White Enchiladas

Mexican food is a weekly occurrence in our house. We love spicy food, and we LOVE queso, so one night I played a little. This recipe is not just delicious, but really simple, especially if you use canned chicken. And who doesn’t love a queso-type sauce?!

Large Tortillas
2 – 12 oz Cans of Chicken (or 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cooked and shredded)
Can of Mild Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies
2 cups of Shredded Mexican Cheese
Large can of Sliced Black Olives
Can of Chicken Broth
2 cups of Shredded White American Cheese
Small can of Chopped Green Chilies (or about 1/4 a cup of salsa verde)
Chopped Fresh Cilantro
Optional: Can of Refried Beans

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put the drained, canned chicken in a large pan with the can of diced tomatoes and green chilies. Stir well and leave in just long enough to warm and cook out the liquids.

Assemble the enchiladas in a 9″x13″ casserole dish. Spray pan with cooking spray. Lay the tortillas in a pan and layer refried beans (if you are using them), chicken, Mexican cheese and half the olives inside them. Fold up each tortilla and flip them so the “flaps” are on the bottom of the pan. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the tortillas start to crisp.

While they are in the oven, make the sauce in a pan. Put all of the white American cheese, the can of green chilies (or salsa verde)* and 1/4 cup of broth in the pan on low heat. Whisk consistently, adding broth as needed, until the sauce is a thicker sauce consistency. If you are using dried instead of fresh cilantro, add it to the sauce now, to taste.

Pour the sauce over the enchiladas and sprinkle the other half of the olives over the top. Bake for another 15 minutes. Serve with chopped fresh cilantro sprinkled on top.

* There is a lot of flavor in this, but also a lot of spice. When I am serving this to a more spice sensitive group, I replace the can of diced tomatoes and green chilies with a can of just diced tomatoes.