An improv with guidance...
I didn't really feel like anything too heavy for dinner tonight - needed something that I could nibble for lunches later in the week as well... Let's see, some chicken, lots of cheeses, hey – soft taco shells? I got it – chicken enchiladas! I've had a lot of tomato based stuff recently, so I searched “white chicken enchiladas” - while I didn't read all 2.7 MILLION posts, the ones I DID see were sort of all similar to this one from the Pioneer Woman. While you've witnessed that I don't MIND a big fuss and lots of ingredients, I wanted to simplify just a touch. So I seared and then braised my chicken breast the way I've grown to prefer for this type of application, and let them cool a little while before I shredded them. In my freezer, I found colby, jack, and cheddar cheese – mixed together an equal amount of each cheese until I had about as much as I had meat (approx 2 cups?), then stirred half into the chicken shreds. I had 10 shells, so I divided this mixture in half, and then eyeballed it to divide it equally – this was actually super quick to roll them up, and I set them down in a sprayed 10x13” pyrex dish. More than halfway through, I realized that I should probably have added more seasoning than the salt, pepper, and garlic powder I had sprinkled the chicken with, so I played with my sauce. A simple veloute sauce (a fancy name for a gravy that starts with butter and flour) made with the seasonings of those used on the chicken, plus cumin and smoked paprika was next. No heavy cream in this one, but after it had thickened I stirred in some non-fat plain greek yogurt for the sour cream 'feel' (I simply LOVE that stuff!). For some reason I didn't have any fresh, frozen, or canned peppers, so a slight palmful of dried jalapeno (diced) was the finishing touch. I don't know why I was feeling so contrary, but I just did NOT want the cheese melted into this delightfully spicy yet cool sauce – so the sauce got poured over the chicken rolls (ewww) and then I sprinkled the remainder of the cheese over the top. As 350F seems to be the universal cooking temp, in they went for about 20-25 minutes, with me checking on them every five until the cheese started to brown.
20tray
Ok – I've got to say it – I'm pretty pleased with myself! Maybe a touch too much jalapeno, but I've got a creamy sauce, crispy cheese on top, the tortillas and chicken have almost a silky texture?
20sliced
The pic doesn't do it justice – but a simple garden salad, an enchilada (cut in half to show you the middle) – and I've got an enjoyable dinner in about half an hour after the chicken cooled. AND – lunches wink

Posted by Linda :
Monday 19 August 2013 - 00:23:49
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