready to roll!

Definitely use white corn tortillas.  They only come in one size and they're tastier than the yellow corn ones.

Take a generous amount of the filling - there's plenty - and roll it up in the tortillas.  You'll use 13-15 tortillas, depending on how generous you are with each one.

Lay them in a 10x15 greased baking dish.

Corn tortillas are a bit brittle and may crack when you roll them around the filling.  But once you cover these rolls with Mexican gravy, you'll never be able to tell.

Speaking of Mexican gravy, let's get going on that.

Melt some butter in a saucepan and then whisk in some flour.  Now you have roux!  Neat-o.

When that's all hot and bubbly, whisk in some chicken stock.  That will thicken up in a minute or two.  When it's nice and thick, add some cream.  Whisk it up and cook it over low heat for another couple of minutes before turning the heat off.  Now you have a bechamel sauce!

Now we'll add some cheese and call it a mornay sauce.  Super.

Mount of Melt

And now we'll add some more flavor with some chopped cilantro and salt and pepper.

Stir it up and pour it over the enchiladas.

Grate up some more cheese for the top.

And now cover it....with more cheese.

Yes, we've officially reached the one-pound mark.  This is insane. 

Bake it long enough to make it bubbly and here's what you have.

Bethany, are you there?

This one's for you.  I guess I should start a category of recipes containing a pound or more of cheese.

How did my life come to this?

Ya'll, I ain't lying.  Make this now.

And I'll show you the Mexican rice that you must make to go with it.  That's on my to-do list for tomorrow. 

Because my treadmill is calling right now.

Chicken Enchiladas II
Inspired by In the Bluegrass and Beyond

For the Enchiladas:
1 large sweet onion
1 T olive oil
1 1/2 lbs of chicken breast, cooked and chopped
8 oz. block cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
7 oz. can chopped green chiles
2 oz. jar chopped pimentoes, drained
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
13-15 white corn tortillas

For the Mexican Gravy:
6 T (3/4 stick) butter
6 T flour
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
8 oz. (2 cups) Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
2 T chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

For the top:
8 oz. (2 cups) shredded pepper Jack cheese

Heat the olive oil in a large pot and saute the onion for 8-10 minutes, until soft.  Turn off the heat and add the chicken, sour cream, and cream cheese and stir until the cream cheese is melted and everything is incorporated.  Stir in the green chiles, pimentoes, and salt and pepper.  Roll up the chicken mixture in the tortillas and lay them in a greased 10x15 casserole dish.

For the Mexican Gravy, melt the butter in a saucepan and then whisk in the flour.  Whisk in the chicken stock and bring it to a simmer.  Add the cream, cheese, cilantro and salt and pepper.  Whisk until the cheese is melted and the gravy is heated through again.  Pour over the pan of enchiladas and cover with the pepper Jack.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 35-40 minutes, until bubbly.