It has been quite some time since my last post. Like many of you I'm sure, things have been incredibly busy since school started. Along with the normal hustle and bustle of getting the school year off of the ground, I have taken on some additional extra-curricular responsibilities as the Student Council sponsor and I decided to start working on my Masters degree as well. Good timing right? I am happy with how it has all started, but needless to say my free time has been few and far between. I am glad to introduce my newest post, chicken enchiladas with red sauce. The chicken cooks in a homemade red enchilada sauce and with a little work, is made into a tasty casserole dish full of cheesy (and slight spicy) chicken enchiladas.
Ingredients
1 package of soft taco size tortillas (8-10 & I used corn, but have also used flour - Your preference)
2-3 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken thighs
14 oz can Rotel (diced tomatoes with green chiles - drained)
14 oz of tomato sauce
3/4 cup water (I pour it into the tomato sauce can and swirl it to pick up any leftover residue)
3 TBSP Chili Powder (4 TBSP if you like more heat)
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper1 diced onion
8 oz block of pepper jack cheese (shredded)
8 of block of monterey jack cheese (shredded)
Click here for a PRINTABLE RECIPE.
8 oz block of pepper jack cheese (shredded)
8 of block of monterey jack cheese (shredded)
Click here for a PRINTABLE RECIPE.
A few notes on the tortillas. I used corn in this blog post, but we often use flour. Generally people are decisively in one camp or the other when it comes to tortillas. I think corn tortillas have better flavor and texture, but are certainly more fragile and less pliable than flour. The flour tortillas definitely hold together much more easily and are therefore more user-friendly when it comes to filling and rolling the enchiladas. Your choice. You won't be disappointed either way.
Also, I highly recommend buying your cheese in blocks and shredding it yourself. When cheese is produced, it gets sprayed with a thin film of wax as a preservative. Store bought shredded cheese doesn't melt nearly as easily or smoothly because each shred is covered in wax. A full block however, only has a coating on the outside. If you shred it yourself, it will melt much more evenly and results in that stringy, stretchy cheesy goodness we all love. Trust me. A little more work will go a long way.
Also, I highly recommend buying your cheese in blocks and shredding it yourself. When cheese is produced, it gets sprayed with a thin film of wax as a preservative. Store bought shredded cheese doesn't melt nearly as easily or smoothly because each shred is covered in wax. A full block however, only has a coating on the outside. If you shred it yourself, it will melt much more evenly and results in that stringy, stretchy cheesy goodness we all love. Trust me. A little more work will go a long way.
Add the tomato sauce, water, chili powder, oregano, garlic powder, cumin, salt, black pepper and diced onion to the crockpot. Stir until combined.
Add the chicken thighs and stir to coat. At this point, you could refrigerate this overnight and start it in the morning before you head out the door for work if you wanted.
Cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours. Hopefully you get something like this. I know, it doesn't look that appetizing right, but just wait. I promise. Your patience will be rewarded!
Remove the chicken thighs from the crockpot, place them in a separate bowl and use two forks to pull the chicken. Leave the sauce in the crockpot and turn it off.
Add 1/3 of the crockpot sauce and the can of drained rotel to the chicken and stir to combine. This is going to be your filling for the enchiladas.
Take 1/2 of the remaining sauce and spoon it into the bottom of a 7 x 11 casserole dish. Try to get mainly sauce and leave the other goodies in the crockpot. We'll use them later!
Add roughly 1/4 cup of the chicken filling to the tortilla and shape it into a long rectangle (see picture above) and add a 1/4 cup of the pepper jack cheese. Roll and add seam side down into the sauced 7 x 11 pan. Repeat for all enchiladas. It should make 6 to 8 total. If you have leftover filling, I'm sure you'll figure out what to do with it.
Place your rolled tortillas in the pan and cover with the remaining sauce from the crockpot (don't leave any goodies left in the pot). Then, cover with the shredded monterey jack cheese.
Bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes and the cheese is melted and bubbly.
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| Chicken enchiladas with red sauce, Mexican rice and salad |
Top with sour cream (if you'd like), serve and enjoy!
