Creamy Verde Chicken Enchiladas
I love when something comes out accidentally even more tasty than you anticipated! It’s such a rewarding surprise. That’s exactly what happened with these enchiladas. I mean, when you start with enchiladas it’s kind of hard to make something less than scrumptious, but I’m telling you these things came out next level. Our neighbors just had a baby, and I brought a tray over (because that’s what you do when you can cook and someone has a baby - you give them meals because ain’t nobody got time to cook with a newborn) and my phone was blowing up a few hours later with my neighbors raving about these enchiladas. And she’s half Mexican. So imma go ahead and pat myself on the back for this one, and I’m excited to share the magic ingredient(s) with you.
First, full disclosure - despite that beautiful stock image above, I do use a bit of canned enchilada sauce. This is simply because tomatillos are very seasonal here in the good ol’ PNW and hard to come by otherwise. C’est la vie, we do what we can, right? And when it comes to cooking I live by the adage of no judgment and all taste, and the can still delivers in this case.
Second, I have added some broccoli to make the filling go further, bring some green into the mix, and some additional fiber. (I personally use the entire stalk of broccoli - especially in a recipe like this, no one is going to know if it’s a floret, no need to waste fresh produce.) Plus, then I get to use my favorite seasoning in the whole world, Tajin. I didn’t discover this until I moved to the PNW, and it’s magical. It’s kind of like a Latin version of Old Bay, mixed with dried sofrito. It’s delicioso!
Finally… shh… come here. Closer. I’m going to share the accidental secret that makes these enchiladas so rich and delicious. Homemade chicken stock rendered from the thighs used in the recipe. It sounds so simple, but I’m telling you, the fat rendered by chicken thighs is like liquid gold. Use it!!
Ok, I’m getting hungry just typing this so let’s get crackin’!
Ingredients:
1 lb chicken thighs
2 cups water or chicken broth
2 cups broccoli
1.5 tsp Tajin (or adobo seasoning)
2 cups Mexican-style shredded cheese, divided
3 TBSP butter
3 TBSP all-purpose flour
1 cup sour cream
1 cup green enchilada sauce
1 4 oz can diced green chilis (do not drain)
6-8 fajita-sized tortillas
S&P to taste.
Instructions:
Make filling:
1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2) Place chicken on rack in pressure cooker, then add 2 cups of water or chicken broth (broth will give a richer flavor to your stock), set on manual for 30 min. You can vent right away after the 30 min.* Check to make sure internal temp of chicken is at least 165 degrees.
3) Meanwhile, boil a small pot of water and add broccoli, and cook for about 5 mind. Remove, sprinkle with Tajin, allow to cool, and then chop into bit sized pieces.
4) Once chicken is done, remove and shred with two forks. DO NOT DISPOSE OF WATER IN PRESSURE COOKER (or pot). Put it in a bowl and set aside.
5) In another bowl, mix shredded chicken, broccoli, 1 cup of cheese, Tajin, and S&P.
6) Divide chicken mixture evenly between your tortillas. Roll filled tortillas and place seam side down into a 9x13 baking dish (number of tortillas will depend on how full you make them).
Make sauce:
6) In an large sauce pan, melt butter. Whisk flour in, stirring constantly until smooth.
7) Now add the MAGIC — the two cups of chicken broth rendered from your cooked chicken — to the pan. Mix until smooth.
8) Add sour cream, enchilada sauce, and chilis to pan.
9) Pour sauce over enchiladas (just to cover, you probably will have excess sauce, save it!), and top with remaining 1 cup of cheese.
10) Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and golden.
*If you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can boil your chicken - just add just enough water to cover the chicken and boil for about 20 min. Check internal temp.