Review: Chicken Enchiladas 8/2001

[mightyh]

These enchiladas are a good change from our standard recipe and one I'm sure I'll repeat. They were a hit with both my husband and 16 mo. old. The tomatillo flavor is great! My only concern was that they were a little dry, but I just added sour cream to taste at the end :)

I should outline the changes I made to the recipe, though, as there were quite a few. First, I don't like corn tortillas, so I used flour and just didn't go through the whole softening process, as flour tortillas are so easy to roll anyway. Second, I couldn't find canned tomatillos so I eyeballed a similar amount of fresh and threw them into the food processor whole for the sauce. I didn't chop the cilantro, just snipped it off and threw it in, too. Oh yeah--and I used skim milk instead of 2%.

As good as it was, there are a few things I'll do differently when I make it again. I'll make 11/2 to 2 times the sauce and either just pour it all over top or mix some in with the filling. I might also saute the onions for the filling a little... I like onions, so the heated raw onions were fine with me, but I'm guessing some people might not like the sharp taste.

Hope that helps the rest of you interested in this recipe.

[Luika]

I stopped at at a major grocery store last night and looked for the canned tomatillos, but no luck. Does anyone know the difference between tomatillos and tomatoes? I thought about using a can of diced tomatoes as a substitute. Any thoughts?

[greysangel]

I just got my issue last night......... yum!!! Everything looks so good :)

I was going to make these tonight so I'm happy to see a good review but I also would like to know about the tomatillos? Is there any substitute you would make?

Thanks in advance!

JeAnne

[kwormann]

Tomitillos are small green fruits with a papery outside. If the recipe calls for them, definately use them. I havent heard of canned ones, but I would definalty use the fresh! Just peel the paper payer off!

[Luika]

I did see the fresh tomitillos in the produce section, but I didn't know how to substitute fresh for canned. They are interesting looking little things! Just take the paper off and do what!!!! I assume the canned ones are in some type of liquid???

[mightyh]

I think the tomatillo flavor is what makes these enchiladas... My grocery store carries the fresh ones near the tomatoes.... Like Kim said, they have a papery dull green husk and they are tiny (apricot sized) when you peel away the husk (which is a cinch) they look like tiny green tomatoes inside.

I checked for canned tomatillos in the Mexican section of my grocery, but didn't find them.

Maelynn - where did CL find the canned tomatillos?

[cchhbb]

Canned tomatillos? Could they be referring to salsa verde? I don't have a can downstairs so I can't look at the ingredients, but maybe that's what they used.

If you haven't used tomatillos before, you should. They are great. One thing to be aware of is after you peel them they will be sticky. The first time I used them I was concerned I had gotten some bad ones. Just was them after peeling and proceed.

[gertdog]

I have a 28 oz. can of whole tomatillos in my pantry... distributed by Goya, I think. So they do exist... but I recall having to look pretty hard for mine. I found them in the Mexican food aisle of a Wegmans store in a town I was visiting... but my hometown Wegmans didn't have them. I have only used canned once and they are definitely not as good as fresh.

This recipe sounds good! I'll have to try it sans chicken. Maybe corn and zucchini instead?

[annetoin]

Can I make this dish without the tomatillos? I cannot find these anywhere.

[lnodes]

I can't wait to try this recipe. Like others have said, go with the tomatillos. I've had luck asking the manager at the grocery store to order the hard-to-find items. Tomatillos have a different flavor than regular tomatoes...

[heatherfeather]

I think I may have some answers for you about the tomatillos, as well as some ideas for a substitution.

First of all, they do come canned - but I suspect they are only sold in areas where people use lots of them. They were readily on the shelves in the Wal-mart grocery when I used to live in Lousiana and they are in every grocery near me in California where I have recently moved to. I also can buy fresh.

I think the dryness problem was partly due to using fresh - the canned versions are very soft and definietly come in liquid. I think adding a bit of water or chicken broth to replace the canning lquid would help. Also - I would definitely soften the tortillas, although I use a different method. I did try making enchildas once without softening my tortillas first and they came out very tough. How I soften them is I place them in a microwave on a plate and cover them. I just stack them in a pile - about 6-8 at a time as needed. I then heat them on high heat for 1 minute and they come out perfectly steamed.

