Thursday, April 30, 2015

Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas

If you want to make a good meal better, add cream cheese. It makes baked spaghetti creamy and fabulous, turns regular crock-pot beef into something my family will actually eat, and it transformed chicken enchiladas from something my kids wouldn't touch into a meal they want on a regular basis. I think this would be the perfect meal for Cinco de Mayo! Followed by Margarita Cake for dessert:-)
Unfortunately, my pics are terrible. We have the worst artificial lighting in our house and it was one of those super gray, dreary days when I made these. But, y'all know I'm no fancy pants food blogger. Just keepin' it real. Hey, at least I didn't use paper plates.
It's been pretty well established here how picky my kids are. None of the three will eat enchiladas because of the red sauce. When a friend mentioned she was making chicken enchiladas with a white sauce, I thought 'hmmm...that just might work'. The girls love Alfredo sauce, so I thought they might give this a try. They also love the white cheese dip you can get a Mexican restaurants. Once they tried these, they loved it and requested I make it on a regular basis. Super picky Mr. Three had a tortilla filled with cheese only, but he liked the sauce too.

Oh yeah, and no "cream of" anything. Just good ol' fattening ingredients like cream cheese, butter and flour tortillas. I used low-carb tortillas, making these pretty low carb overall, which is good for the diabetic hubby.

Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas

6-10 flour tortillas (depending on size you choose) I use low-carb  
2 cups chicken, cooked and shredded (crock-pot is great for this)
1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese; divided (reduced fat is ok)
2 cups Mexican Blend or preferred cheese, shredded; divided
salt and pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 (4 ounce) can diced green chillies
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray.
  • In a mixing bowl, stir together your chicken, 3 ounces of the cream cheese (my package was marked, but if yours is not, just a little less than half the brick is fine), and one cup of cheese. Season with salt and pepper. *I recommend going light on the salt because broth is full of sodium and you may have salt in the butter as well.
  • Divide chicken mixture evenly among tortillas and roll them up. Place seam side down in prepared baking dish.
  • In a sauce pan, over medium heat, melt butter. Add flour and cook one minute while stirring. Whisk in broth until smooth, and heat until mixture is thick and bubbly.
  • Add remaining cream cheese and stir until melted. 
  • Stir in green chilies. Remove from heat and pour over chicken enchiladas. 
  • Top with remaining cheese and bake for approx. 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted and mixture is bubbling around the sides. (If desired, place under broiler for a few minutes to brown the cheese...I skipped this part as we were hungry!)
  • Let cool for a few minutes for sauce to thicken. 
Recipe adapted from Recipes, Food and Cooking


4 comments:

  1. Cream cheese is the key isn't it! My husband hates red sauce, I'll have to try these they look delicious and like they'll make everyone happy!

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  2. I've made these before. Just the best ever!!!

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  3. We would love your Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas, they look awesome. Hope you are having a great week and thanks so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
    Come Back Soon!
    Miz Helen

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  4. Just made these tonight. My kids hate everything I make and especially hate trying new foods, but they scarfed these up! They loved these enchiladas and so did my husband. Thanks for the excellent recipe!

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