Stocking up on Enchiladas!

I attended our monthly 'cooking club' through OSC.  This particular theme was 'new year, new recipe.'  I managed to pull out a 'cake in a crock pot' from some website I can no longer locate, thank goodness I printed out THAT recipe!  It was a hit!  I will post on that on another tangent day, but trying to stick to 'freezer food' today.

I have made enchiladas for 10 years, the same way, shred chicken, can of sauce and some cheese.  Viola!  Well at our club this weekend there was a most AMAZING Creamy Enchilada Verde  (http://www.tasteandtellblog.com/2011/12/chicken-black-bean-zucchini-enchiladas/).  After talking to the young lady who made it, it was intended to be a 'healthy' version of the cream sauce and added protein and veggies to the enchiladas, would aide in any New Year's resolution to "eat healthier."  While it did take a litte bit to get it together I tell you it was (and will be out of the freezer) SO WORTH IT!  I even think think this verde sauce would make a GREAT soup base, a sauce drizzled over chicken and rice.....oh my mouth is drooling already!  Just plan 45-60 minutes to get dinner assembled or prepped for the freezer...sooooo good and sooooo worth it!



Ingredients


For the Chicken:
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

For the Black Bean Filling
olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 pound zucchini, quartered lengthwise and cut into quarter-inch slices
1 clove garlic, minced
One 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt

For the Sauce
1 tablespoon butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 jalepeno, seeds and ribs removed, minced  (I did omit this for my kids' sake)
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup vegetable or chicken stock
1 cup sour cream
1 4-oz can fire-roasted mild green chiles
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
cayenne pepper, to taste

For the Enchiladas
8 8-inch flour tortillas
3/4 pound Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, plus more for garnish

1 lime, cut into 6 wedges

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking dish with foil.

Make the chicken:
In a bowl, combine the Dijon, olive oil, chili powder and salt. Add in the chicken breasts and stir until the chicken is coated. Place the chicken on the prepared baking dish and cook in the preheated oven until the chicken is cooked through, about 30 minutes. Set aside to cool enough to handle. Once cool, shred the chicken and set aside.

Make the black bean filling:
Coat the bottom of a large skillet with the olive oil. Add in the onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the zucchini and saute until it is tender, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic, beans, chili powder, cumin and salt and cook until the beans are tender, another 5 minutes. Place the mixture in a large bowl and add the cooked, shredded chicken. Set aside.

Make the sauce:
Wipe out the skillet you were using for the bean filling. Melt the butter over medium heat. Add in the garlic and jalepenos and cook until fragrant and softening, about 4 minutes. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the stock, then change the heat to high, bringing the mixture to a boil. Once it is boiling, reduce the heat and simmer until it has reduced a bit and become opaque, about 5 minutes.

Transfer the sauce to a blender or food processor. Add the sour cream, the chiles, cumin, chili powder, salt and cayenne pepper. Puree until smooth.

Assemble the enchiladas:
Coat the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish with the green chile sauce, reserving the rest of the sauce. Fill each of the 8 tortillas with the chicken and black bean mixture, a spoonful of the cheese, and a sprinkling of cilantro. Roll up and place seam side down in the baking dish. Pour the remaining green chile sauce over the top and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

**At this point cover with foil, label and freeze.  On cooking day, thaw overnight in fridge, bake at 350degrees for 40-50min until heated through.

**Other suggestions (and what I did today).  I doubled the chicken and used two chicken breasts for this recipe and two to make 'red' enchiladas.  In my red enchiadas I added one can of pinto beans to the chicken and some cheese.  As mentioned above with the 'sauce' for red enchiladas I used one can of red enchilada sauce, 1/2 can of chicken broth, and 1/4c. cilantro, mixed in a blender.   Pour 1/4-1/2c. of sauce just to coat bottom of pan.  I filled 8 tortillas with mixture, rolled and placed in a pan for freezing.   I smothered the rolled enchiladas with the sauce from the blender.  Sprinkled cheese, covered with foil, freeze to be baked later, just as above.

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