Creamy Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

Let me introduce you to our families new Favorite Chicken Enchilada.
These Creamy Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas are so SO good.
I still really love the Honey Lime Enchiladas found here.
I have made these enchiladas several times now and every time my boys say that it was the best meal ever!
Serve with a green salad, tortilla chips and fresh salsa.

Creamy Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

Serves 4-6

What you Need:

Filling:
3 cups cooked, chopped chicken
2 (4 oz.) cans of green chiles, lightly drained
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, cubed
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

Sauce:
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped onion (about 1/2 medium onion)
2 tablespoons flour
1/3 cup chicken broth
¼ cup milk
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 can (7 ounce) green chile enchilada sauce
½ cup sour cream

8 ounces (about 2 cups) Monterey jack cheese, shredded
8 medium (soft taco size) flour tortillas
Handful of chopped fresh cilantro

How To Make:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the softened cream cheese and green chiles. Mix well. Add the chicken and black beans. Mix to combine. Set aside.

3. In a large nonstick skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens and starts to turn translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir well. Cook for 1 minute, stirring. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth and milk. As you whisk and the mixture cooks, the flour will get less lumpy around the onions and the mixture will become smooth. Cook over medium heat until the mixture is bubbling and has thickened, about 4-5 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the enchilada sauce and sour cream.

4. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking dish. Spread about 1/4 cup of the sauce on the bottom of the dish. Fill each tortilla with about ½ cup of the chicken/cream cheese filling. Top with a small handful of shredded cheese, a couple tablespoonfuls for each enchilada. Save at least 1/2 cup cheese for the top of the enchiladas. Roll the tortillas up and place seam side down in the prepared baking dish. Continue filling enchiladas until the dish is full (I can easily fit 8 enchiladas in one pan).

5. Pour the white sauce over the top of the enchiladas. Top with remaining cheese. Bake for 20-30 minutes until the enchiladas are bubbling, hot and lightly browned. Sprinkle fresh cilantro over the top and serve.

Source: Mels Kitchen Cafe

Baja Style Shrimp Tacos

These Tacos are Amazingly Good!
If you can't have the real California Baja style tacos, make your own.
We had our first day of 70 degree weather today, the warm weather made me crave something more light and healthy to eat.
These Baja Shrimp Tacos hit the spot.
As far as prep goes, these really don't take a whole lot of time to make. I started by getting the shrimp ready and then marinating them in the lime and oil while making the beans, quacamole, and pico de gallo. The shrimp cooks so quickly, so I did not cook them until right before I was ready to serve the dinner.

Baja Style Shrimp Tacos
serves 4 -6

• 2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• the juice of one lime
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 dozen corn or whole wheat tortillas
• pico de gallo (recipe below)
• black beans (recipe below)
• guacamole (recipe below)
  
• lime wedges for serving
• Cholula hot sauce (or your favorite hot sauce)
• monterey jack cheese (optional)

1. Toss the shrimp together with the olive oil, lime juice and salt. Preheat your grill (outdoor or indoor) over high heat. Grill until cooked through, about 2 minutes a side.

2. To serve, heat the tortillas in a dry frying pan and wrap them in a towel to keep warm. Pile a few shrimp on top of each tortilla and serve with a bit of pico de gallo, back beans, guacamole, fresh lime juice, a few dashes of hot sauce and a little of the cheese if you’d like.

Yummy!

Pico de Gallo

Simple to prepare and about a thousand times fresher and more vibrant than any jar of salsa.

• 1 pint grape tomatoes, quartered
• 2 tablespoons roughly chopped cilantro leaves
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped white onion
• coarse salt
• squeeze of lime
• as many finely chopped red jalapeños as you’d like (optional)

Combine the tomatoes, cilantro and onion together in a bowl. Season to taste with salt and lime. Reserve some of this mixture for the kids, and then add as much jalapeño as you like to the remaining mixture for the adults.

Black Beans

• 1 can of black beans
• 4 cilantro stems
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• pinch of salt

Combine everything together in a small pot and simmer over low heat for about 15-20 minutes (I do this while I’m preparing the rest of the meal). Be sure to simmer the beans long enough so that they’re not watery.

