Chicken and Black Bean Enchiladas

Having grown up Phoenix, and then Southern California, it is a given that I love Mexican food.  Living in Scotland, one of the things I miss (besides Robins Eggs Easter candy, oh how I pine for you) is the readily available ingredients for cooking Mexican dishes.  Of course, that doesn't stop me, so here is a really tasty (and healthy) recipe for making enchiladas from scratch--sauce and all.  The sauce is really more like a mole, but it is divine so I don't care what it should or shouldn't be called.  I tried out numerous enchilada sauce recipes before I found this one.

This recipe also shows up my frugal side.  I have a firm belief that if you cook a (free range please) chicken you should use every part of it you can.  Therefore, even if we have a roast chicken, I throw the carcass in the slow cooker and make broth, and then freeze or can it.  This time I bought the chicken and had hubby chop it up for two different recipes I wanted to make, and into the slow cooker the carcass went.  The recipe below uses 6 cups chicken broth, so it was prefect to make this the next day.  After I make the stock, I always (and I don't like this part much) strip any last meat off the bones.  That is the meat I used for this dish, because you really don't need much, with those delicious black beans.

Enchilada sauce

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, diced

1 tsp italian seasoning

1 tsp chili powder (do this to taste, esp, if using a hot one)

4 cups chicken broth

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp cumin

½ oz dark chocolate (this is a must, don't leave it out!)

Black bean and chicken enchiladas

1 can black beans--I used home canned, so I don't drain them, but if used store bought you probably want to drain them.

½ cup plain yogurt

¼ cup cilantro

1 tomato, chopped

½ cup whole black olives

½ tsp ground cumin

½ tsp ground corriander

½ cup chopped chicken

5- 8” flour tortillas
3/4 cup cheese, or as much as you like.  I just grate it over the pan until I am satisfied. 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

 

In a bowl combine all ingredients except the flour tortillas.  Mix to combine. 

 

Spread one third of the enchilada sauce over the bottom of an 11x7 inch baking dish. Take one tortilla and spoon mixture down the centre, fold in either side. 

 

Place seam side down in pan.  Repeat 4 more times. Spoon the remaining enchilada sauce over the top, sprinkle on cheese. Cover dish with a lid or aluminum foil.

Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove the covercontinue cooking, uncovered, for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, or until cheese melts. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. 

 

 

 

Serve with Mexican Rice, sorry I don't have a picture of it.  Let me just say I searched for a good Spanish rice dish forever, and this is it.  Only as the same says it isn't Spanish, it is Mexcan!

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