Cheesy Chicken and Bean Enchiladas

I am a BIG fan of enchiladas. Especially cheesy chicken enchiladas topped with my homemade enchilada sauce. I even snuck some refried beans into the mix for a little addition to the vegetable garden.

No one will argue that these are super authentic. You probably wouldn’t find these on the menu of your local Mexican joint, but the sauce tops the stuff that comes in the cans in the “world” section of most grocery stores by FAR.

These would work really well as a freezer meal. You can even freeze them in smaller containers for more individual sized portions. Foil bread pans would work great for this, and still be oven safe. This would also work fine in a crock pot on low heat for several hours.

Start these out by seasoning a few BIG chicken breasts with salt, pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, and onion powder. Put a few tablespoons of oil into a pan, and brown on both sides.

After the chicken has browned, I added about 1/2 cup of water into the bottom of the pan and covered the pan to finish the cooking. My breasts were pretty large, so they needed this moist cooking to make sure they cooked through but didn’t dry out.

When the chicken is cooked through, shred it thoroughly. Did you know you can use your stand mixer to shred chicken? SO much easier than by hand. Toss it into your mixer bowl, attach your beaters, and beat on low for about a minute, or until the chicken is shredded. Perfect.

Now make your refried beans. I used a can of the regular style, then added 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese, and 1/4 cup of salsa. Heat well, stir to combine, and then mix in with your chicken. Generously fill a taco size flour tortilla with the mixture.

Roll them up well and place into a pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray, and has been covered with enchilada sauce.

Cover these with your enchilada sauce. As much or as little as you would like. I tend to like things SAUCY, so I go a bit crazy with it. After the enchiladas are sauced, cover with cheddar cheese.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-45 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and the whole thing is heated through. Serve with sour cream and salsa.

Cheesy Chicken and Bean Enchiladas

Easy Enchilada Sauce

Homemade Enchilada Sauce here

Chicken Mixture:
• 2 lg chicken breasts (approximately 1 lb of chicken)
• Seasonings – salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder
• 2 TBSP vegetable oil
• ½ cup water
• 1 can refried beans
• ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
• ¼ – ½ cup salsa

Enchiladas:
• 8-10 small flour tortillas
• 2-3 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

Instructions

• Season chicken breast and brown in a pan. Once both sides are browned, add ½ cup water to the pan, cover, and finish cooking. When chicken is done cooking, drain water and shred either by hand or with your mixer.
• Heat the refried beans in a small pan and mix in salsa and cheese. Stir the bean mixture into the chicken.
• Generously fill tortillas, roll, and place into a pan that has been prepped with cooking spray, and the bottom covered lightly with enchilada sauce. Top with enchilada sauce, and cover with cheese.
• Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30-45 minutes, or until heated through and cheese is bubbly.