Fiesta Chicken and Spinach Enchiladas

This is a great recipe courtesy of Jenny at Picky Palate. Jenny always posts delicious-sounding (and looking!) recipes and most are her own creations! She also has a wonderful ability to sneak in vegetables and make them taste great at the same time. I've made these Fiesta Chicken and Spinach Enchiladas following the traditional recipe, and as a casserole (courtesy of Mary Ann at Meet Me in the Kitchen). Both ways are wonderful. I've tried both flour and corn tortillas, and I think I prefer the corn only because they hold up better against the sauce, especially with leftovers, which you probably will have! And these are delicious leftover. Make them on a Sunday and have lunch for the rest of the week!

See the pretty colors:

This is a picture from when I made these as a casserole. Our grocery store has these super cheap corn tortillas (39 cents for ~12!) but the catch is, they're so small that they don't stay rolled, so I find a casserole is just easier. Please visit Jenny and Mary Ann's blogs for their beautiful pictures of this dish!

Fiesta Chicken and Spinach Enchiladas

Ingredients:

For the filling:

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, finely minced

1 jalapeno, minced*

3 fresh garlic cloves, minced

10 oz bag baby spinach leaves, chopped (I used a 6 oz bag)

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded**

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

1 1/2 Tablespoons ground cumin

1 10-ounce can Mild Rotel diced tomatoes with Green Chilies*

For the sauce:

1 lb (large family size can) cream of chicken soup***

1 cup red enchilada sauce*

8 ounces sour cream (light is fine)

1/2 cup milk (I used skim)

pinch of salt

corn tortillas

2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese (2% red. fat is fine)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Place oil into a large skillet or dutch oven over medium heat. Saute onion and jalapeno until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add chopped spinach and cook until wilted down. Stir in chicken, salt, pepper, garlic salt, cumin, and diced tomatoes. Reduce heat to low and simmer.

2. Place soup, enchilada sauce, sour cream, milk, and salt into a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir until warmed through.

3. Ladle a small amount of sauce into the bottom of a large 9x13-inch baking dish (or bigger if you have one), just enough to cover the bottom. Place a spoonful of chicken mixture inside of corn tortillas, roll, and place seam side down. Fill tortillas until chicken filling is used up. Top evenly with sauce and shredded cheese. Bake for 25-30 minutes until hot and bubbly.

10-12 servings

My notes:

*Much to my dismay, our grocery store does not sell the mild Rotel, so I got the regular. To adjust for spiciness, I eliminated the jalapeno and bought mild enchilada sauce, which our store does sell, funnily enough.

**I used 2 very large breasts and there was plenty of meat.

***I weighed out 1 pound (16 ounces) of Healthy Request (Red. fat/red. sodium) cream of chicken soup, which is almost 2 cans (roughly 1 3/4).

Source: Adapted from Picky Palate and Meet Me in the Kitchen