Chicken Enchiladas Verde

Like most families, we really enjoy Mexican food. The combinations of spicy and zesty flavors are hard to resist. Making Mexican-style dishes at home is easy and allows you to incorporate the fresh ingredients that your family likes best; chicken/beef, lime, cilantro, and chili peppers - especially chilies! So what better way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo than with homemade Chicken Enchiladas!

We prefer salsa verde (tomatillo salsa) to salsa de tomate rojo (red tomato salsa) in homemade Mexican dishes. With tomatillos readily available in most grocery stores it is easy to make at home. (If you are pressed for time HERDEZ® salsa verde is the next best thing.)

The first step is to roast the chili peppers, you can either roast them in the oven, or if you have a gas stove, you can roast them directly over the flame, (see video). Roasting will deliver more flavor. boiling may be faster and use less energy. Either way works, though boiling is a more common way to cook the tomatillos.

Salsa Verde
2 tablespoons olive oil
12 whole tomatillos
1/2 cup chopped white onion
2 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1 cup chicken broth
2 chili peppers, roasted, peeled and seeded (we like to use a variety: jalapeno, Serrano, Cubanelle, and/or Anaheim for a depth of flavors)
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
½ teaspoon cumin
Salt to taste
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
1/4 cup parsley leaves

Enchiladas
Salsa Verde (above or HERDEZ® salsa verde)
12-20 corn tortillas
1 22-oz.bag Tyson® Grilled & Ready? Fully-Cooked Chicken Breast Strips
or (2-3 cups cooked chicken, sliced)
1 cup white beans, cooked (optional)
2 cups grated Mexican-style cheese(s), grated
Lettuce, shredded
Sour cream or Guacamole (or both!)

Remove papery husks from tomatillos, rinse well and chop coarsely. In a saucepan, sauté onion and garlic in olive oil until soft. Add tomatillos, cumin, broth and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly (or longer if making ahead).

Meanwhile, place the chili peppers directly over the flame on a gas stove and cook, turning with tongs, until the skin is charred and blackened. (Or, if you have an electric stove, put the chilies on a baking sheet and broil, turning with tongs, until the skin is blackened.) Skin, seed and core the roasted chili peppers. Place tomatillo sauté, roasted chili peppers, lime juice, cilantro and parsley in a food processor (or blender) and pulse until all ingredients are finely chopped and smooth. Season to taste with salt.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Pour the salsa verde into a shallow bowl or baking dish. Dip each tortilla in the salsa to soften it. Lay dipped tortilla flat in an ungreased 9? X 13? baking dish and fill each with about a teaspoonful of white beans, a tablespoon of cheese(s), and several slices of Tyson® Grilled & Ready? Fully-Cooked Chicken Breast Strips down the center. As members of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program, we received a free sample of  Tyson®'s Grilled and Ready? chicken which is fully cooked, 98% fat free and has no preservatives, making it a perfect addition to this healthy homemade dish.

Fold the tortilla in thirds over the filling and place seam-side-down in the dish. Repeat with more tortillas until the baking dish is full. Then pour the remaining salsa verde over the top. Cover the top of the enchiladas with cheese.

If you are making enchiladas to freeze, cover and freeze at this point. To cook (thaw to room temperature) and bake covered at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes, until heated through. Remove the foil and cook for a few more minutes to let cheese topping get brown and bubbly. Serve one or two hot enchiladas on a plate and top with shredded lettuce and sour cream and or guacamole. La buena comida!