Creamy Chicken Enchiladas with Tomatillo Green Sauce

Ingredients:

2 small zucchini, julienned

1 onion, thinly sliced

2 tablespoon olive oil

2 large chicken breasts, cut into bite sized peices

1 cup shredded mexican cheese

1 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons cilantro

8 tortillas

4 oz queso fresco

1 batch tomatillo enchilada sauce (recipe below)

Sour Cream and Guacamole for serving (optional)

Fresh Tomatillo Green Sauce

3 cups fresh tomatillos

1/2 cup shishito peppers, roughly chopped or 1 jalapeño, seeds removed and roughly chopped

1/4 cup green onion, roughly chopped

2 cloves of garlic, smashed

1/4 cup cilantro leaves and stems

1 lime

1 teaspoon salt

Place the tomatillos, shishito or jalapeño peppers, green onion, garlic, cilantro, juice of the lime and the salt in a blender. Blend on high speed until everything is completely blended. Place a fine mesh strainer over a bowl and pour the sauce into the strainer. Allow to drain, without pressing and just letting gravity remove the liquid. After a minute of draining, lift the strainer and scrape the solids that remain in the strainer (there will be some liquid left too, and thats ok) into a container or bowl. This is your tomatillo green sauce, cover and keep while you make the rest of the enchiladas, or store in the refrigerator or freezer until ready to use. You can throw out the liquid left behind in the bottom bowl.

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

Preheat the oven to bake at 375 F.

Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. Add the chicken to the pan along with 1 teaspoon of salt and a few grindings of fresh pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until cooked through, about 5-10 minutes. Move the chicken to a large bowl. Return the pan to the stove and add another 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. Add the zucchini and onion to the pan along with 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Cook, stirring frequently and scraping any bits off the bottom of the pan, until softened and starting to brown. Add to the bowl with the chicken. Allow to cool for 5 minutes and then stir in the sour cream, mexican cheese, and cilantro until everything is well mixed. Taste the mixture and add more salt or pepper if needed.

Lay 8 tortillas out on the counter and place a 9x13 inch baking pan next to them. Evenly distribute the chicken mixture among the tortillas. Roll the tortillas close and place them in the baking pan. Pour the reserved tomatillo sauce over the tortillas and spread out to cover them. Crumble the queso fresco over the top and move the pan to the oven. Bake for 30-45 minutes or until the cheese is melted and starting to brown, and sauce is bubbling. Let cool for 5 minutes and then serve with sour cream and guacamole if you like.