{recipe} white chicken enchiladas with salsa verde

YOU GUYS.

I have been dreaming about these enchiladas for a long time now. 

I've never been a huge fan of the standard enchilada sauce. You know, that red, tomato-based one? I don't know. It just never sat well with me. However, things doused in sauce have a special place in my heart. Loaded hot dogs, chili cheese fries, wet burritos - you name it. So of course I had to seek out a good enchilada recipe. Thank God for Pioneer Woman and Guy + Rachel Ray's video. I got the inspiration I needed to whip up a pretty amazing chicken enchilada recipe. It has a white creamy sauce for base and it's layered with some salsa verde for some extra pop! 

You start with some chicken. I love/prefer dark meat any day. Thighs are my fave. 

Brown with some EVOO, s+p. You don't have to cook it all the way. Actually - I'd say, don't cook it all the way! You'll be heating it up so let it stay a little pink to prevent from overcooking/drying the chicken meat. 

These babies are the key to this recipe. Green chilis. I prefer canned. I also prefer fire-roasted. But that's just my humble opinion. : ) 

In the same pan, saute some onions in the remaining chicken juice. Add the green chili. Add the chicken. Sprinkle on some paprika. Watch the magic happen all by itself. It's a beautiful thing. Add a little bit of chicken broth to moisten up the mix.

Now - make your sauce. In a seperate pan, melt some butter. Sprinkle flour. Whisk it together to make your roux (does that make me sound fancy? I looked it up on wiki. hehe). Roux will basically act as your thickening agent.  Add your broth. Add some more chilis (I told you...key ingredient!) then add your sour cream. I know that looks like a lot - but it was only 1 cup! 

I found a recipe to make healthy "sour cream" substitute for next time : )

cottage cheese + lemon juice - genius!

After some heatin' and mixin' - it becomes this beautiful, creamy, rich sauce. Then you add some cheese to buff it up and make it even more magical. 

I had to rush around this time, so no pictures... but, basically you just heat up some tortillas (I used flour), roll your chicken mix and cheese into each tortilla. Lay em down on a bed of salsa verde. Pour the sauce on top. Sprinkle some cheese. Bake for 30 minutes. 

Top with tomatoes, cilantro and olives (I forgot mine!) You can even add some lime juice. Or throw in some chopped green onions. Go crazy. Be free! 

And most importantly - serve with some hot sauce. I served mine with a simple corn salsa and made a second batch for good measure.  We have leftovers and we're really happy about it. 

Can't wait to make these again. 

Have a good weekend, sweet friends!

xoxo

White Chicken Enchiladas with Salsa Verde

Recipe Adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Serves 4

for the filling 

• 6 bone-less chicken thighs 
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 3 tbsp EVOO
• 10 flour tortillas (I used large)
• 1 whole large onion, diced
• 3- 4oz cans green chili peppers (I used fire-roasted)
• 1/2 tsp paprika 

sauce

• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 cup sour cream (or use the healthy "sour cream" substitute)
• 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth
• 2 Monterey Jack Cheese, Grated
•  Salt And Pepper, to taste
• 1/2 tsp paprika 
• salt and pepper to taste

for the topping and base

• 1 tomato, diced 
• 1/2 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
• any hot sauce (i.e. tapatio)
• 2 cups salsa verde 

Heat 2 tablespoons EVOO in a skillet over medium-high heat. Brown chicken on pan - add salt and generous portion of freshly grated black pepper. Remove chicken from pan and cut into bite-sized pieces. Add onions and saute into the same pan for 1 minute. Add green chilies, green chili and 1/2 teaspoon paprika. Stir together. Add 1/2 cup chicken broth and stir. Heat over med-high and allow mixture to bubble and get hot. Turn off heat and set aside.

In a separate large skillet, melt butter and sprinkle in flour. Whisk together and cook over medium heat for one minute. Pour in 1 1/2 cups chicken broth. Whisk together and cook for another minute or two until mixture begins to thicken. Stir in green chilies. Reduce heat, then stir in sour cream. Add 1 1/2 cups grated cheese and stir to melt. Add 1/2 teaspoon paprika. Check seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed.

To assemble, spoon chicken mixture on top of tortillas, one by one. Top with plenty of cheese and roll up. Lay a layer of salsa verde on casserole dish. Place seam side down in a casserole dish, side by side. 

Pour creamy cheese sauce mixture all over the top of the tortillas. Add a little bit of salsa verde on top if you'd like! Top with extra shredded cheese, then bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Sprinkle generously with chopped cilantro and tomatoes.

Serve with hot sauce, if desired.