The Family Table

By Lorie Thompson

pot with carrots, onions, fresh cloves of garlic, celery, salt, and a couple of dried red pepper pods. I let it stew for a couple of hours on medium-low or until the meat is falling off the bones. If I am not going to be home, I put it in the crockpot and let it simmer all day. I have an old dog, and she gets the skin and the cartilage and a little of the meat throughout the week. She is blind and deaf, but she can still smell, and she will lay on the floor of the kitchen all afternoon waiting to get her share of the stewed chicken. As long as she is alive, I will stew a chicken every weekend. I use the broth in many of the dishes I cook, and the meat provides the base for lots of easy weeknight meals. It is a very economical way to cook. A favorite meal from the weekend batch cooking is Chicken Enchiladas. It is easy to prepare and hard to beat for flavor. This dish was my friend Tina Lee’s choice for her annual birthday celebration with our best friends group for many years. I hope you will try it!

My daughter Kendall, and her boyfriend, Chef BJ, and I talk a lot about food. Kendall and BJ are in the early stages of opening their own restaurant. Their entire life revolves around cooking and food. One of our recent conversations was about garlic and how people use it. BJ said he and Kendall had decided that there are two types of cooks: The people who peel and chop fresh garlic and the people who use the pre-chopped, bottled garlic in the grocery store. Talk about stereotyping. There are assumptions made about your gourmet cooking capability based on your garlic habits. I am both of those people. The mundane task of peeling and mincing fresh garlic is a pleasure to me, as are many kitchen tasks WHEN I have time to do them. If time is short, as it often is, I am all about that squeeze bottle of garlic from the produce section of the grocery store. Don’t judge me if you see me with one of those bottles, hidden away behind the fresh cloves of organic garlic in my grocery cart. I lead a hectic life. While making true confessions, I will follow it up with this one: I stew at least one chicken almost every weekend. Typically on Sunday afternoon, I will put a whole chicken (or two) in a large There are lots of ways to shortcut the process of making these delicious treats. My recipe for the red enchilada sauce uses dried chili powder and seasonings you have in your pantry. This method only takes 10 minutes, and it makes a delicious sauce that is far superior to canned. You can stew your own chicken or use grocery store rotisserie chicken for a little quicker option. Both will make a great enchilada. The recipes below are for a red enchilada and a white enchilada. Each recipe will make 15 enchiladas. I usually make both the red and the white on the same day, freezing what we don’t need for a meal. Corn tortillas come in packs of 30, and it takes most of a whole chicken to make 30 enchiladas. So, it works out nicely. For the red enchiladas, start by making the sauce. In a medium saucepan, add 3 T of flour (or gluten-free flour) and 3 T of vegetable oil. Bring the roux to medium heat and cook while continually stirring until the flour is browned. To the browned flour, add 2 T of ancho chili powder, 2 tsp of chipotle chili powder, 1 tsp each of onion powder and garlic powder, and 1/2 tsp of cumin, oregano and salt.

Cook the seasonings for 1 minute in the roux to help the flavors bloom. Add 2 1/2 C of chicken stock and 2 tsp of vinegar. Simmer for an additional 5 minutes and remove from heat.

For the white enchilada sauce, blend 1 1/2 C sour cream with 1 can cream of mushroom soup and 1 C of milk. Add 2 tsp of granulated garlic powder and 2-3 cans of chopped green chilis. To prepare the tortillas, heat a small cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Pour 1/3 c vegetable oil into a bowl. Using a pastry brush dipped into the oil, paint a thin layer of oil into the skillet center. Heat the tortilla on both sides until it is just starting to bubble up. The goal is to soften the tortilla. Do not overcook it. Brush the pan with more oil between each tortilla. Place on paper towels to drain. Many recipes call for heating the tortillas in the oven or even the Prepare your casserole pan with a small amount of the sauce of choice in the bottom. Add one of the softened tortillas that have been dipped into the sauce. Put 2 tsp of shredded chicken, a sprinkle of chopped onion or green chilis, and sharp cheddar or Colby-jack

cheese. Roll the tortilla up and place seam side down. Continue until the pan is full. Cover the top of the enchiladas with the leftover sauce. Cover with a healthy sprinkle of shredded cheese. Cover tightly with foil and bake in a 350-degree oven for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and cook 20 more minutes or until the cheese is bubbly. A 9x11 casserole will hold 9-10 enchiladas in a single layer, and an 8x8 will hold 5-6.

Serve the enchiladas with some good rice and a big batch of coleslaw. It is delicious! Enjoy some time around your Family Table eating enchiladas!

Or, If you don’t feel like cooking, come visit Chef BJ McCauley and his sidekick, Kendall Thompson, at the Proper Pub. Opening March 4th, 2021, at the Rabun County Country Club. Happy March to you and those you love!

Lorie Thompson is a REALTOR at Poss Realty in Clayton, Georgia. Her expertise in her industry is second only to her culinary talents. Lorie is a dynamo in the kitchen. Honestly if she prepares it, it will likely be the best you’ve ever had! Lorie and her husband, Anthony (Peanut), make their home in the Persimmon Community. She is the proud mother of Joe Thompson and Kendall Thompson.