Don’t worry, this is short: I grew up eating a ton of California-regional, Mexican-American style food because I lived most of my life in SoCal and my mom and I loved cooking together when I lived with her. Naturally, comfort food usually has a lot of carbs, so I put together this recipe for chicken enchiladas with red sauce, sour cream, and store-bought, pre-cooked roasted chicken breast. Living my life around avocado trees in the back yard, I felt it made sense to include my decades-old guacamole recipe. Anyway, it goes well with enchiladas!

Ingredients for enchilada filling:

• 2 cups (280 g) shredded white meat chicken (I use pre-roasted chicken, still hot from the store)
• 1/2 cup (120 g) fresh pico de gallo
• 2 Tbsp (30 g) juice of a lime
• 1 cup (227 g) sour cream
• Salt to taste

Ingredients for assembly:

• 1 cup (240 g) red enchilada sauce (I like Las Palmas)
• 8 low carb tortillas (I use CarbSmart spinach tortillas)
• 2 cups (226 g) shredded cheddar cheese

Ingredients for guacamole:

• 2 large (385 g) Haas avocados, skin and pits removed
• 2 Tbsp (30 g) juice of a lime
• 6 Tbsp (90 g) Pace picante sauce (I use medium heat)
• 6 Tbsp (90 g) fresh pico de gallo
• Salt to taste

Topping:

• 4 whole green onions, roots removed, diced

Note: Feel free to substitute ingredients to be gluten-free, vegan, different proteins, green sauce, or mole, or whatever! No stress – this is Cali-style cooking.

You’ll need a 9×13″ rectangular baking dish. I use a glass dish, but use what you like. I use a gram scale for cooking, so I included those measurements. Have fun! If you vary the recipe, let me know what you did and how it came out!

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF
2. Mix enchilada filling ingredients in a bowl until well mixed. It will be slightly warm due to the hot chicken. Taste to ensure salt level is to your palate.
3. Put 1/2 the enchilada sauce into your glass dish and use that to coat your tortillas, front and back.
4. Evenly distribute filling among your tortillas, rolling each into a cigar shape to make an enchilada and place it seam side down in the dish until you have a full dish of 8 enchiladas. Tip: If you don’t want to eyeball it, divide your filling equally by weight (approx 82 g each) or a little over 1/3 cup each.
5. Drizzle remaining 1/2 of enchilada sauce evenly overtop of your enchiladas.
6. Evenly sprinkle cheese on top. I like to leave the edges bare so they get extra crispy!
7. Bake for 30 minutes.
8. Broil on high (500ºF+) until bubbly and starting to brown (keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn!)
9. Remove from oven and allow to rest uncovered for 20 minutes in a warm area
10. While you wait, make the guacamole by mashing/mixing all the ingredients, tasting as you go for your desired salt content. You can always add more heat, lime, or salt, but you can’t take it back (I mean unless you have a bunch of avocados on hand)!
11. Serve your enchilada with guacamole and a sprinkle of your diced green onions.

Nutrition for enchiladas only, 8 servings:

• Kcal: 324
• Fat: 22 g
• Protein: 20 g
• Carbs, total: 24.5 g
• Fiber: 16 g
• Carbs, net: 8.5

Nutrition for guacamole only, 8 servings:

• Kcal: 82
• Fat: 7 g
• Protein: 1 g
• Carbs, total: 5 g
• Fiber: 4 g
• Carbs, net: 1 g
• Potassium: 235 mg