Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

I'm assuming these are not exactly traditional enchiladas (because when I google images of enchiladas, most of them have a red tomato-based sauce on them). This one is topped with a white sauce (made with sour cream and green chilies). Between the creamy sauce and all the melted cheese, it's no surprise that I enjoyed these so much. And by the look of my fellow Americans on the evening news, something tells me I'm not the only one who likes my enchiladas creamy. (I think I just insulted my audience. Again. Honestly, I don't why you put up with this abuse. I'm pretty sure at least a third of you deserve better.)

CREAMY CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

Makes 8-10 enchiladas

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breast, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced

8-10 (4-inch) corn tortillas

1 1/2 cups grated monterey jack cheese or Mexican blend cheese, divided

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

15 oz. (1 7/8 cups) chicken broth

1 cup (8 oz.) sour cream

1 (4 oz.) can chopped green chilies

1.      Heat oil in a frying pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the cumin and chili powder and heat for 1 minute. Add the chicken and garlic and cook until chicken is no longer pink on the outside.

2.      Divide chicken mixture evenly between the tortillas; add 1 1/2 tablespoons cheese to each tortilla.

3.      Lightly oil a 9” x 13” baking pan. Roll enchiladas and place seam-side down in the pan.

4.      Preheat oven to 400º F.

5.      Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Stir in flour and keep stirring until bubbly. Gradually whisk in chicken broth then bring to a boil, stirring frequently.

6.      Remove from heat; stir in sour cream and green chiles; pour sauce evenly over enchiladas.

7.      Top with remaining 3/4 cup cheese (baking dish may be double-wrapped and frozen at this point) and bake for 20 minutes, until cheese is melted and sauce near edges of baking dish is bubbly.

adapted from food.com

raw chicken and onions

The original recipe called for cooking the onions with
the chicken, but I think it would be better to cook the
onions a little first - so I changed it in the recipe above.

cooked chicken mixture

chicken on corn tortilla

sprinkled with cheese

rolled

When you use room temp. corn tortillas, they will most likely
crack when you roll them. You can soften them by warming
them a little first, but the cracks are okay too because when you
spread the sauce on later, it covers everything and weighs it all down.

adding flour to melted butter

adding sour cream and chilies (the
chicken broth was already added)

These are pretty mild, so if you want to heat things
up, I suggest chopping a fresh hot pepper and adding
it to the chicken mixture, along with the spices.

sauce

sauce spread over the enchiladas

(See, no one will ever know about the cracks.)

sprinkled with cheese

baked

chicken enchiladas

.