Entree/ Poultry

Stacked Green Chili & Grilled Chicken Enchiladas

Talk about stacked!

Our hosts this month, Barbara of Barbara Bakesand Bunnee of Anna+Foodhave chosen a delicious Stacked Green Chile & Grilled Chicken Enchilada recipe in celebration of Cinco de Mayo! The recipe, featuring a homemade enchilada sauce was found on www.finecooking.com and written by Robb Walsh.

This is another “cooks” challenge from www.thedaringkitchen.com.  Even though I sometimes feel like we eat nothing but Mexican food here in Texas, I can honestly say I have never made enchiladas or stacked enchiladas before.

For about the first 18 years of living in Texas we pretty much had a standing Friday night date with a Mexican restaurant. In fact, we went exclusively to just one restaurant for most of those years. The waiters knew us, the owners knew us and we pretty much knew what we were going to order before we even got there. JUMBO margaritas were also the first words out of our mouths. And we knew before the night was over, someone would be celebrating a birthday, get the BIG hat, and then get a plate full of whipped cream pushed in their face and a picture made to commemorate the event.

These days we have given up the weekly fix for Mexican food and we are making fresh margaritas instead of making them from a mix or limeade as we had done for years.

I liked making these enchiladas in my individual salad/pasta bowls. Each person had their own serving dish and it made for easier serving.

I roasted these on broil in the oven, but you can do these on the grill or even your gas stove top.

Blackened and charred, put them in a sack to steam, then peel.

Tomatillos. I use to think these were like tiny green tomatoes and tried frying them once. That didn’t work out, but they make a great green sauce.

This is what the stacks look like before baking. I did these in individual pasta/soup bowls.

Stacked Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 lbs. fresh Anaheim chiles
  • 7-8 oz. tomatillos about 4-5 medium
  • 4 c. chicken broth
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 1/4 c.  onion minced
  • 1 tsp. dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
  • 1/4 tsp. black pepper
  • 2 Tbsp. cornstarch dissolve in 2 Tbsp. water, for thickening
  • hot sauce optional
  • 2 boneless chicken breast I used thighs
  • 3 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 12 small corn tortillas
  • 6 oz. grated Monterey Jack I did a blend of pepper jack and cheddar
  • cilantro
  • sour cream for garnish
  • chopped tomato for garnish
  • guacamole for garnish

Instructions

  1. Coat each chile with a little oil. Lay the oiled chiles on the grill or baking sheet (line pan with foil for easy clean-up). Place on the grill or broil close to the heating element, turning the chiles until they are charred evenly. Put the charred peppers in a paper bad and fold to close. Let steam in the bag for about 10-5 minutes. Remove from bag and pull out the stem and the seed core. Open the chile and remove the seeds. Turn the chili skin side up and using a paring knife, scrape away the skin. Chop the peppers and set aside.
  2. Green Chile Sauce
  3. Put a medium saucepan of water on to boil and remove the papery outer skin from the tomatillos. Boil the tomatillos until soft, 5 to 10 minutes. Drain and puree in a blender or food processor. Return the tomatillos to the saucepan along with the chicken broth, chopped green chiles, minced onion, oregano, garlic, salt and pepper.
  4. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the cornstarch/water mixture and stir well. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thickened and reduced to 4-5 cups, another 10-15 minutes.
  5. Adjust seasonings and add hot sauce if you want a little more heat.
  6. To make the Stacked Green Chile and Grilled Chicken Enchiladas
  7. Grill your chicken on a gas grill or over charcoals. You want to coat the chicken with olive oil and season well with salt and pepper before grilling.
  8. Preheat oven to 450°. Slice or shred your cooled, grilled chicken.  In a small skillet, heat 3 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat until very hot. Using tongs, put a totilla into the pan and cook until soft and lightly brown on each side, about 15-20 seconds per side. Drain on paper towels. Add oil as needed and continue until all 12 tortillas are done.
  9. In a baking dish large enough to hold four separate stacks of tortillas (or use individual dishes) ladle a thin layer of sauce. Lay four tortillas in the dish (or one in single dish) and ladle another 1/2 cup of sauce over the tortillas. Divide half the chicken among the first layer of tortillas, top with another 1/2 cup of sauce and 1/3 of the grated cheese.
  10. Stack another four tortillas, top with the rest of the chicken, more sauce and another third of the cheese. Finish with the third tortilla, topped with the remaining sauce and cheese.
  11. Bake until the sauce has thickened and the cheese melted, about 20 minutes. Let rest for 5-10 minutes.
  12. To serve, transfer each stack to a plate. Spoon any leftover sauce over the stacks and sprinkle with cilantro. Garnish with sour cream, chopped tomatoes and guacamole.

3 Comments

  • Reply
    joann m
    May 14, 2010 at 4:28 am

    definitely enchiladas…but, kinda makes me think it should be called “mexican lasagna”… (tee-hee)

  • Reply
    Jenni
    May 28, 2010 at 7:03 pm

    Great job! Your stacked enchiladas look perfect!!!

  • Reply
    Missy (daughter-in-law)
    January 31, 2011 at 8:10 am

    I made these enchiladas last weekend when my parents came to town to visit. They were a big hit! My parents are sensitive to heat–so I didn’t add any hot sauce to the sauce. When I make them again for just my husband and myself, I plan on kicking it up a bit!
    The great thing about this recipe was that I made the sauce the day before, assembled the enchiladas in the morning and then my husband was in charge of baking them! Easy breezy!
    Thanks SHERRY!

  • Leave a Reply

    Recipe Rating




    You Might Also Like