Chicken Veggie Enchiladas

Our family loves Mexican food, and I love cooking it. The smells, textures and above all the flavors are amazing! I found this recipe for chicken enchiladas in my Cooking Light magazine, and made some minor sneaky veggie adjustments. Like most messy dishes I change it up for the kiddos. For this dish I make their enchiladas like normal, but instead of baking them in the pan with the sauce and cheese, I put the cheese in the tortilla, roll, spray with Pam and salt...then I bake until crispy. They love them!

Ingredients:
4-5 cups water
2 TBS chicken bouillon
3 garlic cloves
10 oz boneless skinless chicken breast
1 celery stalk
1 large carrot
1 jalapeno (seeded)
1/2 medium sweet onion
7 oz salsa verde
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tomato (squeeze out juice before chopping)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
4 oz cream cheese
12 corn tortillas
1-2 cups shredded cheddar
1 TBS olive oil

Directions:
1. Boil chicken in water with chicken bouillon and pepper. Cook for about 10 minutes or until cooked through. Reserve liquid and set chicken aside.

2. Meanwhile, saute garlic, celery, carrot, jalapeno, onion in olive oil until tender. Place in food processor and chop very fine. Add the cilantro and tomato at this point instead of shopping by hand. Next place the chicken in the food processor and chop until fine. Mix veggies, chicken, all spices, and cream cheese.

3. In a small sauce pan add reserved liquid and salsa verde. Bring to a boil and cook until reduced to 1.5 cups. Reduce heat to low and add whipping cream.

4. Preheat oven to 400.

5. Dip each tortilla in sauce, add the chicken mixture, roll and place in a non-stick pan. Continue until you use all the filling. Pour the sauce over the enchiladas and then top with shredded cheddar.

6. Bake for about 20 minutes or until cheese is browned.

We enjoyed these yummy enchiladas with Mexican rice and black beans!