Chicken Enchilada Yumminess

A week or so ago I shared a recipe on my FB page for a chicken enchilada dish that I wanted to try.  It was really good and I made TONs of changes, so I'm going to write my own version here.  Mostly for me, but you feel free to try it if you want.  You can see the original recipe by clicking here.

Here are the ingredients that I changed and why:

• 4 bone-in chicken thighs, skinned; I used three boneless, skinless breast tenderloins (because that's what I had)
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed; I used 2 cups. (I like corn)
• 1/3 cup (3 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened; I used about 2/3 of a block of full-fat. (I love cream cheese AND the newest studies are showing that fat from dairy is actually good for you.  Yay!)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper; (I took this out- don't like hot)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (doubled.  I like cumin)
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt  (doubled.  It needed salt.  I used regular table salt)
• 1 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth; (I just used normal broth- what I had in the cupboard)
• 2/3 cup salsa verde (I used green enchilada sauce)
• 1/4 cup water (I replaced this with broth)
• 2 tablespoons chopped pickled jalapeño pepper (didn't use this- again, don't like hot)
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) shredded sharp cheddar cheese (seriously?!?!  1/4 cup for four servings?  That's a TABLESPOON per serving.  If you're counting calories hard-core, be my guest.  I used a total of 1.5 cups of cheese.  It was delicious, but I'll probably dial it down to 1 cup next time, as a nod toward health)
• I used less chicken than they said because I didn't have that much.  I supplemented with an 8 oz box of small white button mushrooms (I just learned that mushrooms contain a savory flavor called umami, which our brains associate with meat.  Plus I'm trying to get in more veggies)
• I would have put in a can of black beans for extra protein and deliciousness (because black beans go with anything Mexican) but I was out.  There was some weeping and gnashing of teeth)
• I added some medium salsa.  More veggies and added flavor.  Maybe 1/2 cup?

Ok, so here's my version:

 Leslie's Chicken Enchilada Casserole Recipe

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 3 skinless, boneless chicken breast tenderloins
• 8 oz mushrooms
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided
• 2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed
• 2/3 a block cream cheese, softened
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cups chopped onion, divided
• 6 garlic cloves, minced and divided
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 10 oz can green enchilada sauce
• 1/2 cup medium salsa
• 9 (6-inch) corn tortillas
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Directions

-Preheat oven to 425°F.

-In a medium sauce pan, boil the chicken until it's cooked through and tender.  Drain and set aside to cool.  

-Use a food processor to dice separately onions, mushrooms, and cilantro.  (you can do it by hand if you prefer).  Will only take a couple spins so you don't puree it.  By this time, you chicken should be cool enough to handle. Put it in the food processor for just a couple spins to chop/dice. (don't worry about rinsing out the food processor between foods; everything's getting put together anyway)

-In a large skillet, saute 2/3 of your onion with 1/2 the garlic, all the mushrooms and chicken in about a 1/4 cup olive oil.  Toward the end, add the salt, pepper, cumin, and salsa.  Last, remove from heat and stir in 1/2 the cream cheese and 1/2 the cilantro.  Set aside.

-In the sauce pan you used for the chicken, mix together the green enchilada sauce, the remaining 1/3 of the onions, the chicken broth, the remaining garlic, and the rest of the cream cheese.  Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 10 minutes.  Set aside to cool.

-Back to your skillet, rinse it out and spray with cooking spray.  Over medium-high heat. Add 3 tortillas; cook 1 1/2 minutes on each side. Remove tortillas from pan; repeat procedure with remaining tortillas. Cut tortillas into quarters.

-Go back to the cooling sauce.  Carefully pour it into a food processor with the rest of the cilantro.  Blend until smooth.

-Spread a thin layer of the salsa mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 or 8x8 baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 12 tortilla quarters over salsa mixture. Spoon half of chicken mixture over tortillas. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the cheddar cheese.  Repeat tortillas, meat, cheese, and then tortillas again. Pour remaining salsa mixture over tortillas; sprinkle evenly with cheddar cheese. Bake at 425°F for 15 minutes or until bubbly and lightly browned.

It makes four servings and from start to finish took about an hour.  AND during the 15 minutes of cooking, I got all the washing up done, which is a fantastic bonus in my world.  Mmmm....