Website for basic recipe: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/creamy-chicken-enchiladas-10000000257547/
The picture of beautiful meal:
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| Creamy Enchiladas with Spanish Rice and Black Beans |
Okay, I had some differences with this recipe and I will try to work them out here. I hate the fact that this recipe doesn't say how to cook the chicken... so take about 1 pound of chicken breast (boneless and skinless of course) cover it with water in a saucepan, bring water to a boil, lower flame to medium, allow to boil for about twenty minutes, drain, cool, and shred. There were only two things this recipe and I agreed on, sauteing the onions and rolling the enchiladas. So go ahead and chop and saute your onions but then stop. Take your shredded chicken and mix it with about 1 and a half cups of 4 cheese Mexican Blend and also, instead of cream cheese, let's use sour cream (1/4 cup to mix in the filling), add your sauteed onions and mix well. Spoon your filling down the center of the flour tortilla, roll it, and place in greased baking dish. For the sauce, take your green chilies, instead of whipping cream lets use plain old milk (not old milk but you get what I was saying right?) 1 and 1/4 cups of milk... but we also need a thickener so lets add 2 tablespoons of flour for that... once you have that mixed well take your bag of 4 cheese Mexican blend (which should still have about 1/2 a cup of cheese) and mix the rest of the cheese into the sauce. As soon as the cheese is melted pour the sauce over the rolled enchiladas, dot the sauce with 3/4 cup sour cream and slide this baby into the oven for 20-25 minutes at 400 degrees (I was in a hurry so this temperature is my go to temp).
Okay lets talk about prep time. I know all the instructions above sound like a lot but I want to give you a picture... are you ready? Imagine you start cooking the chicken at 3:15 PM because you gotta have dinner on the table no later than 5 PM? While the chicken is cooking you chop and saute your onions, occasionally checking on your children to make sure they are playing nicely with one another (they aren't by the way so you have to stop to referee.) In an effort to cool your chicken faster you run cold water over it after the hot water has been drained (stopping a couple of more times to save the dog from being chased, get somebody a drink, and administer a timeout) You take out your pent up aggression by chopping up the chicken (the children avoid the kitchen during this time) and you start mixing the filling and... Daddy walks in (creating instant pandemonium from the Guinea Pig to the oldest child) at this point its 5 after 4 and you have to have the enchiladas in the oven by 4:30 in order to make your goal. So you step up the pace, filling and rolling enchiladas as you listen to complaining children who do just about any bad behavior they can in order to get Daddy to pay attention. Then you start on the sauce, frantically dumping ingredients and praying for the clock to slow down. The sauce comes together quickly and its a breeze to get the enchiladas together and in the oven, and out they came right on time! Does this scenario sound familiar? It sure does to me (like an everyday occurrence at my house) But in terms of actual time... 20 minutes to cook the chicken (cook it ahead of time if you want to) 5 minutes to chop and saute the onion, 5 minutes to mix the filling together, it only takes about 10 minutes to roll the enchiladas, 5 minutes to make the sauce, 5 minutes to put the rest of the dish together and get it into the oven, and 20-25 minutes to bake. So a total of and hour and 10 minutes to and hour and 15 minutes (I needed an extra 30 for refereeing and other general mommy duties). For enchiladas, especially the rolled kind, this is fast!
Now on to cost, my favorite part actually... I didn't include the cost of olive oil, milk, or flour (or the Spanish rice since I already had it in my cupboard).
Onion: $0.67
Chicken breasts: $2.75
Sour cream: $1.39
Cheese: $2.00
Tortillas: $4.38
Green chilies: $0.99
Black beans: $1.00
For a total of $13.18 or $3.30 per person
I know it seems like I am making it up but I took these numbers right off my receipt, what Mexican restaurant can you go to and four people get a two enchilada combination plate with rice and beans for less than $15? Do you know of any cause I sure don't.
Now for the verdict, these enchiladas were VERY good. For those of you who have been fed by me on previous occasions you have probably had my enchiladas (not these, my actual recipe) and you all have told me how much you like them well let me tell you... I like THESE better. Erik was floored when I told him that. For those of you who like SPICY you will definitely need to add some hotness to these if you are to enjoy them but for those of you who are wimps like Erik these are not spicy the way they are... a little heat with the chilies so they aren't bland but not run from the table screaming in order to douse your tongue in ice hot. Erik said they were good but he prefers mine and I like these better. I won't stop making mine though cause the ones that I make are excellent for groups/potlucks while these ones are more conducive to an intimate get-together. So all in all an excellent meal and definitely a keeper for me. Enjoy!
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