Chicken and Black Bean Enchiladas With Avocado Sour Cream

I like to think of Enchiladas as baked burritos with a spicy red sauce on top, they are great in flavor and to me, a comfort food. I have had Enchiladas at several places in several states, and I can say for sure the way I make mine are far from traditional. The last place I tried Enchiladas was in Georgia and my wife and I could both agree that, mine were better (no offense to that restaurant). In all places I have went to, shredded chicken or beef was used, and if this is done incorrectly you will have a dry filling. I like to switch it up with my fillings. I usually use diced chicken thigh or ground meat, which ends up being a much juicier filling.

Ingredients	Quantity
Chicken thigh, skinless, deboned	8 thighs
salt	TT
Black Pepper	TT
Cayenne Pepper	1 tsp
Cumin	1 tbsp, & 1 tsp (for beans)
Chipotle Powder	1/2 tbsp
Garlic Powder	1 tbsp
Red Bell Pepper, diced	1 pepper
Green Bell Pepper, diced	1 pepper
Spanish Onion, diced	1 medium onion
Garlic, minced	3 cloves
Black beans, rinsed	15 oz
Chicken stock or water	1/2 cup
Avocado, Scotch Bonnet, Cilantro (Garnishes, optional)	N/A
Large Tortillas	8
Mozzarella Cheese	2 cups
Sour Cream	1/2 cup
Avocado for Avocado Sour cream	1/2 an avocado
Olive Oil	as needed
Enchilada sauce ( I use “La Preferida”)	28 oz

Instructions:

1. first, preheat your oven to 350F. Next, get your diced chicken thigh in a bowl and season with the salt, pepper, garlic powder, 1 tablespoon of cumin, cayenne pepper, chipotle powder. marinate for 3o minutes or overnight if you wish.
2. When your chicken is done marinating, fill a large cooking pan with enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Put the heat on medium high, then put the chicken in once the oil is hot.
3. Saute for 6-8 minutes or until the chicken is browned, then add the bell peppers and onions and continue to saute until the onions are starting to turn transulucent then add the minced garlic and saute for another minute. Then remove from heat
4. Meanwhile in a separate pot add the chicken stock or water and your beans, bring to a simmer and season with salt pepper and a teaspoon of cumin. Let this simmer for 10 minutes
5. blend half a cup of sour cream with the avocado until smooth and store in a container or squeeze bottle if you have one in the fridge.
6. Assemble: Lay a tortilla out, put a pinch of cheese in the center, 2-3 spoonfuls of the chicken mixture and a spoon of the bean mixture using a slotted spoon. Roll this as you would roll a burrito.
7. Bake: Place them all in a casserole dish and top with the enchilada sauce, mozzeralla cheese and bake until the cheese is browned on top
8. Serve with the guacamole sour cream drizzled on top, fresh avocado, fresh cilantro or an of your favorite toppings.

Tips:

1. I would advise making the guac sour cream first, so that you do not have to worry about doing it while cooking the rest of the food.

Brainstorm:

To change this dish you could use ground beef and mix it in one pot with the beans for a texture different from the chicken thigh. Another idea, you can change the guacamole sour cream by adding roasted garlic and lime juice. This would give the sauce a much stronger flavor. Instead of bell peppers or in addition to, you can use jalapenos to hadd more heat to the filling.

These are some ideas I brainstormed for this dish, I hope this opened your mind on different ways to be innovative in your cooking as well.

Thank you all for reading, I hope you enjoyed. Please share this with your family and friends and look forward to my next food blog!