Halloween Dinner: Skillet Chicken Enchilada Casserole

My take on cheesy chicken enchiladas only requires one skillet for cooking and eliminates the all the stuffing and rolling! 

Skillet Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Weeknights call for quick meals and what could be better that a one pan meal where the cooking is all done in one pan and the clean up is a breeze.  Chicken Enchiladas are a favorite of ours but stuffing those tortillas takes extra time and on a weeknight I don't really want to bother.  This casserole type enchiladas have all the flavors but really is an easier assembly.  This would be perfect for your Halloween dinner or any weeknight meal this fall and winter.

For this meal I use my trusty cast iron skillet.  If you don't have one make sure to use and oven safe skillet and we will be starting this out on the stove and finishing it in the oven.  All the goodies from gooey cheese, soft tortillas, chicken, salsa, seasonings, and a large dose of veggies are covered with enchilada sauce and all mixed together in the same skillet.  It's heaven in a skillet!  You can add a side or rice and beans, or a side salad, but this is so loaded with veggies that it's pretty much a meal on it's own.

Enjoy!

What Ingredients do I need?

• fresh or frozen corn
• red bell pepper
• yellow onion
• fresh baby spinach
• cooked chicken breasts
• red enchilada sauce
• salsa
• corn tortillas
• cheddar cheese
• grape tomatoes
• cilantro

Substitutions and Variations

• Use shredded pork or beef
• Change up the vegetables - mushrooms, green chilies, anaheim chilies, black beans, mexicorn

Kitchen Tips and Notes

• For best results, refrigerate and freeze leftovers without the toppings and add them after reheating.
• Charring the veggies in a cast-iron skillet adds depth of flavor.
• To make ahead: Cook the vegetables up to 1 day ahead and refrigerate.

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Skillet Chicken Enchilada Casserole

serves 6

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup fresh or frozen corn 
1 sliced red bell pepper
½ cup diced yellow onion
2 large handfuls baby spinach
2 cooked chicken breasts, shredded
8 oz can red enchilada sauce
1 cup prepared fresh salsa
8 corn tortillas, cut into 1-inch-thick strips
1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup halved grape tomatoes
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro


Preheat oven to 350°F.

Heat oil in a large cast iron or ovenproof skillet.  Add corn, bell pepper, and onion.  Cook, until charred, 7 to 10 minutes. Gradually add spinach in batches; cook, stirring frequently, until wilted, 1 to 2 minutes.

Stir in chicken, enchilada sauce, and salsa until combined. Gently stir in tortilla strips. Sprinkle with cheese. Transfer to the oven and bake until bubbly, about 15 minutes.

Top the casserole with tomatoes and cilantro.

Cinco de Mayo: Easy Chicken Enchilada Verde Casserole

Chicken Enchiladas Verde made into a casserole has all the Mexican flavors you crave, but is so easy you can make it on a weeknight!

Easy Chicken Enchilada Verde Casserole

With Cinco de Mayo around the corner and falling on a weeknight this year why not keep it simple yet still celebrate with all the Mexican flavors you love.  My Chicken Enchilada Verde Casserole is just that...easy.  With a combination of green salsa and green enchilada sauce, mixed with chicken, chiles, and cheese, you get the flavor punch and the ease of a quick meal.

This dish comes together fast and has crazy good flavor.  How can you go wrong with a saucy layered chicken and tortilla dish with melted cheese?  Sounds about perfect to me.

Enjoy!

What Ingredients do I need?

• green enchilada sauce
• salsa verde
• diced green chiles
• cooked shredded chicken breast
• spices: garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano, chili powder, cumin
• corn tortillas
• Monterey Jack cheese

Substitutions and Variations

• Use light or dark or a combination of chicken.

• Use ground beef, turkey, or chicken instead.

• Switch out the green sauce for red.

• How about Pepper Jack cheese? or Top with Cotija cheese or Queso Fresco.

• Mince up Jalapenos and add them - or use jarred pickled jalapenos.

• Swap out the chiles for veggies like zucchini, mushrooms, or add black beans.

• Sprinkle fresh tomatoes on top.

• Dollop with sour cream or Mexican crema.

Kitchen Tips and Notes

• For the chicken: use leftover chicken, a rotisserie, or make your own shredded chicken by poaching it. (An instant pot comes in handy for this method)

• Shred your cheese from a block of cheese. Pre-shredded cheese are loaded with additives to keep it from clumping, plus they don't melt as well.

• Allow the casserole to sit for 10-15 minutes once removed from the oven.  This will allow the layers to set and will help with everything running all over the plate.

