Chicken Enchilada Pasta

Taco pasta. Fajita pasta. All kinds of Mexican pasta. Why not enchilada pasta? Well, guess what? It worked! This is so enchilada-y and tasty. After you dice the chicken and veggies and cook the pasta, it’s just a matter of throwing it all together into a pan and heating it up. IT Guy really enjoyed this...and so did I! If you’re more of a green chile enchilada fan, then use that but IT Guy loved red chile so we went that route with a little green thrown in for good measure. Anyway...this little dish tastes just like enchiladas except you use pasta instead of tortillas. And there’s NO rolling them, either so how great is that?

Chicken Enchilada Pasta

 

1 rotisserie chicken ~ diced

2 10-ounce cans red enchilada sauce

1 10-ounce can green enchilada sauce

1 4-ounce can diced green chilies

1 medium onion ~ diced

1 red bell pepper ~ diced

2 cloves garlic ~ minced

3 cups grated cheese

1 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon cumin

2 teaspoons red chili powder

12 ounces penne pasta ~ cooked and drained

Salt and pepper to taste

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.

 

In a large skillet, saute the onion, bell pepper and garlic in a little olive oil until soft.

 

Pour in the enchilada sauces, add the chicken, cumin, red chili powder and salt and pepper.

 

Stir then allow to simmer for about 10 minutes.

 

Remove pan from the heat and add 1 cup of the cheese and the sour cream. Stir to combine.

 

In a large bowl, combine the pasta and chicken mixture.

 

Pour into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

 

Cover with foil and bake until bubbly...about 20 - 30 minutes.

 

Allow to stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Okay....so here's MOST of the stuff 

you need. The sour cream was hiding 

out in the fridge.

Saute the veggies.

Then add the sauces, seasonings 

and chicken. Then allow to simmer 

for a few minutes.

Remove from the heat then add 

the sour cream and 1 cup of the 

grated cheese.

Mix sauce and pasta in a large bowl 

then pour into the prepared pan.

Bake it up! Enjoy!

Beefy Enchilada Soup

Serve this soup anytime....make it as spicy or as mild as you want. I used a mild enchilada sauce but you can always kick the heat level up a notch if you want. And instead of using diced green chilies, you can use chopped jalapenos. This is a super good and really easy soup to make. The leftovers are great and it freezes well too! What more could you ask for?

Beefy Enchilada Soup



1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic ~ minced
1 32-ounce container beef stock
1 28-ounce can enchilada sauce
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 15-ounce can Pinto or black beans
1 4-ounce can diced green chilies
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt & pepper to taste
1/2 cup rice

In a large stock pot, saute the onion and garlic with a little olive oil about 5 minutes.

Add the ground beef and cook until done.

Pour in the beef stock, enchilada sauce, tomatoes, beans, green chilies, cumin and salt and pepper.

Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium and cook about an hour. 

Add rice the last 20 minutes of cooking.

Serve with sour cream, crushed corn tortillas and shredded cheese on top.

 
This is easy! C'mon!

 
Cook your ground beef with 
the onion until done.

 
Pour in the beef stock, enchilada 
sauce, tomatoes, beans, green chilies, 
cumin and salt and pepper.

 
Stir and simmer! Add the rice
the last 20 minutes!

 
See? I told you it was easy! 
It's delicious, too!

Creamy Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Enchiladas are always welcomed by IT Guy and an easy casserole is always welcomed by me. So when I can combine the two, it just makes good sense, right? This easy dish is family friendly, leftover friendly and taste-bud friendly! Super good! Give it a try on a busy week night!

Creamy Chicken 
Enchilada Casserole



3 chicken breasts ~ cooked and shredded
1 8-ounce block of cream cheese ~ cut into cubes
1 4-ounce can of diced green chilies
1 cup corn (I used frozen)
1 small onion ~ diced
1 clove garlic ~ minced
1 cup chicken stock
4 cups shredded cheese (I used cheddar/jack combo)
1 cup Mexican crumbling cheese (Queso fresco)
1 teaspoon cumin
Salt & pepper to taste
6 flour tortillas ~ cut into wedges (can use corn)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 8x11 inch casserole dish with cooking spray.

In a large skillet, saute the onion and garlic in a little olive oil until tender. 

Add the cubed cream cheese and cook and stir until melted. Add the chicken stock and stir.

Add the chicken, corn, diced green chilies and seasonings to the skillet.

Stir to combine.

