Jennifer Garner’s Mom’s Chicken Enchiladas Recipe
Jennifer’s mom and sisters visited her on Nantucket. Her mom made a crowd favorite – something that they loved growing up. I remember our mom making a similar dish. The proportions are perfect to increase or decrease as needed. Plus, it freezes well. This recipe is barely related to enchiladas but everyone enjoys them.
Ingredients:
- 12 flour tortillas
- 2 cups cooked chicken
- 4 Tbl butter
- 1 can cream of Chicken Souop
- 2 cans green chilis
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 cup diced celery
- 2 lbs Monterey Jack Cheese – shredded
- 1 cup sour cream
Directions:
- Poach your chicken. Use three boneless, skinless breasts in cold water (just enough to cover it) with onion, salt, peppercorns – basic brothy things you like but not overboard. Bring to a boil. Lower to medium, and strat checking it between 10-15 minutes. Check with a thermometer. When it reads 165 degrees inside the breasts. Shred.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Saute onion and celery in butter. Add shredded chicken.
- Combine soup, green chilis, and sour cream. Put a layer of this mixture into a casserole prepared with butter.
- Fill your tortillas, roll them and place seam side down into the pan.
- Spread the majority of the soup mixture on the tortillas and finish with your cheese on top.
- Bake for 30 minutes until browned.
- Enjoy!
Notes from the Garners:
Garner’s mom’s recipe, which Mama Pat says she got from a friend, has two distinct parts: the chicken filling and the creamy, cheesy topping.
First, you’ll make the filling with 2 cups of shredded chicken—Garner says she poaches and shreds it herself, but you could also use a rotisserie chicken—a diced onion, diced celery, and a few tablespoons of butter. Those ingredients get sautéed together in a pan until the butter is incorporated and the vegetables are soft.
While the filling cooks, in a separate bowl, you’ll combine a can of cream of chicken soup, two cans of green chilis (despite Garner trying her hardest to only add one, Pat insists on two), and 1 cup of sour cream.
“Don’t put your chicken mixture into your soupy mixture,” Garner instructs. “Right, mom?”
“I tell you, and I tell you, and I tell you,” Pat adorably responds.
Instead, you’ll spoon a little bit of chili-soup mixture into the bottom of your 9×13-inch baking dish, then set the rest aside. Next, you’ll fill flour tortillas with the chicken and veggie mixture, roll them up, and place them seam-side down in the baking dish.
Once the tortillas are lined up in the dish, spoon the remaining soup mixture over them and top with Monterey Jack cheese.
“Everything in here is essentially done, but it’s important to bake it until the top begins to brown,” Pat says, which is done in a 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven for about 30 minutes.
The result is a bubbly, cheesy, creamy casserole filled with hearty chicken and a few snuck-in veggies that’s on the table in under an hour.
“It’s delicious,” Garner says.
It may be called the “Pretend Cooking Show,” but there’s nothing fake about the number of times we’ll be making this Garner family recipe.
