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Mexican Enchiladas

July 6, 2010

"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?!

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Mexican Enchiladas  (Makes 8 Servings)

  • Prep Time:10 minutes,
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes,
  • Total Time: 25 minutes,

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 teaspoon 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

Preparation

  1. 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. 2. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat and cook onions and salt for 3 minutes.
  3. 3. Add red bell pepper and sauté for another 2 minutes.
  4. 4. Add cumin and garlic and sauté for an additional minute.
  5. 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. 6. Pour half of the enchilada sauce in a 9 x 11 inch baking dish.
  7. 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. 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. 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. 10. Cover the dish with foil and bake in the oven for 15 minutes (30 minutes if you are starting with frozen enchiladas.
  11. 11. Serve.
  12. *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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Comments






  1. zaeaton

    July 29, 2012 at 4:20 pm

    Reply

    Yumm..these are good. Would love some tips on how to freeze casseroles without having to use up my casserole dish. And, am I understanding it correctly that you don’t have to thaw before putting in the oven?

    • catherine

      July 30, 2012 at 7:08 pm

      Reply

      You do not have to thaw it before putting it in the oven, as long as your casserole dish is strong enough to handle going from the freezer to the oven!

  2. Erin Banks

    October 7, 2011 at 9:59 am

    Reply

    Up north in Canada I couldn’t find an enchilada sauce so we improvised. My husband actually made them, and they were delicious!

  3. Jodie

    May 3, 2011 at 2:29 pm

    Reply

    I made these last night for dinner, super easy and SO GOOD. I’ll be adding in black beans next time and cooking the chicken in a crock pot to save time. Thanks for the ideas, and for this recipe. Looking forward to left overs tonight!!

  4. Cathy

    April 13, 2011 at 1:04 pm

    Reply

    I made these for dinner last night…they were fantastic, thank you!!!!

  5. Charly

    September 21, 2010 at 12:17 am

    Reply

    I made this recipe and the filling was delicious!!! Unfortunately, the store-bought sauce I added was bitter and terrible. It ruined the entire batch.

    Catherine, what brand do you use?

    I recommend anyone trying this dish either a) be very sure they love their store-bought enchilada sauce, or b) make the sauce themselves using one of the million recipes on the web.

    • Charly

      September 21, 2010 at 12:23 am

      Reply

      Oops – I should have read this whole page more carefully.

      Catherine, I found your link to your preferred sauce. Thanks for the recommendation! I also saw your toddler-friendly sauce made with onions and red bell peppers. I’ll have to try a variation on that for next time.

      There will definitely be a next time!

      • Rubi

        October 11, 2012 at 4:23 pm

        Reply

        What was Catherine preferred sauce for the enchiladas?

  6. Kristin

    September 16, 2010 at 1:27 pm

    Reply

    does the enchilada need to be folded in at the ends? having trouble doing this bec. my tortillas are on the small size.

    • catherine

      September 20, 2010 at 2:58 pm

      Reply

      no they don’t. Just use the amount of stuffing the tortilla can hold and wrap and place in the dish :)

  7. Christine

    July 19, 2010 at 2:25 pm

    Reply

    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???

  8. Alison

    July 12, 2010 at 6:59 pm

    Reply

    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.

  9. yeni

    July 8, 2010 at 8:47 am

    Reply

    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!

  10. Melissa M

    July 7, 2010 at 5:43 pm

    Reply

    I may add black beans just because I LOVE them!! Good suggestion Laura ;)

  11. Laura D.

    July 7, 2010 at 12:51 pm

    Reply

    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!)

  12. Kim

    July 6, 2010 at 7:21 pm

    Reply

    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!

    • catherine

      July 7, 2010 at 2:29 pm

      Reply

      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! :)

      • Kim

        July 13, 2010 at 10:11 pm

        Reply

        So cool! Thank you!!

  13. Laura

    July 6, 2010 at 4:20 pm

    Reply

    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!

  14. catherine

    July 6, 2010 at 3:03 pm

    Reply

    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!!

  15. Sue

    July 6, 2010 at 2:52 pm

    Reply

    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 :)

  16. Amy V.

    July 6, 2010 at 2:01 pm

    Reply

    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!!

  17. Amber

    July 6, 2010 at 6:51 am

    Reply

    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!



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