Not Quite the Whole Enchilada

Meal Monday

I grew up in Texas, so I've been known to get a bit fanatical about proclaiming the superiority of Tex-Mex cuisine over all other foods. So many delights to choose from--burritos, tamales, puffy tacos, flautas, chiles rellenos, soft cheese tacos--which is why they invented the combo platter. But I reserve my most irritating, quasi-religious fervor for the jewel in the crown of Tex-Mex, the cheese and onion enchilada with chile con carne.

But I have to disappoint you today, because this blog post does not deal directly with the King of All Foods, but instead, its meeker and slightly more healthful cousin, the chicken enchilada with red sauce. I just  can't be held responsible for the cases of gastric upset, both adult and juvenile, that might occur if I unleash the Herrera's-grade recipe upon the masses of the uninitiated here. But if you're intrigued, Homesick Texan has a pretty good base recipe (though you still have to add your chili con carne to it to make the real deal, and yeah, that's after the lard).

Here's a fairly simple recipe that Texans and non-Texans can agree upon. It's mild enough that my son will eat it, not too terribly bad for you, and basically involves dumping a can of this and a jar of that into a crock pot. I like to make this recipe on the weekend and divide up the 12 enchiladas for quick meals later in the week.

Crock Pot Chicken Enchiladas with Red Sauce

4 chicken breasts (boneless or bone-in)
1 jar Goya sofrito
salt and pepper to taste
12 corn tortillas
1 cup shredded cheese - I use a blend of mild cheddar, colby, and jack. Lowfat is fine.
2 cans mild enchilada sauce (red)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit.

Step 1: Filling*

• Dump the whole jar of sofrito into a crock pot.
• Add 3/4 cup water and stir.
• Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper and toss 'em in.
• Turn chicken to coat with the sauce.
• Put the lid on and go do something else for 3 hours (high) or 6 hours (low).
• Remove the chicken from the pot and remove the bones if needed. Place the meat in a large mixing bowl and shred with a fork.
• Add about 1/3 cup of enchilada sauce and 1/2 cup shredded cheese to the chicken. Stir and mash until moist.

Step 2: Tortilla wrangling and enchilada assembly
This is kind of messy - keep some wet paper towels handy to wipe sauce off your fingers.

• Pour 1/3 cup enchilada sauce into a 9 x 12 glass baking dish and turn the dish to coat the bottom with sauce.
• Strain the cooking liquid and skim off the fat.
• In a small skillet, heat 1/2 cup cooking liquid and 1/2 cup enchilada sauce over medium until bubbling. Turn heat to low.
• Using tongs, place a tortilla in the skillet and quickly turn over to coat with sauce. Cook about 5-6 seconds, then remove the tortilla and plop it into the glass dish.**
• Replenish the sauce in the skillet as it gets low, making sure to bring it to a boil before continuing to dip the tortillas.
• Place about 1/4 cup of the chicken filling on the edge of the tortilla, pinch into an oblong shape, and roll it up. Place each enchilada seam side down in the dish.
• Repeat 12 times.
• Mix together the rest of the cooking liquid and enchilada sauce and pour it over the 12 lovely enchiladas you have made. Make sure everything is moistened.
• Sprinkle the rest of the shredded cheese on top.
• Cover the dish with foil. Bake, covered, for 15 minutes.
• Remove the foil and bake an additional 5 to 7 minutes, until cheese is bubbling and starting to brown a bit.

*Some folks might like to mix other stuff into their enchilada filling, like olives, mushrooms, spinach, corn, beans, tomatoes, etc. I am OK with any of these things except beans. Beans do not go inside an enchilada. You can eat as many beans as you want on the side, with rice.

**You will have to get a feel for how many seconds to cook the tortilla. If it splits when you try to roll it up, you need to cook it a little longer. If it breaks while you're lifting it from the skillet with the tongs, you cooked it too long.

Photo by Jennifer Bishop. (Unfortunately, the photo depicts a sour cream chicken enchilada, not a cheese/onion/chili enchilada, because that's all I had a picture of. But this variety is similarly delicious, Texan, and really bad for you.)