Friday, April 3, 2009

Chicken Enchiladas Verdes

This recipe is from a cookbook called, The Juan-Carlos Cruz Calorie Countdown Cookbook, by Juan-Carlos Cruz.  It's my favorite recipe in the whole book. 


Ingredients:

1/2 pound tomatillos, husked and quartered, or 1 (13 oz) can, drained
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 (4 oz) can chopped green chilies
1/4 cup egg substitute
salt 
black pepper
2 tsp. olive oil
1 medium onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
3/4 cup beer (or chicken broth)
olive oil cooking spray
8 corn tortillas
3/4 cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat Monterey Jack cheese
3 Tbsp low-fat sour cream


Directions:

1.  If using fresh tomatillos, preheat the broiler.  Place the quartered tomatillos and roast for about 5 minutes, or until softened.  Remove from broiler and transfer to a blender (if using canned tomatillos, drain and place directly in the blender).  Add the cilantro, half the green chilies and the egg substitute.  Pulse until you have a salsa with a chunky consistency.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Set aside.

2.  Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet.  Add the onions and saute until tender, then stir in garlic.  Saute one minute longer until fragrant, add chicken breast, remaining green chilies, cumin, coriander and salt to taste.  Turn the heat to medium high and saute chicken mixture for 5-10 minutes, until cooked through.  Transfer to a bowl.  Add the beer (or chicken broth)and bring pan to a boil, stirring constantly to scrape up any tasty food particles on the bottom of the pan.  Boil until there is only about a 1/4 cup of liquid in the pan.  Stir the chicken mixture back into the pan and set aside.

3.  Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Lightly grease a casserole dish with the olive oil spray.  Fill a medium size sauce pan with water and bring o a simmer.  Using tongs, dip a tortilla into the water, count  seconds then remove.  You must dip the tortillas quickly, the goal is to soften it so that it's easy to roll, but bot to moisten it so much that it falls apart.*  Place about 1/3 cup of the filling on each tortilla, roll up and place seam side down in the casserole dish.  when all the tortillas have been filled, pour the sauce over them and place in the oven.  bake 20 minutes.  Remove from the oven, top with the cheeses and return to the oven to bake for 10-15 more minutes, until the cheese has melted and the enchiladas are bubbling.  Serve warm, garnish with the low-fat sour cream.


*  In step 3 where the recipe talks about dipping the tortilla in water and blah, blah blah...  Well, I usually skip this step, it just takes too long for my liking.  Instead, I put a layer of tortillas on the bottom of the casserole dish, layer them with the filling and then top with a second layer of tortillas.  Then I pour the sauce over the top and I follow the rest of the recipe like it says.  However, I find that I usually need 10-12 tortillas instead of the 8 that the recipe calls for if I do it like this.  Kind of an enchilada casserole instead.

I also like to eat this with some rice, beans and over a bed of lettuce like a taco/enchilada salad with some salsa in addition to the sour cream.  Enjoy!