[twitter]We do Taco Tuesday at least 3 times a month. It’s an easy, last minute solution to dinner and it’s an easy way to get the kids involved in dinner. They can cut up whatever they want to toss in, they can try new things, and I don’t even care if they put ketchup on their tacos.
It’s that kind of night.
But there are always leftovers when I do Taco Tuesday. I don’t use all the Old El Paso taco seasoning for the meat (I try to ease up on the spice so the boys will be more likely to try it) and I never use the taco sauce pouches that come in the kit (we’re salsa and sour cream people).
So I have countless half used bags of taco seasoning and an armful of Old El Paso taco sauce pouches in my cupboard. Every couple of months I’ll clean them out with some killer enchiladas that are dead easy to make.
The best part about enchiladas, is you can do the prep ahead of time and leave them in the fridge with baking instructions for the less culinary in the family. If you have a busy family activity night coming up, enchiladas are the way you get out of the jam with ease.
Easy Chicken Enchiladas Recipe
Ingredients:
8 large flour tortillas
1 tbsp (15 mL) vegetable oil
1 onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 or 4 tbsp of Old El Paso taco seasoning
5 bags of Old El Paso taco sauce
5 breasts of chicken
1 tbsp (15 mL) vegetable oil
1 yellow or red pepper sliced
1 jalapeño pepper mincedr
2 cups (500 mL) Kraft Tex Mex shredded cheese
1/4 cup (60 mL) fresh chopped cilantro
Preparation:
You start by making the tomato sauce first. Heat your oil, fry your onion, garlic, and spices for about 5 minutes.
Then add your bags of taco sauce and bring the mixture to a boil before reducing the heat and simmering until the sauce thickens. When the sauce is ready, set it aside.
To make the chicken filling, cut your pieces in to slices. I usually use breast meat for this recipe, it’s up to you. Brown your chicken until it is cooked through and then set aside.
After draining the fat from your pan, add your peppers and cook for just a few minutes until they soften a bit, but are still crisp. Remove from heat and toss the peppers with the chicken and 1 cup of the cheese along in a bowl with some of the chopped cilantro.
In a 13×9 glass baking dish, spread 1 cup of your sauce evenly along the bottom. Now roll your enchiladas by taking a scoop of the filling, rolling tightly, and placing in the dish seam side down. Repeat until your dish is filled with rolls.
Spoon the remaining sauce over your dish of enchiladas, and cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes at 375°F. Remove the foil, sprinkle the remaining cheese over the enchiladas and bake for another 10 minutes.
BOOM! You’ve repurposed your Old El Paso taco kit leftovers to make killer enchiladas!
