Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Paleo Chicken Enchilada Bake


Happy Cinco de Mayo! CrossFit Santa Cruz Central sure found a BRUTAL way to celebrate! Wow... heavy & hard, that's all I can say. It just kicked my butt, and wiped me out! Tonight's dinner, however, did bring me some much deserved comfort...because it was just SO delicious! This recipe was forwarded to me and is from another Paleo-Crossfit site (in the Windy City)... So, thank you Chicago (and Neile for a great recipe find). If you've been missing enchiladas, then give this a try! We really enjoyed this recipe, and I know we're going to really appreciate all the leftovers, too! Enjoy mi amigas! :-)

Sauce:
1-2 small chipotle peppers, chopped (from a can of chipotles in adobo sauce), plus 1-2 tsp. adobo sauce
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. ground chili pepper
2 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
pinch sea salt (optional)
2 C organic chicken broth, low sodium
3 C (or 3 8oz. cans) organic tomato sauce, no added salt

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low/simmer while you prepare everything else.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees!

Chicken:
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 T olive oil
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

1 head cauliflower, shredded with food processor until rice-like consistency
Fresh cilantro, chopped

Boil chicken breasts in water for about 8-10 minutes. Remove from water, and with two forks shred chicken into pieces. Set aside. Heat olive oil in large skillet. Saute onion, until transparent, add garlic, bell pepper, and spices. Saute a little longer to combine flavors. Add shredded chicken to the skillet, and mix together. Now add sauce to the chicken skillet ... RESERVING 1/4 C sauce for the cauliflower rice. Mix well.

Put cauliflower rice in the bottom of a baking dish. Add 1/4 C of the sauce. Mix well. This is the bottom layer of your enchilada bake. Now add the remaining chicken/sauce mixture over the cauliflower. Cover with tin foil and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove foil, and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with fresh chopped cilantro. Serve with avocado slices, too! Ahhhh.... it was a perfect Cinco de Mayo meal! Hope you enjoy!

12 comments:

Erin said...

This looks AMAZING! I'm living in Germany and totally miss Mexican food. This is so on the menu for next week!

Katie said...

Oh my, this looks so good! I'm on it!

Sarah said...

WOW! I can't wait to make this!!! Thank you Kelly for always posting so many amazing recipes!

niggledork said...

Holy cow... that looks absolutely amazing.

Would it be possible to marinate the chicken first then bake it all at once together instead of going through the boiling step? Maybe then pulling it afterwards?

Anonymous said...

I left the chicken with the sauce to cook slowly in a crock pot all day. The chicken just fell apart and it was fully marinated. Then baked everything together. Tasted awesome! Great recipe.

Anonymous said...

I agree with some of the other posters; boiling chicken is just wrong.

Kelly Greco said...

You could saute the chicken and cut it into chunks. I love chicken shredded, so I do like the idea of leaving it in the sauce and pulling it after. The crock pot idea is great! I will definitely be making it that way! I boiled it first because it was quick, and I liked adding the already shredded chicken with the sauce mixture.
They all will work.

Anonymous said...

This is great! I'm making it for the second time tomorrow and I'm going to give it a go in the crock pot since we'll be out all day. Thanks!

Kelly said...

Second attempt at this one tonight. It's TERRIFIC!! I love making a casserole on the weekend and nibbling all week. As always, thanks for the great recipes and food inspiration. Love it!!

Catrina said...

Love this recipe! Also love the idea of putting it in the crockpot and then baking it. Do you think this dish would be possible to make ahead and freeze like a casserole? I have not tried to freeze cauliflower rice yet. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Loved this recipe and it impressed my non-paleo inlaws as well!

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.

CrossFit Santa Cruz Central