Cranberry Chipotle Chicken Enchiladas

The election happened. I am not writing about the election because the election is not what this blog is about. This blog is about food and family and the road and the kitchen, and the election happened in the space between the food and the family, and the space is where politics lives — in the gaps, in the silences, in the things people do not say at the table while they eat the pot roast. Nebraska voted the way Nebraska votes. The pot roast was good. The two facts coexist. The coexistence is Nebraska.

I hauled to Omaha and back mid-week. The highway was busy — election anxiety had become election resolution had become whatever comes next, and the whatever-comes-next was already filling the space with the same traffic and the same freight and the same slow cooker simmering in the cab. I made split pea soup. The split pea soup does not care about elections. The split pea soup is apolitical and warm and thick and the color of something that should not be appetizing but is, and the is-ness is the argument for split pea soup, and the argument is undefeated.

Tyler has been asking for a dog. He has been asking for a dog for three years, and the answer has been no for three years, and the answer will continue to be no because we are six people in a three-bedroom house with two adults who work full-time and four children who promise to walk the dog but will not walk the dog, and the dog will become my dog, and I have enough dependents. The dog conversation happens approximately once a month. It is the most predictable conversation in this house, more predictable than 'what's for dinner,' which is the second most predictable.

I made chicken tortilla soup — shredded chicken, black beans, corn, tomatoes, chicken broth, chili powder, cumin. Topped with tortilla strips and sour cream and shredded cheese. Tyler ate two bowls and between bites said he thinks a dog would love chicken tortilla soup. I said dogs do not eat chicken tortilla soup. He said this dog would. The 'this dog' implies a specific dog that does not exist, and the specificity is the trap, and I will not fall into it.

After that bowl of chicken tortilla soup — and Tyler’s ongoing campaign to acquire a dog via culinary argument — I knew the next week needed something in the same spirit: shredded chicken, a little heat, something warm enough to fill four kids and practical enough to pull off on a weeknight after a long haul. These Cranberry Chipotle Chicken Enchiladas hit that mark. The chipotle brings the same smoky warmth the soup had, the cranberry keeps it from being predictable, and the whole thing comes together fast enough that I wasn’t still standing at the stove at nine o’clock. Tyler ate two. He did not mention the dog.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 30 min | Total Time: 50 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

3 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
1 can (14 oz) whole-berry cranberry sauce
2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced, plus 1 tsp adobo sauce
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
1/2 cup sour cream
8 flour tortillas (8 inches)
2 green onions, sliced, for garnish

Instructions

Preheat oven. Heat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish and set aside.
Make the sauce. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine cranberry sauce, minced chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, and chicken broth. Stir until smooth and heated through, about 4–5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Season the chicken. In a large bowl, toss shredded chicken with garlic powder, cumin, salt, sour cream, and 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese. Mix until evenly combined.
Assemble enchiladas. Spoon 2–3 tablespoons of the cranberry chipotle sauce into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Divide the chicken mixture evenly among the tortillas, rolling each one tightly and placing seam-side down in the dish.
Top and bake. Pour remaining sauce evenly over the rolled enchiladas. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese. Bake uncovered for 25–30 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the edges are bubbling.
Garnish and serve. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving. Top with sliced green onions.

Nutrition (per serving)

Cranberry Chipotle Chicken Enchiladas — The Dog Is Still Not Happening