Smoked Chicken & Beef Enchiladas

It has taken me a while to learn but you have to cook to your audience.  My wife and daughter tend to favor chicken while my boys definitely favor beef and all but shun chicken.  The prior times I have made the smoked chicken enchiladas even the beef boys found them to be a hit.  Having smoked the chicken instead of regularly prepared adds a whole additional layer of flavor.  You can really taste the different flavors with each bite from the smokey chicken to the spice of the enchilada sauce.  As you can see from the picture to the right, I have added queso fresco to the top mostly for appearance.  A key here though is to add the queso fresco in the middle of the baking process so that it melts enough without losing the contrasting appearance of the white against the red and orange of the sauce and cheese.

The meal was accompanied with a creamy mexican style corn.  This is really easy to make but everyone seems to love it.  I simply combine frozen corn, pablano peppers and onions.  The corn is cooked first. Then the peppers and onions are added just enough to soften.  The vegetable mixture has a healthy amount of ancho chili powder which is moderated  at the end with half & half . The dish is finished off with some queso fresco – just make sure it is a good melting cheese.  The plate below was the full meal.  I made a mexican style cole slaw by adding a little ancho to the slaw dressing I have developed and added jalapenos to the slaw.