Guacamole

• 2 ripe avocados
• 2 tablespoons minced white onion
• 3 tablespoons cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
• 1 lime
• coarse salt

Cut each avocado in half, remove and reserve the pits and score the flesh inside of the shells. Scoop the avocado into a mixing bowl and mash gently with a fork—you don’t want it to be completely smooth. Stir in the onion and cilantro. Cut the lime in half and squeeze in enough juice to taste. Season the guacamole with salt, and either serve immediately or stick the pits in to keep it from browning (remove the pits before serving).

Recipe Source: GOOP

Quick Turkey Enchiladas

These Enchiladas are So GOOD!
My whole family (even my little boys) loved them.
I love that you add cheese to the meat mixture, when the cheese melts in the skillet it binds the Turkey together and makes for a great filling.
This is very easy to make and cooks very quickly. I love a quick GOOD meal!
I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.



Quick Turkey Enchiladas
adapted from America's Test Kitchen

-1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
-1 onion, chopped
-2 garlic cloves, chopped
-1 pound ground turkey
-3 cups of shredded Monterey Jack cheese
-2 10 ounce cans of Red enchilada suace
-1 small can of diced green chilies
-1/2 cup fresh cilantro
Salt and pepper
-10 (6 inch) corn tortillas

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 9 by 13 pan with Pam spray.

2. Heat oil in a skillet over high heat. Cook onion until lightly browned, add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds more. Stir in turkey and cook until no longer pink. Add 2 cups of the cheese, 1/2 cup enchilada sauce, green chilies, cilantro, season with salt and pepper to cooked turkey. Heat together on medium heat until all combined.

3. Stack Tortillas on plate, wrap with plastic, and microwave until pliable, about 1 minute. In the middle of each tortilla put about 1/4 cup of the meat mixture then roll tightly. Place seam-side down in pan. After all are rolled, cover with remaining Enchilada sauce and the 1 cup of cheese.

4. Cover with foil and cook for 10 minutes. Remove foil, and cook another 5 minutes.

Enjoy!

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

This is our family's new favorite Enchilada.
This recipe has been passed along from many friends and blogger-friends. I have made a few slight changes to the recipe to suite our taste.
These are a great change from the traditional Chicken enchilada. They are sweet yet have a slight spiciness to them.
They are just soSoSO good, you have get to try them!

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas
adapted from The Sisters' Cafe

Ingredients:

-5-6 Chicken breasts (cook in boiling water, then shred)

-6 tablespoons honey
-5 tablespoons lime juice
-1 tablespoons chili powder
-1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

-8-10 flour tortillas ( I like to use organic whole wheat tortillas)
-1 pound monterey jack cheese, shredded
-2 10oz cans green enchilada sauce
-3/4 cup of sour cream


Make:

1. Cook and shred chicken and set aside.

2. Mix the honey, lime juice, chili powder and garlic powder till blended, then toss with shredded chicken and let it marinate for at least 1/2 hour.

3. Mix the 2 cans of enchilada sauce with the sour cream in a seperate bowl.

4. Grease a 9X13 baking pan. Pour about 1/2 cup enchilada and sour cream sauce on the bottom of a 9X13 baking pan. Fill flour tortillas with chicken and shredded cheese, saving about 1 cup of cheese to sprinkle on top of enchiladas. Pour remaining enchilada sauce on top of the enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until brown and crispy on top.

6. Top with shredded lettuce, diced onions, diced tomatoes, sour cream, guacamole etc. or just eat them as is.

Spinach and Chicken Enchiladas

This is not your traditional Enchilada!
It is more of a creamy and savory dish.
I love the spinach in it, makes this dish taste really good.
This dish made a lot which is even better, Leftovers!

Spinach and Chicken Enchiladas

2 lbs chicken breasts
1 lg white onion
1/4 cup unsalted butter
3 cups sour cream
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp ground cumin
8 oz diced green chilies
1 lb spinach
1/2 cup leftover water from spinach
salt and pepper to taste
12 tortillas
6 oz Monterey Jack cheese

-Cook chicken in boiling water for 20-30 minutes.
-After Chicken is done cooking, cut up into small pieces.
-Finely chop onion and saute in butter 5 minutes.
-Steam spinach until done.
-Combine sour cream, milk, cumin, green chilies, spinach, leftover water and salt and pepper to taste. Add chicken to half of the sauce.
-Grease a 9 by 13 pan.
-Spoon chicken mixture into a tortilla, fold and lay in pan. Cover Enchiladas with half of cheese. -Cover with leftover sauceand then add the remaining cheese.
-Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.