I haven't checked over the recipe in CL very carefully yet, but make chicken enchildas with tomatillo sauce very often. If you cannot get tomatillos in your area, then you canuse regular diced tomatoes and the result will be regular red sauce enchiladas. If you want the tomatillo taste, then I suggest using green salsa or salsa verde or tomatillo salsa. I know that Old El Paso and Rosita brands both have a green salsa available. They are not high fat. You would have to adjust the rest of the sauce recipe because of course the salsa is already seasoned and has som spiciness to it. I have made chicken enchiladas using simply cooked seasoned shredded chicken meat stuffed inside softened tortillas with a jar of tomatillo salsa poured over the top and then I sprinkle shredded cheese over the top and bake in a preheated 350 F for about 30 minutes covered wit foil, then 5 minutes uncovered. Very easy.

[greysangel]

That's what DH said after stuffing himself on these last night! :D

Another winner!

I did do a few things differently. I had thin chicken strips so instead of the whole water thing, I sauteed the chicken strips in chopped onion (I had a very big onion!), garlic, thin strips of red pepper with cumin and bay leaf. The red pepper added a little more color and made for chunkier enchiladas :D

I used reduced fat Colby/Monterey Jack mix and that tasted fine to me.

I also used flour tortillas and there was no need to steam them..they were easy to roll and extremely soft.

I did 1 and 1/2 times the sauce so there was plenty and I couldn't find the canned tomatillos so I used a Mexican brand of salsa verde which was basically tomatillos, onions and spices....WOW!

This was delicious. Hubby kept mmmm ing and ahhing everytime he stuck the fork in his mouth.

I served this with black bean and corn salad which was pretty good. The enchiladas would have been enough to be honest!

JeAnne

[56grapeape]

well i posted my review on these last weekend, they were GOOD!

i used salsa verde, since i could not find fresh tomatillos (but then foudn out the store did cary them fresh, but i didnt knwo what to do w/them!lol), the ing to the salsa verde were tomatillos, cilantro, onions, and spices. I loved it!

i just had the leftovers today for lunch, still great, but maybe a little drier. I used white corn tortillas (prefer them over yellow corn), but even thought about using flour, maybe next time!


rachelle ~:0)

[Cory]

I tried this recipe last night. The next time, I would double the sauce, as most of it absorbed during the cooking.

After I dipped the tortillas in water, they still cracked when I tried rolling them with the chicken & cheese mixture. Did anyone else have this problem?

[56grapeape]

well i posted my review on these last weekend, they were GOOD!

i used salsa verde, since i could not find fresh tomatillos (but then foudn out the store did cary them fresh, but i didnt knwo what to do w/them!lol), the ing to the salsa verde were tomatillos, cilantro, onions, and spices. I loved it!

i just had the leftovers today for lunch, still great, but maybe a little drier. I used white corn tortillas (prefer them over yellow corn), but even thought about using flour, maybe next time!


rachelle ~:0)

[cchhbb]

Bon Appetite had some information on tomatillos this month. At least I think it was this months issue. It was the barbeque cover. They said that you should boil them for a short period before processing them. This may give you some more moisture.

Cheryl

[luv2cook]

I would not sub tomatos for tomatillos...their flavor is wonderful...

[Luika]

I just stopped in a medium-sized grocery store in northern Michigan to pick up a couple of items. Thought, why not, I'll look for tomatillos while I am here. They had a fairly large Mexican section, and behold, I found an 11 oz. can of tomatillos. FYI - The label reads GREEN TOMATO, and in smaller print "tomatillos". Ingred. are Green Spanish tomatoes (tomatillos), water, salt and citric acid.The brand is San Marcos. Good luck in your quest to find a can!

[growlingbelly]

I, too,had difficulty finding canned tomatillos, although I had used fresh in the past. At a local produce market I was happy to find them. On one side of the can it read Tomatillos and on the other it read Mexican Green Tomatoes. I am excited to try this recipe and I hope it tastes creamy despite how healthful the ingredients sound.

[Robyncz]

Like many of you, we couldn't find canned tomatillos in our local grocery store--which is surprising since we live in a very Hispanic area. We substituted a tomatilla-based salsa (salsa verde) and it turned out pretty good. I didn't have the same problem some of the other reviewers did with dryness, probably because of the extra liquid in the salsa. In fact, I baked them uncovered to cook off some of the extra liquid. Another change I made was I mixed the sour cream into the sauce before baking.

