BECKY'S ENCHILADAS SUIZAS

I prepared Becky Wendler's FANTASTIC Enchiladas Suizas for dinner last night. As time goes on, you will probably notice that I LOVE LOVE LOVE good Mexican food, being a California native girl. So does MY little California native girl; just look at how happy she looks, digging in:

Don't be intimidated by the huge amount of ingredients--they are very easy to find, and the dish comes together, lickity split. Here's pretty much what you'll need:

As always, the recipe will be at the end of this post. First thing you want to do is simmer your chicken breasts for about 15-20 minutes:

While these are cooking, you can be chopping up your onion and bell peppers, and then saute them in some butter:

(Check out my newest gadget, a chef's scoop--makes it soooo much easier to get your ingredients into the pan, without spilling anything on the floor!)

I just LOVE my Calphalon pans--nothing sticks, and you can use less oil, which equals fewer calories!

Next you're going to chop up your chipotle chiles--don't skip these, as they add a very nice smoky heat to the enchiladas. You can find them, packed in adobo sauce, in most Mexican food sections:

You will also want to chop up about a 1/2 cup of Cilantro, unless you loathe it, as I used to. I can take it in small amounts now, and my fambly loves it!:

After you shred your chilled cooked chicken, you're going to mix a lot of stuff together in a big bowl, then fill your tortillas, like so:

Place the filled tortillas, seam side down, in a greased baking dish. Sprinkle some Monterey Jack over enchiladas, then pour over the cream and chicken broth:

(Big Daddy had to do this for me, as I'm uncoordinated and can't take a photo AND pour at the same time..)

Bake as directed, then serve, maybe with a nice salad, to some very appreciative people:

YUMMMMMMMM!!! Thanks, Becky, for the "keeper" recipe!

BECKY'S CHICKEN ENCHILADAS SUIZAS

Serves 8

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 1 1/2 lb., total)

1 tblsp. butter

1 cup chopped onion

1 green and 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped

8 oz. grated cheddar cheese

1 4oz. can diced green chiles

1 cup purchased fresh cilantro

4 tsp. ground cumin

2-3 canned Chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (optional)

salt and freshly ground black pepper

12 to 15 7inch flour tortillas

10 oz. Monterey Jack cheese, grated

1 cup whipping cream

1/2 cup chicken broth

Garnish:

chopped avocada

chopped tomato

chopped fresh cilantro

(we garnished with sour cream)

Place chicken in pan of rapidly boiling water to cover, and simmer 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat, drain, cool and shred chicken. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In medium skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Cook onion and bell peppers until just soft, about 5-8 minutes. Transfer to large bowl. Add chicken, cheddar cheese, green chiles, salsa, cilantro, cumin, and chipotle chiles, if desired. Season with salt and pepper to taste and mix well.

Greast 10x15x2 inch baking pan or two smaller pans. Place 1 flour tortilla on flat surface and place about 1/3 cup chicken mixture along 1 edge. Roll up from filling side, and place, seam side down, in prepared pan. Repeat process with remaining chicken mixture. Sprinkle Monterey Jack over enchiladas. (May be prepared to this point up to 1 day in advance. Cover and chill)

Combine cream and chicken broth and pour over enchiladas. Cover pan with foil and bake 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Place 1 or 2 enchiladas on individual serving plates and garnish with avocado, tomato and additonal cilantro, if desired.