Chicken and Avocado Enichiladas

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving weekend. I missed the Friday Favorites last week due to my parents being in town, but I'll be back on schedule this week. I worked Thanksgiving Day, so we just had a smaller meal consisting of soup, homemade bread, and definitely desserts! It was kind of nice to have Thanksgiving on a smaller scale, but I am missing those turkey leftovers. I think the leftovers may be my favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal!

If you are lucky enough to have leftovers, I'm sure you could swap the chicken in these for some of that leftover turkey. In fact, if you have turkey, I would be more than willing to take some of it so I can make these again! Avocado, cilantro, peppers, and Monterey Jack cheese. That list should speak for itself. These are good. Definitely in the running for favorite enchilada dish around here!

The recipe for these comes from Gimmie Some Oven, and I made them largely as written. My only swaps were small - plain Greek yogurt in place of sour cream and whole wheat tortillas. My other addition was to add a little shredded cheese on top of the dish. If you do this, be careful with the foil. In fact, you may want to spray the bottom of it with nonstick spray or much of your melty cheese may stick to the foil. Not that I would know... :)

Chicken or turkey. Greek yogurt or sour cream. You won't regret making these. Enjoy!

(Printable Recipe)

Chicken Avocado Enchiladas
Adapted slightly from Gimme Some Oven

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 medium white or yellow onion, diced
2 poblano peppers, seeded and stemmed, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and stemmed, diced
8-10 (I had a little filling left) whole wheat enchiladas
4 cups shredded cooked chicken (or turkey)
2-3 cups Shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided

Avocado Cream Sauce:
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. flour
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth (or stock)
3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 avocados, peeled and pitted
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
juice of 1 lime

For the avocado cream sauce, melt the butter in a skillet over medium high heat. Add flour, whisking until golden brown and bubbly, about 2-3 minutes. Slowly whisk the broth into the flour mixture. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the Greek yogurt, cumin, salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Whisk as necessary to remove any lumps. Remove from the heat and transfer the mixture to a heat-safe bowl. Add avocado, cilantro, and lime juice. Blend using an immersion blender until smooth. Alternately, you can let the mixture cool slightly and then blend in a traditional blender.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease a 9x13 inch pan. In another skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, poblano, and jalapeno, and saute for 5-6 minutes until the onions become translucent. Remove from heat. Mix in the shredded chicken. 

Spread a little avocado sauce over the bottom of the prepared pan. To assemble the enchiladas, place a tortilla on a flat surface. Spread some avocado sauce on the top 1/3 of the tortilla. Top with the chicken mixture and shredded cheese. Repeat until the pan is full or you have used all the filling. Spread the remaining avocado sauce over the top of the enchiladas. Top with remaining shredded cheese. Spray a piece of foil with nonstick spray and cover the pan with the spray-side down. Bake for 20 minutes or until the dish is heated through and the tortillas being to harden. Serve and enjoy.