Creamy Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas

Whenever my mom makes enchiladas, she makes my brother do the "enchilada dance." Imagine a 6'3", 120 pound special needs kid dancing around in his rather spastic way and giggle a little because he can be so stinking funny and he'll do just about anything for enchiladas. Now, I'm sure my mom's enchiladas are delicious, but I don't eat them because they have ground beef in them, and I have been participating in a ground beef boycott for many years. Not that I have a political issue with ground beef, but it's yucky, so we don't get along. NO ground beef! But when someone does the enchilada dance, you have to make the enchiladas, so what do you do when you refuse to eat the ground up moos? (Moos are cows, in case you didn't spend your childhood hanging out with little Hubby.) You find a recipe for creamy green chili chicken enchiladas from Mel's Kitchen Cafe. Oh yum. This is my new favorite enchilada recipe! Chicken, green chilies, black beans, and a creamy green chili sauce? Oh yum. Again. You should make this now, because it's amazing. Trust me. And thanks Mel's Kitchen Cafe!

Update: I've been making this recipe for years now and have edited it a bit as I've seen fit. My whole family LOVES this dish. The 4-year-old and the 1-year-old scarf this down. It's delicious. I really love to serve it with a light salad and some Mexican rice. Yum!

Creamy Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas

*Slightly adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Filling:

3 cups cooked, chopped chicken

2 4-ounce cans whole green chilies, lightly drained and diced

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, cubed

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

Handful of cilantro, chopped
Juice of 1/2 of a lime

Sauce:

2 tablespoons butter

2/3 cup chopped onion

2 tablespoons flour

2/3 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup milk

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 7-ounce cans green enchilada sauce

2/3 cup sour cream

2-3 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

8-10 soft taco size flour tortillas

Fresh chopped cilantro

Preheat oven to 375º. In a medium bowl, combine the softened cream cheese, green chilies, lime juice, and cilantro. Mix well.

Add the chicken and black beans. Mix to combine and set aside.

In a large nonstick skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook for 5-6 minutes until translucent, then add flour and cook for 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in chicken broth and milk. Cook until the mixture has thickened, about 2-3 minutes.

Remove the skillet from heat and stir in sour cream and enchilada sauce. Spray a 4-quart (or 15x10 inch) baking dish with cooking spray. Spread about 1 cup of the sauce on the bottom of the dish. Fill each tortilla with about 1/2 cup of the chicken mixture.

Top with a small handful of cheese. Save about 1 cup of cheese for the top of the enchiladas. Roll the tortilla up and place it seam side down in the baking dish. Continue filling the enchiladas until the dish is full. You might have some leftover filling, which is good with tortilla chips! Pour the white sauce over the top of the enchiladas.

Top with remaining cheese and bake for 30 minutes until hot and bubbling. Broil for a few minutes to brown up the cheese. Sprinkle fresh cilantro over the top and serve. Enjoy!