Easy Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

Is anyone else c-r-a-z-y for green chile everything? Me too! Here's a quick-quick way to get a green chile fix without spending hours in the kitchen. Just start with shredded rotisserie chicken wrapped in tortillas with green chiles, then add a gorgeous creamy green chile sauce. You won't believe how two ingredients can add up to so much flavor! It's like 1 + 1 = a total 10 on the taste scale! Enjoy, all, this is a keeper!

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Dreaming About Supper

We've been eating extra-healthy all summer. Here that means lean meat and vegetables most nights, salad suppers often and most importantly, very occasional sweets and treats.

But we have no "diet deprivation". Honestly, eating light and healthy feels good, it's summer food! Is anyone else as happy with a good tomato as a slice of cake?!

Last month, this still summery but season-spanning easy-assembly enchilada casserole captured my imagination. I even dream about it!

In my mind, it gets deconstructed. No carby tortillas, just layers of chicken, more vegetables all topped with that gorgeous Easy Creamy Green Chile Sauce. Or the chicken mixture gets wrapped in blanched collard greens, say. Or scrambled eggs stand in for the chicken mixture for a hearty breakfast. Or an all-veggie filling, zucchini, corn and okra come to mind.

See what I mean? Captivated!

Makes You Hungry, Right? Right!

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QUICK SUPPER: EASY GREEN CHILE CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

Hands-on time: 20 minutes
Time to table: 60 minutes
Makes 4 enchiladas

CHICKEN ENCHILADAS
• 6 ounces cooked chicken (three cheers for rotisserie chickens!)
• 1 4-ounce can mild green chiles
• 1/4 cup finely chopped red pepper
• 1 ear corn, how to cut corn off the cob
• 4 ounces grated "Mexican" cheese blend
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 4 flour tortillas

EASY CREAMY GREEN CHILE SAUCE
• 1 cup 0% Greek yogurt (we love Fage!)
• 8 ounces salsa verde
• 4 ounces grated "Mexican" cheese blend

COOL TOPPINGS
• Fresh tomato, chopped
• Fresh cilantro, chopped

Heat oven to 350F/180C.

CHICKEN ENCHILADAS In a large bowl, "pull" the chicken into strands. Add the green chiles, red pepper, corn, cheese and cumin, stir well.

Place one tortilla on a work surface, arrange one-fourth of the chicken mixture down the center of the tortilla, edge to edge. Roll the sides over the filing to form a roll and place seam-side down in a baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas.

EASY CREAMY GREEN CHILE SAUCE In the same bowl (yay, no need to clean it!), mix yogurt and salsa verde. Spoon the creamy mixture over the tortillas, just be sure to cover all the surfaces. Sprinkle with cheese.

BAKE for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly all the way through.

TO SERVE Remove from oven, top with tomato and cilantro. Serve immediately.

MAKE-AHEAD TIPS Mix the Chicken Enchilada mixture and the Easy Creamy Green Chile Sauce up to a few hours before serving. But do not assemble the enchiladas until ready to throw them into the oven, the tortillas would get really mushy.

LEFTOVERS Leftover enchiladas reheat well in the microwave but definitely "look" like leftovers compared to the first night.

ALANNA's TIPS

• TORTILLAS Definitely choose flour tortillas for these enchiladas, corn tortillas are just too stiff and crackly. I tried three different flour tortillas. The big favorite was the "Totally Homemade" Flour Tortillas from Trader Joe's: perfect size for enchiladas, you can fill them really full without a lot of bready overlap. I also tried Trader Joe's Chile & Onion tortillas, the flavor was good but the tortillas too big. I'd use them again but after wrapping the chicken mixture, would cut off some of the overlapping tortilla. Yeah I know, fussy, but better than too much tortilla.
• SALSA VERDE I tried two different salsa verdes, one mild from Ortega called "Green Taco Sauce" (excellent) and also my own Green Chile Sauce (Salsa Verde) which was too mild and frankly, unless it's already on hand, defeats the whole idea of "Easy" Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas.
• TURN UP THE TEMPERATURE? Adjust the heat to taste! For more heat, use hotter green chiles, tuck some roasted poblano or jalapeño into the chicken mixture, use a hotter salsa verde.
• TURN DOWN THE CALORIES? I was a little surprised how the Weight Watchers points added up in this. First off, when served with a great salad on the side, I'm happy with half an enchilada, they're really big, they're very filling. But to shave off some calories, I would keep the cheese in the chicken mixture but would use less cheese on top, more of a sprinkle, really.

MAYBE A GOOD FREEZER DISH? It's easy to make Easy Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas on the fly. But I do have the idea that the enchiladas would freeze well too. The next time I make this, I'll make a few extra enchiladas to freeze and package individually. My sense is that they shouldn't be thawed (hello, soggy tortillas) but baked straight from the freezer for maybe 20 minutes on their own, adding the Green Chile Sauce and cheese, finishing for the usual 30 minutes in the oven. Thoughts?

NUTRITION INFORMATION Per Enchilada: 324 Calories; 25g Tot Fat; 7g Sat Fat; 66mg Cholesterol; 1067mg Sodium; 18g Carb; 2g Fiber; 5g Sugar; 35g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS Old Points 8 & Points Plus 11 & SmartPoints 9 & Freestyle 5

Adapted from a most talented young blogger, Christina Lane from Dessert for Two. In her recipe, she cooks the chicken especially for the enchiladas, uses 2x the green chiles with the chicken, includes no veggies and calls for sour cream instead of Greek yogurt. If you love this recipe, you'll want to check out Christina's brand-new just-available-yesterday cookbook, Comfort and Joy: Cooking for Two. I think of it as "Dinner for Two" – perfect for young couples, empty nesters, retirees, etc.

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More Mexican "Style" Recipes

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~ more Mexican-style recipes ~

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Seasonal Cooking: This Same Week, Across the Years

Fat Rascals Oatmeal Raisin Cookies Homemade Finnish Mustard Healthy Waldorf Salad Ina Garten's Tabbouleh Salad Mexican Pizza (Oaxaca Tlayuda) Grilled Flatbread How to Make Grilled Flatbread Easy Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

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~ cooked chicken recipes ~
~ bell pepper recipes ~
~ corn recipes ~
~ yogurt recipes ~
~ tortilla recipes ~

~ All Recipes, By Ingredient ~
~ How to Save Money on Groceries ~

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Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. If you make this recipe, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below.

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