Month-of-One-Pan Meals: Chicken "Enchiladas: Florentine

Welcome to my annual Month-of Recipes on this blog. Go rummaging in the attic here and you’ll find past recipe months for appetizers, chicken, soup, mini-desserts, and more. The way it works is, for each day in February I post a recipe that fits the category. This month is one-pan meals, excluding pizza, most casseroles, and slow cooker recipes.

One of my busy-night stand-bys is using leftover chicken in enchiladas with green sauce.

So this dish isn’t technically enchiladas because I didn’t roll up the corn tortillas and nest them. However, all the ingredients are there plus a special nutrition booster. Now, we all know that chicken enchiladas aren’t going to make the best nutrition list, right? Maybe that’s why they taste so good!

When I served this, I commented that doing this month’s recipes, I noticed that we eat chicken frequently and if that bothered him. His response was perfect. “Do we? I guess I didn’t realize that. They’re always so different.”

Since my original recipe isn’t a health food, I decided to up the nutritional value in this dish by adding spinach. Here’s one of his favorite dishes changed up, and DH loved!

Chicken “Enchiladas” Florentine (serve 6)

15 ounce can green chile sauce

10-12 corn tortillas

2 cups fresh baby spinach

2 cups cooked chicken, shredded

2 cups shredded cheese (I used a combo on cheddar and Mexican Blend)

Avocado chunks, shredded lettuce, diced tomato, plain yogurt (or sour cream)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Pour about ¼ of the can of green chile sauce into a baking dish.

Cover the sauce with corn tortillas broken to fill the spaces.

Put spoonsful of sauce in light layer on each tortilla.

Layer on half of spinach. On top of that put ½ the chicken. Top with ½ cup cheeses.

Repeat another layer. Top with remaining corn tortillas, rest of enchilada sauce and remaining cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes until bubbly and cheese is melted.

 

Top with avocados, lettuce, tomatoes, and yogurt.

DH’s Rating: 5 Tongues Up!

“Oh, good! You made this again. I love your chicken enchiladas.”

“Well, this one isn’t quite the same. Instead of making the rolled up enchiladas stuffed with chicken, cheese, and enchilada sauce, I went easier and, um, a little different.”

Him, biting into his first forkful. “Hmm. Good. What’s the green stuff?”

“Spinach. And I layered the tortillas rather than rolling them. A whole bunch faster ‘cause I was running late tonight.”

“Easier is better, right, and the flavor is still there, so good for you!”