So these our are absolutely favorite perfect every time chicken enchiladas. Whew! That was a lot of descriptive words there. 
My family has been making these for years. And while they’re not really spicy (most of the family likes mild) they are truly tasty.
The best part about this enchilada recipe is that it is versatile. You can easily substitute another meat for the chicken. I commonly use leftover pulled pork to create equally delicious pork enchiladas. The difference is enough to make you want to have this every day of the week. So, the best part is that even with a big family you can expect leftovers. Depending on how full you fill your enchiladas you can have lunch for the entire week.
This probably isn’t the most authentic recipe, but like I said my family isn’t always big on spice. Some of us love that heat, but some do not. So you can easily up that kick as well by using a hotter pepper. As it is this recipe is really mild using only the jalapeno.
This is a one dish kind of meal. However, we tend to make rice and beans to go with it or else we would just eat all the enchiladas in one sitting. One thing is certain, I have never received a single complaint when making this for dinner. There is generally some extra sneaking going around to claim the leftovers as well.
Essentially a perfect recipe with no bad result. There are a lot of steps but none of them are complex. There is a good deal of prep, but the end result is worth the extra effort. So feel free to show off your own tortilla rolling skills. Remember the chef eats all the mistakes. I am certainly not going to tell if you mistakenly mess up half a dozen enchiladas.
- 1/2 cup chopped onion (I use anywhere from 1/4 to a 1/3 c)
- 4 tablespoons margarine or butter
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 8 ounces sour cream
- 3 cups chopped cooked chicken (I use typically 2 lg. or 2 med. sized breasts)
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 4 ounce can chopped green chilies, drained
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 10-14 small tortillas (typically I use flour, but I prefer corn)
- 1. If you have raw chicken breasts to start, I've found the best way to cook them. Using a large microwave container, place raw chicken breasts in container and cover with chicken broth. Following microwave instructions poach breasts till done. When finished, remove breasts from container and place on cutting board to cool. When cool, roughly chop chicken breasts into small bite sized pieces. Reserve chicken broth for enchilada sauce. (Poaching the chicken breasts in the broth adds extra flavor to it and makes your sauce that much more yummy.)
- 2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan and an 8 x 8 baking pan. Set aside.
- 3. Saute onion in margarine/butter in a medium sized saucepan until softened. Add flour, whisk to form a roux. Slowly pour in chicken broth, whisking constantly. Cook till thickened, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and whisk in sour cream.
- 4. In a large bowl, mix 1 cup cooked sauce, chopped chicken breast, 1 cup cheddar cheese, drained chilies and chili powder. Place tortilla on cutting board or plate. Scoop out 1/4 cup of mixture, place in center of tortilla and roll up. Place in pan seam side down. Repeat till all of filling is used. (For me this recipe typically makes 14 enchiladas. If you want them fuller you could probably get away with using 1/3 cup to make them fit in a single pan.)
- 5. Spoon rest of sauce over enchiladas. Cover with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until bubbly throughout.
- If substituting chicken for beef, pork, etc, then still use the same amount of broth either chicken, beef or vegetable.
