Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Accidental Enchiladas

Today I may have stumbled upon a great recipe. The problem is, it was one of those things where you just start throwing things in the skillet that sound good and you aren't all that worried about it. Like the lowest of pressure cooking situations. Therefore, there was no measuring of any kind (which is not uncommon in my kitchen at all and frustrates my non cooking friends to no end). BUT normally I at least pay attention enough to write a recipe with good enough estimates for my dearly devoted 20 readers. Tonight..not so much. So bear with me, this may be frustrating, but it will definitely be delicious. I just don't htink you can mess up these flavors. If you try and it's disgusting I'll buy you Taco Bell or something. Not really. It's just a nice thought don't get crazy.

This started with 2 chicken breasts and a pretty serious energy deficit. As usual, cooking started to activate every creative brain cell I have so what was supposed to be 3 ingredients (still would've been great that way) turned in to..well more than 3. Like I said, DON'T FREAK OUT ABOUT THIS ONE. If you don't have/like everything, don't put it in there. I'm pretty sure chicken and tortillas plain would be good if you covered it in cheese.

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts
Fajita seasoning (or ANY combo of good things like S&P, onion and garlic powders, cumin, chili powder, etc.. I like to mix my own fajita seasoning so I can control how salty it is..I have a weird palette. We'll discuss it another day)
About 2 cups bell peppers-diced
About 1 cup red onions-diced
1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 small can of Mexicorn
2 cups of Mexican blend cheese
8-10 large flour tortillas
2 cans of enchilada sauce with green chiles
1 jar of Taco Sauce
Sour cream

PEOPLE. I can hear you freaking out already. What color bell peppers? I don't have mexicorn! I hate black beans! CALM YOURSELF. I used tricolor bell peppers because that's what I had. Anything will do. Don't have a red onion but DO have a yellow one? Use that. Don't go to the store to make this exactly. This is NOT science, as we've clearly already established my aptitude for science.

Preheat the oven to 350.

Cut the chicken up into small bites. Put a small amount of oil in a non stick skillet, set the heat on high. Once it gets hot, put your chicken in and spread it out. Then don't touch it for a few. Sprinkle your seasoning on top. I used quite a bit. They looked very coated. After about 4 minutes, stir/flip the pieces. Let them cook another 3-4 minutes. This is when my brain started shooting out ideas one right after another. I realized the enchiladas might be kind of empty so I started looking for filler. I added about hte same amount of bell peppers as chicken, and just a little less onion that than amount. Stirred that around for a few, still on high. I wanted the bell peppers to get softer. After about 5 minutes I dumped in a can of black beans and corn, and let all of that get heated through. Done with the filling!

I then scooped one large serving spoon of filling, or about 1/10th of the filling I made into a tortilla. Sprinkle some cheese on top of the filling like you are making a taco. I find it's easiest to lay wax paper on the counter, put the tortilla on it, scoop on the stuffing, then roll. Place the rolled enchilada seam side down in a 9x13 or larger glass dish (I sprayed mine with Pam first). Repeat this process, smushing the tortillas in to each other until you use all the filling or run out of space. I ran out of space. Gonna eat that leftover mixture tomorrow on a salad.

Pour the enchilada sauce on top, strategically so it will run down to the bottom. If I had been smarter I would've poured one can in the bottom of the dish. You should probably do that first. Then just pour the second can on top. Then I added about a cup of taco sauce, and the remaining cheese. Bake for 30 minutes uncovered.

Top each serving with a dollop or two or 5 of sour cream and more taco sauce as desired.

Good luck getting the first enchilada out if your pan was as full as mine. I put a cookie sheet under my dish to catch any spills in the oven which of course ensured no spills. The whole family gobbled it up. And by whole family I mean three people ate half of the pan.

What is the most fun thing you've accidentally made? How anxious are you about my measurements in this recipe on a scale from 1 to breathing in a bag?

1 comment:

  1. This sounds yummy. And I NEVER accidentally make anything. I'm really just excited when I can follow a recipe and the food is edible at the end. :)

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