We'll definitely make these again.

[SueK]

It's good to hear all these great reviews, because this is our dinner tonight! I am also using Salsa Verde, mixed with milk. I made extra sauce, too. My mouth is watering just thinking about them!

[LeighAnne]

Lucky for me I couldn't find tomatillos and decided to use salsa verde instead - I don't have a food processor and was halfway through preparing the recipe before I realized the directions called for using a food processor for the sauce. Didn't turn out to be an issue since I didn't have those tomatillos to process :-)

I thought the enchiladas were yummy. DB didn't seem to like them as much, however he did eat the leftovers the next day (and he hardly *ever* eats leftovers).

[Luika]

What is everyone serving to accompany these wonderful enchiladas?

[browneye]

I made these tonight and they were very good. I was lucky to have a Mexican Grocery nearby, and they carried the canned tomatillos. It was a larger can than the recipe called for, so I ended up using slightly more, however, this turned out just fine since most of the reviews suggested increasing the sauce anyway. We really enjoyed the change from the "usual" red sauce. My DH kept saying "umm" while eating, similar to another reviewer's experience!
The only thing I did a little different was add some cumin to the chicken as it cooked. To soften the corn tortillas, I wrap them in heavy duty paper towels, sprinkle with water and warm on a low heat for about a minute in the microwave. This worked very well. I used extra thin white corn tortillas.
All in all, this one is a repeater. I served it with a boxed rice mix (Paul Prudohme) and it was perfect! Gotta go, Peach Upside down cake is in the oven!!

[SueK]

I thought these were great, although next time I think I will make more "stuffing" for them. My family, however, thought they were too spicy, which I had a feeling might happen. Oh well, guess I get all the leftovers then! :)

[Wienie]

I made the enchiladas last night and loved them. The best enchilada recipe I've tried yet.
I skipped the first step and used pre-cooked seasoned Chicken Fajita strips. Just heated and shredded.
I did double the sauce ( heck of a time finding the canned tomatillos), but only used about 1 1/2 times the amount.
Tried it with flour tortillas, but will definately try it with the corn next time.
Served them with sour cream and mashed avocado (with lime).
DH loved them and he's hard to please with Mexican (he's in a Shrimp Fajita rut).
Will definately add to my keeper recipes.
Jeanne

[ewatkins]

Just wanted to second the comments about subbing a green salsa for canned tomatillos. I always use a brand called Herdez, and they make a product in a can called simply "Salsa Verde". It is tomatillos with onions and peppers, but it will give the tomatillo flavor to this recipe.

[burleydee]

I, too, used the Herdez salsa verde. My grocery store didn't have fresh or canned tomatillos, and my toddler son wasn't about to sign on for a scavenger hunt to other stores! It turned out great ... I doubled the sauce but used only 1 can of green chiles because the salsa was already spicy. I bumped the recipe up by half and it all fit nicely into a 10 x 15 Pyrex pan. I also added a chopped red bell pepper to the filling, and sauteed the onions with the chopped pepper before mixing it with the chicken and cheese. The bonus to this recipe is that leftovers reheat beautifully!

[Svadhisthana]

I make enchiladas from the "Betty Crocker" cookbook. The recipe calls for chicken stock, sour cream, onions, jalepeno peppers, and moJack cheese(as well as tortillas and chicken). I saw the enchilada recipe in the August issue and would like try it, but I'm curious if any of you have made the Betty crocker version and if so, how do they compare? TIA.




p.s. I'd go ahead and make them, but they would be for my Dh and he likes what he likes. Change is bad. ;) (*sigh* men....)

[CHRIST1NE]

We had these for dinner tonight. Like many of you, I had to use Salsa Verde in-lu of the tomatillos. Wegmans carries them, but was out of stock - go figure.. Then I went to 4 different grocery stores in 2 cities and came up with nothing. So, I used 1 1/2 cans of Salsa Verde, milk and salt as directed and used an egg instead of egg substitute. I skipped the green chili's due to the peppers already in the Salsa. I cooked it about 15 minutes covered, covered about 10 minutes and then 5 minutes melting the cheese. The enchillatas were excellent! They were a bit too spicey side for DH though. I think he was using the sour cream as a "fire extinguisher" :) .

