Tex-Mex Chicken Enchiladas Recipe

This is my own recipe for chicken enchiladas. I don't really measure things as I've made this just by eyeballing the ingredients so try this at your own risk. I will say that I pile a layer on top of another in a 9x13 baking dish. You can use two if you like. Also, I must warn you, it will take you approximately 2 1/2 to 3 hours from start to finish. If you make your own enchilada sauce from scratch- I made that mistake once- it will add another 30 minutes or so.

• 2 Whole chicken breasts, trimmed of fat, gristle and all that yucky stuff
• 1 medium onion finely chopped - I use my Pampered Chef chopper to keep from crying
• 1 Can of Campbell's cream of chicken soup
• 3 10-oz cans of Old El Paso Enchilada sauce mild, medium or hot depends on how spicy you want them, due to the fact that I am a weenie I use mild
  
• 1 lb Kraft or Sargento grated Mexican blend cheese or you can use cheddar if you like and it doesn't have to be either of these brands either
• 2 Tablespoons of Watkins poultry seasoning (that's the secret seasoning, Larry)
• 2 teaspoons Lawry's seasoned salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 garlic cloves finely chopped - smashed really
  
• 32 count them, 32 corn tortillas - nah, I don't make them from scratch - I'm lazy
• Oil for frying I use Crisco vegetable oil

Boil the chicken breasts until fully cooked while that is cooking you can chop the onion and have it ready. Remove the chicken from the pot and save the chicken stock, you will need about a cup of it. Let the chicken meat cool before shredding or you will regret it. If I am in a hurry (which I always am) I stick it in the freezer for a few minutes, just don't forget it there. Frozen chicken breasts do not happily comply with their duties while frozen. They know they are a popular part of the chicken and thus are very stubborn.

Pour some oil into the frying pan and fry the tortillas for only a few seconds on each side, just enough to make them soft...not crispy. I would estimate about 5 seconds on each side at medium heat. Flip them with tongs and stack them on a plate. Repeat 32 times. I told you this would take a while.

Take the cooled chicken and shred it...this allows time for the tortillas to cool before handling. After shredding all of the chicken and removing any disgusting blood vessels and yucky stuff add the cream of chicken soup, 1/2 of the shredded cheese, chopped onion, smashed garlic cloves, Watkins poultry seasoning, black pepper, and the Lawry's seasoned salt. Mix well to make sure all ingredients are evenly distributed. If mixture is too dry use the stock you saved to add moisture.

Open the cans of enchilada sauce and pour into a somewhat shallow dish/bowl big enough to dip the tortillas after they are lightly sautéed. Repeat 32 times.

Now comes the fun part. Take each tortilla after dipping in the enchilada sauce and put about 2 tablespoons of the chicken filling and put in the center of the tortilla...now roll that puppy and put seam side down in your olive oil sprayed baking dish...I figure I'd use one healthy ingredient in the midst of all this fattening but-oh-so-good and deliciously marvelous ingredients. By this time you will smell like a big enchilada yourself so you can tell everyone that comes over for dinner that you made enchiladas from scratch...except the tortillas and the enchilada sauce...but if you hide the empty packages deep enough down in the trash can they will never know any different. I won't tell.

Once you have repeated this 32 times; the dipping, filling and rolling (please don't lick your fingers no matter how tempted you are) you now sprinkle the remainder of the cheese on top of your new creation. If there is any sauce left I just pour it on top of that.

Now, put in a 300-degree oven for approximately 45 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. You will have people wanting to be your best friend for miles around when they taste these. I ga-run-tee it!

N - dear, this one's for you!