Friday, August 22, 2014

Chicken Enchiladas

I'd worry that this blog was at risk of becoming a cooking blog, but I suppose that's better than not updating at all.

A friend just asked for a recipe on Twitter, so I'm putting it here for everyone!

Chicken Enchiladas

Step one:
2 or 3 chicken quarters or 4-6 chicken thighs
1/2 c hot sauce (I use Valentina extra hot)

Remove skin and as much fat as possible from the chicken pieces. Put them in the bottom of a casserole and cover with the hot sauce (I don't measure, just pour it on until it looks right, but it works out to about half a cup). Cover casserole with foil and bake at 400 for 20 minutes, remove foil and cook another 20 minutes.

Step two:
1 onion, diced
1 can black beans
1 can diced tomatoes with peppers
spices to taste
While chicken is cooking, saute onion in a little oil until starting to go transparent. Drain beans and tomatoes and add to onions. Simmer on low heat until chicken is done. Add cumin, chili powder, cayenne, etc. to taste. You may need a little salt too.

When chicken is done, remove meat from bones with two forks and add to bean/tomato mixture. Cut up or shred to bite-sized. Don't worry if it's not quite cooked through.

Step three:
Shredded cheese and a lot of it.
6-8 corn tortillas
1 can enchilada sauce

Preheat oven to 350. Pour about 1/3 of the enchilada sauce into a square casserole (NOT the same casserole the chicken came from, that one's full of chicken grease). Pour another 1/3 into the chicken mixture and stir. Heat the tortillas in the microwave and fill each with chicken mixture and a handful of shredded cheese. Fold and place in casserole. When all tortillas are filled, pour remaining enchilada sauce evenly over the top. Place remaining chicken mixture over that, then cover with a bunch of shredded cheese.

Bake at 350 for at least 20 minutes, 30 if your chicken was not quite done.

You can stop after step one (cook long enough that the chicken is done through) and eat the chicken by itself. It's very good! Or you can use the meat to make chicken tacos instead. Definitely use thighs/quarters and not chicken breasts, though, since thighs have more flavor, more moisture, and are cheaper besides.