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enchiladas

Enchilada Lasagna

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Enchilada Lasagna

Years ago while my kitchen was being redone I created this tasty Enchilada Lasagna. It consists of ingredients we always have in the cabinet and refrigerator and comes together in a snap.

Throw together ground beef (I use 80/20), chili, and cheese, then layer flour tortillas with the mixture and salsa. Put it in the oven for 25 minutes and you’re done!

Enchilada Lasagna

This Enchilada Lasagna is layers of cheesy chili goodness. You can use your own chili recipe or use Wolf Brand Chili (no beans) for a shortcut. I’m not usually a canned chili fan, but Wolf Brand works great in this particular recipe.

I also use extra-soft tortillas because after they’re baked, the pasta-like ‘al dente-ish’ texture goes great with the chili/cheese mixture.

This isn’t a fancy dish, but it’s hearty and filling with just the right combination of all the ingredients. Whip this up for an easy, delicious weekend lunch or weeknight meal.

Enchilada Lasagna

I was hoping during this stay-at-home mandate that I’d be baking and cooking up a storm. To tell the truth, it’s a little more of a struggle than I thought it would be. 

After a couple of weeks of being immersed in the news, I’ve turned off the television and looked around at my home and surroundings. There’s plenty to do – lots of projects and things I’ve been meaning to do but never have (like cleaning my work desk that hasn’t been dusted for two months…). I feel better and more optimistic that we’ll make it through this and will come out better because of the good people in this world.

My thoughts are with you and your family while you’re plugging through this, too. God bless and happy cooking!

Enchilada Lasagna

Enchilada Lasagna

Yield: 6 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Tasty soft tortilla-layered 'lasagna' with beef, chili, salsa and lots 'o cheese.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 lb ground beef
  • 1 tbsp taco seasoning
  • 1 15 oz Wolf Brand Chili (no beans - or your favorite chili)
  • 1 1/2 C shredded Mexican-blend cheese
  • 6 soft flour tortillas
  • 1/2 C salsa

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°.
  2. In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the ground beef, draining if necessary. Add the taco seasoning and stir to combine.
  3. Add the chili and 1/4 cup of the cheese to the hamburger/chili mixture. Stir to combine and let simmer for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
  4. In a casserole dish, spoon 2 tablespoons of the chili mixture on the bottom of the dish. Put two of the flour tortillas as the bottom layer, then spoon 1/3rd of the chili mixture over the bottom layer. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of cheese.
  5. Repeat the next layer of two tortillas, the chili, then another 1/4 cup of cheese. Finish with the final layer of two flour tortillas and the rest of the chili. Pour the salsa evenly over the top and spread with a spoon to the edges of the dish. Finish with the 3/4 cup of cheese.
  6. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes before cutting.

Notes

Tips and Stuff:

I use 80/20 ground beef and Pace's Medium Picante Sauce.

If you want a thinner beef/chili mixture, add 1/4 cup of water and let simmer for a minute.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 457Total Fat: 23gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 75mgSodium: 917mgCarbohydrates: 34gFiber: 3gSugar: 2gProtein: 27g

Nutrition Values are Approximate

© sblades
Category: Main Course

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas (Easy)

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I’ve been promising myself to clean out the standalone freezer and for the last couple of weeks I’ve been doing just that (spicy ground beef chili, chicken with vegetables, leftover desserts we couldn’t finish). I like to buy good deals at the store, but end up with a pretty full freezer and things tend to get lost down toward the bottom of it.

There was leftover rotisserie chicken in there that needed to be used and I’ve been looking at these Creamy Chicken Enchiladas for quite awhile. I had all the ingredients for this easy recipe and decided it would make a nice Saturday combination lunch-dinner.

You’ll know what I mean by the combo meal when you see how rich it is. I lightened it up a little and it was still pretty rich and filling (and delicious, by the way).

