Light Chicken Enchiladas

When I sit down to meal plan, it takes forever.  One site I often visit is the Food Network site, focusing in on Food Network Magazine because I love their stuff but no longer subscribe.  I came across this one and was intrigued; I love making chicken enchiladas, though they tend to take a long time to make, and am always looking for different methods to try.

This was definitely a different method!  Though I've made enchilada sauce from scratch before, it's never been so fresh tasting.  The sauce was quite delicious on this one.

One issue I had with this was that I used our preferred flour tortilla shells instead of corn ones, which meant that 1/2lb of chicken was not enough to feed the whole family.  My husband had an issue too; his problem was that the filling was pretty bland, being basically just chicken and cheese. 

The short is that this is a great change of pace, and definitely a tasty was to lighten up your chicken enchiladas, but you will miss the standard kind too!

Light Chicken Enchiladas Source:  Food Network Magazine
    2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
    1 to 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and sliced
    3 cloves garlic, smashed
    1/2 teaspoon dried thyme or 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme
    1 medium white onion, minced
    1/2 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, halved lengthwise
    Kosher salt
    3 to 4 tomatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds), cored and roughly chopped
    1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
    8 corn tortillas
    1 1/2 cups shredded muenster cheese (about 6 ounces)
    1 cup mixed fresh parsley and cilantro, chopped

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the jalapeno, garlic, thyme and half of the onion. Cook, stirring, until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken, 1 teaspoon salt and 3/4 cup water. Bring to a boil, then cover and cook until the chicken is tender, about 6 minutes.

Remove the chicken to a plate. Transfer the cooking liquid and vegetables to a blender; add the tomatoes and allspice and puree with the lid ajar. Wipe out the skillet, add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and place over medium-high heat. Add the tomato mixture and cook until slightly reduced, 6 minutes. Pour into a baking dish.

Brush the tortillas with olive oil and put on a baking sheet; bake 5 minutes. Shred the chicken. Top each tortilla with chicken and cheese, then roll up and arrange in the baking dish, seam-side down, spooning some sauce on top. Bake until the cheese melts, 4 minutes.

Toss the herbs, remaining onion, and salt to taste. Sprinkle on top.