Chicken Enchiladas with Green Chile Tomatillo Sauce

I was craving Mexican food today.  I had been wanting to use green chiles for a while now and finally bought some at the grocery store.  I decided to make chicken enchiladas so that I had an excuse to eat corn tortillas (and lots of cheese!).  These were AMAZING.  I will definitely be making this again.

The sauce is a little spicy but is nicely balanced by the sweetness of the corn tortillas.  (If you want it more mild, just omit one or both of the jalapeños.) The chicken is gently poached so it's nice and healthy.  And the sauce is all vegetables - what could be better!  Oh right... the pepperjack cheese... :)

This took a while to make but during several of the steps I was able to come back into the living room to do some work.  All-in-all it was well worth the effort.  In the future, I might make a double batch of the sauce so that I can have that already prepared.  With the sauce already made this would be a snap to make.  It would also be easy to use some leftover roasted chicken rather than cooking it that night.

I served this with a simple salad on the side.  There was enough flavor in the tomatillo sauce that I didn't even bother to dress mine.  (Jeremy scraped the sauce pot to get every last drop to dress his salad.)  Definitely a successful meal. We ate only half the enchiladas.  I'm looking forward to my share of the leftovers. :)

Recipe:
Sauce:
1 lb. tomatillos, husks and stems removed
2 jalapeños, stems removed
1 1/2 c. water
2 4.25 oz. cans of green chiles, drained
1/2 large onion, diced
1 tsp. cilantro
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Chicken:
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 chicken breasts
water to cover

Enchiladas:
12 6" soft corn tortillas
2 c. shredded pepper jack cheese, divided (or monterey jack if you don't want the spice)

1. Place the tomatillos, jalapeños, and 1 1/2 c. water in a medium sauce pan.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Reduce to a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes until the tomatillos begin to fall apart and the peppers soften.  Turn off heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes.  Transfer the liquid, tomatillos and jalapeños to a blender.  Add green chiles, onion, cilantro, cumin, salt, and pepper.  Blend until smooth.  Return to saucepan and return to a simmer.  Allow liquid to evaporate until it reduces by half (about 30 minutes).  Turn off heat and set aside.
2. Place chicken, bay leaves, salt, and pepper in a large sauce pan.  Add water until the chicken is covered. Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer and simmer for approximately 10 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.  Remove from the liquid and set aside until cool enough to handle.  Shred or chop the chicken into very small pieces.  Place chicken in a bowl.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
4. To the chicken, add 1/2 c. of the green chile tomatillo sauce and 1/2 c. of the cheese. Mix to combine.
5. Wrap the tortillas in plastic wrap and microwave on high heat for 60 seconds, flip them over and microwave for another 30 seconds. (This step is to soften the tortillas so that they don't break when filled - you can also soften them however the package directs.)
6. Place 1 1/2 tbs. of chicken filling on the middle of each tortilla and roll the tortilla.  Place it seam side down in a casserole dish. Repeat for all of the tortillas, keeping them in one flat layer.
7. Top the enchiladas with the remaining green chile tomatillo sauce and cheese. Bake for 25-30 minutes until bubbly and the cheese is melted. Enjoy!