Chicken Enchiladas

Like most bloggers, I have an obscene amount of food, craft, and other useless pictures taking over my camera.  Never knowing what I am going to blog about, I snap random pictures of various things.  Some pictures and ideas never see the light of day, while others manage to make their way to My Little Blogspot.

Today's lucky winner is chicken enchiladas.  I make this so often. I also make a double batch and always throw one into the freezer.  Then on a busy night or when I just forgot about dinner, I pop it in the oven.

This recipe is so easy and will be a go to favorite.  This recipe yields sixteen good size enchiladas, I usually make eight for dinner and then freeze eight.

ingredients (16 enchiladas)

16 oz. cooked shredded chicken breast
16 flour tortilla shells, 8 inch
16 oz. shredded taco cheese
1 large can enchilada sauce, I use Chi Chi's about 26 oz.

1 tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. adobo chili powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

*If you don't have these spices, you can use a taco seasoning packet, I prefer low sodium *

1. In a large bowl, combine shredded chicken with seasonings and about 6 oz. of cheese. Set aside.
2. Pour about 1/2 c. or so of enchilada sauce onto a plate.
3. In a baking dish (I use disposable lasagna pans for freezing), pour about 1/4 c. of sauce in the bottom of the dish.
4. Now we are going to make the assembly line.  Lay out the tortillas, plate of enchilada sauce, chicken, and baking dish...in that order.
5. Take a tortilla and turn it in the sauce to coat both sides. 
6. Take a few tablespoons of chicken and lay it in the middle of the shell. Fold the side of the tortilla in to meet the middle, and then roll the tortilla up to form a log. 
7. Lay seem side down in prepared baking dish.
8. Repeat with the remaining shells and chicken.

You will need to refill the plate with sauce as you go, but leave enough to coat the top of the enchiladas in the baking dish.  Top the finished enchiladas evenly with remaining cheese.

At this point you can wrap with foil and freeze, or bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

When cooking from frozen, allow to bake for about an hour, covered.  Remove the foil the last 20 minutes to brown the cheese.

I serve with salad and rice.  The enchiladas freeze nicely for about four months!