Pulled Pork or Roasted Chicken Enchiladas with Salsa Verde, Cilantro and Sour Cream Sauce

It's official. I am nesting. With the upcoming arrival of our first child, I have found myself stationed in the kitchen making freezer meals for the time crunched days and nights ahead.

Lasagna's and chili already done, I was looking to make something a little different. So started my stroll through the grocery store, where I picked up a massive pork shoulder to make a pulled pork with crispy pork crackling! Now, with only 2 of us in the house at the moment, I figured I would need to do something else with the pork besides eat it for lunch and dinner for the next week, so I stopped at the market where my favorite little Mexican joint is and bought some corn tortillas. Enchiladas here we come!

Oh, I should mention at this point that I also bought 2 whole roasting chickens while at the store. Wasn't sure what I was going to do with them yet, but somehow, the enchilada thing inspired me to make a chicken version as well. I simply seasoned the chickens with salt and pepper and roasted then at 375 degrees for about an hour. Let them cool and pulled them apart with my fingers! Yum!

On another note, if you are neither a pork or chicken person, these enchiladas could be easily made without either of them-- just by adding more sauteed onion and bell pepper, or with the addition of some chick peas or black beans. Hmmm.... maybe I should do that next?

Pulled Pork or Roasted Chicken Enchiladas with Salsa Verde, Cilantro and Sour Cream Sauce

Serves 4-- Makes 18 enchiladas

Enchilada Sauce

2 tbsp Vegetable Oil

2 cloves Garlic, minced

1 tsp Green Chili Hot Sauce* 

(*or any hot sauce-- add more or less depending on how spicy you like it)

3 tbsp Flour

1 1/2 cups Water

2/3 cup Sour Cream

12 oz jar Salsa Verde

1 1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp cayenne

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

2 Onions, sliced

3 Bell Peppers, sliced

1 clove Garlic, chopped

1 tsp Cumin

1 tsp Vegetable Oil

Salt and Pepper

18 Corn Tortillas, 6 inch

6 cups Pulled Pork or Roasted Chicken, shredded

3 cups Cheese, shredded (cheddar, marble, mozzarella)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Heat oil in pan. Add garlic and hot sauce and cook for about a minute. Whisk in the flour and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the water and whisk until smooth. Stir in the sour cream, salsa, spices and cilantro. Remove from heat.

In a separate pan, heat about a teaspoon of vegetable oil. Add the sliced onions, bell peppers, garlic, cumin and a generous pinch of salt and saute until the veggies just start to soften. Remove from heat.

Heat the corn tortillas either by wrapping in foil and placing in the oven for about 10 minutes or placing in the microwave for about 45 seconds until soft.

To assemble: Add 1 cup of sauce to the bottom of a casserole dish.  Set aside 1.5 cups of cheese. In a large bowl, mix together the rest of the cheese, the pork or chicken and the sauteed peppers and onions. Place some of the pork mixture into a tortilla and roll tightly, then place seam side down into the dish. Continue with the rest of the tortillas.  Pour the rest of the sauce over the rolled enchiladas and sprinkle with remaining cheese.  Bakes for 25-30 minutes until bubbly.

Serve with salsa, sour cream, guacamole, beans and rice.

If you are making this as a freezer meal: Ensure that all the ingredients are completely cooled. Then assemble to enchiladas as described above into oven proof and freezer proof dishes. Wrap tightly and label. When you are ready to eat, bake from frozen, covered at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes. Remove cover for last 10 minutes of baking.