• Serve with Mexican rice or a green salad on the side.  

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Easy Chicken Enchilada Verde Casserole

serves 4-6

10 oz can green enchilada sauce
6 oz salsa verde
4 oz diced green chiles
2 cups cooked shredded chicken breast
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
salt & pepper to taste
7 corn tortillas, cut in half
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Spray an 8x8 pan with cooking spray and set aside.

In a medium bowl add the green enchilada sauce and the salsa verde and stir until combined.  In a small bowl add all the spices and stir until blended.  In another medium bowl add the chicken and the green chiles.  Sprinkle over the spice mix and toss with the chicken and chiles until coated.  

Spread 1/3 of the sauce mixture in the bottom of your prepared pan.  Lay 4-5 tortilla halves over the sauce covering most of the bottom of the pan.  Add 1/2 of the chicken mixture and top with 1/2 the cheese. Add another 1/3 of the sauce over the cheese.   Repeat with another layer of tortilla halves, chicken, cheese, and the remainder of the sauce.

Cover with foil and bake for 30-40 minutes.  Uncover and back for another 10 minutes.  Remove from the oven and allow to set up 10-15 minutes before cutting.

Sizzling Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Yum

If you've got some leftover chicken just hanging out without anything to do I have the recipe for you!

Whenever I cook chicken I cook extra because I know I'm going to make a scrumptious dish with it later in the week.  That goes for roasting, poaching, grilling, pan frying...whatever!  Extra chicken is the bomb! 

Today, I'm craving Mexican food!  Living in Southern California you are exposed to it everywhere.  Although Mom never really made anything other than tacos, I adore all Mexican food and make it often!  So no one was surprised when I planned to whip up this Sizzling Chicken Enchilada Casserole using the leftover chicken from the Super Bowl feast we had.

SIZZLING CHICKEN ENCHILADA CASSEROLE

Did I mention how easy this casserole is? 

5 ingredients...that's it!  Chicken, beans, cheese, corn tortillas, and enchilada sauce.  It's so easy to throw together you can't hardly call this a recipe.     

The key is to get a really good enchilada sauce.  I prefer one from Sprouts Market that is in a bottle.  It's a little zippy on the spice, but has none of the tinny flavor I find with canned sauces. This is the basis of your flavor, so make sure it's one you like!  Then you just layer the ingredients and you come out with melty, cheesy chicken goodness!  It tastes just like an enchilada without all the fuss of rolling them!

Do yourself a favor and make this dish the next time you have leftover chicken.  Everyone will ask for seconds!

Enjoy!

Sizzling Chicken Enchilada Casserole

serves 6

1 14 oz jar or can Enchilada sauce (I used Sprouts brand)

2 cups cooked and shredded chicken meat

1 cup black beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

6 corn tortillas, 6 inch each

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In an 8x8 baking dish pour a little of the enchilada sauce over the bottom.  Add 2 corn tortillas on the bottom of the pan, overlapping if necessary.  Layer 1/2 of the chicken, the beans, 1/3 of the sauce and 1/3 of the cheese.  Repeat the layer with 2 more corn tortillas, the remaining chicken and beans, 1/3 of the sauce and cheese.  Add the last 2 corn tortillas to cover.  Over the top pour over the remaining sauce and cheese. 

Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes.  Remove foil and bake another 5 minutes to brown the top.  Serve warm.

Thanksgiving Leftover Ideas - Let's Talk Turkey!

 

Happy Day after Thanksgiving!  I hope you all have a day filled with food, fun, family, friends...and a good movie!

Turkey leftovers?  I sure hope so!  Ending up with a bunch of Thanksgiving leftovers is the best!  You can do so much with them...even have another Thanksgiving plate. 

But the fun part is turning those ingredients into a different dish.  I have some delicious recipes that will fix you right up.  Today we'll concentrate on turkey since that is usually what we have most of!

Just click on the links below to take you to the detailed recipes.

Turkey Guacamole Wraps
These are a great way to use leftover turkey and serve a light lunch for the family or a crowd watching football games. 




Turkey Havarti Hot Sandwich
One of my favorite "hot" sandwiches.  The flavors are outstanding, and you'll just love it!




Turkey Salad Sandwich
Everyone just loves chicken salad.  Switch it up a bit and try it with turkey.  It really rocks!  And if you have home crescent rolls all the better.  A fresh croissant will do too!



Some other ideas:
Beth's Favorite Enchiladas - made with turkey

 

Turkey and Wild Rice Soup- yummy in your tummy!




