Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Dairy Free Chicken Enchiladas

I do love enchiladas...and I do love them smothered in cheese and sour cream! However, it just doesn't agree with my kids, so I invented a dairy free version. These are still incredibly tasty! Try them out and see if you really miss all the dairy...

1 small chicken, cooked (take all the meat off, discard bones, place meat in a large bowl)
6 or 7 tomatoes
2 bunches fresh parsley
1 clove garlic
1 small hot green pepper, finely chopped (wear gloves!! I often skip this part, as my kids don't like the 'bite', and it still tastes just fine)
1 onion, finely chopped
3 c cooked black beans
1 c Mexican Gravy (**see below for recipe)
8-10 flour tortillas

Place tomatoes, parsley and garlic in blender, blend until smooth. You can dice a few of the tomatoes and add them like that, as the diced tomatoes do give a nice flavor and texture! Add to chicken in the bowl. Add chopped hot pepper, onion, black beans and Mexican Gravy. Toss to mix.

Preheat oven to 350. Pour about 2 c of the Mexican Gravy in the bottom of a 9x13 rectangular pan (either glass or aluminum, doesn’t matter). Hold a tortilla in one hand and place about ¾ cup of the chicken mixture in the tortilla, then roll it up place in pan. Do this with all the tortillas, filling them with chicken mixture, rolling them up, then placing in pan until all the tortillas AND the chicken mixture is gone. Pour the Mexican Gravy over the top to cover the tortillas. Sprinkle with cheese if desired. Bake for about 30 minutes—the sauce will be bubbling and it will smell delicious!! Serve with rice and salad!!

**Mexican Gravy!!

60 g butter
1/3 c flour
3 Tbsp Chili Powder
¼ tsp Garlic Powder
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp dried oregano
¼ tsp cumin
About 4 c water
1 Tbsp chicken bouillon
1 small (8 oz) can tomato sauce (OR one can diced tomatoes OR 5-6 fresh tomatoes finely chopped)

Mix flour, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, oregano, and cumin in a small bowl. Melt butter in sauce pan. When butter is melted, add bowl of dry ingredients. Stir constantly until it is all mixed. SLOWLY add water and chicken bouillon. Stir constantly to get rid of any lumps and mix completely. Add tomato sauce. Sauce should be fairly thick. It’s ready to use in the recipe!