I made these the other day before that summer sun heated up my house. Of course, I forgot to take a picture! Don’t despair, this recipe was lovingly adapted from this Easy Chicken Enchilada recipe. Here’s a picture of them ready to be cooked!

Chicken Enchiladas

This recipe is super easy. I often cheat and used a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. If I have any leftover chicken, that goes right into the pan! You can make this as spicy or as mild as you’d like. This kind of meal doesn’t require a precise recipe, but some guidelines. I just eyeball the amount of chicken I use. You top the enchiladas with the remaining sauce. If you don’t think you have enough sauce to cover them, just add a splash of water or a little more of the cilantro base. The top is covered with cheese, so you don’t have to perfectly coat them with the sauce.

2 cooked chicken breasts or leftover or rotisserie chicken

1 medium yellow onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1-2 jalapenos, seeded and diced or some Nacho sliced mild jalapeños (in a jar)

1 tomato, diced

12-ounce jar of Goya Cilantro Cooking base

1 10-ounce can of mild (or hot) red enchilada sauce

Olive oil

Salt

6-8 tortillas

Shredded cheese. I like to use a Mexican blend. I use about 16 ounces of cheese. Yum!

Shred cooked chicken and place in a bowl. You need to be careful when you are cleaning and dicing the jalapenos. The seeds are very hot. You will need to wash your hands immediately because if you were to touch your eyes with your spicy hands…..OUCH! I like to use the clear plastic grocery bags as gloves. I put my hands in them and then clean and dice the jalapenos. I just gather the seeds and turn the bags inside out and toss them in the trash. Wash your hands after you put these peppers into a bowl. Now dice you onion and put in the same bowl as the peppers. Mince the garlic and dice the tomato. Place them in a small bowl. Always do your prep work before you start cooking. It makes cooking so much easier if everything is ready to throw into the pan!

Heat a 12-inch skillet and then add olive oil. Add your onion and peppers. I like to sprinkle with a little salt to help soften them. Once this mixture is softened (about 5-10 minutes) add the chopped tomato and garlic. Let some of the liquid evaporate. Add the cilantro base and enchilada sauce. Simmer for about 10 minutes, adding the chicken to heat through.

Now comes the fun part! Grab a tortilla and add a big pinch of cheese, and some chicken. Try to leave as much sauce in the pan as you can. I just eyeball how much chicken I need to fill the tortillas. If you have any remaining chicken after filling the tortillas you can spread it on the top of the rolled tortillas with the sauce. No problem! Just tuck them in between the tortillas. So, after you put the chicken in, roll the tortilla tucking in the ends, and place it with the seam side down in a greased pan. I use a ceramic rectangular pan that is a little smaller than 9 X 13. You can use a square pan. Just squish the tortillas together! Repeat the filling process. When I make 8, I do use a 9 x 13 pan.

When the tortillas are all done and in the pan, spread the sauce over the tortillas. Top with cheese, covering it completely. At this point you can place the pan in the refrigerator and cook later on for dinner. Sometimes I cook it in the morning, let it cool, refrigerate and let the family microwave their own portion. Today, I prepared it, put it in the fridge and cooked it a few hours late. Heat your oven to 350 degrees and bake until the cheese is all melted and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Easy peasy!

We like to top them with some sour cream, a dab of salsa and some mild jarred sliced jalapeno peppers. Heavenly!

NOTE: I made these even easier. Instead of cutting  and seeding jalapeño peppers, I cheated and use some jarred Nacho sliced mild jalapeño peppers from a jar. I just added them to the sauce. It was delicious and easy!