The BEST Creamy Dreamy Chicken Enchiladas.

One time, when I was pregnant with Claire, I made some great red beef enchiladas. They were great. But when I'm pregnant, I am ferociously sick. And those did not stay put. And I've never made red enchiladas ever since.

But I love enchiladas. I mean, who doesn't love something stuffed and smothered with sauce? Then I discovered white chicken enchiladas. At first I tried The Pioneer Woman's Recipe and then I decided to venture out. It took a couple tweaks to perfect the recipe, but we have this down pat. Honest to goodness the BEST white chicken enchiladas and no cream of anything soups. Not gonna lie, it's a little time consuming, but the steps are simple. And I like to make big batches so we have leftovers for forever. Because it takes more time than I care to spend cooking, I like to whip these bad boys up in the morning when I'm feeling super domestic and then just throw them in the oven a few minutes before dinner.

Here we go.

Creamy Dreamy (LOADED with Dairy) White Chicken Enchiladas: 

2 lbs frozen chicken breasts
butter
4 cans diced green chilies
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
flour
2 t. paprika
1 C. heavy cream
8 oz. cream cheese
Lots of Monterey Jack cheese (Shredded) -I buy a giant bag and use just about all of it.
tortillas


Start by boiling the chicken. It's not my favorite way to cook chicken, but it works really well for this. I'm all about efficiency so I toss frozen chicken in the pot and walk away to do something else while they cook.

When the chicken is cooked, save about 3 C. of the water for later. Shred the chicken and set aside.

(I like to rinse out the one pot between steps so I only have one mess) In a pot or THE pot, melt 1 T butter. Add the chopped onion and cook till sweating. Add in the chicken, 2 cans of diced green chilies,  1/2 C of the water from the chicken, 1/2 C heavy cream, and 1t paprika. Cook until bubbly and the juices have thickened slightly. I put my chicken mixture into a bowl and rinse out my pot for the next part.

Melt 2T butter. Add 2T flour and whisk until browned, thick, and bubbly. Add the rest of the reserved chicken water and cook until thickened. Add in the rest of the green chilies, cream cheese, 1/2 C heavy cream, 1-2t paprika (I go by color of finished sauce. I like it slightly pinky), and 3 cups of shredded Monterey Jack cheese. The cream cheese might take a while to melt and mix completely. Just watch it and stir it occasionally.

While my cheese is melting, I prep my enchiladas. I take a small scoop of the chicken mixture, sprinkle it with the left over shredded cheese and roll it up. I can usually cram 8 or 9 in a 9X13 pan and put the rest in a smaller square pan until I run out of chicken goop. (Don't forget to check in and stir your cheese sauce!)

When the sauce is ready, slather that goodness all over the rolled tortillas. Drench it. And lick the spoon after.

If I make these at dinner time, I toss them in the oven at 350 for just a couple minutes until the tortilla edges are slightly browned and crisp. Or you can make them before and cook them at 350 for 15-20 minutes when you're ready to eat.  BAM. Creamy Dreamy Enchiladas with enough dairy in 'em to make the Wisconsin heart happy.