We made this dish by borrowing from several different recipes including great ‘from scratch” Enchilada Recipe in the Cooking for Keeps blog. This one walks through the steps of cooking and shredding the chicken, but their dish included a red sauce. We were craving a green chili sauce and were in luck in finding a Homemade Green Enchilada Sauce recipe at Mel’s Kitchen Cafe.

So we printed these recipes out, took a little from here and little from there, adding our own twists and this was the delicious result!

ENCHILADA INGREDIENTS

2 large chicken breasts
1/2 onion, cut into quarters
2 cloves of garlic, crushed (not minced or chopped)
2 bay leaves
1 large carrot, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
Green Chili Sauce (recipe below)
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 cup grated Monterey jack cheese
1 tablespoon canola oil
8 corn tortillas
Sour cream and fresh cilantro as garnish

GREEN CHILI SAUCE INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken stock (low sodium)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1 cup poblano or Anaheim chilies, roasted and peeled or 1 cup canned diced green chilies
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin or 2 teaspoons cumin seeds

PROCEDURE

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
Cut up the chicken breasts by dividing them lengthwise and then cutting each of these portions into quarters. Place the chicken in a large pot and cover with water.
Add the onion, garlic, bay leaves, carrot, and celery. Season with a few teaspoons of salt.
Bring the water up to a boil, then turn down the heat so that the liquid is just lightly simmering.
Simmer until the chicken reads 165 degrees when checked with a probe thermometer. This will take about 10-12 minutes.
Once the chicken is done, remove it from the cooking liquid with a pair of tongs or a slotted spoon. Discard the liquid from the pot and allow the chicken to cool until it is cool enough to handle.
Once cool, transfer the chicken to a large bowl and shred with your fingers by pulling it apart.
While the chicken is simmering or while it is cooling off, you can work on making the Green Chili Sauce (see below).

Cut chicken breasts in half and then into quarters.

Simmer the chicken and vegetables.

Shred cooled chicken with your fingers.

Shredded chicken.

PROCEDURE FOR GREEN CHILI SAUCE

Heat a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Once the pot is hot, add enough oil to coat the bottom. Once the oil is hot, add the onions and cook until translucent, about 3-5 minutes.
Add the garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Be careful not to burn the garlic.
Stir in the flour and cook for 2-3 minutes while stirring. The flour may clump around the onions and that is okay, just stir until the flour starts to turn golden and toasty.
Slowly add in the stock, whisking constantly to avoid forming lumps.
Add the 1/2 teaspoon of the cumin and all of the black pepper, oregano, chilis, and salt and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, turn down the heat to the simmer and leave the pot uncovered to simmer for 30 minutes. This will reduce the sauce and thicken it to a nice silky consistency. Add more stock if the sauce becomes too thick.
Add more salt to taste.

(The original recipe said that you can run this through a food processor, but we chose not to).

Add the flour to the onions and garlic.

Cook until the flour is golden and toasty.

Add the stock while whisking to avoid lumps.

Add the spices and chilies and then simmer

TO ASSEMBLE AND BAKE

Add about 3/4 cup of the enchilada sauce and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon cumin and toss until well coated. Taste to see if you want more salt and pepper for your filling.
Spoon some of the enchilada sauce from the pot into the bottom of a 9 x 9 casserole or baking dish. Use just enough sauce to lightly coat the bottom as you will want the rest to cover the top of the enchiladas.
Mix the cheddar and jack cheeses together in a bowl.
In a small pan over medium heat, lightly heat the tortillas one at a time in a few drops of oil. Heat them on each side just until they are warm and with just enough oil to make them pliable. Stack the warm tortillas on a plate as this will help them stay warm.
Place chicken filling onto the top tortilla and sprinkle with a generous tablespoon of cheese. Remember to save some for the top of the dish!
Roll up the filled tortillas and place them, seam-side down, into the casserole dish. These will pack tightly into the baking dish, which is desired as it will hold them together.
Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the tops of the rolled tortillas and spread around with the back of a spoon to make sure to coat the tortillas fully. Areas that are uncoated will be crispier when baked.
Sprinkle the top with the remaining cheese and then place the pan in the oven, uncovered. Bake until the cheese is melted and the enchiladas are hot and bubbly, about 15-12 minutes.
Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with sour cream (and we even added some salsa too!).