Enchiladas are kind of
like lasagna in my book: endless possibilities. And endless
possibilities makes this food lover very, very happy.
This stacked version of
enchiladas sitting before you is an adapted version of my favorite
green
chile chicken enchiladas except it’s more tall
than wide and gets served up just like a piece of pie. The sauce is
still homemade and incredibly simple, but you get away with using a
few less tortillas in this version.
A slice of this
delicious enchilada stack, garnished with fresh tomatoes, avocados,
cilantro and lime wedges, is like a major flavor explosion of
enchilada happiness.
Not only does this meal
include just about all my favorite things in an enchilada recipe,
it’s also really, really easy to put together. Just slightly
over the 30-minute
meal mark but not by much, especially if you already
have cooked chicken waiting to be repurposed.
We completely cleaned
up on this meal. Not a leftover in sight. I think my boys were
thrilled with the idea that dinner had been made in the same pan as
their
favorite cheesecake. Whatever works, man, whatever
works.
Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Stack
Yield: Serves 6
Plan ahead as this
recipe calls for already cooked chicken (here's
a great method for quickly cooking delicious, tender
chicken for recipes like this). The serving size of this recipe is 6
— although my family of seven cleaned it up with no leftovers
(that's five kids and two adults) so if you are serving six adults,
you might want to make two or add a few extra layers.
If you don't have a
springform pan, you could try making this in an 8- or 9-inch square
or round cake pan as long as the sides of the pan are at least two
inches high (or more). For a square pan, you'll want to probably cut
the tortillas to fill the pan.
Ingredients
Sauce:
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped onion (about 1/2 medium onion)
2 tablespoons flour
1/3 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 can (7 ounces) green chile enchilada sauce (homemade recipe here)
½ cup sour cream , light or regular
For Stacking:
5 white or whole wheat 9- or 10-inch tortillas
2-3 cups cooked, shredded chicken
4 ounces medium or sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (about 1 cup)
4 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (about 1 cup)
For Serving:
Chopped tomatoes
Diced avocados
Chopped cilantro
Lime wedges
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
For the sauce, in a large nonstick
skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook,
stirring occasionally, until the onion softens and starts to turn
translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the onions
and stir well. Cook for 1 minute, stirring. Slowly whisk in the
chicken broth and milk. As you whisk and the mixture cooks, the
flour will get less lumpy around the onions and the mixture will
become smooth. Cook over medium heat until the mixture is bubbling
and has thickened, about 4-5 minutes. Remove the skillet from the
heat and stir in the enchilada sauce and sour cream.
To assemble, lightly grease a 9-
or 10-inch springform pan (depending on the size of the tortillas
you are using). Here's how it will be assembled: one tortilla,
sauce, chicken, cheese; one tortilla, sauce, chicken, cheese; one
tortilla, sauce chicken, cheese; one tortilla, sauce, chicken,
cheese; one tortilla, remaining sauce and cheese. (Basically it's
five layers of nearly the same thing except the final layer doesn't
get any chicken.)
Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes.
Let the enchilada stack rest for
10 minutes before serving. Cut into pie-shaped wedges to serve and
garnish with tomatoes, avocado, cilantro and lime wedges, if
desired.
Melanie Gunnell is a food-loving, chocolate-obsessed mom who has a desperate need to share
her favorite tried-and-true recipes with the world. In a past life she graduated from Brigham
Young University with a degree in public health, but for the past ten years, stay-at-home
motherhood has been her job along with blogging-from-home for the past five.
She resides in the brilliantly cold tundra of Northern Minnesota with her husband and their brood
of five children: four boys and one tiny, bossy girl. Dark chocolate (particularly the act of
shoving chocolate chips in her mouth whilst hiding in the pantry) is her coping skill of choice for
both the never-ending winters and the never-ending wrestling matches in her front room.