world peace chicken enchiladas verdes

      The first time they had these back in their college days, my eldest daughter and her friend concluded that my chicken enchiladas and the friend's mother's homemade fudge were SO good, that they could be used in brokering world peace, hence the silly name.

      They should be named Beau Catcher Enchiladas, as one of our sons-in-law says that this cemented his decision to join our family after eating these for supper at our house. Of course, our lovely baby daughter was the real prize. 

     I really can't think of one bad to say about these enchiladas, except that they're addicting. I could probably make these weekly and no one would be mad about it.

They are super simple to make, using our favorite, the humble and tasty rotisserie chicken. Plus, they take mere minutes to assemble. 
     Another huge plus is that the filling freezes well, so only roll what you need for a meal, store the rest of the filling for another time. This recipe makes between 20 and 24 enchiladas, depending on how plump you fill them.

     IF you can't abide a tiny bit of spicy heat, use regular Monterrey Jack cheese or cheddar jack instead of pepper jack and only one can of the green chilies. This isn’t a burn-your-face-off recipe by any means. The chilies are mild but do have a little kick.

I split the quantity in half and make one pan with cheddar and no chilies for our little grandchildren who aren’t fans of spicy things. The original recipe is reserved for the rest of us. 

Ingredients:

6 c. chicken, cooked and chopped

4 c. pepper jack cheese, or combo of sharp cheddar and pepper jack
1/2 c. sour cream 

1/2 c Greek yogurt 

1 -2 cans, diced, mild green chilies

1/4 c. fresh cilantro, finely chopped

20-24 small flour tortillas

2 c. Sour cream 

16 oz. jar Frontera Grill tomatillo salsa, (or any green salsa)

Fresh toppings: 
chopped fresh tomatoes

chopped fresh avocado
mixed greens

fresh cilantro

lime wedges

Method:
Blend together 1/2 c. sour cream and yogurt. (The rest of sour cream is for the sauce you’ll pour over at the end of baking.) Finely chop the fresh cilantro, reserving half as garnish. Mix chicken, cheese, yogurt mixture, green chilies and half of cilantro together in a bowl until well blended. 
Fill tortillas w/ mixture. They should be rather slim, like a cigar… not fat like a chimichanga.

Place seam side down in glass baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. You can pack them in tightly. Spray top of tortillas in dish with the same spray. I tend to like olive oil or coconut oil sprays. 
Bake @ 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. All of the ingredients are already cooked, so we're merely melting everything together into divine yummi-ness. When done, the enchiladas will appear slightly crispy and lightly browned.
While the enchiladas are baking, prep toppings. My faves are diced, fresh tomatoes, fresh cilantro, chopped avocado dressed with salt, pepper and a little lime juice; and lime wedges to squeeze. I sometimes place mixed salad greens on the plate and place enchiladas on top. 
Whisk together remaining sour cream and the jar of green tomatilla salsa. I LOVE the salsa from Rick Bayless' Frontera Grill. The tomatillas have been fire-roasted, which gives it a slight smoky taste, but any brand will do. 
Spread blended sauce over warm enchiladas as they exit the oven. 
You can, for presentation purposes, sprinkle a bit of additional grated cheese and a couple of pinches of fresh cilantro over the top to make it look nice, if you'd like. Scoop out an enchilada or two and place on plate.
Pile the cool, fresh topping ingredients on the hot enchiladas. Oh. my. goodness... I'm getting weak in the knees just thinking about it! I serve mine with some sort of beans and rice. 
Sprinkle with cilantro and squeeze a lime wedge over the whole thing. Mmmm!

Buena Apetit!