Stacked Chicken Enchiladas

One of my goals this year is to try new healthier recipes. I have a subscription to Cooking Light, and have torn out many recipes! This week for my menu planning, I went off of ones that I had recently torn out of my magazines.

These stacked chicken enchiladas were yummy, but a little more work than I thought they would be. I think part of it was that I bought the cheap chicken ($1.77 for 1.5 lbs!)... with skin and bones and had to remove the skin and then de-bone the cooked chicken! I think you could probably make this with rotisserie chicken and speed up the process! I also had a major spill with the salsa Verde, did not have the limes that the recipe called for, the paper towels fell in the sink, and the salt and pepper shakers fell on my candle and shattered it!  Not my day! :)

Ingredients: 
2 tablespoons canola oil
1.5 lbs chicken thighs
1 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. kosher salt
1/4 t. ground red pepper
1 white onion chopped
8 garlic cloves, minced
1 (15-ounce) can organic whole peeled tomatoes, un-drained
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided
1 16 oz jar of salsa Verde
Cooking spray
corn tortillas
Shredded pepper-Jack cheese

1/2 cup fresh tomato

Directions: 

1. Place a small roasting pan in oven. Preheat oven to 425° (leave roasting pan in oven as it preheats).
2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Sprinkle both sides of chicken evenly with cumin, salt, and pepper. Add chicken to pan; sauté 3 minutes. Turn chicken over, and place in the preheated roasting pan. Add onion, garlic, and tomatoes to pan; bake at 425° for 15 minutes or until chicken is done. 
3. Cool. Shred chicken (remove bones if necessary); toss with tomato mixture. (I used a mixer to shred my chicken and chop up the whole tomatoes a bit)
4. Combine 3/4 cup cilantro and salsa verde; spread 1/4 cup salsa mixture in the bottom of an 11 x 7-inch glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray. 
5. Top with tortillas, half of chicken mixture, and 1/4 cup salsa mixture. 
6. Repeat layers. 
7. Top with remaining tortillas and remaining salsa mixture; sprinkle evenly with cheese and fresh tomatoes. 
8. Bake at 425° for 15 minutes or until golden; sprinkle with remaining cilantro. 

** I made this in 2 8x8 pans, and froze half of it

Adapted from: Julianna Grimes, Cooking Light
MARCH 2014

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