Chicken Enchilada Stew

The other day, I went digging in my pantry for ingredients, and out of it came this chicken enchilada stew. A happy accident!

Despite being pretty good at planning out meals, I am pretty bad at planning out meals. Unless I have a recipe for which to shop, when I got the order to stock up on necessities….well, I never quite ripe my head around what that means.  Chicken thighs sound good.  Canned tomatoes, obviously. A can of beans, one of each kind.  Some herbs. Some citrus. Some onions.  I bring them all home and then wonder what the heck I’m going to make with them, almost overwhelmed by the possibilities.

It’s kind of like when I used to sit down to take an organic chemistry test. I’d spend 10 minutes going through the papers, freaking out that I knew NOTHING which it actually turns out that I knew quite a bit. At least enough to get a respectable B- (ha).  Cooking from my pantry is a bit like that.  

When I’d exhausted the prepared food currently in my fridge, I dove into my pantry and my freezer to figure out what I could make, knowing that a trip to the store for any other ingredients was forbidden (in my head – I’m trying to minimize trips by going once every two weeks). I did find an unnecessary amount of canned pumpkin (so I made this) and coconut milk (so I made this).

I pulled out the onion, the tomatoes and the black beans, and realized that I also had a random can of enchilada sauce, weird because I don’t remember buying it, and I also have no idea what I’d planned on using it for. Nevertheless, this chicken enchilada stew came quite organically out of it.  

Because enchilada sauce has a good slew of flavor in it to begin with, I really only added a few more spices:  cayenne for heat, and oregano for whatever  je ne sais quoi oregano adds.

The whole thing came together in less than 30 minutes.  Which is great because aren’t we all just in the biggest hurry these days?

Chicken Enchilada Stew

March 25, 2020

Servings: 6

Total: 30 min

Difficulty: Easy

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Hearty chicken enchilada stew comes together in little time and with a few favorite pantry staples for a new favorite for dinner!

By: Chrissy

Ingredients

• 2 TB olive oil
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, diced into 1" chunks
• 2 medium onions, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 TB minced garlic
• 1 14-oz can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 14-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 10-oz can green, mild enchilada sauce
• 1 TB dried oregano
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup frozen corn
• 1 tsp salt
• cilantro, to garnish
• shredded cheese, to garnish
• lime, to serve

Directions

• Step 1 To a medium stock pot over medium-high heat, add the olive oil. Once heated, add the diced chicken thighs and let cook, stirring constantly until all the pink is gone.
• Step 2 Push the chicken to the side of the pot. Add the onion, and cook until translucent, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, salt, cayenne and oregano and cook another 2 minutes.
• Step 3 Add the tomatoes, beans, enchilada sauce and stock to the pot. Bring to a boil, and then reduce to simmer about 5 minutes. Add the frozen corn and cook another 5 minutes.
• Step 4 Serve with cilantro, fresh lime and cheese, as you wish.