Chicken Enchiladas

ENCHILADAS- Shredded Chicken Filling

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (abt 1 1/2 lbs total)
1 4-oz can diced green chile peppers
1/12 c chopped onion (1 med)
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp dried oregano, crushed
1/2 t cayenne pepper
1 10-oz can enchilada sauce

Slow cooker method: In a 3 1/2 or 4-qt slow cooker, combine chicken, chile peppers, onion, garlic, oregano, and cayenne pepper. Pour canned enchilada sauce over chicken mixture, coating the chicken. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 5-6 hours or on high-heat setting for 2 1/2- 3 hours. Remove chicken from slow cooker, reserving cooking liquid. When chicken is cool, use forks to pull chicken apart into shreds. Place shredded chicken in a serving bowl. Stir in enough of the reserved cooking liquid to moisten. If desired, use remaining cooking liquid to make Chile Enchilad Sauce. Makes 8 servings.

Chile Enchilada Sauce: On a bowl, combine two 10-oz cans enchilada sauce and 1/4 c reserved cooking liquid from Shredded Chicken Filling or 1/4 c vegetable broth. Stir in one 4-oz can diced green chile peppers. Spread 1/2 c sauce in a 3-qt rectangular baking dish. Add enchiladas and top with remaining sauce. Cover; bake in a 350 degree F oven until heated through. Sprinkle enchiladas with 1/2 c cheese; bake, uncovered, for 5 minutes more or until cheese is melted. Makes 8 servings.

These are recipes I found in Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest Mexican. I followed the recipe after I had made enchiladas without a recipe, then looked at this to add anything interesting, and they tasted sooooo good, I had to try it again. Of course I had to tweak it some by adding leftover rice to the chicken filling. I think dishes always have too much meat. Pat says they tasted good, but I haven't tasted mine yet. I made the black bean one with no cheese for me. I will have to post those next, I guess.

I will hurry it up by microwaving the chicken breasts, covered. When the chicken cools, I will slice thinly or shred it. In a skillet I saute the seasonings, then add the chicken, stirring and heating. Then I pretty much follow the directions for the chile enchilada sauce, but if I only use one can of sauce, then I spray the baking pan, put the filled rolled enchiladas in, pour sauce over, and heat in the oven at 350. I will take them out for the last 5 minutes, sprinkle with shredded mexican cheese, and put bake in the oven to bake until cheese is melted. Serve with any toppings you enjoy. I'm going to try out a recipe for Sweet Corn Pudding to go with this later in the summer when there is fresh corn. For now, I used corn chips as a side. We enjoyed this watching the Basketball games in HD on the large screen tv.