{This is a really wordy post…skip to the very bottom for the recipe }

I’ve never made enchiladas before. We don’t eat Mexican food at home that much. The only reason for that is that we have a great Mexican place really close by that we eat at a lot. A lot. It’s special because with their chips and salsa, they serve this mystery white sauce that’s a.ma.zing. We always have to get an extra bowl when we go. And then I get a small quesadilla because by the time the entres get to the table, I’m pretty much full on chips and white sauce.

Anyhow. Back to the homemade enchiladas.

I didn’t follow a recipe for these…I just made it up as I went along. If you don’t know already, I barely ever follow recipes when I have them. If I do have a recipe, it’s almost a challenge to see how I can change it. I know. It’s a sickness. I can’t follow rules.

For this dish, I just used what I had in my cabinets. When I grocery shop, I tend to buy a few things that are on sale but I don’t really have a need for them. Is that hoarding? Well, I always end up using what I buy, I just don’t necessary know what I’ll do with them when I put them in my cart. I few weeks back I had picked up some enchilada sauce (even though I’ve never cooked enchiladas and didn’t really plan on cooking enchiladas so i’m not sure why I bought the sauce but I’m glad I did) and on another trip I had picked up some Rotel tomatoes with chilis because everyone needs Rotel in the cabinets at all times.

This dish was so super easy to make and my husband said it was yummy (he didn’t use that word) AND it’s decently healthy and pretty low calorie for a supper. No, I didn’t plan any of that. Well, the yummy part I did plan but sometimes that’s just up in the air.

Anyhow, on to the actual recipe.

This afternoon, I took four chicken breasts out of the freezer and threw them in the crockpot on high with some homemade taco seasoning, some cooked baked beans (also from my freezer) and a can of mexicorn. Another impulse grocery purchase that I’m glad I had on hand. I also put in a little water because I didn’t have any chicken broth.

I let that cook for about four hours on high and then turned off the crockpot and took off the lid so the chicken could cool a little. When it was cool enough to handle (and after I had played a couple of games of MW3 with my hubby) I shredded it. (Side note: This made waaaaaaaay more than eight enchiladas worth but I just wanted to cook up the last chicken in my freezer. I froze the extra cooked chicken, beans, and corn for soup later on.)

Next, I poured a can of red enchilada sauce into a Pyrex dish and sloshed it around a little to make sure it covered the bottom of the dish.

Then, I spooned a little chicken onto a soft taco-sized flour tortilla and then added some of the beans and corn from the crockpot. I used a slotted spoon for that so I didn’t pick up any water. Who wants a watery enchilada? Ick.

Then I added some cheese and rolled it up and put it in the baking dish right on top of the red enchilada sauce.

I did that with all eight tortillas and kind of squished them in the dish. They all fit nicely.

After they were all lined up in the dish, I poured a can of green enchilada sauce over them. Then I poured a can of Rotel tomatoes over that. Mmm. Then I poured the remainder of the shredded cheese on top of that. Mmmmm. Then I put it in my oven that I had preheated to 350 and warmed it for about 20 min, or until the cheese is melty and the sauce is bubbly. Mmmmmmm.

Then plate the enchiladas and devour. Well, that’s what happened in my house.

Cody ate two of them and I ate one and that was plenty for both of us. I froze the ones we didn’t eat so I can pull them out for another quick supper. The next time we have them, I’ll serve them with some salsa rice and maybe some lettuce and tomato. Ya know, like they do in restaurants. Tonight, I was just winging it and didn’t plan a side dish.

Sorry for this long post with only one picture. Boo. Here’s the recipe in an easier to read version.

 

Yummy Enchiladas (that’s the official name now)

Yields 8 enchiladas

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts (this will make extra chicken)
2 cups cooked black beans (again, more than you’ll need for this dish)
1 small can of Green Giant Mexicorn (yep, more than you’ll need)
3 Tablespoons of taco seasoning (more or less to taste)
a cup or so of water
8 tortillas
1 small can red enchilada sauce
1 small can green enchilada sauce
2 cups Mexican blend shredded cheese (this is a whole regular bag)
1 can Rotel tomatoes with green chilis

 

Directions:

::Place chicken, beans, and corn in crockpot and cook on high for 4 hours.

::After chicken is fully cooked, shred it.

::Preheat oven to 350. You might want to do this right before you shred the chicken, depending on your oven. Mine takes FOR.E.VER to preheat…

::Pour a can of red sauce in a baking dish, making sure that it covers the bottom.

::Fill tortillas with chicken, some beans and corn, and some cheese.

::Roll up and place in baking dish, seam side down.

::Repeat with all 8 tortillas.

::Pour green sauce over tortillas in dish.

::Pour Rotel over green sauce.

::Top tortillas with remaining cheese.

::Bake in preheated oven for about 20 min or until cheese it melted and sauce is bubbling a little.

::Enjoy!