White Bean Chicken Chili Enchiladas

We love chili in our house. We also love enchiladas. Back when it was "winter" here in South Carolina, I stumbled upon The Cookie Rookie's recipe for white bean chicken chili with cream cheese and fell in love. This chili had every flavor and texture Ryan and I had been craving and I've made it several times since then, even in the heat of summer - it's that good. So the other night I thought about making it but wanted to get those same flavors in a way that wasn't a hot steaming bowl of chili in the middle of the summer. So with a few twists of my own, I turned those ingredients into enchilada filling instead! And man, were they good. Creamy and cheesy with a little heat and a little tang, and definitely filling. Here's what you do!

Ingredients: rotisserie chicken (any flavor), 1 can of cannelini beans, 1 can of corn, 1 can of green chile enchilada sauce, 1 package of cream cheese, one pint of heavy whipping cream, 1 bag of colby jack, tortillas, and see that onion? Let's pretend it's a lime, shall we?

It's worth noting here that for the quantity of enchiladas I made, I did not use all of each ingredient.
Chicken - both breasts
Corn and beans - 1/2 can of each
Cream cheese - 3/4 of package (about 6 ounces)
Heavy whipping cream - 1/4 cup
Shredded cheese - 1/2 bag (1 cup)
Tortillas - as many as will hold the filling
And that lime that isn't pictured? The juice of half

First, shred the breasts of the chicken (not the skin) with two forks and place in a bowl. This made around 6 pretty decent sized enchiladas, so plenty for 2-3 people. If you are making more, shred the meat from the entire chicken and also use all of the ingredients mentioned above, instead of just half.

Sprinkle in 1/2 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp ground cumin, and 1/2 tsp cayenne. I didn't add any salt because the chicken had been seasoned already and canned vegetables have enough salt on their own. After you mix everything together and before you fill the tortillas, please taste the filling and adjust the seasonings to your liking.

Drain the liquid from the canned corn and the beans and then pour half of each can into the bowl of chicken, along with the softened cream cheese. Mix it together until it looks like this!

Squeeze in the juice of half the lime, forget to take a picture of it, and taste. Add any additional seasonings you may want, and stir together. Now it's time to assemble the enchiladas.

Lay a tortilla on the counter/cutting board...

Place some filling in the middle. This was about a 1/2 cup.

Fold in the sides...

And roll! Each enchilada should look like this:

Remember the green chile enchilada sauce and heavy whipping cream? It's time to mix those together. You could definitely use just the enchilada sauce and leave the cream out, but I decided to use the cream because there is cream in The Cookie Rookie's chili recipe and well, I just wanted to. It cuts the heat of the enchilada sauce just a little bit and adds more volume, which makes the sauce go a little further. Also, if you are doubling this recipe to feed more than 2-3 people, use 2 cans of enchilada sauce and 1/2 cup of cream.

Take a baking dish, spray with cooking spray, and then pour 1/3 of the sauce onto the bottom of the pan. Spread it out a little so the enchiladas have a nice saucy bed.

Then lay down the enchiladas on top!

These didn't all perfectly fit in a line, and that was fine by me. Now pour the rest of the sauce on top...

Smooth out the sauce, and top with the cheese.

Bake in a 350 oven for 40 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the sauce is hot and bubbly.

These really are hearty and filling, and have great refreshing flavor and texture. You could top these with some avocado, sour cream, a squeeze of lime, chopped cilantro, or even some crushed up tortilla chips for texture. Enjoy these with a margarita!

Here's the recipe!

Ingredients

• 1 rotisserie chicken, breast meat only
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp cayenne
• 6 oz. (3/4 package) cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 can cannelini beans, drained
• 1/2 can corn, drained
• juice of half a lime
• tortillas
• 1 can green chile enchilada sauce
• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup shredded cheese (Colby Jack, Cheddar, Mexican blend, etc.)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and spray a baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Shred the breast meat of the chicken with two forks and place in a bowl.
3. Add cumin, chili powder, onion powder, and cayenne.
4. Add cream cheese, beans, and corn, and stir to combine. Add the lime juice and taste. 
5. Lay out a tortilla and place 1/4 - 1/2 cup mixture onto center of tortilla, depending on how thick you want the enchiladas to be.
6. Fold in the sides of the tortilla over the filling, then start rolling the tortillas from the bottom, until the enchilada is in the shape of a log. Continue with more tortillas until all of the filling has been used.
7. Mix together the enchilada sauce and the cream. Spread about 1/3 of the sauce onto the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
8. Place the enchiladas on top of the sauce, then cover them with the rest of the sauce.
9. Evenly sprinkle the cheese over the top.
10. Bake for 40 minutes until hot and bubbly and the cheese is melted.

Again, here is The Cookie Rookie's recipe that was the inspiration for this dish.