Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Easy Chicken Enchiladas


Reviewed by Rachael:

Ingredients
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 cup salsa
2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast meat
1 (15.5 ounce) can pinto beans, drained
6 (6 inch) flour tortillas
2 cups shredded Colby-Jack cheese

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the cream cheese and salsa. Cook, stirring until melted and well blended. Stir in chicken and pinto beans. Fill tortillas with the mixture, roll and place into the prepared baking dish. Spread cheese over the top. Cover with aluminum foil.
Bake for 30 minutes, or until heated through. Garnish with your favorite toppings such as lettuce and tomatoes, or sour cream.

I found this recipe while looking for a quick & easy meal idea. I don’t mind cooking every night but there are nights where something fast yet filling would be nice. After reading the reviews on this recipe I decided to give it a shot. Although many reviewers had suggestions for making the recipe better; many said it was very rich and that 4 oz. of cream cheese would be enough. I didn’t want to waste any cream cheese so I used the whole 8 oz. package, reduced fat of course. I also saw comments stating that an even easier way to make this was with canned chicken instead of taking the time to cook chicken breasts. I have heard of canned chicken but never have I actually purchased or used it….I was a little skeptical about this part. But hey it would save me time! There were actually several options of canned chicken and you know me, I went with the cheapest one. Also, I am not a fan of pinto beans – so I cut that out of the recipe all together.
I wondered how it could be an enchilada dish without any enchilada sauce?! But then I saw a few reviews stating they add it to their dish. So I purchased that as well.



I started by adding ½ the can of enchilada sauce to the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan (which wasn’t big enough by the way – I used another small glass container as well), preheated the oven at 350 and started melting my salsa & cream cheese on the stove.
I then got distracted by a screaming child in the other room; luckily my husband came home a few minutes later & yelled “what’s burning”. Oops! Luckily he caught it on time and I was able to salvage it.
I drained the chicken and stirred it in the mixture, using two cans, as one didn’t seem like enough.
Fill each tortilla with a portion of the mixture and roll up, place in glass pan. I had enough filling to make 9 enchiladas, so I did. Sprinkle the enchiladas with cheese, cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. I didn’t feel they were completely warmed through yet so I put mine back in for another 10 minutes.


Overall, they were pretty good; nothing too exciting though. They were fast & easy which is what I was looking for. Next time I may actually add some onion or chilies to the mix to try & spice it up a little bit. 
We had no kids at home last night...I know! That never happens!! Sorry, I got excited there for a minute…where was I, oh yes, so I have no idea how kids would react to this dish. Although after tonight I should have an idea as its leftover night! Yippee!! I would say go ahead and give this one a try but don’t be afraid to make it your own! 



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