Honey Lime Enchiladas

From: My Kitchen Cafe

I am particular when it comes to enchiladas. To start, I prefer the sauce creamy with a kick, instead of red and spicy, and I like a lot of flavor to the filling. These enchiladas did not disappoint! In fact, I would go so far as to say they are my new favorite enchilada and that is no easy feat. The shredded chicken soaks up a marinade of honey, lime and seasonings and the sweet tangy-ness is beyond delicious. Then they are topped with a creamy, green enchilada sauce that is thrown together in a matter of seconds and smothered in monterey jack cheese. They are simple, easy and so flavorful. The recipe comes from The Sisters' Cafe and Brittany (one of the sisters who posted this recipe) is my brother's wife's sister, if that kind of, sort of makes sense. Thanks, Brittany! You absolutely cannot go wrong with these enchiladas. And as a sidenote, I think I have every single recipe on The Sisters' Cafe bookmarked to try. Amazing food!

Trade Secrets: I followed Brittany's recipe closely, the only modifications being the addition of cream to the remaining enchilada sauce to add a bit of depth and creaminess. Since the chicken was cooked while marinating, I also poured the leftover marinade into the enchilada sauce and cream to blend all the flavors together. And finally, I added a bit more lime juice than the original recipe because that's what my lime produced! Next time (because there WILL be a next time), I might saute some onions and garlic and add that to the chicken mixture.

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

Manwaring Notes: I followed the recipe to see what it was like, but also added 1/2 medium onion and 4 cloves chopped garlic (sauteed onion for 3 min then added garlic for the last minute until the onions were soft) to the chicken for the filling because we like lots of flavor. This recipe with the whole can of green enchilada sauce and cream poured on top was too soggy! I prefer my enchilada to be crispy with sauce on it, not so soggy you can't find the taco shell. The flavors were great-loved the chicken marinade!! and I will make this again, but next time I will use only 1/2 (8 oz) can of enchilada sauce and I didn't think the cream added a whole lot, so if I have some I will use maybe a 1/4 cup, otherwise I will try substituting either sour cream or even a little milk.

marinade ( I marinated the shredded, cooked chicken for 30 minutes and it was perfect)
6 tablespoons honey
5 tablespoons lime juice (1 large lime)
1 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 pound chicken, cooked and shredded (I used 3 small chicken breasts)
8-10 flour tortillas
1 pound monterey jack cheese, shredded
16 ounces green enchilada sauce
1 cup heavy cream (to lighten them up, I have substituted sour cream with good results)

Mix the first four ingredients and toss with shredded chicken. Let it marinate for at least 1/2 hour (I tossed mine together in a ziploc bag in the morning and let it sit in the refrigerator all day). Pour about 1/2 cup enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9X13 baking pan. Fill flour tortillas with chicken and shredded cheese, saving about 1 cup of cheese to sprinkle on top of enchiladas. Mix the remaining enchilada sauce with the cream and leftover marinade. Pour sauce on top of the enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until brown and crispy on top.

*Freezable Meal: Freeze prior to baking. To bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake enchiladas, covered (without thawing first) for 1 hour. Uncover and bake 30 minutes longer, until brown and crispy on top.