A warning! This was so good and we were so hungry – I forgot to get a “Glamour Shot” of a finished plate! The recipe is too tasty for you to miss due to my bad behavior!
It was just one of those feelings you get. The plan was to marinate and grill a couple of chicken breasts for dinner last night – but something said to me – cook a bunch, it’ll come in handy. So I grilled it all. My husband tsk tsked at the leftovers – he’s not a leftover person, making him seem completely bonkers to the rest of my family. Well, as fate would have it, this morning my sister, Mary, called to see if I wanted to work on a project we’ve got going over dinner tonight, and she offered to pick up a takeout. That was nice of her, but I just knew it – that leftover grilled chicken would come in handy! It is perfect for the most basic, but delicious dish- Simple Grilled Chicken Enchiladas. We all love enchiladas, and everything was on hand to whip up a batch – because after all – it is one of the family’s favorite ‘go to’ recipes.
The sauce is so easy to make, it almost doesn’t seem fair. It has red enchilada sauce in it – the fire-roasted kind is best - plus chicken broth and chicken soup. I start with a little oil and flour just for extra thickness. That’s it – really. Some people like to fry corn tortillas first and then dip in the sauce before filling them. That’s fine, but I think they are just as good – less greasy and, well here it is again – easier if you skip the mess of frying and dip the tortillas straight into the warm sauce. As an aside, I’m really not a lazy person, but shouldn’t cooking be fun and as stress free as possible? “Yes indeed” is of course an A-plus answer to that question. So I cut up the chicken, some onion, and mixed a couple of shredded cheeses together. An assembly line method made this so quick, I felt guilty for making such an easy dinner. In fact I felt guilty enough to make a chocolate cake for dessert. It was easy too. If you don’t have leftover grilled chicken then I’m willing to bet that your grocery will sell you a nice rotisserie one in a flash. Here is a bonus – the best black beans you’ll ever make come from using the enchilada sauce pot – don’t rinse – you want that flavor, canned beans and a couple of other ingredients. Why don’t I just add this little quick tip at the end of the recipe? Enjoy!
Simple Grilled Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients
3 cups of grilled (or rotisserie) chicken, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp flour
1 jar fire roasted red enchilada sauce
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 chicken bouillon cube
12 corn tortillas (6 inch)
2 cups cheese – mix of cheddar and Monterey jack is my favorite
Directions
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat.
Whisk in flour and cook for a minute until starting to brown.
Stir in enchilada sauce, soup, 1 cup water, and bouillon cube.
Allow sauce to simmer for 15 minutes while chopping chicken and onion.
To assemble: Spray a 9 x 12 or similar size casserole dish with cooking spray.
Cover bottom of the casserole with a thin layer of sauce.
Dip a tortilla in sauce covering both sides, put it on a plate to add chicken, onion, and cheese.
Roll up and put in casserole dish seam side down.
Repeat with remaining tortillas.
Pour any leftover sauce over the finished enchiladas, top with cheese.
The enchiladas can be covered and refrigerated up to 24 hours before baking, or baked immediately in a 350-degree oven for 40 minutes until heated through.
The Secret of the Black Beans
Don’t wash the enchilada saucepot! Instead, add to the pot two cans of drained black beans, ½ red pepper chopped, ½ onion chopped, 1 cup water, 1 bouillon cube, 1 Tbsp chili powder, 1 tsp cumin, a bay leaf and if you desire – about 2 Tbsp rum.
Stir this all up and put on really low heat partially covered. An hour is about right.
Serve immediately or refrigerate and reheat. Yum!
Sorry, no picture…it was delicious
