Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Enchilada's



These are about as Americanized as you can get, but very delicious! I say they are Americanized because the recipe includes: canned beans, condensed soup, instant rice, bottled salsa, pre-packaged tortillas, and shredded cheese. Hm...makes me feel a bit gross just writing about it! Greg and I try to keep things as least processed and most homemade as possible, but this recipe is definitely a huge, yummy exception.

Well, ingredients aside, these are very good. My Mom makes enchilada's and they always have super creamy nice rice, and she shared her secret! Instead of cooking rice in plain water, she cooks hers in a watery condensed creamy soup! It really makes a wonderful texture.

To come up with this recipe, Greg and I looked at what we had in the cupboard that we could make a dinner out of. We had: 1 can of kidney beans, frozen chicken, instant rice, cheese, and salsa. The only ingredients we needed were soup and tortilla's! We ended up with a super tasty, super filling, super easy supper (ok, that was a bit lame, I know)! Now, when I say filling, I mean it! With three sources of complete protein, rice that expands, and carbs to help wash it all down, these will fill you up fast!

Recipe:

1 can creamy cheese soup (Cheddar or Fiesta Nacho Campbell's soup)
1 pkg large tortillas
6 oz shredded cheese
2 C. salsa
4 chicken tenders or 2 chicken breasts
1 1/2 C. instant rice
1 15 oz can red kidney beans
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 TBS chipotle chili powder
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano
ground black pepper

-Bring 1 can creamy cheese soup plus 1 1/2 cans of water to a boil, add rice. Reduce to a simmer and cover for about 15 minutes, or until most of the liquid is absorbed.
-While rice is cooking, cut chicken into very small pieces.
-Drain and rinse kidney beans
-Turn oven to 350 degrees
-Coat a pan with extra virgin olive oil. Add chili powder, cumin, oregano and black pepper. Heat.
-Add chicken and beans to oil. Stir to coat. Add 1 C. salsa. Cook on medium-high heat until chicken is cooked through, stirring often.
-Once cooked, remove from heat.
-Add the rice/soup combo once the liquid has been absorbed. Stir to combine. Set aside.
-Place 1/2 C. salsa in the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan. Spread around to coat the whole bottom.
-Place about 3/4 C. of the rice/chicken/bean mixture into a tortilla. Roll and place in the pan.
-Once they are all in the pan, cover with the rest of the salsa. Spread cheese on top of the enchilada's.
-Bake for about 15 minutes until the cheese is all melted.
-Enjoy!!!