Enchiladas

Mmmm, enchiladas! I started making these way back in my post-college vegan/vegetarian days and have just kept messing with the recipe ever since. My current take on them involves chicken and green sauce, but they've included tofu, black beans, pork, turkey, various veggies and various sauces over the years.

I start out by sauteing an onion and some peppers until the wilt a bit. I like to use a combination of peppers including red, green, pasillas, and anaheims if I can get them. Canned green peppers will work in a pinch. Then I add the chicken. This time around I marinated the chicken for a while in a mixture of cayenne, paprika, salt, and crushed garlic for extra flavor. I nestle the breasts on top of the onion mixture, add about a half cup of water, and put the lid on the skillet, turned down to low. This way the chicken cooks slowly and seems to be less dry. Once the chicken is just barely cooked through (the whole dish will bake in the oven, so no need for it to be completely done), I pull it from the heat and take the breasts out to cool slightly on a cutting board. Then I shred them using a pair of forks (although I'm sure cutting them in chunks works fine too). So now, we're basically done. The shredded chicken goes back into the pan and mixed with the onions/peppers. Taste the mix for seasoning (salt, pepper, spices) and we're reading for putting it all together!

A while back I discovered the layered enchilada. So much easier than the rolled version, although not quite as pretty. So, to put my enchiladas together, I start with a big baking pan and spray it with cooking spray. Next goes a spoonful of enchilada sauce (I like the canned green one right now). Then a layer of tortillas. On top a layer of the chicken mixture and some cheese (whatever you like, cheddar, jalapeno jack, queso blanco etc). Then a few spoonfuls of enchilada sauce and start the layering over. I rip up tortillas to make an even layer is necessary (just like with lasagna). The top should be tortilla with a generous amount of sauce (so the top layers don't dry out) and topped with cheese to brown.

Bake at 350 until bubbly, brown, and the center is hot. Anywhere from 20-40 minutes depending on the number of layers and size of the pan! Tasty topped with lime, cilantro and served with spanish rice and/or beans.


Notes and Next Time

• it's nice to add mushrooms, corn, black olives, or beans to the filling mix.
• tempeh might be nice too

Ingredients/Recipe

• chicken (maybe 2-3 breasts for 2 pans)
• onion
• peppers (green, red, etc)
• garlic
• spices
• enchilada sauce (at least 2 15 oz cans)
• cheese
  
• garnishes