Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas, Green Chili Salsa, Corn Tortillas

This was dinner a couple nights ago. I'm getting a little behind on my 'blogging'. Turns out I only have time to do one maybe two things per day besides my regular dairly chores. So, a few days ago I went to my friend Stephanie's house and helped her make some Spinache Noodles which she used to make Lasagna. While I was there we also put together a batch of Green Chili Salsa. Here's how we made it:

Green Chili Salsa

1 bunch cilantro

5 cloves minced garlic (2 Tbsp)

6 tomatillos

1 large onion

1 green bell pepper

2 roasted jalepenos (double if you like it spicy)

2 cans diced green chilis

1 Tbsp ground cumin

1 Tbsp oregano

4 cubes chicken bouillon

2 cups hot water

Remove papery shell of tomatillos, wash and cut in half. Place, cut-side down onto baking sheet along with unpeeled cloves of garlic. Put under hot broiler for 5-10 minutes depending how hot your broiler gets. (Ours was perfect at 8 minutes). The skins of the tomatillos will brown and blister. Meanwhile, rinse and chop remaining vegetables. Remove tomatillos and garlic from oven. Peel garlic. Dissolve bouillon cubes in hot water. Add everything to a 2 qt. blender. Puree. Pour into medium saucepan and simmer 10-15 minutes to thicken.

As a reward for my help Stephanie sent me home with 1 1/2 cups of our delicious concoction. So the next day I thought I'd get ambitious and attempt corn tortillas for my enchiladas.. I perused the online websites and found this simple recipe:

Corn Tortillas

1 3/4 cups Masa Harina

1 1/8 cup water

In a medium bowl, mix together masa harina and hot water until thoroughly combined. Turn dough onto a clean surface and knead until pliable and smooth. If dough is too sticky, add more masa harina; if it begins to dry out, sprinkle with water. Cover dough tightly with plastic wrap and allow to stand for 30 minutes. Preheat a cast iron skillet or griddle to medium-high. Divide dough into 15 equal-size balls. Using a tortilla press, a rolling pin, or your hands, press each ball of dough flat between two sheets of plastic wrap. Immediately place tortilla in preheated pan and allow to cook for approximately 30 seconds, or until browned and slightly puffy. Turn tortilla over to brown on second side for approximately 30 seconds more, then transfer to a plate. Repeat process with each ball of dough. Keep tortillas covered with a towel to stay warm and moist until ready to serve.

Hmmm... problem was that I didn't have any masa so I tried adjusting the recipe as follows.

1 cup corn flour (I ground popcorn- that's what I had)

1 cup white flour

1 cup water

2 Tbsp Lime juice

1 Tbsp red chili powder

1 tsp salt

Well... They turned out pretty tasty, but they weren't exactly enchilada worthy as they kept falling apart when I tried to roll them. I ended up using them for an enchilada casserole which I gave to a neighbor. Lucky for my family I made a backup batch of regular flour tortillas which is what I used for our enchiladas. Now as for the enchiladas:

Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

1 cup onion, chopped (I used green onions from the garden)

1 cup green pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup butter
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped
1 1/2 cups green chili salsa, divided
1/4 cup flour
1 Tbsp ground cumin
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (I used Mozzarella and it turned out fine)
12- 6 inch tortillas.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large saucepan, cook onion and green pepper in 2 T of the butter until tender. Combine onion mixture in a bowl with chicken and 3/4 cup green chile salsa. Set aside. For the sauce, in the same sauce pan melt remaining butter. Stir in flour and cumin. Cook for 1-2 minutes, whisking constantly (this will ensure your sauce doesn't have a weird flour-y taste). Whisk in chicken broth and cook until thickened and boiling. Whisk in sour cream, rest of salsa and half of the cheese. Stir until melted. Stir 1/2 cup of sauce into chicken mixture. Place about 1 cup of the sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Fill tortillas with chicken, roll up, and place seam side down in dish. Pour remaining sauce over, sprinkle with remaining cheese, bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

You can simplify the sauce by using white sauce mix in lieu of the butter and flour. That's what I did and yes, of course, I made my own mix. I will post the recipe for the mix as well as several ways to use it in a later post.