Hi friends! Happy Thursday. Man oh man has this week thrown me off. Holiday weekends do that to you. I’m a day behind but at the same time a day ahead, a weird spot to be in. Alas, we’ll move on with a new recipe for you with these enchiladas.
I have to say, It was nice to be home this past weekend as I had been traveling for the last month or so and while traveling can be fun, it can also be exhausting. It’s hard to start a week when you get home late on a Sunday with no groceries in the fridge, a laundry pile a mile high, and suitcases still packed with dirty clothes.
Because of this meal planning & prepping has been cut to a minimum. However, just because time was sparse and weeks were rushed, we still made a plan to get as many home cooked meals as possible. This recipe has been one of them.
Simplifying Healthy Food
I find all the time that clients, friends, and family complicate healthy food and eating. They think meal planning, prepping, etc. needs to take a long time in order for it to be healthy. That just isn’t’ the case. The other side of the story is that people think healthy eating/prepping/planning is boring or bland.
While, sure, a casserole like these enchiladas can become unhealthy fast, it is easy to keep it delicious AND #sassyapproved. How you ask?
Pump them up with vegetables
Buy corn tortillas that only have 3 ingredients (or make your own)-I found some delicious ones at my local Whole Foods
Use less cheese, or even eliminate it (I’ve tried it and it still works and tastes good!)
You can do all the above while still preserving the ease and taste of the food (just check out the recipe for yourself below 🙂 ).
Friends Who Love Food
I’ve surrounded myself with friends who love food (see above). I’m guessing you attract people who have similar likes as you because otherwise it’d be hard to do anything together. My friends love fitness and food (and some love coffee) and that makes me so happy.
When I need new ideas for food, I ask my friends. When I need to eat food, I call my friends. When I need friends to admire my food (or vice versa) I text them pictures of said food. When I need to do something with my time, I gather with friends to enjoy the food.
Take for instance this past weekend, the entire weekend revolved around food. On Saturday, we went to a Garlic Festival and ate our hearts out with garlic, pickles, fermented food, garlic bloody marys and everything in between. We then, enjoyed a day on Sunday exploring local cideries, breweries and food establishments. We finished the long weekend on Monday with a BBQ with more food than we needed but who cares, it was delicious!
At said BBQ, my friends offered their homegrown tomatoes & jalapenos as they were growing faster than they could eat them. I instantly went picking in their backyards and decided to make my favorite enchilada casserole. Lucky for you, I’ll share the recipe 😉
Green Chicken Enchiladas
These chicken enchiladas are my favorite. While I love red salsa, I’m a sucker for salsa verde. You can certainly make the salsa verde yourself, but let’s be honest it’s pretty easy to find a healthy salsa verde at your local grocery store. I should know, I had all the ingredients to make this casserole and then forgot the salsa verde and had to run out last night to grab some, whoopsies!
The best part about enchiladas is that you can stuff a bunch of veggies in them and most people will not even notice! I usually use peppers, onions, tomatoes, and jalapenos, but you could find other options as well.
Pro Tip: you can make your chicken ahead of time or buy a rotisserie chicken and pick off the chicken to use for this recipe. I cooked boneless/skinless chicken thighs in my InstantPot for 15 minutes with 1 cup of water and boom, instant shredded chicken. (will post the recipe soon)
Spray a large (13″x9″) baking dish with non-stick spray, set aside
In a large bowl, mix together chicken with salsa verde, reserving ~ 1-1/4 cup of salsa verde for topping/bottom. Add in peppers & onions and stir to combine.
Spread ~1/4 cup of salsa verde (from reserved) on the bottom of baking dish
Wrap tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave for :30 to soften (can alternatively use extra salsa/salsa verde and dip tortillas in it before wrapping)
Add about 1/4 cup of chicken mixture to center of tortilla, wrap and place seam side down in baking dish, continue until all tortillas are filled.
Top tortillas with remaining salsa verde, sprinkle with cheese and cover with foil.
Bake in oven for 20 minutes, enjoy with toppings of choice
These are so easy and definitely a crowd pleaser!
Thank you! Definitely one of my go-tos for sure 🙂