Now that I have officially tasted the Creamy Chicken Enchiladas, I can say that they were in fact very good. I can say that I will want to use my preferred seasonings instead the next time, but I used what I had on hand and could readily and easily get. What I prefer requires a trip across town or an online order. Neither of which I had the time for this week.
My recommendation is to not overcook the enchiladas like I did tonight. That would be a good recommendation to follow at any time for what it is worth. I got busy and distracted and I forgot about them in the oven. Needless to say, I forgot to set the timer on them. They were not burnt, the cheese on top was just more brown and crispy that I would normally like. It was not bad as it was not burnt, just slightly over done.
That all being said, I have to say that my modifications were right on par. They were totally edible and had good flavor. That is all I can ask for really. I must confess to actually missing tomatoes from time to time. I do not miss the pain at all. Not one little bit. I do sometimes miss how it does make life a bit more flavorful. I do miss the foods that it allows you to eat, sometimes. See one of my favorite foods really is lasagna. I really do miss lasagna. Real lasagna. I do not, however, miss the discomfort, misery, and pain that was associated with the aftermath of eating lasagna. I have come to accept that life with out tomatoes might be a bit duller, but it is much fuller for me because it is a life without pain. I will take the life without the pain any day.
Anyway enough of that because I know many of you are waiting for the recipes. I pulled the recipes for these from the Taste of Home Freezer Meals Recipe Cards cookbook. Since I did modify them a fair amount, I will post them here. However if you want the originals, I recommend the cookbook. It is available on newsstands until October 8, 2012. I found mine at Sam’s Club, but I have also seen it at Walmart and Randall’s.
Creamy Chicken Enchiladas
makes about 32 enchiladas1 large rotisserie chicken (shredded)
2 cans (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
2 cans (10.75 ounces) cream of chicken soup
1 can (10.75 ounces) cheddar cheese soup
1/2 cup milk
2 packets mild taco seasoning (or enough taco seasoning for roughly 2 pounds of meat)
1.5 packages (8 ounces) cream cheese
30-40 flour tortillas (6 inches)PLUS
4 cups of shredded mexican cheese blend
Enchilada sauce of choicePreheat oven to 350˚F.
Remove chicken from bones and shred chicken. Set aside.
In pan over medium heat combine soups, milk, and taco seasoning. Mix well. Stir in tomatoes. Add cream cheese. Heat through until cream cheese it melted. Mix well. Add chicken. Mix well and let simmer until bubbly.
Remove from heat and let cool a little so you will not burn your fingers.
Spread 1/4 cup of chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in baking dishes.
Top with preferred enchilada sauce and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350˚F for 30-35 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted.
Cover and freeze remaining enchilada casseroles.
Please note that I did not specifically use the mild taco seasoning packets when I made these the other night. I just used the regular taco seasoning packets as that is what I had on hand. I would look specifically for mild ones if you are going to be feeding younger children. Why? The tomatoes with green chilies already have some spice to them and I did not consider this when I added the non-mild version of the taco seasoning packets. It was only my youngest son that complained about the spice levels. I also did not use my preferred taco seasoning from Penzeys Spices and I think that also would have made a difference. I could have scaled back a little bit overall as it is a bulk spice.
Creamy Chicken Enchiladas with NO Tomatoes
makes about 39 enchiladas1 large rotisserie chicken
4 cans (4 ounces) green chilies
2 cans (10.75 ounces) cream of chicken soup
1 can (10.75 ounces) cheddar cheese soup
1/2 cup milk
2 packets mild taco seasoning (or enough taco seasoning for roughly 2 pounds)
1.5 packages (8 ounces) cream cheese
30-40 flour tortillas (6 inches)PLUS
4 cups of shredded mexican blend cheese
Enchilada sauce of your choicePreheat oven to 350˚F.
Remove chicken from bones and shred chicken. Set aside.
In pan over medium heat combine soups, milk, and taco seasoning. Mix well. Stir in green chilies. Add cream cheese. Heat through until cream cheese it melted. Mix well. Add chicken. Mix well and let simmer until bubbly.
Remove from heat and let cool a little so you will not burn your fingers.
Spread 1/4 cup of chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in baking dishes.
Top with preferred enchilada sauce and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350˚F for 30-35 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted.
Cover and freeze remaining enchilada casseroles.
For these I did specifically use mild taco seasoning packets. I did not think that the seasoning was too spicy, however the green chilies are not particularly spicy as I did not use the hot ones either. Again, I would rather use my preferred taco seasoning from Penzeys Spices, but it was not available. I ran out and have not been able to get to the store to get some.
I did not cook mine with an Enchilada Sauce. I did not reserve any sauce from the recipe as an enchilada sauce like the recipe called for. I felt that was a fiddly step and the sauce was too thick. I have not investigated enchilada sauces that are prepared in the jar/can/pouches to make sure they are safe for me to eat. I just sprinkled mine with cheese and baked the ones I had for dinner without the sauce. They were delicious without the sauce.
For those of you interested in cutting out other things such as onions and MSG. These recipes are not free of either of those items as written. I am aware of this because these are two things my sister tries to avoid. I do try to avoid MSG because it can trigger migraines for me, but I can tolerate it in small doses. The MSG is found in the soup products. You can find the cream of chicken soup in the more expensive organic versions. You would likely still have issues with the onions, however. I am not sure about the cheddar cheese soup. I imagine you could substitute the Progresso Meal Starter Cheese version. It is thin but it would probably be acceptable in this recipe, just cut back on the milk would be my suggestion as these are thin cooking sauces. They do not contain MSG though. The taco seasoning I used did not contain MSG. I made sure of that. It did, however, contain onions if I remember correctly. You could substitute the original spices from the original recipe – I was being a lazy cook again and substituted the taco seasoning in place of the original spices.
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