Worldy Wednesday: Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

Welcome to my annual recipe crush. Each February I choose a theme, and provide one or two recipes each day for the whole month. This year the theme is Weekly Menu Planning. What are the categories, you ask? We have Sunday Special, Meatless Monday, Taco Tuesday, Worldly Wednesday, Thrifty Thursday, Fishy Friday, and Celebrate Saturday.

Broadening the family palate to include different flavor profiles is part of the job of the family cook. We’ll explore different ethnic-inspired dishes this month without breaking the bank for special ingredients and without going too far outside the tastes of children (or picky spouses).

So we had Mexican last night! Again! Big deal. We live in Arizona. I couldn’t be faulted if we only ate Mexican food. For ethnic-inspired dinners, I couldn’t ignore Mexican this month. Interestingly, Mexican and Chinese foods are ubiquitous. I don’t think Americans even think of them as ethnic, since we Americanized and eat them so much.

But we don’t always eat Mexican. And if you follow me, you know that. Still . . . we may eat more Mexican-inspired dishes than people living in New York City. Just sayin’.

To make my easiest-ever chicken enchiladas, go with leftover chicken. Seriously. It’s much faster that way. I always have bags of leftover chicken meat in the freezer (just as I have salmon) for fast meals. This one qualifies as a good weeknight meal because it is fast and easy. Dinner can be on the table in a little more than a half hour.

Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas (makes 8)

2 cups shredded chicken

2 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend, divided

15-ounce can of green enchilada sauce (read label for heat level)

8 corn tortillas

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Pour ¼ cup of enchilada sauce in bottom of dish.

Mix chicken and 1 cup of shredded cheese with ½ cup enchilada sauce.

Distribute among the eight tortillas. Roll up tortilla shells and pack tightly into baking dish.

Cover chicken enchiladas with remaining sauce. Cover the sauce with 1 cup Mexican cheese blend.

Bake in oven for one-half hour or until cheese is melty and browning.

Serve with plain yogurt (or sour cream), sliced tomatoes, and lettuce ribbons. Serve black beans and corn for sides.

DH’s Rating: 5 Tongues Up

“Oh, good! I love these enchiladas!” And he does. He also loves that when I make them for the two of us, there’s a chicken enchilada lunch in his future.