LISA LANTING'S CILANTRO LIME ENCHILADAS

LISA LANTING'S CILANTRO LIME ENCHILADAS image

Number Of Ingredients 9

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast
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)
½ 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)

Steps:

Chicken: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Pound the chicken breasts with a meat mallet and place on a cold baking stone. Rub olive oil onto the chicken breasts and then sprinkle with hot pepper spice and Lawry's seasoning salt. Bake 15 minutes & then chop/shred into tiny pieces. Reduce oven heat to 350 degrees. Enchilada mixture: Warm the cream cheese in the microwave about 20 seconds. In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese with the following: chicken, 4 cups shredded cheese, salsa, juice from ½ lime, lots of cilantro, and hot pepper spice. Mix well. (For vegetarians, substitute black beans for chicken.) Reserve 2 cups of shredded cheese for the topping. Lightly spray 9x12 baking pan with cooking oil. Assembly: Scoop about 1 cup of the mixture onto each tortilla and roll it up with the open side is facing up or slightly to the side. Spread a little cream cheese on the inside edge of the tortilla as glue. After all enchiladas are in the pan, squeeze the remaining ½ 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.