Does anyone cook Mexican food on a regular basis? I mean, it sounds like a good idea. Lots of corn and tomatoes and rice and... jazz or whatever. But Mexican food never tastes as good as it should, you know? Why is Taco Bell near the top of my Tex-Mex food list?! When I want a quick meal, especially if I need it cheap, I fall back on Italian, Southern food, Indian. But not our Southern border cuisine.
Fine, I thought. Damn it. I've got a handful of stuff that needs to be used, including chicken and way too much cheese (vegan April, remember?) and I've never made enchiladas. They sound good. They fit the bill. But will they really give me what I want? I vowed to find out.
So, lets bake all the chicken that needs going until it falls off the bone. Check. Rip off crispy skin and eat as a snack. Check.
[Edit: What the flippy-floppy? I was trying to add the pictures I'd taken, but can't find them. I suspect I only took them in my head. Okay, picture a cassarole dish smothered in cheese. Bam.]
[P.S. Edit: Flippy-floppy is my new favorite phrase. Thanks Julie.]
Scrounge up everything in kitchen that's about to die. Check. Add some protein filler with lentils. Check. Grate cheese until I have filled my workout quota for the week and break my cheese grater to holy hell. Double Check. Assemble. Eat.
Let me also note that this is a many person recipe, not a one person for dinner/lunch thing. Do you guys remember the episode of I Love Lucy where Ricki and Fred decided that most people could eat a pound of rice, so multiplied that by the number of people they were serving? Or the time Lucy made BREAD and nearly suffered from BREAD DEATH? I'm that guy. So I used the full amount of filling and toppings to too few tortillas in a too small 8x8" dish. Don't be me.
But what would you know? This was really tasty. Did I overcome my total predjudice against corn tortillas? Nope. Not even with frying. They fell apart and had a funny texture. But enchiladas with flour tortillas... I long for you.
Come to me now.
Bring salsa.
Chicken Enchiladas
3 cups cooked chicken
1 cup corn
1-2 cups cooked lentils
chopped green onions
Many corn tortillas- as many as you need. Or more. Go crazy.
1 1/2 cup enchilada sauce*
1/2 c cream sauce (or something creamy. I used a few dollops of raw cheddar spread and some horseradish dipping sauce because I had it)
3 cups cheese (I used a colby, cheddar, goat cheese cheddar mix. Yep.)
Lightly fry tortillas seperately in a dab of vegetable oil. Set aside.
Mix chicken, corn, cooked lentils, and any other fixins you can dream of. Or anything that needs to be used before it goes bad in the refrigerator. Put a few tablespoons of the chicken mix in each tortilla, wrap, and place in baking dish. Smother with sauce then top with cheese.
Bake at 350-400 F for 15-25 minutes, until cheese melts and you can't wait any longer.
No-Cook Make-Do Enchilada Sauce
Inspired by this recipe
1 (14.5 oz) can of tomatoes, mine already had onion and garlic
1-2 T of flour (sorghum for me)
Cayenne and cumin to taste.
Toss everything and whiz in a food processor. Um... I'm not sure why you add the flour except to thicken it. Meh. Tasted good anyway, plus I'm sure it's much healthier than store bought.
Done. How can a recipe be better than that?
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