CILANTRO-LIME ENCHILADAS

CILANTRO-LIME ENCHILADAS image

Categories Chicken

Number Of Ingredients 11

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Ingredients

Ingredients:
· 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast (substitute black beans for vegetarian version)
· 1 jar red enchilada sauce (I use Ortega)
· 6 cups shredded cheese (I use colby/jack or the 4-cheese Mexican blend - with no spices in it)
· 1/2 package cream cheese (or less depending on how creamy you want it)
· 1 large container of Copp's fresh salsa from the deli (drained)
· 1 bunch of fresh chopped cilantro (only use the leaves, no stems)
· 1 lime
· 1 package of 8 large flour tortillas
· Hot pepper spice (optional)
Possible toppings & sides: Sour cream, salsa, slices of lime, black olives, jalapeños, diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce, green onions, Mexican/Spanish rice, tortilla chips, guacamole, refried beans, etc.

Steps:

Instructions: Chicken: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. I usually pound the chicken breasts with my meat mallet and then place them on a cold baking stone. Rub olive oil onto the chicken breasts and then sprinkle with a little hot pepper spice and Lawry's seasoning salt. Bake for 15 minutes and then chop/shred into tiny pieces to go into the enchilada mixture. Reduce oven heat to 350 degrees. Get out your 9x12 glass baking pan and spray it lightly with cooking oil. I use Pam olive oil or canola oil spray. Enchilada mixture: Warm up the cream cheese slightly in the microwave for about 15 seconds (don't forget to take it out of the foil wrapping!) Then, in a big bowl, combine the cream cheese with the following: chicken, 4 cups shredded cheese, fresh salsa (pico de gallo), juice from 1/2 lime, lots of cilantro, and hot pepper spice. Mix well. For a vegetarian version, you can substitute black beans for chicken. Reserve 2 cups of shredded cheese for the topping. Assembly: Scoop about 1 cup of the mixture onto each tortilla (more or less depending on how thick you want them) and roll it up so that the open side is facing up or slightly to the side. You just don't want the open flap to be facing down because the filling may fall out when you serve it up later with a spatula. I usually spread a little cream cheese on the inside edge of the tortilla as glue to hold it together. After you get all of the enchiladas in the pan, squeeze the remaining 1/2 lime and drizzle enchilada sauce lengthwise over the top. I usually use about ½ of the jar of sauce. Careful, this stuff is pretty salty. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. At 40 minutes, sprinkle the remaining 2 cups of shredded cheese on top and then top with some chopped cilantro and/or parsley flakes for color. Then stick it back in the oven for a few minutes to melt. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.