Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!!  I don't know about you, but I love a good reason to celebrate any holiday (especially those that involve Mexican food)!  The last couple of years, I haven't gone out to celebrate and this year we're not either, but there's no reason we can't celebrate at home, right?!  Right.

Chris LOVES my Creamy Chicken Enchiladas!  LOVE might be exaggerating a bit, but he really, really likes them!   He's been hinting around the last month or so for me to make them again and I thought what better time than today in celebration of the 5th of May! 

Now there are a variety of ways to make enchiladas and typically they come with either a red sauce or a green tomatillo sauce.  I like both but I tend to prefer the red sauce with the creamy chicken and green chile filling I use; it's a nice combination of flavors, not too rich and not too spicy.  Actually, I tend to use more heat in my dishes but this one, while it uses jalapenos and chiles, is very mild.

I made my own red sauce but if you don't want to go to the trouble, it's just as easy to pick up a jar of enchilada sauce at the market.  As I've said before, I prefer to make my own sauces when I can - I find them to have better flavors, fresher ingredients and no preservatives.  Sometimes making things from scratch takes a little longer than usual but it's because you're making it with love!

Happy Cinco de Mayo y'all!

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients - Enchiladas
2 Lg. Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, cooked and shredded
4 oz. Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup Sour Cream
8 oz. Green Chiles, diced
1/4 cup Cilantro, chopped
8 - 10-inch Tortillas
Mexican Blend Cheese, shredded

Ingredients - Sauce
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 Sm. Onion
2 Jalapenos
3 cloves Garlic, minced
3 Tbsp. Chili Powder
2 Tsp. Ground Cumin
1 Tsp. Sugar
10 oz. Tomato Sauce
1 cup Water
1 Lg. Tomato, diced

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium bowl, combine the chicken, green chiles, cream cheese and sour cream; mix well until blended.  Set aside.

Meanwhile, make the sauce by heating the olive oil in a medium skillet over med-high heat.  Add in the onions and peppers; saute until they become tender (about 5 minutes).  Add in the garlic and toss to combine.

Transfer the onion and pepper mixture into a medium saucepan.  Mix in the chili powder, cumin and sugar and heat for 30 seconds.  Stir in the tomato sauce, water and tomato.  Heat through until it begins to lightly boil; lower the heat and simmer until thickened (about 5 minutes).

Pour the sauce into a strainer set on top of a medium bowl, so just the sauce is strained from the mixture.  Use a wooden spoon to help push the sauce through; discard what's left of the mixture in the strainer.

To complete the enchiladas, pour a little of the sauce into a 9x13-inch baking dish.  Spoon the chicken mixture into a flour tortilla and roll it up carefully to secure the filling.  Place the filled tortilla in the baking dish seam-side down.  Repeat with the remaining chicken mixture and tortillas.  Pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas and bake for 15 minutes.  Pull the enchiladas out and top with a generous amount of cheese.  Bake for an additional 3-5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Top with cilantro and serve immediately.

Yield: 4-6 Servings
Source: Enchiladas from With a Cherry on Top, Sauce adapted from Pink Parsley, originally from America's Test Kitchen