There are four ingredients in the filling, then cream and cheese are sprinkled on top. The original recipe called for 2 cups of whipping cream, but I just couldn’t justify doing that, so used part cream, part half-and-half.

You could also use light cream cheese (Neufchatel) to lighten it up just a bit more.

The chicken mixture is simple but delicious, and I loved these enchiladas. They were great right out of the oven with a little salsa drizzled over the top. I think a little chopped cilantro would be good, too!

You probably don’t want to make these Creamy Chicken Enchiladas every week, just because they’re rather rich, but if you find yourself with leftover rotisserie chicken this is a good “use-it-up” recipe!

Update: You may want to serve these fresh out of the oven (or half the recipe), as the flour tortillas tend to get a little soggy when microwaved.

If you’re looking for another great enchilada recipes, one of my favorites is Shrimp and Spinach Enchiladas with Jalapeno Cream Sauce. They’re outstanding!

Adapted from KevinandAmanda.com.

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas (Easy)

Yield: 5-6
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes

Rich and stuffed with cream cheese chicken - topped with cream and cheese. 

Ingredients

  • 1 can Fire-Roasted Rotel tomatoes, drained
  • 1 8 oz. pkg cream cheese
  • 2 C cooked, finely chopped chicken
  • 1/4 tsp cumin
  • 10 (6-inch)  flour tortillas
  • 2 C shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
  • 1 C whipping cream
  • 3/4 C half-n-half
  • salt and pepper

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°.  Spray a 9x13" baking dish and one side of a piece of aluminum foil (that will go over enchiladas to bake).
  2. In a medium pan on medium-low, add Rotel tomatoes and cream cheese and stir together until the cream cheese is melted and all is combined.  Add the chopped chicken and cumin and stir to combine.  Let cook for 2 minutes while stirring.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
  3. Spoon 2-3 tablespoons (depending on what size tortilla you are using) of the chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla, rolling them up and placing seam-side down in the greased dish.  Sprinkle the Monterey Jack cheese evenly over the enchiladas.
  4. Combine the cream and half-and-half together in a small bowl, then pour evenly over the enchiladas, including the edges.  Cover, sprayed-side down, with the aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake for another 7-8 minutes until the top is golden brown.  Serve warm.

Notes

Tips and Stuff:

To make these lighter, use light (Neufchatel) cream cheese.

I used Fire Roasted Rotel, but they have many kinds, including a Chipotle flavor which would work great in these enchiladas.  Use what you have.

I also used Monterey Jack with jalapenos for a little more kick, but regular is fine.

I used 10, six-inch tortillas and used 2 1/2 to 3 heaping tablespoons of mixture in each.  Be generous when filling as there's plenty of filling!

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1 serving
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 581Total Fat: 48gSaturated Fat: 28gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 170mgSodium: 769mgCarbohydrates: 12gFiber: 0gSugar: 4gProtein: 26g

Nutrition Values are Approximate

© sblades
Category: Main Course

Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas

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Here’s a quick one for you.  My mother-in-law makes these Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas at Christmas along with beef chili enchiladas and I’ve always just loved them. Probably because they’re chock full of chicken and cream cheese and covered with that wonderful cheesy sauce.

It’s a quick throw-together meal and very filling.  

Be sure and make them with 6″ tortillas – I accidentally made them with 8″ tortillas and they were huge and a little floppy (but good).  And did I mention cheesy?

Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas
Just wanted to share them in case you’re looking for something to use up that leftover chicken (or leftover turkey during the holidays)!

Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas are easy, but delicious and filling.

Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas

Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas

Yield: 8 enchiladas
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes

Rich, creamy delicious cheesy enchiladas.

