Recipe W.O.W. Re-DO #2: 'Real' Chicken Enchiladas!

Aah... Chicken Enchiladas. Rich. Creamy. A bit of green chili. True Tex-Mex comfort food. It's winter (if you can call it that here) and so I'm working on my favorite warming comfort food Re-Do's before we are so hot that all we can eat is melon and cucumber! So don't go thinking from these first two Re-Do's that all I make is fattening casseroles... it's all in the portion size anyway, right? Right!

This is a chicken enchilada (corn of course -- commercial white flour tortillas make a mockery of enchiladas, and any other real mexican food, for that matter!), with a green chili 'baja' cream sauce. The recipe may look involved, but you will end up with something that tastes REAL. Again, no condensed soups or powdered sauce mixes, etc. You may already cook without these items, but if you don't and are ready to start, try these Re-do's, and you'll begin to notice the difference to your palate whole food cooking can make. Also, there are several make ahead stopping points in the recipe, and, you could even stop at those points and create another dish entirely! (I was really trying hard not to say, 'whole nother dish' -- eek!)

Let's start with my basic chicken. I cook whole, organic roaster chickens 90% of the time. Frozen chicken breasts are loaded with junk to make them juicy and flavorful, and I want to eat chicken that is 'naturally' juicy and flavorful. To do that, though, you usually need the bone and the skin on while cooking. So I make this chicken in the crockpot, debone it, and use it a million different ways. It also helps you eat less meat...(we'll save that discussion for another post) To simplify the enchiladas, you can cook this chicken days in advance, debone it, and even freeze the shredded chicken and broth.

Deb's Basic Chicken

1 whole, organic (if possible) roaster chicken, giblets removed
2-3 cups organic chicken broth
kosher salt
fresh pepper
spanish paprika
garlic powder
onion powder
dried oregano
ground red chili (don't add this if you are not making your chicken for something mexican)

Rinse chicken and pat dry. Place in crockpot, and sprinkle LIBERALLY with the spices, especially the salt (Remember there are no additives, bullion, or msg to give this flavor, so coat well). Add chicken broth and cook on low or high(depending on how much time you have) until the meat falls off the bone. (see below)

Remove skin and debone; shred or cut into bite-sized pieces. (usually it kind of breaks up like that anyway) Pass broth through a fine mesh strainer and skim fat; save broth. This can become your starter for LOTS of yummy chicken dishes! But, let's stay on track here...
Next...

The Filling:
about 3 TB Olive oil (extra virgin, and if you don't go through your olive oil bottle fast, keep it refrigerated. It makes a huge difference in flavor. Let it run under hot water for a few minutes before you start to cook, and it will reliquify.)
1 large onion, sliced
1 red bell pepper, in strips
2 cloves fresh garlic
15 oz can whole tomatoes
2 cups of chicken stock from your whole chicken
2 TB ground red chili (New Mexico or Ancho is good)
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1-2 tsp salt (taste it... it should be a little salty, because your corn will absorb it in the oven later).

In a skillet on high heat, add oil, onions, and bell pepper and salt; toss to coat. Let these sit in the pan and char a bit. If you do, they will give your enchiladas a smokey, fajita-like flavor that we all like. It will look like this:

Then add your garlic and soften. In a blender or FP, add the tomatoes and chicken stock, red chili, garlic powder, cumin and salt. Blend until smooth. Add to skillet along with the shredded chicken, and bring to boil, then and simmer uncovered over medium heat about 10 minutes. Remember to tast this; you want it a little salty:

We could stop right there and serve that over rice and beans! YUM!
But WAIT! There's more...

Green Chili Cream Sauce:
12 oz carton organic sour cream (do not use fat free)
12 oz. of chicken broth from the chicken
big pinch of cumin
big pinch of garlic powder
about 1/2 tsp salt (taste it...)
2 TB chopped cilantro
1 small can diced green chilis ( I like the roasted ones)
4-5 TB flour whisked into about 1/4 cup cold water (until it looks like pancake batter)
about 1 cup sharp shredded cheddar
3 green onions, sliced
12-15 GOOD QUALITY yellow corn tortillas (I use Trader Joe's but buy the best brand you can)
cilantro and sliced grape tomatoes for garnish (optional)

To save a dirty dish, I transfer the filling mixture to the empty crockpot and then add from the sour cream to the green chilis to the same skillet. Bring to a boil, then slowly add the flour/ liquid mixture and whisk and simmer until thick and creamy.

Let's put it all together now...

Heat canola oil in small skillet on med high. Dip corn tortillas, one at a time, in hot oil until they bubble, turn quickly, then slip them out and layer onto paper towelling to drain. Cover with damp towel. Line up your enchiladas in casserole dish (I like to use metal for this one). Spoon about 2 heaping TBS of the chicken filling in each tortilla and roll up:
Place snugly in pan; cover with cream sauce , cheese, and green onions. Bake at 375 deg for about 15-20 minutes, or just until melted and bubbly.

Serve over a bed of shredded romaine hearts with fresh refried beans and homemade spanish rice (I guess I'll post those two recipes later!) YUMMMMM!