During the week when I am busy working, this is a short cut way for us to have a comforting dish without a lot of prep or work on my part. If you want to get a rotisserie chicken and just use a good quality can of peppers it gets even easier. I do make my own sauce for these sometimes, but a good quality jar is acceptable on a random week night. Here’s what you need:
- 3-4 cups cooked chicken – roast pieces, a whole chicken or let the grocery do the work for you
- 1/4 diced celery
- 1/2 cup diced onion – I used white but use what you have in the fridge
- 2 cloves minced garlic – about a tablespoon or so
- seasoning: salt, pepper, cumin, Mexican oregano, chili powder, paprika
- (1) 20 oz can of prepared enchilada sauce
- 2 cups shredded cheese – Monterey jack, cheddar, whatever you like
- 8 – 10 flour or corn tortilla depending on what size you like
- salsa, sour cream, chips and shredded lettuce for serving
If you are making your chicken, rub it down with some olive oil, salt, pepper, and some chili powder. Bake in the oven at 375 degrees until the internal temp reaches 160 degrees – about an hour for a 4 lb. whole chicken or 45 for bone in pieces, depending on the size. Much less cooking time for boneless, skinless chicken if you go that route, but I would not spend the extra money for boneless/skinless here. Whatever chicken pieces are on sale that week will work fine. When chicken is cooked, remove for the over and allow to cool completely. Remove the skin, pull the chicken and set aside.
Butterflied chicken cooks faster 
In the meantime start cooking the veggies. Heat 1-2 tbs. olive oil in a large skillet and toss in the onion and celery. Once those start to soften – about 6-8 minutes – add the garlic. If you are using canned chilis throw those in now. I often have some random chilies hanging around so I roasted them off and threw those into the skillet. Either way will be yummy – no worries. Add the spices and you can adjust the levels to your liking – 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp Mexican (if you have it) or regular oregano, 1/4 tsp cumin. For an even quicker short cut, you can just add some taco or enchilada seasoning here and skip all that measuring. No worries – nobody will know and they will still taste good. Add the chicken and about 1/2 a cup of the enchilada sauce. Stir together and let it cook for about 5-10 minutes, stirring often. Check for seasoning at this point and add more of any of them, or a little cayenne if you like to add a little spicy kick. Turn off the heat and let the filling cool slightly while you assemble the rest of the ingredients.
Time to assemble – heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a glass baking dish with a non stick spray so you can get these out a little easier. Put a little bit of sauce in the bottom of the baking dish. I set these up assembly style – tortilla, cheese, filling.
Take one tortilla, fill with a line of filling, cover with a layer of cheese and roll up. If I use large tortillas, I roll the ends in. If I’m making smaller ones for a party (where I make beef and chicken versions and expect people to eat more than one enchilada) I leave the ends open. This is totally up to you.
Line up your completed enchiladas in the prepared baking dish, cover with a light layer of sauce, cheese and then cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Uncover and back until bubbling and golden, about 10 more minutes. I like to serve with rice, salsa (homemade – it’s on this blog), lettuce and sour cream. Tortilla chips are also a must. I have tried to make homemade sauces, white sauces with jack cheese and all kinds of other more labor intensive things, but my people like these. Go figure. Live and learn…and make some good enchiladas for dinner tonight! Enjoy!
It’s not authentic Mexican food by any means, but it’s a good substitute when you want to do something quick at home.
Amy’s Kitchen 