Week 3: Chicken Enchiladas with Green Chili Salsa

Source: Adapted from Good Friends, Great Tastes: A Celebration of Life, Food, and Friendship by Debbie Meyer-Gore
*Special thanks to Dawn Gettman for this cookbook. The first meal from it was a hit- I can't wait to try some more!

One day, I'll learn my lesson and stop trying new recipes when company is coming over. I'm afraid I'll end up with a big, stinky flop of a meal, and then I'll be ordering pizza... but in this stage of my personal development, I think it's healthy to throw caution to the wind and risk the flop. If my company gets annoyed, they are free to refrain from coming over again. Besides, I like pizza anyway.

This, however, was NOT a flop. Not even close. I wanted to lick the bowl in self-congratulatory glee after I mixed up the filling. Making this a vegetarian option would be fairly easy, just replace the chicken with a ton of sliced fresh vegetables you've sauteed until just soft (i.e., red bell peppers, green bell peppers, zucchini, even eggplant... replace it with whatever you want. I don't believe you could go wrong here). Otherwise, this is not health food. It has enough fat in it to give my beautiful nutritionist cousin a heart attack by proxy. I made some substitutions to lighten it up a little bit, but be afraid, and be cautious. This stuff will kill you. It isn't everyday fare if you're trying to watch your girlish figures, but it's darn good and worth it for a splurge.

The pizza will just have to wait for another day.

3 8-oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 ts Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning
1/2 ts lemon pepper
1 tb Smart Balance
1 small red onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 (7oz) jar green salsa
1 (4.5oz) can chopped green chiles
2 c grated reduced fat Mexican blend cheese, divided use
2 c heavy cream
1/2 ts salt
12 corn tortillas
1 tomato, diced (1/4 inch pieces)
1 bunch green onion tops for garnish (dark green portions only)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle chicken breasts with Tony Chachere's and lemon pepper. Spray pan with nonstick spray and sear chicken over medium heat until browned. Shred chicken breasts and set aside. Melt Smart Balance in skillet and saute onion until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic just before the onion is fully sauteed. Combine the chicken, onion, garlic, green salsa, chiles, and 1 cup cheese in large bowl. Mix heavy cream and salt together in a separate small bowl and set aside. Dip each tortilla into the cream mixture, coating each side. Fill each tortilla with the chicken mixture. Roll seam-side down and place in 9x13 baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Pour remaining cream over the rolled tortillas and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake enchiladas for 20 to 25 minutes. Garnish before serving with tomato and green onion tops.

Rating: 5 out of 5 Foodie Forks
Make it. It's awesome.