Chicken Enchiladas with Creamy Green Chili Sauce for a Crowd or the Freezer

This is another extremely frugal recipe that we have loved for years.  I believe I have combined two seperate recipes to come up with this one and even made some adaptations last night to replace the cream of chicken soup called for in the original.  If I were getting fresh milk I would have used homemade sour cream and I also could have used a homemade enchilada sauce and home grown chilies.

Wednesday I skinned six chicken breasts and put them in a large stockpot with two gallons of water.  I added a chopped carrot or two, a sliced onion and several minced cloves of garlic.  I let this simmer for several hours and then drained all the stock.  I then deboned the chicken and added the meat from one chicken breast to about half of the remaining stock, some sliced carrots, dehydrated onions, more garlic, brown rice and some seasonings to make chicken and rice soup for our evening meal.  The remaining chicken I put in the refrigerator to use for the enchiladas the next day.

First I sauteed one chopped onion and one clove of minced garlic in olive oil.  

Then I added one can of Rotel to the onions.

Next the shredded chicken was added....approximately 7-8 cups was mixed in with the vegetables.

I spooned about three tablespoons of the meat mixture and one tablespoon of shredded colby/monterrey jack cheese on a flour tortilla.  Continue until all the meat mixture is gone.

Meanwhile, Devin made a sauce using 1 1/2 cups of milk and 1 1/2 cups of chicken stock.  After the liquid was heated she removed about 1/2 cup and mixed it with about 2 T. of corn starch.  This was then added back to the pot and stirred thoroughly.  You can use cream of chicken soup (it would take two cans) but this is a much more healthy and cheaper alternative.

To the milk/stock mixture was added two cans of chopped green chilies, two cans of green enchilada sauce and about 3 1/2 cups of sour cream.

The meat mixture was enough for three 9 x 13 inch pans....21 enchiladas!!  

I evenly divided the sauce over the three pans.  ( and why, yes, there are several loaves of homemade bread sittting there as well...we are in renovation mode and everything is a mess!)

And then I sprinkled with more grated cheese.  I covered two pans with plastic wrap and then with aluminum foil to add to my freezer.   The other pan was baked in the oven at 350 degrees until heated through and the cheese melted.

Yummy!!

We generally serve up 1/2 an enchilada at a time and have  Mexican rice, refried beans, chips and salsa on the side.

Now for the recipe!

Chicken Enchiladas with Creamy Green Chili Sauce

one diced onion
1 clove of minced garlic
3 T. olive oil
6-8 cups of shredded chicken
1 can of Rotel
6-8 cups of shredded chicken
1 1/2 cups of milk or cream
1 1/2 cups of chicken stock
2-3 T. corn starch
2 cans chopped green chilies
2 cans green enchilada sauce
3 1/2 cups sour cream
21-25 flour tortillas
2 pounds of shredded cheddar, colby, or monterrey jack cheese

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil in a 4 quart sauce pan.  Add Rotel and stir well.  Add chicken and mix thoroughly.   In a 2 quart sauce pan heat chicken stock and milk.  Remove 1/2 cup of heated liquid and combine with 2 T. corn starch.  Add this mixture to the pan, remove from heat and stir until thickened.  In a large bowl add green chilies, enchilada sauce and sour cream to the cream/stock mixture.

Grease three 9 x 13 inch casserole dishes.  Add 3 T. of meat mixture and 1 T. shredded cheese to each tortilla.  Roll up and place in casserole dish.  Continue until all meat is used.  Evenly divide sauce mixture over the three pans of enchiladas.  Top with a layer of cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees until heated through and cheese is melted...about 20-25 minutes.  This freezes very well and can be kept frozen for about 3 months.

http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2011/10/pennywise-platter-thursday-1013.html

http://lifeasmom.com/2011/10/budget-friendly-big-family-travel.html

http://commonsensehomesteading.blogspot.com/2011/10/living-well-blog-hop-11.html

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