Bradr's Chipotle Chicken Enchiladas

[Bradr]

I got this recipe back in my restaurant days from one of our latina cooks. She made something very similar one day for the staff and I've been making them ever since. I tweaked the insides to my own liking, but owe the sauce to her. Shout out to Maria!

 

Ingredients:

Sauce:

3 x 29 oz Cans Tomato Sauce (I prefer Hy Vee Brand - lower sodium)

2 x Large Sweet Onion

2 x 7.5 oz Can Chipotles in Adobo Sauce (I prefer San Marco. Use one can for less spicy version - if you do, you might want to add a packet of chili seasoning for flavor)

1 x Heaping tablespoon fresh garlic

2 x tbs Canola Oil

 

Tortillas:

10 x Burrito Size Flour Tortillas (Don't use those wheat/spinach/flat bread ones! Does not come out the same!!!)

 

Filling 1:

2 x Cans Refried Beans (Prefer Spicy Old El Paso)

1 x Velveeta Cheese (Cut about an inch or so off a block)

1 x Can Rotel's Original

 

Filling 2:

3 Pounds Chicken

3 x Green Peppers

1 x 12 oz can Corn

2 x tbs Canola Oil

2 Packets Fajita Seasoning

 

Lasagna Pan

 

Step 1 - Sauce

Finely dice 2 sweet onions. Add onions, garlic and canola oil to skillet. Thoroughly stir. Cook on medium high (or high if you're impatient - but you have to watch it more so it doesn't burn). While ingredients and cooking, empty 3 cans of tomato sauce into a soup pot. Set heat to medium. Cover the pot. In a food processor or blender, empty the 2 cans of chipotles & adobe sauce. Blend until smooth. Continue cooking onions & garlic until they begin to soften. Add all of the pureed chipotles & adobo sauce to the onions. Continue cooking until the mixture begins to stick to skillet. Transfer the mixture into the soup pot with the tomato sauce. Simmer all this for about 30 minutes. Make sure to stir occasionally so it doesn't stick in the bottom of the pot! (This chipotle sauce tastes better, the longer it can sit and combine flavors. After a night in the fridge, it goes to a whole 'nother level of goodness!!!)

 

Step 2 - Filling 1

Place your preferred amount of velveeta into microwave and melt in microwave safe dish. I use about an inch off the block. Or about a deck of cards and a half. More the merrier - it will taste better the more you use. (If you want to be healthier, use 1 can cream of chicken soup instead.) Empty the 2 cans of refried beans, the melted velveeta cheese, and the can of Rotel's into a skillet. Stir together and heat on medium until the mixture is fully mixed and warm/hot. This stuff makes an excellent dip in it's own right. (To make it even better, skip the Rotel's and use Mrs Renfro's Jalapeno Green Salsa. This will make it waaaayyyy tastier, but more spicy. Use like 1/3 of the jar.)

 

Step 3 - Filling 2

Cook the 3 pounds of chicken. I prefer to put it in a crock pot on low for 8 hours the morning I'm going to make the enchiladas. That way I come home to cooked chicken. Shred the chicken. Next, core & dice the three green peppers. Place in skillet with canola oil and sauté until peppers soften. Drain the can of corn of liquid, then put leftover corn into skillet with peppers. Place the two packets of fajita seasoning in with the corn & peppers. Add water per directions on the fajita seasoning packet instructions. Stir evenly, then add the shredded chicken. Stir until all liquid is absorbed and everything is covered with the fajita seasoning.

 

-Preheat oven to 350°-

 

Step 4 - Assembly

Warm the tortillas (or make sure they are at room temp). Place all 10 tortillas on a countertop, so that you can place filling into each separately. Ladle Filling 1 in a straight line into all 10 tortillas. Fill from edge to edge, and make the filling is about 1.5" across. Use all of it. Ladle Filling 2 over the top of Filling 1, but leave about 1-2 inches on each edge. Use all of it.

 

Step 5 - Pan Prep

Place 2 coups of the Sauce in the bottom of the lasagna pan. Coat evenly. Roll the tortillas. Start by rolling one side over the fillings. Press down over the filling and then roll the tortilla to wrap it evenly around the fillings. Try to roll the tortilla tightly, but not so much that the fillings come out the sides. The ends should be open - hopefully your lasagna pan is the same width as the tortilla shells. If not, you might need to fold the edges over. Place all ten rolled tortillas in the pan, so that they are touching each other. They will porbably be a bit tight in the pan. That's ok. Ladle the Sauce generously over all the tortillas. Try to cover all exposed tortilla. Then take a spoon and pull/pry each tortilla apart from it's neighbors, so the sauce falls between all the rolled tortillas. Add more Sauce as needed to cover completely. About 1/2 to 1/3 of the sauce should be left. Save this for leftovers. Add shredded cheese over the top if you want.

 

Step 6 - Cook

Place the pan into the oven at 350 for 40 minutes or so.

 

Remove from oven an dive in. Leftovers with more of the sauce over the top are amazing. I usually just leave it in the pan and cover the pan in the fridge with a cookie sheet. Works way better than messing with suran wrap. To make these healthier, I have snuck a drained can of spinach into filling one, and a whole head of steam broccoli into filling 2. You can barely notice it.

 

Enjoy and drink with Dos Equis or Bohemia.