Mama's Chicken 'Ladas

Some of the ingredients involved... =) in 'Ladas. That's what we call them around here.

The cookbook that was THE COOKBOOK when my mother was a young, married Jacksonian was called Southern Sideboards. A lot of the recipes in there are a bit outdated now, but many of them are classics, in the best sense of the word.

There is a recipe in there called Swiss Enchiladas.

I have racked my brain about why in the world it would be called that. I have come up with no answer. There is no Swiss cheese, and I don't think the Swiss traditionally eat dishes like this one.

But, Mama tinkered with it, made it better, and I may have tinkered a bit more.

It is not particularly healthy. But if you are going to make Chicken Enchiladas, why try to be healthy? =) It does forgo pasteurized cheese product (Velveeta) and any condensed cream soup, making me feel better about life.

Here we go:

Dice up a

Large Onion (smaller if you aren't an onion girl, but I am...)

In a pan, heat a glug of olive oil on medium until it's fragrant. (I've always wanted to say that..) Add onion. While onion begins to cook, mince (or just chop finely)

2 - 4 cloves garlic

Add to pan, saute until onion is soft. Add

2 4oz cans of chopped green chiles
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
1/2 tsp Tobasco
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper (go to sams, buy a disposable, filled pepper grinder)
1 tsp good salt
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken. (You can use left over roasted chicken, or poach your chicken, grill it, saute it, bake it. If starting with raw chicken, get about a pound.)

Let simmer the above while you do the following:

In a pyrex measure (some other non-plastic microwaveable container), pour

3 cups of half and half. I warned you...

Stick it in the microwave for 2 minutes.
Pull it out. Swirl it around a bit.
Stick it back in for 2 more minutes. Meanwhile, employ your three year old to peel

6 cubes of chicken bullion.

Break them up into the warm half and half. Stir with a wooden spoon to dissolve them. (Use that same wooden spoon you've been stirring your chicken tomato goodness with).

Now, grab

8 burrito sized tortillas or 10 soft taco size ones.

Fill each one with 1/8 or 1/10 of the chicken mixture. Roll them up. Place seam side down in a 9x13 baking dish. If you are not good at estimating how much of the mixture to put in each tortilla (like me), pour any extra chicken goodness over the top and spread around.

Now, back to the half and half. Stick it back in the microwave one more time for a minute this time. Give it another stir to make sure all the bullion is dissolved. Pour it, slowly, over the wrapped up tortillas, making sure it gets down in all the cracks.

Our saturated fat content is clearly not high enough at this point, so now take

2 cups of shredded Monterey Jack

and sprinkle over the top.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-45 minutes.

Serve with big green salad, (Sister Schubert) rolls, and a bottle of red wine.