Creamy Green Chicken Enchiladas

Maybe making these twice in one weekend was a little overboard, but in my defense, the first time was at my friend Natalie's house on a Friday for a "cooking night" of sorts! The cooking club lives on! I also had no plans for the following Sunday's dinner and I knew The Husband loves mexican and I thought, I'd be a nice wife and make this recipe again since it was so easy and he missed out on it. He really enjoyed it and we both agreed it is an awesome variation on your typical "chicken enchiladas" - delicious!

This is a recipe from Martha Stewart, also found online and in her Food booklets that my mom signs up for. I didn't really make any major modifications - just little things. I didn't waste time roasting garlic.. I like the fresh taste of garlic so I used fresh mixed into the "filling." I also was concerned about the lack of seasoning for the filling so I added cumin, more garlic than called for, coriander, and a can of corn. We also made extra enchiladas than the 12 called for so that resulted in less sauce per enchilada, but it was still great because it soaks into the tortillas.

Also, at Natalie's, I didn't quite read the recipe thoroughly so we did a few of the steps out of sequence, which may have changed the flavor of it slightly but it was great both times. Also, for Natalie's we used a rotisserie chicken from CostCo (they are good there), and for the one at home I just roasted chicken breasts and thighs (and then removed the skin and bones to shred) - and both worked great. So just use the type of chicken that you prefer or have time for.

Creamy Verde Chicken Enchiladas

As found here on Martha Stewart's website

Ingredients
Serves 6
3 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken breast halves
Coarse salt and ground pepper
5 garlic cloves, unpeeled
2 jars (16 ounces each) medium green salsa
3/4 cup heavy cream
12 corn tortillas (6-inch)
12 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, coarsely shredded (3 cups)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)

Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Season chicken with salt and pepper; place with garlic on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of breast (avoiding bone) registers 165 degrees, 25 to 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine salsa and cream.

Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Once chicken is cool enough to handle, shred meat, discarding skin and bones. Peel and chop garlic. In a large bowl, combine chicken, garlic, and 1/2 cup salsa mixture. (I also added a can of corn, cumin, coriander, and extra fresh garlic here)

Stack tortillas flat, and wrap in damp paper towels; microwave on high for 1 minute to soften. Working with one tortilla at a time, dip in salsa mixture, lay flat, and fill with 1/3 cup chicken mixture. Roll up and arrange, seam side down, 8 enchiladas lengthwise and 4 crosswise in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Top with remaining salsa mixture, then cheese.

Bake until cheese is browned and salsa is bubbling, 40 to 45 minutes; let rest 10 minutes. Serve, sprinkled with cilantro, if desired.

This was such a tasty dinner, and the photos may not be the prettiest but you won't care once you try this recipe! Martha's photo (see above website) is a little prettier but these things just aren't very photogenic. :) Enjoy!

Thanks to Natalie and AJ for picking a great idea for cooking night, can't wait to see what we do next!