Green Chicken Enchiladas, Game 2

Posted by Judy | Bebe Love Okazu on May 19, 2010 in Blog, Chicken, Family Favorites, International, Lakers | 27 comments

Today, I was chatting with a girlfriend online and she told me that my recent food posts haven’t “wowed” her. This made me giggle. What can I say, our family eats regular, home cooked fixin’s, and my blog is our “family’s ordinary cookbook”. :)

It’s actually quite funny that my girlfriend told me that she wasn’t “wowed” just after I posted Zesty Italian Sausage Hash, because bebe dada was peeking over my shoulder when I was blogging about it and said, “why are you going to post that? You’ll lose readers!” I just laughed and said, “that’s alright, I blog about what we eat, and this is a meal we eat occasionally.” My blog is like peeking through a window to catch a glimpse of our lives. It’s not always “wow”, just ordinary, and that’s completely okay. :)

Tonight is Game 2 of the Lakers vs. Suns game. Continuing with this week’s objective to cook non-Japanese comfort foods WITH meat to satisfy bebe dada’s cravings, I decided to make enchiladas for game night.

My mom never made enchiladas for us. As a kid, I’m pretty sure I didn’t even know what enchiladas were. This is primarily due to the fact that my mom only cooked Japanese dishes or simple American dinners. I remember eating Tito’s Tacos (a taco stand in L.A.) when I was growing up, and we often ordered tacos and burritos, or even made these at home so I knew what these were, but I didn’t meet the enchilada until later in life – probably in high school. (Yes, I was very sheltered.)

About three years ago I finally learned how to make enchiladas. My girlfriend, M, made enchiladas for our potluck, chicken for us carnivores and cheese for the vegetarians. They were so delicious. I asked her how to make these and she gave me a few simple instructions to follow. Now, enchiladas are one of our family’s favorite dishes.

Chicken Enchiladas

• 2 chicken breasts, cooked, shredded (shortcut: use 3 1/2 cups shredded Costco rotisserie chicken)
• 1 16-oz can of enchilada sauce
• 2 cups Mexican blend cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped black olives
• 12 soft corn tortillas (small)
• 2 foil pans or baking dishes
• Sliced avocado for garnish

1) Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix chicken breast with olives, 1/4 cup cheese and enchilada sauce until wet (about 3/4 cup of sauce). I had some shredded Costco rotisserie chicken in the freezer which I defrosted and used for this dish. Using pre-made rotisserie chicken is a huge short-cut to making enchiladas. If you don’t have rotisserie chicken, just boil the chicken on low heat for about 15-20 minutes.

After looking at this photo a second time, I realized it’s not pretty.  I considered removing this, but decided against it.  It is what it is; however, you’ll find it’s quite tasty.  :)

2) Pour enchilada sauce into the bottom of the baking dish until covered. I use La Victoria mild green enchilada sauce. It’s not spicy and perfect for my sensitive tummy. My friend, M, prefers La Palma sauce. I’ve tried La Palma and it’s pretty good but even mild is too spicy for me.

3) Pour some enchilada sauce into a shallow dish or bowl and place one steamed tortilla at a time into the sauce, cover thoroughly. Move the tortilla to the baking dish.

Tip: I steam the tortillas in the microwave by covering a couple of them with a damp paper towel and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute.

4) Place enchilada filling and extra cheese in the center of the tortilla.

Roll the tortilla away from you with the open ends tucked under the enchilada.

Repeat and continue until all the enchilada filling is gone. I usually end up making 12 enchiladas.

5) Pour remaining sauce over enchiladas, add remaining olives on top for garnish, tightly wrap the baking dish with foil, and bake for 30 minutes. Let stand covered for 10-15 minutes. Sprinkle extra cheese on top of enchilada before serving. Garnish with sliced avocado.

If you like extra sauce on your enchiladas, I recommend buying two cans of enchilada sauce. One can barely covers 12 enchiladas, and the second can may be warmed up and used to pour over the enchiladas just before they’re served.

As always, these enchiladas were well-received at the dinner table. We also have plenty of leftovers so I don’t need to cook dinner tomorrow night. Yay! As much as I love cooking, even I need a break sometimes.

Chicken enchilada dinner…
This could have used a bit more enchilada sauce and perhaps it’s not a “wow” dinner, and in fact, quite “ordinary”, but it’s a family favorite and good comfort food. :)

Despite losing a 14-point lead in the 3rd quarter, the Lakers beat the Suns 124-112 to lead the Western Conference Final series 2-0. Only two more wins needed to play in the NBA Championship Finals.

Good dinner, Lakers won, all is well in my world. :)

GO LAKERS!

Judy | bebe mama