Enchiladas Verdes

A few things inspired this meal...the cozy winter weather, my love for cilantro, Tracey's feast featured in the previous post, Wegmans, and um, Tyler Florence...

I half-watched an episode of his show "Tyler's Ultimate" a few weeks ago when he was making Enchiladas Verdes. He roasted tomatillos, onion, garlic and jalapenos and made the yummiest looking salsa I'd ever seen. I was tempted to try the recipe but thought roasting tomatillos might never happen. I was in Wegmans the other day and saw that they have a roasted salsa verde that has the same ingredients...holar!

So since I wimped out on the salsa I thought I'd bring it with the chicken. I work from home on Tuesdays so I thought it would be a good opportunity to take the time to roast a whole chicken.

Roasting the chicken allowed me to take advantage of the lovely drippings it produced, and since I made caramelized onions the night before, I also took advantage of the leftovers in the fridge.

Gotta tell ya...if you like cozy winter meals, cilantro, Tracey, Wegmans brand products and Tyler Florence (or any one of the above) you'll probably like these enchiladas. Vi liked them and usually she only likes oatmeal, peanut butter, and tomatoes.

Roasted Chicken:

I use this recipe. I made a 6lb bird so I roasted it for about 90 mins.

Let chicken cool and then shred

Discard some drippings - leave a few tablespoons and the crispy bits in the pan

Sauce:

Warm drippings on the stovetop (I used the pan pictured above for roasting so it was easy to then use on the stovetop) - obviously if you use a store bought chicken you could just use some olive oil instead

Add onions (or caramelized onions for more flavor!)

Saute a few mins and then add a few cloves of minced garlic

Saute a few mins and add two heaping tbs flour

Cook flour a minute or two and whisk in 3/4 of a small can of chicken broth - scrape all those lovely brown bits from the bottom of the pan

Add salsa verde (the Wegmans brand is kinda spicy so take care - I used approx 2/3 of the bottle)

Taste and season to your liking

Remove from the heat and stir in a few ounces of sour cream

Laddle about 2/3 of sauce into a pie plate and set aside

Filling:

Add shredded chicken to remaining sauce

Add chopped fresh cilantro

Taste and season again if necessary

Assemble:

Dip flour tortillas in the sauce you set aside

Fill with chicken and sprinkle with shredded Monterey jack

Roll and place in casserole dish

Once dish is filled with enchiladas, top with remaining sauce and sprinkle with remaining cheese

Bake:

In preheated 375 degree oven for 20 or so minutes, remove foil and bake until bubble and cheese is melted.

Sprinkle with fresh cilantro!