Chicken Enchiladas

Enchiladas are one of those meals that can vary so much. I mean really, you can make them with meat or with veggies, and can vary meats all around. Ground beef? Perfect. Steak strips? You got it. Chicken? You betcha. I've even had smoked turkey enchiladas (I've yet to make these but they are one of the best foods my friend's family ever made). I did a post on enchiladas many many moons ago (2015?!) and I've pretty much followed the same basics since. A red sauce made from tomato paste over a casserole containing tortilla-wrapped meat, rice, and cheese. Traditionally, I use ground beef, and more recently began adding pinto or black beans as well. There's flexibility to make these as desired, for sure.

But as this is a follow up recipe to my Pressure Cooker Taco Chicken, it may be obvious where this is headed. This time around, I wanted to use some shredded chicken. It came out similarly to how it would in the crock pot, so making these enchiladas was super easy.

Anything involving a casserole dish kind of sounds like a lot of work. But there was some strategy in my game, as I cooked the chicken for the week, then one night made the enchiladas. This meant I just needed to make the rice and the sauce, then combine the ingredients to make the wrapped enchiladas and bake.

I highly recommend the pressure cooker method I used, but of course, that isn't a requirement for the chicken. It just allowed me to make it in 20 minutes. It can be slow cooked in a crock pot or you can also use grilled or baked chicken - really any method of cooking is fine. The difference is that if you do grilled or otherwise, dicing the chicken into cubes will work out best since shredding may not be as easy. And ideally, season with cumin to get that taco flavor.

The filling I made is a mix of chicken, rice, beans (optional), and cheese.

This time around, I decided to add some chopped sweet peppers and a can of crushed tomatoes to the sauce. I was a little concerned it would be too chunky, but I cooked the peppers, onions, and garlic together first to soften them, and the tomatoes were already soft having come from the can. Once I simmered the sauce for about 10-15 minutes, it was perfectly pourable over the tortillas.

After sprinkling on some cheese, I baked them for about 25 minutes. As you can see, I wound up with 2 trays. It is possible to stuff each one a little fuller and cram them into one, but I preferred having more so I could share it.

What a mix! The filling was supremely good. And that sauce...the canned tomatoes cooked down nicely while it simmered so it wasn't as chunky as I feared.

I will say, the sauce was a little spicy with one pepper, so if you don't like spicy, stick to canned chilies or just light chili powder.

Bon appétit.

Chicken Enchiladas Recipe

Ingredients:

1 can tomato paste

1 can crushed tomatoes (15 ounces)

1/4-1/2 cup chopped sweet peppers

1/4 cup chopped onions

2 tablespoons garlic (or to taste - I love garlic)

1-2 tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon oregano

1 cup chicken broth (note that I did not add salt in addition to the broth, but you can if you wish)

1 tablespoon flour
1 cup shredded cheese

1 can black beans (15 ounces, drained - optional)

8-10 tortillas (corn or flour - I used flour this time)

1 cup cooked rice

1 cup shredded cooked chicken (from Pressure Cooker Taco Chicken)


Instructions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare chicken (either by using Pressure Cooker Taco Chicken or by cooking chicken for 5-7 minutes per side in a skillet) . To make the sauce, add a small amount of oil to a large skillet, heat to medium and cook sweet peppers, onion, and garlic for 5-7 minutes, until softened. Add tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, flour, chili powder, cumin, crushed red pepper, garlic, oregano, and salt. Simmer on medium-low heat for 5-10 minutes, then remove from heat. With the chicken in a bowl, make the filling by stirring in cooked rice, beans (if desired), and up to 1 cup of shredded cheese. Spread a small amount of enchilada sauce in the bottom of a large casserole dish, just enough to cover the bottom. Spoon some of the filling into a tortilla and set on one of the far sides of the casserole. Fold the edges over and repeat with more tortillas, enough to fill the dish. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the top and sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 25-30 minutes. If one casserole fills up, overflow to another.