Chicken Enchiladas

My all-time favorite Mexican food in the world is enchiladas.  Mmmm.  Just thinking now about the oozy, cheesy goodness has my mouth watering.  I took some inspiration from the Pioneer Woman this week and whipped up a batch for dinner the other night.  Rave reviews all around.  These were delicious.  And to show you how to make these, I get to show you my absolute favorite way of cooking chicken.  Okay there are really three or four ways I love to cook chicken, but I like to speak in absolutes.

What you’ll need:

• 10 tortillas
• 2 T butter
• 2T flour
• 28 oz. can of enchilada sauce
• 2 C chicken stock
• 2 chicken breasts, bone in, skin on
• 1 large onion
• 1 C scallions, chopped
• 3 C sharp cheddar cheese
• olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• red pepper flakes
• cilantro

We can start with the chicken.  Get your oven going to the temperature that does it all, 350.  Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper, and rub it into the skin to make sure it really gets in there.  Then rub in some olive oil.    Place the chicken on a baking sheet, and roast for 30 minutes.  That’s it.  That’s the best way I can tell you to cook chicken.  Ina taught me.  There are so many places you can go from here, but for today, we’ll stick to enchiladas.  Set the chicken aside to cool.  Once the chicken is handle-able, peel off the skin, and have at it with a fork.  Keep the oven on to bake the enchiladas, unless you are like me and you do this step in advance.

While the chicken cooks, you can work on the sauce.  Melt 2 T butter in a saucepan.  Over low-medium heat, whisk in 2T flour.  Stir for three minutes.  Pat yourself on the back, because you made a roux!  Did you know Julia Child called her first apartment in Paris, Roo de Loo?  I found it out here.  Pour in the enchilada sauce and chicken stock.  Toss in some red pepper flakes.    Take note that I’m not adding salt or pepper.  *Gasps*  I find there is plenty of sodium within the sauce and stock, and the red pepper flakes give me the heat I need.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 30-45 minutes, until it has reduced and thickened up.

One last thing to do before we get to the fun part.  Throw a T of butter in a saucepan and cook up some chopped onions.  Toss with the chicken.

Assembly time.  Create a workstation that works for you.  For me, placing the tortillas on a cantaloupe seemed the thing to do.  You’ll want to use about half the cheese and scallions in the tortillas, and save half for the top of the dish.

Spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of a pan.

Assemble your tortillas.  Dip a shell in the red sauce, spoon in some chicken and sprinkle with cheese and onions.  Wrap that sucker up and put it seam-side down in the pan.

Once all the enchiladas are ready to go, pour the rest of the sauce over, and sprinkle with the remaining cheese and scallions.

Bake for 20 minutes.

That’s nothing for a casserole-esque dish.  You can be eating this in no time.