October 8, 2008

I had a craving. And I satisfied it.

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Sometimes I get a compulsion to cook for a lot of people. This happens quite often. I try not to burden my friends with too many dinner invitations, lest they get sick of me and my food. But sometimes, I just have to satisfy that craving.

I always imagine how people will react when they take that first bite - I want it to be the best they've ever had. I want them to love it, to think about it after they leave and to dream about it when they go to sleep.

So this Sunday, I had people over for Chicken Enchiladas. The enchiladas turned out dreamy and saucy. Here's my recipe.

Sunday Dinner Enchiladas

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Chili powder
cumin
Kosher salt
fresh ground pepper
olive oil
1 large sweet onion
1 red bell pepper
1 orange bell pepper
1 jalepeno pepper
2 green tomatoes
3 cloves garlic
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
20 flour tortillas

Sauce
2 cups sour cream
1 cup chicken broth
Kosher salt
fresh ground pepper
2 T. chili powder
1 T. cumin
3 t. sage
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Heat 2 T. olive oil in a pan. Liberally season chicken breasts on both sides with salt, pepper, chili powder and cumin. Add chicken breasts to the pan, cooking on medium high heat for about 7 minutes on each side. Add 1/2 cup of chicken broth to the hot pan and cover the chicken to finish cooking it with steam. Once the chicken is cooked all the way through, about 5 more minutes, remove from the heat and set aside. Let the chicken cool slightly. Then shred it in the food processor, pulsing only two or three times. Set shredded chicken aside in a bowl. Pour any remaining chicken broth from the pan over the shredded chicken.

Put the same pan back on the stove, adding 1 T. olive oil and heating over medium high heat. In the meantime, dice the onion, bell peppers and jalepeno. Add the diced vegetables to the pan and salt and pepper liberally. Saute until caramelized, about 7 minutes. Dice the green tomatoes and add to the onion mixture. Mince the garlic and add to the vegetables. Once all the vegetables are cooked, add them into the chicken mixture and set aside to cool.

When the chicken and vegetable mixture are cooled, add in 1/2 cup sour cream and 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese. Adjust seasoning as necessary, with salt, pepper, chili powder and cumin. Fill tortillas with 2-3 T of the chicken mixture, roll and place in a lightly oiled 8x13 baking pan.

In a separate bowl, mix together two cups of sour cream, 1 cup of chicken broth and the seasonings. Enchilada sauce should be the consistency of heavy cream. Taste, and adjust the seasonings as necessary. Add in the shredded cheese.

Pour enchilada sauce over the rolled tortillas and top with more shredded cheese. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbly.

Makes a lot. Depending on how hungry you and your guests are, 8-10 servings.

2 comments:

Sara said...

Dinner invitations from you are never a burden. Good food and good company are a given.

Margo Lane said...

That's crazy! I've been looking for the perfect chicken enchilada recipe for weeks!