Annette’s Enchiladas (Chicken Verde Enchiladas)

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Annette’s Enchiladas a.k.a. Chicken Verde Enchiladas

Have you ever experienced a season of weariness? One of the most timely books I’ve been given during such a season was Bread & Wine: A Love Letter to Life Around the Table with Recipes by Shauna Niequist. This is where I was first introduced to Annette’s Enchiladas (Chicken Verde Enchiladas). 

My soul longed for rest and refreshment as I worked full time as a special education teacher at a junior high, and tried to give what I could to my infant son and husband when I returned home. The words “survival mode” accurately described our life. Feeding people and doing laundry left time for little else.

Enter Bread & Wine as a Christmas gift from a dear friend. As I found time to read after baby fell asleep, each chapter fed my soul with the things I longed for: sensory detail of good eats, life experiences in community, lingering around a table. Those activities seemed impossibly far away.

Yet I could escape as I read of Shauna’s real life struggles and how a memorable food made it’s way into her life. One such dish she shares is Annette’s Enchiladas. When I had the chance to make it, we loved it! Simple, easy, and delicious. Chicken, verde enchilada sauce, green chiles, sour cream, Monterey Jack cheese, corn tortillas, cilantro.  And chicken broth for tortilla dipping during pre-baking. Made great freezer meals too. These enchiladas are gluten free as long as the corn tortillas are labeled so, or were made in a facility without wheat contact.

Chicken Verde Enchiladas

How to Cook Frozen Chicken in the Instant Pot

To speed up cooking from frozen chicken breasts, I use the instant pot. One cup water plus HALF of a three pound bag of frozen chicken breasts from Aldi

And 12 minutes on manual setting starts the process.

Once cooking time finishes, let pressure naturally release for 5 minutes, then perform a quick release of pressure. Let chicken rest a few minutes before cubing or shredding. Makes about 3 cups of shredded chicken — enough for the recipe. If you want to cook an entire bag of 3 pound frozen chicken breast to double this recipe, I recommend adding one cup water and setting the instant pot to 20 minutes manual cooking time. Give a quick release after five minutes of natural release.

How to Assemble the Enchiladas

While the chicken is cooking, I throw a chicken bouillon cube in a small frying pan with one cup water on low heat. Eventually it dissolves into a lovely broth. This will be where I dip the corn tortillas for a few seconds before placing them in the 9 x 13 pan. While Aldi does not carry bouillon cubes, they do carry canned broth ready to go.

Before mixing the sour cream and enchilada sauce, I prefer to pre-mix the sour cream all by itself to allow a creamier consistency. It seems to blend more completely with the enchilada sauce and chilies. The Aldi near me only carries a medium green enchilada sauce and it packs a spicy punch. So I tend to go for the mild green enchilada sauce from WalMart found here.

One 8 oz block of Monterey Jack cheese equals about 2 cups shredded. Enough for the recipe. Use more if you wish.

Assemble layers according to recipe. Here is the unbaked dish. Could be frozen at this point. If you choose to freeze for yourself or to give away, I usually place these directions with it:

FREEZER INSTRUCTIONS: Let thaw 24 hours in refrigerator. Uncover. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. If you don’t have time to thaw, just increase cooking time until enchiladas are bubbling, heated through and cheese is melted.

For the freshly prepped enchiladas, bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Let stand fifteen minutes – though I find it hard to wait. Top with as much chopped cilantro as you like.

If you like enchiladas, then you should try my recipe for Tex-Mex Cavatappi. It has a surprise twist of using cavatappi noodles instead of tortillas.  Then add the wonderful flavors of salsa, lime, cilantro, cheddar cheese and ground beef. And dinner is served!

Annette's Enchiladas

October 26, 2018

Servings: 6

Prep: 30 min

Cook: 30 min

Total: 60 min

Difficulty: easy

Print This

Chicken Verde Enchiladas with Corn Tortillas

By: Elizabeth Newman

Ingredients

• 3 cups cooked chicken, shredded or diced
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup sour cream, pre-stirred
• one 28 oz can green enchilada sauce, mild or medium
• one 7 oz can diced green chile peppers
• 2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
• 12 corn tortillas
• 1/4 cup (or more) cilantro, chopped

Directions

• Step 1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Step 2 Cook chicken with preferred method. Let rest for five minutes, then shred or dice.
• Step 3 Warm chicken broth in small frying pan for tortillas.
• Step 4 Premix sour cream until smooth. Add enchilada sauce and green chilies. Stir until well blended.
• Step 5 Spread a thin layer of the enchilada mixture on the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan. Use tongs to hold a tortilla in the broth for a few seconds. Then place tortilla in the 9 x 13 pan, four in all for that layer.
• Step 6 Next, sprinkle half of the shredded chicken over the tortillas. Then add 1/3 of the enchilada mixture over the chicken. Add 1/3 of the cheese.
• Step 7 Add another layer of four slightly soaked tortillas. Again add half of the shredded chicken. Add 1/3 of the enchilada mixture. Add 1/3 of the cheese.
• Step 8 Lastly add one more layer of 4 tortillas and the remaining third of the sauce. Top with the last third of the cheese.
• Step 9 Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Let rest for 15 minutes before cutting. Top with desired amount of chopped cilantro.

Did you try this recipe?

I’d love to see a picture of your Annette’s Enchiladas. Share it on Instagram @nickelplatekitchen or #nickelplatekitchen. Happy cooking!