So let’s be clear, enchiladas are made with corn tortillas. Always. If you wrap up some filling in a flour tortilla it’s a burrito, whether or not you dump enchilada sauce on it. Not that I have anything against burritos – they’re great. But this recipe is for enchiladas. Here in New Mexico, stacked enchiladas appear on menus in addition to the rolled enchiladas served in the rest of the country. Since stacked enchiladas are much easier to make, and “authentic” in New Mexico, I make my enchiladas stacked. But not with flour tortillas.
The recipe starts with cooked chicken, which I grill the evening before using chicken thighs marinated in fajita marinade. Any cooked chicken will do, including deli roasted chicken, but I like the extra flavor of marinated chicken. It just requires planning ahead.
I use two 13 x 9 inch glass baking dishes for my enchiladas, one for green chile sauce, and one for red. Start by spreading a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of the pan, then add three corn tortillas per dish, letting them over lap a little if necessary.
Next,top each tortilla with a little enchilada sauce, then add the cooked chopped onion,
Top with half of the cooked chicken, and the shredded Monterey Jack cheese,
Add another layer of tortillas, and more enchilada sauce,
followed by the rest of the chicken, and most of the shredded cheddar cheese,
Finally, top with the remaining tortillas, and the rest of the enchilada sauce, and the last bit of shredded cheese. Just 25 minutes in a 350 deg. oven, and it’s enchilada time!
Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 18 corn tortillas
- 1½ - 2 lbs. cooked chicken
- 1 medium onion
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (8 ounces)
- 2 cups shredded Monterey jack cheese (8 ounces)
- 2 cans enchilada sauce (14 ounces each)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- I use two 9 x 13 inch glass baking dishes to build 6 stacked enchiladas, each three layers high. Since one can of enchilada sauce will be used for each baking dish, I make one dish of green chile enchiladas and one dish of red chile enchiladas.
- To prepare the filling, chop and onion and soften it in a frypan with a little olive oil. Meanwhile, slice or shred the cooked chicken, then reheat it for a couple of minutes in the microwave.
- Now pour a small amount of enchilada sauce in the bottom of each baking dish to keep the tortillas from sticking. Place 3 tortillas flat into each baking dish, spreading them out so they overlap as little as possible.
- On top of this, add a layer of cooked onion and chicken, followed by a a layer of shredded cheese, dividing the filling evenly among the 6 tortillas. Only use half of the chicken for now, saving the other half for the next layer.
- Next add a layer of tortillas and cover the stacks with enchilada sauce. Begin the second layer with the remaining chicken, and most of the remaining cheese, evenly divided among the 6 tortilla stacks.
- Add the final layer of tortillas and cover with the remaining enchilada sauce.
- Sprinkle any remaining cheese over the tops of your enchilada stacks. Bake for about 25 minutes, until heated through.
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