Asparagus Chicken Sour Cream Enchiladas

Once upon a time I was watching a food show called the Pioneer Woman with my kiddo. He loves the show because it has tons of animals dogs, cat, horses, cows, and the most prevalent type of animals kids. Hahaha. One particular episode really stuck out to my son. He recognized the kids in the show, how excited they were, and how interacted with their Uncle Mike. We don't live near my brother, but talk to him often so my son is familiar, at least long distance, with his Uncle Sam. I thought nothing of it until we watched the show, a different episode, later in the week, and my kiddo asked if Uncle Mike was going to be on there. I told him I didn't know. He waited patiently for the whole episode to play out. At the end he simple stated that Uncle Mike must've been busy, and he will be there next time. I love kids. I love the innocence of mine.

Over a month passes and I see the same recipe as in that first episode, enchiladas, posted all over pintrest. Once again it looks good but uses ALOT of sour cream... not that's a bad thing but summer is right around the corner. Then my husband offers to pick some stuff at the grocery store for me. I ask him for a small tiny thing of sour cream for tacos, since I am the only one in my family who puts sour cream on tacos/burritos, ect. LOL my husband comes back with the largest container of sour cream they sell... not quite the size of the bulk Costco kind granted, but WAY bigger than I was expecting. I was expecting like 1/8th of the size! With an inward groan but at the same time quickly calculating of how much walking and running I would have to do to burn off all the calories, I thanked my husband for running the errand for me. I love my husband but this one through me for a loop.... What to do with all this sour cream before it spoils?  The answer: Ree Drummund's Sour Cream Enchiladas. The best part of the story is my son walking by the oven while they baked and commenting, "we are eating enchiladas, like Uncle Mike, did on tv". It's adorable. I can't help it. Long story but we lived happily ever after with yummy enchiladas in our tummies (at least for one night).

The recipe

Adapted/twisted with Chicken & Asparagus to celebrate Spring 

Makes 4 enchiladas perfect for 2 or 4 people

Ingredients:

1 cup sour cream (whatever kind you prefer nonfat/full fat/Greek yogurt might taste good here too)
3 green onions, white & green parts sliced
dash of salt
dash of pepper
dash of red pepper flakes (for heat - but you can omit this)
1/2 tsp of cumin
6 Asparagus stalks
Olive Oil
1-2 cups Canola Oil (for frying)
1 Chicken breast, boneless skinless (increase this if serving 4 adults)
1/4 tsp each of salt, pepper, and dried parsley
1 Tbs olive oil
1 cup of cheddar cheese, shredded * pepper jack or Monterrey jack would be good here too
10 oz can of mild enchilada sauce
4 whole wheat flour soft taco sized tortillas (I prefer the nutrition of whole wheat over corn)

Optional toppings: additional sliced green onions, diced tomatoes (seeds removed or not), corn (grilled or fresh), sprouts, shredded lettuce, diced avocado, and of course more sour cream. I totally like texture on top of my softer dishes.

Serve with tortilla chips and/or rice or beans

Directions:

1. Pound the chicken breast a little for even cooking or butterfly it. Then sprinkle it with the salt, pepper, and dried parsley. Cook the chicken breast over medium heat in 1 Tbs olive oil. Should take 6 or 7 minutes each side. Then remove it from the heat and set it aside.

2. While the chicken is cooking preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Rinse and cut the woody ends off the Asparagus. Set the veg on a cookie sheet drizzle it with olive oil (probably 1 Tbs or less), a dash of salt and pepper. Roast for approx 10-15 minutes or until they look golden and beautiful. When these are done put them out and set them aside with the chicken and LOWER the oven heat to 350.

3. So while you are waiting, in a small or medium sized bowl combine the sour cream, dash of salt and pepper, green onions, cumin, and 1/4 cup of cheddar cheese, and the red pepper flakes. When the asparagus and chicken are done cooking chop them up into small bite size pieces and mix them in.

Note: if serving this to company I would totally keep the Asparagus whole so they are long and beautiful but since it was just me and the kid I chopped them up to be more family friendly. This could be a very elegant looking dish though :)

4. Heat a small skillet with 1-2 cups of canola oil. Dump half of the can of enchilada sauce into a dish or bowl, and set it next to the skillet. Prep your baking dish with nonstick baking/cooking spray or unsalted butter. Pour a little bit of enchilada sauce into the baking dish (1/4 cup or less) - Just a splash to help with the non sticking part. Set the baking dish next to the plate with the sauce.

5. When the oil starts to ripple you know its heated, carefully set the first soft taco size shell into the oil with a fork or something in your other hand to quickly turn it over. You want it to fry for about 5 seconds on each side. Its super quick. The tortilla will puff up on you that's okay but you don't want to cook them so long they are hard.

6.Once the 10 seconds is up you carefully pull it out of the hot oil and onto the plate with the sauce. Turn it over in the sauce. Put 1/4 of the chicken sour cream mixture into the middle and fold them up like a burrito. Put the finished burrito seam side down into the prepped baking dish.  Repeat 3 more times.

7. Once all the tortillas are loaded up and filled up and in the baking dish pour any remaining sauce from the dish they soaked a little in if its not all absorbed over the enchiladas. Pour the rest of the sauce from the can also directly over the enchiladas. Then top with the remaining 3/4 cup of cheese. LOL or more if you want.

8. Bake for 15 minutes until its bubbling and amazing. Sprinkle them with cilantro and dot with sour cream and any other yummy toppings you want diced tomatoes, spouts, more green onions, diced avocado... the world is your burrito. I mean enchilada.

Enjoy the recipe and your Sunday. 

From my kitchen to yours