(In)authentic chicken enchiladas

I do not vouch for this recipe--it is the most inauthentic enchilada recipe you could possibly encounter. But I don’t care because it was heavenly. Although I was alone while eating it, I actually said “Oh My God” out loud after my first bite, it was that good. (Me? Humble?)


Because I’ve been working so much lately and have not had many opportunities to cook, I started searching for quick and easy recipes and/or dinner ideas. Sloppy joes were the first; these chicken enchiladas were the second. I looked at a few recipes but ultimately followed (loosely) this Rachael Ray recipe because it was part of her 30-minute meals and did not require as many ingredients as the others.

Killing two birds with one stone, I got a rotisserie chicken, pulled off all the meat for this meal and used the bones for chicken stock (for future meals). To the shredded chicken, I added some spices (cayenne, paprika, chili powder) and a little of the liquid from the stock that was simmering away.


Meanwhile, I had 6 flour tortillas (kind of on the large size, might go smaller next time) wrapped in foil in a 250 degree oven. Also, a 14 oz. can of tomato sauce was heating up, with a couple of chipotle chilies (chopped) in adobo sauce stirred in.


After the flour tortillas were warmed up, I put a little of the shredded chicken in the middle, rolled it up and placed it seam-side down into a lightly greased 13” x 9” pan, until I had six of them. I poured the warm sauce over everything, then topped with a bag of shredded Monterey Jack cheese (12 oz bag--definitely can use less next time, like half).


Pan went into a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. Rachael’s version uses the broiler but frankly, I’m scared of my broiler--there are actual flames that appear when I turn it on. Anyways, the chicken had cooled a bit so I figured putting it in a regular oven would help warm it up and melt the cheese.


And it did. Wow, that’s a lot of cheese.


I served this to myself with a side of Spanish rice (from a box, egads) and guacamole (from scratch! recipe to come) with more cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice.

I thought that I would be able to eat two but I was not expecting the enchiladas to sort of puff up and expand in the oven so one was plenty. The guacamole was an incredible accompaniment too. And, I took one to work for lunch, heated it up in the microwave, and it was just as good. I can’t wait to try some other versions, like spinach and mushrooms, or black beans and cheese.