Hatch Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas Recipe

Ingredients

1. Preheat the Oven

   Preheat conventional oven to 350°F.

2. Poach the Chicken

   Place seasoned (salted) chicken thighs in a large pot and cover with just enough water to submerge all of the chicken. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer.

3. Simmer and Reserve Liquid

   Simmer for 30 minutes; partially drain, reserving 1 ½ cups of cooking liquid.

4. Make the Chicken Gravy

   Prepare Pioneer Roasted Chicken Gravy, using 1 ½ cups of reserved chicken cooking liquid and bringing to boil, then use ½ cup cool water (per package instructions to make slurry) and adding to boiling cooking liquid. Simmer for 1 minute then set aside.

5. Shred the Chicken

   Let chicken cool slightly, then shred by hand. Set aside in cooler.

6. Build the Sauce

   Sauté garlic in olive oil until golden (1 minute), then add hatch green chiles to prevent garlic from burning. Add this to gravy, whisking to combine. Simmer for 5 minutes, then remove from heat and whisk in cilantro, cream cheese, and sour cream until combined and cream cheese is melted.

7. Prep the Casserole Dish

   Spread one large spoonful of sauce to the bottom of a 13×9 inch casserole dish and set aside.

8. Warm the Tortillas

   Prepare tortillas by warming on a griddle or microwave and keep warm in tortilla warmer.

9. Mix Chicken and Cheese

   Mix in a large bowl, cooled shredded chicken and half of shredded cheese (½ lb.) to combine.

10. Fill and Roll Enchiladas

    Fill tortillas with about ¼ cup of chicken and cheese mixture, roll the tortillas and place seam side down into the dish. Repeat until you have filled the dish with enchiladas.

11. Sauce and Top with Cheese

    Spread enough of the sauce on top of the tortillas to cover. Then, spread the remaining shredded cheese on top of the sauce.

12. Bake and Serve

    Bake for 10 minutes, or until cheese is lightly browned on top and serve with remaining sauce. Tip: Chicken can be cooked ahead and cooled until ready to make enchiladas. In addition, the sauce and enchiladas can be made ahead, built and cooled until ready to bake. If baking cooled pre-built enchiladas, allow an additional 5-10 minutes to heat enchiladas thoroughly (internal temperature of 165°F).