Chicken and Shrimp Enchiladas

Tonight, I decided to go back to my friend, Kita's, enchilada recommendation.  Her sister sent her this recipe and I have adapted a few things to my taste and what I had available.

For tonight's version, I replaced the beef I originally used with both chicken and shrimp (since I realized a little late in the game that I was running low on shrimp, I just sauteed a chicken breast that I had seasoned with salt and pepper.)  I didn't use them together but instead made two different kinds of enchiladas.  I also used two kinds of red salsa instead of green salsa because the Publix I went to only had some lame El Paso Salsa Verde available.  I used the mango and peach salsa I bought a Costco a while ago as well as Publix brand of medium salsa which was actually quite nice.

The mango/peach salsa was pretty tasty with the shrimp enchiladas in particular.  The only thing I didn't like was that it didn't taste particularly Mexican.  But, whatever, it was a little gourmet and Damien seemed to like it, too.

I also mixed up the veggies a bit.  I did use the squash and corn like the recipe calls for, but I also threw in a poblano pepper and a half of a jalapeno to make things a little spicier.

All in all, it was pretty good.  My apologies to Kita and her sister, Mollie for screwing with an already terrific recipe.  You're original is still the best. 

Mollie McDonald's Enchiladas

These enchiladas are so good that I couldn't even get the picture taken before we started to devour them! Salsa Verde is so good. I need to figure out how to make that from scratch.

Anyway, Kita, who has already contributed the fantastic Tortilla Soup recipe, also sent me this recipe that her sister made when they were visiting together in Maryland.

I changed a few things based on what I had available. For one thing, I decided to make steak enchiladas instead of chicken because we've been eating a lot of chicken lately. I also switched up the veggies a little bit since I had poblano peppers and no corn. But, the essence of the recipe is the same and it was rich and delicious.

So, without further ado:

Mollie McDonald's Enchiladas
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 small onion
1 small zucchini(or any summer squash)
1/2 cup corn
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 jar salsa verde
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 shredded rotisserie chicken
1 can refried beans (*pinto or black beans)
1 cup shredded or crumbled queso fresco
6-8 corn tortillas

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Saute garlic, onion, zucchini and corn in olive oil. Add cumin, coriander and cayenne to vegetables.

Cover the bottom of an oven proof dish with a 1/3 of the salsa verde. Stir in the heavy cream.

Assemble the enchiladas by spreading 1 or 2 tablespoons of refried beans onto each tortilla, sprinkle the cheese over the beans and then adding chicken and sauteed vegetables to them. Roll individually and place each one onto the green salsa coated dished with the ends down.

Cover the enchiladas with the rest of the salsa verde. Top with the remaining cheese. Cover and bake until the cheese is melted and it is bubbling (about 30 minutes).


As I mentioned, I made this with steak instead of chicken and with poblano peppers instead of corn. And it was delicious! One suggestion I have is to microwave the corn tortillas for a few seconds before assembling the enchiladas, just to soften them a bit because mine started to crack (of course, I wasn't using the freshest tortillas.) It didn't really matter though. In the end, the weigh of the salsa verde and cheese put everything back together and it looked impressive and tasted great.

Damien is going away...again. So, it'll just be me and Baz for a couple of days. I'll try and treat myself fairly well dinner-wise, but the recipes might be a little "simple" for the next two days.

Kita's Tortilla Soup Recipe

I have some reader input! Kita Murdock, who was part of my inspiration for starting a blog because of her awesome chronicles of moving her young family out west (threegirlsmovewest.blogspot.com), has shared one of her favorite recipes and I think I'll give it a shot tonight. Sounds delish!

Tortilla Soup
Saute in 2 T. olive oil:
1 1/2 cups onion, diced
2 tablespoons fresh garlic
1 cup poblano chiles charred (I put them right over my burner for a minute or two) seeded, and chopped
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 teaspoon each of oregano, coriander and cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne

ADD:
4 cups chicken broth
1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
1 15 ounce can black beans drained
2 soft corn tortillas diced
1 cup to 1 1/2 cups diced cooked chicken ( I cook it chopped in olive oil on the stove)
or you can add some peeled shrimp at the end instead
MMMMMMM........

I am excited to try this recipe especially since it is not something I would likely have found or sought out on my own. It sounds terrific! We might add a bit more cayenne or something else to make it a little more spicy. And I think we'll give the shrimp a try since I have a bag of Publix frozen shrimp in my freezer.

Thank you, Kita. She just moved the whole family to Boulder, CO in a whirlwind trip. They were settled in Los Angeles one day, back east for a family gathering the next and moved into their new home and starting school in Boulder all in less than one month. Amazing!

So a special good luck to her girls who are starting at their new school this week. As someone who was the new kid a whopping 6 or 7 times, I feel for them. But I also know that I wouldn't be who I am today without the experiences. I think that our moving so often made me adventurous, flexible and well rounded having been exposed to some many new people and places. And I think the humbling experience of being new in town made me more compassionate, too.