Chicken Enchiladas!!

This is definitely not a food blog, but one of our all-time favorite meals in this house is my mama's famous chicken enchiladas. With a sour-cream base instead of the traditional red enchilada sauce, they are scrumptious and typically a bit different than expected, but quite popular amongst many. It's my favorite meal to bring to new mamas, and with that, I'm often asked for the recipe. I've been meaning for sometime to type the recipe up from the hand-written notes I took while watching over Mama's shoulder so I could share it. But of course, it's taken me a long time and now I can't even remember all the people who have asked for it! So, I'm hoping that blogging about it will serve the purpose of reaching those who want it! =)

1 big onion, finely chopped

1 rotisserie chicken (Mama says to avoid bbq or lemon pepper flavors; I often will get a Costco sized rotisserie chicken and double the batch with it)

1 can chicken broth

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 cup sour cream

1 4.5oz can chopped green chilis (I rarely have these in the house. Most likely, if I have made these for you, they lacked the green chilis. Sorry.)

1/2 teaspoon adobe seasoning

1/2 tablespoon southwest seasoning

1/2 teaspoon salt

16 oz shredded cheese (I used the mixed shredded from Costco. Mama uses mexican or colby jack mixes)

1 package corn tortillas (a single batch typically needs 15-20 corn tortillas)

Saute onion in a little bit of oil in a big pot. Add some garlic powder to taste (or I just typically throw in a small scoop of minced garlic from the big jar I keep in the fridge). Over medium heat, add green chilis and 1 tablespoon of flour. (And keep in mind that all these measurements are estimates from two people who rarely measure while cooking!). Add cream of chicken soup and half a can of chicken broth (you can swish the chicken broth in the the cream of chicken soup can to get the last bits out!). Wisk to stire. Add 1/2 - 3/4 cup sour cream (I typically "lose track" and add a bit extra. You can never have too much sour cream!). Wisk, wisk, wisk. Add adobe, southwest, and salt seasonings. Wisk a little more. Bring to boil and then reduce heat to low to medium.

Pull apart the chicken meat and remove skin and bones. Add meat and any juices to the mixture and heat until thoroughly warmed, then turn off.

Heat oil in a frying pan to soften corn tortillas, making sure the oil is hot enough to fizzle when you put the corn tortilla in. It just takes a second or two on each side. Soften tortillas individually and lay out on layered paper towels.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray 9x13 pan with oil. Fill the tortillas with filling, sprinkle with cheese, roll and line up in pan. After the pan is filled, moisten the tops with liquid from mixture and cover with shredded cheese. (Any leftover mixture is yummy over rice the next day!). Bake approximately 20 minutes, until cheese is melted and looking yummy!

Rice: I typically make rice with this meal. I make my rice in a pot on the stove, and I substitute chicken broth for the water when making rice to go with these enchiladas.

Green beans: I usually saute some green beans in BUTTER and a bit of garlic, then salt to go with this meal. Sorry if any of you thought this side was actually healthy! ;) My mama uses celery salt and pepper on her green beans. They are yummy, too.

Toppings: MORE sour cream and some guacamole go well as toppings on these yummy enchiladas. Or not. Depends on the mood. For my guacamole, I typically just smash up an avocado with a little bit of lemon juice, a couple tablespoons of mayo, a bit of garlic and a sprinkling of salt.

Now I'm hungry. =) Hope you enjoy!