Shredded Chicken Enchiladas

I made a Shredded Chicken Enchilada recipe tonight for dinner and it was great!  I found this recipe at http://www.asweetpeachef.com.  Check out this blog site..she's got some pretty cool recipes!!

The key to this dish was cooking your chicken in the enchilada sauce...makes a HUGE difference!!  Also on this one - use FRESH garlic and not jarred...makes a big difference in taste.  This one is Gluten Free - as long as your enchilada sauce is Gluten Free.  Here are some tricks on making your corn tortillas not fall apart...
slightly fry the corn tortillas first in olive oil then dip them in the warm sauce. This will help them not fall apart when rolling.  Try this one out...my hubby loved it, as well as my kids.  Pretty easy to make too :)

Ingredients:

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (1 1/2 cups) enchilada sauce (I use Mild)
kosher salt
ground black pepper
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 cup shredded Monterrey jack cheese, divided
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp. fresh cilantro, roughly chopped, divided
12 6-inch corn tortillas
cooking spray

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Add the minced garlic to the enchilada sauce in a deep skillet and heat to boiling. Generously sprinkle kosher salt and ground black pepper over the chicken breasts and then nestle the chicken breasts into the sauce. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook until the chicken is cooked through, about 15-20 minutes. Remove the chicken from the sauce, set aside and let both the chicken and the sauce cool.
Using two forks, shred the chicken breasts by holding one fork steady and slowly scraping the other fork, prongs faced backwards, away from the other fork. Transfer the shredded chicken to a large bowl. Add half the enchilada sauce, 1/2 cup each of the Monterrey jack and cheddar cheeses and the 1/2 cup of cilantro to the shredded chicken. Stir to combine.

Wrap the corn tortillas in a damp cloth or paper towel and microwave on high for 20-30 seconds until pliable and warm.  Then dip them in olive oil and fry and then dip them in the enchilada sauce. Using cooking spray (if desired), oil a 9-inch x 13-inch baking dish. Spoon about 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture along the center of the tortilla. Gently, but firmly, roll the tortilla around the filling and place into the baking dish, seam-side down. Repeat with remaining tortillas.

Lightly spray the tortillas with cooking spray (or brush lightly with olive oil). This will help the tortillas turn golden in the oven and will also help keep them from cracking. Place baking dish in the oven, uncovered, for 8-10 minutes or until the tortillas begin to turn golden.

Reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees. Remove the baking dish from the oven. Pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas and sprinkle remaining cheese over the sauce. Sprinkle with 1 tbsp. fresh cilantro. Lightly cover baking dish with aluminum foil and place into the oven for 20 minutes.   Carefully remove foil after 20 minutes and bake, uncovered, for an additional 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is golden.

Remove form the oven and let stand 5-10 minutes prior to serving.
Feel free to add a dollop (or two!) of sour cream!  I served these over a bed of lettuce and a side of refried beans! 

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

I know that I have only posted healthy recipes and Gluten Free recipes so far, but I'm going to post one now that isn't as healthy and can be made gluten free or not (depending on your choice).  I'll get specific below.  I know, I know, BUT - this one is tasty and it is a "different" type of enchilada than your typical red sauce enchilada recipe and it's worth trying!  This one is from my dear friend Ryan.  Ryan and  I were roommates for a couple of years in college and he can COOK!!  So, thanks Ryan - I'm going to share your wonderful tasting Creamy Chicken Enchiladas! We had our friends over last night and they really liked it!  The sauce over the enchiladas is AMAZING!  I hope you enjoy it!!

