Asparagus Chicken Sour Cream Enchiladas

My little sidekick and I were tuning in to the Pioneer Woman recently. What's not to love? Dogs, cats, horses, cows - it's like a wild animal party, plus kids! The enchiladas that she was making look good too! 

My son was particularly drawn to one episode, observing the children's excitement and interaction with their Uncle Mike. This show's realism about sports, parenting, homeschooling, family events, and disabilities resonates with me. Uncle Mike, a character with a disability, receives heartfelt kindness.

Although we live far from my brother, frequent talks make Uncle Sam a familiar figure to my son. He LOVES his fun uncle. This connection might explain why he resonated with the show, which made a profound impact. Later, he inquired about the character in a different episode and watched closely, reasoning he was occupied that day. The innocence of not understanding TV scripts was refreshing. 

Over a month passes and I see the same enchilada recipe again posted all over online. But one of the main ingredients is sour cream and it's not a fan favorite with my crew. But fate steps in to help me out. My husband misunderstands how much is sour cream to buy, and comes home with something that belongs in Costco. 

With an inward groan but at the same time quickly calculating of how much running I would have to do to burn off all the Goliath sized container of creamy calories, I thanked my husband for running the errand for me. I love my husband but this one threw 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.  

The recipe

Adapted/twisted with Chicken & Asparagus to celebrate 

Spring 2013

Makes 4 enchiladas 

Ingredients:
1 cup sour cream
3 green onions, white & green parts sliced
dash of salt
dash of pepper
dash of red pepper flakes
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 shredded cheese - *use your fav kind cheddar, sharp cheddar, pepper jack, Monterrey jack 
10 oz can of mild enchilada sauce
4 soft taco sized tortillas (again flour or corn or whole wheat - your choice) 

Optional toppings: 

additional sliced green onions

diced tomatoes (seeds removed or not)

corn (grilled or fresh)

Sprouts, 

Shredded lettuce, 

diced avocado

Guacamole

more sour cream. 

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. In a small or medium sized bowl combine the sour cream, 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. Set up your frying station. Put a bowl next to the stove, put a small skillet on the stove, put your baking dish next to the bowl. 

5. Pour oil into the skillet. Put nonstick spray into the baking dish. Put half the can of enchilada sauce into the bowl. 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. 

6. Heat the oil over medium heat. You know you're ready to fry the tortillas when the oil starts to ripple. 

7. 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.

8.Once the 10 seconds is up you carefully pull it out of the hot oil and into the bowl 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.

9. Once all the tortillas are loaded up with meat,  veggies, and enough sour cream to make you smile and sign up for the local gym, and snuggled into the baking dish, pour any remaining sauce from the bowl and can over the top. 

10. 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