“You always have to make things so complicated. Open a jar, pour it out, and just leave it alone for once.”

That’s only a small portion of the rant my sister emailed me – we get along fabulously 😉

She asked for my “favorite green enchilada sauce.” So I sent it to her. And it’s a good one! The sauce components are lightly charred on the grill and the resulting sauce is smokey and flavorful. Better than anything you’ll ever pour out of a jar and just leave alone.

Sure, it’s January but we live in Texas – it’s almost never too cold to fire up the grill.

But that isn’t what she really wanted. She wanted my “favorite green enchilada sauce that can be made quickly while my 3 kids and 2 dogs and 1 cat tear my house apart after getting back from t-ball and soccer practice but before a 2-hour long bath & bedtime routine how do these kids get so dirty and why won’t they go to sleep already?!”

Those are two different recipes. And like 8 different other problems, none of which I can help her with.

She does have a point, though. There are two things I do really well: I can somehow fill the entire dishwasher on soup & sandwich night and I can always turn something slightly time-consuming into something really time-consuming. And that’s why I usually on make enchiladas on the weekend.

So I reworked the “big” recipe so that it could be made on a school night. It uses the crockpot to cook a double-batch of the chicken (eat half, freeze the other!) while she’s doing whatever you do when you have 3 kids and 2 dogs and 1 cat (my guess is it involves a dark closet, a bottle of cheap liquor, and the fetal position), canned salsa verde, and comes together quicker than the totally from-scratch version.

And I made sure to work in a step that says “pour it out and leave it alone.”

Print

Crockpot Salsa Verde Chicken Enchiladas

The slow cooker and canned salsa verde make a big pan of green chicken enchiladas perfect for a school night.

Ingredients

• For the chicken:
• ~3 lbs (4 large) boneless, skinless chicken breasts (half for this recipe, freeze the other half or use it for taco night this week)
• 7 oz can salsa verde
• For the enchiladas
• 1/2 medium white or yellow onion, diced
• 8 oz monterrey jack cheese, grated and divided in half
• 1/4 cup fat-free Greek yogurt (I use Total Fage 0%, can use light sour cream)
• 2 7-oz cans salsa verde
• 10 small tortillas (I use Mission Low Carb flour)
• Pico de gallo, for serving (optional)

Instructions

1. Place the chicken breasts in the crockpot and pour the salsa over top and leave it alone.
2. Cook on low for 4 hours (5-6 if the chicken is frozen).
3. Half of the chicken will be shredded for enchiladas, I pack the other half into a freezer bag with some of the cooking liquid if I'm not going to use it right away. Otherwise, you've just made chicken for taco or quesadilla or soup or mac & cheese night later in the week.
4. Preheat the oven to 425.
5. Shred half of the chicken and place in a medium bowl.
6. Add the chopped onion, half of the cheese, sour cream/yogurt, and half a can of salsa verde - stir to mix well.
7. Spread the remaining half-can of salsa verde over the bottom of a casserole dish.
8. Fill the tortillas with the chicken mixture, roll, and place seam side down in the dish.
9. Top with the other can of salsa verde and remaining shredded cheese.
10. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until bubbly and the cheese and tortillas are nicely browned.
11. Serve with a scoop of pico de gallo over top. Or not.

Notes

Yields: 10 servings

Source: Confections of a Foodie Bride

Estimated time: 4 hours 40 minutes

Nutritional Information
Calories: 277.7 | Fat: 10.3g | Fiber 11.1g | Protein 24.2g | Carbs 21g
Weight Watchers PointsPlus: 6