Kingsley and I were chatting the other day and she remarked on my recent cream based diet. "What? Cream based. . ." I
began to p
rotest.
Weakly. There's been a lot of undisclosed poppyseed chicken and the like in there too. Mmmm. I'm chasing after the faster crawler in the world. I need fortification.
Anyway, I made a couple pans of these enchiladas for a friend who had a baby, and had to make a couple for myself as well. Last time I made them, Buddy leapt on the counter, nosed them to within the grasp of his nose/paws and devoured an entire pan that was cooling. I was rather heartbroken, but lived to make them again. They remind of the Elvis Burrito from my favorite Mexican place in town, (that I never get to go to, because long waits and a loud toddler are no bueno). The Elvis is a chicken burrito topped with spinach con queso. These chicken and spinach enchiladas are doubly delicious because ether are topped with the filling and sour cream. Oh, and cheese. Lots of cheese.
The recipe is adapted from the Taste of the South Comfort Food magazine that I am always yammering on about.
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, sliced in rings
2 (6 oz bags) of fresh baby spinach
cream sauce (see below), or 1 can cream of chicken soup, or 1 and 1/4 cup cottage cheese
1 and 1/2 cups chicken broth, divided
4 cups shredded cooked chicken
2 8 oz shredded cheese (I actually used pre-shredded cheese- the queso blend with the cream cheese in it)
1 (4 ounce) can diced roasted green chiles
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
2 T fresh lime juice (one lime)
12 corn tortillas
1 (8 ounce) container of sour cream
Garnish- sliced red onion and cilantro
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a 13x9 baking dish (or 2 8x8's) with PAM and set aside.
2. In large dutch oven heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for five minutes. Add the spinach and cook until the spinach wilts and releases its liquid. Remove the spinach and onion from the pan, and put it in a colander. Press with dish towels and squeeze all the water out of the spinach. Nobody wants watery enchiladas.
3. In a large bowl, combine the cream sauce and 1 cup of chicken broth, whisking until smooth. Add the chicken, spinach mixture, 1 package cheese, green chiles, spices, and lime juice. Stir to combine.
4. Spray aluminum foil with PAM. Wrap tortillas in foil and place in the oven on a baking sheet until they are warm and pliable (about 10 minutes).
5. Place about 1/2 cups filling in the center of each tortilla, and roll the tortilla around the fillings. Place seam side down in the baking dish.
6. Add the remaining 1/2 cup broth and sour cream to the leftover filling. Pour over the enchiladas. Top with the remaining package of cheese.
7. Bake until bubbly- about 30 minutes. Lightly cover with foil if the cheese starts getting too brown. Garnish with cilantro and onion if you want!
Cream Sauce- substitute for Cream of Chicken soup
- 3 T butter
- 3 T flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- Melt butter in heavy saucepan.
- Blend in the flour and salt, cooking until bubbly.
- Whisk in the milk and broth, using a wire whisk to prevent lumps.
- Cook until just smooth and thickened.
For the new baby dinner, I made Mexican rice, and took tortilla chips, salsa and cheese dip along with the enchiladas. I mean, who doesn't like cheese dip?
Elvis sure as hell did.