Turkey Tetrazzini  -  a classic...



Enjoy Black Friday!

Easy Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

What should you do with your leftover chicken?

Make a quick weeknight meal of Easy Creamy Chicken Enchiladas.

This dish takes a little help from Philadelphia Santa Fe Blend Cooking Creme.  I saw this new product in my local grocery store and the Santa Fe flavor caught my eye.  What a great way to introduce Latin flavors into a cream cheese cooking creme!  I quickly bought some and couldn't wait to try it out.  It's an obvious choice for Enchiladas since you want your filling moist and creamy.

I had just made some chicken breasts the night before and had some leftovers.  Perfect redo for the leftovers!  If you don't have any leftover chickens on hand a rotisserie chicken will work.  If you want to make fresh poached chicken, check out my recipe here.

I also picked up a bottle of my favorite enchiladas sauce from Sprouts, which has a little kick.  These are going to be quick, but yummy enchiladas.  Don't worry, it's okay to take a little help from some pre-made ingredients.

The result?  I had just enough leftover chicken for MGG and me to each have 2 enchiladas.  The cooking creme was a great touch to the chicken.  The flavor was subtle and tasty.  These were perfect in a pinch!

I'm glad I tried it, and will try adding it to pasta next time.

So give this easy weeknight meal a try.  Be creative and add your favorite ingredients as well.  I'm sure it will be a winner at your house.

Easy Creamy Chicken Enchiladas 

serves 2


1/2 small yellow onion, diced small 
1 t canola oil
1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken breasts
1 cup canned diced tomatoes, no salt added, drained 
1/4 tub (10 oz.) Philadelphia Santa Fe Blend Cooking Creme
1/4 cup cheddar cheese, grated 
4 flour tortillas (6 inch)
1 cup of enchiladas sauce
Garnish:  shredded cheese, sour cream (Optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add diced onion and cook for 5 minutes until soft, stirring occasionally.  Add chicken, tomatoes, cooking creme, and shredded cheese.  Stir to combine.

In a baking dish add a little of the enchilada sauce in the bottom.  Take 1/3 cup chicken mixture and place it down the center of each tortilla and roll up.  Place seam side down in a baking dish.  Continue until all enchiladas are complete.  Top with remaining enchiladas sauce and cover with foil.   Bake 15 minutes.  Remove cover and sprinkle with cheese.  Return to oven and bake uncovered 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.  Serve with garnishes if desired.

Turkey Leftover Recipes and Ideas

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

One filled with family, friends, and love.  And lots of leftovers!
So you may be thinking what am I going to do with all this left over turkey?

I have some great ideas for you.  Some of them I've made, and a few that I found that I want to try myself and wanted to share them with you too, so you can try them as well.

Last year we celebrated Thanksgiving at my sister Sue's house in Tennessee.  We had quite a bit of leftovers, turkey among them.  We decided to make Enchiladas substituting the chicken for turkey.  It was a secret though.  We didn't think that everyone would actually want to eat turkey enchiladas.  So we made them, ate them, and no one knew...until after.  A couple of groans, but everyone actually like them.  I thought they were great.  Turkey is a meat that when mixed with other items it looses it's distinctive flavor.  And this is one of those dishes.  Here's a pic of Sue's enchiladas (lookin' good Sue!).  You can take your favorite enchilada recipe and just use turkey, or try mine in the link below.  They rock!

Beth's Favorite Enchiladas

Soup is always a great way to use leftover turkey.  This one with wild rice is really easy to make and very hearty.  Great for the fall weather.  You can find the link to the recipe below in the title name.

Turkey and Wild Rice Soup

Chicken Tetrazzini is a nice Italian casserole and has been adapted to utilize leftover turkey.  A wonderful dish to try, full of flavor the whole family will love.  I made the turkey version of this dish  but never did post it.  So here it is!

Turkey Tetrazzini

serves 4

8 oz. uncooked spaghetti
1/4 cup margarine or butter
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup half-and-half
1 to 3 tablespoons dry sherry, if desired
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
Dash pepper
3 cups cubed cooked turkey
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Chopped fresh parsley, if desired

Cook spaghetti as directed on package. Drain.
Meanwhile, melt margarine in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add mushrooms; cook 5 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add flour; cook and stir until bubbly. Gradually add broth, stirring constantly, until mixture boils and thickens. Remove from heat; stir in half-and-half, sherry, 1/4 cup parsley, salt, nutmeg and pepper.

Add cooked spaghetti and turkey to mushroom mixture; stir gently to mix. Spoon mixture into ungreased 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish. Cover with foil; refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.

