chicken enchiladas

you can pretty much guarantee that i am going to have the word “healthy” suggestively and invisibly placed in front of all of my recipes.  this is because everything i cook is healthy.  i am passionate about eating good food that is good for your body and tastes good, too.  SERIOUSLY! i’m all about simple dishes that take no more than 30-45 minutes to  prepare  and are packed with nutrients. i’m a bit of a food-snob, i will admit… i don’t buy processed foods and I don’t cook with heavy fats. just real, simple, delicious food.

just some simple, non-rigid “rules” I have about eating well….

less calorie counting, more label reading.

less “dieting”, more “choosing”.

less sacrificing, more educating.

so, for my very first blog dish, i’ve decided to feature tonight’s dinner which was chicken enchiladas.  every wednesday at my local whole foods market, they have whole roasted chickens for $6.99 and so i snagged one up for dinner last night.  i knew i’d have leftovers, so i randomly decided to try my hand at enchiladas.  i had never made them, but i knew it had to be relatively simple and had healthy options.  something i’m also all about is healthy eating on a budget! shopping organic and natural doesn’t have to be expensive.   again, it’s about changing the way we look at food.  consider it an investment in your health.

i’ve heard that cooking with fresno peppers adds a good amount of heat and colour with a tad more flavour than a regular jalapeno.  for this reason i didn’t add any salt or pepper to this dish.  also – as it turns out, fresnos are loaded with vitamins!

here are the ingredients :

{makes 6 enchiladas – and i never actually measure anything – just go with what feels right}

– one fresno pepper, ribs and seeds removed

– about 1/2 cup green onions

– 1/2 medium sized green bell pepper

– 8 oz. container greek yogurt {i’m using this in place of sour cream}

– 1 can of diced tomatoes and/or chiles*

– 1 cup sharp cheddar {or really your choice of cheese}

– 2 cups shredded cooked chicken

– 6 whole wheat, corn, or sprouted tortillas

*the way i pick out things like this when i’m in the grocery isle is by being a major label reader! always turn the product around – if the label reads, “tomatoes and chiles”, then there shouldn’t be a list of more than a dozen ingredients!  i chose the can in the above photo because it had minimal contents and no added sugar or preservatives.  ideally, you could make this dish with fresh tomatoes and chiles…

to begin, preheat the oven at 400 degrees.  chop the onions and both peppers together and put them in a hot pan heating on medium and toss to keep from sticking to pan.

add a little vegetable stock as you go to keep the pan moist and the peppers from burning.  once everything begins to brown, turn heat to low and add in shredded chicken, half container of yogurt, and 1/2 cup grated cheese.

blend together and keep on low heat.

once well-mixed and cheese melted, turn off heat.  take a large spoonful of mixture and spread onto tortillas then wrap and place seal-side-down in a lightly greased baking pan {for this i take a paper towel dipped in a tad of real butter and lightly line the pan}.

now let’s mix up our sauce.  open the can of tomatoes or chiles or both or whatever fun concoction you’ve come up with and mix in the remainder of the yogurt.

stir together well and pour over rolled tortillas.  sprinkle remaining cheese over top and pop in the oven.

set timer for about 15 minutes.  bake until cheese is melted and/or tortillas are crisping on the ends… it’s really your preference here… everything is already cooked.

remove from oven and grate fresh cheese on top.

i served mine with a fresh and creamy organic avocado and an ice-cold corona! 🙂

Tags: dairy, light, mexican, spicy, wheat