Spiced Chicken

is a staple meal around here. It is something the whole family will eat and I can use it a number of different ways. It is also a pretty cheap meal, filling and healthy.

Tonight we are having Spiced Chicken Enchiladas. I use chicken leg quarters to make the chicken, and get them really cheap at Wegmans, I think they are .47 a pound!

To make the spiced chicken, take as many of the chicken leg quarters that you think you need, we use at least five or six for a meal, more if I plan to use the extra for soup. Put the chicken in a pot, cover halfway with water and add spices of choice. I use cumin, salt, pepper, cayenne and chili powder. Cook until the meat is falling off the bone,remove from the pot and save the broth to be strained and frozen later as stock.

Remove the chicken from the bone and shred, add to a skillet with diced onion and saute until well shredded. Add either taco seasoning or seasoning of choice, I use cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, cayenne, red pepper flakes and garlic. Add some of the stock if it gets too dry or starts to stick to the pan, then add a half a can of Rotel with lime and cilantro.

Then make the sour cream cheese sauce. Make a simple roux of butter and flour, then add a few cups of milk. How much sauce will depend on how many enchiladas you are making, I make our huge baking dish full and we like it drenched in sauce, so we use probably 4 cups of milk. Once it begins to thicken, add the rest of the can of rotel, salt and pepper, remove from heat and add a few handfuls of shredded cheese and three to four tablespoons of sour cream, stir well.

Take a corn tortilla, spoon some chicken inside, add some shredded cheese and roll up and place in greased baking dish seam side down. Repeat until all the chicken is used and then pour the cheese sauce over the top slowly, making sure it gets down the sides and between the enchiladas and doesn't overflow! Bake at 350 about 35 minutes until all bubbly and yummy, adding a few handfuls of cheese in the last 10 minutes. Serve with shredded lettuce and diced tomatoes. When I have it on hand, I add fresh cilantro to the chicken and to the top of the enchiladas when done baking.