Recipe Review

So, April 1 marked the kickoff of this year's HEB Ready Set Cook Challenge.  I am feeling nostalgic about it, because it was around this time last year that we made the decision to quit our lives and move so that Alex could attend law school.  I remember, because I fondly told Alex that my big plan was to win the grand prize in this competition, and that would be my contribution to our family finances for the year. (The grand prize is free groceries for a year.)  Well, of course, I didn't win.  But it was still fun to try some new recipes - some failures, some great successes.  This year, when I received the email about it, I knew that I had to participate.  Seriously, I can't turn down the possibility of free HEB groceries for a year!  Who could???  (To enter the competition your own self, here is the link:

http://www.heb.com/page/healthy-at-heb/ready-set-cook

So this week, I cooked my first recipe from the required list.  1 down, 7 to go.  (The jist of the challenge is that you cook their "healthy" recipes for 8 weeks, logging one recipe a week - I'm not sure if the point is to be healthier, or if it is just to get people cooking and trying new HEB products.  But, whatever...Free groceries for a year!)

Of course, I couldn't just make the recipe as written - where is the creativity in that?  I made Tomatillo Chicken Enchiladas, and modified the recipe quite a bit.  Of course, I wanted to record my changes, because this one was actually really yummy and I may some day want to make it again.  I do need to say, though, this is a work-intensive recipe - certainly not something to just throw together.  I think it was worth it in the end, but I probably would avoid this on a weeknight.  So here goes.

