This is one of my family’s favorite quick and easy dinner meals. You can choice to make it with store bought enchilada sauce but I highly recommend that you try out a homemade red enchilada sauce recipe which I believe is better than any store bought sauce.
All you need for this meal is an already prepared Enchilada Sauce, your choice of filling (ground beef or chicken) and flour or corn tortilla shells, salsa, coconut oil, shredded cheese (cheddar or Monterey Jack). Optional are toppings of Cilantro, Avocado and sour cream.
Check out the Red Enchilada sauce recipe here. Make this red enchilada sauce now or grab about 1 1/2 to 2 cups of store bought sauce.
Instructions:
- 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Pre-cook your choice of filler: chicken or beef .. etc Normally I use about a pound or so of chicken breast and slightly slice into each piece several times. In a gallon size bag or a medium size bowl I pour in about a Tbsp or so of Olive oil, some salt, pepper and garlic powder and sometimes just a dash of cayenne pepper. I mix the ingredients together then add the chicken breasts and mix thoroughly so that the mixture coats the chicken. I allow this to sit in refrigerator for a short amount of time. Sometimes I will prep the chicken first then make my enchilada sauce. Then I will preheat a skillet on my stovetop on medium and pour the chicken with any mixture that hasn’t already soaked into the chicken into the skillet and spread the chicken out so each piece is in one layer. Allow the chicken to cook on once side then flip over until it is done. I then let is cool before shredding it. You dont really need to season it extensively because the sauce and salsa will add plenty of flavoring to the finished dish.
- Pour 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce in a 13 x 9 inch baking dish that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tbl. coconut oil and let completely melt, then add tortilla shells in a single layer. I do one at a time since I use medium to large shells and only have enough space to cook one at a time. Slightly brown each one for about 1 to 2 minutes per side. Make sure they are just slightly crispy but not too firm. Place tortilla shells on a plate lined with paper towel to drain off any excess oil. I normally brown one shell at a time then as it finishes will build that enchilda while starting another shell in the skillet.
- Fill each tortilla shell with about 1/4 cup of shredded chicken or seasoned ground beef, 2 tbls of cheese and 1 tbl of salsa. I mainly eye this rather than measure but that ends up to be close to those measurements. To make it easy for me I will start by dividing up my shredded chicken in equal size portions on a plate matching how many enchildas I intend to make for dinner. If there is any leftover I sometimes just sprinkle whats left on top of the enchiladas once I have filled my baking dish with them.
- I then fold in opposite sides of shell to keep filling from falling out as you roll the shell into a log shape then place seam side down in baking dish.
- Once you have filled your baking dish with all the prepared enchiladas, pour the remainder of sauce over enchiladas. Using a spoon or spatula spread the sauce so it evenly covers all the enchiladas and their edges.
- Top with remainder of cheese and cover baking dish loosely with foil. Here is where I also sprinkle on any remaining chicken.
- Bake enchiladas in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the foil during last 5 minutes so that edges can get crisp.
- Take out of oven and let sit at room temperature for 5 minutes before serving. You can optionally choose to top your enchiladas with fresh cilantro, green onions, sour cream , salsa or guacamole. Normally I like mine as it comes prepared out of the oven.
Sometimes I will add a little sour cream but for the most part cooking with homemade red enchilada sauce is enough flavor without the additional toppings. Let me know what you think and how you served your enchiladas! Enjoy!