A Lotta 'Ladas

Hey there howdy. Here's another food-related "try new stuff" endeavor. We're entering January's backlog, so slowly but surely I'm catching up to myself!

I'd never made enchiladas from scratch. Probably mostly because I don't love enchiladas that much. But I think the sauce is growing on me — not literally, that would be messy. But J wanted something Mexican and I wanted to cook, so I gave it a whirl.

"From scratch" ... let's talk about that. I didn't make the sauce, something I might try someday. I didn't make the tortillas, something I'm 97% sure I'll never do. But I did find a great Tyler Florence enchilada recipe to try. This is something new in and of itself, as T Flor is generally outside of my realm of cooking comfort. I'm a begintermediate cook. Skills past an amateur but definitely no expert. I'm also a tad impatient. (Understatement.) So as much as I love being in the kitchen, cooking for more than 60-90 minutes definitely sends me into grumpy pants mode.

Anyway, here's the recipe. It was super flavorful and tasty. We froze half of the filling to make another batch later. The leftovers (from the initial batch) were just ok but I think that could be fixed by not completely covering the tortillas in the enchilada sauce ... maybe just one side? I'm just not big on soggy bread/tortillas.

The stuff to make it:

3 tbs. veggie oil

1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast

Salt and pepp

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp Mexican Spice Blend (Google the recipe if you prefer. I couldn't find it at my store and didn't want to make a trip to a specialty store. Nor did I want to buy all the stuff to make it. So I just used fajita or taco seasoning. Recipe was not ruined.)

1 small red onion chopped

2 cloves garlic minced

1 cup frozen corn, thawed (I believe I omitted this. For no good reason...)

5 canned whole green chiles, seeded and chopped (I used pre-chopped chiles because I'm smart like that. Or lazy.)

4 canned chipotle chiles, seeded and minced (I kept some, not all, of the seeds to add some heat.)

1, 28 oz. can stewed tomatoes

1/2 tsp all-purpose flour

16 corn tortillas

1.5 cups canned enchilada sauce (though reviewers of the recipe will have you sent to the stakes for using canned. Snobs.)

1 cup shredded cheddar and jack cheeses (believe we just used Mexican blend cheese)

Garnish: chopped cilantro leave (obviously left out ... I'm 'lergic) chopped scallions, sour cream, chopped tomatoes. (We only used the sour cream.)

How to make it:
1.) Coat large saute pan with oil. Season chicken with salt and pepp. Brown chicken over medium heat, 7 minutes each side or until no longer pink. (Just say no to salmonella!) Sprinkle chick (the food, not that girl over there) with cumin, garlic powder and Mexican spices before turning. Place chicken on a plate/platter and let cool.

2.) Saute onion and garlic in same saute pan (no need to rinse it out). Add corn and both kinds of chiles. Stir to combine and add tomatoes. Saute 1 minute.3.) Shred chicken breasts with hand or fork. Add chicken to pan and mix it well with veggies. Dust the mixture with flour to help it set
4.) Microwave tortillas for 30 seconds. Coat the bottom of 2, 13x9 pans (if you're making the whole recipe) with ladle of enchilada sauce. Using a large shallow bowl, dip each tortilla in enchilada sauce to lightly coat. Spoon 1/4 cup chicken mixture in each tortilla. Fold over filling and place in pan, seam side down. Top with remaining enchilada sauce and cheese. (We also added some shredded cheese to the inside of the enchiladas. What can I say, we're cheesy like that.)

5.) Bake for 15 minutes at 350 or until cheese melts. Garnish to your heart's desire. Optional: serve with Spanish rice and beans. Required: serve with Corona. See?