Sometimes I just crave a healthy plate (by healthy I mean portion) of homemade enchiladas and rice. It’s a great dish to assemble the next day using leftover chicken or turkey. When serving, I like to have extra enchilada sauce on hand to drizzle some on the rice and even a little more on the enchiladas themselves. I’m not a big fan of deep frying food, but there really is no way to get around it in order to get the right tortilla texture.
- Leftover chicken or turkey from dinner last night contributes to an enchilada dinner tonight.
- If you enjoy spicy food, you could add a serrano or jalapeño to the enchilada sauce.
Makes 12
For the enchilada sauce:
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil + 1 tablespoon
1/2 brown onion, diced
1 (28 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes in tomato juice, blended
Salt and pepper, to taste
Prepare and assemble:
12 corn tortillas
4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1 1/2 – 2 cups colby jack cheese, shredded (or a mix of monterey jack and cheddar cheese)
1 (6 ounce) can black olives, pitted
1-2 tablespoons green onions, chopped
Cotija cheese for garnish (optional)
In a medium-sized saucepan, sauté the onions in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil until transparent. Add the whole peeled tomatoes and its juices, salt and pepper and simmer on medium-low heat until slightly thickened (about 10-15 minutes).
Add the rest of the olive oil to a small frying-pan and warm on medium-heat. One at a time, fry tortilla on each side about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes (time will vary depending on how hot the oil is). Don’t over-fry. A good test is the edges will be firm but the rest of the tortilla will still be pliable and the tortilla will be easy to pull out of the oil with the tongs. When pulling the tortilla from the oil, slight drain it from the excess oil by either letting the oil drain back into the pan or blot.
Prepare a 13″ x 9″ baking dish by spreading a think layer of enchilada sauce on the bottom of the pan. Place the fried tortilla in the saucepan of enchilada sauce and coat both sides. Transfer to the prepared baking pan and (portion shredded chicken to fill 12 enchiladas) place the shredded chicken down the middle of the tortilla (see image below). Roll both sides of the tortilla ends up to the middle and place the filled tortilla, seam-side down in the pan. Continue this process with the remaining tortillas.
Enchiladas – Preparation
Evenly distribute shredded cheese on your filled pan of chicken-filled tortillas. Add olives and green onions. Place in preheated 375 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes OR until hot and bubbly.
Sprinkle with Cotija cheese and serve warm with Spanish Rice and Salsa! Enjoy!
{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m making these this week!!!!! The black olives on melted cheese just sold me.
NOthing beats a cheesy homemade corn tortilla rolls!
And I love especially the addition of black olive slices atop.
@Elin, @ Roti n Rice & @ 5 Star Foodie: Thank you…it is yummy (and gotta have black olives!) ;)
These homemade enchiladas look fabulous! I love the black olives on top!
These will really go well with your Spanish rice. Looks so yummy!
Hi Teenie Cakes,
This looks yummy !
These look really yummy! I am actually doing something similar for dinner tonight. Gotta stick with the Cinco de Mayo theme! :)
Bunkycooks…gotta stick with the Cinco de Mayo theme – one more dish this evening for Cinco de Mayo and then back to some good ol’ fashion baking! :)
Cristina – that really looks wonderful! I know what you mean about frying foods – especially deep fried foods. They kinda freak me out cos all that hot oil is scary and deep fried foods leave such an unpleasant mouthfeel. Sometimes though, there’s just no running away from it :D
Denise…sometimes, just no other way around it. The thing about frying…I don’t like the oil splattering at me, the smell it leaves in the house and my skin feels…dirty. Not pleasant to deep-fry (but sooooo good!) ;)
Oh! I never made enchilada…yours look delicious…have to try one of this days :-)
Juliana: You’ve never had enchiladas? If you like the ingredients…you’ll so like enchiladas. They can be versatile too and sub ingredients for more healthful ones if dietary needs require. ;)
Mmmm enchiladas. A few serrano peppers would be nice.
Thanks Duo Dishes: My hubby would agree with you about adding a few peppers…kickin’ it up a notch (or two!)
Your Enchiladas look very yummy. This is one of my favorite dishes to make on the days I do my menu planning for the week/month. So simple using leftover chicken and freezes well. It’s one of those meals you just pull out of your freezer and cook on a busy weeknight.
Hi Noel: It is such a great dish to use leftover for. It’s easy and flavorful….maybe time consuming in the frying aspect of it (not bad if you’re only doing a dozen but I used to make a pan of about 30 – that’s takes awhile!).
The topping on your enchiladas looks very good!
Hi Tania…it’s absolute cheesy goodness!!
Oh, look at the cheesy goodness! This is just the type of dish my family loves (if it’s got cheese, tortillas and olives, they’re happy)!
I’ve tried cuting down on the amount of cheese I use, as I can be a cheese-a-holic. Gotta have the olives! ;)
Looks like giant spring rolls to me but with cheese :D Looks very delicious. Thanks for sharing.
LOL!!! That’s cute, Mary. I guess they do look like giant spring rolls with cheese on ‘em. I love it! =o)
Your enchiladas turned out great, I love them… so easy to prepare.
Thanks Daydreamer Desserts – easy to prepare and worth it! ;)