Avocado Chicken Enchiladas

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Servings:

• Recipe serving size: 1 chicken enchilada
• Number of servings: Adjust Reset

Ingredients:

• For the Enchiladas

• 2 large chicken breasts or 3 chicken thighs (*) or vegetarian option: 1 cup spaghetti squash
• 1/2 white onion, peeled, chopped and divided
• 6 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3 medium heat chilies (Anaheim, Jalapeño or Serrano), stemmed and seeded
• 1 cup white or red cabbage, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 large ripe, fresh avocado, halved, pitted, peeled and diced
• 1/2 cup light sour cream
• 1 tsp. lime juice
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 tsp. cracked black pepper
• 2 Tbsp. cilantro, roughly chopped, divided
• 1 tsp. salt
• 12 corn tortillas
• 8 oz. (2 cups) queso fresco or ranchero, shredded
• 1/2 cup nonfat, plain Greek yogurt or light sour cream

• For the Salsa

• 1 lb. tomatillos (about 7-9 tomatillos), husked, rinsed
• 3 jalapeños, serranos or chiles de Árbol
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup white onion
• 1/4 cup cilantro leaves
• 1/2 cup water or chicken broth (saved from the cooked chicken)
• 1 ripe, fresh avocado, halved, pitted and peeled
• salt (to taste)

• Garnish

• 1 ripe, fresh avocado, halved, pitted, peeled and sliced

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place raw chicken in a pot with water and bring to a boil with 1/4 onion, cilantro leaves and a pinch of sea salt. Cook the chicken thoroughly. Pull out of water and allow to cool. Shred the chicken and set it aside.
3. To make the green salsa, boil tomatillos and jalapeños in water for 10 minutes or until soft. Don't let the skin of the tomatillos break. Drain and cut the stem of the jalapeños.
4. Add the tomatillos, jalapeños and the rest of the ingredients for green salsa in a blender or food processor with the water or chicken broth. Blend until smooth and add salt to taste.
5. Place the green salsa in a saucepan and heat on low for 10 minutes covered.
6. Heat a saucepan on medium heat and cook 1/2 cup chopped onions, garlic and hot peppers until the onions are translucent and tender. Add the cabbage and continue to cook until cabbage is soft.
7. Add the chicken (or vegetarian option*) to the vegetable mixture until heated.
8. In a blender, combine the avocado, sour cream, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt, pepper
9. and blend until smooth. It should have a thick consistency.
10. Then add the avocado mixture to the chicken pan. Stir and combine thoroughly. Remove from heat and add fresh cilantro at the end.
11. Warm corn tortillas in a hot plate (comal) or microwave.
12. Pour half of the warm green salsa on the bottom of a baking dish. Enchiladas can also be cooked in a saucepan**.
13. Assemble the enchiladas one at a time: completely submerge the corn tortillas in the warm green salsa left in the pan to make them soft, add the chicken mixture in the middle of each tortilla and a pinch of cheese, wrap the tortillas and place on the baking dish. Continue to assemble and place the enchiladas side by side.
14. Cover the enchiladas with the rest of the warm green salsa, and sprinkle with the rest of cheese. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. To serve, top enchiladas with plain Greek yogurt or sour cream and any remaining onion and cilantro. Garnish each enchilada with an avocado slice.
15. *Vegetarian Option: Replace the chicken in the recipe with spaghetti squash. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut squash lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Place squash face down in a baking dish with 1/2 cup water and bake for 40 minutes or until tender. Let it cool and with a fork remove the flesh like angel hair spaghetti.
16. **Cooking enchiladas in a saucepan option: Prepare 3 green enchiladas. Heat a saucepan on medium heat, pour some green salsa mixture into the pan. Arrange enchiladas and pour more green salsa on top of enchiladas. Sprinkle cheese, a tablespoon of yogurt or sour cream, onion and cilantro. Cover for 3 minutes to heat. Serve immediately on a plate.

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