Swiss Chard and Chicken Enchiladas and Blue Margarita

A few weeks ago, I found that I wanted to make a recipe that I came across earlier this spring, in attempts to make better use of some of the produce that I had chosen at my weekly CSA - Shepard Farm shepherdfarmscsa.com. They have a wonderful selection of greens, vegetables, beans, strawberries, garlic onions and other lovely goodies. I had picked up a bunch of Rainbow Swiss Chard, which came in yellow, red, pink and magenta stalks, with lovely green tops. I searched and searched my favorite websites and came across the following recipe. The recipe is called Chicken Enchiladas "Swiss Chard". I made a few alterations to my recipe and they were as follows.

I started with the same basic ingredients as the base recipe but my recipe is as follows:

1 16oz can Red Enchilada Sauce (you could use green)

1 bunch Rainbow Swiss Chard 6-8 stalks

1 Small Leak

1 Cup cubed or shredded cooked chicken (leftovers are the best)

4-6 Taco Size Flour Tortillas, warmed over flame to make pliable

1-2 tsp olive oil

1 8oz package shredded cheese, I used a blend of monterey jack and cheddar

Steps

Step 1 - Chop chard into small strips, seperating the stalks from the leaves

Step 2 - Chop leak (white or light green only) into small pieces

Step 3 - Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

Step 4 - Saute the leaks and the chard stalks in the olive oil, when they appear transulent, add the chard leaves and cook until tender, remove from heat.

Step 5 - Add chicken to the chard/leak mix, blend well

Step 6 - Assemble. Place a few tsps of enchilada sauce into a 8x8 pan. Take warmed torilla and add chicken mix and a nice sprinkle of cheese and roll. Place rolled enchilada in pan. Continue until pan is filled. 4-6 enchiladas.

Step 7 - Pour remaining enchilada sauce over the top. Top with cheese. Step 8 - Bake. Bake pan covered with foil for 15 minutes. Uncover and make for an additional 12-18 minutes until bubbly and browned.

Step 9. - Serve. Serve with a little bit of cilantro and a helping of Magic Spanish Rice (recipe to follow) and a blue margarita (also to follow).

The surprising thing about these enchiladas is that although they have a nice serving of vegetables, you can not really notice, as the chard is mild and blends well with the other ingredients. The chard is also tender and adds a nice texture to the enchiladas. I also like the flour tortilla, as it almost melts into the ingrednients to create a nice layer of flavors and textures.

Blue Margarita

1 Shot Silver Tequila

1 Shot Blue Cuaraco

Ice

2 Shots Lemon or Lime Juice

splash lemon lime soda

Shake till frothy. Pour in glass and add ice to keep chilled. Serve with salt if you'd like.