Ingredients:

2 cups of chicken breasts (diced and cooked)
8 flour tortillas (or you can use Sprouted Grain tortillas or Gluten Free Tortillas if you want to go Gluten Free)
16 oz sour cream
8 oz cream cheese
Shredded Cheese of your choice
2 cans of Creamy Chicken Soup (Use Gluten Free Cream of Chicken if you are going Gluten Free)
1 cup  fresh chopped cilantro
4 oz can green chilies
1 can corn
1 1/2 tablespoons cumin
2 tsp curry
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tbsp water
dash of salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Cook chicken in the skillet with onion powder, garlic and a small amount of olive oil.  In a mixing bowl, mix cream cheese (best if cubed), water, cilantro, cumin, and salt and pepper until smooth.  Then fold in cooked chicken.  Next, put about a ladle size full of mixture into tortilla and roll up like a burrito.  Place in a 13X9 casserole dish.  Do this until all the mixture is gone.

Then in a large mixing bowl, mix sour cream, soup, chilies, corn, curry and a dash of onion powder.  Pour mixture over rolled tortillas and bake at 350 for 35 minutes.  Then sprinkle shredded cheese over all enchilada and back for another 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

This one is great with a side of re-fried beans and rice!  Enjoy!

Bean Enchilada Casserole

This is another one I found from my local grocery store in one of their mailers.  I made this one for us last night and it was pretty tasty!  This one has red enchilada sauce in it and prepared (canned) enchilada sauce HAS gluten in it!  BUT – you can buy a gluten free enchilada sauce OR make your own!  I found a gluten free enchilada sauce made by LaVictoria (see picture below).  If you can’t find a gluten free red enchilada sauce, I listed a great recipe below for one. This dish also has cheese in it – so if you are dairy free like I am, you can make half the dish with cheese in it, and leave the other half of the dish cheese free. This one serves 8 and is 328 calories per serving.  It does have a small kick to it, which we enjoyed. We served this with a side of refried beans and rice.

Ingredients

Pam Non-stick cooking spray

1lbs lean ground beef
1 can (10 ounce each) red enchilada sauce (gluten free brand I recommend is LaVictoria – or a gluten free recipe is below)
1 pkg (12 oz each) frozen whole kernel corn
1 can (16 oz each) Rosarita No Fat Traditional Refried Beans
12 soft corn tortillas (6inch)
1 can (15 oz each) Premium whole black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (14.5oz) Hunt’s Petite Diced Tomatoes, undrained
Liberal pinch of salt
2 cups shredded cheese (I recommend the Mexican blend)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Cook ground beef until brown and no longer pink. Spray a 13X9-inch baking dish with cooking spray.  Spread half of the enchilada sauce in the bottom of the dish.  Cook corn in microwave according to package directions, using minimum cook time.

Spread about half of refried beans on 6 corn tortillas.  Place tortillas, bean-side up, over sauce in dish, overlapping to fit.  Stir together remaining enchilada sauce, corn, black beans, salt, ground beef and undrained tomatoes in a large bowl.  Spread half of this mixture over the corn tortillas in dish.  Sprinkle with 1 cup of cheese.

Repeat layering – take 6 more corn tortillas and spread with the rest of the re-friend beans and place as another layer in your 13X9 baking dish.  Then layer with the enchilada mixture and remaining 1 cup of cheese.

Bake for 35 minutes or until hot in center and bubbly around edges.  Let stand 5 minutes before cutting into 8 pieces.

Top off your dish with your favorite enchilada toppings – shredded lettuce, sour cream, avocado, etc.

Gluten Free Red Enchilada Sauce

1tbsp olive oil

2 cloves of minced garlic
1tsp of minced onion
½ tsp dried oregano
2 ½ tsp chili powder
½ tsp dried basil
1/8 tsp black pepper(ground)
1/8 tsp salt
¼ tsp ground cumin
1tsp parsley (dried)
¼ cup salsa
6 oz tomato sauce
1 ½ cups water

Directions:

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add the garlic and sauté for 1 to 2 min.  Add the onion, oregano, chili powder, basil, ground black pepper, salt, cumin, parsley, salsa and tomato sauce.  Mix together and then stir in the water.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a low simmer for 15 to 20 min.