Low Carb Chicken Enchiladas

Sometimes, don't ya just get a hanker'n for some good and I mean GOOD Mexican food??  Well I do, and that hanker'n hit me yesterday.  Decided to do some chicken enchiladas and I think they turned out fabulous!!!  I think the secret to it is the homemade enchilada sauce.  I never realized how incredibly easy it is to make!  Never again will a canned version pass my pantry shelves.  Not such a great picture but the only one I have.  Looks sloppy, tasted fabulous.

I'm editing this today to add some pictures, and to let you know a little secret.  The low carb tortilla shells can sometimes be sort of gummy once cooked.  So today, I put the tortillas in my air fryer oven for about 2 minutes at 370 degrees. It dried them out a bit. I'm hoping it will help them be less gummy.

I decided I had better write the recipe down before I forgot how I did it! So here is the recipe.

Chicken Enchiladas

Cooked 4/16/17

Ingredients for the chicken filling:
4 good sized chicken breasts

1 8 ounce package of cream cheese

1 15 or so ounce can of either rotel or diced tomatoes and jalapeno’s (which is what I used)

Other ingredients:

1 can sliced olives

1 bunch of diced green onions

1 package of Low Carb tortilla

3 or so cups of cheese of choice. I used a Mexican blend

Season your chicken with Mexican flavors.  I used Arizona Dreaming from Penzy’s.  Add a sprinkling of salt

Place chicken in a crock pot.  Plop the cream cheese on top and then pour the tomatoes over the top.  Cook on high for 4 hours or low 6-8 hours.  If you use frozen chicken give it an extra hour.  When it’s done use two forks and shred the chicken.  Stir it all up to incorporate all the cheese and maters.  Taste and reseason.  I added some chili powder, cumin, more salt, a bit of garlic and some pepper.  (I didn’t really measure exactly)

While the chicken is cooking, make your own enchilada sauce!  I couldn’t believe how incredibly easy it is and how far superior it is in taste compared the canned crap.  This is the recipe I used for the enchilada sauce.  I had to make some substitutions for the exact items I didn’t have.  Example, I don’t keep instant coffee (yuck!) and used a dark cocoa from Penzy’s.  I didn’t have regular oregano but had some Mexican oregano, and instead of ground cloves, I used whole cloves and tried to fish them all out but didn’t quite get them all. Next time I'll strain the sauce. So for all of those who don’t like the click through to get to other recipes, here is the enchilada sauce:

Ingredients

·         3 cups unsalted chicken broth

·         3 tablespoons tomato paste

·         1 bay leaf

·         1/4 cup pure chili powder

·         2 teaspoons ground cumin

·         1 teaspoon dried oregano

·         1/2 teaspoon salt

·         1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic

·         1/2 teaspoon onion powder

·         1/2 teaspoon granulated erythritol (I used Splenda)

·         1/4 teaspoon chipotle chili powder

·         1/4 teaspoon instant coffee powder

·         1/16 teaspoon ground clove

·         1/16 teaspoon ground cinnamon

·         2 tablespoons ghee, butter or olive oil

Instructions

1.    Put all of the ingredients into a medium to large frying pan on medium heat.

2.    Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the red enchilada sauce has reduced by one cup and about two cups are left. It will be thin but flavorful. It will thicken-up in the oven as the enchiladas cook.

3.    Remember: The enchilada sauce is what flavors the enchiladas, so taste and adjust the seasonings. If the sauce is a little bitter, add just a touch more sweetener. It will help balance the flavors, but go easy with it. Discard the bay leaf before using.

To assemble, use a 9 x 11 baking pan and put a thin coat of enchilada sauce on the bottom. Lay out the burrito’s and lay a row of both olives and green onions down the middle. Top it with a good line of the chicken filling and some shredded cheese. Roll it up and lay seam side down in the pan. Repeat till you fill up the pan.    Pour the remaining sauce over the whole thing making sure you cover them all evenly.  Sprinkle with more green onions and remaining olives.  Cover entirely with a lot of cheese.  Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until bubbly hot. Depending on how full you make them, this would make 5 to 8 enchiladas.

Serve with sour cream, green onions, avocado slices, or whatever you like!

Enjoy!!!!

My little prep station.

I only had 5 tortilla wrappers so I made them huge

Add a bit more stuff on top

Cover it all with enchilada sauce

and CHEESE!!!