Oh my god it's enchilad (ahs!)

Holy yum.

Okay. To start, I took this recipe from a friend and then I changed it up to make it suit my needs more because I'm a veggie kind of girl and I also like to cut calories and fat where I can because then I can eat MORE and trust me. Make these babies and you will want MORE.

Also, if you're vegetarian, I feel like these would be excellent with firm tofu, or even chickpeas, and black beans. Just sayin'.

I really don't measure things out a lot, so this may prove to be annoying for any recipe followers. I took pictures so you can kinda see what it yields, but you can really wing it! It's cool like that!

These enchiladas are so good, theGuy said he would've proposed years before if I'd made them for him!

I have a real camera, but since I got my new computer, I can`t load photos off of my memory stick, so it`s pretty much a paperweight til I figure that out. The iPhone is handy, but the photos aren't as good as the recipe.. don't let the unappetizing photos fool you - these things are fantastic.

Amazing Enchiladas

Ingredients:

The real beauty of this recipe is that you can make it to taste. I love vegetables and I really love heat, so I've made it to be a spicy vegetable extravaganza. Although enchiladas are typically hot, feel free to be a sissy and omit the heat!


4 chicken breasts
1 pkg of large tortillas - you will need at least 6 (I use 6 large and 2 small - and my fave is PC whole wheat wraps)
1 can of diced tomatoes (I use "no salt added")
1 can of Rotel (haha! Canadians! You can't get Rotel here. I happen to have connections so I have stockpiled it, and seriously, you should try to get some because Rotel is awesome. Aylmer Accents has a spicy mix of chopped peppers and stuff you could use instead - then pop in some jalapenos and you'll be okay. Or for those who can't handle the heat, just throw in some salsa or more diced tomatoes)
1 cup sour cream (I use 1% because I'm cool like that)
1 - 2 cups of cheese (I use Kraft Low Fat Tex-Mex cheese)
1/2 small red onion (or whatever onion you like)
1.5 zucchini (optional - I like it!)
2.5 peppers (or more.. or less! Again, optional)
Jalapenos! (if you want)
Cayenne & crushed chilli peppers (again, if you want. If you're not going for spicy, I'd add oregano and basil to give it a little somethin' somethin', you know what I'm saying?)
Sometimes I add celery, too!

Yum yum! In my tum!

 1. So, get your chop on. You could be all fancy and first brown the onion and the garlic and stuff, but I don't. I just chop all the veggies and garlic and toss is all in with the chicken and a drizzle of oil, or even chicken broth if you wanna go there instead. It's all about improvising, baby!

Ew. Raw chicken breast is nasty, yo.

2. So, just throw this into a frying pan, and away you go. Cook it on medium high, making sure the chicken doesn't stick, and check from time to time to see whether the chicken has cooked through.

I have yet to find the perfect, non-scratchable electric frying pan. Someone help me!

3. While the chicken and veggies are cooking, grab a blender (or an immersion blender). You don't have to do this step - it would just mean the sauce would be more chunky. I like the sauce to be smooth in relation to the veggie chunks.

Important:  If you don't have a lot of time, drain your tomatoes before adding them to the blender. I like to let mine simmer for a while to let it cook down, but this does require a lot more patience and it can make the sauce runnier.

Blend together or puree, the diced tomatoes, Rotel (or salsa), and jalapenos (as many as you think you can stand). I also added cayenne (1 tsp) and crushed chillis (1/2 tsp) at this point.

4. When the chicken is cooked through, pull it onto a plate and shred it with two forks. I hate this part. There has to be an easier way. If you really don't want to shred it, you could cube or slice the chicken instead, but I prefer it shredded, so I get to enjoy that fork-scratching-a-glass-plate sound. Lovely.

5. Return the chicken to the frying pan, and add your diced tomato mixture.

See? These photos are misleading. It's delicious!

6. Let it simmer on med-high, stirring occasionally, until it's thickened to the consistency of.. well, until it's not super runny. You want like.. the consistency of a smoothy. Ish.

7. Add sour cream to the mixture. I added 3 dollops. You could add more. If you find the sauce is really hot (a little to generous with the jalapenos, perhaps), add more! Sour cream cuts through heat, which is also a good thing to know when you accidentally make spicy spaghetti for your spice-intolerant mom!

The word 'dollop' is totally awesome.

8. Add some grated cheese. I usually ad about 1/2 - 2/3 of a cup of cheese. You can add more if you want it super cheesy!

Oh my god I want to eat this right now.

9. Continue to simmer this awesome goodness, but do it on medium or this stuff'll stick! This is the point where I usually start washing things, like the blender, cutting board and knives and stuff. Because I'm so organized and efficient.

10. Once the sauce has reached the viscosity you're hoping for (or your tummy is growling so loud your pets are looking for an intruder), turn the oven on to 350 F so it can preheat, and place a tortilla on a plate (you may need to warm the tortillas in the microwave in order to make sure it will roll up properly), and spoon the mixture along the center.

Looks kinda weird, tastes kinda AMAZING!

 11. Roll it up in a tube and place into a dish with the edge of the roll facing down (that sounds complicated, but I took a photo). I line my main dish with parchment paper to make clean-up easier. Repeat.

6 tubes of awesome.

I find this recipe has exactly enough for 6 large tubes and two little ones, so that's what I do.

12. Top the rolls with the remaining mixture, and some cheese. You can be as liberal as you like with the cheese. I was liberal this time because it made me feel fancy - otherwise I just do a tiny sprinkle. Try to keep the cheese to the top of each roll, or it'll make it hard to separate the enchiladas.

See how cute the little ones are? Aww. So sweet. I AM GOING TO EAT YOU.

13. Bake in the oven at 350 F for 30 minutes. This is a good time to make Spanish Rice or anything you'd like to serve on the side.

Oh yeah. I totally almost died to get this shot for you.

14. When it's done, let it rest for about 5 minutes. This'll make things thicken up a bit, too.

15. Serve with taco sauce or salsa and sour cream, even, if you want it. So yummy.

If you're looking at this photo thinking that's a lot of enchiladas, you obviously haven't tasted it yet.

Enjoy! I made the spanish rice from scratch, too, and will post that recipe another day, because I'm really nice and generous like that.

Enjoy!

And ladies, seriously - if you want your man to propose.. make him these bad boys. And even if he doesn't propose, you can marvel at how you made something amazingly fabulously all by yourself! Because you're totally fabulous and awesome! And if you're a dude and you're making these.. I have single friends!