Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Grilled Chicken & Cheese Enchiladas

I made these Grilled Chicken & Cheese Enchiladas as part of my September Batch Cooking.   They freeze great and are easy to pull out and bake for a hot, hearty dinner on a cool fall night. Top them with your favorite salsa, serve them with beans and Spanish rice y es muy bueno! (and it's very good!) You can use flour or corn tortillas - I used the cheap flour ones and they almost dissolved when I cooked my enchiladas this time, so you may want to spring for decent tortillas.


I LOVE good Mexican food. I was once served beef wrapped in a tortilla and smothered with canned tomato soup and called enchiladas – not good Mexican food. This enchilada recipe would probably get laughed at in some of my favorite Mexican restaurants but it follows in the tradition of my Mom's enchiladas – so we call them enchiladas.  With the dissolving  tortilla issue of this batch is was more like a casserole, but still muy bueno!


(Any extra cheese sauce makes great Mac & Cheese!)



Grilled Chicken & Cheese Enchiladas


Ingredients


16 burrito size Tortillas or 32 Taco size tortillas


Filling


4 Chicken Breasts, Grilled and shredded or choppedenchilada2


2-4oz cans Green Chilis


1 cup chopped Red Bell Pepper


1 cup chopped Green Bell Pepper


1 medium Onion, finely chopped


1-24 oz containter of Cottage Cheese


4 cups grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese


1 teaspoon Cumin


1 teaspoon Garlic Salt


½ teaspoon Black Pepper


Cheese Sauce


½ cup Butter/Margarine


½ cup Flour


2 ½ cups Milk


4 cups grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese



Make the Cheese Sauce (or skip this step by using canned cheese soup or jar nacho cheese sauce for more of a kick)





  1. Melt butter in a large saucepan.




  2. Add flour to melted butter and stir until all the flour is incorporated into a rue.




  3. Slowly add 1/2-1 cup of the milk and whisk until the rue dissolves completely into the milk. Add remaining milk and heat to near boil.




  4. Turn off heat and stir in 4 cups of grated cheese until melted.




Set cheese sauce aside.


Mix all the filling ingredients except the chicken.


Assemble the Enchiladas:





  1. Place 1/2-1 cup of the cheese sauce in the bottom of your pan – enough to  lightly coat the bottom of the pan.




  2. Place a tortilla on a flat working surface.




  3. Place 1/3-1/2 cups of filling and a sprinkling of the chicken onto the center of the tortilla.


    enchilada3




  4. Roll up the tortilla burrito style.




  5. Place filled tortilla into pan. (mine ripped – and that's ok – they are just there to hold the filling in place)



    enchilada4



  6. Repeat until you've squeezed as many enchiladas as you can into the pan (usually I can fit 8 – 10 in a 9x13 pan and 4-6 in an 8x8 square pan). Pour more cheese sauce over the top and top with a hand full of grated.


    enchilada5




  7. Bake for 45 minutes at 375 degrees or until bubbly.





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