Pumpkin Enchiladas

Easy Chicken Enchiladas with pumpkin cream sauce by Cheeky Kitchen seemed like a great way to incorporate more veggies secretly into the meal. I've had lots of pumpkin based cream sauce dishes before and really liked them in the past.

I just thought the dish was pretty bland and I even quadrupled the seasoning. Maybe the recipe went south because I used milk instead of cream, and a mixture of Colby jack and cheddar instead of queso fresco? That was most likely the reason for the ho-hum nature of the dish. Although I generally swap out milk for cream in most of the meals I make, and use so the whole family is used to that.

Also, I felt there was way too much liquid in the sauce. The dish wound up on the soggy side. This was odd to me because I made this dish with 12 tortillas, so there was more food to soak up the liquid. I'm wondering if maybe my pumpkin was on the watery side? I used leftover pumpkin canned I had saved in the freezer. Sometimes frozen food gets more watery when it is defrosted.

Ultimately, I think my taste buds were just expecting the zip and zing of a regular enchilada. There is none of that in this dish. So if you've got kids (or anyone else for that matter) who don't like spicy foods, this dish would most likely be a home run for them. Just be sure not to substitute the cream or queso fresco!

Easy Chicken Enchilada's with Pumpkin Cream Sauce from Cheeky Kitchen
1 sweet onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cup chicken, cooked and diced
1/2 cup pumpkin
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cumin
Dash of salt & pepper
8 corn tortillas
1 cup Queso Fresco, crumbled
1/4 cup. diced scallions

In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat, then add the onion slices. Saute until brown and caramelized, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken to the pan, stirring it to mix with the caramelized onions, then remove from the heat. In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, cream, broth, cinnamon, nutmeg, cumin, salt and pepper. Spoon chicken mixture into the tortilla's, rolling them tightly and placing in a medium-sized baking dish. Once all enchiladas have been rolled, spread the pumpkin cream sauce over the top. Sprinkle generously with Queso Fresco, then bake in an oven preheated to 425F for 20-25 minutes, or just until the tips of the cheese begins to brown. Garnish with diced scallions before serving.