Recipe - Cream Cheese & Chicken Enchiladas

Today I have another recipe to share.  I created this recipe about 15 years ago before I got in to my whole food way of eating. While it is not 100% clean there are some substitutions you can make to clean it up some.  I will note those at the bottom.  Naomi and Nakoma, our twin girls, were home over the weekend, and this is Nakoma’s favorite meal.

Cream Cheese & Chicken Enchiladas

1 ½ pounds chicken, you can use chicken breast, thighs, or whatever you have on hand.  I often even cook a whole chicken, debone it, and use it for a double batch of enchiladas.

1 onion, chopped
4 oz can green chilis

1 teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon sea salt

¼ teaspoon thyme

¼ teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon olive or coconut oil

4 oz cream cheese

½ cup sour cream

¼ cup green onion, chopped

¼ - ½ cup cilantro, chopped

1 cup shredded cheddar, divided

¼ cup green onion tops, chopped

10 flour tortillas

1 large can of enchilada sauce

Directions:

In oven proof pan with lid, combine chicken, onion, chilies, oil, and sprinkle with spices.  Put lid on the pan and bake at 375 for about ½ hour.  Remove from oven, let cool slightly and shred chicken in the pan with the spices, onion and chilies.  Mix well.

In a separate bowl combine cream cheese, sour cream, green onions, cilantro and ½ cup of cheese.  Mix well. Add chicken mixture to cream cheese mixture and mix until thoroughly combined.  Divide between the 10 tortillas and place in a 9x13 pan.  Cover with enchilada sauce, sprinkle remaining ½ cup cheese and garnish with green onion tops.   Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes.

These are great served with Mexican Rice, chips, and my fresh Pico De Gallo!

Substitutions or Additions:

* Instead of buying a can of green chilies you can use 2 jalapeños, minced.

* I have replaced Greek yogurt for the sour cream before and had good results. 

* I have also made my own tortillas using this recipe..

* I have made enchilada sauce before using this recipe.

* I have a friend who also includes a can of black beans into the recipe.
* To make this recipe gluten free, substitute corn tortillas for the flour or look for gluten free tortillas at your local grocery store.

* Unfortunately, since I am still not eating wheat and dairy I was not able to enjoy the enchiladas. Instead, I used the chicken, onion, chili and spice mixture to make a delicious taco filling.  I used corn tortillas and garnished it with my homemade Pico De Gallo. It was good even without cheese!