Chicken & Cheese Enchiladas

Cooking 101

Tortillas filled with saucy chicken, beans and gooey cheese... best dish ever! Super simple to make in under an hour. Can be prepared gluten free or vegetarian. Soon to become your favorite entrée too!

Chicken & Cheese Enchiladas

Yield: 4 – 6 servings

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive or canola oil
2 small yellow onions, diced
2 – 3 cloves garlic, minced
1-pound boneless chicken breast, 1-inch cubed
2 10-ounce cans enchilada sauce (or 1 28-ounce can)
Optional: 4-ounce green chilies, chopped
1/2 teaspoon cumin
8 – 10 flour or corn tortillas
1 15-ounce can refried beans, fat free or vegetarian
1 8-ounce bag shredded Mexican-blend cheese
Garnishes: Shredded lettuce, chopped fresh tomato, salsa/hot sauce, light sour cream or plain Greek yogurt

Equipment needed:

Cutting board
Chef knife
Can opener
10-inch skillet
Rubber spatula
Tongs
Small bowl for beans
13 x 9 baking pan
Canola or olive oil spray
Bent edged spatula

This easy recipe is definitely one of my family’s favorite dinner recipes! Conceived in my Foods1 class, Cheesy Bean Enchiladas were part of the Meat and Protein unit. Used as an alternative dish to meat. This enchilada recipe was ready in under 30 minutes in most classes. When we had only 43 minutes to cook, eat and clean up... cooking was a challenge. This recipe is so good with just beans and makes a great vegetarian entrée. Slowly the dish evolved to include chicken, and occasionally beef. My kids and their friends often ask me to make this tasty dish whenever they are home. I have even prepared it in Ohio and Seattle while visiting them too! Super easy and uses most ingredients I always have on hand. Cut the recipe in half if for serving only two or expand it to feed a crowd... always a hit! Grab your skillet and let’s get cooking! (Might want to wear an apron too, as splatters of enchilada sauce are not easy to remove from clothing.)

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Once you start preparing this recipe it moves pretty quickly, so best if everything is prepped before heating the skillet. First, dice onions, mince garlic and cube your chicken. Cube the chicken last to reduce cross contamination on your cutting board. Open the cans of sauce and beans too. Use a fork to remove beans to a small bowl and mix well. I usually mix in a couple tablespoons of water to the beans to smooth them out and make them easier to spread in the tortillas. Occasionally I add a dash or two of red pepper too... depending on my mood.

After all the prepping is finished, place a 10-inch skillet over medium high heat with ~ 2 tablespoons of oil. I generally use olive oil, since it always sits on my counter, but canola oil works well too. I prefer canola oil to other vegetable oils... healthier option. Sauté the onions and garlic for 1 – 2 minutes and add cubed chicken breast. Continue to cook over medium high heat until chicken is no longer pink, ~ 7 – 8 minutes. Do not drain juices.

At this point you’re ready for the sauce. Carefully pour the enchilada sauce over the chicken mixture and blend well. If using green chilies... add them here. I add a little cumin to, as I find it adds a little earthy flavor to the sauce. Mix all together well and turn off the heat. It is easier... and safer, to assemble the enchiladas when the sauce is not molten hot.

Almost done... Now for the assembly. Create an assembly line with remaining ingredients. Place the skillet and baking pan close to each other and then shells, beans and cheese. An assembly line makes the process so much easier with less mess. This is a great dish to make with your kids too! They can sprinkle cheese or add beans to each tortilla. Creating the enchiladas can be a bit messy. As you prepare them try to use tongs and keep one hand “dry” and the other “wet” or messy. Having someone to help solves this problem too. Follow these simple assembly steps!

Spray pan lightly with oil spray. Spoon about 1/3 - 1/2 cup of sauce into baking dish and spread to lightly coat pan bottom.
With tongs, place a tortilla into the sauce and flip to lightly coat shell.
Place tortilla in bottom of baking pan and smooth about 2 tablespoons of beans over
center.
Add 4 - 5 pieces of chicken and a little sauce on beans. Sprinkle a bit of cheese on top
...using “dry” clean hand.
Roll tortilla tightly with your “wet” hand and place roll seam side down in pan.
Repeat process using all 8 – 10 tortillas, pushing them together as you progress across
the pan. (If using corn tortillas, they generally are not as long as flour variety, so often
can add a couple more down the side depending on amount of filling remaining.)
Pour and spread remaining sauce on top of panned enchiladas and sprinkle with
remaining cheese.
Place pan into a preheated 375 F oven. Bake for ~ 20 minutes or until cheese is melted
and oozing out of enchilada ends. Sauce will be bubbly too!
** Can make smaller pans of enchiladas for make ahead meals!

Oh my... doesn’t dinner smell delightful? Looks so professional and you made it yourself! Divide a larger batch into smaller pans and freeze for later baking. Easiest way to dish these guys up is to slide a bent edged spatula into the pan, scooping up one to two enchiladas and place them on a plate. Garnish with shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes and a drizzle of hot sauce or your favorite salsa! Serve with a side of my Spanish Rice &/or Black Beans... Dinner is served! Enjoy!!