Green Enchiladas!

If you are thinking Dr. Suess, no…nothing like that!  The “green” in these enchiladas is spinach.    If spinach scares you, let me assure you that these are what turned me on to spinach in the first place!  They are basically chicken enchiladas with spinach in them, but are so yummy.  And now that you can get gluten free tortillas in something other than corn, they taste like they did before Celiac disease!  I thought I’d never get to have homemade enchiladas again.

First of all, the gluten free tortillas….there are two brands I have seen.  I’ll link you to both, but I’ve only tried one of them so far.

These are Smart and Delicious Wraps from La Tortilla Factory.  They are made from teff flour and I can’t tell much difference when made in an enchilada.  If you taste it plain, it doesn’t taste like a white flour tortilla, but they are super because they are flexible without breaking.  They can be frozen and kept for quite some time.  We’ve been pleased with them.

The other brand is not actually a tortilla, but a gluten free flatbread.  I think they could be used as a tortilla, but I want to let you know about them regardless.  I really want to try these, because they come in flavors and I think they would be awesome for sandwich type wraps.  They are called Sandwich Petals, probably because they are shaped like the petals of a flower.  Must have been invented by a female, don’t ya think?  They are a multi grain wrap using a variety of gluten free grains.  There are three flavors…Agave Grain, Chimayo Red Chile (yum), and Spinach Garlic Pesto (double yum!).   The reviews I’ve seen are good, so give them a try!

Now to the ingredients for the enchiladas!

2 lbs chicken breasts (approx. 5 breasts)

1/2 stick margarine

1 large white onion, finely chopped

1 box frozen or 1 can spinach…around 10 oz.

3 cups sour cream

2 – 4 oz. cans of chopped green chiles

1 tsp ground cumin

1/4 cup milk

salt to taste

12 flour tortillas…use gluten free if Celiac

6 oz Montery Jack Cheese (Pepper Jack is AWESOME)

Boil chicken, cool and cut into bite size pieces.  You don’t have to use white meat.  Use whatever you want.  In a skillet, melt butter and saute’ the onions till tender.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease large casserole dish.  I used a 9×13.  Heat the spinach if you have frozen.  Strain the liquid and reserve 1/2 cup.  You can use fresh spinach if you want, usually takes about 1 lb, but I prefer to save the time of removing the stems, etc.  If the spinach isn’t already chopped, chop it up coarsely.

Combine:  onion, spinach, sour cream, chilies, cumin, spinach liquid and milk.  Mix.  Season to taste.   NEEDS salt!  Add half the sauce to the chicken and mix well.  Let me note here that if you didn’t salt the chicken, you need to salt this mixture as well.  All that meat with no more salt will mean you will want to add salt at the table.  It really needs it here too.  Just saying.

Fill softened tortillas with equal amounts of filling and roll up.  Place seam side down in the dish.  Cover with half the cheese and then the remaining sauce.  If you like things a little spicy, use all Pepper Jack cheese.  I used half and half and could not even taste the peppers.   My husband likes it bland like this, so just do what works for your family.  Even try half spicy and half not!  After the sauce, top with the rest of the cheese.  Bake about 30 minutes or until heated through.

ENJOY!!