My wife came across a unique enchilada recipe. It was unusual because the chicken was cooked in the sauce and then shredded. I thought it was an exciting concept, so I looked at it, then checked out a few other recipes and put together a recipe that we all enjoyed immensely.
We only seem to have fajitas and tacos in our house; thus, it was a nice change of pace to get into something different for dinner. This recipe didn’t require a lot of unique ingredients like my mole recipe, and I feel like I was able to capture the idea of a great enchilada that you’d find in a local Mexican restaurant.
As I write this recipe, I’d had a hard night with insomnia the night before. So, this week I’m going to keep it short and sweet (no pun intended). I hope you make this and enjoy it.
Enchiladas
Ingredients:
1.5 lbs chicken breasts
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper
2 cans of crushed tomato sauce
2 tsp Chili powder
1.5 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
2 bay leaves
1 can of black beans
3-4 sliced pickled jalapeños
10 – 12 flour or corn tortillas
1/2 cup of sour cream
2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Preheat your oven to 350F.
- Grab a Dutch oven or large pot and turn your burner onto high.
- Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper.
- Brown the breasts a few at a time so you do not crowd the pot.
- Once the chicken is browned, set it aside.
- Add the vegetable oil, onion, garlic, and bell pepper to the pot.
- Stir to heat through until the onion starts to turn translucent.
- Add the tomato sauce, chili powder, paprika, cumin, cayenne pepper and bay leaves.
- Stir until the sauce begins to boil. Add the chicken and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes on low.
- Remove the chicken and let it rest for five minutes.
Remove the bay leaves and add the black beans and pickled jalapenos.- Shred the chicken with a fork and set it aside in a bowl.
- Grab a 9’x9’ dish or pan and put enough sauce in the bottom to cover it.
- Grab a tortilla and add the shredded chicken, 1 TBSP of sauce and some cheese; roll the tortilla and place it in the dish.
- Repeat this step with the rest of the tortillas or until the dish is full.
- Add the sauce to the top of the dish, top with more cheese and bake for 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbling.
- Remove from the oven and allow the dish to rest for five minutes, then serve with sour cream and guacamole if you like.
- Enjoy!
