Chicken Enchiladas

If you love enchiladas and you’re looking for a really tasty one with no oil, this is for you. These are the ingredients you will need to make up to 18 enchiladas with 3 cups of shredded chicken. This is about how much you get off a large deli chicken (especially those at Costco).

24 corn tortillas

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, small chop

2 or more cloves of garlic

3 cups shredded cooked chicken

1 can of black beans (rinsed and drained)

1 teaspoon (less if want a light flavor of cumin) ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried Mexican Oregano (if you don’t have Mexican Oregano, don’t use in this recipe. Italian Oregano is not for Mexican food, just like Mexican Oregano is NOT for Italian food.

2 cans of Las Palmas Enchilada Sauce or the Green Sauce

low fat cheese

You could leave out the beans if you wish, however…if you use 3 ounces of chicken and some beans you wouldn’t eat as much of the saturated fats. Beans are a great source of protein and if you combine with any rice (brown of course) you would have a complete protein. And the combination is delicious.

I’ll post my vegetarian enchiladas in a couple of days.

Back to the enchiladas:

You will only need 18 tortillas but if you add more beans than I suggested you would extend this mixture.

You could also make corn chips with the tortillas you don’t use for enchiladas and have chips and salsa!! See my previous post on how to do this.

Prep (cut, chop, measure, slice) all your ingredients and put in front of you. That’s the hardest part.

HEATING THE TORTILLAS

Take a cast iron skillet and preheat it. You should have a medium flame or medium on an electric range. When the cast iron skillet is hot, start warming the tortillas. Put on the hot griddle for 30 seconds, turn, and cook another 30 seconds. Place in tortilla warmer or towel. The 99-cent Styrofoam ones is the best for this. They really create a “steamy” place for the tortillas to finish heating up. They will be very pliable and you won’t have to fry them in oil. Reheat all the tortillas. Or you can steam them. This is a great method if you have more than 4 tortillas to do. Fill steamer with 1/2” water, heat to a boil. Wrap tortillas in a towel, lay in steamer and cover with a tight lid. Boil for 1 minute, turn off heat and let stand without opening steamer for 15 minutes.

CHICKEN MIXTURE

In another skillet, sauté the onion and garlic in the olive oil. Sauté for 5 minutes. Add the chicken, black beans, cumin and oregano. Cook until all the flavors have blended. This should take about 8 minutes.

In the meantime, pour the enchilada sauce in a flat (pie dish) dish. Put the cheese in a separate bowl. Line up all the ingredients in this order in front of you.

Tortillas, enchilada sauce, chicken mixture, cheese

Take one tortilla and dip it in the enchilada sauce and place on a flat plate. Coat all the tortillas you have in the tortilla warmer.

Fill down the center of the tortilla with the chicken mixture.

Add a small amount of cheese. I usually use about 1 teaspoon for the inside per enchilada. Don’t forget you still are going to put some cheese on the outside. Roll and place on the cooking sheet.

When they are all rolled up, pour the chili sauce over them. You can cover the entire pan with the sauce or just run it down the middle. The tortillas that do not get a chili coating will get crispy. I love that part!!

When you are done, spread enchilada sauce on top and sprinkle with a little more cheese. Remember not to get “too crazy” with the cheese. It all adds up to calories!!!!

You don’t need the top of the enchiladas to look like they have a thick covering of yellow-orange stuff!!!!! These are very satisfying. If you make your own tortillas I suggest that you make them “stacked” instead of “rolled” enchiladas. You bake the enchiladas in a 400 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes.

I didn’t calculate the cheese in this recipe. I have left it up to you. Why you ask? Because everyone uses a different amount. So calculate how much you use and add it in. Each enchilada is 4 points. Notice in the picture that I don’t use a lot of cheese.

These freeze great. I love to have them for breakfast. Just reheat in a 350-degree oven for 20 minutes or until bubbly. I poach an egg and serve it on top of the enchilada. We also like to place ½ cup of whole pinto beans on the plate, place the enchilada on top and then add the egg. Oh yes!!!! Of course you will have to go for a 5-mile walk and eat a very light lunch but it’s worth the satisfaction. Also regarding portion control, you will find that 1 enchilada is more than enough. Especially if you add all the other ingredients. REMEMBER: IT’S NOT THE LAST SUPPER!!!!! You could also have it for dinner and not breakfast. Hope you try them and let me know if you make any changes or variations.