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 so few ingredients can add up to so much flavor! It's like 2 + 2 = 10 on the taste scale! Enjoy, all, this is a keeper!

Approachable, Homestyle Enchiladas Made from Scratch. Real Food, Fresh & Family-Approved. Beautiful Color! One (Bowl) & Done (In One Hour). Another Quick Supper, a Kitchen Parade Specialty. Budget Friendly. Easy Weeknight Supper. Great for Meal Prep. Easy DIY. High Protein. Weight Watchers Friendly. Rave Reviews. What're you waiting for?! So Good!!

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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, eggplant, zucchini, corn and okra come to mind.

See what I mean? Captivated!

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How do you save and share favorite recipes? recipes that fit your personal cooking style? a particular recipe your mom or daughter or best friend would just love? If this recipe inspires you, please do save and share! I'd be honored ...

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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 FILLING
• About 6 ounces (170g) cooked chicken (three cheers for rotisserie chickens!)
• 1 4-ounce (112g) can mild green chiles
• 1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
• 1 ear corn, how to cut corn off the cob
• 4 ounces (112) grated "Mexican" cheese blend
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 4 flour 8-inch tortillas

EASY CREAMY GREEN CHILE SAUCE
• 1 cup (225g) 0% Greek yogurt (we love Fage!)
• 1 cup (8oz/225g) salsa verde
• 4 ounces (112g) grated "Mexican" cheese blend

COOL TOPPINGS (don't skip)
• Fresh tomato, chopped
• Fresh cilantro, chopped

Heat oven to 350F/180C.

MIX THE CHICKEN FILLING In a large bowl, "pull" the chicken into strands or just chop it up. Add the green chiles, red pepper, corn, cheese and cumin, then stir well.

FILL THE ENCHILADAS To form the enchiladas, place one tortilla on a work surface, arrange a quarter of the Chicken Filling down the center of the tortilla, edge to edge. Fold the sides over the Filling to form a roll and place the enchilada seam-side down in a baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas.

MIX THE 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 the cheese.

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

COOL TOPPING To serve, remove from the oven, top with tomato and cilantro. Serve immediately.

MAKE-AHEAD TIPS Mix the Chicken Filling 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

• NOT CHICKEN BUT ... CRAB, faux crab, that is, the fish called "pollock" that looks and tastes like crab. It makes a fine substitute for chicken. I keep thinking to do a vegetarian version too, just amping up the vegetables with more pepper plus sautéed eggplant, zucchini, tomatillo; it wouldn't be quite as quick to make or offer as much protein but could be delish.
• TORTILLAS Three things. First, definitely choose flour tortillas, corn tortillas are just too stiff and crackly. Second, be particular about tortilla size, I'm partial to eight-inch tortillas. Third, be choosy about flour tortillas and take note when one brand works but another doesn't. Here are three different flour tortillas I've tried.
• The big favorite were the "Totally Homemade" Flour Tortillas from Trader Joe's: they were the perfect size for enchiladas, you could fill them really full without a lot of bready overlap. Unfortunately, Trader Joe's discontinued these.
• I also tried Trader Joe's Chile & Onion tortillas, the flavor was good but the tortillas were too big. I still use them but after wrapping the Chicken Filling, cut off some of the overlapping tortilla. Yeah I know, fussy, but better than too much tortilla.
• I'm sad to say, our everyday quesadilla flour tortillas from Sam's Club make terrible enchiladas: instead of remaining identifiable wraps, they turn soft, gooey and almost glue-y, ugh. Note to self: if these are all that are hand, try cooking a big in a skillet before wrapping.
• Better yet, just place the Filling in small containers and bake as if it's a casserole.
• SALSA VERDE I use two different salsa verdes, one mild from Ortega called "Green Taco Sauce" (excellent) and another spicier one (but not too spicy, even for my spice-averse husband) from Herdez called "Mild Salsa Verde". There's also one from Trader Joe's that good but quite spicy, too much for our taste. I've also tried my own Green Chile Sauce (Salsa Verde) which is too mild and frankly, unless it's already on hand, defeats the whole idea of "Easy" Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas.
• If you can find 8-ounce jars of salsa verde, go for it. But mostly it seems to be packaged in 12-ounce or 16-ounce jars. Two options. Use up the extra by using it in the Chicken Filling or in these other recipes that call for salsa verde recipes.
• CORN In summer, I use fresh corn sliced right off the cobs into the Chicken Filling, it's very good. But in winter, frozen corn works really well.
• No corn? Get creative. Pineapple made a memorable enchilada, once, especially since I put some on top for garnish as well as in the Chicken Filling, y'know, kinda like a ham and pineapple pizza.
• 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 Filling, 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 since they're big and they're filling. But to shave off some calories, I would use cheese in the Chicken Filing but 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 & myWW green? & blue5 & purple5 & future WW points

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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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, you'll find my current address in the FAQs. 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, for more scratch cooking recipes using whole, healthful ingredients, 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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