New Mexican Style Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

In case I haven't mentioned it before, my husband is from New Mexico.  I had never even met anyone from New Mexico before Jack so needless to say I had quite a learning experience when we started dating.  One of the first things that we realized we had in common was our love of Mexican food.  I've slowly gotten him used to the east coast type of Mexican that I love and that he calls crap.  But at least he'll eat it.

The thing he misses most about New Mexico (aside from his family, of course) are green chiles.  So, for the past few years he has been growing them in our garden.  You may remember when I posted about his Mom's recipe for Chicken Rio Pollo a while ago which uses them.  Well, here is another recipe that uses them (Lord knows we've got enough of them so we've got to do something!).  Jack claims this is his recipe for his FAMOUS Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas.  I have to admit...they are delish!

What You'll Need:
3-4 medium sized chicken breasts
2 cans Hatch brand green chiles
1 can Hatch brand green chile enchilada sauce
fresh green chiles (optional but really make this dish if you have them)
approximately 10-12 corn tortillas
2 cups shredded mexican cheese
1 cup vegetable oil
salt and pepper
Cavenders seasoning (again optional but really makes the grilled chicken delish)

What you'll Do:
Season the chicken with salt and pepper and Cavenders.  You can use whatever seasoning you want on this - blackening seasoning would be good too.  Grill the chicken and let cool; dice into bite sized pieces.

Cut the tops off of the fresh green chiles (if you have them) and roast on the grill.  Let cool and remove their skins.  Chop finely.

In a small pot, simmer the 2 cans green chiles with the fresh ones and the enchilada sauce.  Let simmer for about 20-30 minutes so the flavors meld. 

A couple of things to note:
1. You might see some mixed in with those diced up green chiles.  That's because all green chiles eventually turn red.  There is a different flavor for both.  When you have enchiladas made out of equal parts red and green chiles then that is known as "Christmas."
2. Real Mexican/New Mexican enchiladas are stacked flat, almost like lasagna; not rolled.  They also usually serve a fried egg on top of them.  This is NOT a tradition I intend to partake in.  But, if you're fan of eggs, by all means try it.  It supposedly makes the dish.

Moving on...
Heat the vegetable oil and lightly fry each of the corn tortillas.  Drain on a paper towel. 

Begin layering the enchiladas.  A little sauce, meat, cheese and then the tortillas. 

Repeat until you reach the top of the dish or run out of ingredients.  Add a little extra cheese to the top coat. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Enjoy some tasty New Mexican-ness.

These pictures do not do this justice.  This is gooood stuff.