Ingredients

  • 2 C. chopped chicken or turkey
  • 1 C. chopped green bell pepper
  • 1 pkg., 8 oz. cream cheese, cubed
  • 1 jar, 8 oz. salsa, divided and room temperature
  • 8 6" flour tortillas
  • 3/4 lb. 12 oz. Velveeta original
  • 1/4 C. milk

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Stir chicken, bell pepper, cream cheese, and 1/2 C. salsa in a saucepan on low heat until cream cheese is melted.
  2. Spoon 1/3 C. chicken mixture down center of each tortilla; roll up.  Place, seam side down, in a lightly greased 8x12"" baking dish.
  3. Stir Velveeta and milk in a saucepan on low heat until smooth.  Pour sauce over tortillas; cover with foil.  
  4. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Pour remaining salsa over tortillas.

Notes

Tips and Stuff:

Ma's tip - Before covering a casserole with foil, spray the foil with cooking spray to prevent sticking.  (And it works great!)

Ma's tip - If flour tortillas are a little too stiff to roll easily, wrap them in a damp paper towel and warm them in the microwave for 10-12 seconds until they are soft and pliable.

Be sure and use chopped chicken.  I used shredded and didn't like the texture as much.

To make it lighter, you can use Neufchatel (1/3 less fat) cream cheese and lower fat Velveeta.  I think it would be almost as good.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1 enchilada
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 465Total Fat: 27gSaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 110mgSodium: 1139mgCarbohydrates: 30gFiber: 2gSugar: 6gProtein: 25g

Nutrition Values are Approximate

© sblades
Cuisine: Mexican / Category: Main Course

Easy-Peasy Enchiladas

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Ma Blades used to make these Easy-Peasy Enchiladas every Saturday night for her family back in the day.  She got the recipe from a cook in one of their favorite family Mexican restaurants in Dallas.

I like to eat them along with saltine crackers, which apparently is a weird thing to do – maybe a Southern thing?  No?

These enchiladas are full of cheese and smothered in a wonderful beefy sauce. Be sure have salsa, sour cream, and jalapenos on the side for garnish.

They’re better than any restaurant enchilada I’ve ever had!

If you have really fresh tortillas, you can skip the lightly dredging in oil part.  This is to make sure they’re flexible and won’t crack when you roll them.

I hope you’ll try these Easy-Peasy Enchiladas.  They’re so tasty and are great homemade Tex-Mex!

Easy-Peasy Enchiladas

Easy-Peasy Enchiladas

Yield: 18-20 enchiladas
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Because they're, um, not exactly health food, we only have these occasionally. They're terrific.  You can easily half the recipe.

Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp vegetable or canola oil
  • 18-20 corn tortillas
  • 2 cans of Wolf Brand Chili, no beans
  • 2 C shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
  • 1 small chopped onion

Instructions

  1. In a small sauce pan, warm up the oil on low.  One-by-one, dip each side of the corn tortillas in the oil and set aside on a clean plate.  (This step is to make sure the tortilla is pliable enough to roll.)
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
  3. While oven is warming up, spoon a couple of tablespoons of chili into the bottom of a 13x9 baking dish.  Put about 2 tbsp of chili. 1 tsp chopped onion, and 1 tbsp of cheese in the middle of a tortilla and roll into an enchilada – place seam-side down in the baking dish. 
  4. Repeat with each tortilla until all fit snugly into the dish.  Pour the rest of the chili over all of the enchiladas and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese (to your taste).
  5. Bake the enchiladas for 22-25 minutes, until cheese is thoroughly melted and chili is bubbling.  Let cool for 5 minutes so they'll be easier to serve.
  6. Serve with condiments (sour cream, pickled jalapenos, salsa, etc.).

Notes

Tips and Stuff :

If you have fresh tortillas, you can probably skip dredging them in oil. This step is to make sure they don't split when you roll them up.

These enchiladas are skinnier than the ones you would get eating out, but the ratio to chili, cheese and tortilla is just right.

We don’t use the onion, but they taste great either way.  You can adjust them to your tastes.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 18 Serving Size: 1 enchilada
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 167Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 19mgSodium: 259mgCarbohydrates: 17gFiber: 2gSugar: 2gProtein: 7g
© sblades
Category: Beef