Heat oven to 350°F. Uncover baking dish; sprinkle Parmesan cheese over top. Cover; bake at 350°F. for 45 to 55 minutes or until thoroughly heated, removing foil during last 10 minutes of baking time. Sprinkle with parsley.


Lastly I saw this on the food network channel the other day and thought "what a great idea".  It's for a turkey sandwich on a stuffing patty, using most of your Turkey day ingredients.  Wonderful!

Open Faced Turkey Stuffing Patty with Gravy and Cranberry Sauce

Recipe courtesy Jeffrey Mauro

Prep Time: 30 min

Inactive Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: 2 hr 0 min

Level: Intermediate

Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients

·         4 slices bacon

·         2 cups Old Fashioned Turkey Stuffing, recipe follows

·         Canola oil, if needed

·         12 fresh sage leaves

·         8 ounces leftover turkey meat

·         1 cup leftover turkey gravy, heated through

·         1/2 cup Simple Cranberry Sauce, recipe follows

Directions

Cook the bacon in a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat until extra crispy, about 10 minutes. Transfer the bacon to a paper-towel-lined-plate to drain and reserve the fat in the skillet.

Meanwhile pack a 1 cup dry measure tightly with a 1/2 cup of the Old Fashioned Turkey Stuffing. Dump the stuffing onto a baking sheet and press down into a 4-inch-wide-cake, using a flat spatula. Repeat until you have 4 patties.

Heat the reserved bacon fat in the skillet over medium heat. Carefully lay 2 patties in the skillet and cook until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes each side. Transfer the patties to a plate and repeat with the remaining 2 patties.

Add oil to the skillet if needed. Add the sage and fry, about 30 seconds. Transfer the sage to a paper-towel-lined-plate using a slotted spoon.

Divide the turkey meat onto each patty and pour gravy over top. Crumble 1 crispy bacon slice over the turkey. Dollop with the Simple Cranberry Sauce and garnish with the sage.

Enjoy!

Beef Enchiladas

I so enjoyed my time visiting with my mom in Tennessee.

One tradition she started is to have her "fabulous" Pot Roast ready and waiting for me when I arrive.  This visit was no exception.  Her pot roast is a family favorite and no one makes it as good as she can.  It's succulent and juicy, it just falls apart!

Click on the link to get the recipe for Mom's Famous Pot Roast .  It's well worth it!

So what to do with all that left over roast beef? 

Well, we could make beef hoagies or french dip sandwiches...but being from California we LOVE Mexican food.  Franklin, Tennessee has a couple of Mexican restaurants around town, but they are different from the Mexican food you get in LA.  And, mom misses her Mexican food!!!  So I decided to give her a mexi-fix.  We needed to make something quick and easy.  Beef Enchiladas!

So simple, lots a spicy flavor, and on the table in a flash!

Let's make Beef Enchiladas.

First, make the filling. 

Take your leftover pot roast and shred it up and place it in a medium sized bowl.  Add a good amount of Rotel Mexican using the juices as well!  This has great flavors with diced tomatoes, chilies, cilantro, and lime.  Add a good amount of shredded Monterey Jack cheese...and then add some more!  Mix well.

Pour some enchilada sauce in the bottom of a pan.  Pan size depends on how many you are making.  We used an 8x8 pan, making 4 enchiladas.  Take a 6 inch flour tortilla and place some of the beef filling down the middle of the tortilla.  Roll them up putting them in the pan seam side down.

Top with enchilada sauce and more shredded cheese.

Look how cute she is!!

Pop them in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes until bubbly hot and cheese is melted.

That's it!  Simple as that...your done...now go eat!!

YUM!!!

Hope you try these with your leftovers, they are really easy and pack a flavor punch!


Beef Enchiladas

makes 4 enchiladas

Leftover pot roast, shredded
1/2 can Rotel Mexican with juices
1/2 c. Monterey Jack cheese, shredded  (pepper jack would be awesome as well!)
1 can Enchiladas Sauce (I used Ole' El Paso)
4 - 6" Flour Tortillas

Make the filling by placing shredded pot roast in a bowl.  Mix in a good amount of Rotel Mexican along with some juices.  Add shredded cheese and mix well.

In an 8x8 pan pour some Enchilada sauce in the bottom of the pan.  Take a flour tortilla and spoon some beef filling down the middle.  Roll up the tortilla and place in the pan, seam side down.

Pour rest of the enchiladas sauce over the top of the tortillas and top with more shredded cheese.

Place in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees.  Bake for 15-20 min until hot and bubbly.