Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

I have been cooking...lots actually. I just forget to take pictures (and partly on purpose because I can't take nice pictures like Jessica) and then figure why post a recipe for something yummy without a picture? No one will even be tempted to make it because, let's be honest...we all love pictures of good food, right? Well, sorry to say. No picture here. But Ryan (brother) was visiting us for a few days and I made this recipe and he said to me "This is really good. Is this on the food blog?" - Uh, he KNOWS about the food blog? Yeah, because his wife is the one that mostly posts on this blog. So, I decided to post it on the food blog. Just for him...and for his wife, if she ever wants to make them. Make them...they were yummy. And it's a little bit of New Mexico right in your home! :)

Filling:
1 Rotisserie Chicken, skinned, and chopped...or about 3-ish cups chopped chicken
2-4 oz. cans of diced green chiles
1-8 oz. package of softened cream cheese, cut up into cubes
1 can black beans
1 cup corn (I use costco corn and just run tap water over it to thaw it out a little bit)

Sauce:
2 T. Butter
1/2 C. chopped onion*
2 Tbs. Flour
1/3 C. chicken broth
1/4 C. milk
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1-10 oz. can green chile enchilada sauce
1/2 C. sour cream

8 oz. monterey jack cheese, shredded (I've used mozzarella but it just wasn't quite the same)
Flour Tortillas (I use the Costco ones....love them!)
Fresh Cilantro

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combing cream cheese, and green chiles. Mix together well. Add the chicken, black beans, and corn. Mix to combine. Set aside.

In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens and begins turning translucent, this will take about 3-4 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the onions as you stir. Cook for about 1 minute, stirring. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth and milk. As you whisk and the mixture cooks, the flour will get less lumpy around the onions and the mixture will become smooth. Cook over medium heat until it begins to bubble and has thickened (about 3-4 minutes). Add salt and pepper. Remove from heat and stir in enchilada sauce and sour cream.

Spread about 1/4 C. of the green sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 dish. (Or, if you have a smaller family, like me. Use a 8x8 pan and a tin 8x8 pan and freeze one of them for another quick dinner in the future. This freezes well!) Fill each tortilla with about 1/2 C. of the chicken/cream cheese filling. Top with a small handful of shredded cheese, a couple Tbs. for each enchilada. Save at least 1/2 C. cheese for the top of the enchiladas. Roll the tortillas up and place seam side down in the prepared baking dish. Continue filling enchiladas until the dish is full.

Pour the green/white sauce over the top of the enchiladas. Top with remaining cheese. Bake for 20-30 minutes until the enchiladas are bubbling, hot and lightly browned. Sprinkle fresh cilantro over the top and serve.


*Go buy a Vidalia Chopper right now if you don't already have one. Jess, do you like yours? I LOVE LOVE LOVE mine. Honestly, if there was a fire in my house, it would be the second thing I'd grab second only to my child! :) I buy a big bag of onions at Costco and chop about half of them up right away and freeze them (about one onion per freezer bag) and it makes it SO nice when I'm cooking something with onion, which I do often. I just pull out an already chopped, frozen bag of onion. If I know I'm going to use it early enough, sometimes I'll pull it out and let it thaw, but it really doesn't matter.

I adapted this recipe from my kitchen cafe