Mexican Enchiladas
“Why don’t you come over for dinner with the kids tonight”! In my seemingly never ending attempt to always make Kenya and Chloe’s dinner times fun, those words fly out of my mouth to my mom friends on a weekly basis. And, without fail, moments after asking I think to myself, “Who am I kidding? When am I going to have time to prepare dinner for 4 kids and 4 adults when I’ve already got a crazy day of work ahead of me?” As a result of my big mouth and boundless optimism, I’ve been forced to become the (self-proclaimed) queen of doubling recipes and freezing them for these types of occasions. And these enchiladas are a perfect candidate for doing just that. No matter if you’re cooking for 2 or 12, there’s nothing easier then pulling these out of the icebox, popping them into the oven and, 30 minutes later, enjoying warm tortillas filled with chicken, veggies and tons of gooey cheese.
At my last impromptu kids dinner, we were all sitting around, chowing down on this Mexican treat, and a mom friend leaned in to me to say, “I can’t believe you had the time to make these!” When it’s really that easy, why not have friends over every night?!
Mexican Enchiladas (Makes Eight Servings)
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Small Onion, chopped
1 Tsp Salt
1 Red Bell Pepper, diced
1 Tsp Ground Cumin
1 Garlic Clove, minced
2 Chicken Breasts or 2 Cups Chicken, cooked and shredded
1 Cup Frozen Corn, defrosted
1 1/2 Cups Mexican Cheese Blend
1 28 oz Can Enchilada Sauce (you can find this in the latin section of your grocery)
8 Flour Tortillas
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat and cook onions and salt for 3 minutes.
3. Add red bell pepper and sauté for another 2 minutes.
4. Add cumin and garlic and sauté for an additional minute.
5. Remove the mixture from the pan and place in a bowl. After the mixture has cooled, add the chicken, corn, and 1 cup cheese and mix to combine.
6. Pour half of the enchilada sauce in a 9 x 11 inch baking dish.
7. Divide the mixture (about 1/2 cup each), placing it in the middle of each tortilla and rolling it up like a wrap (burrito shape).
8. Place the rolled enchiladas close together, seam side down in the sauced baking dish. Continue to roll the rest of the filled enchiladas.
9. Once you have finished making the stuffed enchiladas, pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over them and top with 1/2 cup cheese. *If you’re planning on making this dish another day, cover it and freeze at this point.
10. Cover the dish with foil and bake in the oven for 15 minutes (30 minutes if you are starting with frozen enchiladas.
11. Serve.
*Enchiladas will stay in the freezer for up to 4 months. For best results, prepare enchiladas then freeze. Do not bake.
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Tags: bell pepper, catherine mccord, cheddar cheese, cheese, cheese recipes, chicken, chicken breasts, cooking for kids, cooking on a budget, corn, cumin, dinnertime, easy mexican recipes, easy recipes, enchilada, enchilada recipes, enchilada sauce, enchiladas, fast recipes, freezing foods, garlic, how to freeze food, make ahead recipes, mexican cheese blend, mexican recipes, mexican recipes for kids, olive oil, recipes for a crowd, recipes for freezing, recipes for kids, recipes to freeze, red bell pepper, salt, weelicious
LOVE THIS! I am expecting my first baby this August and trolling the web for easy, healthy, make-ahead-and-freeze meals for those first couple of months. Keep the freezer-friendly meals coming!
I love to make enchiladas with left-overs from “Mexican Night” Whatever happens to be left gets rolled, covered in sauce and cheese and into the freezer it goes for an easy meal later on. Chicken, Beef, Pulled Pork, rice, corn, peppers, tomatoes, the combinations are endless and yummy!!
what is up with the smiley face where is says it makes *how many*??
Also it says they can stay frozen for *XX* months. I need these numbers! Love the blog
So weird, I can’t ever figure it out. When you put in an ‘8′, it makes a smiley face. Argh!! You can freeze it for up to 4 months. Make sure to label it so you know when you made them!!
I am drooling just looking at this! It’s what we’re having for dinner tomorrow. To make shredded chicken, I put chicken in the crockpot with chicken broth and cook all day on low. It will be ready for dinner!
I would love it if you had thoughts on how to make the enchilada sauce from scratch. I’ve tinkered with it and it never quite works out. Enchiladas are one of the best ways of getting lots of great nutrition into little ones… and they taste great! But everytime I’ve tried a canned sauce, even the “mild” ones seem to surprise us with spiciness which our toddler just wont do!
To make a non-spicy enchilada sauce, just saute some red bell peppers with onions then put them in the food processor with a pinch or salt or two and some water and puree and pour over your enchiladas
its toddler friendly and healthy! 
So cool! Thank you!!
For vegetarians, it’s easy to replace the chicken with black beans and the chicken broth with veggie broth. I also add diced zucchini to mine. Just once more veggie I can get in this way. (Also good with shrimp, by the way!)
I may add black beans just because I LOVE them!! Good suggestion Laura
Catherine, I made this last night and it was excellent. I added tomato and a little sauce inside. They were flavorful and healthy tasting. thanks!
Yum, so delicious! Used red, green & yellow diced peppers. Followed Laura’s suggestion & cooked three chicken breasts in slow cooker all day. Shredded easily and cut prep time significantly. Will make again and again.
These sound great! And I love the idea of cooking the chicken in the slow cooker – how much chicken broth would I use in the cooker with the chicken breasts???