In the original recipe, is it the tomatillos that give it the spice kick or is it the added green chili's? If it's the green chili's, I could always cut down on that. Does anyone know of a way to tone down the Salsa Verde if I make it again that way ?? Maybe just use 1 can os Salsa and a little more milk??

Either way, these are a definite repeater.

[Svadhisthana]

Christine,
A pinch of sugar should cut down on the spice.

[Robyncz]

Neither tomatillos or green chilis are especially spicy. The salsa verde that I used had jalapenos in it instead of green chilis so mine was spicy, too. I think if you were able to use the tomatillos and the green chilis as called for in the recipe, it probably wouldn't be too spicy at all (of course, I'm Texas born and bred, so my perception of what's too spicy might not match your husband's!).

Another option might be to find a milder salsa verde.

Another interesting note, I found today in the produce section of my local grocery store a product called "liquid tomatillo," which appears to be a tomatillo puree with nothing else added. I might try it next time if my grocery doesn't start carrying canned tomatillos.

[doggerham]

I had read a few of the earlier posts about this recipe being a little dry, so when I, too, couldn't find canned tomatillos (Whole Foods was out -- but then found them at Kroger), I used 2 7 oz cans of Herdez salsa verde and 2 cans of Old El Paso green chiles, about a cup of milk and a real egg. I had a bit too much liquid, but have a good idea now how to adjust. This was moderately spicy and DELISH!

I used yellow corn tortillas and just dipped them in the hot chicken stock. I couldn't figure out why I would want to use yet another pan to heat up water. The first one cracked, but I think I let it soak up too much liquid, rather than just dip in and out.

I wanted the leftovers for lunch, but had already made Crunchy Shrimp Salad, so they will have to wait.

Amy

[ReneeV]

Made these for dinner tonight. DH just has to pop them in the oven to reheat them while I commute home. The sauce sure did smell good as they were baking. Hope we like them as much as eveyone else seems to!

Renée

[BosunsWife]

OMG I made these for dinner tonight and all I can say is delish! We have enough for another dinner this week and I can hardly wait for leftovers (and I generally dislike leftovers).

I used salsa verde instead of the tomatillos since I haven't been able to find them here. I did get a line on a latin american market on Beretania Street in Honolulu, but haven't found time to get there yet. A little bit too spicy for DD to eat, but she did enjoy the leftover crisp crusted fish I made last night for dinner (Aug. 2001). I laughed since she thought she was eating chicken. She kept saying "more chicken". What she doesn't know won't hurt her.

[browneye]

Originally posted by CHRIST1NE
They were a bit too spicey side for DH though. I think he was using the sour cream as a "fire extinguisher" :) .

In the original recipe, is it the tomatillos that give it the spice kick or is it the added green chili's? If it's the green chili's, I could always cut down on that. Does anyone know of a way to tone down the Salsa Verde if I make it again that way ?? Maybe just use 1 can os Salsa and a little more milk??

Either way, these are a definite repeater.
Christine: I seem to be one of the only reviewers that made the recipe with canned tomatillos, not the salsa verde. I added the green chilies, and the enchiladas were very very mild. I suspect the heat you experienced was from the Salsa Verde. I happen to have a can of it in my cupboard with the little thermometer visual on the side, and it registers "very hot".

I am surprised, however, that CL would include a recipe with a seemingly difficult-to-locate ingredient!

[beejayw1]

OMG I made these for dinner tonight and all I can say is delish! We have enough for another dinner this week and I can hardly wait for leftovers (and I generally dislike leftovers).

Another instance of these boards being so useful! I was finally able to sit down with my August issue last night (sweltering in the shade in Connecticut!) and thought these looked great. Now I know, and I can make them.

Thanks, all!

[CHRIST1NE]

Thank you browneye for your post. I'm glad to here it's not "hot" made as directed. I will definitely keep my eye out at Wegmans and stock up on the canned tomatillos as soon as they are back in stock.

