In The Kitchen: Chicken Enchiladas & Green Tea Wine Cocktail

It's been awhile, but years ago I used to make amazing green enchiladas with shredded turkey. It was a hit with my friends back then, and would be requested at every pot-luck I would attend. 

Years later, I decided to make them again, but with a twist. This time using rotisserie chicken, a red sauce and burrito-sized tortillas. To go with the dinner we decided to make a Green Tea Wine Mojito, that we learned about visiting Native Vines Winery in Lexington, North Carolina. And for our snack, while putting together the dinner, we had tortilla chips and blueberry salsa from Blueberry Haven, that we picked up the last time we were in Grand Haven, Michigan.

For the enchilada sauce:

• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 2 cups chicken stock (I used Knorr chicken bouillon cubes)
• 10 oz. tomato paste
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• salt and pepper

Heat oil in a saucepan, then add the flour. Mix and cook for 60 seconds. Then add chili powder, mix for another 30 seconds. Add chicken stock, tomato paste and cumin. Mix. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for around 15 minutes. Let the sauce rest while you work on the rest of the enchiladas.

We used a rotisserie chicken from a local grocery store - shred the chicken and place in a bowl. Season with salt, pepper, cumin and chili powder. Then add 1 cup of diced onions and a small can of sliced black olives. Mix together.

Lay a tortilla down and put a small amount of chicken mixture in the middle. Sprinkle with some cheddar cheese and fold it over and roll it up. Repeat and fill up a large casserole dish. Once you have all the casserole dish filled with enchiladas top them with the red sauce to cover, and then cover the enchiladas with cheddar cheese.

Have the oven pre-heated to 350 degrees and bake for 25 minutes.

We paired that with a Green Tea Wine Mojito.

• Muddle a couple mint leaves at the bottom of an old-fashioned glass with the juice of half a lime.
• Fill the glass halfway with crushed ice
• Fill the glass with Native Vines Winery's Green Tea Wine
• Splash the top with Gin
• Garnish with a lime wedge

For the Gin we used Copper Fox's VIR Gin Single Malt that we picked up while visiting the distillery in Williamsburg, Virginia. With its Mediterranean juniper berries, citrus, spices and botanicals, it makes for one of our favorite Gins to mix with.


Related Story: Day Trip: Exploring the Wineries in Lexington, N.C.