Name: Food Prep Enchiladas
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: 1 Tbsp Olive OIl; 4 Chicken Breasts; 1 Bay Leaf; Water; ¼ Cup Taco Seasoning (or 1 Packet); 1 Large Onion; 4 Cloves Garlic; 4 oz Chopped Olives; ¼ cup Olive Oil; ¼ Cup Flour (All purpose or whole wheat); ⅜ Cup Chili Powder; 2 tsp Garlic Powder; 2 tsp Onion Powder; 2 tsp Cumin; ½ tsp Sea Salt (or to taste); 4 Cups Chicken Stock (See above for homemade recipe); 10 Lg Tortillas (or 20 standard) (Flour, whole wheat, or corn); 4 cups Shredded Cheese (Cheddar and Monterey Jack)

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

It just came to me one day…

I have never been a fan of enchiladas with red sauce. So my Mexican Food masterpiece landed on the green enchilada side. After having a food prep day where I made a boat load of refried black beans for frozen burritos I needed a dinner to go with the left overs. Surprise, surprise, I also had left over shredded chicken. I decided to go ahead and give red enchiladas a shot. Turns out its not even necessary to use any tomato sauce or paste! News to me. All I needed was chili powder, chicken broth and a few other little things. After that it all came together pretty easy.

Twice the enchiladas!

The family was pretty impressed with the results, and this recipe leaves plenty to freeze for another night. To me that is a success in itself! I made two aluminum casserole trays full and my family of seven didn’t even finish one tray with beans and rice on the side. So this is one of those great prep meals without even trying.

Mixture Ingredients

1 Tbs Olive Oil
4 chicken breasts (See below for ground beef or turkey option)
bay leaf
water
Taco packet or 1/4 cup of taco seasoning blend
1 large onion
4 cloves garlic
4 oz can chopped black olives

Sauce Ingredients

1/4 cup Olive Oil
1/4 cup flour (All purpose or whole wheat)
3/8 cup chili powder
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt (to taste)
4 cups chicken stock (I use homemade chicken bone stock)

Additional Ingredients

10 large tortillas or 20 standard tortillas (White, whole wheat or corn)
4 cups grated cheese (sharp cheddar and Monterrey jack)

Now for the work

First thing I do is put the chicken breasts in a medium pot and put enough water to cover by about one inch. Then I throw in a bay leaf and maybe a little salt if I’m using our farm raised chickens. Commercial chickens are injected with saline solution for plumpness and flavor. This is one of the reasons we started raising our own chickens. The added salt could be bad for my husband. However, a small dash in boiling water is reasonable for flavor. Boil the chicken for about 15 minutes or until I can stick a fork in the middle of a breast and it falls apart when I turn the fork. While the chicken is boiling I usually try to get the sauce started. I like to multitask where possible, who wants to hang out in the kitchen all day?

The Fancy Work

In a deep saucepan heat the olive oil on medium heat. Once it’s hot whisk in the flour until a nice roux is formed.

Then add in the chili powder, garlic and onion powder, cumin, and salt. Once this is all whisked together it will look a little like wet red sand. From here slowly start mixing in the chicken stock while whisking constantly. This point is semi-crucial because you don’t want to burn your sauce or mix too fast, this could make your sauce thin. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 5-10 minutes stirring regularly until desired thickness. Don’t let it get too thick or you won’t have enough sauce, but you can always add a little more stock or water to compensate for over thickness.

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Shred the chicken down pretty small. You can do this with a fork, shredding claws, or a stand mixture. I am not a fan of any method and make the husband do it, but I don’t think I can list my husband as a chicken shredder option for you. So go with the stand mixer if you can.

Chop the onions and garlic and sauté in a deep skillet with the olive oil. After a few minutes or when the onions are translucent, add in the shredded chicken, taco seasoning and olives.

Mix and turn until mixed well adding a tablespoon or two of water if too dry. Then add about a half of cup of the enchilada sauce to the meat mixture and stir well.

Putting it all together

Take both of the casserole dishes and smear 1/4 cup of sauce on the bottom of each pan.

Then take a tortilla and spoon 1-2 scoops of meat mixture into the tortilla. Next, spoon a drizzle of enchilada sauce, and finish off with a sprinkle of cheeses.

Roll the tortilla tightly and place in casserole dish. Repeat this step laying the tortilla rolls side by side until both are full with a single layer of enchiladas.

Split the remainder of the sauce in half and smear over the top of the enchiladas in each pan.

Then sprinkle half of the remaining cheese over each dish.

Place one enchilada pan in the oven for 40 minutes and enjoy. Cover the second one with tin foil and LABEL! You’ll thank me later.

When you are ready to enjoy this dish later either thaw out completely and follow the previous directions or put in the oven for an hour and 40 minutes, checking to make sure its hot.

*If you want to use ground meat instead of chicken, sauté the onions and garlic until translucent, then brown meat and season with the taco seasoning.

This recipe goes wonderful with Instapot Spanish Rice.