Chipotle Chicken Enchiladas

Chipotle Chicken Enchiladas

These enchiladas are spicy and delicious, and I nearly had to stop my husband for going back for thirds tonight.  That’s a rave review in my book!

I will let the photos do the talking for the most part here.  The first step is to cook the chicken.  I find that the easiest and tastiest way to get the chicken to the perfect shredding consistency is to cook it in the slow cooker.  I started the chicken with about a cup of chicken stock, a large sliced onion and a few cracked cloves of garlic.  The chicken breasts were nearly frozen solid when I started them, and they cooked on Low for 4 hours.  That was about the perfect timing.  For thawed chicken, 3 hours is just fine.  Its done when it is easily shredded with a fork.

Slow Cooked Chicken

Transfer the chicken, onions and garlic to a large bowl, leaving behind as much liquid as possible.  Shred with 2 forks.

Shredded Chicken

Then move over to the food processor.  Combine two chipotle in adobo peppers with one can of red enchilada sauce.  Blend until smooth in the processor.

Spiced up Enchilada Sauce

Transfer the sauce into a large, shallow bowl.  Alternatively, use a pie plate.  Clean out the food processor and blend up the ingredients for the chicken filling.  Cream cheese, green chiles, roasted tomatillo salsa, and 2 more chipotle in adobo peppers.

Filling Sauce

Combine this with the shredded chicken and about 1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese.  Mix lightly so as not to break up the chicken too much.

Chicken Filling

So the sauce is ready, the filling is ready, now its time to assemble! Get a pile of corn tortillas ready along with a 9X13 pan.  Here are the steps to assembly.  And no, there is no way not to get extremely messy while doing this.

Coat tortillas with sauce

Completely coat both sides

Fill with a couple tablespoons chicken filling.

Roll up and place seam side down.

Line up tightly to avoid unrolling.

Naked Enchiladas

They look a little chilly, I think they could use a nice warming coat of cheese!  Not too much though, we don’t want greasy enchiladas.

Cheese Coated Enchiladas

Now just bake for 25 minutes to melt the cheese and make everything bubbly and good.

Finished Enchiladas

As I mentioned before, these are on the spicy side.  I wanted to make a side dish that would be nice and cooling.  My mom always made this fruit salad to go with enchiladas and I find it to be the perfect accompaniment.  The only ingredients are canned pineapple, mandarin oranges, sour cream and mini-marshmallows.  Yes, I said mini-marshmallows, don’t judge, its tasty!

Fruit Salad

Greg won’t touch the fruit salad, but I truly enjoy it.  And even if you don’t quite trust me on the fruit salad, do try the enchiladas.  You won’t regret it!

Prep Ranking: #4 Weekend Afternoon Project
Tastiness Grade: 9.5 out of 10
Greg’s Tastiness Grade: 10 out of 10

Recipes below the jump.

Chipotle Chicken Enchiladas

Chicken Filling:

Boneless/Skinless Chicken Breasts (2 large or 3 medium sized)

1 large onion, sliced into half-moons

3 cloves garlic, smashed

1 cup chicken stock

½ cup tomatillo salsa

1 4oz can diced green chilies, drained

4 oz cream cheese

2 chipotle in adobo peppers

½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 tsp salt

To Cook Chicken:

Place chicken breasts (2 large or 3 medium sized) along with the sliced onion, garlic and chicken stock into a 4-qt slow cooker. Cook on LOW for ~3-4 hours, until chicken is tender and easily shredded.

Once chicken is done, transfer chicken and onions from the slow cooker to a large mixing bowl. Shred chicken with two forks.

Using a food processor, blend together the cream cheese, green chilies, tomatillo salsa, chipotle peppers and salt. Stir this mixture along with the shredded cheddar cheese in with the shredded chicken and onions. Taste for seasoning and add more salt if desired.

Enchilada Sauce:

1 8oz can red enchilada sauce

2 chipotle in adobo peppers, plus ~1 Tbsp adobo sauce from the can

Combine these ingredients in a food processor (or blender) and process until the peppers are blended into the sauce. Set aside in a large, shallow bowl or pie plate.

To Assemble:

Additional ingredients

14 – 6” corn tortillas

1 cup shredded jack cheese (or a blend of jack and sharp cheddar)

Dip a corn tortilla into the enchilada sauce, coating both sides. Move the tortilla into a 9×13” baking dish. Spoon the chicken mixture (~2 Tbsp) onto the tortilla, line up in the middle of the tortilla, then roll the tortilla and place seam-down in the baking dish. Continue making enchiladas until the baking dish is full (I got 2 rows of 6 with two extras on the end). Spoon any extra enchilada sauce over the enchiladas. Spread the shredded jack cheese over the enchiladas.

Bake at 350F for about 25 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Allow to cool 5 minutes before serving.

Fruit Salad:

1 14 oz can pineapple chunks

1 12 oz can mandarin orange slices

1/2 cup sour cream (light is fine)

1/2 cup mini-marshmallows

Drain the fruit very thoroughly in a colander.  Transfer to a large bowl.  Add the sour cream and marshmallows.  Mix gently to avoid breaking up the fruit.  Refrigerate for about 15 minutes before serving.