Happy Enchiladas

[he beholds]

Happy Enchiladas

1 Large Jar (12-16 oz) of green chili sauce (salsa verde).Sold in the Latino foods aisles.

1 package cream cheese
1/2 pound or more shredded cheese (cheddar works well)

I usually use a fajita mix of fresh produce: red, green, yellow peppers, onions, etc. Instead of peppers you could try any veggies and/or use chicken.
Today I used zucchini, summer squash, mushrooms, and garlic grilled in olive oil.

(Edit: Not recommended. Stick with Mexican-type veggies. This was still yummy, but the grilled veggies would have been good as a side on their own and the pepper mix is a bit better suited to this recipe.)

8 piece large flour tortillas (soft tacos or enchiladas)

Preheat oven, 350.

Melt cream cheese in microwave, 1 minute to soften.
Prepare pans (I use 9x13, but sometimes enchiladas are too big and you need another 8x8 pan) by pouring a small amount of salsa verde in pans, tilting to cover bottom of pan evenly.
In mixing bowl with cream cheese, add most of the salsa verde. Set aside a bit for the top. Add shredded cheese, reserving 1/2 cup or so for on top. Add veggies and chicken if desired. Mix together.
Place 2-4 Tablespoons of filling onto one tortilla (about the size of a small fist). Fold up, place tortilla in pan over salsa verde. Repeat until tortillas are filled, leaving some mixture aside.
Top filled pans with remaining salsa verde, any leftover filling, and remaining cheese.

Cover with foil and bake for 45-50 minutes, uncovering pans for last 10 minutes to brown.

Note: I usually have a small extra can of salsa verde (7 oz) in case I didn’t leave enough to spread on top, especially if I had to use two pans. I sometimes make 10 enchiladas instead of 8, so I fill them with a little bit less filling. You’ll see after you make it once how much to save for topping/how much to fill enchilada with.
The recipe that I tweaked this from uses 18 corn tortillas, taco size and adds 1 heaped tablespoon filling to each tortilla. I don’t like the corn tortillas as much as flour ones, so I’ve never tried it. Since I use bigger tortilla shells, I never knew exactly how much filling I was supposed to use, so the small fist is basically just what I ended up doing.


I'm telling you, this is incredibly easy and even more incredibly delicious. Best thing ever. If I remember to, I'll snap a picture out of the oven.

 

[Scott1]

Whether happy, sad, pensive, or jubilant-
these sound great!

 

[nicnap]

These sound very good...we'll be trying them soon.

 

[LawrenceU]

That sounds good. I am actually making green chile enchiladas right now. The chicken is stewing as I type.

 

[he beholds]

What's your recipe? Mine is a hybrid of a few different ones that I found online when looking for vegetarian enchiladas.

 

[LawrenceU]

Mine is pretty much standard fare. It is a combination of Sonoran and New Mexican styles.


Ingredients:
Corn tortillas (One can use flour, but it is not as good.)
About two pounds of chicken. I use both breast and thigh.
Four or five roasted, peeled, chopped green chiles. (One can used canned if need be.)
Green enchilada sauce
Minced onion, about a 1/4 cup
Ground red chile powder
Cumin
Salt
Pepper
Shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese

Cooking:
In a heavy skillet heat olive oil and fry the chicken pieces until just cooked. Bone and shred the chicken. Place the chicken in the same skillet. (Don't wash it out after cooking the chicken!) Add the onion, chiles and seasonings and enough water to cover the chicken meat. Stir it all up. Simmer this until the water is gone stirring occasionally.

In a flat baking dish:
Cover the bottom with enchilada sauce. Lay a layer of open tortillas in the bottom and brush them with sauce as well.
On each tortilla that will be rolled add a bit of cheese and the chicken mixture. Roll them carefully and place them seam down in the pan.
Fill the pan with the rolls.
Pour enchilada sauce over the rolled tortillas until just covered.
Smother it with cheese.

Bake at 325 until the cheese is browned.

Garnish with sliced black olives if desired.


Someday I will post a Sonoran Enchilada recipe. They are a lot of work, but they are incredible. If you have not been to Sonora or Arizona you probably wouldn't recognise them as enchiladas.

 

[Michael]

This thread reminds me of a John Prine song.

John Prine once told the story of a woman who kept requesting a song called The Happy Enchilada at a concert. Puzzled, he told her that he had never written a song about a happy enchilada. She argued with him that indeed he had.

To prove her point, she recited a line from the song. She said, you know, "it's a happy enchilada and you think you're gonna drown." Laughing, John Prine told her that it was the song that I referenced above, "That's The Way That The World Goes 'Round."

The line in question was: It's half an inch of water and you think you're gonna drown. / That's the way that the world goes 'round.

 

[he beholds]

This thread reminds me of a John Prine song.

John Prine once told the story of a woman who kept requesting a song called The Happy Enchilada at a concert. Puzzled, he told her that he had never written a song about a happy enchilada. She argued with him that indeed he had.

To prove her point, she recited a line from the song. She said, you know, "it's a happy enchilada and you think you're gonna drown." Laughing, John Prine told her that it was the song that I referenced above, "That's The Way That The World Goes 'Round."

The line in question was: It's half an inch of water and you think you're gonna drown. / That's the way that the world goes 'round.

Bingo! Since I basically made the recipe up, I named it after John Prine!
"I've never written a song about any enchilada, let alone a happy one." Love it!

 

[Michael]

Ok now that's just awesome!

 

[Mushroom]

And that, as they say, is John Prine...