Chicken Enchiladas with Salsa Verde

This is an old recipe of my own that I've tweaked and re-tweaked over the years.  I love it because it's flexible -- you can use chicken or ground turkey or pork or beef -- and you can "hide" healthy bits like chopped kale, spinach, or chard.  For the salsa verde, you can certainly use store-bought salsa instead.  I've done that in the past when I can't find good-looking tomatillos.  However, I really do love the taste of the homemade stuff, especially since I like to have control over the amount of garlic and heat that goes into the salsa.  

It's a great dish for company; I find that both adults and kiddos like it (especially when served with sour cream).  It's also a good dish for delivering to friends.  It just needs about 20-25 minutes in a 350 degree oven to warm it all up and melt the cheese.  

Salsa Verde
makes enough for 8 enchiladas


8 tomatillos, husked and cleaned

3 chopped scallions, whites only

1/4 cup of diced chiles or 2-3 fresh green chiles

1 clove garlic

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Juice of 1 lime

Salt

1. Quarter tomatillos and place in medium saucepan with scallions, chiles and garlic.  Let mixture boil, then simmer until tomatillos are soft, about 20 minutes.

2. Remove tomatillos from heat, put in blender or food processor with cilantro and lime.  Blend and add salt to taste.

3.  Adjust amounts of cilantro, lime, and chiles according to taste.  


Chicken Enchiladas
makes about 8 enchiladas

2-3 tablespoons canola oil

1 onion, chopped

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced

2 cups of shredded Jack cheese

8 tortillas (I use flour, but you can use corn too) 
1/2 cup finely chopped greens like kale, spinach, chard (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350°

2. Heat 1 tbs of canola oil in saute pan over high heat.  Add onion when oil is almost smoking.  Cook onions until soft.  Add greens, if using.  Add chicken and cook until just past pink.

3. Heat 1 scant tablespoon of oil in a saute pan large enough to allow a tortilla to lay flat.  When oil is hot, add one tortilla to pan just long enough to soften (make sure to flip it to get both sides exposed to pan).  Remove tortilla, let drippings fall back into pan, set aside in plate, and continue with remaining tortillas.   You may need to add more oil.

4. Spread a thin layer of salsa verde over the bottom of a baking dish.

5. Ladle 1-2 tablespoons of chicken into tortilla (depending on the size of your tortilla), add cheese, and fold and roll into enchilada.   Place seam-side down in baking dish.  Continue with remaining tortillas until dish is filled with a single layer of enchiladas.

6.  Cover tops of enchiladas with salsa verde, sprinkle with remaining cheese (about 1 cup), and bake in oven for about 20 minutes or until cheese is just starting to brown.

7. Serve with leftover salsa verde, and sour cream.