Chicken enchiladas
This past weekend, after hitting up the Guelph’s Farmers Market for fresh items to add into my weekly meal routine, I decided to stray from the usual chicken dishes that are prepared, and, strive to create a delicious alternative from scratch. The usual items were picked up from the market, including the typical multiple colours of peppers, cooking onions, garlic bulbs, spinach, the freshest wraps available anywhere (if you’ve had them, you’ll know what I mean) and whatever else attracts attention.
Saturday evening rolled around and I decided chicken enchiladas were the meal of choice. The process began with seasoning the chicken breast with cayenne pepper, cilantro and chilli sauce, letting the chicken brown on both sides in a frying pan with a tight-fitting lid. While this was happening, the rest of the preparation was under way. A bamboo cutting board lay on the counter; all of the produce was rinsed ahead of time and was ready to be chopped up.
The vegetables chosen were, yellow, green, and red bell peppers; baby spinach; onion; garlic; and cherry tomatoes on the vine. Once the chicken browned on all sides, a few table spoons of salsa were added along with the chopped tomatoes, onion, garlic, spinach, and peppers. For an added dose of flavour, freshly chopped cilantro was added to the pan.
While the vegetables finished cooking, the chicken was removed and sat on the cutting board, by leaving the chicken breast whole, the juices remained. After a few minutes of allowing the chicken to rest, it was sliced thinly and added back into the pain with the rest of the enchilada filling and the heat reduced to simmer while the wraps were taken out of their package and the cheese shredded.
The final step in preparing the chicken enchiladas involved the wrapping process; at this time, the oven was preheated to 300 degrees and a baking dish was made ready. The wrap was laid flat on the cutting board, the filling was spooned into the wrap, and the wrap was tucked at both ends first and then rolled from one side to the other, the entire filling was concealed within the wrap, this step was continued until the filling was gone. Large or small wraps can be used for this recipe. The enchiladas were placed in the baking dish side by side and some of the remaining sauce mixed with salsa was poured on top of the enchiladas and then sprinkled with a layer of cheese. The baking dish was placed in the oven for 15 minutes, or until cheese had melted.
Serve on their own, with a light salad, avocado, or sour cream. Enjoy!
Grocery list:
– Bell peppers
– Chicken breast
– Cooking onion
– Fresh garlic
– Tomatoes
– Spinach
– Fresh Cilantro
– Cayenne pepper (optional)
– Cilantro & chilli salsa (optional)
– Salsa
– Wraps
– Cheese