Layer the ingredients in the prepared pan, starting with some tortillas then some of the chicken mixture then some of the cheese.

Repeat 3 times until all ingredients are used, ending with cheese on top.

Cover pan with foil and bake for 30 - 45 minutes until bubbly and hot.

Allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving.




 
Here's what you need.

 
Oh! And some of this!

 
Season the chicken breast 
and bake for about 45 
minutes at 350 degrees.

 
Then for fast shredding, put the 
cooked meat in your mixer with 
the paddle attachment....

 
...and whirl it around until it looks 
like this. Easy, huh?

 
Saute the onion and garlic in some 
olive oil for a few minutes then add 
the cream cheese and heat until melted.

 
Add the chicken broth and stir.

 
Then add the chicken, cheddar 
cheese, green chilies and seasonings.

 
Stir it up!

 
Cut your tortillas into wedges.

 
Starting with tortillas on the bottom...

 
...start layering your ingredients.

 
Ending with cheese on top.

 
Bake!

 
Eat!

Homemade Enchilada Sauce

I've always wanted to try making my own enchilada sauce and I finally got around to doing it. IT Guy and I were raised on good Mexican food so I was always disappointed in the canned versions of sauce I found in the grocery store. This turned out to be so simple to make and it tasted great! It's not too spicy but has that dark red chili flavor that IT Guy loves so much. This made enough sauce for a pan of enchiladas but you could double the recipe then freeze some for later if you want to. Just a really good sauce!

Homemade Enchilada Sauce



1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 small onion ~ finely diced
2 cloves garlic ~ minced
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet, saute the onion and garlic in the oil for about 3 minutes.

Add the flour and stir to combine. Allow to thicken for a couple of minutes.

Pour in the chicken stock and combine.

Add the crushed tomatoes, brown sugar, cumin, oregano, and salt & pepper.

Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes.

Use immediately or store in a covered container for up to two weeks.

The line-up!

Saute the onion and garlic in the oil.

Then add the flour and mix well.

Cook and stir until thickened. 

Then add the chicken broth.

Then add the tomatoes and the seasonings.

Allow to simmer for a few minutes.

Use immediately or store in the fridge, 

covered, for up to two weeks!

Enchilada Torte

Here's a fun recipe from my family cookbook. It came from my great-aunt's daughter....so...some kind of cousin but I'm not sure if she's a second or third or removed or what. I never can keep that stuff straight. Anyway.....this was so good.....and a BIG hit in our house! It was really fun and different. I tweaked the recipe a little bit to suit our tastes but it's essentially the same as the original. Yummy! You can use homemade enchilada sauce or use store bought..whatever floats your boat. I used Trader Joe's brand which I had never used before but really liked. Long story short: make it, eat it...enjoy!

Enchilada Torte



1 pound ground beef
Salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 cup onion ~ diced
1 1/2 cups enchilada sauce ~ divided use
1 4-ounce can diced green chilies
3 flour tortillas
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon taco mix
1 4-ounce can sliced black olives
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brown ground beef with diced onion, salt, pepper and chili powder.

Stir in 1 cup of the enchilada sauce. 

Mix sour cream with taco mix.

Place a flour tortilla in the bottom of a spring form pan.

Place half of the meat mixture on top, then half the sour cream mixture, half the olives, and 1 cup of the cheese .

Top with another flour tortilla and repeat with remaining meat mixture, remaining sour cream mixture, olives and another cup of cheese.

Place the last flour tortilla on top and pour remaining 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce over the top then sprinkle with remaining 1 cup of cheese. 

Bake for about 20 minutes until warmed through and cheese has melted. Allow to set for 5 minutes before slicing.

Here's the line-up!

Brown the ground beef and onion 

together with the seasonings.

Then pour in 1 cup of the enchilada 

sauce and the green chilies and stir.

Mix the sour cream with the taco seasoning.

Start layering. Place a flour tortilla 

in the bottom of a springform pan or

 deep dish pie plate. Then add half of 

the ground beef mixture, half the sour 

cream mixture, half the olives and 1 cup of the cheese.

Add another tortilla and the rest 

of the ground beef mixture, sour cream 

mixture, olives and another cup of cheese.

Add one more flour tortilla and 

pour the remainder of the enchilada 

sauce over it then sprinkle with 

remaining cheese. Bake it up for 

about 20 -30 minutes until heated 

through. Allow to set for about 5

 minutes before slicing.

So delicious!!!