[Lynn B]

I made these enchiladas last night for dinner. Ohmyword... wonderful! Used a jar plus a smaller can of "salsa verde", and skim milk. (No canned OR fresh tomtatillos in MY neck of the woods!) Extra cilantro. Loosely "doubled" the recipe, and made extras which I froze.

DH said these were the best enchiladas he's ever had. In our opinion, this recipe is a perfect "10"!

Lynn

[Gail]

Okay, you guys got me so intrigued by this one, I had to take the plunge. Reading over the comments, I figured I'd have to do my own thing a bit, 'cause I like my Mexican food alive and kicking, and I don't much like canned chiles.

So, keeping in mind everyone advised doubling the sauce (more thoughts on that below) I started with 1 1/2 pounds of fresh tomatillos which I chopped up and sautéed in a smidge of olive oil with a small amount of chopped onion, cooking the tomatillos till they looked cooked. In the meantime, I blistered 5 fresh Anaheim chiles plus 3 jalapeños, and removed skin and most of the seeds, then added double the rest of sauce ingredients specified in the recipe. The only other adjustment I made was a tad more (maybe a tablespoon or so) of jack cheese on the topping.

Results were very, very good-- and we were breathing fire. (especially since one of my enchiladas fell apart during serving, so I added more sauce to the mess and nuked it to heat it up.) My eleven-year-old began by lamenting they were too spicy, but by the end of the meal was asking for a third enchilada. This I see as a successful thing.

Having tried this recipe as stated, I don't think I could do much to improve it, however, I did NOT feel the extra sauce was necessary and what I'll end up freezing more than likely will be enough for another go-round. Some enchilada sauces tend to sit nicely in the pan and mix nicely with the contents of the fillings, bubbling and looking quite inviting. Others thicken and dry out-- this one I found to be one of the latter varieties, which I'm thinking is probably due to the egg substitute acting as a thickening agent for the low fat milk, since the original recipe utilized cream to mix with the cheese. What you might do instead of doubling the recipe is to cover the enchiladas with sauce from stem to stern, being sure to get those edges or they'll crispy, but hold back a bit of sauce until serving time, nuke it and spoon it on. That way your sauce won't dry out and disappear in the oven.

[Luika]

I followed this recipe exactly as written. I think I'm the first -- based on the replies I've read! Usually, I am the first one to improvise, but I was having unfamiliar guests, and was a little nervous about changing "what works."

My sauce ended up more like thick pea soup (you could cut it with a knife). Maybe if I would have used skim milk it would have been creamier. I always use skim milk, but again, went for the 2% just to follow the recipe.

Other than that, it was great. I'd probably try it again altering the recipe to skim milk.

My husband always harrases me about never following a recipe exactly (he is a scientist [everything is always a precise measurement!]). The one time I follow the instructions...:eek:

[BosunsWife]

I forgot to note on my post that I substituted some of the ff half and half and thought it made it a bit more creamy. When we reheated the sauce was a bit coagulated and it sort of turned me off, but they still tasted good.

I've got to pass this on to my mom (who also cooks from CL) to make - they love mexican food. I have told her about this website, but she's still learning about BB's and I don't think she would post anyway. She would be a lurker.

[JKS]

Thank you to everyone for your suggestions! I read this recipe when I first received my August issue, but was going to pass until I read this thread. I had gone to the store (I couldn't find the canned tomatillos at Wegman's, Gertdog--looked twice, need to ask next time)and my failure to find tomatillos in a can discouraged me. I have used fresh before, but with all the other steps, it seemed to add just too much work for this one, and I've had many failures with enchillada recipes in the past. BUT........

Based on everyone's suggestions, I doubled the recipe (to freeze for DH's lunches) and tripled the sauce, used skim milk, salsa verde (WOW, I've never used this in a recipe before!), parsley just tossed in whole (we don't like cilantro), microwaved softened the tortillas in one big stack, and used rice flour and baking powder for the egg replacer (DD on egg-free diet). They were FANTASTIC!! My whole family loved them and said they need to go on the "make again" list.

I served them on a bed of lettuce with corn-on-the -cob and tomato/cucumber salad--all fresh from the garden.

THANK YOU ALL!!!

[CindyWeightWatcher]

My DH said the chicken enchiladas were
"restaurant quality". This is a good one.
I used something labelled as "cherry hot
chilis" (fresh) in place of tomatillos.

