Chicken Enchiladas
Author: 
Recipe type: Main Course
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4-6
 
These enchiladas come together quickly because the tortillas, chicken and sauce can be prepared in advance.
Ingredients
Lime Chicken, chopped or shredded
  • 3 chicken breasts (or 4 chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat)
  • 3 limes, juiced
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 Tbsp oil
Red Enchilada Sauce
  • 3 ounces of tomato paste
  • 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • ¼ tsp salt, to taste
  • Dash of black pepper, to taste
  • 1 tsp chili powder, to taste
  • ⅛ tsp cumin, to taste
  • Corn tortillas
  • Shredded cheese, such as Colby-Jack
  • Light sour cream
Instructions
Lime Chicken
  1. Pound the chicken breasts.
  2. Add the chicken, salt and lime juice to a Ziploc bag.
  3. Let the chicken marinate for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight.
  4. Heat the oil on high.
  5. Reserve the marinade.
  6. Sear the chicken for about 3 minutes on each side.
  7. Remove the chicken from the heat and chop it. (The chicken will still be raw in the center.)
  8. Reduce the heat to medium-high and add the chopped chicken back to the pan with a small portion of the marinade.
  9. Cook the chicken until it is browned and done. (Once the chicken is cooked all of the way through, you can dump out any remaining liquid to help the chicken caramelize.)
Red Enchilada Sauce
  1. Mix all of the ingredients in a pan over medium heat.
  2. Reduce the heat to low and let the sauce simmer for 30 minutes.
  3. Season the sauce to taste.
  4. The recipe can easily be doubled or tripled if you need a lot of sauce.
Enchiladas
  1. Place a small frying pan over medium heat.
  2. Pour just enough enchilada sauce in the pan to coat the bottom of the pan (roughly ½ cup).
  3. Working with one tortilla at a time, place a tortilla in the hot enchilada sauce and heat the tortilla until it is soft and tender, flipping it to coat both sides with sauce.
  4. Remove the tortilla from the heat and let it rest for a few seconds until it is cool enough to work with. (You want to work with warm tortillas so that they remain soft and pliable.)
  5. Sprinkle some cheese down the center of the tortilla and then sprinkle the chicken on the cheese.
  6. Roll up the tortilla and place it seam-side down in a casserole pan.
  7. Repeat the process, tightly packing the rolled tortillas into the pan, until the pan is full.
  8. Pour enchilada sauce over the rolled tortillas, spreading the sauce to completely cover the tortillas and spooning some sauce around the edges.
  9. Sprinkle cheese over the top.
  10. Bake the enchiladas at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes until the cheese is bubbling.
  11. Serve the enchiladas warm with sour cream, avocado, rice and beans.
Recipe by Itsy Bitsy Foodies at http://itsybitsyfoodies.com/chicken-enchiladas/