When I woke up this morning, my first thought was “What am I going to cook today?” My mind was in recipe mode–cataloguing my pantry, going over what I have cooked recently, what I have been hungry for lately. I was coming up empty. My cabinets are far from empty, but I don’t have many of the KEY ingredients I like to use. Things that I use quickly because I like them, or because they HAVE to be used quickly. Shrimp or other seafood, chicken thighs, mushrooms, bell peppers, fruit of any kind. For example–I have every ingredient needed to make beef bourgenion (or good substitutes) except mushrooms. You can’t make beef stew without mushrooms. You just can’t. Actually a lot of the recipes that kept popping into my head needed mushrooms. Grrr. Guess I’ll have to pick some up this week. I don’t like to buy them unless I KNOW I’m going to cook with them within a day or two because they seem to rot so quickly. How do you keep your mushrooms from going bad?
I ended up pulling out my binder after J went to work and then my Casserole magazine. I settled on chicken enchiladas, as I had all the ingredients for them. Or so I thought. I got halfway through the prep and realized I didn’t have the can of green chiles it called for. Darn. Oh well, that’s what Tabasco is for! Good thing I had just bought a brand new bottle, right?
These were good. Not spectacular, but good. I think next time I’ll use my Boom Boom sauce with the filling, instead of this one, as it was a little bland. It needed more heat, but that’s to be expected out of what I think of as a cook book for suburban moms with picky kids. We put fresh salsa on top– fresh guacamole would be good with these too.
Oh, and I actually did try to take pictures of this but because I used corn tortillas and not flour, they came out as just a big mess. The tortillas didn’t hold their shape at all, they just kind of dissolved into the sauce. Trust me, the recipe is better without a picture :).
Chicken Enchiladas
Adapted from Better Homes & Gardens Ultimate Casseroles
2 chicken breasts
2/3 cup chicken broth
1/4 tsp black pepper
10 oz pkg frozen spinach, cooked to package directions
Handful cilantro
1 1/4 cups sour cream
2 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 cup milk
4-6 drops Tabasco
4-6 flour tortillas
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
Preheat oven to 350. Grease baking dish (use one that has a lid).
In a large skillet, combine chicken, broth, and pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered for 12-14 minutes or until no longer pink. Drain. Shred chicken.
In a large bowl, combine chicken, cooked spinach, and cilantro.
In a small bowl, combine sour cream, flour, salt, & cumin. Stir in milk and Tabasco. Stir half of sauce into chicken mixture. Set remaining sauce aside.
Divide filling among tortillas. Roll up and arrange seam sides down in prepared baking dish. Top with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with cheese.
Bake, covered, for 20 minutes. Bake, uncovered, 20 minutes more. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
**Note–Use flour tortillas, not corn. I used corn because that’s what I had on hand, but they do not roll at all, they just break. Flour tortillas are much more pliable, and won’t dissolve when baked.
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