Easy Enchiladas

I am in love with making enchiladas lately! They are easy, inexpensive and make GREAT leftovers for lunch the next day!!! I searched and search the Taste of Home website but never found one I really liked... I wanted them to taste like the ones I had growing up in Southern California at all my Mexican friends' houses. Of course, they never used a recipe (they are simply born knowing how to make them!! ) so this is what I eventually came up with:



pack of burrito size tortillas ( 8 )

can of refried beans

big can of enchiladas sauce (I like red not green)

shredded cheese (whatever you've got is fine... I usually have cheddar)
Finely chopped onions, optional

hot sauce or salsa (I like Ortega Taco Sauce)

1 cup. sour cream

about 2 cups cooked chicken or beef... the beauty is you just use what you have.



I usually have a bag of frozen chopped cooked chicken in my freezer. I like to roast a couple of whole chickens every so often so I have a nice dinner, plus plenty of leftovers to freeze, and bones to make broth. Sometimes, if bone-in split chicken breast are on sale, I’ll simply boil a couple to chunk up for various meals. Leftover pot roast works very well too! It’s a great meal to make with leftover meat of any kind from earlier in the week. Whatever meat you use, it just needs to be cooked first.



Pour enchilada sauce into a pie pan. Place tortillas in and make sure they are all being coated in sauce. This will soften them and make them more workable. Assemble other ingredients and preheat oven to 400. One at a time, spread each soaked tortilla with a tablespoon full of refried beans... just eye ball it. That one can should be a perfect amount for all 8. Spread a small handful of meat/chicken, sprinkle with cheese and add whatever you like: onions, olives, etc. Again, great place to use that small handful of leftover onions or whatever. Add a little bit of salsa or hot sauce. Fold down ends and roll to close. Place seams side down in 9 x 13 in. dish. Repeat with all 8.


Whisk 1 c. sour cream into remaining enchilada sauce (stir it right in the pie pan) and pour over enchiladas. Sprinkle with a little more cheese. Bake, covered, for 30 min.s.



I serve it with additional sour cream and salsa. Spanish rice and corn on the side. Learning to cook these kinds foods has helped me not to miss California as much. It seems like a small thing, but the area food favorites are actually a big part of what makes a place home. Taco Bell or any other “Mexican” restaurant just does not compare to homemade authentic Mexican food. And Seth loves this meal as much as I do.