1.  First I de-husked, washed and halved about a pound of tomatillos.  I threw them on a baking sheet with half a white onion roughly chopped into large pieces and four cloves of garlic, skin on, but halved.  I tossed them with a little olive oil and roasted them in a 425 degree oven for about 19 minutes.
2.  Next, I poached four chicken tenders in a mixture of chipotle chicken broth and water.  Use a lot of liquid in this step, because you are going to use the poaching liquid for several steps in the recipe.  While that was all happening, I chopped up one zucchini into pretty small pieces - you are putting the zucchini into the enchilada filling, so you want something you can bite easily. 
3. After I finished roasting the tomatillo stuff, I cut the tops off of one bunch of cilantro, to equal a large handful of cilantro.  I threw that, the tomatillo/garlic/onion mixture, (Don't forget to remove the garlic from their skins!) salt and pepper into the food processor, along with some lime juice and a little bit of the poaching liquid from the chicken.  (Like maybe 1/4 of a cup of poaching liquid).  Whir it on up, and that is the sauce.  Taste it to see if it needs more salt or lime juice or whatever.
4.   By now, your chicken is finished poaching (well, you may want to check it) - take it out of the poaching liquid and put it on the cutting board - you will be cutting it up (or shredding it, but I prefer to use my knife and a fork - that way I don't have to wait for it to cool)
5.    Meanwhile, the poaching liquid is still bubbling - toss the zucchini in for one minute - literally, you just want to take the bite out of them.  Drain them, saving the poaching liquid - if you plan to steam your tortillas.  If you are going to microwave your tortillas, I would still save a little poaching liquid to add to the filling, but the rest you can toss.  For more of a commentary on steaming vs. microwaving, see step #7.  To save the poaching liquid, I just put the colander over a glass bowl in the sink. Pour your poaching liquid back into the pot and add water or more broth if it is looking a little meager.  Cover it and bring it back up to a boil.  Once it gets to a boil, feel free to turn the heat down a little, but you want it to stay boiling. Leave it covered so it doesn't all evaporate out.
6.  So, cut up the chicken, pretty small, toss that, the zucchinis, a handful of mexican blend cheese, and a quarter cup of sour cream into a bowl.  Mix it all up, then if it seems a little dry, add a little of  your poaching liquid (just enough to keep it moist).  This is your enchilada filling.  It will not be heavy.   Really, the sour cream and cheese just act to bind it up a little and add some flavor, but we are not making a typical thick creamy filling.  We want to taste the zucchini and chicken.  They are the stars.
7. Back to the poaching liquid.  And here is the controversial part.  I always grew up watching my mom steam the tortillas for enchiladas.  She had the most wonderful tortilla steaming apparatus.  Basically, it is a flat, round, disc with holes in it.  You just lay it on top of your pot, and it is a perfect, flat surface to steam tortillas.  I "borrowed" her tortilla steamer the first opportunity that I had after searching everywhere for my own.  I have yet to find one as great as hers.  I also have yet to return hers.  If you have an awesome tortilla steamer, I think that this is the best way to get each tortilla perfectly steamed for enchilada rolling.  However, the masses have stream-lined enchilada-making so much that now, it seems standard practice is to stick your tortillas in the microwave.  I think that this is just as much of a pain as standing over a rolling boiling pot of water/broth and steaming each individual tortilla, but that is why this is so controversial!  (Plus, there is something therapeutic about standing at the stove, steaming tortillas.  It's like stirring risotto.  I really don't mind it, especially after a stressful day, and double especially if the kids are being entertained by their father) If you are old school and want to steam your tortillas, use the poaching liquid.  Waste not, want not.  If you are new-school (I think my feelings are clear on this way of doing it!) and prefer to microwave your tortillas, just don't tell me and do what you want to do.  In that case,  you will not need the poaching liquid anymore.
8.  Your tortillas are soft.  They have either been steamed one at a time (Hooray for you, you're doing it right!!) or they have been microwaved (I'm not even talking to you if that is the case - unless you are my mom - if you're my mom, I have your steamer, so you have a very good excuse for microwaving your tortillas!  By the way, thanks for the awesome tortilla steamer!).  Now, put some filling in each tortilla, lay them out in a 9 X 13 pan.  I was able to get fourteen enchiladas from this recipe.  When I steam the tortillas, it seems to take the perfect amount of time to fill and roll one tortilla while the next is steaming.  I don't even know what you do if you microwave them!  Anyhow, tortillas are now filled and rolled, then placed seam - side down in your pan.  Next, pour the sauce over the filled enchiladas.  The sauce will be just enough to lightly cover the enchiladas.  This is not a "smothered" thing.  Finally top with another handful of cheese. I used hand shredded monterey jack with jalepenos, but the rest of the Mexican blend would be fine here.  Whatever tickles your fancy.  When you hand shred cheese (with a block grater) it helps to put it in the freezer for a few minutes and only take it out right when you are ready to grate it. And seriously - a handful only.  The worst thing is to spend all the time to beautifully lay out your enchiladas in the pan, only to have so much cheese that you can't see the division of enchiladas and you end up hacking into them, making a huge mess of your beautiful enchilada row.  If you need more cheese, add it to the filling, but the top should be lightly sprinkled only. 
9.  Stick it in the oven at 350 degrees F for however long it takes the cheese to reach an appropriate level of melted-ness.  Probably 20-30 minutes.  I did it uncovered this time, to make it a little faster, but sometimes  I find that if you do it uncovered for too long, the tortillas on the ends get a little dry and crispy.  Maybe you like that.  In that case, leave it uncovered.
10.  After the cheese has appropriately melted, sprinkle some chopped tomatoes on top and enjoy.

My thoughts:  I have a few.  First of all, apparently, I am very passionate about the right and wrong ways to make enchiladas.  I didn't realize this about myself until I was reading through this post.  Second of all, this was really wonderful - just as good as any Verde Enchiladas from a restaurant.  It was light, but satisfying and really moist and juicy.  I think that the addition of zucchini amped it up for us.  It did not taste out of place, added a little crunch, and of course, a little more vegetable goodness to this.  It was a little intense to get it all together, however, while the enchiladas were in the oven, I was able to get the kitchen almost all cleaned up.  And it wasn't that expensive - I think that the most expensive element was actually the cheese.  Oh, and the main changes that I made to HEB's original recipe were to add the zucchini, poach the chicken in the chipotle chicken broth, add sour cream and cheese to the filling, then reuse the broth to moisten the sauce and the filling.  They also called for queso fresco as the only cheese.  I like queso fresco, but I already had monterey jack and the Mexican blend - so it was just cheaper for me to use what I had.Third and final thought:  These need a name - It can't be the same as HEB's name for them, b/c I really did change the recipe in several ways. I consider them my own.  It can't be Verde Enchiladas, because that is supremely boring and in no way matches the passion with which I made the enchiladas.  I think "Ole Enchiladas" - because that just sounds like a party. 

Anyhow, I hope that you enjoy making and eating the Ole Enchiladas.  And good luck to all of us competing for one year's worth of free groceries!  Ole!