Good morning! I’m very sad and upset this morning. This may be my last post for awhile until Wordpress and Go Daddy figure out which one has made a mistake, someone fesses up, and they fix what they broke. These are the last photos that I was able to upload. I now cannot upload any more for some reason. No photos, no blog.
I cannot possibly be the only one, so surely they will get bombarded with a slew of complaints and things will be back to normal soon. Well, one can hope anyways!
So for now, I’m leaving you with a family favorite that has been enjoyed since I was a little girl! I then made it my whole adult life, and it has become one of my husband’s favorite dishes as well!
Though there are only 5 basic ingredients, it does take a bit of time to make, so just plan ahead. You can also make this go faster if you prepare the filling the day before.
Just DO NOT be tempted to add anything to it. Even salt? Nope. A little pepper?? Nope, nada. Nada single thing or you’ll ruin them.
People, for whatever reason, assume that all hispanic and latino food is supposed to be spicy. It isn’t. These are mild, rich, and creamy, and the magic happens in the oven when they bake!
So tasting the filling prior to baking will give you the wrong impression of how they turn out after they bake, and you’ll be temped to add something. RESIST the temptation! Trust me. They are perfect just the way they are!
Filled with a simple, humble filling of just chicken, sour cream and swiss cheese, you would never think that this could melt together the surprisingly delicious way that they do!
They are then topped with hand-crushed stewed tomatoes and swiss cheese before baking, then topped with a little more sour cream during the last 5 minutes just to take the chill out.
Stewed tomatoes are the best over them, but you can used diced or crushed, or I’ll even let you slide and you can use salsa if you must. But don’t change anything else, please. I’ve had people tell me they made them and that they came out “awful”. When I asked them what happened, they gave me a list of items that they added because they thought it “needed it” (including salt and pepper!), such as a multitude of peppers and onions and garlic and chili powder and cumin….and…..the whole kitchen sink – – pipes and all. No wonder, lol.
So, just trust me on this, it’s a wonderful dish and will become a family favorite at your table, too, if it’s respected and made as it’s supposed to be. Lecture over.
So cross your fingers that you’ll hear from me again soon with many more recipes! I have so many to share with you! Hope you have a fantastic day! (And I hope mine finally gets better!!) Take care all! 🙂
ENCHILADAS SUIZAS con POLLO (“Swiss Chicken Enchiladas”)
Makes 16 small fajita-sized filled tortillas
Serves 6-8
3 extra large boneless skinless chicken breasts (or 4 small)
2 large bay leaves
1 (16 oz.) container good sour cream, I like Daisy the best (light might not work very well)
1 (16 oz.) block swiss cheese, divided (*16 – 1/4″ slices, shred rest)
16 (small fajita-sized) soft four tortillas, I used Super Soft Mission brand that worked really well
1/4 cup oil
3 sheets paper towel, or lint-free towel
1 (14.5 oz.) can Hunt’s Stewed Tomatoes or Hunt’s Diced Tomatoes with Green Pepper, Celery and Onion, chop up or crush by hand
minced fresh parsley or cilantro, optional garnish
DIRECTIONS:
In medium-sized pot, place chicken breasts and cover with cold water, add bay leaves. Bring to a boil over high heat, turn down to a nice simmer and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove with tongs to a bowl, cover with a towel and cool a bit. When cool enough to handle or use tongs to hold, slice into small bite-sized pieces adding into a large mixing bowl as you go. Stir in 3/4 of the container of sour cream until very well coated. (Just eyeball it.)
Slice off short ways, 16 slices of swiss cheese 1/4″ thick, or a bit thinner, (about a 1/3 of the block.) Wrap tightly with plastic wrap, set aside. Grate rest of cheese, (about 2/3 of the block), and gradually add into chicken mixture stirring well after each addition so that it’s evenly added throughout. DO NOT add anything else!! *Filling will seem bland before baking, but the magic happens in the oven. Trust me on this!! Cover and set in fridge until needed again.
Next is to soft-fry the tortillas. Do not skip this step. It’s easy and really doesn’t take that long. Simply heat a flat non-stick griddle over medium heat, brush with a little oil and place 2-3 tortillas (depending on size of pan) onto hot pan and gently “fry” until just lightly browned on one side. Brush tops with oil and turn with tongs, lightly browning second side. Place onto 2 paper towels and cover with another while frying the next batch until all are done. (A paper towel on top keeps them warm and soft.)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In medium bowl, add stewed tomatoes. Crush with hand until fine pieces. Set up station with tortillas first, then bowl of tomatoes, then bowl of chicken filling, then a 13×9 pan sprayed with butter-flavored cooking spray and spread with 2 Tbl. of the tomato juice from stewed tomatoes. *You can use 2 pans if you don’t want to over-crowd them. Or use a roaster that will hold them all comfortably.
Place tortillas, one at a time, down onto crushed tomatoes pressing into tomatoes lightly and coating with juice, turn over and coat other side. Hold tortilla in left hand, fill with filling using right hand. Use enough filling to stuff full but not falling out ends and barely overlapping to close. Place seam-side down into sprayed and prepared pan(s). Finish filling and rolling them all. Spoon and pour bowl of tomatoes down center evenly and top each with a slice of swiss cheese. Pop into 350 degree preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven, top each a small dollop of sour cream and pop back into the oven for 5 more minutes.
Serve hot with any type of rice, and refried beans and chips on the side if you like.
*I served them with my spicy cajun rice with sweet baby peas that I hope to share with you soon.