[carolc66]

I made the enchiladas tonight and was very disappointed; I should have read the posts first for suggestions.

However, based on your comments, I will try the recipe again with the following changes, based on your suggestions:

I used fresh tomatillos since they're readily available here in Southern California, but I will cook them briefly first. I realized too late that the canning process breaks them down some and provides a different consistence than fresh.

I will add some peppers as well; I like spicy sauces for enchiladas and these were a bit bland.

I did add some of the sauce to the chicken filling and liked that.

When I have made enchiladas in the past, I have softened them in the sauce but this time I followed the recipe and softened them in water. The result: even though I left them in the water only long enough to soften them, they fell apart and became mush when the enchiladas were baked. Next time I will use the microwave to soften them as suggested.

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions.

[Peggy]

After thoroughly reading this thread, I made the enchiladas last night. Wow!! They really are outstanding! However, I don't think I would have liked them as much without incorporating everyone's great suggestions.

These are the changes I made. For convenience I used pre-roasted chicken breasts. I sauteed the onions until they were soft, then added the chicken the the pan and enough of the sauce to moisten the mixture. I was able to find canned tomatillos (a very big can!! Something like 28oz!) I doubled the sauce recipe because of the dryness comments and I wanted to put some in the chicken mixture. Instead of corn tortillas, I used flour because I had lots of partial packages in the freezer to use up. I felt the flour ones were fine, but my daughter thought the corn tortillas would have been better. I think that sums up my experiments in the kitchen.

Excellent recipe! Thanks to everyone for all their prior reviews. The information was helpful in improving this recipe.

Peggy

[Peggy]

P.S. I just had a leftover enchilada and I must say that the flour tortilla is quite mushy. Perhaps the corn tortillas would hold up better the following day. Just an added comment...

Peggy

[browneye]

Originally posted by Peggy
P.S. I just had a leftover enchilada and I must say that the flour tortilla is quite mushy. Perhaps the corn tortillas would hold up better the following day. Just an added comment...

Peggy
Peggy: I used corn, and my leftovers, while not as firm as the first night, weren't offensively mushy. I used "Thin White Corn Tortillas", and as described above, used the microwave to soften them...

:D

[JennyFal]

Here's a quick salsa verde recipe I found in my Mesa Mexicana cookbook. I'm makes 3 and 1/2 cups.

1 pound tomatillos, husked, washed and quartered
2-4 large jalapenos, stemmed, seeded and roughly chopped
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 medium onion, cut in half
2 bunches cilantro, stems and leaves
2 teaspoons salt

Place tomatillos, jalapenos and water in a blender or food processor. Puree just until chunky. Add remaining ingredients and puree about 2 minutes more, or until no large chunks remain. Keeps, covered in fridge, for 3 days.

[JennyFal]

Here's another salsa verde recipe from the same cookbook. It makes 2 and 1/2 cups.

1 pound tomatillos, husked and washed
6-8 garlic cloves, peeled
1-2 jalapenos, stemmed & seeded (leave in seeds if you like it very spicy)
1 large bunch cilantro, leaves only
3/4 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
pinch ground black pepper

Preheat broiler. Place tomatillos, garlic & jalapenos on baking sheet & broil, turning frequently until evenly charred, 15 minutes. Tuck the garlic under the tomatillos to keep from burning. Set aside to cool.

Transfer roasted ingredients to a food processor. Add cilantro & water and puree until smooth. Season with sale and pepper. Keeps in fridge for 3-5 days; in freezer for weeks.

[Peggy]

browneye,

Thanks for the info on the leftovers! That is good to know. Next time I will definately use corn tortillas. My frugal nature just couldn't pass by the flour tortillas in the freezer.

Peggy

[irishgirl27]

Would someone please post the recipe? I found that page was ripped out of my copy -- at my home, no less!

Thanks.

[katygirl]

I made these last night and thought they were excellent I also double the sauce, sort of. I doubled the everything except the salt and the Chilis. I found canned Tomatillos at my grocery store and they worked great. I also used flour tortillas instead of corn.

I had left overs for lunch and everyone asked where I ate out for dinner last night. They couldn't believe I made them on my own. This one is a keeper!