Veggieful Chicken Enchiladas

No two pans of enchiladas I've ever made have turned out the same. That's the beauty of casserole-style meals; they're all so flexible. Sometimes I wish I could duplicate a particularly good dish though - before this blog I'd never written anything down, so hopefully now this one can be replicated in the future. It's that good!

Rarely do I use processed foods in anything I make or eat, but this particular green enchilada sauce I've never been able to copy exactly in a homemade version. So, I make an exception :-). It's lighter than the traditional red or mole sauce, which I think is better for chicken and vegetable versions of enchiladas like this one.

1 T olive oil
1 large yellow onion
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 red, yellow, or green bell pepper (or a little of all three for more color!)
1 c frozen corn, defrosted
1 c black beans
1 small can chopped green chilis (or 1 large fresh poblano, chopped)
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes, drained (or 1-2 large fresh chopped tomatoes, seeded and thoroughly drained)
1/4 c chopped black olives (optional)
1 jalapeno, minced
1/4 c chopped cilantro
2 large chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
S&P

corn tortillas
vegetable oil

2-3 c cheese (I use whatever I have on hand - usually cheddar & mozzarella or pepperjack)

1 large can La Victoria green enchilada sauce

Preheat oven to 360. Chop all vegetables, heat olive oil over med-high heat and saute just the onions, garlic and peppers. When softened, add the rest of the vegetables and the chicken. Turn down to heat thoroughly, stir occasionally.
While that is simmering, pour a little of the enchilada sauce in the bottom of a sprayed 9"x13" casserole dish (just a couple tablespoons to help prevent sticking). Heat vegetable oil in a small saute pan over med-high heat. When oil is shimmering, fry each corn tortilla quickly on each side (through trial and error in trying to lighten the fat content of my enchiladas, I came to the conclusion that the tortillas must be fried first, just to soften - not to a crisp - otherwise they turn to mush in the end). Depending on how big you stuff the tortillas, you'll need anywhere from 12 to 20. Start stuffing each one with the vegetable/chicken mixture, roll as tightly as possible, and tuck into casserole dish. Pour remaining sauce evenly over all enchiladas, making sure a little gets between each one, then sprinkle all the cheese on top. I like to put a little extra cheese around the edges so it gets nice & crunchy. Bake enchiladas for 20 minutes; if desired, broil for the last few minutes to brown & crisp up the cheese.
There is usually leftover vegetable/chicken mixture leftover; use for tacos tomorrow, or throw over rice with salsa, avocado & sour cream!